The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 174

LOS ANGELES TIMES D8 MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2000 BCS Shill Factor Can't Be Underestimated PJVvg. RB Dl KM NYT DR JS S-H ST CAvg. SkStr. SkRank Total Team AP U-E 1. Oklahoma 1 1 2.

Florida St 3 3 3. Miami 2 2 4. Washington 4 4 5. Virginia Tech 6 5 6. Oregon St 5 6 7.

Florida 7 7 8. Nebraska 9 8 9. Kansas St 11 9 10. Oregon 8 11 11. Notre Dame 10 10 12.

Texas 12 12 13. Georgia Tech 15 17 14. TCU 13 16 15. Clemson 16 13 16. Michigan 17 15 1.00 3.00 2.00 4.00 5.50 5.50 7.00 8.50 10.00 9.50 10.00 12.00 16.00 14.50 14.50 16.00 BCS has achieved its goal: An undisputed champion.

"But this year, the BCS will face its toughest challenge yet. There are more viable contenders than every before." Yeah, at least three that belong in the title game. At that point, ABC's cameras took us to studio analysts John Saunders AND II MIKE PENNER Poll Average (P.Avj.-The average ol the Associated Press media poll and USA Today-ESPN coaches poll. Others receiving votes ate calculated in order received. Computet Average (C.Avg.)-Ttie average of Richard Billingsley (RB), Dunkel Index (Dl), Kenneth Massey (KM), New York Times (NYT), David Rothman (DR), Jeff Sagarin (IS), MatthewsScnpps-Howard (SN) and the Hester AndersonSeattle Times (ST), rankings.

The computer component will be determined by averaging Die seven highest computer rankings. The lowest computer ranking will be disregarded. Schedule Strength ol schedule strength compared to other Division l-A teams divided by 25. This component rs calculated by determining the cumulative wooloss records of the team's opponent (66 6) and the cumulative wonloss records of the team's opponent's opponents (33.3). lutes (L)-One pant tor each toss during tfte season.

Continued from Dl State and No. 2 Virginia Tech, fell into place in the Sugar Bowl. Say, how do you like our BCS now? But this year the whole thing fell apart faster than a UCLA defense. It was with winks and winces that ABC announced Sunday the pairings for the four BCS bowl games, the pronouncements coming with more explanations and instructions than your kid's model airplane kit. As thoroughly expected by those of us who have done more math this year than we have since freshman algebra, Oklahoma and Florida State finished first and I second in the final BCS standings, a four-pronged formula that pur-i ports to spit out winners and losers with dispassionate fairness, i As the lone undefeated school, Oklahoma was a no-brainer in com-i putations.

The Sooners finished with a low-score-wins total of 3.30. But in the critical race for the second spot finishing third in the BCS is like finishing fourth in the Olympics Florida State edged out 1 Miami by .32 and secured the No. 2 spot in the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl, host 1 of this year's BCS national title game. Miami gave it all it had.

Despite fact it and Florida State were 1 idle this weekend, the Hurricanes nearly cut the Seminoles' lead in half, from .61 to what I a finish! But after results were certified, Oklahoma and Florida State were paired to play for the "national title." I This is only a problem because Miami finished No. 2 in the Associated Press and USA TodayESPN fcoaches' polls and defeated Florida State, 27-24. In the old system, which was I scrapped in the name of progress, tguess what? Oklahoma and Miami would be splaying in the Orange Bowl for the undisputed national title. Instead, the very element college football's brain trust added to he system to make it more fair, Jnamely the computer component, turned out to make it unfair. Florida State clobbered Miami in the computers, finishing first in five of the eight systems used and besting the Hurricanes by a total of 1.28 points.

"We had nothing to do with the computers," Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden quipped on ABC's BCS Selection Sunday show. "The facts were fed. Naturally, we will accept that." Naturally, because Florida State gets to play in the BCS title game for the third time in three years. And so much for ending the confusion. Miami is taking its snub surprisingly well, graciously accepting Sunday an invitation to the Sugar Bowl, where it will play Florida in what could be a de facto national title game for Miami.

If Miami defeats Florida, which it has not played since 1987, and Florida State defeats Oklahoma, Miami could snag a share of the championship. For while the voting coaches are contractually bound to award their trophy to the BCS title-game winner, the AP is not so obligated. You want quandary? Miami Coach Butch Davis is a voter in the coaches' poll, meaning he has to surrender that share of the title to -the Orange Bowl winner. But he would gladly accept a split decision from the AP. "If it worked out that way, certainly," Davis said.

