ROAD TO THE ROSE BOWL: OKLA.-NEB. BATTLE NOT OVER YET.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer The Oklahoma Sooners The University of Oklahoma features 17 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to early Oklahoma land rush pioneers. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A, in the South Division of the Big 12 Conference. aren't out of the national-title race yet. But they'll have to beat Nebraska to get back in it. Nebraska beat Oklahoma 20-10 Saturday and the Cornhuskers (9-0) are expected to earn the Bowl Championship Series' top ranking, which will be released today. However, the teams should meet again on Dec. 1 in the Big 12 Conference championship game. If Oklahoma (7-1) and Nebraska win out and Oklahoma wins a rematch, the Sooners have a legitimate shot to defend their national title in the Rose Bowl. Nebraska beat Oklahoma in Lincoln and the Sooners played two quarterbacks. But a rematch would be on neutral turf at Texas Stadium in Irving. Oklahoma also was helped by four other undefeated teams losing - Virginia Tech, UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , Washington State and Maryland. But if No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Nebraska win the rest of their games (Miami plays Virginia Tech and Washington, and Nebraska plays at Colorado and probably Oklahoma again) it will make for an unbelievably easy selection process for the complicated 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. system. If, however, Miami or Nebraska both have a loss, there could be at least 10 teams in the top 15 with just one loss. Now that would get ugly. --Still not enough: Miami (6-0) is No. 1 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 and ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll but probably will be third - behind Nebraska and Oklahoma - in the BCS standings, 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 guru Jerry Palm. That should cause another stir with the Hurricanes, who have complained that the BCS doesn't like them. Now that Oklahoma has a loss, the Hurricanes have a legitimate complaint. But if Miami wins out and Nebraska beats Oklahoma again, Miami should be ranked second in the BCS and play for the national title. --Fall of the Bruins: UCLA (6-1) took a tumble in the polls and, somewhat surprisingly, in the BCS rankings after its 38-28 loss at Stanford on Saturday. The Bruins fell to No. 9 in the AP poll and 11th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. They'll probably be ranked ninth in the BCS. Palm had UCLA eighth in the BCS by Sunday evening, but one of the computer rankings had not been made available. Miami, Michigan, Texas, Stanford, Tennessee and Florida should leap over UCLA in the BCS. ``I'm surprised they fell that far,'' Palm said. ``In part, that's just disrespect for Stanford. I think Stanford is underrated, given what they've done. I suspect UCLA is being penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. for losing to Stanford. ``Florida lost early and I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. why they're so well-loved. I guess because they're Florida. UCLA, Maryland, Washington State - they all suffered for losing.'' --The waiting game: Texas (7-1) could benefit by not playing in the Big 12 Championship game. The Longhorns are in the South Division with Oklahoma and the Sooners already have beaten Texas 14-3. If Oklahoma lost to Nebraska again, and Texas goes undefeated the rest of the season - its toughest game is at Texas A&M - the Longhorns could have a better BCS ranking, earning the Big 12 invitation to 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. . ``It's hard for me to imagine Oklahoma with two losses ahead of Texas,'' Palm said. --Cardinal rules: Stanford got so much out of its win over UCLA that it probably will have a better BCS ranking, even though UCLA is ranked higher in the polls and both teams have one loss. Stanford moved from No. 14 in the BCS to No. 6, according to Palm's mock rankings. The Cardinal also jumped 10 spots to No. 10 in the AP poll after beating then-No. 4 UCLA. Stanford lost to Washington State earlier this year and has to play Washington and 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 . 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. Nebraska 2. Miami 3. Florida 4. Oklahoma 5. Texas 6. Michigan 7. Oregon 8. Virginia Tech 9. UCLA 10. Florida State 11. Tennessee 12. Washington 13. Stanford 14. Georgia Tech 15. 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. 16. Maryland 17. Brigham Young 18. Washington State 19. Auburn 20. 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. 21. Purdue 22. Syracuse 23. Georgia 24. Clemson 25. Colorado CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes Photo: Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, left, reacts as his quarterback misses a catch in a 20-10 loss to Nebraska on Saturday. Dave Weaver/Associated Press Box: (1) EXPERTS' consensus: WOLF'S PICKS (see text) (2) AP TOP 25 |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion