Posted on 11/21/2005 12:45:25 PM PST by indcons
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Southern California and Texas remain the top two teams in the BCS standings and only an upset in one of the final two weeks will prevent the two storied programs from meeting in the Rose Bowl on January 4 for the national championship.
The Trojans (11-0) had a close call this past weekend with a 50-42 victory over a tough Fresno State squad, but they'll have this week off before facing city rival UCLA on December 3.
The Longhorns (10-0), meanwhile, had their final bye this past Saturday and will play each of the next two weeks. First up will be the annual showdown with Texas A&M on Friday and then a trip to the Big 12 title game on December 3.
The final BCS standings will be released on December 4.
As of Monday, Southern California is still atop those standings with a BCS average of .9807, down from last week's .9829. Texas, meanwhile, gained some ground and has an average of .9791, up from last week's .9771.
Should one of those teams falter, Penn State, LSU or Virginia Tech would be ready to take a Rose Bowl spot.
Penn State is third in this week's BCS standings with an average of .8900. The Nittany Lions earned a share of the Big Ten title with Ohio State, but will represent the conference in the BCS thanks to a victory over the Buckeyes earlier this season.
LSU is fourth in the BCS and Virginia Tech is fifth. LSU controls its destiny for a berth in the SEC Championship game, while Virginia Tech can do the same in the ACC thanks to Miami-Florida's stunning loss to Georgia Tech this past Saturday.
Miami dropped from third in last week's BCS standings to ninth this week.
If Virginia Tech beats North Carolina this Saturday, the Hokies would play Florida State for the ACC title. An LSU victory over Arkansas this week would put the Tigers into the SEC title game against Georgia.
The champions from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conference make up six of the eight teams in the four BCS games -- the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta Bowls. The other two spots go to at-large teams.
One of those at-large berths will likely be Notre Dame, which needs only to beat Stanford this coming Saturday to lock up a BCS berth. The Irish, who stand eighth this week in the BCS, would then have the requisite nine wins to qualify for one of the BCS bowl games.
The BCS system uses a pair of human polls -- the Harris Interactive and the USA Today -- as well as six computer rankings. Each poll counts one-third toward the overall score, while the average of the computers completes the formula.
Seems that there might be one black Texas cheerleader; the one in the middle of the back row; and she might not even be black.
Seems a bit 'exclusive' if you ask me.
"..and twins!"
Yep. I look at Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Northwestern, etc., etc., and all I can do is laugh at these other conferences. They should try going through THAT gauntlet sometime....
A good player, for sure -- but certainly would be considered a disappointment if he had been one of the top picks in the draft.
There's a difference between cherry picking one game and playing a full SEC schedule. Try playing Alabama, THEN turning around and playing LSU the very next week. Or playing Auburn, Georgia, and Florida back to back. Then talk about playing an SEC caliber schedule. It's a whole different world in the SEC. And knowledgeable, non-Koolaid drinking fans know it.
USC and Texas would be in the upper echelon of the SEC. But they wouldn't dominate like they do their own conferences, and they wouldn't go undefeated.
Dude...You played Oregon State (at home) and Arizona State(and barely won). Fresno State would beat them like a Drum.
Hmmm... obviously, you haven't been to God's country (aka Aggieland) lately.
Real men don't "cheer" at games, we yell!
Gig 'em!
Is that why seven of the 12 players he recruited last year have left the team?
You are the definition of "sour grapes."
Texas and USC are greedy. They couldn't leave just ONE win for my beloved Owls? Greedy, greedy, greedy. They didn't need all those wins. (If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry, it was probably sarcasm)
That's a much better shot than most that I've seen, but I still say they are more ordinary than what I have come to expect from the USC squad. They've set a very high standard over the years.
I'm speaking as a long-time fan with nothing but respect for the women in the white sweater.
"Great minds".....
*rolling eyes*
People go to college there? I thought they just hung out in five points everynight drinking during the year.
Wow, will wonders never cease.
Remind me...Does Clemson have a law school and/or medical school? Ahhhhhhh....yeah...Clemson's infamous engineering school, basically a prep school before going to USC to get a Masters. So, yeah, you're right...there are a few students.
:-)
I watched the game until my chin started hitting my chest. Not that it wasn't a good game, it was just late here.
There was some real hitting going on, those Bulldogs will pop shoulder pads, that's for sure.
USC is talented, tough too. Leinart can take some licks. Texas/USC should be a good game. Go Big XII!
I suppose the SEC would be in it if they weren't so busy beating each other all season. (That statement actually makes sense in a parallel universe I sometimes visit, but transforming myself into pure energy to achieve the time warp differential really takes it out of me, flat tuckers a feller out, know what I mean?)
Spoken like someone from Anderson county...get running water yet?
Bush can't block to save his life. He's a flashy run and catch guy.
If your a running back in the NFL, you better be able to block when the ball isn't put in your hands during plays. You don't block, you'll still get some touchdowns, but your team will lose more. Enough to keep you out of getting anywhere during the playoffs. Its that big of a difference.
A big reason the Seahawks are 8 and 2 and finally looking like they could go far in the playoffs is that Holgrem planted his foot up Sean Alexander's ass when it came to Sean not wanting to risk breaking a finger nail blocking.
Sean always expected the fullback to do his blocking for him.
Now he's putting his head down and hitting people when called upon.
Bingo. Instant #1 offense in the league.
If Bush can learn to block, he might succeed in the NFL.
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