The BCS rankings system is like a boxer who is knocked out but doesn't know it. His legs are rubbery, his eyes are closed and the only thing that can save him is the bell. In this case the bell is this Saturday's LSU-Tennessee SEC playoff game. The BCS needs Tennessee to win and advance to the "championship" game against No. 1 Miami (Fla.) at the Rose Bowl to survive the round. But, if LSU upsets the Vols, the BCS should throw in the towel.

The Oregon Ducks, ranked No. 3 on both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, will play Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl. This should be the best bowl game of the post season, followed by the Holiday bowl between Washington and Texas. Of course, Oregon believes it should be in Pasadena on January 3, but the Ducks would rather not get embroiled in the BCS controversy. Quarterback Joey Harrington said he was "shocked and upset" when he saw the latest BCS list that had his team remaining at No. 5 behind Colorado and Nebraska, even though the Ducks defeated their cross-state rival Oregon State in a game played in a driving rain storm. "I don't know what the perfect system is, but obviously when you have teams with two losses involved in the mix, it's not a perfect system," Harrington said. "Colorado may be the best team in football at this point but they weren't all year long. All things that seem important in year's past, I guess, are thrown out with the computers." Harrington's attitude now is to have fun in Tempe.

There are two interesting things to consider about Oregon. If LSU beats Tennessee, it would most likely put Nebraska into the Rose Bowl, and if the Cornhuskers were to upset the Hurricanes, and the Ducks defeat the Buffaloes in the Fiesta Bowl, then Oregon presumably would be No. 1 on both the AP and Coaches rankings. But the Coaches are obligated to make the winner of the "championship" game its national title holder. So, conceivably there would be a poll whose No. 1 team wouldn't be the national champion. Thanks BCS.

Harrington says all this could have been avoided if Oregon hadn't lost to Stanford, it's only loss of the season. But is that really true? Let's run the following theory into the BCS' computer. BYU is undefeated yet it has no chance of a BCS bid because of it's so-called soft WAC schedule. The Watcher believes Oregon lost its chance at playing for the national championship not when it lost to Stanford but when Stanford defeated UCLA. At the time, the Bruins were ranked No. 3 on the BCS list and had a nearly clear road to the Rose Bowl. But the loss to Stanford changed everything, for the Bruins and for the rest of the Pacific 10. Suddenly, the glamour was gone. Oregon came into town the next week and beat UCLA. But the Ducks' win didn't impress the BCS because UCLA's standing was tarnished from the week before, even though the Bruins were still ranked in the Top 10. As UCLA's losing streak reached three and then four games, Oregon's win over the Bruins actually hurt the Ducks down the stretch. They were never ranked lower than No. 5 by the BCS despite the upsets of the past two weeks. Like the WAC, the Pac-10 was seen to be weak by the BCS, which is too bad because in reality it's the most competitive conference in the nation.

COASTAL NOTES | UCLA, at 7-4, has said no to the Humanitarian Bowl bid because the Bruins would lose about $300,000 in the deal which obligates the school to purchase tickets and a corporate sponsorship. Louisiana Tech will play Clemson instead...Stanford, who the Watcher believes was the Pacific 10's best team in 2001, will play Georgia Tech in the Seattle Bowl...A $89.7 million expansion project has begun on Oregon's Autzen Stadium. Improvements will include 12,000 new seats, a new press box and 32 new skyboxes...Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti and Stanford Coach Tyrone Willingham have been mentioned as possible candidates for the Notre Dame head coaching job. Bellotti has said he is not interested but Stanford gave Willingham permission to speak with Notre Dame...The search at California for a new head coach is underway although athletic director Steve Gladstone would not say who is on his candidate list....Utah running back Dameon Hunter is listed as questionable to play in the Las Vegas Bowl Christmas Day against USC. Hunter is experiencing pain in his right elbow and so far the team's medical staff can't determine the reason for the injury...Arizona State Coach Kirk Koetter has been invited to serve as offensive coach for the North team in the Blue-Gray All-Star game on Christmas Day.