Will strength of schedule play a big part in college rankings this year?

The strength of schedule always plays a part in the BCS and my guess is your are concerned about Boise St. Boise State's biggest problem right now is VT losing to James Madison. This brings their SOC way down and in turn will cause them to get bumped later on in the season.

The Coaches Poll and the Harris Interactive Poll each count as 1/3 of overall BCS Poll and the other 1/3 is based on an average of 6 computer ranking systems.

So, yeah.. the strength of schedule is probably one of the criteria those poll voters use when marking their ballots. But they are all individuals with different opinions so it's anyones guess as to how much of a factor over all it plays in their decisions.

The variables used in the super-secret computer 1/3 calculations aren't made public but the strength of schedule is no doubt one of them. Since the computer rankings are an average, and the 6 systems are different, it's hard to say how much of an impact the strength of schedule has on the computer 1/3.

The first BCS poll will be released Oct 17th but the Coaches Poll is already being published and the Harris Poll will have it's first release next week. So, given the situation with Boise State, I'm thinking those polls next week will be a good indication of how much the strength of schedule matters to the overall BCS Poll when it's released.

The same voter opinion factors apply to the AP Poll so there could be some indication there also.

Yes. It always does. A 12-0 team in the Sun Belt (or the WAC (hint, hint Boise)) does not have a tougher road than an undefeated team in the SEC or the Big Ten. And subsequently they'll probably be ranked lower.