News Nuggets, 10.18.04
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
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Compiled from staff reports
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New look BCS to debut: Let the bickering begin
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
10.17.04: Army
streaking; C- USA, Carolinas scoreboard ... College football
weekend: stars & storylines
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10.16.04: Blazers
scorch Frogs to stay unbeaten in league ... Another Florida
school graduating to Division I
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10.15.04: 'Bama
matchup evokes perils of 2000 ECU game for USM ... Miami
comeback brings cocky Cardinals down to Earth
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10.14.04: Thompson:
Pinkney's redshirt year safe and secure ... Schnellenberger
ringside for U of L vs. Miami
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10.13.04: JV
Pirates live up to varsity's example
Toronto approves bid to host bowl game
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10.12.04: Herrion
anoints Badiane, Cook as team's leaders ... No. 1 Southern
Miss QB to miss 'Bama game ... Tar Heel trio sacked by pot
charges
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10.11.04: College
football weekend: stars & storylines ... C-USA standings,
scoreboard, schedule & TV ... Associated Press football poll
...
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10.10.04: Army
sheds losing ways at Bearcats' expense ... Conference USA &
Carolinas football scoreboard
...
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10.09.04: Future
looks lonely for Temple Owls football ... Coug legend
Drexler enshrined in hoops Hall ...
More... |
10.08.04: Golden
Eagles claw out overtime win over Houston
ESPN2 HD to debut with C-USA doubleheader
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10.07.04: Southern
Miss road warriors back home for primetime ... Louisville
building $10 million baseball stadium
...
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10.06.04: Reported
dispute with coach nets suspension for ECU's Fox ... Holtz
sanctions receiver over academic issues
...
More... |
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The best way to reach the Orange Bowl
and play for a national title is to go undefeated.
The new scaled-down Bowl Championship
Series standings are set to debut on Monday with seven unbeaten teams
remaining after a week that began with twice that many.
While last season proved that one loss
doesn't eliminate a team from the national title chase co-champions
Southern California and LSU lost one at this point the teams with one loss
need help and can't complain if they're stuck behind the unbeatens in the
BCS standings.
``I don't even know how they figure
(the BCS standings) out. I couldn't tell you the criteria,'' Auburn coach
Tommy Tuberville said Sunday. ``It really doesn't make a lot of difference.
If you don't win games, you're not going to be there anyway.''
The top four teams in both The
Associated Press Top 25 and the coaches poll USC, Oklahoma, Auburn and
Miami are undefeated. The other unbeatens are Wisconsin and those
potential BCS busters Utah and Boise State.
With the BCS' formula now relying
predominantly on the polls, the top four teams should also hold down the top
four spots in the BCS standings.
Last season's BCS mess prompted a
change in how the national title matchup is determined.
In case you have forgotten, USC
finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in both polls, but third in the BCS
standings. That put LSU and Oklahoma, which was thumped by Kansas State in
the Big 12 title game, in the Sugar Bowl playing for the BCS title.
The AP media poll voters made USC their
national champion after the Trojans won the Rose Bowl. Voters in the coaches
poll were obligated to make LSU No. 1 after the Tigers beat Oklahoma.
So the BCS guys went back to work and
came up with a formula in which the AP poll counts for one-third of a team's
BCS points, the coaches poll counts for a third and an average of six
computer rankings makes up the other third. In the past, results from the AP
and coaches polls were averaged, then factored in with the other components
a formula that lessened the significance of the polls.
The Trojans and Sooners have
comfortably ranked one and two in both polls all season and in all
likelihood will line up the same way in the BCS standings. That puts USC and
Oklahoma in control, with Auburn and Miami lurking.
The Trojans remaining road to the
Orange Bowl looks fairly smooth. Road trips to Washington State and Oregon
State aren't too scary, and rivals Notre Dame and UCLA don't have enough
talent to match USC.
The Sooners' remaining schedule looks
tougher with back-to-back road games against Oklahoma State (Oct. 30) and
rejuvenated Texas A&M. The Big 12 North is down, so if the Sooners reach the
conference title game in Kansas City, their opponent should be manageable.
But wasn't that supposed to be the case last year?
Auburn's most formidable remaining
opponent Georgia comes to The Plains on Nov. 13. The Tigers are almost a
lock to play in the Southeastern Conference title game, where they could
rematch Tennessee or maybe Georgia.
