ROAD TO THE ROSE BOWL: QUALITY WINS PAY IN BCS OKLAHOMA LIKELY TO BENEFIT.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer Oklahoma reached into its bag of tricks to keep its national-title hopes alive. The Sooners, the defending national champions, scored off a fake punt and held off a pesky Kansas State team to win 38-37 on Saturday. Oklahoma (4-0) held onto its No. 3 ranking 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. Not only was it a big win, if Kansas State finishes in the top 15 at the end of the season, it'll be a huge coup for Oklahoma. In a new part of the Bowl Championship Series formula, teams receive bonus points for quality wins over top-15 teams. Washington, ranked 11th in the AP poll, also has a quality win over Michigan, ranked 15th. The Sooners are ranked first in the mock 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 by ratings analyst Jerry Palm, and the BCS rankings are what matter. Miami had the best ranking the previous week in Palm's estimate, but Oklahoma moved into the lead with its win over now-No. 12 Kansas State. Antwone Savage, who caught two touchdown passes, threw a touchdown pass on a fake punt and the Sooners had a three-touchdown lead, which they watched evaporate e·vap·o·rate v. 1. To convert or change into a vapor; volatilize. 2. To produce vapor. 3. To draw or pass off in the form of vapor. 4. quickly. The defense dropped several would-be interceptions but did enough to hang on for the win. Roy Williams Roy Williams may refer to any of several individuals: Sports
Oklahoma won its 17th consecutive game, the longest win streak in the country. --Rose Bowl-bound? 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 may be playing like one of the best teams in the country. Only the Bruins aren't saying so this year. After starting 3-0 last year, and making bold statements of being the best team in the nation, the Bruins finished 6-6. They're letting their play do the talking this time. And they're making the Rose Bowl - the national-championship game this season - a very realistic possibility. UCLA moved to No. 9 in the AP poll after it pummeled Oregon State 38-7 in Corvallis on Saturday. Its defense continues to dominate. There's more good news. UCLA is seventh in Palm's mock BCS rankings. The ranking is based on many things, including strength of schedule and quality wins over top-15 teams. The Bruins defense - much maligned ma·lign tr.v. ma·ligned, ma·lign·ing, ma·ligns To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of. adj. 1. Evil in disposition, nature, or intent. 2. in the past - has allowed an average of 6.25 points to its past two opponents - Ohio State and Oregon State. --Bulldogs watch: Fresno State gave fans quite a scare but managed to hold out for a 38-28 win over unranked Louisiana Tech on Saturday in front of a record crowd at Bulldog Stadium Bulldog Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of California State University, Fresno in Fresno, California. It is the home field of the Fresno State Bulldogs of the Western Athletic Conference. . No doubt the 10-point win didn't do anything to impress anyone in the BCS. If the Bulldogs (5-0) finish 13-0, there's speculation they still wouldn't get an invitation to one of the BCS bowl games. Fresno State would have to finish in the top 6 in the BCS rankings to earn one of the two at-large berths to either the Rose, Sugar, Orange or 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. . Fresno State running back Parris Gaines didn't think the closer-than- expected margin of victory will affect how people view the Bulldogs, who beat Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin in one of the nation's toughest nonconference schedules. ``We don't worry about that,'' Gaines said. ``We just keep winning - 1-0 is all that matters.'' Gaines was referring to coach Pat Hill's continual talk of taking it one game at a time. The Bulldogs were ranked seventh last week by Palm and now ninth. With teams like Utah State, Nevada, San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. State and Rice on the schedule, Fresno State's ranking is likely to drop each week, even with victories. --Holtz keeps going and going: Lou Holtz's 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. team was tested but managed to post an impressive come-from-behind win over unranked Alabama, 37-36. The Gamecocks (4-0) trailed by two touchdowns and rallied behind quarterback Phil Petty, who completed his last seven passes to lead his team on two late scoring drives. Does Holtz have visions of roses in his head? Who would've thought he'd be sitting at 4-0 with South Carolina while his former 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 team is 0-3 for the first time. South Carolina is 10th in Palm's BCS rankings. That ranking can only get better with continued wins over Southeastern Conference teams. 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. Florida 3. Miami 4. Texas 5. Oklahoma 6. Virginia Tech 7. Oregon 8. UCLA 9. Kansas State 10. Fresno State 11. Florida State 12. Tennessee 13. Washington 14. Michigan 15. South Carolina 16. Georgia Tech 17. Wisconsin 18. Northwestern 19. 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. 20. Virginia 21. Louisiana State 22. Purdue 23. Clemson 24. Michigan State 25. Stanford CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes Photo: Oklahoma held off Kansas State thanks in part to receiver Antwone Savage, above, who threw for a TD on a fake punt. Chris Landsberger/Associated Press Box: (1) EXPERTS' consensus: WOLF'S PICKS (see text) (2) AP TOP 25 |
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