The lead story in most Monday sports sections went something like this. After years of controversy, the USC-Texas Rose Bowl finally gives the much-criticized system an undisputed championship game between the top two teams. As my niece would say, “DUH!” Even Olympic boxing and figure skating judges could have got this right!
The BCS didn’t ‘work’, he was just LUCK! USC won 66-19 last Saturday and Texas won 70-3. Both teams went 12-0 and were the only undefeated teams in the nation. So now, a season that started the Thursday before Labor Day, has brought us to “Back to the Future.” USC began the year as the nationally ranked No. 1 team and Texas as the nationally ranked No. 2 team. The AP began ranking teams in 1936 and last year, for the first time since its inception, two schools went from wire to wire as No. 1 and No. 2. Now, a year later, it’s all déjà again. see. !
USC opened as the No. 1 preseason in the nation last year and Oklahoma came in second. USC remained No. 1 in all weekly polls, while Oklahoma was No. 2. Auburn tied Oklahoma for the No. 2 spot for one week, but that’s “saving pennies.” USC and Oklahoma met in last year’s national title game (Orange Bowl), and USC won 55-19! It’s probably safe to say that this year’s game will be a bit more competitive.
USC, with back-to-back national titles (winning the AP title in 2003 and the undisputed title last year), once again opened as the No. 1 preseason in the nation. Texas was ranked No. 2 and in every survey this year, the school’s rankings have not changed. unchanged USC has a 34-game winning streak (tied for fourth since 1900), while Texas has won 19 straight games (second-longest current streak). USC has been ranked atop the AP poll for a record 33 consecutive polls, long surpassing the previous record of 22, held by Miami-Florida (since 2001-02).
USC ranked first and Texas second in this year’s first BCS rankings (published Oct. 17). Texas overtook USC the following week, but USC returned to the number one spot the following week and remained there until Sunday’s final standings. Of note, never before have the teams ranked one and two in the BCS starting year rankings met in that year’s title game, so USC and Texas are giving us a scoop.
In another bowl first, both teams come into this game averaging over 50 points per game. That had never happened in any previous bowl matchup. The Longhorns are averaging 50.9 PPG while the Trojans are averaging 50. USC is averaging 580.3 YPG with Texas averaging 508.4. Texas’ average margin of victory was 36.3 points per game, while USC’s winning average was 28.7 points per game. That difference really comes into play when you look at the teams’ ATS records. While Texas is an impressive 10-2, USC is just 6-6
BETTER LUCK BCS
While it doesn’t seem right for a four-loss team to be in one of the four BCS Bowls, the BCS ‘played lucky’ when it was able to pit Penn State against Florida State in the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles entered Saturday’s first ACC Championship Game 7-4 on a three-game losing streak, having been outscored 89-36. However, FSU used a 24-point third quarter to defeat Va Tech (a two-TD favorite), by a score of 27-22. Despite a final BCS ranking of just 22, the Seminoles claim the automatic ACC offer.
The Orange Bowl now hosts Bobby Bowden, the NCCA’s all-time winningest coach with 359 wins against Joe Paterno, who ranks second with 353 career wins. Paterno had been heavily criticized in recent years and rightly so. The BCS has been around since 1998, but this is Penn State’s first BCS Bowl. Penn State, the seventh-winningest Division IA school in history, had been to only one bowl game since 2000 (Citrus Bowl in 2002) and entered the 2005 season with a five-year record of 26–33.
It was a lot of fun on Sunday to see and hear all the “talking heads” rave about the Florida State/Penn State matchup, as well as Bowden and Paterno. These are the same people who gave FSU NO CHANCE against Va Tech on Saturday and picked Penn State for the middle of the Big-10 pack earlier in the year.
Sometimes (not often) I wish I had their jobs. It must be fun, after the fact, to tell everyone what happened and why. As a tipster, I must “show my hand” before the game and then “live” or “die” with the result. Clearly, your job is MUCH easier!
FINAL THOUGHTS
For the second year in a row, a Pac-10 team finished fifth in the final BCS standings, but failed to secure an offer from BCS. Last year it was Cal and this year it is Oregon. The Ducks 10-1 lost only to No. 1 USC, but lost to two teams with two losses. Ohio State (No. 4) and Notre Dame (No. 6) went 9-2 but per BCS bylaws, both qualified as general teams. Pac-10 and Oregon fans must be wondering how a Notre Dame team that beat just three teams with a winning record this year and lost to a Michigan State team 5-6, is outserving the Ducks. Don’t remind them that Notre Dame is also the proud owner of a seven-game losing streak (1-6 ATS), having been outscored by an average of 34.4 to 17.6 PPG!
LSU can’t be happy with its Peach Bowl offer, considering the fact that Alabama, Florida and Auburn (all the teams it beat) will play on January 2!
Arkansas State (New Orleans Bowl) and Akron (Motor City Bowl) are playing in a Division IA bowl game for the first time. Rutgers is making just its second bowl appearance, returning to the postseason for the first time since the 1978 Garden State Bowl. Showing it has a sense of history, bowl officials sent the Scarlet Knights to the Insight Bowl, where they will play Rutgers. Arizona State, the same school that beat them in 1978 (34-18)!
Akron was the only Division IA team last year to be eligible to bowl and not go to a bowl game (Clemson and South Carolina were subject to self-imposed penalties). This year, however, SEVEN schools suffered that fate. The MAC was hit the hardest, as the conference has five bowl-eligible schools staying home. While Miami-Ohio, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan have won seven games, FOUR 6-5 MWC schools and THREE 6-5 C-USA schools are going to bowl.
