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 Friday, December 13, 2002
The second season begins for Miami
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
Larry Coker said that this was the beginning of Miami's second season, and the BCS certainly reinforced that. A formidable schedule faces Miami, but if the Hurricanes can run the table, they will get their ticket punched for the Rose Bowl presented by AT&T.
|  | | Eric Crouch has been the nation's best player all season. |
Their opponent in Pasadena is the big question mark. Folks in Lincoln have to be in ex-coach Tom Osborne's camp right now. Osborne was the only Big 12 coach to vote against a Big 12 Championship game, and with Oklahoma the Huskers' likely opponent on Dec. 1, their Rose Bowl hopes rest on a repeat matchup. Oklahoma did the improbable last year against Kansas State to get to the FedEx Orange Bowl, but when you beat a team once in the regular season, you don't like to see that team until 12 months later.
The shakeup from fourth to 15th leaves the remaining BCS bowl picture subject of to debate.
BCS parameters allow no more than two teams per conference to play in BCS bowl games. Looking at this week's top 15, that puts several Big 12 teams (i.e. Texas) and Pac-10 teams in peril of finishing high in the BCS and still missing out on a lucrative $13.5 million payday.
Maryland remains in the hunt for the ACC title and a trip to Miami. And all of a sudden, the late-season Tennessee/Florida matchup, along with the SEC Championship game, will play a big part in whether or not Roy Kramer's conference puts one team in the Nokia Sugar Bowl and possibly the Vols in Miami.
Last week, the talk was about BYU arguing to get its way into the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The Pac-10 champion is headed to Tempe this January, but organizers have discussed taking the Big Ten champion if the Big 12 champion ends up in Pasadena.
The BYU/Tostitos Fiesta Bowl scenario all but evaporated thanks to the last-second win Michigan State put on Michigan. Don't be premature in giving the Wolverines the Big Ten championship. Ohio State looms at the end of the season, and the way Illinois is playing, the Illini-Buckeye game on Nov. 17 could be big -- Big Ten big.
There is a hidden time bomb ticking in this BCS, and it's the newest component, the quality win index. The numbers that are posted currently fluctuate more than your electricity bill. Don't worry about quality wins until the final BCS posting on Dec. 9. The teams that are in the final BCS top 15 (and their standing) will determine the quality win component.
Miami's QW index should get better if it continues to win. Tennessee is currently without a quality win bonus, but its matchup with Florida, and the Apple Cup pitting Washington against Washington State, could certainly shuffle the QW bonuses.
Jack's Top 6
| 1. Nebraska |
A no-brainer |
| 2. Miami |
There's more than one hurricane in south Florida |
| 3. (tie) Tennessee |
It's election week, let's go to the hanging chads |
| 3. (tie) Oklahoma |
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| 3. (tie) Texas |
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| 6. Florida |
I have them ahead of Oregon |
Jack Arute writes a column every Monday on the Bowl Championship Series for ABC Sports Online.
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