The Pac-10 is ranked first in four of the six computers used by the Bowl Championship Series.
It ranks third, behind the Southeastern Conference and Big East, in the other two computers.
This is a nice boost for the conference's pride, but it may not mean much when BCS pairings are announced on Dec. 6.
The league is hoping to land an at-large berth, worth $4.5 million to the conference. If it doesn't, look for renewed debate about whether the conference should drop its round-robin format and go to an eight-game league schedule.
That would allow teams to add a fourth nonconference game, and most would likely schedule an easy victory at home.
Goodbye, USC. Hello, UAB.
The way some coaches see it, the round-robin format guarantees Pac-10 members a total of five extra losses, and they worry that those losses diminish the league's bowl prospects.
"The fact of the matter is, you're adding five losses to the conference that other conferences avoid," said UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, whose Bruins played at Tennessee and against Kansas State this season. "You can look at the non-conference schedules in the Big Ten and the SEC, and you can realize that they aren't asking very much of those teams on a weekly basis. That's not the case in the Pac-10."
Of course, if the Pac-10 didn't play such demanding schedules, it might not rank so high in the BCS computers.
Oregon State coach Mike Riley likes the idea of settling the conference title on the field.
"I think it's fair," Riley said. "I think we come up with the right way to decide the conference championship. At the same time, it hurts us. We beat each other up."
-- Arizona State senior cornerback Terell Carr was arrested on suspicion of three misdemeanors and booked into a Maricopa County jail. Carr was arrested Tuesday, the same day he was suspended indefinitely by Sun Devils coach Dennis Erickson for violating team rules.
-- The Boise State vs. Idaho rivalry has taken to some not-so-friendly skies.
University of Idaho athletic director Rob Spear says he declined to board a Horizon Air flight after learning the airplane was painted in Boise State's blue and orange colors.
Spear was traveling to Boise on Saturday for fundraising events.
Boise State and Horizon Air unveiled the plane, which sports the team logo on its tail, as an ode to the Broncos earlier this month.
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Lot at stake for Boise State in matchup with Virginia Tech
Boise State versus Virginia Tech at FedEx Field, in Maryland, on Labor Day Night, is more than a game - it's a game changer.
It's about coaches, cheerleaders, fans and players, for sure, but it's also about pigskin politics.
To have a game so meaningful and interesting on opening weekend defines the argument of whether an NFL-style playoff in college football would dilute what many feel is the best regular season in sports.
- TCU shows it is a BCS force to be reckoned with
TCU shows it is a BCS force to be reckoned with
Cowboys Stadium will host a Super Bowl in five months, a Final Four in less than four years and, yes, one day a national champion- ship in college football. Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott has no doubt about that.
"This blows away any stadium I've ever seen," Scott said Saturday night. "I'd say it's overqualified."
As for TCU, Saturday's Cowboys Classic was more about taking the first steps in an improbable but not impossible run toward a national title game this season.
- Stakes never higher for No. 3 Boise State
Stakes never higher for No. 3 Boise State
No. 3 Boise State has in many ways never played a more important game than it will Monday night, when the Broncos face No. 10 Virginia Tech at FedEx Field.
For all Boise State has accomplished in the last decade - more wins than any major college team and two BCS victories - never before have the Broncos been a serious national championship contender.
That changes if Boise State beats the Hokies at the home of the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., a far from neutral field, far away from their home blue turf.
- Polls show TCU and Boise State can eat with the big dogs
Polls show TCU and Boise State can eat with the big dogs
Boise State, No. 3. TCU ranked No. 4.
Please walk directly to the fallout shelters. There is no need to panic. The mushroom cloud will subside shortly.
Granted, this is the college football equivalent of the New Hampshire primary. There are a lot of babies to kiss and whistle stops still to make.
- Boise State closing out WAC tenure
Boise State closing out WAC tenure
SALT LAKE CITY -- Boise State's reign in the Western Athletic Conference can only last one more season.
The league's other eight members would like to end it sooner, sending the Broncos off without another league title before Boise State joins the Mountain West Conference next year. Now, can any of them do it?
With 10 starters back on both sides of the ball from last year's unbeaten Fiesta Bowl winner, Boise State is easily the favorite to win the WAC again and close out a remarkable 10 seasons in the conference. Since joining the WAC in 2001, the Broncos have won seven titles and finished second twice.
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