Perfect 9-0 isn't enough to keep Utes at No. 6

A perfect record probably isn't going to be enough to get Utah into the Bowl Championship Series.

Deseret Morning News graphic

Utah slips one big spot in the BCS standings

Requires Adobe Acrobat.

The unbeaten Utes slipped one spot to seventh in the BCS standings Monday, a drop that could cost them a berth in one of the four big- money bowl games.

The top five in the BCS stayed the same with Southern California, Oklahoma and Auburn leading the way, followed by California and Wisconsin.

The top two teams in the final standings will play in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 4 for the BCS national title.

Texas jumped over Utah this week into sixth place. Texas' 56-35 comeback victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday boosted its BCS grade to .7904.

The Utes aren't getting enough bounce in the polls and computer rankings out of their lopsided victories over conference opponents. Their grade (.7511) went up slightly after a 63-31 win over Colorado State.

How the races play out in the Big 12, Pac-10, Southeastern Conference and Big Ten will have as much to do with where the Utes play in the postseason as their own games.

And with Georgia and Michigan right behind Utah, the Utes may be in danger of getting caught again.

The AP media poll and ESPN/USA Today poll each account for one- third of a team's BCS grade. A compilation of six computer rankings make up the other third.

Texas is ahead of Utah in both polls, sixth in the AP and seventh in the coaches.

Despite being one of the winningest teams in the country in recent years, the Longhorns have never reached the BCS, which was created in 1998 and includes the Sugar, Rose, Orange and Fiesta bowls.

Last season Texas was in line to grab one of the BCS's two at- large bids when Kansas State knocked off Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game. That gave the Wildcats the automatic berth as league champ and made the Sooners an at-large team playing for the national title.

For Texas, it was back to the Holiday Bowl for the third time since 2000.

Recent disappointments tempered Monday's good news in Austin.

"We've been there before," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "We were five last year and didn't go. You'd better just keep winning."

Utah is one of six unbeaten teams in Division I-A, along with USC, Oklahoma, Auburn, Wisconsin and Boise State.

The Sooners increased their lead on the idle Tigers, by moving into the No. 1 spot in the computer rankings.

USC, No. 1 in both polls and second in the computer rankings, has a grade of .9847. Oklahoma's is .9664, and Auburn's is .9097. The Tigers are third in each poll and according to the computers.

Copyright C 2004 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.