ROAD TO THE ROSE BOWL: CHAOS SHADOWS FAULTY BCS AGAIN CONTROVERSY FIXES ON MIAMI'S OPPONENT.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer Proponents for a college football playoff system are stockpiling stock·pile n. A supply stored for future use, usually carefully accrued and maintained. tr.v. stock·piled, stock·pil·ing, stock·piles To accumulate and maintain a supply of for future use. the usual evidence. Seems the only thing necessary to support their cause is the debacle that is the Bowl Championship Series. Once again, it's in disarray. There's only one undisputed team that will play in the Rose Bowl for the national championship on Jan. 3. That's Miami. The 11-0 Hurricanes are the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. poll, the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll and the BCS (1) (The British Computer Society, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, www.bcs.org) The chartered body for information technology professionals in the U.K., founded in 1957. rankings. Miami's opponent? That's where the controversy begins. Although the controversy never seems to end where the BCS is concerned. With one pivotal game left - the SEC championship game on Saturday - several teams can back a claim to play in the Rose Bowl. There are five teams ranked in the AP Top 10 with one loss - Tennessee, Oregon, Nebraska, Maryland and Illinois - and another undefeated team, BYU BYU Brigham Young University BYU Bayou BYU Bob's Your Uncle BYU Bayreuth, Germany - Bindlacher Berg (Airport Code) BYU Beyond Your Understanding (12-0). Then there's 10-2 Colorado, which moved from No. 9 to No. 4 in the AP poll after beating then-No. 2 Nebraska and then-No. 3 Texas on Saturday in back-to-back weeks. The Buffaloes are one of the hottest teams in the country. Yet a season-opening 24-22 loss to Fresno State, and a subsequent 41-7 loss to Texas, will keep the Big 12 champion from playing in the national title. Tennessee, which beat Florida 34-32 on Saturday, appears to have the inside track to the Rose Bowl. The Volunteers (10-1) should move from sixth to No. 2 in the BCS rankings, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. BCS expert Jerry Palm, with five of the eight computer rankings updated. All Tennessee needs to do is beat LSU LSU Louisiana State University LSU Large Subunit LSU La Salle University (Philadelphia, PA) LSU La Sierra University LSU Link State Update (OSPF) LSU Learning Support Unit (8-3) on Saturday. But what about Oregon? The Ducks (10-1) can seem to do no better than the Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Tostitos tortilla chips (a Frito-Lay product), is a United States college football game played annually since 1971. Originally, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium where it remained until 2006. , since Nebraska appears to have at least a two-point edge in the BCS rankings over Oregon. Oregon needed a convincing win over Oregon State to bolster its ranking. It didn't get that, not that it would've helped anyway. The Ducks managed to beat the Beavers 17-14, but this is hardly the same Oregon State team that pounded Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl last year. ``I think we can play with anyone in the nation, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti Robert Michael Bellotti (b. December 21, 1950 in Sacramento, California) has been the head coach of the University of Oregon football team since 1995. His accomplishments at Oregon include an 11-1 season and #2 national ranking in 2001. Education M.S. said. ``But we could've done it differently. We could have gone 11-0. That's about the only way the BCS can survive without debate - two undefeated teams playing for the national title. It's not realistic and even that isn't foolproof. BYU is undefeated and it won't play for the national title because of its weak schedule. Even if Fresno State had gone undefeated, which seemed plausible early in the season, it's doubtful it would've had a ranking worthy of the No. 1 or 2 spots in the BCS. The Hurricanes have been the one constant in the Rose Bowl picture, but they created a stir in the BCS this year, too. They've been No. 1 in the AP poll since the third week of the season but didn't move to No. 1 in the BCS rankings until last week, after Nebraska, which was the top-ranked BCS team, lost to Colorado. Miami survived a scare to beat Virginia Tech 26-24 to complete a perfect regular season Saturday. Just a week ago, it appeared primed for a showdown with Florida. Florida needed wins over Tennessee and in the SEC title game to pair two East Coast teams in the West Coast bowl. The Gators couldn't do it, even at The Swamp. About nine days earlier, and for most of the season, Nebraska seemed a lock for Pasadena with Miami. All the Cornhuskers needed were wins over Colorado and then in the Big 12 championship game. Colorado pounded Nebraska 62-36. Guess what? Nebraska can still play for the national title. If Tennessee loses this Saturday, Nebraska, which is expected to be No. 3 when the BCS rankings are released today, should move to No. 2. That means Nebraska could follow its worst defensive effort in history - 62 points were the most it has ever allowed - with the opportunity to be named national champion. A playoff system seems inevitable. The BCS continues to make that much clear every season. EXPERTS' consensus: WOLF'S PICKS Daily News Staff Writer Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Steven Wolf and Susan Enowitch, Wolf was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. He graduated in 1986 from West Orange High School. is an Associated Press top-25 voter this season. Here's how he voted this week: 1. Miami 2. Nebraska 3. Tennessee 4. Oregon 5. Colorado 6. Texas 7. Florida 8. Oklahoma 9. Maryland 10. Illinois 11. Stanford 12. BYU 13. Michigan 14. Washington State 15. Virginia Tech 16. Washington 17. South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. 18. Florida State 19. Louisiana State 20. Georgia 21. Syracuse 22. Boston College Boston College, main campus at Chestnut Hill, Mass.; coeducational; Jesuit; est. and opened 1863. Actually a university, the school's Chestnut Hill campus comprises colleges of arts and sciences and business administration, the graduate school, and schools of nursing 23. Fresno State 24. Louisville 25. North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. State CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes Photo: If Jabari Davis (31), Montrell Jones (96) and Tennessee win the SEC title game, they're likely in the Rose Bowl. Easy, right? Scott Audette/Associated Press Box: (1) EXPERTS' consensus: WOLF'S PICKS (see text) (2) AP TOP 25 |
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