SENDWICH INDEX: Buckeyes leap `Canes for No. 1; Irish jump to No. 4
By ERIC CHANOWICH and ERIC SENDELBACH
Sports Columnists
There's a new No. 1 in the Sendwich Index, and they aren't from the Sunshine State.
Despite a less than impressive 27-16 victory over No. 74 Northwest-ern, Ohio State tops the charts this week.
With quality victories by former Buckeye victims No. 26 Texas Tech and No. 7 Washing-ton State, Ohio State got a major boost to their strength of schedule, propelling them up three spots to the top of the charts. They previously defeated Texas Tech by 24 and Washington State by 18.
The Buckeyes hold a lead of only 0.17476 Sendwich points over last week's No. 1 Miami.
The Hurricanes took a hit when their only prior top-notch opponent, Florida, fell to Mississippi.
Don't expect Ohio State to stay on top long though, as they face both No. 13 Penn State and No. 11 Wisconsin in the next three weeks and Miami will likely get a major boost with a victory over No. 3 Florida State next weekend.
Take Ty's Advice
When asked about important upcoming games, Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willingham consistently answers with a nonchalant dismissal that his team is taking its schedule one game at a time.
Perhaps Texas and Oklahoma should have followed Willingham's lead this weekend, as they both narrowly escaped meager opponents while looking ahead to their face-off next week.
Without a two-point conversion stop and a late interception, the Longhorns' national championship hopes could have been damaged, if not dashed, by No. 77 Oklahoma State.
With the close call, Texas slid 5 spots to No. 16.
Oklahoma had to pull out all of the stops to defeat No. 70 Missouri. The Sooners scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fake field goal with 6 minutes, 33 seconds remaining.
After the near-upset, Oklahoma fell five spots to No. 10.
With the caste system that is the A.P. and Coaches' polls, the Longhorns and Sooners share No. 2 and 3 national rankings and everyone is calling next week's match-up in Dallas one of the top games of the year, despite the fact that they both have yet to prove themselves this year.
Thanks, but we'll pass on the Red River Shootout to catch Miami versus Florida State.
Rebels Overthrow Gators
Despite a prolific college career, former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning was never able to accomplish what his little brother Eli did on Saturday; the younger Manning defeated Florida.
It took Matt Grier's interception returned for the winning touchdown to propel Manning and Mississippi to a 17-14 victory over former No. 10 Florida.
With the win, the Rebels moved up from No. 45 to No. 29. Florida dropped 12 spots to No. 22.
The fans in Florida may be one step closer to a verdict on rookie head coach Ron Zook. Despite a recent win against rival Tennessee, the Gator nation is up in arms after Florida's faster two-loss season since 1993. Check out www.fireronzook.com to see just how they feel.
Wrecking Crew Gets Wrecked
Texas A&M's Wrecking Crew defense came into this weekend ranked third nationally in yards allowed, but this meant nothing to No. 26 Texas Tech and Kliff Kingsburry. In a 48-47 overtime victory, Kingsburry completed 49 of 59 passes for 474 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Red Raiders to victory over former No. 27 Texas A&M.
The Aggies led for most of the game, but gave up a field goal as regulation expired that tied the game at 41. A&M struck first in overtime but missed the point after attempt, allowing for Kingsburry to toss another touchdown and Texas Tech to dramatically win on a successful point after.
With its only losses to No. 1 Ohio State and No. 14 N.C. State, Texas Tech may be the best team you haven't head much about, and Kliff Kingsburry may be the best player you haven't heard much about — yet.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 9, 2002
