If the standings remain as they are -- and of course, they won't, but let's pretend they will -- Texas can forget not only the Fiesta Bowl, but the other BCS games as well.

Here's how the BCS bowls will look.
Fiesta: Miami vs. Ohio State
Rose: Iowa vs. Washington State
Orange: Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma
Sugar: Florida State vs. Georgia

	Tyrone Willingham and ND may end up squeezing the 'Horns out of the BCS bowl mix.

If Miami is ranked first, then the Orange Bowl will declare the Big East champion as its host team. The 'Canes would be put in the Fiesta and then the Orange would get first pick among the at-large teams. The Orange Bowl wants the Irish even if they lose to USC and fall to 10-2.

"We have to put asses in seats. Notre Dame will fill us up," Art Hertz, a past president of the game, said Saturday in Knoxville. "The way the system is now, if we don't sell our tickets, we're in the hole."

That's no small consideration. The Orange Bowl ticket this year is $100.

The Rose, which would lose Ohio State to the Fiesta, would then get second pick and happily take Iowa. The Hawkeyes are not only a top-five team, but their selection would keep the Big Ten in the game. That keeps a happy marriage between the Tournament of Roses and the Big Ten.

Though Florida State has earned a reputation for not travelling very well, the Sugar won't care who is playing the SEC champion as long as Georgia, which hasn't been to New Orleans since 1982, LSU or Auburn is in the game. All three schools would fill the Superdome to the roof.

Premature Excitation
California has The Play. Boston College has Hail Flutie. Colorado never came up with a catchy name for Kordell Stewart's 70-plus-yard heave to Michael Westbrook at the Big House. LSU has yet to come up with a name for its miracle at Kentucky last Saturday.

After time expired, Devery Henderson caught the 75-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Randall that gave the Tigers' a 33-30 victory. Henderson made the catch after the ball had been deflected by three Wildcats, several dozen fans, Tubby Smith and maybe someone from the Stanford Band.

They ought to be celebrating LSU's victory at Stanford. The confluence of events that led to LSU's victory and Kentucky's defeat is so incredible that the Cardinal's loss at Cal in 1982 may no longer have the most outlandish loss in the history of college football.

"We told our kids to enjoy it," LSU defensive line coach Lance Thompson said, "because it ain't ever going to happen again."

The catchy name in Lexington ought to be Premature Excitation. Wildcat fans may be the first in the history of organized sports to storm the field after a loss. On Sunday, the Kentucky coaches tried to get their players to focus on Vanderbilt, this week's opponent.

"You've got to not make it more than what it is," assistant head coach Gerald Carr said from his office Sunday night. "The kids know they'll continue to see the play for a long time. It's how they choose to handle it."

The broken hearts extended from Lexington all the way to Auburn. The Tigers, 4-2 in the SEC West, will win the division if they tie with LSU (4-1). "That hit us hard," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said Sunday night after practice.

Doing Hard Time
The best team in the SEC West is neither LSU nor Auburn. Alabama will not be furloughed from the NCAA jail long enough to play in the SEC Championship Game.

	Dennis Franchione has repeatedly said he's very happy at Alabama.

When the NCAA lowered the boom on the Crimson Tide earlier this year, the punishment of losing 21 scholarships over three years and a two-year postseason ban seemed harsh, especially when the NCAA didn't give Alabama the collegiate seal of bad housekeeping, the dreaded "lack of institutional control."

Last week, in a Memphis courtroom, the NCAA's actions became a little clearer. In the course of pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to felony conspiracy, former Memphis high school coach Lynn Lang revealed Alabama's other transgressions. Former assistant coach Ivy Williams committed academic fraud by arranging for someone to take the ACT for the now-infamous recruit Albert Means. Lang also said that Williams and former recruiting coordinator Ronnie Cottrell knew about the $150,000 that booster Logan Young paid him.

Neither Lang nor U.S. attorney Fred Godwin proved these statements in a court of law. Rather, Godwin said the prosecution would have proven them at trial. The difference is that neither Williams nor Cottrell have been given the opportunity to disprove them. The NCAA, as we all know, isn't a court of law. Evidently, the NCAA had enough proof earlier this year to punish Alabama severely. This must be why the Committee on Infractions considered the death penalty.

Rich Johanningmeier, associate director of enforcement for the NCAA, said that the organization won't make a decision about re-opening the Alabama case until it determines the procedure of how to re-open it. He also said that the NCAA won't take testimony in a federal courtroom at its word. It will first corroborate it before it includes it in a case.

The lingering case has given rise to continuous rumors that coach Dennis Franchione will bolt from Tuscaloosa to a) Nebraska, b) Texas A&M or c) Baylor. Fearful Tide fans point to the fact that Franchione hasn't signed a contract extension that the university offered last spring. It is driving Franchione crazy.

