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BRIAN LANDMANComputers push Miami, ranked lower in the human polls, past Oklahoma.
TALLAHASSEE - When the consensus No.1-ranked team didn't finish in the top two of the Bowl Championship Series standings last season, officials simplified the oft-maligned formula so it would better reflect public perception.
Beginning this season, the writers and coaches polls count two-thirds, up from one-fourth, in determining which teams meet for the BCS national title in the Jan.4 Orange Bowl.
Surely, that would reduce the likelihood of controversy.
Yeah, right.
Southern Cal, atop the human polls and six computers (the other BCS component), is No.1 in the first standings released Monday afternoon, but there's a surprise at No.2 with Miami ahead of Oklahoma.
The Sooners are a clear No.2 in the writers and coaches polls while the Hurricanes are third in the coaches and slipped a spot to No.4 in the writers after their come-from-behind win against Louisville.
Oops.
"It's obviously early, and it's important that there not be an overreaction to this first poll," BCS coordinator and Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said.
Miami coach Larry Coker didn't overreact.
"Our philosophy is that the only thing we can control is how we play," he said in a statement. "We firmly believe that if we play well and win, our rankings in the polls and the BCS will reflect this and that we will be rewarded for those efforts."
Bobby Bowden, whose once-beaten Florida State is behind Auburn at No.5, echoed those sentiments.
"It's one of those things we can't worry about it," he said. "We simply have got to take care of each game and go from there."
He's well aware that in the first six seasons of the BCS, the team that started No.1 made it to the finale just twice (his Seminoles in 1999 and Oklahoma last season, displacing USC). The initial No.2 team has made it to the big game three times (Oklahoma in 2000, Nebraska in 2001 and Miami in 2002). The Seminoles were No.5 in the first BCS standings in 1998 and 2000 and, despite an early-season loss, reached the title game.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops also said he is not concerned.
"At this point in the season, (the BCS) just generates a lot of discussion among the people who like to talk about college football," he said. "There is too much of this season left to play for anyone to get too worked up about this now."
Heck. LSU started essentially off the BCS radar last season at No.12 and climbed into a championship showdown against the Sooners in the Sugar Bowl, a game it won to claim the BCS title. The writers kept USC No.1, giving the public two champions and cause to rail against the BCS.
The powers that be dropped three components (record, quality wins and strength of schedule) and altered the emphasis of the polls to quell the protest.
So how did Miami end up second?
"This is working pretty much as the model did," Weiberg said, adding he was a bit surprised. "We were very much aware that a consensus No.2 could potentially be changed (in the BCS standings) if it had a computer average of (fifth) or worse, and that's clearly what we see here."
Miami, buoyed by wins against FSU and Louisville (No.17 in the BCS), has the No.2 computer ranking. Oklahoma has beaten Texas (No.11 in the BCS) but has been hurt by the rest of its schedule (four games at home, one on the road and one neutral site) by the computers.
"We said at the time (of the formula change) this isn't a perfect system and even these changes don't guarantee a perfect result," Weiberg said. "We tried to point out that the computers still play a prominent piece in all of this, including the strength-of-schedule factor. It is explainable at this point."
Again, he cautioned that much can change in the coming weeks.
No.7 Utah and the leagues other than the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10, Big 12 and Big East hope so. Utah must move up one spot to be assured of one of two at-large berths. No team from one of the six major leagues has appeared in a BCS bowl (Orange, Sugar, Rose and Fiesta).
Meanwhile, Florida, No.22, can only hope to win the SEC and earn the league's automatic berth.
-- Information from other news organizations was used in the report.