Is Pac-10 Race Coming Down to a Tiebreaker? : It’s Between UCLA, USC, Arizona State, Washington and Arizona, Donahue Says

This is still October, right? And the Rose Bowl game isn’t until next year? If so, then which Pacific 10 team is going to play in it? Inquiring minds want to know, and at UCLA, so does Terry Donahue.

There’s only one problem. Donahue has got the big picture, all right, but he’s just a little fuzzy on the details.

“All I know is the wins go in the W column, the losses go in the L column and the ties go, the ties go . . . you know, I can’t figure out where they go.”

Yeah, where the heck do you put those ties?

Maybe the Pac-10 race won’t wind up in a knot and there will be no need to call upon the tie factor. But at this point in the season, it is clear that the Rose Bowl is still overflowing with possibilities.

They can basically be broken down into two categories: Teams that have lost at least two games and teams who haven’t.

In Donahue’s mind, any one of five Pac-10 teams still has a shot at celebrating New Year’s Day in Pasadena. He listed Arizona State (3-0-1), Arizona (3-1), Washington (3-1), UCLA (3-1) and USC (3-2).

“Each of those teams is very much alive,” Donahue said.

But soon, some of those teams are going to be very much out of it. The biggest conference game of the season may come up Saturday night when Washington plays at Arizona State. If Washington loses, then Arizona State is just about a cinch to win the conference.

Then again, maybe Washington will win, which would seem to make the Huskies’ game with UCLA on Nov. 15 more important. Come to think of it, then what would that make Arizona State’s game with Arizona? Provided, of course, that the Wildcats don’t lose before their Nov. 22 match.

The possibilities seem endless, especially if there is a tie for first place because that would signal the need for the Pac-10’s somewhat complicated tiebreaking procedures.

“I don’t want to be called boring because I’ve been called that before and I resented it, but I am going to avoid (talking about) the Rose Bowl race because I can’t figure it out,” Donahue said.

Donahue said it’s still far too early to speculate on which team is going where on New Year’s Day.

“People also want Christmas to get here on Thanksgiving,” he said.

With that in mind, it would probably be best to get started on understanding it all before Jan. 1. To begin with, figure out where to put those ties.

So look at the conference standings. Consider them closely. Do not even look at the wins, but only the losses and the ties, because those are the only numbers that figure in deciding the conference champion.

A tie is counted as one-half of a loss. If the first team is 6-0-1 and the other is 7-0, the first team is eliminated, even though it didn’t lose a game. Too bad. At least we know where that tie doesn’t go. It doesn’t go to Pasadena.

Also, if one team is 6-1-1 and another team is 5-1-1, both teams are still tied. Further tiebreaking procedures are needed, and the bad news starts.

Not everyone appreciates the subtleties of the tiebreakers.

“It gives me a headache,” Donahue said.

Here’s why. There are four basic tiebreakers between two teams. Sometimes the first one is all that is needed. Whoever beat the other team wins the tiebreaker. But what if the two teams didn’t play each other? Then the funny stuff starts.

The Pac-10’s second tiebreaker is a point system that awards anywhere from one point to four points for games during the season:

4 points--A conference victory.

3 points--A nonconference victory over a Division I-A team.

2 points--A nonconference victory over a non-I-A team.

2 points--A conference tie.

1 1/2 points--A nonconference tie with a I-A team.

1 point--A nonconference tie with a non-I-A team.

In the event that the two teams are still tied after the second tiebreaker, the next step is to eliminate the last team that appeared in the Rose Bowl. If all else fails, as a last resort the conference athletic directors vote, which is probably the only other thing they could think of besides flipping a coin.

And what happens if there’s a three-way tie? Don’t even think about it.

Actually, that happened last year when UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State tied. The Bruins went to the Rose Bowl because they defeated the other two teams.

So let’s go worst-case scenario. What if four teams tie?

Simple, the NCAA investigates all of them. That will put an end to that stuff, guaranteed.

Bruin Notes As it turns out, UCLA’s 54-16 victory over Washington State was costly because of injuries. Starting left guard Jim Alexander will miss Saturday’s game with Oregon State at Portland because of a broken bone in his hand. Alexander had surgery Sunday, but he could be back for the Stanford game, wearing a cast. The Bruins were also hurt two-deep at defensive left tackle, where both starter Frank Batchkoff and backup Jeff Glasser sprained knee ligaments. Coach Terry Donahue said he doesn’t know if either one will play against Oregon State. Inside linebacker Chance Johnson (pinched nerve in neck and shoulder) and left cornerback Chuckie Miller (ribs) are still out and will not play Saturday.

Team Conf. Overall W L T W L T PF PA Ariz. St. 3 0 1 6 0 1 205 91 UCLA 3 1 0 5 2 0 220 242 Washington 3 1 0 6 1 0 262 83 Arizona 3 1 0 6 1 0 220 111 USC 3 2 0 5 2 0 147 124 Stanford 2 2 0 5 2 0 148 88 Wash. St. 2 2 1 3 3 1 163 168 Oregon St. 1 3 0 2 5 0 93 137 California 1 4 0 1 6 0 116 210 Oregon 0 5 0 2 6 0 132 284