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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Utah quarterback Smith opts to leave early for NFL

Associated Press

Alex Smith already has his degree, a perfect season and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

There’s not much more for the Utah quarterback to accomplish, so he’s leaving school with one year of eligibility remaining and entering the NFL draft.

“I just felt like this was the right opportunity for me to make the jump,” Smith said Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Smith, yet to hire an agent, wasn’t sure two years ago whether he wanted to keep playing football at all, let alone a future in the NFL. But he’s had a remarkable 21-1 run since taking over the Utes’ starting job early in the 2003 season.

He led Utah to a 12-0 season this fall, capped by a 35-7 win over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl behind four touchdowns from Smith, who finished the year with 32.

“I couldn’t picture this two months ago,” Smith said. “It’s been quite a ride.”

Auburn makes its case

Auburn’s perfect 13-0 season will be a source of pride for generations, a lofty, near-impossible achievement that few other programs can claim.

But the Tigers weren’t worrying too much about their pride. They wanted a share of the national title, even if it meant groveling for it.

“We fought just as hard as anyone. It’s not our fault we’re not playing in the national championship game,” quarterback Jason Campbell said. “If you look at last year, you had two (13-1) teams and they shared the national title, and one team wasn’t in the national title game. This year, you have two 13-0 teams, so why not just be fair about the whole situation?”

The Tigers went into the Sugar Bowl knowing they were a long shot even to split the national title. Yes, they’d gone through the tough SEC undefeated, beaten Tennessee not once but twice, and won all but two of their games by double digits. No other team from a major conference had finished 13-0 and not won at least a share of the national title.

BCS may use committee system

With no plans for a playoff, the Bowl Championship Series will consider using a committee of college football experts to set the next national title game.

“I have to tell you, I really do not see an NFL-style playoff coming to college football any time soon,” BCS coordinator and Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said.

Weiberg also said the BCS will search for a replacement for the Associated Press poll to help rank the top teams.

Five teams took perfect records into this bowl season, prompting many fans, players and even some coaches to call for a playoff format.

Weiberg said he is “very interested” in a committee structure that would be similar to the one used to set the field for the NCAA basketball tournaments.

A BCS selection committee would likely need more than 10 members, Weiberg said.

Moats to enter NFL draft

Louisiana Tech running back Ryan Moats will skip his final season and enter the NFL draft. Moats, the Western Athletic Conference player of the year, rushed for 1,774 yards and 18 touchdowns.