The University of Hawai'i Warriors "absolutely are playing the worst schedule" in Division I-A football, but a Bowl Championship Series berth is "probably realistic" if they go unbeaten, said the president of a firm that operates one of the computers used for the BCS rankings.

Richard Billingsley of the Billingsley Report yesterday backed away from having told www.CBS.Sportsline.com Monday, "I'm not sure they'll make it up to that No. 12."

A Top 12 finish in the final BCS rankings of the regular season Dec. 2 would guarantee UH a berth in one of the lucrative BCS bowl games, possibly the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., Jan. 2, 2008. Six computers and two human polls determine the rankings. UH is currently ranked 17th. A top 16 finish could also put UH in, provided the champion of one of the six guaranteed conferences finishes lower than the Warriors.

Billingsley said he apologized to UH and Western Athletic Conference officials yesterday after telling CBS' Dennis Dodd, "I don't think they deserve to be there (at No 12 at season's end). They absolutely are playing the worst schedule. I have them 119th out of 119."

Billingsley told The Advertiser he felt his comments were "very unfortunate and inappropriate" and "hated for the players, (coach) June Jones, the fans and everybody else" to read them.

Billingsley said he heard from "several" UH fans regarding the comments.

Billingsley told The Advertiser, "the fact is right now, in this moment, their schedule does not warrant a Top 12 ranking but that does not mean it is not going to at the end of the season."

He said, "I think a Top 12 is probably realistic, but being undefeated is the key. They just absolutely have to stay undefeated."

UH is currently 7-0 with five regular season games remaining. Whether UH finishes in the BCS' Top 12, "that is something that is still yet to be determined. That is going to depend upon what kind of season Washington continues to have and what kind of season Boise State continues to have," Billingsley said. "That's still unknown. By the end of their (UH's) season, their schedule is probably going to look a lot stronger than it does right now."

But, Billingsley cautioned, "there is so much football yet to be played and so many things can happen and we've seen that more dramatically this season probably than any other season I've ever been involved in and I go back about 40 years with college football.

"So even trying to make any kind of a projection would be supposition but I think traditionally, we can look at history in the last few years of the BCS and recognize that Utah made it, Boise State made it. They did it on their undefeated schedules (and) tradition says Hawai'i will probably make that 12th place as well."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.