The arguments are over. Too bad the regular season isn’t.
Miami and Ohio State are the nation’s undisputed No. 1 and No. 2 teams, respectively. If both schools sweep their remaining games, they would play for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl.
For the second time in its five-year history, the Bowl Championship Series would have a pair of unbeaten teams in the national title game.
No muss, no fuss.
But if the last two weeks provide any clues about what’s to come, there may still be plenty of controversy lurking. With a slew of once-beaten teams ready to make their cases, chaos is only one upset away.
The biggest debate could be between Oklahoma and Texas. The Sooners whipped the Longhorns 35-24 Oct. 12 in Dallas. But after falling Saturday at Texas A&M, Oklahoma dropped into a fourth-place tie with Texas in the media poll. And the Sooners are three spots below Texas, in sixth, in the coaches rankings.
Should either the Hurricanes or Buckeyes stumble, there are six once-beaten teams that would make claims to the Fiesta Bowl–Washington State, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Georgia and Notre Dame.
The Cougars and Longhorns will have the highest poll rankings in the new BCS standings Monday. The Fighting Irish, who had to rally Saturday to beat lowly Navy, are the lowest-rated once-beaten team, ranked ninth in both polls.
The polls are part of the complicated BCS formula that will determine the Fiesta Bowl pairing. The BCS also weighs seven computer rankings, strength of schedule and losses.
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At the top of the polls, there’s no debate. One week after Miami slipped to No. 2 in the Associated Press media poll–and third in the BCS standings–the Hurricanes woke up and drilled Tennessee 26-3 in Knoxville. The pollsters were impressed: Every voter in both major polls put the Hurricanes atop his or her ballot Sunday.
It seemed clear that the Hurricanes were fired up by the slights in the polls last week. They showed none of the listlessness that plagued them a week earlier against Rutgers.
“We don’t care about all that BCS stuff; all we care about is repeating as national champions,” Miami tight end Kellen Winslow III said in Knoxville. “We are 31-0 since I’ve been here. We control our own destiny.”
So do the Buckeyes, but their grip appears to be far shakier.
They left Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium feeling relieved after escaping with a 10-6 victory over the Boilermakers, who fell to 4-6. The Buckeyes were on the brink of defeat when Craig Krenzel hit Michael Jenkins with a 37-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-1 with 1 minute 36 seconds to play.
For most of the game, the Buckeyes did not look like a team deserving of a Fiesta Bowl invitation.
“The polls mean nothing to us right now,” linebacker Matt Wilhelm said after the game. “We don’t care what bowl we go to. We just want to go undefeated and be Big Ten champs.”
If they go undefeated, they will get more than a Big Ten championship. That’s because top-ranked Oklahoma lost to Texas A&M 30-26 in College Station. Suddenly the Buckeyes control their own destiny.
The Hurricanes and Buckeyes each face tough tests in the next several weeks.
Miami plays No. 18 Pittsburgh in the Orange Bowl on Nov. 21, then visits Syracuse (4-6), which shocked Virginia Tech on Saturday. The Hurricanes close the season against the 13th-ranked Hokies on Dec. 7 in Miami.
Ohio State visits Illinois (4-6) Saturday and finishes the regular season against No. 12 Michigan on Nov. 23 in Columbus.
The Buckeyes have been 11-0 three times and never won a national championship in those years.
In 1975 they went unbeaten in the regular season but lost to 11th-ranked UCLA 23-10 in the Rose Bowl. Four years later they finished the regular season 11-0 but lost to No. 3 USC 17-16 in the Rose Bowl.
And in 1995 they were 11-0 going into the game at Michigan. They lost to the 12th-ranked Wolverines 31-23, clearing the way for Northwestern to go to the Rose Bowl. That’s why the Buckeyes aren’t claiming a Fiesta Bowl berth yet.
“Being 11-0, we’ve got a big target on us,” Wilhelm said.