EASY TO RANK TEAMS BASED ON SCHEDULES.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF  College Football

More than a month ago, in our first top 25 poll, we voted USC No. 1 and Miami No. 2.

Today, we still list the Trojans and Hurricanes atop the poll. The other voters are slowly agreeing, inching Miami up from sixth to fifth to fourth. Eventually, everyone else should agree and have Miami at No. 2.

Why? Because USC and Miami have schedules built for winning a national championship.

Whether or not you agree those are the two best teams is basically irrelevant because as Nebraska proved in 2001, a team with an easy schedule means a lot more than who is actually the best team when it comes to winning a title.

Barring upsets, the Trojans and Hurricanes are golden for the next four months. USC's big challenge is 10th-ranked California, but it's at the Coliseum, and there's also a revenge factor from last season's embarrassing loss.

The Hurricanes cleared their first hurdle against Florida State and now get to put on their slippers and smoke a cigar in the Atlantic Coast Conference. What's their toughest game? Hmmm.

Is it North Carolina State in Raleigh? Or Georgia Tech in Atlanta? Maybe the home finale with Virginia Tech?

All in all, not too daunting. Just ask Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who's feasted on the ACC for years.

The Trojans are in the same situation, with the Pacific-10 Conference imploding. Oregon enters Saturday's game with Oklahoma as a 26 1/2-point underdog, its biggest margin since being a 31-point underdog against Washington's national championship team in 1991.

USC doesn't play Oregon, but there was the worry in the preseason that the Ducks could go undefeated and thus force a tiebreaker if the two teams didn't lose.

Before Oklahoma fans get cranky over their exclusion, the Sooners' schedule also is getting easier by the week. That trip to Kansas State looks no different than going to Baylor after the Wildcats were slapped silly by Fresno State. And the only other Big 12 team in the top 25 is Texas, where Mack Brown annually shows no promise of beating Bob Stoops.

But the Big 12, unlike the Pac-10 and ACC, plays a conference championship game, so the Sooners have that land mine ahead. Remember last year, few gave Kansas State a chance before the Wildcats upset the Sooners in the Big 12 title game.

One note: The ACC starts playing a championship game in 2005, with the first two games in Jacksonville.

--Mascot brawl: LSU's Tiger mascot got into a fight with Arkansas State's ``Buzz'' mascot during the second quarter, and they had to be separated by state troopers.

--Carolina cryin': North Carolina coach John Bunting is on his way out, and he's going down swinging, with a blistering postgame tirade in the locker room following a 56-24 loss to Virginia.

The lecture was heard through the walls of the locker room by reporters covering the game.

``We've got higher standards than that,'' Bunting said to his players. ``I've put up with this crap for three years. You have to tackle somebody on defense. You have to tackle somebody on special teams. Don't just talk about it. I want guys out on the field who sell out on every play.''

--The Granite team: New Hampshire threw cold water on Rutgers with a 35-24 thrashing of the Scarlet Knights, just a week after Rutgers upset Michigan State.

New Hampshire hadn't beaten a higher-level school since the NCAA broke into I-A and I-AA levels in the 1970s.

``We could see panic in their eyes,'' New Hampshire defensive end George Peterson said.

--Walt wilts: Don't bet on Pitt coach Walt Harris this weekend. Harris is 8-0 in openers but just 2-5 in the second game of the season, including 0-4 against teams from BCS conferences.

--Last call: Connecticut plays its first Big East game against Boston College, a natural rival, but it's the last time the teams will play for a long time. Boston College is going to the ACC next year and has no desire to continue the rivalry.

``I think with us moving to the ACC next year, we have to get on with life in the ACC and they have to get on with life in the Big East,'' Boston College coach Tom O'Brien said. ``I don't see anything happening in the future.''

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- Scott Wolf