the buzz log

The much-maligned BCS released its first rankings this week and college football fans are buzzing. After the initial BCS standings were announced, searches on the formula for seeding the best amateur squads in the land soared over 1,300%.

The 2007 season is teetering on the brink of insanity and the rankings have an extra significance this year. Past debate about sub-par bowl game matchups chosen by the Bowl Championship Series could be eclipsed this year if a few quality teams all wind up with a single loss. With the controversy ready to swirl, related queries on "bcs poll," "bcs rankings," and "2007 bcs standings" all sacked the Search box.

Where are the BCS searches coming from? Well, Oklahoma City and passionate Oklahoma Sooner fans lead the way in regional BCS buzz. Second and third place go to a couple of other college football hotbeds—Baton Rouge, LA (home of LSU) and Columbus, OH (home of Ohio State).

The University of South Florida is this season's surprise squad and the Bulls are kicking up dirt in Buzz. Lookups on "south florida," "south florida football," and "south florida bulls" all doubled after it was revealed that the relatively unknown team from Tampa scored the #2 spot in the BCS. Will the unheralded underdogs make it to the championship game in 2008? In this buzzworthy college football season, anything is possible.