The first edition of the 2005 Bowl Championship Series standings
was released on Monday and the UCLA football team ranked ninth in
the country, a figure computed based on varying polls and computer
rankings that still seem to puzzle most football fans.
Leading the BCS standings are No. 1 USC and No. 2 Texas. Georgia
is No. 3 in the formula even though Virginia Tech is third in the
country in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches
polls.
For the first time, the AP Poll is not being used as part of the
BCS formula, as the AP asked BCS officials to stop using its poll
in the formula after last season.
The void has been filled by the Harris Interactive poll, which
has a panel comprised of former players, coaches and
administrators, along with some media members.
The Bruins (6-0, 3-0 Pac 10), one of only seven undefeated teams
left in Division I-A, are one of many teams in college football who
fall into a different ranking in almost every national poll, a sign
that the reformed BCS is still open to controversy.
Entering the eighth week of the season, UCLA sits at No. 8 in
the AP poll, No. 9 in the USA Today poll and No. 8 in the Harris
poll, with the computer rankings averaging out to a ranking of 11th
in the country.
The Bruins’ official BCS average is .6675, a number that
is subject to change each week depending on where they are ranked
in the assortment of national polls.
UCLA hasn’t been ranked in the top ten in the BCS since
2001, when the team placed at No. 4 during the eighth week of the
season.
There have been alterations to the BCS mathematical formula in
each of the past three seasons, as officials have decided to strip
away any use of strength of schedule, total losses or bonuses for
quality wins.
This year the BCS championship game will be held at the Rose
Bowl in Pasadena, UCLA’s home field, and the top two teams in
the BCS formula will play for the national title.
The BCS was implemented in 1998 by the leaders of college
football’s six high-revenue conferences ““ Big East, Big
Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference, Pac-10 and Southeastern
Conference ““ and Notre Dame.
The champion of each of those conferences earns an automatic bid
into the four BCS games, and two at-large bids are awarded.A fifth
BCS bowl game is being added for the 2006-07 season.