THE RACE FOR NO. 1

Tommy Tuberville was pleading the case for No. 3 Auburn earning a berth to the Orange Bowl after the Tigers defeated No. 8 Georgia, 24-6.

Few people expected the Tigers to go undefeated. That was reflected by Auburn’s No. 17 ranking in the first poll. The truth is that when the season started, Auburn had too many teams to leapfrog. Two remain -- No. 1 USC and No. 2 Oklahoma -- and it’s two too many. Auburn needs help and none appears on the way.

And who is to say No. 4 California isn’t the second-best team in the land? Oklahoma defeated Nebraska, but this wasn’t your Bob Devaney or Tom Osborne Cornhuskers. No. 5 Wisconsin is this week’s big loser. It’s over for the Badgers. No. 7 Utah will benefit from Wisconsin’s tumble, but one has to question the Utes’ strength of schedule when an opponent doesn’t have the candlepower to play at night. As for No. 6 Texas, let’s see what happens Nov. 26 against Texas A&M.;

-- Jay Christensen