Sorting Out the BCS Is Now Another Fine Mess

The elimination games are coming.

And that means that after the bowl championship series rankings are announced for the first time in the 2001 season on Monday, things could change just as quickly by the following weekend ... and the one after that ... and the one after that.

Despite its promise of bringing the national championship picture into focus, the BCS rankings figure to do even more to fuel an already hot debate about which schools might be left out in the cold with all things--i.e. records--being equal.

At the close of business Saturday, there were still eight undefeated Division I-A teams.

Which brings us to those elimination games--the closest college football will be to a playoff for many years.

There’s the potential of as many as three games involving unbeaten teams over the next few weeks, which should help sort out what will be a convoluted formula.

The first of these clashes occurs Saturday when Oklahoma plays at Nebraska as one team figures to see its BCS hopes possibly vanish. Oklahoma is being projected as the No. 1 team in the rankings so a Sooner loss likely would mean that an undefeated UCLA team--projected at No. 2--fills the top spot heading into November.

The Bruins still must get by not only Stanford--which Saturday knocked off Oregon’s unbeaten tag--but also a possibly undefeated Washington State team on Nov. 3 and what sometimes is a high-flying Duck team on Nov. 10, not to mention USC and Arizona State to close the season.

Still, after those Pac-10 showdowns, at least two unbeatens will have departed from the picture.

That leaves Miami and Virginia Tech, the class of a shoddy Big East.

Virginia Tech’s only real challenge will be its home game against Miami on Dec. 1.

Miami’s dilemma is interesting, since the Hurricanes are ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls, yet are only projected to be No. 6 in the first BCS rankings.

Maryland is another factor. The undefeated Terrapins, projected to be No. 10, could win out and be left out anyway.

And what about once-beaten Texas, Michigan, Florida and Oregon and still undefeated Brigham Young?

What’s left are an abundance of questions that only will be answered at a snail’s pace from now until December.

And even then, there’s no guarantee that we’ll be happy about it.

Acting the Part

Harvard hasn’t been this good since the late 1960s.

In fact, the last time the Crimson started a season 5-0 was when a man, who has been a U.S. marshal, a space cowboy, a secret agent and an arch-enemy of a super hero, played on its offensive line.

Sure, the university produces its share of renaissance men, but few are like the 6-foot guard that earned All-Ivy League honors in 1968.

OK, so Tommy Lee Jones accomplished all of the above as a character on the silver screen. Still, Jones was a valued member of the last undefeated Harvard team that started the way this season’s edition has after its 28-26 victory against Princeton.

Jones, who is still good friends with former Vice President Al Gore after the two were college roommates, dreamed of playing for the Dallas Cowboys growing up as an eighth-generation Texan.

His slight and lanky build forced him to abandon that dream, but he definitely landed on his feet.

And what does Lee say when asked if making movies is fun: “Darn right, it is. ... It’s like going undefeated in football.”

Maximum Return

Jabori Jackson did more on four plays than some players can accomplish in an entire season.

Jackson, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound sophomore wide receiver for Division III East Texas Baptist, touched the ball seven times in a 38-24 victory against visiting Texas Lutheran at Marshall.

But it was what he did on four of those touches that left fans gasping.

Jackson returned kickoffs 83 and 82 yards for touchdowns also had touchdowns receptions of 76 and 78 yards. In all, Jackson amassed 377 all-purpose yards.

After his stunning performance, Jackson is averaging 29.8 yards a catch and 35.9 yards a kickoff return.

Ohio Peaks and Valleys

In Northeast Ohio, the cities of Oberlin and Alliance are separated from one another by roughly 50 miles.

But many would say the college football teams that reside there are more like thousands of miles apart.

Mount Union, which calls Alliance its home, is the No. 1 team in Division III.

The Purple Raiders defeated Capital, 52-13, on Saturday for their 69th consecutive regular-season victory and 62nd in a row in the Ohio Conference and appear on their way to another championship.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Oberlin hadn’t tasted victory since 1997.

That all changed for the Yeomen, who got three touchdowns from Scott Barker in a 55-22 victory against Kenyon.

That snapped a 44-game losing streak, which had been the longest current slide in college football.

Here’s hoping history doesn’t repeat itself: After beating Kenyon in 1992, Oberlin began a 40-game losing streak.

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Compiled by Jim Barrero