Oregon trying to keep up in BCS standings

The jockeying over the second slot in the BCS standings behind Alabama continues on Saturday with two of the contenders playing ranked teams.

Kansas State, currently in second place, hosts high-scoring Oklahoma State (No. 24 in the BCS rankings) and fourth-rated Oregon visits No. 17 Southern California. Notre Dame, ranked third and fresh off its dismantling of Oklahoma, has a relative breather at home against Pittsburgh.

One must feel a bit sorry for the Ducks, who were looking forward to engaging a top-ranked Southern Cal team to give their computer ranking a boost. But the Trojans have lost twice, and Oregon's chase of K-State and Notre Dame continues to be an uphill one.

Kansas State prefers not to think of itself as the second-best team in the country. Probably driven by the coaches' preseason prediction that the Wildcats would finish in the bottom half of the Big 12 the team enters every game with an underdog's mentality.

"We still have a lot of people doubting us," fullback Braden Wilson said in an Associated Press story. "That's one of the things that drives us. We still use that."

Voters in the two polls used in the BCS standings - the USA Today poll and the Harris poll - consistently have ranked Oregon ahead of Kansas State, with Notre Dame hot on the Wildcats' heels.

The Oregon offense is the ultimate hurry-up attack with 82 plays, 53 points, and 540 total yards per game, all in less than 28 minutes of average possession time. But Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota, from Honolulu, is about as mellow as they come.

"I give all the credit to my lifestyle back home," the redshirt freshman told the Los Angeles Times. "Anybody who can relate to being from Hawaii . . . that's what the mentality is."

While he has a lot of talent around him, particularly De'Anthony Thomas, Mariota is important to the offense with his ability to run and pass.

You know that Nick Saban was too busy Wednesday to observe his 61st birthday, especially on a week when he was preparing top-ranked Alabama to meet Louisiana State.

The Crimson Tide are the clear No. 1 team in the land this season, thanks to a ferocious defense that has allowed just 65 points - or two more than Texas A&M put up on Auburn in a single game last weekend.

But the Tigers present problems with a rejuvenated running game and the home-field advantage - LSU has won 22 straight in Baton Rouge and owns a 36-1 record in Saturday night games there.

Not too long ago, West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith was the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy and the Mountaineers were thought of as BCS championship game material.

But two losses (by a total score of 104-28) and a bye week later, Smith and his team barely register on the radar going into Saturday's home game against Texas Christian. During West Virginia's 5-0 start, Smith threw 24 touchdown passes and had no interceptions.

"Everyone was raving about it, but I kept saying: 'That's just how football goes,' " he said in an AP story. "I put everything behind me and just try to do my best on every play."

In its nine games this season, Miami has been outscored and outgained by its opponents. But thanks to a 30-12 victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday night, the Hurricanes (5-4) have the inside track to a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game representing the Coastal Division.

The 'Canes need to defeat Virginia and Duke in their last two games to get there, which would be a big step in Al Golden's second season. The former Temple coach says his team has to start with winning a division title before it can return to BCS bowl games.

"It's almost like we have to reeducate our team," he said.

If Maryland coach Randy Edsall has one wish this weekend, it's that his quarterback can stay upright and healthy for an entire game.

All four of the Terrapins' scholarship QBs have suffered season-ending injuries, meaning Edsall has to employ true freshman linebacker Shawn Petty to run the offense for the game at Georgia Tech. Petty, whose backup is tight end Brian McMahon, played quarterback in high school, so he has familiarity with the position.

"I think [Petty] really feels he's a quarterback at heart," Edsall said in an AP story. "He's really looking forward to the opportunity to go out there and play."

Eric Williams, a redshirt sophomore from Yardley and Pennsbury High School, is the starting strong-side linebacker for Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Williams is fifth on the team with 29 tackles while recording three tackles for losses and recovering two fumbles.

The Panthers, fresh off a decisive win last week over Temple, head to Notre Dame in an attempt to derail the Fighting Irish's undefeated season.

1. Alabama 8-0

2. Oregon 8-0

3. Kansas State 8-0

4. Notre Dame 8-0

5. Louisiana State 7-1

6. Ohio State 9-0

7. Georgia 7-1

8. Florida 7-1

9. Clemson 7-1

10. Florida State 8-1

- Joe Juliano

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Top choice

Alabama at Louisiana State, 8 p.m., CBS3: The one you've been waiting for, the third straight meeting when both SEC powers were ranked in the top five. In two games last season, the teams combined for just one touchdown, by the Crimson Tide in their 21-0 win in the BCS championship game. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, who has gone 262 passes without throwing an interception dating back to last season, could be the difference, but he must keep his cool in the noisy environs of Death Valley.

Pick six

Missouri at Florida, noon, ESPN2: Because of their loss to Georgia, the Gators have no margin for error if they want to claim a spot in the SEC championship game.

Nebraska at Michigan State, 3:30 p.m., 6ABC: The Cornhuskers own a fragile hold on currently being the Big Ten's lone representative in the BCS and must be wary of a Spartans team that knocked off Wisconsin a week ago.

Pittsburgh at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m., NBC10: Give the Panthers credit for keeping their mind on business last week against Temple, and watch to see if the Fighting Irish suffer a letdown after beating Oklahoma.

Texas at Texas Tech, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2: Another weekend, another potential nightmare for Longhorns coach Mack Brown, whose defense steadied itself last week after back-to-back 600-yard explosions by the opposition.

Oregon at Southern California, 7 p.m., Fox29: This was supposed to be this weekend's second mega-game, but the Trojans failed to follow the script, meaning the Ducks need a convincing win to help their BCS ranking.

Oklahoma State at Kansas State, 8 p.m., 6ABC: A Wildcats defense that has stifled West Virginia and Texas Tech in the last two weeks now gets a chance to slow down the nation's No. 1 team in total offense.

- Joe Juliano

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