By Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine Senior Writer
Nov. 2, 1998
Image, it seems, is still everything.
Despite the new Bowl Championship Series poll, the traditional major
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This week it's Ohio State and Tennessee, according to the new BCS poll released Monday.
THE LATEST VICTIM IS UCLA, which dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in the BCS. The Bruins won less than impressively Saturday over Stanford and paid for it.
In the BCS, Tennessee jumped over UCLA -- which debuted at No. 1 last week -- into the second spot largely on the strength of shifting in the two major polls. UCLA lost ground in the coaches and AP polls. It dropped from second to third in AP and second to fourth in the coaches.
Tennessee went from third to second in AP and fourth to third in the coaches. Because the two major polls are averaged, UCLA lost 1 1/2 points in the BCS from the previous week.
"I think what you're seeing is a reaction to the BCS," said Charles Bloom, assistant Southeastern Conference commissioner and co-creator of the BCS. "If there were no BCS would UCLA have fallen two spots? That's a lot."
Ohio State remained solidly in Fiesta contention. It rose from second to first in this week's BCS poll.
"I'M MORE CONCERNED ABOUT winning football games than I am about impressing voters," Buckeyes coach John Cooper said.
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Texas and Ricky Williams knock Nebraska out of the BCS picture, but confusion still reigns.
(AP)
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The Wildcats debuted at No. 4, 4.48 points away from second-place Ohio State. This week they are only 2.35 points out of second.
CBS SportsLine predicted the correct order of the top four on Sunday.
The BCS top four matches that of the AP poll -- Ohio State, Tennessee, UCLA and Kansas State.
"THERE'S ONLY ONE STATISTIC THAT COUNTS and that's winning and losing," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. "I can't tell you how it's going to play out. We've still got three to go."
The plot continues to thicken because the top four teams remain undefeated. If all four win out, two schools may be left out of the championship mix.
"There's still a lot of football to be played," Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said. "It's really going to be a challenge.
"Our first goal is to win the Eastern Division of the Southeasern Conference and we haven't done that yet. I think we've gone out and played well and improved in every game this season. We've earned where we are. We'll have to work to keep it and continue to strive to be the best we can be."
The BCS poll uses a mixture of the two major polls, three computer rankings and a strength of schedule component. Each loss counts as a full point. The difference from previous years is the computer and strength of schedule components.
"A lot of people think it's better than what we had," Bloom said. "Everything that a writer would consider when he's placing his vote I think the computer probably puts in the ranking."
THE BUCKEYES HAVE A SOLID LOCK on No. 1 in the BCS after moving up one spot in the Sagarin and New York Times computer polls. The move lowered Ohio State's computer average from 2.67 to 1.75. Its schedule strength actually dropped from 16th to 24th. But the Buckeyes are almost two full points ahead of second-place Tennessee.
Tennessee picked up a point in its poll average but fell in schedule strength from second to seventh. Its net gain in the standings was .80.
UCLA lost 1 1/2 points in its poll average and dropped in both Sagarin and the New York Times. The Bruins did have the toughest schedule in the country but dropped to third-toughest schedule by playing Stanford.
K-State picked up one-half point in its poll average and a full point in its computer average. It is ranked No. 1 by Sagarin, which includes margin of victory as one of its components. The Wildcats will be a prohibitive favorite this week against Baylor before playing host to Nebraska, No. 12 in the BCS, in two weeks.
THE BCS POLL IS USED TO SEED the top two teams and select two at-large teams to fill the eight available spots in the Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls. If the BCS were played today, Tennessee and Ohio State would meet for at least one half of the national championship. The coaches poll will declare the winner of that game No. 1.
Pac-10 winner UCLA would then likely go to the Rose Bowl to face at-large candidates Wisconsin or Notre Dame. Florida would be the other at-large team and would be a perfect anchor team for the Sugar Bowl to match against Big 12 champion K-State.
The Big East winner, either Syracuse or Virginia Tech, would play ACC winner Florida State in the Orange Bowl. But like the poll itself, the bowl picture could change week to week.
"The poll doesn't mean a thing this week," Bloom said. "It's what the final one says on Dec. 6."
Dennis Dodd is a senior writer in CBS SportsLine's Kansas City bureau.