The Ohio State Buckeyes have been nicknamed the "Luckeyes" this season because they have won 10 of their 11 games with little production from their offense in some of them and by close scores in many of them. Two victories came in overtime and five were by seven or fewer points.
The luck of the Buckeyes continued Monday when the new standing in the Bowl Championship Series showed them ranked second, up from third place. Ohio State (10-1) remained behind Oklahoma (11-0). The teams that finish in the top two spots will play for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4.
The Buckeyes are ahead of Southern California (9-1), which dropped from second to third in the BCS. So Ohio State, the reigning national champion, might clinch a berth in the title game by beating host Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday in a game that will decide the winner of the Big Ten Conference.
Oklahoma and Southern California have two more games, and the pairings for the BCS bowl games (Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar) will not be known until after the games of Dec. 6.
Although the BCS standing takes in several components, including the polls of the news media and the coaches, the most important factor in the change of this week's BCS ranking was Southern California's lowered status in the average of six out of the seven computer rankings.
The computer ranking of the New York Times had Southern California No. 5, but because it was the lowest of the seven computer rankings, it was not included in the average, according to the format's procedures.
In the Times' ranking, the Trojans fell from third place to fifth place despite a 45-0 victory over Arizona while Ohio State beat Purdue in overtime by 16-13. Ohio State remained second in The Times' computer ranking.
But Ohio State's overall margin over USC is slim. In a BCS formula in which the lower score is best, Oklahoma score is 1.80, Ohio State's is 7.52 and USC's is 7.71.
Marjorie Connelly, who supervises the computer ranking for the New York Times, said strength of schedule was the major factor in the fall of Southern California.
"Ohio State is playing better teams," Connelly said. "Ohio State beat Purdue, which was No. 12. Southern California beat Arizona, which was No. 75. Because we don't take into account margin of victory anymore, it doesn't matter if Southern California beat Arizona by one point or 45. USC has a particularly bad opponents' record. Its opponents' records are 49-48."
The Trojans play UCLA on Saturday and Oregon State on Dec. 6. Pete Carroll, the USC coach, issued a brief statement through the school's sports information office.
"I wasn't concerned about it last week and I'm not concerned about it this week," Carroll said of the ranking.
Victories in the final two games could help USC's strength-of-schedule factor because the Bruins are 6-5 and Oregon State is 7-3. Ohio State's opponent, Michigan, is 9-2. Jim Tressel, the coach of Ohio State, told The Associated Press: "What is most important at this time is the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry and the Big Ten championship. Right now, the BCS rankings are secondary."
The BCS could also affect the Rose Bowl, which used to be guaranteed a match between the champions of the Big Ten and the Pac-10. Should Ohio State play, instead, in the Sugar Bowl, and USC not qualify for the Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl would get USC and one other team.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
RSS