NCAA Football Bowl Championship 1998: Week 5
Week 5: November 23, 1998
All four unbeaten teams won again this week. Tennessee, UCLA and Kansas State continue to battle it out for the two spots in the BCS Fiesta Bowl. Meanwhile, undefeated Tulane is ranked 11th in this week's standings, victims of their 103rd-ranked schedule.
The rumblings about a possible mess have grown louder over the past weeks. What happens if the top three teams remain undefeated and only two play in the so-called national championship game, the other goes to a "lesser" bowl, and at the end of the season we still have two undefeated teams (or three, if you include Tulane)? The final BCS standings come out in two weeks.
What's left for the contenders? Tennessee will face Vanderbilt this Saturday, then either Arkansas or Mississippi in the SEC Championship game on December 5. UCLA has a bye week before facing a surging Miami team on December 5 in the make-up of the early-season game that was postponed because of Hurricane Georges. Kansas State is off until December 5, when it closes the regular season against Texas A&M in the Big 12 title game.
The Wildcats need help strengthening their schedule. If Tennessee and UCLA continue to win, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for KSU to move up at all. This coming weekend, Kansas State will be rooting hard for Syracuse to beat Miami and for Texas A&M to beat Texas, because a Hurricane loss would weaken UCLA's schedule and a Texas A&M win would strengthen the Wildcats'.
| Team | AP | ESPN/USA | PAvg. | ST | Sagarin | NYT | CAvg | Sked | Q-Rank | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 1 | 2 | 1.5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2.33 | 14 | 0.56 | 0 | 4.39 |
| UCLA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2.25 (4) | 1.75 | 8 | 0.32 | 0 | 5.07 |
| Kansas St. | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2.33 | 62 | 2.45 | 0 | 6.31 |
| Florida St. | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0.20 | 1 | 8.20 |
| Texas A&M | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 0.52 | 1 | 12.52 |
| Ohio St. | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6.33 | 27 | 1.08 | 1 | 13.41 |
| Arizona | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6.67 | 51 | 2.04 | 1 | 16.71 |
| Florida | 8 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9.67 | 20 | 0.80 | 2 | 20.47 |
| Notre Dame | 9 | 10 | 9.5 | 8 | 12 (17) | 8 | 9.33 | 60 | 2.40 | 1 | 22.23 |
| Wisconsin | 10 | 9 | 9.5 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10.33 | 65 | 2.6 | 1 | 23.43 |
| Tulane | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 18.75 (37) | 14.58 | 103 | 4.12 | 0 | 29.70 |
| Nebraska | 14 | 17 | 15.5 | 12 | 8 | 15 (17) | 11.67 | 15 | 0.60 | 3 | 30.77 |
| Arkansas | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 23.25 (31) | 18.08 | 56 | 2.24 | 2 | 35.32 |
| Michigan | 15 | 16 | 15.5 | 18 | 22 | 15 | 18.33 | 11 | 0.44 | 3 | 37.27 |
| Georgia | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 24 | 27.75 (30) | 21.58 | 46 | 1.84 | 2 | 37.42 |
| Air Force | 18 | 14 | 16 | 22 | 21 | 10 | 17.67 | 92 | 3.68 | 1 | 38.35 |
| Virginia | 16 | 15 | 15.5 | 17 | 26 | 21 | 21.33 | 54 | 2.16 | 2 | 40.99 |
| Oregon | 22 | 23 | 22.5 | 14 | 11 | 18.75 (28) | 14.58 | 23 | 0.92 | 3 | 41.00 |
| Georgia Tech | 17 | 18 | 17.5 | 20 | 25.5 (27) | 14 | 19.83 | 61 | 2.44 | 2 | 41.77 |
| Miami-FL | 19 | 20 | 19.5 | 27.75 (34) | 25 | 12 | 21.58 | 73 | 2.92 | 2 | 46.00 |
Legend
PAvg.— The average of the Associated Press media poll and ESPN-USA Today coaches poll. Others receiving votes are calculated in order received.
CAvg.— The average of The Hester & Anderson/Seattle Times, Jeff Sagarin's rankings and New York Times rankings. In order to prevent differences in individual formulas, a maximum adjusted deviation of no greater than 50 percent of the average of the two lowest computer rankings is utilized.
Quartile Rank— Rank of schedule strength compared to other Division I-A teams divided by 25. The component is calculated by determining the cumulative won/loss records of the team's opponent (66.6 percent) and the cumulative won/loss record of the team's opponent's opponents (33.3 percent).
Losses— One point for each loss during the season.
Notes: BCS rankings each week will list the top 15 or down to the lowest-ranked BCS-affiliated conference leader.
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