Oregon, Colorado Feel Left Out

Both feeling jilted by the system, Oregon and Colorado will get their chance to prove that the bowl championship series computer brain had its wires crossed by choosing Nebraska instead of them.

The second-ranked Ducks (10-1, No. 4 BCS) will meet the third-ranked Buffaloes (10-2, No. 3) in the Fiesta Bowl. And judging by the coaches’ reaction on Sunday, the teams should be ready to take out their frustrations on each other New Year’s Day in Tempe, Ariz.

Oregon’s Mike Bellotti, who rarely shows anger on or off the field, fumed at the BCS rankings, calling them a “travesty.”

“I liken the BCS to a bad disease, like cancer,” he said before the Ducks’ practice in Eugene. “Not to take anything away from Nebraska or Colorado--they’re great football teams--but one has two losses and the other didn’t win their conference championship. We’re No. 2 in both polls, but those things don’t have a lot of merit, obviously.”

Colorado Coach Gary Barnett couldn’t understand how Nebraska, thrashed 62-36 by the Buffaloes in Boulder on Nov. 23, could be ranked ahead of his team.

“It’s hard to be gracious at this moment,” Barnett said.

There could be more at stake than a philosophical debate over the embattled BCS system when Oregon and Colorado play. Should Nebraska, ranked fourth in the Associated Press and coaches’ polls but No. 2 in the BCS, beat consensus No. 1 Miami in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 3, the 72 voters in the AP poll could choose the Fiesta winner as the national champion. The coaches are obliged to cast their vote for the Rose Bowl winner.

Asked whether the Fiesta winner should be crowned the champion if Nebraska pulls off the upset, Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I’m always the eternal optimist, thinking of possible ways to kind of sneak in the back door here. But I think we had a great season, and I do think we have a shot, a legitimate claim to possibly be playing in Pasadena.”

The only blemish for Oregon, the Pac-10 champion, was a 49-42 loss to Stanford on Oct. 20 in which the Cardinal blocked two punts in the fourth quarter and scored 21 straight points.

The Ducks responded with four consecutive wins, but they moved up only one spot in the BCS over the final three weeks, even after five teams ranked ahead of them lost.

“I know we could play with Miami,” said Oregon tight end Justin Peelle.

Colorado perhaps has a stronger case: The Buffaloes played a tougher schedule than Oregon, and their only defeats came to Fresno State and Texas.

After beating Nebraska, they avenged the Texas loss with a 39-37 victory over the Longhorns in the Big 12 title game.

When the final BCS standings came out, however, the Cornhuskers were ahead of Colorado by a mere five-hundredths of a point.

“They say the computer is right,” Colorado running back Bobby Purify said. “We’re just going to have to go out and play well against Oregon and prove to the nation how good we really are.”