Miami Set to Rise in BCS Rankings

The question: Might the final bowl championship series rankings also be decided by a “hanging chad?”

In what may be a back-and-forth race to the finish, Miami has overtaken Florida State for the coveted No. 2 spot in this week’s BCS rankings, which won’t officially be released until today.

Oklahoma remains No. 1, followed by Miami, Florida State, Florida, Washington, Virginia Tech and Oregon.

Only the top two schools in the final BCS standings advance to the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl to play for the national championship.

Last week, in a controversy that interestingly paralleled the presidential race, Florida State held the No. 2 BCS spot despite having lost to No. 3 Miami, 27-24.

But according to Chicago-based math expert Jerry Palm, who has accurately duplicated the BCS formula on his Web Site, Miami’s 35-7 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday was enough to nudge the Hurricanes ahead of Florida State, which lost computer clout with a relatively pedestrian 35-6 victory over lowly Wake Forest.

Florida State, however, might be able to snatch the lead back from Miami this week because the Seminoles play No. 4 Florida in Tallahassee while the Hurricanes play at unranked Syracuse.