Miami Ohio University Athletics
RedHawks Ranked No. 23 in First Bowl Championship Series Poll
10/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 20, 2003
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami RedHawks head into Saturday's football game at Kent State ranked No. 23 in the first Bowl Championship Series poll released tonight. The BCS poll is used to select the national champion in college football by pitting the top eight teams in the BCS rankings against each other in the Sugar Bowl - the site of this year's national championship game - Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl. This is the first time since the BCS Poll was started in 1998 that Miami has been ranked in the Top 25.
"This is an honor for our team, and I am very pleased by the ranking," said head coach Terry Hoeppner. "Our team is very deserving of this distinction because a great deal of hard work by each member of this team has gone into us getting to this point. My hope is to build off of this and hopefully continue to play at the same high level."
The BCS Ranking is done by using a formula that takes into account a team's average ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Polls along with a computer ranking average from several polls around the country. Combined with a strength of schedule analysis, losses and a quality win component, the BCS poll can be tabulated. Following is the first poll released by the BCS committee:
| Rk. | School | BCS Rating |
| 1. | Oklahoma | 2.77 |
| 2. | Miami (FL) | 4.10 |
| 3. | Virginia Tech | 10.23 |
| 4. | Georgia | 12.99 |
| 5. | Florida State | 13.14 |
| 6. | Ohio State | 13.20 |
| 7. | USC | 13.83 |
| 8. | Purdue | 21.50 |
| 9. | Washington State | 23.96 |
| 10. | Northern Illinois | 26.00 |
| 11. | Nebraska | 26.45 |
| 12. | LSU | 26.54 |
| 13. | Michigan State | 27.44 |
| 14. | TCU | 28.17 |
| 15. | Iowa | 32.07 |
| 16. | Utah | 39.59 |
| 17. | Michigan | 39.86 |
| 18. | Wisconsin | 39.97 |
| 19. | Oklahoma State | 40.53 |
| 20. | Auburn | 41.31 |
| 21. | Tennessee | 42.69 |
| 22. | Arkansas | 47.22 |
| 23. | Miami (OH) | 48.23 |
| 24. | Bowling Green | 49.29 |
| 25. | Texas | 51.48 |
