KANSAS CITY, Mo. — And then there were three.
In a season in which the inside track on the national title was more like a fault line for a weekly earthquake, three teams have separated themselves for the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 7 in New Orleans.
Finally.
With LSU (10-2) choking on its top ranking a second time, the top three teams in the BCS race heading into the regular season’s final week are No. 1 Missouri (11-1), No. 2 West Virginia (10-1) and No. 3 Ohio State (11-1).
Now it’s quite simple. If Missouri beats BCS No. 9 Oklahoma (10-2) in the Big 12 title game Saturday in San Antonio, the Tigers will play for their first national championship. If West Virginia beats Pittsburgh (4-7) at home Saturday, the Mountaineers will do the same. If Oklahoma wins, idle Ohio State surely will meet West Virginia as two of the three remaining one-loss teams.
West Virginia fans can taste the Hurricane cocktails already. The Mountaineers have run up 45 points each of the last two years in whipping Pitt, which will enter an exploding Mountaineer Field with the 101st- ranked offense in the nation.
Don’t expect anyone to pass Ohio State if Oklahoma beats Missouri for the second time this year. BCS No. 4 Georgia (10-2) didn’t make the SEC championship game, No. 5 Kansas (11-1) had its title chance, No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-2) has shown too little too late and No. 7 LSU blew it.
Even if Virginia Tech or LSU wins its conference championship game, Ohio State will get many of the first-place votes Missouri loses.
If Missouri and West Virginia both lose? Hey, Pittsburgh’s defense is ranked 11th. An impressive Virginia Tech victory against Boston College in the ACC title game could jump the Hokies into the top two with Ohio State, and that’s what is important.
“It’s a race for No. 2, not No. 1,” said BCS analyst Jerry Palm of . “The only thing that matters about being No. 1 is what color uniform to wear.”
Pelini tops Nebraska list. Bill Callahan hadn’t hopped into his Lexus SUV and waved silently to waiting reporters Saturday morning before Nebraska made contact with its top candidate to replace the fired coach, LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.
The Atlanta-based headhunting firm of Parker Executive Search contacted Pelini, who still is receiving praise from ex-Cornhuskers after his one year of work in Lincoln in 2003.
“He treated you with respect, but he got you ready to play,” former defensive end Jay Moore told the Lincoln Journal Star. “He motivated you to be your best, and I think the guys like that and fought their butts off to play for him.”
Tom Osborne got permission Sunday from the University at Buffalo to talk with coach Turner Gill, a former quarterback and assistant at Nebraska. Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin also has been mentioned, but it’s believed Osborne will stay in the college ranks to replace Callahan.
One who helped influence Osborne’s decision to fire Callahan was former CU coach Bill McCartney.
“He’s followed us pretty closely,” Osborne said of McCartney, “and said that we lost our identity.”
Playing at Arrowhead. Kansas coach Mark Mangino can kick himself for agreeing to move his home game with Missouri to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, especially after Missouri won 36-28 to win the Big 12 North title before a neutral crowd. The two-year contract guarantees both schools $1 million, but after profits the checks will total $1.25 million. Big 12 games usually guarantee about $1 million for the home team, meaning Missouri not only won but got rich doing it. Both schools will evaluate the site to decide if they want to extend the contract, arranged by the Kansas City Chiefs, beyond next season.
Footnotes. Hawaii (11-0) moved up to 12th in the BCS standings. It must beat Washington on Saturday and stay at least that high in the final standings to qualify for a BCS bowl. Since defensive coordinator Gene Chizik left Texas to become Iowa State’s coach, the Longhorns fell from 22nd nationally in total defense (297.4 yards allowed per game) to 56th (374.8) and 26th in scoring defense (18.3 points allowed per game) to 45th (24.6). Florida’s Tim Tebow should win the Heisman Trophy, but no player was more valuable to his team than Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon. After he suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arizona, the Ducks, once ranked No. 2, lost to the Wildcats and then UCLA with three replacements going 33-for-85 for 268 yards with five interceptions and no touchdown passes.
