Illini to Rose? Maybe with BCS expansion
The Bowl Championship Series will expand the pool of teams eligible for at-large bids if it's faced with a shortage of qualified contenders after the season -- a move that could benefit Illinois.
BCS rules state a team must have at least nine victories and finish in the top 14 of the final standings to qualify for an at-large bid to one of the five marquee bowl games. But because no conference can have more than two teams in the BCS, officials were facing the possibility of not having enough eligible teams to fill the 10 spots.
If fewer than 10 of the top 14 teams are eligible, the qualifying standard will extend to the top 18. If enough teams still are not available, the standard would be pushed back four spots until the pool is big enough to fill all the bowls.
Illinois (9-3) is 17th in the current standings. Big Ten champion Ohio State is the conference's only currently eligible team.
Expanding the pool would create an intriguing possibility if teams in front of No. 5 Ohio State stumble and the Buckeyes play for the national title. If the Rose Bowl loses Ohio State, it might be able to replace the Buckeyes with the Illini and get the traditional Big Ten-Pac-10 matchup it wants.
• • Illinois coach Ron Zook has been picked to coach in the Hula Bowl all-star game on Jan. 12 in Honolulu. Zook's selection comes a day after he was named Big Ten coach of the year.
AP
NOTRE DAME:
Rest has done Jimmy Clausen good
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen would improve while he rested his sore body on the sideline for two games. It appears that Weis was correct.
Jimmy Clausen completed 53 percent of his passes for 440 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions in back-to-back games against Air Force and Duke. Those numbers would be even more impressive if Irish receivers hadn't dropped 10 passes.
On the other hand, his improved statistics also might be a product of the Air Force defense not playing as aggressively in the second half of the Falcons' 41-24 victory. And Duke ranks 98th out of 119 Division I-A schools in total defense after Notre Dame's 28-7 victory Saturday.
Either way, Weis said Jimmy Clausen's aching body wasn't the only thing that benefitted from the time on the bench.
''Since he has gone back in after his time off, he's showing a much clearer understanding of where the ball is supposed to go,'' Weis said.
Jimmy Clausen started six straight games before junior Evan Sharpley replaced him before the USC game because he was ''sore all over,'' according to Weis. Jimmy Clausen was so beat up, in fact, that senior safety Tom Zbikowski began taking snaps at quarterback during the bye week out of necessity.
Weis wants Jimmy Clausen to add 15 pounds of muscle during the offseason to help him absorb punishment and avoid sacks.
''The really good quarterbacks get touched a lot,'' Weis said, ''but they don't go down a lot because if a guy doesn't make a form tackle, they will brush off the tackle and be able to break away. You need strength to be able to do that.''
• • Renowned groundskeeper George Toma will oversee the installation of a new field at Notre Dame Stadium beginning Friday. The sod will come from the same turf farm that supplied the grass for Wrigley Field.
• • Weis said senior center John Sullivan is doubtful for the season finale Saturday at Stanford (2:30 p.m., ESPN2) because of a leg injury. Freshman running back Armando Allen, who left the Duke game with an ankle injury, is not 100 percent but was expected to practice Tuesday.
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