USC's Carroll not a fan of BCS politicking

Politicking by coaches has become a late-season staple in the Bowl Championship Series era with teams trying to make the case for why they should make it to the title game.

Just don't count on Southern California coach Pete Carroll to get caught up in it over the next two weeks.

"There's nothing about that that I like," Carroll said. "The feeling that you have to campaign or do something like that doesn't sit right with me at all. I don't like it."

The Trojans were fifth in the latest BCS standings, meaning they need two wins and some help to make it to the championship game. USC has been part of some disputed BCS picks in the past, missing out on the title game in the 2003 season despite being ranked No. 1 in the country.

Then in 2006, USC was in the discussion with Florida and Michigan for the spot to play Ohio State before losing to UCLA in the final week of the regular season.

Carroll, a playoff proponent, admits he has probably slipped into politician mode at times in the past when asked about his team but tries his best to avoid it.

"When I sense that, I don't like that," he said. "I try to stay away from that as much as possible. I would always like the play to speak for itself. ... I don't blame anybody for doing it. I just don't like taking part of it."

Arizona coach Mike Stoops is happy that he won't be one of the voters that his colleagues are trying to lobby because he does not vote in the coaches poll this season.

With the winner of the Big 12 South possible being determined by the BCS standings this season, Stoops would have been under a lot of scrutiny because his brother Bob's Oklahoma team is competing with Texas and Texas Tech for that spot.

"I'd try to be fair to all teams but obviously I have a personal attachment with Oklahoma," Stoops said.

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THREE-WAY TIE:@ It's well understood that if Oregon State wins the Civil War against Oregon on Saturday, the Beavers will head to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 1964 season.

It's also clear that if Oregon State loses and USC beats UCLA next week, the Trojans will go to the Rose Bowl for the fourth straight year.

But what if Oregon State and USC both lose their final conference games, creating a three-way tie for Oregon for first place?

That sent Pac-10 officials scrambling over the weekend to figure out all those scenarios.

"It pretty much ruined my Sunday," associate commissioner Jim Muldoon said.

As it turns out, Oregon State wins a three-way tie no matter what. Because all three teams would have split with each other, the next tiebreaker is record against the next highest team in the standings.

Because California (which beat Oregon) is assured of being at least in a tie for fourth place, Oregon would be knocked out on that tiebreaker. Oregon State would then go to the Rose Bowl based on its win over USC.

"We can find no possible scenario where it comes out differently," Muldoon said.

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RECORD BREAKER:@ Toby Gerhart capped his junior season by breaking Tommy Vardell's single-season school rushing record.

It remains an open question whether Gerhart will return next season to top his own mark. Gerhart, who is also a star on Stanford's baseball team, could have a difficult decision to make after the draft in June.

Gerhart has said that if he gets a multimillion dollar contract offer from a baseball team, he might choose to go that route. Coach Jim Harbaugh is already planning for the possibility, with the team also losing Anthony Kimble to graduation.

"It's important we are able to recruit a running back this year. I'll take as many as we possibly can," Harbaugh said. "Spring will be interesting with just one or two running backs. It will be Jeremy Stewart, Delano Howell, and then that's it. Delano is a playmaker and productive, and we're leaning toward putting him on defense, which means it's essential we get a running back into the program. Even if Toby does come back, we have to recruit a running back for the future."

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TOPPING A THOUSAND:@ Jahvid Best extended an impressive streak when he rushed for 201 yards in the Big Game, giving California a 1,000-yard rusher for the seventh straight season.

Best, who has 1,083 yards rushing with one game left in the regular season, follows Joe Igber (2002), Adimchinobe Echemandu (2003), J.J. Arrington (2004), Marshawn Lynch (2005-06) and Justin Forsett (2007) as 1,000-yard backs under coach Jeff Tedford.

"That's just amazing to put me in that category with the rest of those guys," Best said. "That's a really special achievement, because I look up to those guys. They're one of the reasons I came to Cal, because of that tradition. It's really special."

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STANFORD CURSE:@ Maybe it's a good thing Jim Harbaugh is about to sign that contract extension to keep him at Stanford for three more years.

Because the performance of former Stanford coaches in other jobs this season has been abysmal. Buddy Teevens and Tyrone Willingham, the only two former Cardinal coaches with head coaching jobs this season, are both winless in 2008.

Teevens just finished an 0-10 season at Dartmouth, the first winless campaign for the Big Green since losing their only game in 1883.

Willingham has one game remaining in his season and career at Washington. After losing the Apple Cup to Washington State in double overtime, Willingham has an 0-11 record. The Huskies are the only winless team in major college football and need a win on Dec. 6 at California to avoid the school's first winless season since 1890.