davidaustin
10-10-2006, 05:26 PM
Wanted to post this up for everyone to read since its part of the ESPN Insider subscription section...
Some interesting moves and story lines shaping up here.
Discuss...
(Brad Edwards is a college football researcher at ESPN. His Road to the BCS appears weekly during the season)
This season's first BCS Standings will be revealed on Sunday. And if things stay the same as they are now, more than a few people will be surprised.
Every element factored into the BCS Standings was published this week with the exception of the Wolfe computer ratings. And by plugging these numbers into the BCS formula, we get a very good representation of what the standings would look like at this moment.
Mock BCS Standings
Through Oct. 7 games
Team BCS avg.
1. Ohio State .986
2. USC .949
3. Florida .909
4. Michigan .880
5. Louisville .719
6. Notre Dame .703
7. Tennessee .696
8. Texas .694
9. West Virginia .692
10. Auburn .614
11. California .584
12. Clemson .486
13. Iowa .461
14. Boise State .398
15. Arkansas .358
Because most fans are bombarded with the AP rankings each week on TV and in their local newspapers, they are conditioned to believe that USC is currently the No. 3 team in America, which is exactly where the Trojans have been ranked by the AP for four straight weeks. It's easy to forget that the AP poll no longer has a place within the BCS formula.
The polls that do matter now (Coaches and Harris Interactive) both have the Trojans ranked second. That, and being the No. 1 team in all but one of the computers, makes USC the current No. 2 team in the BCS. The Trojans even appear to be slightly closer to top-ranked Ohio State than they are to No. 3 Florida.
While this might make for interesting water-cooler discussion, it's not anything to get overly excited about right now. If Florida wins at Auburn on Saturday, there's certainly a chance the Gators could move ahead of USC in Sunday's polls and change all of this, especially if the Trojans have another narrow victory. If Florida loses to Auburn, this is much ado about nothing.
But if the initial BCS Standings come out Sunday with USC in the coveted No. 2 position and Florida at No. 3, then we definitely have something to talk about. For all that has been made of the difficulty of Florida's schedule, USC might have just as many big games remaining after this weekend. And any voter who isn't sold on the Gators as the nation's second-best team after wins over LSU and Auburn might not be so easy to sway later in the season.
Another team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is Boise State, which is 6-0 and currently sitting at No. 14 in the mock standings. This year's new rules would guarantee the Broncos a spot in a BCS game if they can finish the season in the top 12. Judging by the position at the halfway point, it seems Boise State needs only to be concerned about winning its final six games.
Some interesting moves and story lines shaping up here.
Discuss...
(Brad Edwards is a college football researcher at ESPN. His Road to the BCS appears weekly during the season)
This season's first BCS Standings will be revealed on Sunday. And if things stay the same as they are now, more than a few people will be surprised.
Every element factored into the BCS Standings was published this week with the exception of the Wolfe computer ratings. And by plugging these numbers into the BCS formula, we get a very good representation of what the standings would look like at this moment.
Mock BCS Standings
Through Oct. 7 games
Team BCS avg.
1. Ohio State .986
2. USC .949
3. Florida .909
4. Michigan .880
5. Louisville .719
6. Notre Dame .703
7. Tennessee .696
8. Texas .694
9. West Virginia .692
10. Auburn .614
11. California .584
12. Clemson .486
13. Iowa .461
14. Boise State .398
15. Arkansas .358
Because most fans are bombarded with the AP rankings each week on TV and in their local newspapers, they are conditioned to believe that USC is currently the No. 3 team in America, which is exactly where the Trojans have been ranked by the AP for four straight weeks. It's easy to forget that the AP poll no longer has a place within the BCS formula.
The polls that do matter now (Coaches and Harris Interactive) both have the Trojans ranked second. That, and being the No. 1 team in all but one of the computers, makes USC the current No. 2 team in the BCS. The Trojans even appear to be slightly closer to top-ranked Ohio State than they are to No. 3 Florida.
While this might make for interesting water-cooler discussion, it's not anything to get overly excited about right now. If Florida wins at Auburn on Saturday, there's certainly a chance the Gators could move ahead of USC in Sunday's polls and change all of this, especially if the Trojans have another narrow victory. If Florida loses to Auburn, this is much ado about nothing.
But if the initial BCS Standings come out Sunday with USC in the coveted No. 2 position and Florida at No. 3, then we definitely have something to talk about. For all that has been made of the difficulty of Florida's schedule, USC might have just as many big games remaining after this weekend. And any voter who isn't sold on the Gators as the nation's second-best team after wins over LSU and Auburn might not be so easy to sway later in the season.
Another team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is Boise State, which is 6-0 and currently sitting at No. 14 in the mock standings. This year's new rules would guarantee the Broncos a spot in a BCS game if they can finish the season in the top 12. Judging by the position at the halfway point, it seems Boise State needs only to be concerned about winning its final six games.