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BRIAN LANDMANThe first standings of the season have few surprises, with OU and Miami 1-2 and the Seminoles No. 5.
TALLAHASSEE - For Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, it's deja vu all over again.
For the second straight season and third time in four, his undefeated Sooners sit atop the first Bowl Championship Series poll. If the standings released Monday evening hold, OU and the Miami Hurricanes, the consensus top teams in the Associated Press and coaches' polls, will meet for the national title in the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl.
"As I've said (before), it's a positive indicator that we've played awfully well for seven games," Stoops said Monday. "We've earned that position and have played well through this part of the season. I appreciate our players' efforts and the assistant coaches' for putting us into that position. Now it's our job to continue it, to finish it and to keep it."
That has been a bit more difficult. Florida State in 1999 and the Sooners in 2000 have been the only teams to begin No. 1 in the BCS and stay there to reach the title game. (Nebraska began No. 1 in 2001, finished a controversial second and met Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.) One team starting No. 2 has made it to the finale, the Hurricanes last season.
"We can't get caught up in anything other than winning our games," Miami coach Larry Coker said in statement. "If we do that, everything will work out as it should."
No. 3 Virginia Tech, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Florida State are hoping things work out differently.
Again.
The Seminoles reached the BCS finale in 1998 and 2000 starting, coincidentally, fifth in the first poll with one loss (to North Carolina State and Miami, respectively). They won out and others were upset. The quartet ahead of them this time faces a daunting road.
Oklahoma still has a home game against intrastate rival and recent nemesis Oklahoma State on Nov. 1 as well as the Big 12 championship game. Miami and Virginia Tech meet in Blacksburg on Nov. 1, and Georgia has a Nov. 1 showdown with the resurgent Florida Gators, then the SEC title game to worry about.
"You're in a good position," said FSU coach Bobby Bowden, who was surprised his team was ranked that high. "It's as simple as this: You've got to win."
At least the Seminoles are in this first poll and in a position to dare to dream, a spot they haven't been in since 2000.
The only other undefeated teams, Northern Illinois and Texas Christian, aren't as optimally placed. They'll need more than a couple of upsets to have a shot at a trip to New Orleans for the new year. NIU is No. 10 in the BCS behind defending national champion Ohio State (in the same poll spot as it was a year ago), Southern Cal, Purdue and Washington State. (TCU, at No. 14, is the second-to-last team included in the BCS poll.)
The Huskies may be in the theater for the show, but they are not exactly in the front row.
That's a criticism of the system, which incorporates both traditional polls, computer rankings, strength of schedule and won-loss records. There already has been a Congressional hearing, and the BCS may respond by revamping to allow greater access to teams outside the Big East, ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac-10 and Big Ten.
"As a college football fan, I have fun with that thing, too," NIU coach Joe Novak said of the BCS poll. "As a coach, honestly, and our team, we don't even think about that stuff. That is completely out of our control. We've got five games left to play. At the end of the season, if somebody is good enough to be undefeated, a mid-major team like ourselves or TCU, let's debate then."
He pointed out that in 1998, an undefeated Tulane was No. 19 in the first BCS poll and, although it finished with a perfect record under Tommy Bowden, watched the major bowl games on TV. In 2001, Fresno State began with attention-grabbing wins against Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin. The Bulldogs were No. 8 in the AP and coaches' poll the week before the first BCS poll was released. But then they lost to Boise State, and that ended the BCS talk.
"I think they should be in the running for the BCS; if they can win out, they should definitely be in it," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said of the Huskies, who upset his Terrapins. "Obviously, I have the utmost respect for them. I thought they were a good team going into our game. They're very solid, very well coached, the kids play very hard. Again, I think that's why the championship needs to be played on the field and all of those problems will take care of themselves."