They’re Feeling a Sense of Entitlement

TEMPE, Ariz. —  In this winter of discontent, it seems only fitting the two teams snubbed by the bowl championship series get to play for their own version of the national title.

Call it the People’s Choice Awards of college football. Or the team that would be king.

Oregon and Colorado meet in the Fiesta Bowl today ranked second and third in the polls, knowing they have a chance to throw a wrench into the complicated BCS machinery that sent fourth-ranked Nebraska to the title game at the Rose Bowl.

They know that if the Cornhuskers upset No. 1 Miami on Thursday, thereby taking the BCS title, the winner of today’s game might be voted champion in the Associated Press poll. And that would be “awesome,” in the words of Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti, who has made no secret of his feelings.

Only a couple of weeks ago, Bellotti was calling the BCS a “travesty” and “a bad disease, like cancer.” He has cooled a bit since then, but his feelings have not changed.

“It’s not something you overcome,” he said, adding, “we’re excited about the opportunity of a possible split national championship.”

Though not quite as angry, Colorado Coach Gary Barnett has been no less direct.

“This feels like a national championship game,” he said Monday. “Everything about it feels that way.”

The Buffaloes (10-2) had a rough start this fall, stumbling in their opener against Fresno State and subsequently losing to Texas.

They reached this game by doing what teams are supposed to do, improving each week, peaking at the end of the regular season. That included a 62-36 stomping of Nebraska on national television and a revenge victory over Texas in the Big 12 championship game.

The impressive finish pushed them up the AP and USA Today/ESPN polls, but left them 0.05 points behind Nebraska in the jumble of polls, computer rankings and other calculations that constitute the BCS rankings.

“We beat Nebraska,” strong safety Michael Lewis said. “I’ll leave it at that.”

Oregon (10-1) staked its claim by winning the Pacific 10, arguably the toughest conference in the nation. Yet the quality that distinguished the Ducks this season--quarterback Joey Harrington’s late-game heroics--also was their Achilles’ heel. They barely escaped against Wisconsin (5-7), USC (6-6), UCLA (7-4) and Oregon State (5-6). At midseason, the Ducks squandered a big lead and lost to Stanford on two blocked punts in the fourth quarter. And in the BCS ratings--which factor in margin of victory--they did not have enough to recover.

The result is a matchup of teams feeling jilted. Also a game that promises to be highly entertaining.

Oregon has surrounded Harrington, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting, with a strong supporting cast. Tailbacks Onterrio Smith and Maurice Morris combined for nearly 2,000 yards rushing this season. Keenan Howry was among the top receivers in the conference.

All of that added up to 430 yards and 34 points a game, making Oregon one of the most prolific teams in the nation.

“Their offense is tough to prepare for,” Colorado linebacker Sean Tufts said. “They don’t have any weak spots, so you have to concentrate on everything.”

The Buffaloes have been almost as explosive, averaging 33 points, but their attack is predicated on one of the best lines in the nation and a committee of tailbacks featuring Chris Brown, Bobby Purify and Cortlen Johnson.

Expect Oregon to overplay the run. Then the onus would fall upon senior quarterback Bobby Pesavento, who replaced an injured Craig Ochs midway through the season and has held onto the job by completing 61% of his passes for 1,234 yards with eight touchdowns. His main target has been Daniel Graham, the team’s leading receiver and winner of the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end.

There are other subplots here in the desert.

There is the hint of a rivalry, the Buffaloes having won easily when these teams met in the 1996 Cotton Bowl and 1998 Aloha Bowl. Some Oregon players recall watching the ’96 game when former Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel called a fake punt with 1:11 left and a big lead.

There have also been allegations that a number of unnamed Colorado players participated in the sexual assault of a woman at an off-campus party last month.

But all this has taken a backseat to debates and grumbling over the national championship picture.

If Miami wins, finishing as the only undefeated team in major college football, everyone falls into line. If not, the USA Today/ESPN poll, voted on by coaches, is contractually obligated to skip over this game and crown Nebraska.

The AP media poll, however, can go whichever way it chooses.

“We think we have the strongest case to be playing in the Rose Bowl but the computers didn’t see it that way,” Harrington said. “Now, we have a chance here.”