Loss by LSU would be the Pac-10's gain

By David Wharton

Oct. 6, 2007 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Deep in the bayous of the Southeastern Conference, two nationally ranked teams will play tonight in an eagerly awaited game that could establish the supremacy of, well, West Coast football.

A Florida victory over undefeated Louisiana State at Tiger Stadium could propel USC and California to the top spots in the national rankings -- a coup for the Pacific 10 Conference.

Adding a touch of irony to this scenario, it was LSU Coach Les Miles who spent the off-season casting aspersions upon the quality of play in the Pac-10.

This week, with his Tigers sitting atop the regular-season Associated Press poll for the first time since 1959, ahead of second-ranked USC and third-ranked Cal, Miles sang a different tune.

“I just want you to understand that I understand there are great teams on the West Coast,” Miles said, adding: “I don’t in any way mean to demean the Pac-10.”

This sentiment contradicts his comments from a few months ago, when he told fans that he thought USC had an easier route to the national championship game at the Louisiana Superdome in January.

“They’re going to play real knockdown drag-outs with UCLA and Washington, Cal Berkeley, Stanford -- some real juggernauts,” he said sarcastically, “and they’re going to end up, it would be my guess, in some position so if they win a game or two, that they’ll end up in the title [game]. I would like that path for us.”

Miles later told reporters here that the Pac-10 “may have one or two really good” teams.

As it turns out, the conference has three undefeated teams in the Trojans -- who sit atop the Harris and USA Today polls -- Cal and Arizona State. Oregon is ranked 14th and Arizona State is 18th in the AP poll.

The SEC has five teams in the AP top 25.

In a news conference this week, Miles acknowledged: “I watched that Oregon team play and Cal Berkeley and Washington’s not too bad.”

Still, the coach did not back down entirely. The AP voters leapfrogged his team to No. 1 after USC struggled to defeat Washington last week and he remains adamant about his conference.

“I think there are great teams really from top to bottom,” he said. “The competition here is very fierce.”

Tonight’s game against Florida lost some luster when the Gators were upset by Auburn last Saturday, dropping to No. 9, but the matchup remains intriguing.

Last season, the Gators won, 23-10, because their quarterbacks, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, were able to make good on five LSU turnovers.

“If we have five turnovers again,” LSU running back Jacob Hester said, “you can just mark it off as a loss.”

But this is a different Florida team. With Leak gone, the Gators have relied heavily on Tebow and there are grumblings around Gainesville that the mobile quarterback has shouldered too much of the offense.

Last week, he passed for 201 yards and rushed 19 times. Coach Urban Meyer has promised changes.

“When you get hit right square, how do you react?” Meyer said. “We got hit square.”

On the other side, LSU features quarterback Matt Flynn and a running-back-by-committee on offense. It remains to be seen if receiver Early Doucet, struggling because of an injury, will return to the lineup.

Of equal concern to Florida, the Tigers have the top-ranked defense in the country, defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey leading a unit that has surrendered less than a touchdown a game.

“Great team,” Tebow said. “Maybe the best team in the nation.”

Almost 2,000 miles to the West, USC Coach Pete Carroll said it was too early for talk about rankings and who has the best team.

“It’s fun for the media and fun for the fans to follow that stuff, but as far as we’re concerned, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Now in the thick of the season, Miles seems to think likewise. No more talk about which conference is toughest. No more talk about who has the best shot at the national championship game.

Asked how the rankings are playing out so far, he said: “I haven’t given a lot of thought to that.”

Real rivalry

There’s the Red River Rivalry and now . . . another budding rivalry?

On a day when Oklahoma plays Texas in Dallas, who’d have thought the big game of the day in the Big 12 Conference might be Nebraska at Missouri?

For the first time since 1969, Missouri will be the higher-ranked team in the game. The Tigers (4-0) are No. 17 and the Cornhuskers (4-1) are No. 25.

Still, Missouri has much to prove, especially considering its recent history of fast starts and poor finishes.

Last year, the Tigers opened 6-0 and finished 8-5.

“You can talk about it all you want, but until you do it, until you get it done, then we haven’t changed,” Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said.

Over in the K state

Meanwhile, in another huge Big 12 game -- well, at least in Kansas -- Kansas State (3-1), fresh off its 41-21 upset at Texas, will play host to Kansas (4-0).

Kansas State enters ranked No. 24 and Kansas is among the national leaders in several statistical categories, having defeated four patsies by a combined 214-23.

Kansas hasn’t won on the road in this series since 1989.

Conspiracy theory

OK, he’s right. It’s a little weird that oddsmakers would make unranked Illinois (4-1) the favorite in a game against No. 5 Wisconsin (5-0).

But listen to Illini Coach Ron Zook: “I think it’s ludicrous. I think it’s probably somebody from Wisconsin trying to get them upset or get them fired up because I don’t think there’s any way possible that a team like us could be favored over a team like Wisconsin.”

Oh yeah, Wisconsin is known for its heavy gambling clout.

Wild colts

Two quarterbacks named Colt combined to have nine passes intercepted last week -- five by Hawaii’s Colt Brennan and four by Texas’ Colt McCoy.

Early on, both were considered Heisman Trophy candidates.

Times staff writer Mike Hiserman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

david.wharton@latimes.com