UCLA Still Has Storm to Weather

Could not making up the Miami game cost UCLA the Pacific 10 Conference title and the national championship?

Maybe, maybe not.

“We won’t know until the season’s over,” Charles Bloom, spokesman for the bowl championship series, said this week.

Terrific.

One of the flaws in the new BCS ranking formula is that it failed to consider game cancellations because of hurricanes.

When Hurricane Georges wiped out last weekend’s Miami-UCLA game, phone lines at BCS headquarters in Birmingham, Ala., started humming.

Here’s the problem:

If a 10-0 UCLA finishes as one of two unbeaten schools at the end of the regular season, it’s no problem.

The Bruins probably would be ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the final BCS poll and proceed to Tempe to play for the national title in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4.

But what if UCLA is one of three unbeatens? Or what if Nebraska is No. 1 at 12-0 and four once-defeated schools, three 10-1 teams and a 9-1 UCLA, are slugging it out for that second spot?

Or what if UCLA ties for the Pac-10 title, in which case the crown goes to the school with the best nonconference record?

In those scenarios, a victory over Miami might have meant the difference between winning the Pac-10 championship and playing in the BCS title game.

Or not.

(Deep breath)

Yet we won’t know if playing the Miami game would have meant something until the Hurricanes play the rest of their schedule.

Strength of schedule, and strength of an opponent’s opponents’ schedule, are components tabulated into the BCS formula.

If Miami finishes 7-4, beating Miami helps UCLA.

Because?

(Deep breath)

Because each spot between schools in the strength-of-schedule rankings is worth .04 of a computer point.

“Every little fraction helps,” Bloom says.

If Miami finishes 4-7, however, playing the Hurricanes might hurt UCLA in the formula.

The suggestion here?

Play the game.

Yes, it’s a logistical hassle. Yes, it ultimately could hurt the Bruins.

But p-l-a-y the game.

Miami and UCLA could meet Nov. 28 if the Miami-Syracuse game scheduled for that day is moved to Dec. 5, but both the Miami and UCLA basketball teams are playing that day.

UCLA doesn’t want to play Miami on Dec. 5 because the Bruins have recruits coming in for visits that weekend.

Also, UCLA’s season-ending banquet is set for Dec. 1, which would make it awkward when Bob Toledo stands up and announces: “Our team MVP is quarterback Cade McNown . . . unless he screws up against Miami on Saturday.”

Who said life was easy?

Coach, you get six days to prepare for USC; we’re guessing you can somehow reschedule that team banquet in the next two months.

Play the game.

Play it at night, play it during the day. Play it in Palm Beach or Peoria. Meet Miami halfway, say at High Noon in the Cotton Bowl. Play it on a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday.

But play it.

UCLA, don’t take a chance of losing or winning the national championship by a decimal point.

Settle this issue on the gridiron, not on a grid.

Not playing would further undermine this already delicate matter of determining college football’s national champion.

If UCLA and Miami walk away--administrators hope to have a decision in about a week--what’s to stop unbeaten Kansas State from flooding the parking lot in Manhattan on Nov. 14 to prevent playing Nebraska, just to see how it plays out in the computer?

Play the game, UCLA.

The integrity of college football and common sense demands it.

And what if Miami refuses?

Call a lawyer.

PAIN IN THE ASTERISK

Move over, Roger Maris.

In a nonsurgical procedure, Texas A&M; had the asterisk removed from its win-loss record this week even though it has officially forfeited its Sept. 12 victory against Louisiana Tech for using an ineligible player, fullback D’Andre Hardeman.

Confused? Welcome aboard.

The NCAA informed Texas A&M; that the Aggies could count the forfeit as a win for bookkeeping purposes.

So what was the penalty for playing Hardeman?

To become bowl qualified, Texas A&M; needs six wins against Division I-A opponents and a winning record. If the Aggies finish 8-4, the Hardeman forfeit factor will be moot.

But if Texas A&M; finishes 7-5, the Louisiana Tech game would be the difference between being bowl eligible or not.

Meanwhile, America’s erstwhile pollsters are perplexed. This week’s Associated Press poll has No. 18 Texas A&M; with a 3-1 record. The USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll has the Aggies at 2-2.

Aggies’ spokesman Brad Marquardt said the AP writers are right--wow, there’s a shock.

Texas A&M; requested the coaches’ poll make the correction.

While the coaches are righting wrongs, how about returning the share of Michigan’s national title they handed to Nebraska last season?