"College football has a history of a lot of split national championships." This is not exactly what the BCS had in mind. "If that happens, then that will be what it is," John Swofford, Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner and this year's BCS coordinator, said of a divided title. 'The BCS doesn't eliminate that possibility. We knew that all along. It does minimize the chance of that happening." The by-product of this system There has to be a better way, it has to be said, after a weekend spent watching football studio analysts in between timeouts to close all the windows, turn up the thermostat, fire up the tea kettle, pull on an extra sweatshirt and periodically scream at the television, "YOU'RE STUDIO ANALYSTS! GET INSIDE THE STUDIO ALREADY!" But, no, there were ESPN's Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit shivering outside Arrowhead Stadium late Saturday night, wrapped in heavy long coats and wool scarves, their breath fogging in front of their faces, looking like Green Bay Packer lineman at the Ice Bowl as they discussed the ramifications of Oklahoma's 27-24 victory over Kansas State in the Big 12.

championship game. And there, on Sunday morning, was CBS' quivering quintet of Jim Nantz, Mike Ditka, Craig James, Randy Cross and Jerry Glanville, huddling close together for warmth outside Trump Plaza as they attempted to analyze the day's upcoming NFL competition. Ditka: "It's cold." Nantz: "We understand the wind chill here is about 15 degrees right now in the Plaza in New York." James: "I'm cold." Quick now, these nanooks of New York work for: a) The official network of the American Football Conference. b) The official network of Super Bowl XXXV. c) The Weather Channel.

Confused viewers were soon scrambling for their local listings, and their calendars. If this is the first Sunday of December, and that is New York City, what is Ditka doing outside, his hands jammed inside fur-lined gloves, his flying-wedge hair freezing into the shape of a snowplow blade? It's entirely insane, of course, but the network executives who make these kind of decisions from inside their comfortable climate-controlled offices love this sort of thing. Send the talent out to mingle with the masses, spruce up with some "on-site authenticity," lap up round after round of cheap applause. 1 Network executives love cheap applause. Instant gratification, much more immediate than overnight ratings.

Saturday night, the game plan worked to perfection, with hundreds of Oklahoma rowdies milling around ESPN's arctic outdoor set. The basic formula: Analyst: "And this, without a doubt, proves that Oklahoma (RAUCOUS CHEERING) is champion of the Big 12 Conference (RAUCOUS CHEERING) and has an awful (INTERMITTENT HISSING AND BOOING) good chance of winning the national championship (UPROARIOUS UNBRIDLED CHEERING). So what if Corso can barely get a word in edgewise? (So that's the master strategy .) Damn the thermometers! Chattering teeth ahead! For the University of Miami football team, the imagery was bone-chilling. Because guess who really got left out in the cold? The Hurricanes, despite finishing the regular season with one loss (same as Florida State) and 10 victories (including one over Florida State), got shut out of the bowl championship series title game, its place in the Orange Bowl taken by Florida State. "The bowl championship series was created to ensure the nation's two best teams would meet on the playing field," began the narration to ABC's "Tostitos Bowl Championship Series Selection Show." "So far, the SOUND and Terry Bowden, this time actually keeping them inside the studio.

Free from meteorological worry no chance that their tongues might become permanently bonded to a frigid headset microphone Saunders and Bowden were able to think straight and ask the right questions. "There's going to 6e controversy," Saunders warned from the top, and it made for a great piece of television: Bowden grilling his father, Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, about whether his Seminoles truly belonged in the BCS title game. Terry: "Dad, I got to ask you this question: I watched you lose head-to-head to Miami. Tell us all right now why you deserve to be in the national championship game." This was good stuff. On the split screen, you could see Dad wincing every slightly.

"W-e-1-1," Bobby replied, dropping back into his good-ol'-boy prevent defense, "everything was run through the computer. We had nothin' to do with the computer. It came out ranking us second." Bobby managed a nervous chuckle. "So, anyway, we'll accept that. I'm not gonna turn it down." Saunders tried to stir the pot with Miami Coach Butch Davis, left in the Sugar Bowl looking in, but Davis wouldn't bite.

He said all the right things he felt his team deserved a spot in the Orange Bowl, his team did everything it could have on the field, but there are two other deserving teams that feel the same way. Later, Davis did let down his guard long enough to say that the BCS computer component that weighs margin of victory "might not be in the best interest of a program" concerned with such old-school principles as sportsmanship and clearing your bench during blowouts. ABC brought out graphics that supported Florida State's case: Florida State was ahead of Miami in margin of victory (32.1 to 27.1) as well as top-25 teams defeated (four to two). It also had some fun with the head-to-head argument, carrying it out to an absurd extreme: Florida State lost to Miami, which lost to Washington, which lost to Oregon, who lost to Wisconsin, which lost to Purdue, which lost to Penn State, who lost to Toledo, which lost to Western Michigan, which lost to Central Michigan, which lost to Kent, which lost to Youngstown State, which lost to Southern Illinois setting up a rightful title game matchup between 12-0 Oklahoma and Southern Illinois, a Division I-AA school with a 3-8 record. "All I can say," Terry Bowden said, "is, Go Off camera at this point, Miami's Davis probably wasn't laughing.

