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BCS: Texas new No. 2, Cincinnati cracks top five
By Mike Huguenin
November 1, 2009
Texas used its big victory at Oklahoma State to move up one spot, to second, in this week's BCS standings.
Florida still is No. 1, and idle Alabama switched places with the Longhorns.
The Gators and Crimson Tide remain on a collision course to play in the SEC championship game, with a spot in the BCS title game to the winner.
Iowa remained fourth but did lose ground in the computers. The Hawkeyes' average computer ranking was No. 1 last week, but it's No. 2 this week -- behind Florida.
Cincinnati moved up three spots, to fifth, after USC tumbled from fifth to 12th after getting blown out at Oregon. TCU remained sixth and Boise State seventh in the BCS standings. Oregon, LSU and Georgia Tech rounded out the BCS top 10. Oregon moved up two spots, Georgia Tech one and LSU remained the same.
TCU remains the highest-ranked team from a non-Big Six league. A non-Big Six team is guaranteed a BCS spot in two ways. One is if it finishes in the top 12; the other is if it is ranked in the top 16 and its ranking is higher than that of a conference champion that has an automatic berth. This week, the Horned Frogs are higher than any team from the ACC and Pac-10.
Under BCS rules, only one non-Big Six team is guaranteed a spot if it meets the criteria. Any others would be at-large candidates.
Florida is No. 1 in both polls used by the BCS and also is No. 1 in the computers. Texas is No. 2 in both polls after being No. 3 last week; the Longhorns also moved up in the computers, from fifth to a tie for third with Alabama. The Tide dropped one spot, to third, in both polls.
Oregon trails Boise State in both polls, but remains ranked ahead of the Broncos in the computers despite having lost to them in the season opener. Boise State is eighth in the computers. Oregon's average computer ranking was sixth last week; after shellacking USC, the Ducks' computer ranking dropped to seventh this week.
The three components of the BCS standings are the coaches' poll; the Harris poll, voted on by media members and by former players, coaches and administrators; and six computers. Each of the components counts one-third. The best and worst computer rankings are thrown out, and the sum total of the remaining four is divided by 100 (the maximum possible points) to come up with the BCS' computer rankings percentage.
While strength of schedule isn't a BCS component, all six computers have a strength-of-schedule factor in their rankings.
The final BCS standings will be released Dec. 6. Teams first and second in the final standings meet in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif.
Some other items of interest from the first set of standings:
Florida's lead over Texas is .0691; the Gators led Alabama by .0276 last week. Alabama is .0061 points behind Texas.
Texas is the only Big 12 team in the top 18. All the other "Big Six" leagues plus the Mountain West have at least two teams in the top 17.
Texas for the third week in a row has the widest computer variance of any team in the BCS top 10, at seven. The Longhorns are second in the Billingsley system but ninth in the Sagarin ratings. Cincinnati is second, with a variance of six. The Bearcats, whose average computer ranking is fifth, are third in two computers but ninth in another.
The widest computer variance in the top 25 belongs to Arizona, which is 18th in the BCS standings. The Wildcats are 12th in the Sagarin ratings but unranked in the Billingsley system.
The only teams in the top four in all six computers were Florida and Iowa. Alabama was in the top three in all six last week, but sixth in one and seventh in another this week.
The Big Ten and Pac-10 each have four teams in the top 25, followed by the ACC, Big East, Big 12 and SEC with three each, the Mountain West with two and Conference USA, independents and the WAC with one each.
No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 24 Oklahoma and No. 25 USF moved into the top 25. West Virginia (which had been 21st), South Carolina (22nd) and Ole Miss (25th) dropped out after losses.
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Oregon all over USC to take control In Pac-10
By Tom Dienhart
November 1, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. - This season's Pac-10 king wears garish gold-and-yellow uniforms and is led by an East Coast coach in a white visor.
With chants of "Go!" and "Ducks!" volleying across Autzen Stadium on Saturday night, delirious Oregon fans rushed the field to celebrate a 47-20 trouncing of USC.
USC's run of seven consecutive Pac-10 championships is all but officially over, as the Trojans fell to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in league play.
"This one hurts, but we have a lot of heart and pride," USC free safety Taylor Mays said. "We had the potential to play really well, but we have to be in the right mindset every game all the time."
Oregon, meanwhile, is 7-1 overall and the Pac-10's lone unbeaten at 5-0.
