Putting the ‘C’ Back in the BCS

Weeks of “what ifs” became reality Sunday when the final bowl championship series standings were released and a season-long race ended in relative peace.

There were few surprises.

USC finished first in the final BCS standings and Texas finished second, setting up a Jan. 4 Rose Bowl featuring two 12-0 teams playing for the undisputed national title.

“It’s a magical matchup this year,” Rose Bowl Chief Executive Mitch Dorger said Sunday. “We have the last two Rose Bowl game winners. ... We have the last two Rose Bowl MVPs. ... We will have at least three Heisman finalists and possibly two Heisman Trophy winners in the game.”

USC has won 34 straight games; Texas has won its last 19.

The Trojans are attempting to become the first school to win three straight Associated Press national titles and will get the chance to do it in the Rose Bowl -- long the desired destination for the Pacific 10 Conference champion.

“To have this opportunity in the year it becomes the national title game is all we could ever ask for,” USC Coach Pete Carroll said.

Texas makes its second consecutive Rose Bowl appearance after scoring a thrilling 38-37 win over Michigan in last season’s game.

Players and coaches have been talking since that game about making a return visit.

“This is where we want to be and where we want to go,” Texas Coach Mack Brown said.

Upset losses suffered by Louisiana State and Virginia Tech over the final regular-season weekend solidified the major bowl lineup and helped to restore order to an 8-year-old BCS system that has been much criticized.

“It’s always great when we have a situation where there is a lot of consensus,” BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg said. “It probably makes my job a little bit easier in answering questions.”

This year, almost everything broke the BCS’ way -- although 10-1 Oregon would not agree.

When LSU and Virginia Tech lost Saturday, the BCS bowls all fell into place:

Rose: USC vs. Texas.

Fiesta: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State.

Sugar: West Virginia vs. Georgia.

Orange: Penn State vs. Florida State.

The top six schools in the final BCS standings were USC, Texas, Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dame.

The eight BCS bowl slots are filled by six conference champions and two at-large picks.

Under BCS bylaws, Ohio State and Notre Dame were mandatory at-large selections, relieving the Fiesta Bowl of having to make a difficult choice between Oregon and Ohio State to pair against Notre Dame.

Ohio State qualified by finishing No. 4 in the final standings and Notre Dame got in by being an independent team finishing No. 6 or better.

The Notre Dame provision applies to all independents and the five conferences whose champions do not receive automatic BCS bids.

Oregon could not be selected because it ended up in the dreaded No. 5 position, sandwiched between Ohio State and Notre Dame.

Last year, California suffered a similar fate when it finished No. 5 and was locked out by No. 4 Texas and No. 6 Utah.

“Every year there are deserving teams that do no make it,” Weiberg said. “This particular year, the at-large positions were really filled automatically by rules all of the conferences and Notre Dame agreed to.”

Oregon fell to the Holiday Bowl, where it will play Oklahoma.

UCLA, which suffered a 66-19 loss to USC Saturday, accepted an invitation Sunday to play Northwestern in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30.