Miami moves into national title territory in BCS standings

<br>Even with a win over lowly Temple, Miami moved into national title territory in the Bowl Championship Series standings. <br><br>The Hurricanes, sitting third in the rankings for two weeks, rose to

Monday, November 5th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Even with a win over lowly Temple, Miami moved into national title territory in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

The Hurricanes, sitting third in the rankings for two weeks, rose to second place _ ahead of Oklahoma and behind Nebraska _ in the latest BCS standings released Monday.

Miami (7-0) defeated Temple 38-0 on Saturday, and surged to a 1.22-point advantage over Oklahoma in the five-pronged formula used to rank teams. The Sooners (8-1) beat Tulsa, 58-0.

Nebraska (10-0), a 51-7 winner over Kansas, remained first with 2.62 points, followed by Miami at 6.61 points and Oklahoma at 7.83 points. Last week, Miami trailed Oklahoma by just .12 points.

The standings determine which teams play in the BCS' national title game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 3. The rankings are based on a formula that incorporates the AP media and coaches' polls, eight computers, strength of schedule, won-lost record and bonus points for big wins.

Miami, ranked No. 1 in the AP media poll and the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, jumped past Oklahoma thanks to the computers and a stronger schedule, which also takes into account results of teams Miami has already played.

For example, Miami defeated Florida State earlier this season, and the Seminoles (6-2) improved to 14th in the BCS standings after beating Clemson on Saturday.

Tennessee (6-1) moved up three places to fourth, with Texas (8-1) fifth. Rounding out the BCS' top 10 were Oregon (8-1), Florida (7-1), Washington (7-1), Washington State (8-1) and Michigan (6-2).

BYU (9-0), the only other major college unbeaten team, made the rankings for the first time, in 13th place.

Nebraska's 2.62-point breakdown was: 2 points for poll average, 1 point for computer average, 0.92 for strength of schedule, 0 for won-loss record and a 1.3-bonus point deduction for beating Oklahoma on Oct. 27.

The bonus award _ new this season _ is based on a sliding scale from 1.5 points for beating a first-place team down to .1 for a win over the 15th-place team. The bonus is awarded after the other elements are calculated.

Miami (6.61) had 1 point for poll average, 2.83 for computer average, 2.88 for strength of schedule, 0 for won-loss record and a .1-point deduction for beating Florida State.

Oklahoma (7.83) had 3.5 for poll average, 3.67 for computer average, 0.76 for strength of schedule, 1 for won-loss record and a 1.1-point deduction for beating Texas on Oct. 6.

Looking ahead, the schedule seems to favor Miami, which plays four strong teams to close the season _ at Boston College (6-2), home to Syracuse (7-2) and Washington (7-1), and at Virginia Tech (6-2).

Oklahoma plays Texas A&M (7-2) at home, and visits Texas Tech (5-3) and Oklahoma State (2-6) before a likely rematch against Nebraska in the Big 12 title game.

Nebraska plays Kansas State (4-4) at home, and visits Colorado (7-2) before the Big 12 title game.

The final BCS standings will be released on Dec. 9.