His team, ranked No. 2 and ahead of Florida State in the Associated Press poll, was stopped short of the big game not by Florida State, not by any conference opponent, but by a dog pile of decimal points and computer printouts. It's a cruel new world out there in BCS land. Cold too. 1.86 1.29 2.57 5.43 5.14 6.50 5.71 7.00 11 0.44 0 3.30 1 1 5.37 1 5.69 1 10.67 1 12.20 1 14.68 0.08 0.12 0.24 14 0.56 42 1.68 1 0.04 18 0.72 29 1.16 24 0.96 25 1.00 84 3.36 44 1.76 95 3.80 56 2.24 35 1.40 14.75 18.22 12 10.14 8 11.86 10 12.07 15 9.86 11 9.86 20 13.71 13 14.43 17 15.00 3 24.30 2 24.32 2 25.07 2 27.22 2 29.62 1 33.01 2 33.17 3 35.40 tomes (Pacific) and networks: COTTON JAN.

1 at DALLAS Tennessee vs. Kansas State Payout $2.5 million. Time: 8 a.m., Fox GATOR JAN. 1 at JACKSONVILLE, FLA. Virginia Tech vs.

Oemson Payout $1.4 million. Time: 9:30 am, NBC CITRUS JAN. 1 at ORLANDO, FIA Michigan vs. Auburn Payout $4 million. Time: 10 a.m., ABC I I ROSE "'V! JAN.

1 at PASADENA Purdue vs. Washington Payout $13.5 million. Time: 1:30 p.m., ABC JAN.latTEMPE.ARrZ Notre Dame vs. Oregon State Payout $13.5 million. Time: 5 p.m., ABC SUGAR JAN.

2 at NEW ORLEANS Florida vs. Miami Payout $13.5 million. Time: 5 p.m., ABC ORANGE JAN. 3 at MIAMI Oklahoma vs. Florida State Payout $1 1 $13 million.

Time: 5 p.m., ABC ALL-STAR GAMES Dec 25: Blue-Gray at Morrtgomery, Time: 9 a.m., ABC Jan. 13: Gridiron at Orlando, Ra Jan. 13: East-West Shrine at San Francisco Time: 1 p.m. ESPN Jan. 2ft Senkir at Mobile, Ala.

Time: 10 a.m., ESPN Jan. 20: Hula at Maul Time: 5 p.m. ESPN UNLVWins, Gets Bowl Berth From Associated Press HONOLULU-Jeremi Rudolph and Kevin Brown each topped the 100-yard mark in rushing and quarterback Ja-son Thomas added 126 yards on the ground as Nevada Las Vegas hung on Saturday t6 defeat Hawaii, 34-32, and assure itself of a postseason bowl game. With the victory, the Rebels (7-5) will play Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl. It was a dominant offensive show displayed by UNLV, which finished with 431 yards on the ground.

Thomas rounded out the attack with 124 yards passing. Rudolph carried 26 times for 151 yards and a touchdown and Brown had 139 yards in 19 carries. Thomas ran for a score and passed for two more. But it was the failure of Hawaii (3-9) to convert a two-point attempt with 1:58 left in the game that saved the Rebels from spending the postseason at home. MSRP $44,250.

2001' Jaguar AJ-VB S-TYPE $49 950 As shown, 3 1 2 8 5 7 6 4 2 1 3 4 7 5 6 8 11 9 10 12 13 14 15 17 10 11 5 5 9 4 13 12 8 8.5 7 6 6 10 11 12 8 9 11 14 12 16 10 10 14 11 15 12 13 15 17 13 12 17 14 15 14 15 15 8.5 11 6 9 8 10 11 7 16 12 20 13 21 13 19 15 10 16 17 LEGEND teams indicates tentative berth), payouts, INSIGKT.COM DEC. 28 at PHOENIX Prttsourgh vs. Iowa State Payout $750,000. Time: 4:30 p.m., ESPN LIBERTY DEC. 29 at MEMPHIS, TENN.

Colorado State vs. Louisville Payout $1.25 million. Time: 10:30 a.m., ESPN SUN DEC. 29 at EL PASO UCU vs. Wisconsin Payout $1 million.

