With the release of the year’s first Bowl Championship Series rankings Monday, the Pacific-10 Conference powers avoided any controversy that usually surrounds the controversial poll.
Nope, the Pac-10 is sitting BCS-pretty.
Washington State was the top-ranked Pac-10 team, coming in seventh in the first poll. Southern California was 14th, while Oregon was 15th after its first loss of the season Saturday.
The Cougars caught the biggest break of any Pac-10 squad. WSU, ranked ninth in The Associated Press poll and 11th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll, had the highest strength of schedule of any one-loss team, which propelled it into the seventh spot in the BCS.
USC was also helped by a strong schedule, a schedule that allowed the Trojans to break into the BCS despite having two losses. USC had the fourth-hardest schedule in the country. The only other two-loss BCS team, Florida State, had the third-highest strength-of-schedule ranking in the country.
Oregon was hurt by its poor strength of schedule. At No. 63, the Ducks had the second-easiest schedule of any BCS squad. Only undefeated North Carolina State, ranked No. 11, had an easier schedule.
The biggest BCS controversy surrounded Miami and Oklahoma. Ranked second in both major polls, the Sooners 13-ranked schedule propelled them into the top BCS spot. Miami, with the nation’s 27th-hardest schedule, fell into the second spot.
Notre Dame had the country’s toughest schedule, but the Irish fell to third because they are ranked sixth in both major polls. Of the seven computers that factor into the BCS equation — which produce a score that is added to the poll average, schedule strength and quality-win scores to produce a ranking — Notre Dame was ranked first in four of the seven.
“There’s still a long way to go,” BCS coordinator Michael Tranghese told The Associated Press. “The strength-of-schedule component will come into play, and so will the bonus points. The biggest surprise is there are still so many undefeated teams at this stage, halfway through the season.”
Permanent Paus
One of the best stories in the Pac-10 will not get a chance to write his ending.
Cory Paus, the senior quarterback for the UCLA Bruins who has gone through everything from a DUI to opposing defenses, broke his right ankle in the third quarter against California on Saturday and will miss the rest of the season.
Paus was injured with 12 minutes left in the third quarter in Berkeley, where the Bruins lost to the Golden Bears, 17-12. Paus was replaced by freshman Drew Olson, who was also injured in the contest. Olson left the game with a sprain in his throwing shoulder.
Olson’s status for Saturday’s contest against Stanford is uncertain.
“We’ll take it day-by-day and see what happens,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo told AP about his quarterback situation.
Awards with meaning
ESPN the Magazine’s Gene Wojciechowski has dished out some mid-season awards, and several Pac-10 squads made the short list — not always in a good way.
The writer named Oregon State as one of the nation’s “biggest flops,” saying, “The only thing worse than the Beavers’ overbite is a 4-3 record that includes three consecutive Pac-10 losses.”
Meanwhile, Oregon running back Onterrio Smith and Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser were both named to a short list of the nation’s best players. Gesser and Smith will square off when the Ducks play in Pullman on Nov. 9.
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