TEMPE, Ariz., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A loss for the Bowl Championship Series is the Fiesta Bowl's gain.
Should top-ranked Miami lose to No. 4 Nebraska in the Rose Bowl, the winner of the New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl clash between No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Colorado could be voted a share of the national title.
Nebraska's surprising selection to the Rose Bowl left Oregon and Colorado out in the cold.
Both coaches -- Oregon's Mike Bellotti and Colorado's Gary Barnett -- were openly critical of being denied a chance of going to Pasadena, and the only way to prove the BCS system wrong is to win in the Fiesta Bowl. The end result is probably the most intriguing matchup of the bowl season.
While the coaches' poll will crown the winner of the Rose Bowl as its national champion, the media poll is under no such restrictions.
Colorado thrust itself into the national title picture by routing Nebraska, 62-36, on Thanksgiving weekend before frustrating Texas, 39-37, in the Big 12 Conference title game.
Bellotti, who went so far as to liken the BCS system to
"cancer," realizes his team lost out in the draw.
"Colorado is playing the best football in the country," he said. "Maybe going somewhere else would be an easier task."
Senior quarterback Bobby Pesavento has led the Buffaloes to five straight wins. Barnett had considered going back to Craig Ochs, who appears healthy after a series of injuries, but will stay with Pesavento.
The key to Colorado's offense has been Chris Brown, who combined for nine rushing touchdowns in the wins over Nebraska and Texas.
Brown has benefited from some consistency on the offensive line, which includes star guard Andre Gurode. For the first time since 1994, Colorado has started the same offensive lineman for the entire regular season.
When Colorado talks about a national title, it conveniently omits losses to Fresno State and Texas (in regular season play). Oregon may have a more legitimate claim after playing in a solid Pac-10 Conference and suffering its only loss to Stanford, a nationally ranked team.
The Fiesta Bowl will be the final collegiate stage for Heisman Trophy finalist Joey Harrington, who threw 23 touchdown passess and only five interceptions. Harrington will face a defense that intercepted Chris Simms three times in the Big 12 title game.
Oregon also has a balanced running attack, led by Onterrio Smith (1,007 yards) and Maurice Morris (960).
Harrington has earned the nickname "Captain Comeback" for leading the Ducks to nine-fourth quarter rallies in his career. But Oregon falls behind often due to a secondary that ranks a dismal 110th in the nation, yielding 285 yards per game.
Colorado has excelled in the postseason and will take a six-game bowl winning streak, the longest current run in the nation, into the Fiesta Bowl. One of those wins was a 51-43 victory over Oregon in the 1998 Aloha Bowl in which the Buffaloes built a 30-point third-quarter lead. Colorado leads the all-time series, 8-6.
Oregon is 6-9 in bowl games but has won three of the last four.
Harrington threw two touchdown passes, caught one and ran for another score in a 35-30 win over Texas in last season's Holiday Bowl.
