Ducks, Dixon could be BCS poster children

Let a season play out long enough and you can end up typing incredible sentences.

* Oregon can win the national title this year, maybe by defeating Kansas, which just defeated Nebraska by 37 points on the same day Navy beat Notre Dame.

* The Heisman Trophy appears now to be Dennis Dixon's to lose. In 1968, a presidential candidate rode the slogan "Nixon's the One" to a close victory.

In Eugene this year, maybe "Dixon's the One."

* Better get your tickets now for Missouri-Kansas on Nov. 24 in Kansas City.

* Michigan is one victory from playing for a Rose Bowl bid after a season-opening loss to Appalachian State, which then lost to Wofford, which lost Saturday to Georgia Southern.

* Who does Connecticut play next?

After two relatively tranquil weeks, college football is back to being based at Houston's Nutt house.

Weekend losses by top-five Bowl Championship Series schools Boston College and Arizona State provided the latest cover version of shake, rattle and roll.

It could have been worse/better if BCS No. 1 Ohio State hadn't rallied to beat Wisconsin and new BCS No. 2 Louisiana State hadn't been able to score two late touchdowns to win at Alabama.

Ohio State and LSU were 1-2 in Sunday's latest BCS offering, setting up another possible scenario in which the undefeated Buckeyes get stomped in the title game by a once-defeated champion from the Southeastern Conference.

Last year it was Florida over Ohio State to the backdrop of television sets flipping off and a gigantic stadium emptying out.

Anyone ready for that again?

A bobble by the Buckeyes, though, and a hiccup down at LSU could produce an Oregon-Kansas showdown at the Louisiana Superdome on Jan. 7.

Oregon, with a 35-23 home win over Arizona State, jumped two spots to No. 3 in the BCS while Kansas made the most hay, jumping four spots to No. 4.

Oregon versus Kansas . . . it could happen.

And here's the thing: Neither team was ranked in anybody's preseason top 25. To be fair, Oregon was among "others receiving votes" in both the Associated Press media and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls, but Kansas got zilch. And it doesn't count that the coaches gave Kansas State votes.

But isn't that what makes it fun?

Ohio State and LSU have won national titles as recently as 2002 and 2003. Oregon and Kansas have won it all as recently as never.