One More Week To Sort Out BCS

Following a holiday weekend with no shakeup in the Bowl Championship Series standings, BCS officials are most thankful that there is another Saturday of football to be played before bowl invitations are handed out. All three of the major-conference unbeatens – USC, Oklahoma, and Auburn – play next weekend, allowing a final opportunity for one of them to lose and provide the BCS with a controversy-free title game for just the fourth time in seven years.While they’re at it, BCS officials might consider sending a thank-you note to Texas, which nullified the possible inclusion of Boise State as an at-large team by beating Texas A&M 26-13 on Friday. Boise, which completed an undefeated regular season with a rout of Nevada, could have moved up to no. 6 and a guaranteed spot in a BCS bowl with an A&M win.As irony would have it, Texas will probably get shut out of the BCS bowls for the seventh straight year unless no. 4 Cal is upset at Southern Miss next week. Texas, ranked fifth in the BCS, might have jumped Cal in the polls had a single play just before halftime gone differently. Quarterback Vince Young attempted to jump over the pile on a sneak from the 2-yard line, but had the ball knocked out of his outstretched arms and returned 98 yards for a touchdown by the Aggies. A final margin of victory of 27 points instead of 13 would have looked better to the voters.Others giving thanks include officials from the ACC, who get to witness a de facto championship game between Miami and Virginia Tech next week thanks to the Hokies’ win over Virginia on Saturday. The fact that both those schools are new additions to the conference this season (from the Big East) also vindicates the decision by the ACC to expand.For its part, the Big East is thankful it won’t have to suffer the indignity of seeing departing Boston College represent the conference in the BCS after the Eagles were humiliated by Syracuse at home. Of course, it’s a good news/bad news scenario for the Big East, which now has to endure criticism of its BCS representative – either Pittsburgh (7-3) or Syracuse (6-5), depending on the final BCS standings.An upset of one of the top three teams remains unlikely as all three will be solid favorites next Saturday – USC against UCLA, Oklahoma against Colorado in the Big XII championship, and Auburn against Tennessee in the SEC title game. Auburn, currently the odd team out of the Orange Bowl picture, probably faces the toughest test of the three, which is a good thing because it has the most to prove to the voters and computers that determine the BCS standings. Should USC and Oklahoma win, Auburn’s best hope for moving into the no.2 spot in the BCS would be to destroy Tennessee while the Sooners struggle with Colorado.Unfortunately for Auburn, Tennessee will arrive at the SEC championship a wounded team. Down to its third-string quarterback, Rick Clausen, the Volunteers have limped to nail-biter wins over conference laggards Vanderbilt and Kentucky during the last two weeks. Auburn, needing to prove itself against the toughest opposition possible, would no doubt prefer to meet a team coming in on a roll.A roll is what USC is on after destroying Notre Dame 41-10 Saturday night. Playing on a rainy home field for the first time since 1987, the Trojans trailed 10-3 in the second quarter before unleashing a 38-0 onslaught that showcased the skills of their two Heisman Trophy contenders, QB Matt Leinart and tailback/receiver/return man Reggie Bush. Leinart threw for 400 yards and five TDs, including a 69-yard strike to Bush that made the score 27-10 late in the third quarter.USC felt it needed an impressive performance against the Irish after losing six first-place votes in the two polls while it was idle last week. That may have motivated coach Pete Carroll to call for a fake punt with a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter. The play resulted in a pass-interference call and was followed immediately by Leinart’s final TD pass. The dubious play was not as brazen as Oklahoma’s attempt to run up the score on Nebraska two weeks ago, but it provided the latest indication that sportsmanship has suffered at the hands of the BCS.Leinart is hoping that like former Trojan Carson Palmer, a big performance against Notre Dame will springboard him to the Heisman. Despite playing in a major market for the nation’s top-ranked team, the USC signal caller hasn’t had the same media exposure as the other Heisman candidates. The Notre Dame contest was just the second USC game on national network TV this season, and the first since its opener in August. All the while, Leinart has displayed remarkable consistency, throwing for 58 TDs and only eight interceptions during USC’s 20-game winning streak. His primary competition for the award appears to be last year’s winner, Oklahoma QB Jason White.White and the Sooners were off this weekend, but finally learned their opponent in next week’s Big XII title game: the Colorado Buffaloes (7-4). Although Colorado is a weaker opponent for Oklahoma than Tennessee is for Auburn in the SEC, the Buffaloes have at least been a prominent team on the national scene in recent years, and probably carry more sway with voters than Iowa State would have.Iowa State, which opened the season as a betting underdog to Division I-AA Northern Iowa, would have faced Oklahoma in Kansas City next week had it not blown two golden opportunities against Missouri. Tied at 14 with 1:02 left, kicker Bret Culbertson missed a 24-yard field goal attempt. Then in overtime, Iowa State had a first-and-goal at the Missouri three and the chance to win the game with a touchdown. But two rushing plays lost 3 yards before Bret Meyer threw an ill-advised timing pattern that was intercepted, ending the game.BCS officials can only hope that one of their top three teams similarly fails to cash in on an opportunity next Saturday.Mr. Levine is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com

One More Week To Sort Out BCS

One More Week To Sort Out BCS

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