"I've said a lot but nobody seems to listen," Franchione said Sunday. "The contract is being taken care of. It's no big deal. I love our fans. I love Crimson Tide football. I love the passion that people have for football here."

Franchione has a contract through 2007. The extension, which would expire in 2010, is being held up because the university wants a non-compete clause that would prevent Franchione from coaching elsewhere for two years. Franchione won't agree to that, and there are tens of thousands of Crimson Tide fans who will send the university Wite-Out to get that clause out of the deal. Anything to keep Franchione happy.

The Perfect Ten
One more Top 10 List. . .

1. Miami -- Three-point favorite over the Bengals.
2. Ohio State -- Strictly because of the undefeated record.
3. Washington State -- Very good, but wouldn't give Miami a game.
4. Iowa -- Now, the Hawkeyes I'd like to see play Miami.
5. Oklahoma -- Secondary could use some work, couldn't it?
6. Texas -- How can the coaches rank the 'Horns ahead of the Sooners?
7. Georgia -- I hope Richt sticks with his decision to play Greene more.
8. USC -- Difficult to believe, but Mike Garrett may have made the right hire.
9. Notre Dame -- So, we're back to the smoke and mirrors again, are we?
10. Penn State -- I really like Larry Johnson and the way this team has matured.

Quick Hits
Houston coach Dana Dimel, 7-24 in his last two-plus seasons, including 4-5 this year, is coaching for his job in these next three weeks. The 54-48, three-overtime loss to East Carolina, after the Cougars led by 17 in the first half, didn't help. "This team doesn't know how to win yet," athletic director Dave Maggard said Monday. Dimel is considered a nice guy by all who know him, but the Cougars need a dose of intensity. They fell apart in the fourth quarter against the Pirates. ... Tyrone Willingham may be the only man standing between Ralph Friedgen and a second consecutive national coach of the year award. The Terps have won seven consecutive games despite losing their best offensive player, tailback Bruce Perry, for all but one play of the season. Under Friedgen's tutelage, junior transfer quarterback Scott McBrien ranks 13th in the nation in the passing efficiency, which is ahead of Miami's Ken Dorsey and Georgia's David Greene. Before this season, McBrien had started one game in his career, for West Virginia in 2000. While African-Americans wonder why they can't get hired as head coaches, the fact Friedgen couldn't even get a head coaching interview for years sheds light on how unscientific the hiring system is. Friedgen hasn't coached on a team that has had a losing record since 1986. ... I don't know. If I'm a Michigan State fan, I'm even more upset after the Spartans came to life and beat Indiana 56-21 than I was beforehand. Spartan fans have to be thinking "You mean this is how good we could have been?"

Tennessee has lost four games in the regular season for the first time since 1994. The Vols started 3-4 that year before freshman quarterback Peyton Manning started the team on a 50-5 run that culminated in the 1998 national title. These Vols are 5-4, but I don't think a .919 winning percentage lies ahead of them. ... Miami chancellor Donna Shalala, on her Hurricanes' slow starts: "Teenagers. They have different body clocks than the rest of us." I'm not sure wanting to sleep late had anything to do with it, but she may have a point. ... R.C. Slocum has been at Texas A&M for three decades, and head coach for 14 seasons. Paul Pasqualoni has been head coach at Syracuse for 12. Both coaches have taken a lot of heat this season, which is why their victories Saturday must be so satisfying. The Orangemen, after a 1-6 start that included a loss in the last minute (17-16 to Temple) and in three overtimes (37-34 at Auburn), has won three straight games. The Aggies, 6-4, merely pulled off the upset of the year in the Big 12 by beating Oklahoma, 30-26. You have to hope those wins will quiet the calls for the heads of Slocum and Pasqualoni.

Mississippi State has played five straight games without being televised, which is what happens when you are 0-5 in the SEC. The streak snaps this weekend with the Bulldogs' game vs. Tennessee being aired on Jefferson Pilot. So it is true that all good things must come to an end. ... Nebraska quarterback Jammal Lord has been taken hits on the field and off for his play but it's worth noting that he has rushed for 1,229 yards, getting 6.4 per carry. By comparison, Willis McGahee of Miami is gaining 6.25 per carry and St. Eric, Lord's predecessor, rushed for 5.5 per carry while winning the 2001 Heisman. No, Lord still can't throw the ball. But he can run it. ... Finally, in a version of a turnover -- read: costly mistake -- I called Miami's Maurice Sikes "Maurice Giles" in a recent story. Taking a page from Sikes' book, I am doing my version of walking up and down the sideline admitting I blew the play.

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer for ESPN.com. E-mail him at ivan.maisel@espn3.com.