Time: 11 a.m., CBS PEACH DEC. 29 at ATLANTA Georgia Tech vs. Louisiana State Payout $1.8 million. Time: 2 p.m., ESPN HOLIDAY DEC. 29 at SAN DIEGO Oregon vs.

Texas Payout $1.9 million. Time: 5:30 p.m., ESPN 7 ALAMO DEC. 30 at SAN ANTONIO Kansas State vs. Northwestern Payout $1.2 million. Time: 5 p.m., ESPN SILICON VALLEY DEC.

31 at SAN JOSE Fresno State vs. Air Force Payout $1.2 million. Time: 3:30 p.m., FSN INDEPENDENCE a DEC. 31 at SHREVEP0RT, LA. Texas vs.

Mississippi State Payout $1.1 million. Time: 5 p.m., ESPN OUTBACK JAN. 1 at TAMPA FLA. Ohio State vs. 'South Carina Payout $2 million.

Time: 8 a.m., ESPN sioner Tom Hansen said the conference might consider pulling out of the BCS if Oregon State, No. 6 in the final BCS standings, did not get an at-large pick. Swofford suggested that Hansen's remarks were not necessary because the Fiesta Bowl had already decided to take Oregon State. "I know that for a fact," Swofford said. If Swofford does not speak with forked tongue, it means Notre Dame was one Kansas State victory over Oklahoma from getting bounced to the Insight.com Bowl.

Good news, Irish: You're going to Phoenix. Bad news: it won't be a Fiesta. John Junker, the Fiesta Bowl's executive director, said Sunday that Hansen's comments "had absolutely no impact on our decision." Junker added: "Oregon State deserved to be in our bowl game. The players earned it and the fans earned it. Politics were not a part of our decision." Reached at his home Sunday, Hansen said he was perfectly willing to go along with that story.

"That's what we're going to say," Hansen said. "I think the fact is they were leaning that way, but they hadn't pulled the trigger. They will tell you it Hansen's comments didn't make a bit of difference. That's what we'll say and let it go." Hansen added: "I have no regrets." SCOT Jaguar AJ-V6 S-TYPE Bowl lineup with dates, sites, MOBILE ALABAMA DEC. 20 at MOBILE, ALA Texas Christian vs.

Southern Mississippi Payout $750,000. Time: 5 p.m., ESPN2 LAS VEGAS DEC. 21 at LAS VEGAS Nevada Us Vegas vs. Arizona State Payout $800,000. Time: 5 p.m., ESPN2 OAHU DEC.

24 at HONOLULU Boston College or Virginia vs. Arkansas or Georgia Payout $750,000. Time: 5:30 p.m., ESPN ALOHA DEC. 25 at HONOLULU Boston College or Virginia vs. Arkansas or Georgia Payout $750,000.

Time: 12:30 p.m., ABC MOTOR CITY DEC. 27atPONTIAC, MICH. Marshall vs. Cincinnati Payout $750,000. Time: 1 p.m..

ESPN galleryfurniture.com I DEC. 27 at HOUSTON Texas Tech vs. East Carolina Payout $750,000. Time: 5 p.m., ESPN2 HUMANITARIAN DEC. 28 at BOISE, IDAHO Boise State vs.

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28 vs. at MIAMI Minnesota vs. North Carolina State Payout $750,000. Time: 4 p.m., TBS gone haywire is that it has produced some enthralling bowl matchups. Consider this three-headed monster scenario: What if Washington beats Purdue in the Rose Bowl, Miami downs Florida in the Sugar and Florida State takes care of Oklahoma in the Then, you're looking at three one-loss teams with pretty good national title claims.

In that scenario, Washington would have beaten Miami, which defeated Florida State. In the heavyweight boxer's parlance, Washington beat the man that beat the man. There is also a decent chance the BCS gets bailed out again. For instance, if Florida defeats Miami on Jan. 2 in the Sugar Bowl, then the Jan.

3 Orange Bowl does become a true national title matchup. But it won't likely end the uproar. There are concerns the computer components have too much of a say in the process, especially the mysterious margin-of-victory formulas. Swofford says the BCS may have to be "tweaked," but says he is satisfied with the eight computers and the men who run them. As for that potential Fiesta Bowl fiasco, well, it all worked out in the end.

Oklahoma's victory made it easy, allowing the Fiesta to pair Notre Dame and Oregon State in a first-ever meeting. Last week, Pacific 10 Commis 1-0, at the half on a goal by Barry's Fitzgerald Clarke. Guerrero tied it in the 65th minute with a header off a free kick from Tony de Vocht. "This was lucky No. 13 for us," said Dominguez Coach Joe Flanagan of the Toros' 13th consecutive victory.

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