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Bruins may upset the apple cart

Maurice Drew of the UCLA Bruins is tackled by the University of Arizona Wildcats defense in their NCAA football game at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona, on Nov. 5. The Wildcats defeated the Bruins 52-14. PHOTO: AFP

Last season, when UCLA played Southern California to end the regular schedule, the Bruins had the ball with a chance to win in the final minute. But they squandered their opportunity with a turnover, and the Trojans survived, 29-24.

This season, those two Los Angeles-area teams finish together again Saturday at the Coliseum, and the Bruins (9-1) are a much-improved team.

But it is not so certain that the Trojans (11-0) are also improved -- even with the top ranking in the Bowl Championship Series, with a 33-game winning streak and with Reggie Bush carrying the ball next week and probably the Heisman trophy the week after.

With bowl bids still unsettled, a UCLA upset of USC is one of several intriguing possibilities as the college football season ends with several climactic games.

With polls making up two-thirds of the formula this season and with computers the other third, a USC defeat could be punished harshly.

Should the Trojans lose for the first time since 2003, they could fall out of a berth in the Rose Bowl for the BCS championship and elevate Penn State (ranked third in the BCS) into one of the top two positions, even though the Nittany Lions' last game was Nov. 19.

Nick Walker, center, of Alabama is tackled by Steve Gandy, top and Will Herring of Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, on Nov. 19. Auburn won 28-18. PHOTO: AFP

And if Texas were to lose Saturday's Big 12 title game to Colorado (a result more difficult to envision), the No. 2 Longhorns could drop out of the championship game and stoke the hopes of LSU, which sat fourth in the BCS before Monday's tabulations.

A promotion for LSU assumes that the Tigers will defeat Georgia in Saturday's SEC title game. Like Texas, a shaky 40-29 victor over Texas A&M, LSU survived a close call, beating Arkansas, 19-17.

Quarterback Vince Young of Texas during play against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, on Friday. The Longhorns won 40-29. PHOTO: AFP

The most entertaining game of the weekend was the final one, Notre Dame's 38-31 victory over Stanford on Saturday night. The Irish needed a last-minute touchdown by Darius Walker to win and to qualify for a BCS game, most likely the Fiesta Bowl. (Notre Dame qualifies for a BCS game if it wins nine games and is ranked No. 12 or better in the BCS.)

Although the Fighting Irish improved to 9-2, they dropped to seventh from sixth in the two polls Sunday. Idle Ohio State switched places with Notre Dame.

It is possible that the Irish and the Buckeyes will meet in the Fiesta. If the Fiesta loses its Big 12 anchor, Texas, to the Rose Bowl, it will choose its participants on an at-large basis, picking first and third, with the Orange Bowl selecting second and the Sugar Bowl fourth.

Penn State would be attractive to the Orange Bowl for its ranking, its prestige and its comeback cachet. The Nittany Lions compiled a 10-1 record after two consecutive seasons below .500.

Keith Tribble, executive director of the Orange Bowl, said Sunday that -- absent Notre Dame -- Penn State, Ohio State and Auburn would be his choices, and he said them in that order, twice.

Might the Orange Bowl consider passing on Penn State to let the Nittany Lions meet Notre Dame in the Fiesta? That would be a compelling matchup between a head coach in his first season, Charlie Weis of the Irish, and a head coach in his 40th, Joe Paterno of the Lions.

"That's really something we haven't looked at," Tribble said. "We're mainly concentrating on what's going to be best for us."

Tribble will match his invited team against the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, Virginia Tech or Florida State.

The Sugar Bowl, in Atlanta this year because of the hurricane damage in New Orleans, will take the SEC champion (LSU or Georgia) and probably match it against West Virginia, the Big East champion.

The worst-case scenario for the Fiesta would be for Colorado (7-4) to upset Texas (11-0) on Saturday and qualify automatically. Few teams looked as shabby as Colorado did Friday in losing to Nebraska, 30-3.

Colorado began the game by confronting the visitors with trash talk. Later, Colorado fans delayed play for 10 minutes by throwing trash. Near the end, the Colorado scoreboard broke and the Buffaloes roughed the Nebraska punter.

A classier game took place in College Station, Texas, where Texas quarterback Vince Young probably squandered his Heisman chances by completing 13 of 24 passes and not running at his best.

The Aggies were aggressive but overmatched. They could not get out of their own way while trying to catch a late punt, turning the ball over on the crucial play of a frantic day. They also gave up a touchdown on a blocked punt.

Imperfect as it is, despite the constant tweaking, the BCS could nevertheless offer a consensus championship between two deserving and undefeated teams. Or it could culminate in a multi-team debate that leaves two teams qualifying with one defeat each and at least four others arguing that they are just as worthy.
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