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Saturday, October 21, 2000

TCU might lose out
even it wins

The Western Athletic Conference
power may be snubbed by the
Bowl Championship Series

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By Richard Rosenblatt
Associated Press

Of the five major college teams that were unbeaten entering the weekend, No. 11 TCU had the easiest road to a perfect season but the toughest obstacles to overcome to earn a shot at the national title.

Welcome to the world of the Bowl Championship Series.

According to BCS bylaws, six of its eight bowl spots are guaranteed to champions from the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific-10 and Southeastern conferences. The others are reserved for at-large entries, conference runners-up and other league champs ranked No. 6 or higher in the BCS standings.

The first official BCS standings will be released Monday, and if the Horned Frogs beat Tulsa today they will move to 6-0 and perhaps into the Top 10 in the AP poll. Entering the weekend, TCU was No. 13 in unofficial BCS standings compiled by Chicago-based computer expert Jerry Palm. The other unbeaten teams -- Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and Clemson -- were all ranked ahead of TCU.

To meet the requirements for a BCS game -- the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose bowls -- the Horned Frogs would need several upsets involving teams ahead of them in the standings. And even if that happens, a final hurdle looms in Notre Dame.

BCS rules also state that if the Fighting Irish have nine wins/or are in the Top 10, they are guaranteed a BCS spot, and that would probably knock out TCU. The BCS could take a 9-2 Notre Dame and an 11-0 TCU but isn't required to. Bowls, remember, look at TV markets and ticket sales, too. The Irish were 4-2 before Saturday's game at West Virginia

While potential problems usually work themselves out, TCU could meet all the BCS criteria yet still lose out to Notre Dame and a conference runner-up such as Nebraska or Virginia Tech.

Kansas State can relate. The Wildcats went 10-1 a few years back and wound up in the Alamo Bowl.

Streaking: Quite a few streaks were broken during the first half of the season. Some are still going. Here's a bunch:

South Carolina ended its 21-game losing streak with a 31-0 win over New Mexico State on Sept. 2.

South Carolina ended its 18-game SEC game losing streak with a 21-10 win over Georgia.

Marshall's 18-game winning streak ended with a 34-24 loss to Michigan State on Sept. 9.

Buffalo ended its 18-game losing streak with a 20-17 win over Bowling Green on Sept. 23.

Florida State's 17-game winning streak ended with a 27-24 loss to Miami on Oct. 7.

Ball State ended its 21-game losing streak with a 15-10 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 7.

Iowa ended its school-record 13-game losing streak with a 21-16 win over Michigan State Oct. 7.

Kansas State's 25-game home winning streak ended with a 41-31 loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 14.

Notre Dame extended its consecutive victory streak over Navy to 37 with a 45-14 win Oct. 14.

TCU took a 10-game winning streak into today's game against Tulsa.

Florida State took a 32-game home winning streak into today's game against Virginia.

Oregon took an 18-game home winning streak into today's game against Arizona.

Bye-bye VMI: Virginia Military Institute, which has lost 16 straight games, will ask the Southern Conference to allow its football team to take an "open-ended leave of absence."

Under the proposal, the I-AA Keydets would play as an independent but remain in the conference for other sports. The formal request will be made at the conference meetings Nov. 7-8.

The Keydets, 0-7, went 1-10 each of the past two seasons and 0-11 in '97. VMI hasn't beaten a I-AA opponent since 1996 and has lost 30 consecutive Southern Conference games.

"We simply need to get this program better and stronger," VMI superintendent Josiah Bunting told The Roanoke Times, "and I don't think we're going to be able to do it successfully by playing against the level of competition which involves a number of the Southern Conference teams."