"This is a team - not just an offense - and everyone contributes," Chip Kelly said. "We are growing as a group. You have to play with what you got, and I know we have lost a few players to injury but the next guy just steps up and plays."
At this moment, no program in the Pac-10 has as much mojo as Oregon, which also happens to be the hottest team in America not named Florida, Alabama, Texas, Iowa or Cincinnati. Since a season-opening loss at Boise State, the Ducks have won seven in a row and have scored at least 31 points in each win except one.
Oregon made USC look like New Mexico. The Ducks sliced through USC's five-star talent, racking up 613 yards, the second-most ever allowed by USC. This was the worst loss of Pete Carroll's USC tenure and the most points any of his teams ever have allowed. Before this drubbing, Carroll's worst setback was an 11-point defeat (27-16) at Notre Dame in his first season in 2001. This was USC's worst loss since a 35-7 setback to Arizona State in 1997.
The most impressive stat? Oregon ran for 391 yards, on just 49 carries. The Trojans entered the game with the nation's No. 5 rushing defense (79.9 ypg). Ducks redshirt freshman running back LaMichael James ran for a career-high 183 yards and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli added 164 yards.
"We believe in ourselves and have high expectations every week we go into practice," James said. "We followed the plan and we were a better team today."
When Ducks running back Kenjon Barner ran in from 3 yards out at the end of the third quarter to give the Ducks a 41-20 lead, the party was officially on in Eugene.
"They overloaded us and threw us off our game plan, and we missed our chance to stay in the game," Carroll said. "We couldn't keep up with the fast-paced offense of Oregon. ... The Ducks' running backs had their way with us, and they were much too fast. It was a real mess with the running game."
Oregon still is playing without arguably its best player - senior running back LeGarrette Blount, who has been suspended since the season-opener after he punched a player following a 19-8 loss at Boise State.
Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, who was at the game, said he plans to remain in Eugene to meet with Blount and school officials about Blount's possible reinstatement for Oregon's next game, against Stanford.
After the loss to Boise State, Oregon's season could have been over before it even truly started. But Kelly kept the team focused, and stressed time and again that it was just one game. Close home wins over Purdue (38-36) and Utah (31-24) followed before the Ducks blew out California 42-3. Oregon has dominated ever since, winning its past five games by an average score of 42-12.
Games remain at Stanford, against Arizona State, at Arizona and against archrival Oregon State. The Ducks will be favored in each game, but all four are perilous.
Still, it's difficult to imagine this team losing again.
Can Oregon get in the national championship hunt? Probably not. The SEC champion (Florida or Alabama) and Texas look like the best bets to play in the BCS title game. And unbeatens Iowa, Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State also remain ahead of Oregon.
But just winning the Pac-10 and getting to the Rose Bowl for the first time since Rich Brooks took the Ducks there after the 1994 season would be a great first step in Kelly's debut season.
As for the Trojans, they haven't played in the BCS title game since 2005. The Trojans were upset in that game by Texas. That pattern has continued in each of the past four seasons, as USC is defined more by its losses than its conquests. There was the home loss to 41-point underdog Stanford in 2007. There were the defeats at Oregon State in 2006 and 2008. There was the loss at UCLA in 2006. There was the flop at Washington earlier this season.
But Saturday night's shellacking was more noteworthy than all of those defeats. This was the absolute, most thorough loss of Carroll's USC tenure.
This pasting may have wiped away any mystique that still clung to the Trojans. And you better beware the Ducks.
"You have to finish, and we will continue to finish this season," Kelly said. "We are focused on the task ahead."
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Texas shows swagger, substance in pounding OSU
By Olin Buchanan
November 1, 2009
STILLWATER, Okla. - Throughout this season, questions have been raised about whether a dominant college football team existed. On Saturday night in Boone Pickens Stadium, that team was unmasked and its identity revealed.
In a 41-14 thrashing of Oklahoma State, third-ranked Texas avoided the drama of previous clashes with the Cowboys, erased doubts that arose in a slapstick 16-13 victory over Oklahoma two weeks ago and emerged as that dominant team.
"I think what this signals is this team has a chance to be really good," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "We divide our season into three sections of four games. Two sections are gone. We've got one section left and that starts next week against (Central Florida).
