The Bowl Championship Series came out with its fifth installment of rankings this week and to the chagrin of many, except fans of a certain team in Los Angeles, the BCS got it all wrong. Four teams who entered the weekend in the BCS top 10 lost, causing a huge shake-up in the polls. The season is not over yet, but this week’s polls give new meaning to the term computer error. According to the BCS computers, which are comprised of six individual computer polls, Ohio State University is listed as the No. 3 team in the country behind No. 1 University of Michigan and No. 2 Rutgers University. The Buckeyes have been the undisputed No. 1 in every poll since the season began. What do the computers know that everyone else does not? In fact according to the BCS computers, Ohio State has not gone above No. 2 in the rankings at all this season. Everyone should see a huge problem with this. Luckily the Harris and USA Today Coaches polls go into the mix as well when determining final BCS rankings, so the Buckeyes are safe – for now. This argument alone is enough to want to do away with the BCS, but don’t worry. It gets even messier. This past week’s No. 3 in the BCS, the University of Louisville, had its first and probably only hiccup of the season with a Thursday night loss to Rutgers. The Cardinals dropped seven spots and all but lost any shot of making it to Tempe, Ariz., for the BCS national championship game. Logically the team behind Louisville, barring a win, would claim the No. 3 spot. The University of Florida was that team at No. 4 sitting behind Louisville and, thanks to the trusty computers, is still sitting there. Rather than moving up after its win over the University of South Carolina and becoming the first one-loss team in the BCS, Florida stayed at No. 4 and was jumped by, you guessed it, the University of Southern California. The Trojans’ 35-14 win over the University of Oregon catapulted them from No. 7 to No. 3 in the BCS. Of course computers are not biased, but the desktops on the BCS computers are more than likely cardinal and gold and constantly play “Fight On,” USC’s fight song. USC’s big win over No. 7 University of Arkansas is carrying a lot of weight for them. But closer inspection of that game shows that the Razorbacks’ current team is a far cry from the one USC downed 50-14 Sept. 2. Arkansas started junior quarterback Robert Johnson in the meeting with the Trojans. Johnson, who has thrown one pass since, threw two interceptions and was replaced late in the game by eventual starter true freshman Mitch Mustain, who has since been relieved by sophomore Casey Dick. Also, the Razorbacks did not have full use of the Southeastern Conference’s No. 1 running back. Sophomore Darren McFadden played with a dislocated toe and was at a self-described “80 to 85 percent.” Even with the win over the SEC’s top team, the Trojans do not have the right to jump the Gators. True, USC and Florida have both lost one game, but Florida lost on the road to No. 14 Auburn University (9-2, 5-2) while USC was downed by Oregon State University (6-4, 4-3). In a conference as weak as the Pacific 10, USC should never lose a conference game. Speaking of soft conferences, does the Big East Conference really deserve to have three teams in the BCS top-10? Sure, No. 6 Rutgers is undefeated, and No. 10 Louisville and No. 8 West Virginia University have only one loss, but these teams still do not compare to the top teams in the Big Ten or SEC. West Virginia and Louisville simply do not play defense. They are ranked No. 35 and No. 50 respectively in that category. Both schools would likely put up points on a power conference school but would undoubtedly lose. Rutgers does have a statistically good defense, No. 4 in the nation, but aside from the Louisville win, the Scarlet Knights have not been tested. Rutgers narrowly escaped with victories against the universities of South Florida and Connecticut this season. More than likely the Mountaineers will defeat Rutgers in Morgantown, W.Va., in the last game of the regular season, leaving all three teams with the same record and completely even. And let’s not forget about the fourth undefeated team from the Western Athletic Conference, the Boise State University Broncos. The Broncos are having a season reminiscent of the University of Utah’s season two years ago, and as long as they stay in their current No. 12 spot they are guaranteed an at-large BCS bowl bid. Perhaps the most surprising jump in the BCS belongs to the team that made the biggest jump. The University of Wisconsin leapt six spots after its not-so-impressive 3-point win over the University of Iowa (6-5, 2-5). Apparently the Badgers did enough to jump winning teams Boise State and LSU. That brings us to the LSU Tigers. LSU cannot be too unhappy after moving up one spot to No. 11 this week, or can it? The Tigers sit at No. 9 in both the Harris and USA Today polls. But those pesky computers are keeping the Tigers out of the top-10, giving them an average ranking of No. 13. If the computers had their way, LSU would have actually dropped in the polls. Even with all the confusion accompanying the BCS, fans longing for a playoff system can keep dreaming. The rest of the country would simply not go for an all-SEC football Final Four.
—–C ontact Keith Claverie at kclaverie@lsureveille.com