Let's say the Stanford Cardinal find their way into the BCS championship game, which definitely means Stanford beats Oregon and wins the Pac-12 championship game.
Thus an interesting scenario is in place: Could the Ducks be battling the Washington Huskies for the rights to go to the Rose Bowl?
Last year, the Rose Bowl was obligated to select a non-automatic qualifer under the new BCS provisions, which meant the TCU Horned Frogs had to be picked over the Stanford Cardinal as the replacement for Oregon. Since the rule was only meant to apply once during the 2011-2014 period, this means that things return back to normal this season, and standard BCS selection procedures apply.
The Rose Bowl does have the first pick of the secondary BCS bowls, and if Stanford is replaced, they will have the chance to choose another opponent, which would almost certainly be the next Pac-12 school in-line. The Rose Bowl is big on tradition and will go Big Ten/Pac-12 whenever it's convenient for them. Currently UW is floating outside the top 25, but Washington upsetting Oregon and USC in subsequent weeks and then winning out against Oregon State and Washington State might just be enough to push them into the top 14, ahead of Arizona State (presuming they don't win out and finish with at most three losses).
Clearly, a two-loss Oregon team with losses to two BCS-caliber schools will keep them right near the top of the rankings, as they've proven they can beat any other opponent. But they can't afford another loss to Washington. This game is crucial to both teams if they plan on playing in January rather than as a December runner-up.