"We're continuing to play for the Big 12 South championship and we're trying to get in the Big 12 championship game. We still have a lot at stake. We want to be the best team in the nation."
They certainly looked the part against 14th-ranked Oklahoma State, which was hoping to end an 11-game losing streak to Texas and seeking to get an inside track at its first conference championship since finishing in a three-way tie with Oklahoma and Colorado for the Big Eight title in 1976.
Texas' defense, ranked second in the nation, limited Oklahoma State to its lowest point total of the season. Texas forced five turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Quarterback Colt McCoy completed 16 of 21 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown, and played even better than his statistics indicated.
"That's a tough one. I don't know any other way to put it," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said of McCoy. "I think they are a really good football team. They've got great skill and great speed. When you turn the ball over and make that many mistakes against a team that has got that much ability, it's very difficult to win the game."
The Longhorns, 8-0 and unchallenged in most of their games, have it all.
Well, almost.
They have McCoy, who could be back in the Heisman discussion after a second consecutive strong performance. They have productive receivers, excellent special teams, a big-play defense with swagger and what appears to be a smooth path to Pasadena for the BCS national championship game.
The Longhorns' remaining schedule starts with UCF. Then, they play Baylor, which has managed just 34 points in its past four games, followed by Kansas, which has allowed 30-plus points in each of its past four games, and Texas A&M, the most generous defense in the Big 12. And as far as the Big 12 championship game goes ... well, Kansas State is leading the North Division race. That's the same team that lost to Louisiana-Lafayette.
"We've got to take it one game at a time," defensive end Sergio Kindle warned. "There's teams out there every week that lose to a nobody, so we only want to think about Pasadena if we got to that time or if we're in a position to be there."
Perhaps the only reason to doubt the Longhorns' ability to get there is a tendency in recent years to unexpectedly lose in November (to Kansas State and A&M in '06, to A&M in '07 and to Texas Tech in '08).
A rather mediocre rushing offense also is a concern. The Longhorns entered Saturday's game averaging 164 rushing yards per game but finished with just 99 against the Cowboys.
Seven of the previous eight national champions averaged at least 177 rushing yards per game, and three of the past four averaged more than 200.
But this season, the best teams have obvious warts. No team has shown to be unquestionably deserving of a No. 1 national ranking.
Some thought it was Florida until the Gators needed to rally past a mediocre Arkansas team, complete with some help from the refs.
Then, it appeared to be Alabama until the Tide's quarterback play ebbed and two blocked field goals were required to stave off Tennessee.
USC? That myth was put to rest by Oregon on Saturday night.
Iowa? Hardly.
Warts and all, it's hard to argue against Texas, which ventured into a beautiful stadium, revamped thanks to the donations of billionaire T. Boone Pickens, and played like a million bucks.
Unlike many recent games with Oklahoma State, there was little drama, minimum tension and no need to rally. The Longhorns never trailed Saturday night.
Texas led 24-7 at halftime. The Cowboys' faint hopes of turning the tables on Texas with a monumental comeback were squashed in the first five minutes of the third quarter. The Longhorns drove for a 40-yard field goal to open the second half, then sophomore safety Earl Thomas picked off a Zac Robinson pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown to end any doubt.
"We try to put it in the end zone as much as possible," said Thomas, who has returned two of his six interceptions for scores this season. "Our goal is to get three turnovers in a game. It's going our way right now."
The Longhorns forced five turnovers (four interceptions and a fumble), held Oklahoma State to 140 yards under its average and limited the nation's No. 6 scoring offense to two touchdowns.
And they did it with swagger. That's the buzzword for the Longhorns' defense, whose members wear dog tags with "Swagger" imprinted on them.
Playing with swagger is easy when you're scoring touchdowns in every way. The two interception returns raised Texas' total of non-offensive touchdowns to a national-best nine. The Longhorns have scored three touchdowns via interceptions returns, two on punt returns, two on kickoff returns and two on blocked punts.
"I think that makes you an unusual team," Brown said. "We've never been able to do that, and our offense is getting better. Our defense is continuing to score and we didn't score [touchdowns] on special teams tonight, but we usually do. Scoring in all three phases is something that gives you a chance to be really, really good.
"We've just got to keep the hammer down and keep pressing in those areas."
