EXPLANATION:
Poll Average - Average of USA Today/ESPN Coaches and AP Media Polls. Others receiving votes calculated in order received.

Computer Average - Average of Richard Billinglsey, Dunkel Index, Kenneth Massey, New York Times, David Rothman, Jeff Sagarin's USA Today, Matthews/Scripps-Howard and The Anderson & Hester/Seattle Times rankings. The computer component will be determined by averaging the seven highest computer rankings. The lowest computer ranking will be disregarded.

Schedule Rank - Rank of schedule strength compared to other Division I-A teams of actual games played divided by 25. This component is calculated by determining the cumulative won/loss records of the team's opponent (66.6 percent) and the cumulative won/loss records of the teams' opponents 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.
 

1999 BCS RULES

Following the 1999 college football regular season, the Bowl Championship Series will once again determine the National Championship.

The BCS consists of the Rose Bowl presented by AT&T, Nokia Sugar Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The conferences with automatic berths include the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC-10 and Southeastern Conferences.

ABC Sports will televise the four Bowl Championship Series games, which will guarantee a matchup between college football's top two teams in in a true national championship game.

Any Division I-A independent team or champion of the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mountain West Conference or any other Division I-A conference which is ranked sixth or higher in the BCS standings, will also be eligible for the BCS.

Otherwise, any Division I-A team can qualify for selection in the BCS if they have won at least nine college football games during the most recently completed regular season (not to include wins in exempted games) and are ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS standings.

Also, beginning with the 1999 regular season, each BCS conference is subject to review and possible loss of automatic selection by the BCS should the conference champion not have an average ranking of 12 or higher over a four-year period.

At the conclusion of the 1999 regular season, the Nokia Sugar Bowl will host the National Championship contest. The game will be played on Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. ET in New Orleans, La. The Nokia Sugar Bowl shall select the top two teams ranked in the BCS final regular season standings.

The BCS uses regional consideration regarding team selection. Specifically, as a member of the BCS, the Rose Bowl will host the Big Ten and PAC-10 champions in those years in which either the Rose Bowl does not have the national championship game or the Big Ten and PAC-10 champion is not ranked No. 1 or No. 2. Other "regional consideration" tie-ins include the SEC champion in the Sugar Bowl, the ACC or Big East champion in the Orange Bowl and the BIG 12 champion in the Fiesta Bowl.

Other BCS games following the 1999 regular season include the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. ET, the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. ET.

A revised statistical rating system will be in place to determine the teams that will participate in the championship game of the Bowl Championship Series following the 1999 season. The rating system will consist of the same four major components used in 1998: subjective polls of the writers and coaches, computer rankings, schedule strength and number of losses. The two teams which have the lowest point total in the four categories will play in the national championship game.

POLLS

The poll component will be calculated based on the average of the ranking of each team in the Associated Press media poll and the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll. The rankings of each team will be added and divided by two. For example, a team ranked number one in one poll and number two in the other poll would receive 1.5 points in this component (1+2 = 3/2 = 1.5).

COMPUTER RANKINGS

The second component will consist of eight computer rankings. These computer rankings will include the three used last year (New York Times, Jeff Sagarin's USA TODAY and The Anderson-Hester/Seattle Times) along with five additional rankings: Richard Billingsley, Dunkel Index, Kenneth Massey, David Rothman and the Matthews/Scripps-Howard rankings. The computer component will be determined by averaging the seven highest computer rankings. The lowest computer ranking will be disregarded. For example, if a team is ranked first in four polls, second in three polls and third in another, the ranking in which the team is third will be disregarded and the remaining seven polls will be added and divided by seven (1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3 = 10/7 = 1.43).

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

The third component will be the team's strength of schedule. This component is calculated by determining the cumulative won/loss records of the team's opponents and the cumulative won/loss records of the teams' opponents' opponents. The formula shall be weighted two-third (66 2/3%) for the opponent's record and one-third (33 1/3%) for the opponents' opponents record. The team's schedule strength shall be calculated to determine in which quartile it will rank: 1-25, 26-50; 51-75; 76-100 and shall be further quantified by its ranking within each quartile (divided by 25). For example, if a team's schedule strength rating is 28th in the nation, that team would receive 1.12 points (28/25 = 1.12). Should a team play a Division I-AA opponent, only the losses of the Division I-AA team shall be used in determining the opponent's record or the opponent's opponents' record.

LOSSES

The final component shall evaluate the team's won/loss record. Each loss during the season will represent one point in this component.

All four components shall be added together for a total rating. The team with the lowest point total shall rank first in the Bowl Championship Series Standings. The BCS Standings will not be published until the Monday following games of Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. CT each week. The complete BCS rankings will be available at Bowl Championship Series Online at ESPN.com, a part of the GO Network, beginning Oct. 25. This system will be utilized only to select the teams that will participate in the championship game of the Bowl Championship Series and to determine any independent or team from a conference without an automatic selection which shall qualify for a guaranteed selection in one of the games of the Bowl Championship Series as the result of being ranked in the top six in the BCS Standings.