Coaches Backed Into a Corner

Jeff Tedford is one of 37 coaches who voted USC at No. 1 this week in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll.

No surprise there.

The California coach is somewhat of an expert on the Trojans.

His team handed USC its only defeat, a 34-31, triple-overtime thriller in Berkeley on Sept. 27.

“I don’t get to watch the other teams much,” Tedford said by phone Tuesday, “but without a doubt, they should be playing in the national-title game.”

The surprise is Tedford’s vote may not mean much.

Absurd as it sounds, the voting coaches are bound through their governing body, the American Football Coaches Assn., to award their championship trophy to the winner of the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Ah, one slight problem ... USC isn’t in the game, it’s in the Rose Bowl.

USC finished No. 1 in the writers’ and coaches’ polls, but third in the bowl championships series standings, which are used to determine the BCS title-game participants.

When the BCS was formed in 1998 to match No. 1 and No. 2 in a title game, no one ever imagined No. 1 would be No. 3.

At the time, the AFCA agreed to award its championship to the BCS title-game winner.

The Associated Press poll is used in the BCS formula but not obligated to crown the BCS champion.

Grant Teaff, the AFCA’s executive director, said in a statement this week that the coaches agreed to this deal “by an overwhelming majority.”

Today, though, the credibility of the coaches’ poll, and the media organizations that sponsor it, is in question.

Instead of playing in the Sugar Bowl, No. 1 USC will play No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Even if USC trounces Michigan, by mandate the 37 coaches who had USC at No. 1 are supposed to cast their votes to the Oklahoma-Louisiana State winner. But what if they don’t?

Jim Welch, the USA Today deputy manager of sports in charge of overseeing the coaches’ poll, said Tuesday his newspaper intends to publish an honest accounting of the coaches’ opinions.

“It’s a real dilemma for them,” Welch said of the coaches. “Obviously, they are members in that organization and they have an agreement. Essentially, I suppose, it’s a decision they’ll have to make.”

In other words, Welch says USC could stay No. 1 in the coaches’ poll if that’s what the coaches want.

If you think this predicament has made many coaches confused and uncomfortable, you would be right.

“If they win, I would still say I’d like to vote for them as the national champions,” Tedford said. “But you can’t do that.”

Well, no, Welch says you can.

Tedford said when the coaches call in their final ballots to USA Today, they are supposed to vote No. 2 through No. 25, with the top spot being reserved for the BCS title-game winner.

Welch said that’s what the AFCA, not USA Today, tells the coaches to do.

One voting coach has privately suggested he would simply ignore the edict and vote USC at the top spot.

Welch said his newspaper is “not at all comfortable” with its role in this potential controversy.

He said if USC wins the Rose Bowl and enough coaches want USC to stay at No. 1, USA Today’s final poll will reflect that opinion even if the AFCA awards its trophy to the Sugar Bowl winner.

“We value our relationship with the AFCA,” Welch said. “But at this particular moment our interests diverge.”

This means it is possible USC could claim top spot in the Associated Press and coaches’ polls while the Sugar Bowl winner would end up with a fairly meaningless hunk of crystal.

Welch said USA Today will be monitoring final ballots closely.

If USC wins convincingly and loses all or most of its 37 first-place votes, USA Today may choose not to run a final tabulation.

“It would be absurd to label something like that a poll,” Welch said.

Welch understands why coaches are torn and confused.

Tedford, for one, said he would grudgingly honor the AFCA’s contract with the BCS.

“It’s what you have to do,” Tedford said. “I’m not going to protest or anything like that. It’s part of the agreement. Until a different system comes along, you kind of abide by what’s happening. It is what it is.”

Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti has said he would not know what to do if faced with the situation of having to negate his No. 1 vote for USC.

The debate will be moot if Michigan defeats USC. In that scenario, the Sugar Bowl would then become a true battle for the top spot.

If USC wins, however, the vested interests of the coaches and their governing body could be at odds.

“It makes it look insignificant in a way,” Tedford said of the coaches’ poll. “It’s a perfect example of, no matter what the coaches feel, that’s not what it’s going to come down to. In the end, it’s insignificant.”

In his statement this week, however, Teaff of the AFCA said the Sugar Bowl winner would be a credible recipient of the Sears Trophy.

“The crystal football has become the symbol of the national championship,” Teaff said. “Coaches, players and fans look forward to receiving the trophy immediately after that game.”

Teaff is resigned to the fact there may not be unanimous consent after the Sugar Bowl.

“The Associated Press voters in the past have made their decision following the outcome of all the bowl games,” Teaff said. “Therefore, a split national championship is always a possibility. Split championships have happened before.”

The last split title occurred in 1997, when Michigan won the AP championship and Nebraska claimed the coaches’ share.

If USC wins the Rose Bowl but loses its No. 1 spot in the coaches’ poll, a split national title may be the least of the AFCA worries.

“At the end of the current BCS contract [after the 2005 season], the AFCA and Division I-A coaches will reevaluate the role of the coaches’ poll within the BCS system,” Teaff said.