Beavers Are No. 1

As if there were any doubt, the No. 1 team in college football is . . . Oregon State. Seriously. You can click here to read all about it.

The Beavers are No. 1 in two of the computer rankings that are used in the BCS standings. Notre Dame is No. 2 in both. Can’t wait for that national-title matchup, especially since the Beavers thrashed the Irish 41-9 in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl, and beat them 38-21 four seasons later in the Insight Bowl.

Yes, OSU played Notre Dame in the 2004 Insight Bowl. Nobody ever remembers that when I bring it up; wonder why.

The irony is that if the Beavers’ season-opener against Nicholls State hadn’t been cancelled because of a hurricane, OSU probably wouldn’t be No. 1 in the computer polls. Instead, the Beavers have three victories over major-conference teams that were or had been ranked.

I don’t know whether the Beavers are actually the best team in the country. I’m kind of guessing they aren’t. But I will say this: Good teams have good line play on both sides of the ball; elite teams have good receivers and good cornerbacks. OSU has that.

Of course, these computer rankings are subject to change. We’ll bet that Alabama will have something to say about it before the season is out.