On the final snap of Florida’s 23-20 loss at Auburn late Saturday night, Gators quarterback Rex Grossman shoveled a desperate lateral into the backfield, where it was recovered by a teammate as time expired.
Before the ball even hit the soggy Jordan-Hare Stadium turf, the national title race had an entirely new look.
Instead of a two-way battle between the Gators and Miami, the contest appears ready to evolve into a three-conference playoff involving the Big East, the Big 12 and the Pac-10.
“Maybe it was just the media attention that got to us,” Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. “We thought that we could just show up, but we didn’t execute.”
The Gators tumbled to No. 7 in this week’s Associated Press media and USA Today/ESPN coaches polls. Miami sits atop both rankings.
The ratings are part of the formula used to determine the Bowl Championship Series standings, which will be released for the first time Oct. 22.
The depleted Big Ten, in which every school has at least one loss, is unlikely to be involved in the race for the Rose Bowl, site of the BCS title game. But the conference title chase has already become clear.
Only four schools–Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State–control their own destinies.
The Gators thought they controlled their own fate when they leapfrogged Miami into the top slot in the AP poll a week ago. But Florida’s hopes came crashing down on a rainy, wind-whipped night.
Grossman, considered a leading Heisman Trophy candidate going into the game, threw four interceptions–one more than his total through the first five games.
Grossman’s 364 passing yards and two touchdowns weren’t enough to offset his mistakes and compensate for a ground game that lost 36 net yards.
The Tigers won it when Damon Duval hit a 44-yard field goal with 10 seconds to play. It was Duval’s third straight game-winning kick of more than 40 yards.
“They were tougher than us and killed us on the special-teams battle,” Spurrier said. “It is frustrating. We had a chance to win the game, but we made mistakes.”
The upset sets the stage for a series of showdowns involving six unbeaten schools from BCS conferences–Miami and Virginia Tech in the Big East, UCLA and Oregon in the Pac-10 and Nebraska and Oklahoma in the Big 12.
The Hurricanes and the sixth-ranked Hokies meet Dec. 1 in Blacksburg, Va. The No. 4 Bruins and No. 5 Ducks square off Nov. 10 in Pasadena, Calif. The third-rated Cornhuskers and No. 2 Sooners play Oct. 27 in Lincoln, Neb., and could have a rematch in the Big 12 playoff Dec. 1 in Dallas.
If the winners of those games finish the season unbeaten, it would leave three major teams with perfect records, which would throw the BCS into chaos. But in the scheme’s first three years, there have never been three major unbeatens.
The Big Ten has little chance of qualifying for a Rose Bowl slot. But a BCS berth is guaranteed to the champion.
Michigan (5-1, 3-0), the lone unbeaten in conference play, would win the title outright by sweeping its remaining five games. The 10th-ranked Wolverines took command of the race with a 24-10 victory over No. 24 Purdue on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Michigan gave up a touchdown on the Boilermakers’ opening drive but limited Purdue to a field goal the rest of the way.
Michigan’s defense has allowed a total of 30 points in three Big Ten games.
“I don’t know how this is going to end,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. “But I really like this football team.”
Michigan State (3-1, 1-1) would win at least a share by defeating the Wolverines on Nov. 3 in East Lansing and winning its other five remaining Big Ten games.
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Wisconsin (4-3, 2-1) would earn at least a piece by defeating the Wolverines on Nov. 17 in Madison, Wis., and winning its four remaining games.
And Ohio State (3-2, 2-1) would win at least a share by beating Michigan on Nov. 24 in Ann Arbor and winning its other four conference games. But the Buckeyes also would need Wisconsin to lose another game to secure the BCS berth.
While Northwestern (4-1, 2-1) doesn’t play any of the four other teams down the stretch, having already beaten the Spartans and lost to the Buckeyes, all the Wildcats need is a loss by Michigan to reach a Big Ten co-championship and the BCS berth.
How Bagnato voted
Tribune college football reporter Andrew Bagnato’s vote in this week’s AP poll:
1. Miami 14. South Carolina
2. Oklahoma 15. Georgia
3. UCLA 16. Tennessee
4. Nebraska 17. Texas
5. Oregon 18. Clemson
6. Florida 19. Toledo
7. Fresno State 20. Georgia Tech
8. Virginia Tech 21. Brigham Young
9. Colorado 22. Stanford
10. Michigan 23. Washington
11. Washington St. 24. Syracuse
12. Maryland 25. Purdue
13. Auburn
AP Top 25
First-place votes in parentheses.
RANK, TEAM REC PTS PVS
1. Miami (48) 5-0 1,772 2
2. Oklahoma (21) 6-0 1,739 3
3. Nebraska (2) 7-0 1,631 4
4. UCLA (1) 5-0 1,530 7
5. Oregon 6-0 1,506 5
6. Virginia Tech 6-0 1,473 6
7. Florida 5-1 1,298 1
8. Fresno State 6-0 1,280 8
9. Texas 5-1 1,251 11
10. Michigan 5-1 1,159 12
11. Tennessee 3-1 924 13
12. Maryland 6-0 832 22
13. Clemson 4-1 747 16
14. Colorado 5-1 744 20
15. Washington 4-1 725 10
16. South Carolina 5-1 710 9
17. Georgia 4-1 669 19
18. Brigham Young 6-0 599 18
19. Washington State 6-0 581 —
20. Auburn 5-1 568 —
21. Florida State 3-2 285 14
22. Northwestern 4-1 238 —
23. Georgia Tech 4-2 234 15
24. Purdue 4-1 222 17
25. Toledo 5-0 183 —
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Others receiving votes: Illinois 105, Michigan State 103, Texas A&M 71, Stanford 70, Mississippi 30, Ohio State 28, Louisiana State 23, North Carolina 22, Syracuse 19, Wisconsin 10, Kansas State 7, Arizona State 5, Iowa State 3, Louisville 2, Air Force 1, Arkansas 1.
USA Today/ESPN Top 25
First-place votes in parentheses.
RANK, TEAM REC PTS PVS
1. Miami (48) 5-0 1,481 1
2. Oklahoma (11) 6-0 1,440 3
3. Nebraska (1) 7-0 1,382 4
4. Virginia Tech 6-0 1,279 5
5. Oregon 6-0 1,244 6
6. UCLA 5-0 1,239 7
7. Florida 5-1 1,067 2
8. Texas 5-1 1,018 11
9. Michigan 5-1 1,009 12
10. Fresno State 6-0 979 10
11. Tennessee 3-1 806 14
12. Washington 4-1 713 8
13. Brigham Young 6-0 697 17
14. Maryland 6-0 690 20
15. Clemson 4-1 636 18
16. South Carolina 5-1 587 9
17. Colorado 5-1 449 —
18. Washington State 6-0 379 —
19. Georgia 4-1 338 —
20. Northwestern 4-1 320 24
21. Auburn 5-1 300 —
22. Florida State 3-2 297 13
23. Toledo 5-0 249 23
24. Purdue 4-1 227 16
25. Georgia Tech 4-2 161 15
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Others receiving votes: Illinois 126, Michigan State 83, Texas A&M 69, Stanford 52, Louisiana State 46, Marshall 21, Oregon State 19, Syracuse 19, Louisville 18, Ohio State 15, Kansas State 12, Southern Mississippi 9, Wisconsin 7, Mississippi 6, North Carolina 5, Utah 3, Air Force 1, Arkansas 1, Iowa State 1.