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 Friday, December 13, 2002
The missing votes are found
By Jack Arute
Special to BCSfootball.com
Comment to Jack Arute.
It looks as if some ballots must have been found in a locked box underneath the goalpost at the Orange Bowl. When the box was opened, the missing votes for the Hurricanes' No. 2 ranking in the latest BCS rankings were revealed.
|  | | Chris Weinke will be on pressure this weekend to lead Florida State past Florida and help the Seminoles pass Miami in the BCS. |
In reality, the difference this week between Miami and Florida State rests in last week's opponents. The Hurricanes' convincing 35-7 win over Pittsburgh helped them move forward in both the polls and schedule rank. Florida State, on the other hand, failed to cover the spread for its contest with Wake Forest. The reason I bring up the spread is that contrary to conventional theory, several of the computers that make up the computer ranking average seriously look at margin of victory.
What about No. 1 Oklahoma? Were the Sooners not in a tough battle with the Aggies in College Station? Absolutely, but both pollsters and computers consider Texas A&M a very tough opponent -- much tougher than Pitt or Wake Forest.
So does this mean that Miami has a lock on a trip to the Orange Bowl? Not at all. You don't need exit polls to realize that Miami's No. 2 ranking could be taken off the board late Saturday night. That's when the results of the annual Gator-Seminole slugfest will be known. Florida is without question is a much stronger opponent than Miami's Syracuse Orangemen this weekend. Playing in the Carrier Dome will bring some added weight to a Miami victory, but again, most pollsters and computers consider Syracuse a mid-level Division I team.
Should Florida be victorious in Tallahassee, the Gators could easily find themselves ranked No. 2 in the BCS next week. But then, they would have to take advantage of a highly ranked opponent in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 2 at the Georgia Dome. On the other hand, if Florida State wins out, it should be a no-brainer for the 'Noles to leapfrog back to No. 2.
In most years, BCS implications are not necessary to get a firestorm going over the ultimate battle of Florida. Gator fans hate the Seminoles, and Seminoles hate Gators. (In fact, for years, the Seminole Nation has shown its strength over alligators by rassling them for fun and profit.)
Of the top four BCS ranked teams, only No. 1 Oklahoma controls its own destiny. The Sooners got a break this weekend when Kansas State beat Nebraska in the Little Apple Snow Bowl. This week, the Sooners get the next best thing to a bye week with their game against Texas Tech, but Dec. 2 is still the red letter day for the Boomer Sooner Nation.
Should Oklahoma lose the Big XII Championship Game, there would still be a remote possibility of OU absorbing the loss and still being able to make Miami reservations for Jan. 3, but remote is the operative word. Funky things would have to happen between now and then to Miami, Florida State and Florida. It seems to me that, whether we like it or not, our attention will stay focused on the state of Florida for quite some time.
Jack Arute writes a column every Monday for BCSfootball.com. On Saturday, he will chat with users at 3:30 p.m. ET from Tallahassee about Rivalry Weekend and the BCS rankings.
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Oklahoma's Torrance Marshall intercepts A&M quarterback Mark Farris and returns the ball 41 yards for the winning TD.