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.
ACC has some serious speed in that conference with Miami, FSU, V-Tech, G-Tech and NC State. Adding Miami, VT and BC was a great move.
I've watched several USC games and all but one Texas game this year. I apologize if this hurts, but Texas is simply a better team, and the discrepancy isn't all that close. The Horns would not have made it close against Notre Dame or Fresno State.
Are you drunk?
USC hasn't choked in 33 straight games.
I think so too...
Main reason, defense. Texas has a better D.
BSC blows! Big Commie System!
They better keep ducking...Fresno State is for real.
USC will win their 3rd NC in a row. Texas = last year's Oklahoma.
Thank you so much for beating those thugs from UM. And of course the fact Chan Gailey is a Gator alum makes it even better.
They sure do. I've watched a few Georgia games this year -- and strange as this may sound, I've never seen a better team (college or NFL) that consistently tackles as well as the Bulldogs do. I've seen more missed tackles in three possessions of a typical NFL game than I've seen in 17 quarters of Georgia games this year.
Yeah, cuz they choked in last years Rose bowl right? And, uh, yeah...they choked in this years OU game.
Hey man, if it makes you feel better, dont let the facts get in the way of your rant.
I'll be listening for you.
I'll give you that.
There's a couple of teams in the SEC who play great D.
But top to bottom, the conference is weak on D.
The Gamecocks should have won that game...but, hey, Clemson, S.C. needs to be known for something besides cows, right?
You know what?
There's even HOTTER chicks in the STANDS at USC games.
WOW!
I love games like that Fresno USC game.
Is it just me, or does Reggie Bush remind anybody of Billy Sims?
I may be wrong about this, but I think there are 4 SEC teams this year whose only losses have been to other SEC teams. This happens every year, and it's the reason you hardly see any national champions from that conference . . . Georgia beats Alabama, Alabama beats Auburn, Auburn beats LSU, LSU beats Tennessee, Tennessee beats Florida, and Florida beats Georgia. Some variation of this cycle happens almost every season.
Flightdeck:
What planet are you from in what area besides maybe secondary and special teams do you think Texas is Better? Receiving corps, Offensive Line, Quarterback, Running back, Defensive line, Coaching?????????
Put down the crack pipe people who are around airplanes should be drug free
Damn, your posts are getting me fired up for Friday's game! After seeing Miami get upset Saturday night, I have renewed hope. My brain says no chance, but my heart says upset of the year.
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