King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Texas tops USC in rankings. Don't worry, others still have no chance. Plus: Minuscule Series ratings.
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Oct. 25, 2005 | I've been enjoying the little controversy over Texas passing USC in the Bowl Championship Series rankings this week.
USC has won 29 consecutive games and was No. 1 in both of the human polls that go into the BCS formula, the USA Today and the Harris Interactive. But five of the six computer rankings that together make up a third of the BCS formula had Texas ahead of the Trojans this week. That gave the Longhorns an ever-so-slight overall lead.
There are people who know the ins and outs of the BCS formula -- and I thought my brain was filled with useless knowledge! -- and they all agree the flip-flop in the rankings is probably a meaningless, temporary glitch and that USC will pull back in front in the next few weeks if it keeps winning.
I find two things funny about this mini-event. First, the outrage and disbelief in some quarters that USC could actually lose its top spot without losing.
"How can you be the No. 1 team in the country, win five road games, three against ranked opponents, and lose ground?" Harris poll voter, TV analyst and former USC quarterback Pat Haden asked the Los Angeles Times rhetorically.
The Times also quoted sportswriter and Harris poll voter Tom Luicci, who said, "I don't know how anyone can even conceive of dropping them when they keep winning every game."
These people are mad at the computers because the computers don't base their rankings on assumptions the way human polls do. You can criticize the computer rankings' methodology all you want if you can figure them out, which would put you ahead of me, but theoretically at least, what computers do is analyze the action that's taken place on the field.
The reason it seems outrageous to some for Texas to be ranked ahead of USC is that USC has been ranked No. 1 all along. But if, for whatever reason, the various typists, chatterers and ex-jocks who make up the two polls had decided among themselves over the summer that Texas looked like a better team than USC, it would be unthinkable for USC to be on top, because Texas hasn't lost.
The whole system is predicated on what a bunch of old men sitting around in August and sucking their thumbs think is going to happen in the fall.
But that's not as crazy as what the BCS experts are saying to calm people who might be upset about USC slipping to No. 2 -- which, let's face it, is probably not a huge group of people other than USC fans, who remember getting screwed by the 2003 version of the BCS system. Nobody else sheds many tears for the Trojans.