Virginia Tech to Lag in BCS Rankings

Virginia Tech may still be No. 2 in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY/ESPN coaches’ polls, but No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 Oklahoma will be the top two-ranked teams when the first all-important bowl championship series rankings are released tonight by ABC during halftime of Monday Night Football.

Jerry Palm, a Chicago-based math expert who has deciphered the BCS formula, posted the rankings Sunday night on his Internet site.

Palm says the top five teams in the first BCS rankings will be Nebraska, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State.

Because the Dunkel Index, one of eight computer systems the BCS uses in its formula, had not yet posted its ratings as of Sunday night, Palm said in a telephone interview that he could not nail the first BCS released down to the decimal point.

“The exact raw BCS numbers may be off,” Palm said. “But the top 10 is pretty solid.”

Palm said the lack of the Dunkel Index in his calculations might only effect a very tight race between No. 6 Clemson and No. 7 Florida.

The BCS system was implemented in 1998 to determine which two teams will play in the national title game.

The formula factors in the writers’ and coaches’ polls, eight national computer rankings and a strength-of-schedule component.

The two schools with the lowest point total at the end of this season play for the national title in the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl.