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Friday, December 13, 2002
Please, reverse the curse
By Will Weiss
BCSfootball.com
Maybe it's the number. Three Dog Night said one was the loneliest number and two was the saddest experience. Three's Company. There was also the awful spinoff, Three's A Crowd. Mr. Furley couldn't save that show, and he couldn't intervene to save Alabama, Michigan, Florida or Kansas State.
Three is a regal number in religion, symbolizing the Trinity. In baseball, all the important numbers are multiples of three. This year in college football, however, the No. 3 slot has been the deathtrap of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, which bears heavy impact on the BCS Poll due out Oct. 23.
What happened?
Maybe it was a higher power that caused the four aforementioned teams to sputter once they hit No. 3. Who knows?
Cue scary music here.
|  | | Ahmaad Galloway ran well against UCLA, but the Bruins rolled the Tide. |
Victim 1: Alabama
It was the first weekend in September. Alabama bore the No. 3 ranking at the beginning of the season, and prepared to face unranked UCLA, which looked to amend last year's dismal performance.
Midway through the practice week, things got funky.
Thunderstorms forced Alabama to shorten practice. Twice. Not a good sign for a team preparing for a cross-country trip. Then the Tide had to adjust to the two-hour time difference from Tuscaloosa in one night -- a tough task for any traveler.
Add a running back quandary, a coach unsure of his team's progress, and an opposing team that people disregarded, and there you have it.
UCLA 35, No. 3 Alabama 24
The loss dropped Alabama to No. 14 in the Coaches' Poll. Losses to Southern Miss. and Arkansas followed, putting them out of national title contention by Week 5.
Alabama's loss was Michigan's gain ? Maybe. Michigan fried Rice and in its third game of the season, made the same dreaded trip to Pasadena, where the ranking reared its ugly head again Sept. 16.
Victim 2: Michigan
Michigan played its first two games sans its ballyhooed quarterback Drew Henson, and redshirt freshman John Navarre filled in for the injured signal caller to lead the Wolverines to two convincing victories. The Michigan offensive machine appeared to be well-oiled and ready for UCLA.
But Michigan's first two games were at the Big House. How would they handle the West Coast?
Three came up again in this matchup. Michigan was the third straight team to venture west, where Alabama and Miami both failed.
Maybe it was something in the smog of the L.A. metro area. Maybe it was Pasadena's famed little old lady. Whatever it was, it didn't bode well for the Wolverines.
At first for the Maize and Blue, it was business as usual. They led 13-3 at halftime, Anthony Thomas ran the ball with astounding ease, and UCLA looked feeble against U of M's defense.
The Bruins stormed back in the second half, though, led by wide receiver Freddie Mitchell's seven second-half receptions, DeShaun Foster's powerful running, and the Bruin defense forcing some critical turnovers.
No. 17 UCLA 23, No. 3 Michigan 20
It was the second time in three weeks UCLA upended a No. 3 opponent.
|  | | Florida's controversial win at Tennessee pushed them to No. 3. |
Victim 3: Florida
Questions surrounded Florida's arrival at No. 3. The same day Michigan faltered in Pasadena, the Gators received a break against Tennessee in Knoxville. Jesse Palmer's late-fourth quarter drive resulted in one of the most controversial plays this season, with Jabar Gaffney dropping an apparent three-yard touchdown pass. Or did he?
The officials ruled otherwise. Touchdown Gators -- a 27-23 victory in front of more than 108,000 at Neyland Stadium. The committee running the No. 3 ranking didn't like the call, and exacted revenge on Florida two weeks later.
Florida succeeded in its first foray at No. 3, and all seemed to be quiet -- for one week, at least. That was, until Florida ambled into Starkville to take on Mississippi State.
If you blinked during the fourth quarter of this game, you missed everything. The Bulldogs scored 23 points, while Florida's defense looked like it was playing two-hand touch.
A budding quarterback controversy, turnovers, and a rabid Bulldog defense brought down the No. 3 team yet again. Not even the most vehement Steve Spurrier tantrum could turn his team around.
See ya later, alligator.
Mississippi State 47, No. 3 Florida 35
Virginia Tech then slid into third. Michael Vick and Co. calmly dismantled Temple, and when Miami upset Florida State on Wide Right III, the Hokies slid safely into second. Gone before The Curse could do the Hokie Pokey.
The Curse was bored.
Victim 4: Kansas State
Everyone attacked Kansas State's non-conference schedule. Some were convinced K-State could win the national championship.
The rankings demon hurt K-State with history rather than freak occurrences. Entering the Oct. 14 showdown with then-No. 8 Oklahoma, the Wildcats were 1-18 against Top 10 opponents under Bill Snyder.
Oklahoma had the Coaches' Poll Curse, history, and four former K-State assistants on its side to spark the upset.
K-State tried everything to avoid it -- the Wildcats sacked Josh Heupel five times, punished him in the pocket, blocked a punt. But all of this was too little too late. Oklahoma built its lead in the first half, and then turned the Wildcats' late roar into a purr with a time-consuming drive that ended in a field goal, leading to the final score.
No. 8 Oklahoma 41, No. 3 Kansas State 31
What to make of it?
Of all the third-ranked teams to lose, only Alabama fell out of the Top 10. Now the Crimson Tide lead the SEC West, and are thinking about a return trip to the SEC Championship Game. Florida has climbed back to seventh and looks forward to an engagement with Florida State Nov. 11 to return to contention. Kansas State is eighth, but a win against Nebraska Nov. 11 can put Snyder's crew back in the spotlight. Michigan, at No. 16, can only hope for a Rose Bowl bid.
Clemson sits in the No. 3 slot right now, and has a fairly easy schedule until Bowden Bowl II on Nov. 4. Oklahoma and Miami are knocking on the door.
Three has definitely been a crowd in the first half of the 2000 college football season. Thankfully, this season has been more exciting than the sitcom.
Will Weiss is the assistant editor of BCSfootball.com
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Curtis Fagan hauls in a Josh Heupel pass for a 15-yard Sooners' TD.
Josh Heupel answers the question of who should be No. 1.