| | The Bowl Championship Series standings are out, and they confirm
what the polls have been saying the past six weeks -- Florida State
is No. 1 and Penn State No. 2.
|  | | Joe Paterno and Penn State hold a narrow advantage over third-place Virginia Tech. |
Released Monday night, the BCS' computer-generated standings
placed the Seminoles (8-0) and Nittany Lions (8-0) ahead of
Virginia Tech (6-0), Tennessee (5-1) and Kansas State (7-0) in the
race to the national title game in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4.
The BCS standings determine which teams play in college
football's designated title game. The standings are based on a
complex formula that considers The Associated Press media poll and
the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, eight computer rankings,
strength-of-schedule and number of losses.
Florida State, No. 1 in both polls since the preseason, had 3.55
points in the BCS standings -- 1 point for poll average, 1.71 for
computer rank average, 0.84 for strength-of-schedule and zero for
losses. The Seminoles beat Clemson 17-14 on Saturday, giving coach
Bobby Bowden career win No. 300.
Penn State, coached by 315-game winner Joe Paterno, had 5.75
points -- 2 for poll average; 3.43 for computer rank average; 0.32
for strength-of-schedule and zero for losses. The Nittany Lions
beat Purdue 31-25 on Saturday.
Virginia Tech, which moved up to No. 3 in both polls this week,
is third in the BCS standings with 6.25 points -- 3 for poll
average, 1.57 for computer rank average, 1.68 for
strength-of-schedule and zero losses.
While the Hokies are ranked first in five of the eight computer
ratings being used this season -- there were three last season --
their weak schedule kept them from second place.
Florida State's schedule is rated 21st toughest, while Penn
State's is eighth and Virginia Tech's 42nd of 114 Division I-A
schools.
In the computer ratings, the lowest ranking is discarded and the
seven highest are used to come up with an average. For example, the
Hokies came away with the best computer average based on five
firsts and two thirds. A seventh-place finish in one computer
rating was tossed out.
Tennessee, the defending national champions, was in fourth place
with 9.73 points, followed by Kansas State (10.86), Florida
(13.21), Nebraska (17.63), Georgia Tech (20.99), Wisconsin (24.11)
and Texas (24.99).
The BCS, chaired by Roy Kramer, the commissioner of the
Southeastern Conference, was created last season to come up with a
true national title game without instituting a playoff. After the
top two teams are decided, the remaining BCS games -- the Rose,
Orange and Fiesta bowls -- select from the remaining pool of
qualified teams.
Champions of six conferences -- the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big
12, Pac-10 and SEC -- qualify for a BCS game, and two at-large teams
are selected to fill out the field.
Last season, the system generated a great deal of interest as
three teams -- Tennessee, UCLA and Kansas State -- entered the final
week of the season with perfect records and were 1-2-3 in the BCS
standings. If all three won, one team would have been left out of
the title game.
But the Bruins were upset by Miami and Texas A&M beat Kansas
State, leaving the undefeated Vols to play -- and beat -- Florida
State in the Fiesta Bowl.
The BCS standings will be released each Monday until the final
poll is announced Sunday, Dec. 5.
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ALSO SEE
Bowl Championship Series rankings
BCS -- The Computer Ranking Services
Big Controversy Starts with release of BCS
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