ASKS USC: WHAT'S IN A (LAST) NAME?

Byline: SCOTT WOLF 

So what's the deal with college football polls and guys named Wolf/Wolfe?

As someone who votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, I've lately drawn the ire of USC fans who are unhappy I placed the Trojans lower on my ballot (sixth) than their actual ranking (third).

But I'm not alone. There's also Peter Wolfe, whose computer rankings are used by the Bowl Championship Series to determine its top-15 teams.

Wolfe rated USC 12th last week, when the BCS poll had the Trojans seventh. This week, he has the Trojans seventh, and the BCS poll ranks them fourth.

Wolfe and I might disagree on how to spell our names, but we agree on the Trojans.

But Wolfe's ranking of USC is under scrutiny by fans because he's listed as an associate clinical professor at UCLA's school of medicine.

``People see that and think I'm biased,'' Wolfe said.

For one month every year, he teaches a course on infectious diseases at the medical school.

``I'm not on the payroll, it's an academic title,'' Wolfe said. ``I'm sorry they feel I would be tainted by my teaching.''

I have to admit, I feel sorry for the guy, aside from the fact he can't spell his last name properly. Fans never are satisfied.

Two years ago, UCLA fans were complaining about my ranking of the Bruins. Today it's the USC fans. Funny how none of those Bruins fans are telling me I have the Trojans too low in the rankings this season.

Wolfe's rankings are simply his plugging a bunch of numbers into the computer without any preconceived ideas about any team.

`There's no way the computer knows the great history of USC,'' Wolfe said. ``It just knows who plays and who won. I don't have a pathological hatred of any school.

``It makes some people angry, but I tell them to concentrate to their teams winning games. There's other things going on that are a lot more important than this.''

Coincidentally, Wolfe and I both had Nebraska No. 2 in our final regular- season rankings two years ago, making us the top target of Oregon fans.

Wolfe, who has a private medical practice, said people overreact to early rankings.

``My suspicion is that as in past years, the computers all sort of converge,'' Wolfe said.

As for his role with the BCS, Wolfe said, ``there's nothing that benefits me from doing it.''

He's always ranked teams and even does the top 10 for Division I-AA, II, III and NAIA schools. A few weeks back, Wolfe called the coach at Division III Trinity Bible College in North Dakota to check its score after he couldn't find it in the paper. They lost 105-0.

If you want to check out Wolfe's rankings, go to his Web site Monday afternoons when they are updated (www.bol.ucla.edu/*prwolfe/cfootball). The other Wolf's picks are on this page.

--Sleeper team: Ole Miss is 4-0 in the Southeastern Conference and only needs to beat South Carolina for its first 5-0 league start since the 1963 season, which also was the last time the Rebels won an SEC title.

--Bad teams: Illinois has not beaten an NCAA Division I-A team.

``At this point, discouraged is putting it lightly,'' linebacker Winston Taylor told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Then there's Wisconsin, which snapped Ohio State's winning streak at 19 games but then nose-dived with a 16-7 loss to Northwestern last weekend.

--Articles of surrender: Which team will stop the other first when Colorado plays Texas Tech on Saturday?

Texas Tech ranks 117th (last) in total defense (allowing 503.7 yards a game), 113th in scoring defense (36.8 points a game) and 112th in rushing defense (224.5 ypg).

Colorado ranks 111th in total defense (457 ypg), 115th in pass defense (303.8 ypg) and 116th in scoring defense (39.4 ppg).

--Bad losses: Five teams with one loss in the top 25 were beaten by teams that are not ranked:

USC (7-1) lost to California (4-5).

Washington State (7-1) lost to Notre Dame (2-5).

Virginia Tech (6-1) lost to West Virginia (3-4).

Ohio State (7-1) lost to Wisconsin (6-3).

Michigan State (7-1) lost to Louisiana Tech (4-4).

--Family ties: Newport Harbor High of Newport Beach will start Tom Jackson at quarterback this week. He's the nephew of Notre Dame announcer/former USC quarterback Pat Haden.

CAPTION(S):

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(1) LEADERS

(2) FOOTNOTES

(3) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

- Scott Wolf