By Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine Senior Writer
Sept. 25, 1998
Don't think of it as a hurricane. Think of it as the latest wet and wild monkey wrench thrown into the college football season.
When the decision came to cancel Saturday's UCLA at Miami game because of Hurricane Georges, it was just another assault against the grand old game this month. Who would ever have thought of a hurricane canceling the Hurricanes?
Before it gets wetter, it's already gotten wilder. Florida can't find a quarterback and Michigan can't find a defense. Texas A&M has had to forfeit a game because of a clerical error, a little-known sophomore from Texas Tech is threatening
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Hurricane Georges wasn't through with college football on Friday. Both the USC-Florida State and Kentucky-Florida games were in jeopardy Friday afternoon as Georges passed over the state. This just in: The pregame shows have been moved to the Weather Channel.
"YOU CAN'T PUT A FINGER ON this season," said Fiesta Bowl official Shawn Schoeffler.
Good point, because the Fiesta Bowl stands in the cross hairs of the September madness. The biggest issue is UCLA-Miami. Will it be made up or not? It was first reported that the game would not be played. Both schools' athletic directors have agreed to talk next week on the matter but, for the moment, there are ramifications to consider.
What's the effect on UCLA in the Bowl Championship Series poll if UCLA plays only 10 games? Small, says BCS co-creator Charles Bloom, assistant commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. The top two teams in the BCS poll meet in a de facto national championship game Jan. 4 in the Fiesta Bowl, and No. 3 UCLA (2-0) is definitely in the title mix
"Would (playing 10 games) be enough to have one team jump over you?" Bloom said. "It would depend on who that other team was. If you're undefeated, you have a really good chance, an above-excellent chance of getting to be one of the top two."
BCS officials are banking on there being only two undefeated teams, as there have been 16 times in the last 19 seasons. Any more and the controversy begins anew, especially if one of those undefeated teams is only 10-0. BCS honchos seemingly accounted for everything in their complicated formula except Mother Nature.
"IF WE'RE IN POSITION TO BE a national championship contender, this game may have implications," UCLA coach Bob Toledo said.
The BCS poll is a combination of the traditional writers and coaches polls, three computer ratings and a strength-of-schedule component. UCLA fans will be wondering if playing Miami would have boosted their team's strength of schedule rating. The answer: Not as much as you would think, and perhaps not at all. The Hurricanes already have played Division I-AA East Tennessee State. In the BCS formula, I-AA losses count against strength of schedule, but victories don't.
We might not know the effect on UCLA until early November, when the first BCS poll is released. That's mostly because the BCS strength-of-schedule math is a well-guarded secret. It puts two-thirds emphasis on opponents' records and one-third on opponents' opponents' records. We go to this week's Sagarin computer ratings for a representative look. Miami had the 84th toughest schedule in the country this week compared to UCLA, which was 65th.
Then there is the matter of UCLA quarterback Cade McNown's Heisman candidacy. Right now, McNown is No. 1 in CBS SportsLine's Heisman Watch and a consensus top-five candidate around the country. His chances could either rise or fall against a Miami team that is still digging out from underneath NCAA probation.
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Hurricane Georges might scramble Cade McNown's Heisman campaign.
(Allsport)
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If the game is played, it will be Dec. 5, the same day as the SEC, Big 12 and WAC championship games. One published report stated that 56 percent of all Heisman ballots were turned in before Dec. 1 last year. The deadline is usually the first week of December.
"You could say (moving the game) wouldn't matter," said UCLA sports information director Marc Dellins.
Around the country, Texas A&M tries to rebound from the loss of running back D'Andre Hardeman against North Texas (0-3). Hardeman competed while ineligible, costing the Aggies last week's victory over Southern Mississippi.
A&M IS EITHER 1-2 OR 2-1, DEPENDING on who you talk to. Bloom is waiting for word from the NCAA on what record to consider. If it's 1-2, the Aggies are out of the national championship hunt. If the NCAA rules the record is 2-1, the Aggies are still in the hunt.
One of the best games of the day wouldn't have drawn an inch of type before the season. Texas Tech (3-0) travels to Iowa State (2-1) in a matchup of the nation's No. 1 and No. 4 rushers. Texas Tech's Ricky Williams has 665 yards in three games and is on pace to rush for 2,438 yards. That would be the second- most ever behind Sanders' record of 2,628 yards set in 1988.
Iowa State's Darren Davis has consecutive 200-yard games and is bidding to become the family's second 2,000-yard rusher. Brother Troy had back-to-back two-grand seasons in 1995 and '96.
The best game of the day -- weather permitting -- is Kentucky's Tim Couch playing at Florida. Couch leads the nation in touchdown passes (13) and will be trying to help break Florida's 23-game home winning streak. The Gators (2-1), wounded at Tennessee, need to win to keep their faint national title hopes alive. The Wildcats are 3-0.
"LAST YEAR WE QUESTIONED if we were on the same level as some of the other teams in the conference," Couch said this week. "This week we feel like we can play with anyone in the country."
Instead of dodging a hurricane, coach John Cooper of No. 1 Ohio State can try ordering one. He's got the week off before next week's showdown with Penn State.
Dennis Dodd is a senior writer in CBS SportsLine's Kansas City bureau.