Bruin Nation Could Be Ruination of the BCS

It’s all up to you, Bob, and 90% of the free world is flying a Bruin banner (Switzerland, what a surprise, is neutral).

We know UCLA Coach Bob Toledo has enough headaches, what with letter writers calling for his job in the wake of a two-year swoon in which his team has gone 14-8, while cross-town rival Pete Carroll in that same span has led USC to a stellar record of ... 16-8?

Anyway, Bob, if you wouldn’t mind, could you possibly next weekend save your job and the bowl championship series?

Saturday’s matchup between UCLA and Washington State at the Rose Bowl will be the most tuned-in Toledo game since that harrowing, locker room-dividing 1998 defeat at Miami.

USC is suddenly a bosom buddy because it needs a UCLA win to clinch the Pacific 10 title and a Rose Bowl berth.

The Rose Bowl wants UCLA to win so it can pair USC and Iowa in a dream matchup (how does a Washington State-Colorado alternative grab you?).

And you don’t know how badly the Orange Bowl wants UCLA to prevail.

In fact, a UCLA victory against Washington State can save the BCS from potential mayhem -- hey, maybe that’s not a bad thing.

If UCLA defeats Washington State, the Orange Bowl’s woes are solved. If it loses No. 1 Miami to the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl can, without guilt, take 10-2 Notre Dame and ensure a packed stadium.

If UCLA wins, the Orange Bowl doesn’t have to snub Iowa or USC, which would meet in the Rose Bowl.

If UCLA loses, well, look out.

If Washington State goes to the Rose Bowl and USC secures an automatic BCS at-large bid by getting to No. 4 in the BCS standings, then maybe we’re looking at this:

The Orange Bowl, desperate for a team that will travel, passes on USC and steals Iowa from the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame gets shoved out of the BCS mix but has no real beef given how it was shoved out of the Coliseum.

The Rose Bowl, picking next, has to pass USC to the Sugar Bowl and gets stuck with the Big 12 champion, either Oklahoma or Colorado.

The Rose Bowl is not going to be happy about losing Iowa, especially if it gets the bill for three-loss Colorado.

If UCLA loses, and USC does not get the automatic bid, the Orange Bowl might take Notre Dame over USC and let Iowa go to the Rose Bowl, in which case USC is very, very upset.

Among the few not rooting for UCLA: Washington State fans across America and the Pac-10, which would lose $4.5 if the conference places only one team in the BCS.

The important thing for Toledo, though, is to relax and enjoy the pageantry.

Losers’ Racket

Florida State’s win over Florida on Saturday saved the BCS the embarrassment of sending a five-loss team to a major bowl game.

Now it only has to live with the embarrassment of sending a four-loss team to a BCS game.

Florida State, at 9-4, is going to play in either the Sugar or Orange Bowl at the expense of a more deserving school, possibly USC, Kansas State, Iowa or even Texas.

As champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Florida State is guaranteed an automatic BCS berth.

In fact, if Colorado and Arkansas win their conference title games next week, the BCS will send three teams with three or more defeats to major bowls.

Not fair? Brace yourselves here, but this is all about money.

When the BCS was formed in 1998, the major conference commissioners determined it was imperative the champions of the six major conferences received automatic exemptions so each league would be assured of a major bowl payout.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said of the Florida State situation. “We have to have each conference protected because of the money. That’s the whole foundation of the BCS.”

Most years, the best schools in the best conferences are among the best teams that receive the eight BCS bowl spots.

Not this year.

“It’s very unfortunate when that happens,” Hansen said.

There’s a good reason why no BCS conference commissioner in his right mind is going to push for a rule that would prohibit a three- or four-loss conference champion from a BCS game.

“It could be us next year,” Hansen said.

This is not the first time the BCS has sent a dud to the dance.

In 1998, Syracuse won the Big East with three losses and a No. 15 BCS ranking, then got crushed by Florida in the Orange Bowl.

The BCS then added an obscure rule that stated a conference that didn’t maintain a top-12 BCS average over a four-year period could lose its major bowl guarantee.

Now, no one with half a brain believed the so-called “Big East” rule would ever be enforced, but, technically, Florida State has put the ACC on the four-year clock.

Weekend Wrap

USC’s chances look good for overtaking Iowa for the No. 4 spot in today’s BCS standings. The Trojans trailed Iowa by .94 last week, but moved from No. 6 to No. 2 in two of the seven BCS computer polls and from No. 3 to No. 1 in the New York Times computer. USC also gained a half-point on Iowa in the poll component. Four BCS computer operators embargo the release of their rankings until today, but the trends suggest USC will leapfrog Iowa.

Another note about the No. 4 finish: It applies only in the case where an at-large team is bumped from the No. 3 spot by a conference champion.

For example, if Georgia lost next week and USC moved to No. 3 in the BCS and Iowa took over the No. 4 spot, USC would get the automatic BCS at-large berth but No. 4 Iowa would not.

Two milestones could be in jeopardy next season. Coach John Gagliardi, of Division III St. John’s, earned his 399th career win Saturday and is only 10 wins shy of breaking Eddie Robinson’s record of 408. Meanwhile, Miami is 15 wins from topping Oklahoma’s major college record or 47 straight victories. Miami could break the mark if it finishes next season unbeaten.