DUCKS SUPER

Oregon is the last school that wanted a bye this week.

The Ducks are 4-0 for the first time since 1988 and riding a six-game winning streak dating to last season.

Oregon’s 63 points against Stanford last week were the most the Ducks have scored in a Pac-10 game. In four wins, the Ducks are averaging 540 yards and 50 points.

Why is this happening?

For one, Coach Mike Bellotti and staff have a keen eye for attracting top junior college talent.

Two years ago, Oregon recruited Saladin McCullough, the talented but troubled tailback who split time at Pasadena City College and El Camino. McCullough gained 1,411 yards as a senior last year.

This season, two JC transfers are leading the Ducks’ offensive explosion: senior quarterback Akili Smith from Grossmont JC, and junior tailback Reuben Droughns from Merced College.

Smith ranks second nationally this week in passing efficiency with a rating of 193.1, trailing only Tulane quarterback Shaun King’s 194.6 mark.

“He’s playing as good of football as anybody in the nation right now,” Bellotti says of Smith.

In one month, Droughns already has become the first back in Oregon history to rush for 200 yards in a game twice in a season. Droughns had 202 yards against Michigan State in the opener and 214 last Saturday against Stanford.

Droughns is the nation’s ninth-leading rusher, averaging 145 yards a game.

Bellotti’s philosophy on transfers?

“Some teams only go for JCs” Bellotti said this week. “We use them basically to fill in chinks in the armor.”

Bellotti says the 65-scholarship limit has made recruiting quality junior college players a priority.

“We’re not just recruiting regional JC people,” he said. “We’ve gone to nationally recruiting JC people.”

FAMOUS AMOS

West Virginia junior tailback Amos Zereoue might not win the Heisman Trophy this season--although his 192 yards and three touchdowns last week against Tulsa put him back in the chase--but he is running the most cost-effective campaign.

Eschewing the usual Heisman-publicity mailings, Zereoue is taking his case directly to the people on the Internet, using his e-mail address to file weekly personal updates to 200 sportswriters.

This, Heisman candidates, is the wave of the future.

The idea to have Zereoue personally address the nation’s media was hatched last summer in the West Virginia sports information department.

“This is a lot more immediate,” said Shelly Poe, West Virginia sports information director. “It’s quick, easy, convenient, and that’s what appealed to Amos.”

Does Zereoue really sit down at his PC and hash out his weekly notes?

Well, no. Each Sunday, Zereoue calls in his talking points to someone in the SID’s office. The cyber ghostwriter then polishes up the copy on an office computer and ships it out using Zereoue’s e-mail address: amos20@wvu.edu.

Looking for a more than a blanket response, yours truly e-mailed Amos this and requested a personal reply.

Tuesday, the real Zereoue messaged me back.

“I’m glad people are writing back and having some fun with it, because that’s what makes it fun for me,” Zereoue sent in his dispatch.

He concluded by saying:

“Thanks again for responding and write back again if you ever have any questions about the Mountaineers--Amos Zereoue #20.”

Dear amos20@wvu.edu: “Hmmm. Sorry. At this time, I can’t think of one question.”

TWO-MINUTE DRILL

* Two tees up for the BCS’ decision to reconsider the release date of its first poll. The BCS originally had set a Nov. 17 date for release, but may now opt for early November.

* Washington Coach Jim Lambright wins this week’s understatement award for his postgame comments after Saturday’s 55-7 drubbing at Nebraska. “That’s a good football team,” Lambright said of the Cornhuskers. “I am very impressed with their fundamentals.”

* Semi-annual Big West Conference note: Nevada senior receiver Geoff Noisy had eight catches last week against Fresno State, leaving him 39 receptions shy of the career NCAA mark held by Aaron Turner, who had 266 catches at the University of the Pacific from 1989 through ’92.

* The Pac-10 took a hit last weekend when Washington and USC suffered nonconference road losses to Nebraska and Florida State, respectively, by the sum of 68 points. Still, the Pac-10 is 20-5 in nonconference games. The Pac-10’s nonconference record breakdown: Big Ten (4-0), Big 12 (3-2), Atlantic Coast Conference (1-1), Western Athletic Conference (6-2), Conference USA (2-0), Big West (4-0).

* The Big 12 boasts four of the nation’s top seven runners in this week’s NCAA statistics: first--Ricky Williams (Texas Tech); third--Ricky Williams (Texas); fourth--Devon West (Missouri); seventh--Darren Davis (Iowa State).