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Tebow, No. 1 Gators continue dominance vs. Georgia — Florida wins for 17th time in past 20 against rival; clinches SEC East title later
Associated Press
October 31, 2009
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida receiver David Nelson stared across the field, saw all the Georgia players jumping up and down, hooting and hollering after a touchdown and thought, "Here we go again."
"Seeing them do that kind of brought back the memory, just hit us hard," Nelson said.
The top-ranked Gators responded pretty much the same way they did last season — by pounding the Bulldogs.
Tim Tebow accounted for four touchdowns, A.J. Jones had two huge interceptions and Florida beat the Bulldogs 41-17 Saturday for its 17th win in the last 20 meetings between the Southeastern Conference rivals.
The Gators (8-0, 6-0) played its most well-rounded game in weeks, extended the nation's longest winning streak to 18 games and clinched the SEC East title when Tennessee beat South Carolina 31-13 later Saturday.
The Bulldogs (4-4, 3-3) lost for the third time in four games.
This one hurt more than the others. Georgia spent the last 12 months stewing about last year's 49-10 loss, a game in which Florida coach Urban Meyer called two timeouts in the final 44 seconds to prolong their misery.
The Dawgs placed pictures of Meyer signaling timeout all around their facility for motivation. Players seemed to get a little extra oomph early Saturday when coach Mark Richt surprised them in the locker room with black pants and black helmets, a different look for a team that usually wears white jerseys, silver pants and red helmets on the road. The Bulldogs had never worn black helmets.
It didn't make much difference.
"New helmets and black pants ain't going to make you win the game," said linebacker Ryan Stamper, who had one of Florida's four interceptions.
Stamper and his teammates were even less impressed by Georgia's team-wide celebration following Joe Cox's 26-yard TD pass to Aron White that cut Florida's lead to 14-10 in the second quarter. In 2007, the Bulldogs used a similar celebration — an end-zone stomp that drew flags and Florida's ire — to propel them to a rare victory in the series.
"That's a bunch of fake juice, coaches trying to get their players going because it was a pretty close game," Stamper said.
Florida responded by taking a 24-10 into halftime, with Tebow scoring a record-breaking touchdown, and essentially put the game out of reach on the opening possession of the second half.
Tebow broke Herschel Walker's SEC record for rushing touchdowns late in the first half.
The 2007 Heisman winner slipped up the middle and ran mostly untouched for a 23-yard score — the 50th of his career — with 1:32 remaining in the first half. Tebow broke the mark in his hometown, and maybe more fittingly, against Walker's Bulldogs.
"Breaking Herschel's record means a lot," Tebow said. "Just to be mentioned in the same breath as Herschel Walker, it's extremely humbling and a little bit breathtaking because it's Herschel Walker. How am I going to be in the same league as Herschel Walker? I still can't understand it. It's pretty cool and it's really special."
It got worse for Georgia.
The Bulldogs had a turnover on their opening possession of the second half for the third time in four years in this series.
Jones deflected Cox's pass at the line of scrimmage, then made a diving catch that put Florida in the red zone for the first time Saturday.
The Gators have struggled inside the 20-yard line in conference play, and Meyer vowed his team would make changes and improve. The result? Tebow lined up under center for three consecutive downs, scoring on an option play from 5 yards out on the last one.
Tebow finished with 18 carries for 85 yards and two scores. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns, both to Riley Cooper. Cooper hauled in a 22-yard score to open the game and made an impressive one-handed catch for a 29-yarder on the next drive.
For Tebow, it was the first game in a while he has played like a Heisman Trophy contender.
Cox was 11 of 20 for 165 yards, with two TDs and three INTs.
"I lost the game with three picks," Cox said. "That score does not reflect how we played, how we moved the ball. I mean, it's the truth. Any time you turn the ball over that many times and give people chances to score, a good team is going to score and they did and that's why we got beat."
Logan Gray replaced him late in the game, but Brandon Spikes intercepted Gray's pass and returned it 5 yards for a score and the exclamation mark.
Meyer could have called two timeouts to rub it in, but refrained from making it any worse.
The game already had plenty of chippy behavior, with pushing, shoving, several personal fouls and more smack-talking than any in-state rivalry. Officials even got Tebow and Georgia linebacker Marcus Dowtin together in the second quarter and warned them things were getting out of hand.
Georgia unraveled a short time later.
"If we play in all phases of the game, we're a very hard team to beat and we have every right to be the No. 1 team in the country," Stamper said.
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