LSU No. 1, then Ducks fight Big 12 in BCS

With three weeks left to decide which teams will play for the national title, it’s Oregon against the Big 12 in a BCS battle.

LSU moved into the first place in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday and the Ducks jumped into second place, a day after Ohio State was upset by Illinois.

The Tigers appear to have their destiny in their own hands. With three games remaining, including the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 1, LSU will likely reach the BCS title game in New Orleans by winning out.

The Ducks have three games left but they’ll have to watch their backs with three Big 12 teams looming, led by third-place Kansas.

Oregon is past the toughest part of its schedule. The Ducks play at Arizona on Thursday night, have a road game against UCLA on Nov. 24 and finish the season against rival Oregon State at home on Dec. 1.

None of those teams is ranked, so if the Ducks struggle to a victory it could open up an opportunity for Kansas. Or fourth-place Oklahoma. Or fifth-place Missouri.

If either of those three can win out, they could overtake Oregon, especially the perfect Jayhawks (10-0).

LSU is No. 1 in both the Harris and coaches’ polls and top-rated by the computers. The Tigers have a BCS average of .980.

Oregon is No. 2 in the polls, but third in the computer ratings, giving the Ducks a BCS average of .938.

Kansas is ranked fourth in both polls, but second in the computer ratings and has a BCS average of .909.

Huskies won’t rush Locker

Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Locker will not be rushed back into action after suffering a stinger and trapezius muscle strain in his neck, coach Tyrone Willingham said.

Locker was injured in a helmet-to-helmet collision in the second quarter of the Huskies’ 29-23 loss to Oregon State on Saturday night. He was taken off the field on a stretcher, but additional tests conducted Sunday confirmed the injury was a stinger. Locker began therapy Sunday.

“We are truly happy that the tests that were conducted on Jake indicated nothing more serious that a stinger and muscle strain,” Willingham said. “We will not rush Jake’s return to the field. The extent to which Jake will be out of action will be in large part determined by his ability to recover from the injury.”

Locker, the dynamic redshirt freshman from Ferndale, was scrambling on a third-down play when he was hit by Oregon State safety Al Afalava in the second quarter.

Locker stayed down for about 15 minutes and did not appear to move while emergency workers attended to him. He was then put on a stretcher with his head immobilized and taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis.

Locker flew home on a private jet with a doctor ahead of his team early Sunday. He was originally diagnosed with a sprained neck.

Three Grizzlies arrested

Three University of Montana football players have been arrested following a house break-in last week near the school.

Running back Greg Coleman and defensive backs Mike Shelton and Jeremy Pate were arrested after arriving back in Montana following the road game Saturday against Idaho State. They face charges of felony robbery and felony burglary, KGVO-AM reported Sunday. One player was also suspected of kidnapping and assault, the station reported, without naming the player.