The lead story in all sports section on Monday read something in this way. Even Olympic boxing along with esports games figureskating judges might have gotten this 1 right!
The BCS did not’work’ it only got LUCKY! USC won 66-19 past Saturday and Texas won 70-3. Both teams ended 12-0 and were also the world’s only undefeated teams. So nowa year that began about the Thursday before Labor Day, has taken us”Back to the Future.” USC began the season as the country’s No. 1-ranked team and Texas because the nation’s No.2-ranked team. The AP began ranking teams from 1936 and last year, for first time since its beginning, saw two schools each move wire-to-wire as No. 1 and No. 2.
USC opened as the world’s pre season No. 1 final year and Oklahoma has been second. USC remained No. 1 through each survey, while Oklahoma was number two. Auburn failed tie Oklahoma at the number-two spot for one week but that’s”pinching pennies” USC and Oklahoma met in last year’s national title game (Orange Bowl), together with USC winning 55-19! It’s probably safe to say this year’s match will likely soon be slightly more competitive.
USCoff successive national names (winning the AP name in 2003 and the undisputed title last year), yet more opened as the country’s preseason No. 1. Texas was ranked No. 2 and also at each poll this season, the school’s rankings have not changed. USC possesses a 34-game winning series (tied to fourth-best since 1900) while Texas has won 19 straight games (second-longest current streak). USC was ranked atop the AP poll for a record 33 consecutive surveys, long past surpassing the former record of 22, maintained by Miami-Florida (by 2001-02 ).
USC was rated and Texas moment in this season’s first BCS standings (released on October 17). Texas leapfrogged USC the following week but USC returned to the number one spot the a few weeks and stayed there throughout Sunday’s final standings. Naturally, never before have the teams ranked one and two at the BCS’ initial ranks of this year, gone on to match that year’s title game, so USC and Texas are giving us a primary.
Another bowl-first, is that both teams enter into this game averaging better than 50 PPG. That’s never occurred in any prior bowl matchup.The Longhorns average 50.9 PPG, while Trojans average an even 50. USC averages 580.3 YPG with Texas averaging 508.4. Texas’ average margin of victory was 36.3 PPG, while USC’s ordinary win came from 28.7 PPG. That gap really comes in to play when imagining that the teams’ ATS records. Even though Texas is an impressive 10-2, USC stands in only 6-6
MORE BCS LUCK
Although it scarcely seems right a four-loss team should be in another of the 4 BCS Bowls, the BCS’s’played blessed’ when it was able to match Penn State contrary to Florida State at the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles entered Saturday’s first-ever ACC Championship Game in 7-4 and on the three-game losing series, was outscored 89-36. But, FSU used a 24-point third quarter to upset Va Tech (a two-TD popular ), by the score of 27-22. Despite a final BCS standing of just 22, the Seminoles maintain that the ACC’s automatic bid.
The Orange Bowl now gets Bobby Bowden, the NCCA’s alltime winningest coach with 359 wins against Joe Paterno, who ranks 2nd with 353 career wins. Paterno had been widely criticized in recent years with justification. The BCS has been available since 1998 but yet this is Penn State’ first-ever BCS Bowl. Penn State, the 7th-winningest Section I-A faculty ever sold, had been to just one bowl game since 2000 (Citrus Bowl in 2002) and entered the 2005 season with a 26-33 final record.
It had been amazing pleasure on Sunday to watch and hear all of the”talking heads” compliments the Florida State/Penn State match up, as well as Bowden and Paterno. These are the Very Same Folks who gave FSU No-chance against Va Tech on Saturday and who’d Penn State picked for the middle-of-the-pack in the Big-10, in the Beginning of the year.
Sometimes (not often) I wish I had their jobs. It has to be interesting, after the fact, to tell everyone what happened and why. Being a handicapper, I am required to”reveal my hand” ahead of the game and then’live’ or’expire’ with the outcome. Clearly, their job is far easier!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
For the second straight year, a pac 10 team finished fifth in the final BCS standings, yet neglected to find a BCS bid. It had been Cal and this year it has Oregon. The 10-1 Ducks lost and then No. 1 USC, yet lost out to two, two-loss teams. Ohio State (No. 4) and Notre Dame (No. 6 ) ) both finished 92 but accordingto BCS by laws, both qualified as at large teams. Pac-10 and also Oregon fans must wonder how a Notre Dame team that beat just three teams having a winning record this past year plus lost to a 56 Michigan State team, is far more deserving than the Ducks. Please don’t remind them that Notre Dame can be the proud owners of a seven-game bowl losing series (16 ATS), having been outscored by an average of all 34.4-to-17.6 PPG!
LSU can’t be content using its Peach Bowl bidding, taking into consideration the fact that Alabama, Florida and Auburn (all teams that it beat) all reach play on January 2!
Arkansas State (New Orleans Bowl) and Akron (Motor City Bowl) are both playing at a Section I-A bowl game for the first time. Rutgers makes only its second-ever bowl appearance, returning to postseason play for the first time since the 1978 Garden State Bowl. Proving it’s an awareness of history, bowl officials sent the Scarlet Knights to the Insight Bowl, where they’ll play Arizona Statethe identical school that beat them in 1978 (34-18)!
Akron was the only Division I-A team this past year to be bowl-eligible and not go into a bowl game (Clemson and South Carolina were about selfimposed sanctions). The MAC was struck hardest, as the conference has five bowl-eligible schools staying home.