BUFFALOES COULD ROAM TO PASADENA.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF College Football

The Rose Bowl is basically decided: Miami will play Tennessee if the Volunteers defeat Louisiana State on Saturday. If Tennessee loses, Nebraska takes its place.

Right?

Not so fast.

While the nation's attention will be focused on Tennessee-LSU on Saturday, perhaps an equal amount should be placed on the Texas Christian- Southern Mississippi game.

Every Colorado fan certainly should be watching. Although the game is a mediocre matchup - 5-5 TCU against 6-5 Southern Miss - it could have BCS ramifications.

Since Nebraska played TCU earlier this year, whatever the Horned Frogs do Saturday will affect the Cornhuskers' strength of schedule, possibly enough to allow Colorado to overtake them.

According to computer guru Jerry Palm, if Tennessee loses and drops below Colorado in the individual BCS computer polls, and if Colorado can surpass Nebraska in the coaches' Top 25 poll, then the Buffaloes can sneak in to Pasadena.

There is one caveat, however. Nebraska holds a 55-vote advantage over Colorado in the coaches' Top 25 poll, and since neither team plays Saturday, it would take a major swing in votes for the Buffaloes to leapfrog the Cornhuskers.

It's the one glimmer of hope Colorado has to get to Pasadena.

If TCU defeats Southern Miss, the Buffaloes probably have no chance of overtaking Nebraska.

In the meantime, Oregon is also trying to make a late lobbying effort, with quarterback Joey Harrington miffed the Ducks were overtaken by Colorado in the latest BCS rankings.

``I don't know what the perfect system is, but obviously when you have teams with two losses involved in the mix, it's not a perfect system,'' Harrington said. ``Colorado may be the best team in football at this point, but they weren't all year long. I think there are a lot of people who agree with me.''

--Heisman hopefuls: Harrington, Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey, Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch and Florida quarterback Rex Grossman were all named finalists for the Heisman Trophy.

Looking at the hopefuls, it should really be a two-person race.

Harrington is the one quarterback you want if you have two minutes left and need a savior. But he wasn't always consistent the other 58 minutes.

Dorsey has led Miami to an undefeated season, but in some critical moments, he also struggled.

Grossman's stats are almost too hard to ignore, with 3,896 yards and 34 touchdowns while leading the nation in passing efficiency. On that alone, plenty of voters will select him for the top award, and it's hard not to think he'll be accepting the famous trophy.

And then there's Crouch, who is the one guy who won't make an NFL roster next season. But he passed for more than 1,400 yards and rushed for 1,100. He even made the Huskers' most important reception, when he caught a 63-yard touchdown pass against Oklahoma. He also rushed for 19 touchdowns and threw seven touchdown passes.

Crouch has rushed for 59 career touchdowns, an NCAA record for a quarterback.

While Crouch's passing yards might be half of the other Heisman Trophy candidates, his rushing yards are more than 12 times that of the other candidates. He also has the distinction of tying an NCAA record by scoring a touchdown via rushing, passing and receiving - all in the same quarter.

These are all reasons Crouch deserves the Heisman Trophy.

--BYU update: Because Utah lost to Air Force last week, it means the Utes dropped to 40th in the power rankings. That means BYU's highest-rated victory is against the 40th-best team in the nation. There are 24 teams in the country that went undefeated against teams rated 40th or below.

--Not Gator bait: Syracuse is incensed over being bypassed by the Gator Bowl.

When the Big East athletic directors meet in New York next month, Syracuse A.D. Jake Crouthamel has notified the league and the Gator Bowl that he wants the selection process re-examined.

The Gator Bowl chose to bypass the second-place Orangemen in favor of Virginia Tech despite the fact Syracuse beat the Hokies 22-14 during the season.

``This game is built on integrity,'' Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ``and when you beat somebody on the field, that should be enough. When you line up and beat somebody head to head, whether it's in your stadium or their stadium, it is significant and needs to be considered.''

FOOTNOTES

By Scott Wolf

THE TOP 10

1. Miami (11-0)

Only 'Canes win in Rose Bowl will help BCS image.

2. Nebraska (11-1)

Huskers picked right time to take the weekend off.

3. Tennessee (10-1)

Pasadena survived Brazilian soccer fans, but can it withstand all those Vols?

4. Oregon (10-1)

It turned out Dennis Erickson did ruin hopes, even in defeat.

5. Colorado (10-2)

That opening loss to Fresno State wreaked havoc in power rankings.

6. Texas (10-2)

Has Mack Brown taken Chris Simms out yet?

7. Florida (9-2)

Spurrier blew two chances to get in Rose Bowl.

8. Oklahoma (10-2)

Second trip to Cotton Bowl this season a lot less important.

9. Maryland (10-1)

Terps' Ralph Friedgen probably deserves Coach of the Year.

10. Illinois (10-1)

Expect Ron Turner to start looking for a job before Sugar Bowl.

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 2 Tennessee (10-1) vs. No. 21 LSU (8-3)

SEC championship game, Saturday, 5 p.m., Ch. 2

This is the only obstacle standing between the Volunteers and the Rose Bowl. Florida and Texas didn't exactly thrive in similar situations, so every fan in Nebraska will have his eyes glued to the TV on Saturday.

CAPTION(S):

4 boxes

Box:

(1) THE TOP 10 (see text)

(2) GAME OF THE WEEK (see text)

(3) THE LIST

(4) 2001-02 BOWL SCHEDULE