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| Thursday, November 2 Oklahoma not guaranteed slot in Orange Bowl By Lee Corso Special to ESPN.com | |||||||||
| How is LaDainian Tomlinson ahead of Damien Anderson in the Heisman and Doak Walker races? Mike Schmeder, Wilmington, Ill. LaDainian Tomlinson ahead because of the great years he's had before. Damien Anderson has just moved into the top group and is having a great year. But Tomlinson has been there before.
Zach, Plymouth, Ind. Notre Dame has been winning with defense, special teams and the running game. Therefore the quarterback has been secondary to their attack. LoVecchio is a very good young quarterback but, like last week, they made big plays in the kicking game to win. Notre Dame has a great chance at the BCS. There will be a lot of people upset if the Irish get in with two losses when one-loss teams don't get in. But if they get through that schedule with two losses they deserve to play in a BCS game. Do you think LSU will finally beat Alabama in Baton Rouge this year? Don McBrayer, Slidell, La. Absolutely. There's no question that LSU is a very talented team, especially in Baton Rouge. I would not be surprised if the Tigers waxed Alabama. The Tide is down. They're not rolling...they're kind of subsiding. There's no question in my mind LSU will win that game. If Oklahoma and Nebraska win out and they meet in the Big 12 Championship game and Nebraska wins, will that knock Oklahoma out of the Orange Bowl? John Morris, Fayetteville, Ark. It absolutely should. The winner of the Big 12 Championship will go to the BCS, and Oklahoma -- with one loss at the end of the year -- could drop right out. A lot could depend on what happens in some other games, but it would definitely knock them out of the Orange Bowl. Do you think a Vick-less Virginia Tech team has any chance against Miami on Saturday? Eric Greiner, Forest, Va.
TJ Champman, Pittsburgh, Pa. I was very impressed with their offense. It was a sad situation when they lost that ball game on a late field goal. They deserved to win. Latef Grim and the receiving corps were sensational. They won't go to a New Year's day bowl but they'll go to a good one if they keep winning. And don't underestimate Pittsburgh against Miami, they have a shot at winning. Your thoughts on Central Florida's first big win? C Parker, Bradenton, Fla. I felt that Central Florida was going to win that ball game. Alabama was coming off a devastating loss to Tennessee. Central Florida can score with anybody. They have an outstanding offensive coach in Mike Kruczek. I picked that as my upset special of the week. UCF is a good football team and Alabama is playing very poorly. What will it take for Miami to get back in the Orange Bowl race after they dropped to fifth in the BCS? Zak, New Orleans, La. The have to beat Virginia Tech and then hold on. The game between Florida and Florida St. has a huge impact on the Miami Hurricanes. If either one of those teams win that game big and end up with only one loss on the season, I would not be surprised if Florida or FSU was in the bowl game either instead of Miami, or playing against Miami. If and when the Ducks run the table in the Pac-10, what else must occur for them to play in the Orange Bowl? David Stout, Eugene, Ore. There's about six different combinations. Oklahoma has to lose to Texas A&M, Texas A&M has to lose to someone else in the championship game, the Nebraska has to....blah, blah, blah. There are a thousand different things that have to happen but, yes, it is possible for Oregon to continue to move up and play in the national championship game in Miami. Does Michigan have a chance at the Rose Bowl or does Purdue have it locked up? Chris Kowalewski, Lake Zurich, Ill. Michigan has an outside chance but Purdue has the tie breaker because they already beat Michigan. But if Purdue loses to Michigan St. and Indiana then the winner of the Michigan-Ohio St. game has a chance to go to the Rose Bowl. Right now it doesn't look good. All Purdue has to do is win one of those games and they have the tie breaker over the Wolverines. Exactly how good is Georgia Tech, and what does their bowl situation look like? Greg Jacket, Atlanta Georgia Tech is very good offensively. They are better defensively than they have been in the past but their offense is still the strength of the team. They have a good chance at a very good second-tier bowl. The theory with bowls is the more you win, the more sunshine you see. They have a chance to see some sunshine. With Tennessee's young team playing the way they are, how good do you think they'll be next season? TC Johnson, San Diego, Calif. Very good. The situation is, the toughest thing they'll have to do is go to Gainesville. That's always tough for Tennessee to do. But with Casey Clausen playing the way he is and the rest of the young talent, they look like the team of the future. But remember, the Gators have a lot of young guys back, too. It'll be a battle again between Florida and Tennessee. They should be much, much better next season. It seems like the only players considered for the Heisman are offensive scorers (quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers). Under what conditions could a lineman receive the award? Frank D, Mexico City, Mexico First of all, there would have to be no good quarterbacks, running backs or receivers available. Forget about it. Mississippi State's defense has been disappointing but their offense has been surprisingly good. Has the nation finally figured out the secret sauce in Joe Lee Dunn's recipe? Richard Felder, Dallas They just had some bad games. It happens. Teams get hot against them, make some big plays and they make some poor plays. Joe Lee Dunn is still one of the best defensive coordinators in the country. The defense is sound. They've had some big plays against them, and that's going to happen. Someone will come back next week and not be able to get a yard on them. They're all right. Do you feel that A&M should be ranked higher even despite the aberration against Colorado and are you ready to spend the 11th at Kyle Field? Jordan Essary, Houston I'm ready to go to Kyle Field and there's no question they're as good a team as there is in the nation when they want to play. It's just sometimes they go to sleep and don't want to play. People cannot rate a team on a fluke. Colorado beat them. Period. They should never have let that happen. If the Aggies had won that game, they'd be right in there for the national title hunt. But they lost. Next case. Tell 'em not to lose anymore. Do you think Nebraska's offensive system is strong enough to win a championship game in a competitive season such as this? Carlos Rodriguez de la Garza, Monterrey, Mexico Absolutely. They had 192 yards in the first quarter against Oklahoma. Then they had some mistakes happen and one thing led to another and they couldn't get it done. It's not the system. I wouldn't be surprised if they scored 40 points against Oklahoma the next time they played. What do you think about your K-State Wildcats now that they got clobbered in Aggie land? Shawn Monnich, Houston I was disappointed in Kansas State. I thought they were a much better football team. Obviously, they're not as good as they thought they were. I thought they would play better because they're experienced but the Oklahoma loss took a lot out of them. They almost lost the next week to Texas Tech, then they got hammered by a good team on their field. Kyle Field is a tough place to play. If you don't believe me, ask Oklahoma after they play there this year. Why did the press make such a big deal of Peter Warrick's indiscretion last year and there is little mention of Jabar Gaffney's locker room theft? Do you think Gaffney will be back on scholarship? Bob Thompson, Longwood, Fla. You can't judge what the press does. Don't try. Sometimes they get on guys, sometimes they don't. I have no idea why they're not on the Gaffney case. Gaffney will be back on scholarship. He made a mistake. Forget about it. Steve Spurrier is an honest, hard-working guy who gives people second chances. | ALSO SEE Not so fast: Questions for Corso | ||||||||
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