By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published November 15, 2005
NEW YORK - Only one team has been where Southern California and Texas are in the Bowl Championship Series standings and not played for a national title.
The Trojans and Longhorns held the top spots Monday and are both unbeaten with three weeks left in the regular season. With two victories each, they'll lock up spots in the Rose Bowl for a matchup that has appeared inevitable for months.
USC is in first with a BCS average of .9829, and Texas is second at .9771. Miami is in third with one loss, needing a misstep by the top two to play for a national title.
BCS history says USC vs. Texas in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan.4 is all but a sure thing.
In the seven years the BCS has determined college football's champ, 12 undefeated teams have held one of the top two spots in the standings with three weeks to go. Only one, UCLA in 1998, didn't play in the BCS title game.
Oklahoma was unbeaten and first in the standings heading into its final regular-season game two seasons ago, lost the Big 12 title game to Kansas State and still played for the BCS championship.
That year USC was left out of the title game and eventually shared a national title with LSU.
The Trojans and Longhorns are such a solid 1-2 in the BCS standings, the question is whether either could lose and still reach the Rose Bowl.
BCS analyst Jerry Palm said it's unlikely the Trojans or Longhorns could do what Oklahoma did in 2003 or what Nebraska pulled off in 2001, when the Cornhuskers lost their final regular-season game to Colorado and still played Miami for the BCS title.
"The formula now is so poll driven that if you lose late in the season, you're pretty much dead," he said.
After Oklahoma was No.3 in the polls but still played LSU in the Sugar Bowl two seasons ago, the BCS revamped its formula to make the polls worth two-thirds of the average. The strength of schedule component was eliminated because computers and poll voters already took it into account.
"Oklahoma was the last of those teams in the polls, but the computers and strength of schedule moved them up," Palm said.
BOWL DEAL: The Houston Bowl has extended its agreement with the Big 12 through the 2009 season and announced a partnership with the Big East starting next season. The bowl currently pits the Big 12 against the SEC. Last season the SEC couldn't produce a team, and Colorado faced UTEP.
HOFSTRA: Coach Joe Gardi retired after 16 seasons with a school he guided from Division III to a consistent winner in I-AA. Gardi will coach his final game Saturday at home against Massachusetts. His 118-62-2 record and .654 winning percentage are second best in school history.
MISSOURI ST.: Coach Randy Ball and his staff will not have their contracts renewed after the Bears finished this season 4-6.
USF makes NCAA debut
TAMPA - The USF men's soccer program made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years and hosts Stetson at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Bulls (12-6-1), who lost Sunday's Big East tournament final 1-0 to Connecticut, are 20-4-1 all time against the Hatters, including a 2-1 overtime win in October. Stetson (9-10-1) got an automatic berth by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 students and seniors.
Though the Bulls weren't among 16 teams that received first-round byes, they were close enough to draw 13th-seeded Virginia should they advance to the second round. The Cavaliers (12-4-2) are 8-1-1 at home and averaging 1,707 fans.
VOLLEYBALL: The University of Tampa hosts the NCAA Tournament South Region, which runs Friday through Sunday. The top-seeded Spartans face Francis Marion 7:30 p.m. Friday in their region opener. ... Alli Arbogast, a middle blocker from Marquette High in St. Louis, signed a national letter of intent to attend USF.
