Columnist Steve Guiremand: Three too many at top of BCS

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Nov. 1, 2002 | 9:28 a.m.

Steve Guiremand covers college football for the Sun. He can be reached at steveg@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-2324.

Those all in favor of a college football playoff system should spend the rest of the season rooting for Notre Dame.

And defending national champion Miami. And also Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State. Heck, throw North Carolina State and Bowling Green in there, too.

All of those schools, along with Virginia Tech, are in the midst of unbeaten seasons entering November. And barring an unlikely rash of upsets, there's a good chance several of those teams could end up the regular season undefeated.

Which brings us to those three most dreaded initials in college football ... the BCS.

The Bowl Championship Series, which was put together to ensure that the No. 1 and No. 2 rated teams in college football would meet to determine a true national champion each year, could have a real nightmare on its hands.

What would happen if, say, Miami, Oklahoma and Notre Dame all end up undefeated? Which school would be left out of the Jan. 3 national championship game in Tempe?

It all would be in the hands of those not-so-trusty BCS computer rankings, which use everything from strength of schedule to poll averages to margin of victory to which team eats the most Wheaties (just kidding) and spits out numbers that look better suited for interest rate charts.

Just imagine the uproar from any of those three football powerhouses if they get left out of the mix after completing an undefeated season.

Think of what a mess it would be if the final rankings have Oklahoma No. 1 and Notre Dame No. 2. That would mean Miami, which has won 28 straight games and clobbered Nebraska in last year's national title game at the Rose Bowl, could be on the outside looking in at the Fiesta Bowl.

Imagine the reaction in the SEC if Georgia was overlooked if it goes undefeated or, in a very real scenario, the Big Ten, where Ohio State is left out after finishing 13-0?

The BCS has lived a fine line in recent years. It had an unbeaten Oklahoma in 2000 and an unbeaten Miami in 2001, although there was a strong argument the Canes should have been playing a once-beaten Oregon squad in the Rose Bowl instead of a once-beaten Nebraska squad that has just been mauled by Colorado.

But this year could be a real recipe for disaster for the BCS, not to mention the strong possibility of split national champions again.

You look at the schedules and Miami (7-0), which plays at Tennessee (4-3) next week, hosts an improving Pitt (6-2) squad the following week and finishes the season against unbeaten Virginia Tech (8-0) at home, has the most difficult road to Tempe.

Oklahoma's toughest remaining tests are Saturday at home to Colorado (6-2) and in the Big 12 title game. Notre Dame (8-0) plays rival Boston College (4-3) in The Holy War this week in South Bend, then gets two creams puffs in Navy (1-7) and Rutgers (1-7) before finishing the season at USC (6-2) at the Coliseum in one of the most storied rivalries in college football.

And don't count Ohio State out of the mix. The Buckeyes (9-0) may have the easiest remaining schedule, hosting Minnesota (7-1) this week, traveling to underachieving Purdue (4-5) and Illinois (3-5) before ending the season at home against less-than-vintage Michigan (6-2).

If there are still three or four undefeated heavyweight programs in December, maybe there will be finally enough pressure to switch to a playoff format ... or at least adding a Super Bowl-like playoff game featuring the top two bowl game winners.

Either way, it makes for some interesting speculation heading into the stretch drive of the college football campaign. And you can bet more than a few BCS folks are keeping their fingers crossed they don't end up with a real mess at the end of the regular season.

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