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Posted on Tue, Oct. 25, 2005
Texas on top, but for how long?
By WENDELL BARNHOUSE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Texas is No. 1. Enjoy it while you can, Longhorns fans.
The BCS standings announced Monday had an October surprise. Thanks to Texas' 52-17 victory over Texas Tech, the Horns received a boost in the computer rankings to overtake Southern California, the two-time defending national champions.
UT's edge over USC was to the far right of the decimal point -- .0007. That's the smallest margin between the top two teams in the BCS' eight-year history.
"I'm totally shocked," Texas offensive tackle Jonathan Scott said. "This is not something I expected at all. Hooray for the BCS rankings."
However, that margin figures to disappear over the next few weeks. The teams remaining on Texas' schedule won't help UT's computer profile while USC closes the season with games against California, Fresno State and UCLA, three teams ranked in this week's polls.
"It's a matter of Texas' strength of schedule in the computers peaking this week," independent BCS analyst Jerry Palm said.
Palm expects USC's computer numbers to increase over the next month while Texas will suffer slippage.
"If they [USC] are able to win out the rest of their games, they probably will slide back in front of us," Texas wide receiver Brian Carter said. "But as long as we can hold on to that No. 2 position and get a chance to go back to the Rose Bowl, that's fine. After that game, there's going to be a clear-cut No. 1."
UT was ranked No. 1 in five of the six computer rankings used in the BCS formula while USC is No. 1 in one of the computers, No. 2 in three computers, No. 4 in one and No. 5 in another.
The highest and lowest computer ranking for each team is not used, so Texas had a perfect score of 1.000 in the computer rankings. USC's computer ranking was a .940. That difference helped the Longhorns overcome the Trojans' numbers in the two human polls.
Virginia Tech, which was third in the first BCS standings last week, fell further behind. The Hokies are .0592 behind USC. Last week, the Hokies were .0524 behind Texas.
Texas Tech dropped from No. 7 last week to No. 16 this week. TCU moved up from No. 21 to No. 18.
The BCS ranks teams based on a formula that uses the coaches' poll, the Harris poll and the average of a team's computer rankings. Each counts for one-third in the formula. A perfect score would be 1.000.
The top two teams in the final BCS standings, which will be released Dec. 4, will meet for the national championship in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4.
IN THE KNOW
NO. 2 TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE
6 p.m. Saturday, Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Okla.
TV: TBS
Radio: KSKY/660 AM
Records: Texas 7-0, 4-0 Big 12; Oklahoma State 3-4, 0-4
CHART: BIG 12 STANDINGS; BCS WEEK 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wendell Barnhouse, (817) 390-7760 wbarnhouse@star-telegram.com
Texas on top, but for how long?
By WENDELL BARNHOUSE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Texas is No. 1. Enjoy it while you can, Longhorns fans.
The BCS standings announced Monday had an October surprise. Thanks to Texas' 52-17 victory over Texas Tech, the Horns received a boost in the computer rankings to overtake Southern California, the two-time defending national champions.
UT's edge over USC was to the far right of the decimal point -- .0007. That's the smallest margin between the top two teams in the BCS' eight-year history.
"I'm totally shocked," Texas offensive tackle Jonathan Scott said. "This is not something I expected at all. Hooray for the BCS rankings."
However, that margin figures to disappear over the next few weeks. The teams remaining on Texas' schedule won't help UT's computer profile while USC closes the season with games against California, Fresno State and UCLA, three teams ranked in this week's polls.
"It's a matter of Texas' strength of schedule in the computers peaking this week," independent BCS analyst Jerry Palm said.
Palm expects USC's computer numbers to increase over the next month while Texas will suffer slippage.
"If they [USC] are able to win out the rest of their games, they probably will slide back in front of us," Texas wide receiver Brian Carter said. "But as long as we can hold on to that No. 2 position and get a chance to go back to the Rose Bowl, that's fine. After that game, there's going to be a clear-cut No. 1."
UT was ranked No. 1 in five of the six computer rankings used in the BCS formula while USC is No. 1 in one of the computers, No. 2 in three computers, No. 4 in one and No. 5 in another.
The highest and lowest computer ranking for each team is not used, so Texas had a perfect score of 1.000 in the computer rankings. USC's computer ranking was a .940. That difference helped the Longhorns overcome the Trojans' numbers in the two human polls.
Virginia Tech, which was third in the first BCS standings last week, fell further behind. The Hokies are .0592 behind USC. Last week, the Hokies were .0524 behind Texas.
Texas Tech dropped from No. 7 last week to No. 16 this week. TCU moved up from No. 21 to No. 18.
The BCS ranks teams based on a formula that uses the coaches' poll, the Harris poll and the average of a team's computer rankings. Each counts for one-third in the formula. A perfect score would be 1.000.
The top two teams in the final BCS standings, which will be released Dec. 4, will meet for the national championship in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4.
IN THE KNOW
NO. 2 TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE
6 p.m. Saturday, Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Okla.
TV: TBS
Radio: KSKY/660 AM
Records: Texas 7-0, 4-0 Big 12; Oklahoma State 3-4, 0-4
CHART: BIG 12 STANDINGS; BCS WEEK 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wendell Barnhouse, (817) 390-7760 wbarnhouse@star-telegram.com