November, BCS adds excitement to college football
By TED FOX
It felt like Bowl Championship Series season.
When I woke up on Saturday morning and felt the 85 degree heat hanging in my room like a Joey Hildebold punt, I thought I had magically been flown to Miami or Tempe during the night.
Even though the warm weather just turned out to be my radiator gone mad, there was a lot that went on in college football that kept all of us asking the same question we've been asking all year: What's going to happen next?
Going into Saturday's games, there were only three undefeated teams left in Division I: Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, and Texas Christian. Coming out of Saturday, the only one left was undisputed No. 1 Oklahoma.
Before its 27-24 loss to San Jose State, TCU had only been able to climb to No. 9 in the BCS rankings because of a schedule slightly softer than a vat of goo. Many of us wondered how fair the BCS could be if the Horned Frogs went undefeated but never got a shot at the title.
Fortunately for the coordinators of all the hoopla, this isn't an issue anymore. As for TCU, it goes from legitimate BCS contender to third place in the WAC, awaiting a game against UTEP with huge Holiday Bowl implications.
The other previously undefeated team, BCS No. 2 Virginia Tech, went down to south Florida to square off with BCS No. 5 Miami in what was in effect the Big East championship game.
Miami won easily, 41-21, snapping a five game losing streak to the Hokies. However, the man many regard as the best player in college football, Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, was only able to play about one ineffective quarter because of an ankle sprain suffered against Pitt the week before.
Could the Hurricanes have won if Michael Vick had been healthy? That's one question we'll never really know the answer to.
But another interesting question involving the `Canes is looming bigger and bigger with each passing week: could Miami be No. 2 in both the Coaches and AP polls, beat Florida State head-to-head, and still have to sit back and watch as the Seminoles take the No. 2 spot in the "national championship" game at the Orange Bowl?
It's possible. Miami already beat FSU. They're already No. 2 in both polls.
But going into this weekend, they were still two spots behind their in-state rivals in the BCS rankings. Florida State didn't do them any favors either, pasting BCS No. 13 Clemson 54-7.
But for all of this to ever become an issue assumes a lot, too. Just look at all the stuff that could still happen.
I said the Miami-Va. Tech game was "in effect" the Big East Championship game because those two squads are both in the top ten in the country. But while Virginia Tech's conference season is over, Miami still plays Boston College, Syracuse, and, probably most dangerously, the frequent flyer mile gathering air show of Pitt. One loss and the BCS is off the hook again. An improbable two losses and the Hokies win the conference crown. After all, Miami is a team that beat Louisiana Tech by a lopsided 11 points last week.
Even if none of that happens, Oklahoma and Nebraska could meet up again in the Big 12 Championship. Oklahoma scored 31 unanswered points to win the first meeting 31-14. Huskers don't forget that sort of thing.
Then, you would have the three way debate between Miami, Nebraska and Florida State to see which two would go to the national title tilt. That is, of course, assuming Florida State beats another in-state rival in Florida, who also has a shot at the Orange Bowl.
Confusing? Yes. Fun? You bet.
Where does all this leave Notre Dame? They're moving up, thanks to games like Northwestern's win over Michigan, a 54-51 final that featured more scoring than a lot of Big Ten basketball games.
Had TCU been able to climb to sixth in the BCS standings and had Notre Dame been able to win out, then some sort of contractual thing would have given the Irish one of the at-large bids in the BCS. Notre Dame can still win out, but the computers don't take TCU's losses to unranked teams too well.
Nine wins will most likely place the Irish in the top 10 of the BCS, so hopes for a Fiesta or Sugar bowl berth are still alive. If not, then maybe they'll grab a return trip to the Gator Bowl after a one year hiatus.
Unless, of course, Big East No. 2 and Heisman hopeful Michael Vick go there. But then again, that assumes Miami wins out.
So many possibilities, and they leave only one possible conclusion: college football is cool.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, November 7, 2000
