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.
One thing I'd add is that if the PAC-10 has been "underrated" over the years, it has largely been their own fault.
For many years conferences like the Big 10 and PAC-10 were tied to a bowl game in which their conference champions matched up against each other -- which meant two things: 1) the conference champions may not have been the highest ranked teams in the conference (e.g., if Ohio State went 8-0 in the conference and 0-3 outside the conference while Michigan went 7-1 in the conference and 3-0 outside the conference); and 2) these teams had no opportunity to schedule bowl games against #1 or #2 teams elsewhere in the country (particularly the independents, which won a disproportionate number of national titles from 1980-2000 simply because they had the freedom to schedule bowl games against anybody).
Having a BCS system that removes the #1 and #2 teams from the old conference-based automatic bowl bids is really the single biggest reason that USC has been able to win these titles -- and why a team like Ohio State was able to win a title before them.
Ahem...I love Texas, just love it...
Houston is a sausage fest though...the closer you get to Dallas and/or Austin the better.
Maybe he could run for 1,500 yards in the NFL, but I think it would be hard for someone to gain that many yards running reverses all season long.
Most overrated conference is the Big Twelve, then the Pac-10. Just check their bowl performances. Not good. Just terrible. Blown out by good opponents, even close against poorer opponents.
Big Ten and SEC almost always perform well in their bowls, and quite easily have the best and toughest conferences top to bottom. USC in spite of their very weak conference deserves to be #1, although I don't think they could dominate every week like they have if they were in the SEC or Big 10. Texas is good, don't think they could be undefeated in the tougher conference, even though they beat Ohio State (remember, Penn State beat OSU worse than Texas)....right now the Big 12 is a cakewalk.
>> Just look at the suppose football power houses these two play. Baylor, Rice, SMU, and schools I have never heard of. <<
Neither t.u. (Texas) nor USC played SMU. While Rice is pitiful, Baylor would likely beat no less than a third, and maybe half, of the SEC, as they have the same or a better record than: Vandy, UK, Tenn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State. The latter two teams are just about as bad as Rice, and Baylor easily could have beaten OU and A&M with slightly better coaching.
If you've never heard of the schools t.u. and USC played this year, then you know nothing of college football.
>>If half the SEC teams had the same schedule, then I am quite confident they would be undefeated too.<<
What team in the SEC had a tougher schedule than either t.u. or USC? Alabama? Nope. Utah State and Middle Tennesse aren't exactly powers. Neither are Missouri State, Louisiana-Monroe, Ball State, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Wyoming, Idaho State, Indiana, North Texas, Appilachian State, Memphis, The Citadel, Murray State, Tulane, Houston, Central Florida, Troy, Wake Forest, and Richmond. These were the VAST majority of teams SEC teams played in non-conference competition. Which one of these teams is a power in your mind?
Yes, they did play a few good ones, including USC, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and Clemson, but by and large, they lost these games. But keep in mind that t.u. played Ohio State, and USC played Fresno and Notre Dame, and they won all these games. Both played in conferences that, even though down in the case of the Big 12, are vastly superior to the SEC this year.
I hate Texas worse than anyone on this planet, and I've criticized their non-conference schedule in years past, but they didn't play a "cupcake" schedule and neither did USC. Asserting as much is either totally dishonest or ignorant.
By my reckoning, 8 of the 14 teams in the SEC have been ranked in the Top 25 at one time or another this season -- including notoriously weak program like Vanderbilt. I think I'd be hard-pressed to think of another conference in my lifetime that was as strong from top to bottom as that.
Reminds me of all those nebraska running backs during the Osbourne era who put up jaw dropping numbers because they were running the option 95% of the time, but completely bombed in the NFL once called upon the run up the middle.
"It's a whole different world in the SEC. And knowledgeable, non-Koolaid drinking fans know it."
I'm far from a Kool-Aid drinker, My favorite team is from The Mountain West, I know they are not even close to the caliber of an SEC, PAC-10, Big -12, or Big-10 team. I love College Football and all the arguments that go with it. I used to think a playoff was needed, but I have now come to realize that a playoff would destroy the game I love. This argument wouldn't happen if there was a playoff. I love to argue over what conference is better, and I do think the PAC-10 is underrated, and the SEC has been overrated the last 2 years. I also think Fresno St could play with any team in the country, and they have proved over the years. The SEC needs to quit scheduling the Western Kentucky's of the world, or quit bitching when the BCS leaves them out!
Yes.
You mean like Mike Rozier, Roger Craig, and Ahman Green? LOL.
Much as we are all waiting for the day when USC finally loses one, I don't think this will happen. USC survived their 'scare' against Fresno State. They won't take UCLA lightly I expect.
1L, I will challenge your comment. I think I hold that title.
Well we're all obviously "partisans" here and I'm no exception. I can step back and agree with you that USC's offense may be more dynamic than Texas', but the difference in defensive strength is much bigger and in Texas' favor. Either way, between the two teams, I believe it will largely be a matter of what happens at the moment. Turnovers, big plays, and unpredictable things will give one of us the win.
"I hate Texas worse than anyone on this planet
1L, I will challenge your comment. I think I hold that title."
Then I hate your team. Whatever it is...
LSU could, but since Tennessee is so horrible this year, that is holding them down. LSU lost to Tennessee early.
I think Penn State has enough staying power to stay #3.....
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