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Another 1-2 showdown Sooners, Huskers expected to top first BCS standings
Updated: Sunday October 21, 2001 10:55 PM
By Stewart Mandel, CNNSI.com It's late October, and that means it's computer time in college football. In what has become a landmark date on the calendar in just four years of existence, the first Bowl Championship Series standings will be released Monday, with Oklahoma and Nebraska most likely ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively. That means Saturday will mark the second consecutive season the Sooners and Cornhuskers have faced each other ranked 1 and 2 in the BCS. In Jerry Palm's unofficial replication of the BCS standings, posted on collegebcs.com, the Huskers (8-0) presently hold a slight edge over No. 3 UCLA (6-0), followed by Miami (5-0) -- No. 1 in the traditional Top 25 polls -- at No. 4 and Virginia Tech (6-0) at No. 5. Michigan (5-1), Texas (6-1), Tennessee (4-1), Maryland (7-0) and Washington State (7-0) round out the Top 10.
The BCS formula consists of teams' ranking in the AP and coaches Top 25 polls and eight computer ratings, strength of schedule, quality wins and number of losses. The standings will be released each week from here, with the final poll accompanying the announcement of bowl pairings on Dec. 9. The Hurricanes are being held down by their weak schedule, currently ranked 92nd out of 117 teams. Besides 4-2 Florida State, they've played 1-4 Penn State, 2-5 Rutgers, 1-5 Pitt and 3-3 Troy State. But Palm says that doesn't mean Miami can't make up enough ground to qualify for the Rose Bowl. "To end the season they face Syracuse, probably the Big East's third-best team, then Washington, then Virginia Tech. Win those games and their strength of schedule figures to be in the high 30s. They've just got to keep taking care of business." Also, UCLA, Miami and possibly others behind it can expect to move up next week when either Oklahoma or Nebraska loses. How far that game's loser drops remains to be seen. "It's really going to be driven by the polls," said Palm. "Probably Virginia Tech and Miami are going to catch them, but the loser isn't going to suffer too much. While its detractors are sure the scenario will soon arise, there has yet to be more than two undefeated major-conference teams come the final poll during the first three years of the BCS. At this time, there are seven such schools (not including BYU), but that number will drop to at least four with matchups remaining between Oklahoma and Nebraska (Saturday), UCLA and Washington State (Nov. 3) and Miami and Virginia Tech (Dec. 1). There would be controversy aplenty if all three winners of those games finished the season undefeated and ranked 1-2-3. Palm says if the scenario involves Virginia Tech, the Hokies would likely finish on the outside. "If there are three undefeated teams, and Virginia Tech is in there, I think they have a real problem," said Palm. "Their strength of schedule is even worse than Miami, and they won't have the advantage Miami has of being No. 1 in the polls. [Virginia Tech] is going to be behind both Oklahoma and UCLA. "Now with Miami ... the Big 12 champion, if undefeated, is probably going to be ahead of Miami even if Miami is No 1 [in the polls]. But UCLA would have to make up ground in strength of schedule and maybe the computers. It's certainly not a definite thing, but you'd like Miami's chances." But if history says anything, we will probably spend the next six weeks sweating over nothing. In 1998, Tennessee, UCLA and Kansas State all entered the final week of the season undefeated, but the Bruins and Wildcats both got knocked off. The following season, Florida State and Virginia Tech were the only perfect contenders remaining by the first week of November. Last season undefeated Oklahoma was alone by the same time.
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