Miami (5-0) is the only unbeaten with
more than half of its games left. Road games at North Carolina State and
Virginia probably pose the biggest threats to a perfect season.
You can almost hear the complaints
coming from fans in Madison, Wisc., already. The Badgers are No. 6 in the AP
poll and No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and will probably find themselves
behind Florida State (5-1), No. 5 in each poll, in the first BCS standings.
Wisconsin's remaining schedule looks
accommodating with home games against Northwestern and Minnesota and road
games against Michigan State and Iowa. The Badgers say it's way too early to
start worrying about the BCS.
``Nah,'' tailback Anthony Davis said.
``I just normally worry about getting to practice.''
Then there's Utah of the Mountain West
Conference and Boise State from the Western Athletic Conference.
The Utes are ninth in the AP poll and
10th in the coaches poll. The Broncos are 19th and 16th, respectively. The
Orange Bowl isn't a realistic destination for either, but perfection could
make one of them the first team from a mid-major conference to play in a BCS
game.
To get considered for one of those
other big-money bowls, Utah and Boise State would have to finish the season
in the BCS top 12. A top-six spot would guarantee an invite.
But with nothing but conference games
left for both the Utes and Broncos, it'll be tough for them to improve their
rankings and add BCS points even when they win.
Ah, yes, BCS time is here. Let the
bickering begin.
C-USA standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV
Through games of Saturday, Oct. 16,
2004)
C-USA All
TEAM W L W
L
UAB
3 0 5 1
Southern Miss 3 0
4 1
Louisville 2 0
4 1
Memphis 2
1 5 1
Army
2 3 2 4
Texas Christian 1 2 3
3
South Florida 1 2
2 3
Cincinnati 1 2
2 4
East Carolina 1 2
1 4
Houston 1
2 1 5
Tulane
0 3 1 4
THURSDAY, OCT. 14:
Miami 41, Louisville 38 (ESPN)
FRIDAY, OCT. 15:
UAB 41, Texas Christian 25 (ESPN2)
SATURDAY, OCT. 16:
Alabama 27, Southern Miss 3
Army 42, South Florida 35
Memphis 49, Tulane 24
FRIDAY, OCT. 22:
South Florida at Louisville 8:00 PM
[ESPN]
SATURDAY, OCT. 23:
UAB at Tulane 2:30 PM (ESPN+)
Houston at Texas Christian 6:00 PM
East Carolina at Southern Miss 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Memphis at Cincinnati 7:00 PM
Compiled from Conference USA
data and other sources.
Associated Press college football poll
The Top 25 teams in The Associated
Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records
through Oct. 16, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote
through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
[Conference USA team, including
future members, and Carolinas teams in bold. ECU opponents in
red.]
Record Pts Pvs
1. Southern Cal (50) 6-0 1,610 1
2. Oklahoma (13) 6-0 1,567 2
3. Auburn (2) 7-0 1,478 4
4. Miami (FL) 5-0 1,448 3
5. Florida State 5-1 1,304 7
6. Wisconsin 7-0 1,240 10
7. California 4-1 1,215 8
8. Texas 5-1 1,081 9
9. Utah 6-0 1,072 11
10. Georgia 5-1 1,040 12
11. Tennessee 5-1 999 13
12. Purdue 5-1 957 5
13. Michigan 6-1 895 14
14. Virginia 5-1 738 6
15. Louisville 4-1 627 18
15. West Virginia 5-1 627 17
17. Texas A&M 5-1 561 23
18. Louisiana State 4-2 528 20
19. Boise State 6-0 467 21
20. Florida 4-2 450 22
21. Arizona State 5-1 305 15
22. Oklahoma State 5-1 273 16
23. Virginia Tech 5-2 194 NR
24. Notre Dame 5-2 134 NR
25. Iowa 4-2 62 NR
Others receiving votes: Texas Tech 54, UAB 41,
Alabama 37, N.C. State 36, Minnesota 26,
Missouri 24, Stanford 12, Memphis 7,
South Carolina 7, Northern Illinois 3, Southern
Miss 2, UCLA 2, Georgia Tech 1, Pittsburgh 1.
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools, and from Associated Press and
other reports. Copyright 2004
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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