We’ll get a recount

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tremors from the first earthquake of the college football season will reverberate through today’s games and into Sunday’s polling.

The Big 12, Southeastern Conference and Penn State could be the biggest winners from Southern California’s 27-21 loss to Oregon State on Thursday night.

Penn State?

The 12th-ranked Nittany Lions have looked formidable all year, including their 45-14 beatdown of the Beavers in the second week.

By wrecking the team that trashed No. 1, Penn State might get some extra love in the polls, provided it defeats Illinois on Saturday.

But teams from the Big 12 and SEC are in a better position to take full advantage.

Entering this week’s games, teams from the two conferences held the next six positions and eight of the next nine after the Trojans in the USA Today coaches’ poll, which helps determine the Bowl Championship Series standings.

They are all in a position to move up, and one winner can make a major move. Third-ranked Georgia plays host to 10th-ranked Alabama today.

Fifth-ranked Missouri and ninth-ranked Texas Tech could jump without playing.

Nobody knows how far the Trojans will fall, but Ohio State could be an indicator.

After the Buckeyes lost 35-3 at Southern California two weeks ago, they went from fifth to 14th in the USA Today poll.

Will USC be punished as severely? After all, the Trojans lost to an unranked team with a 1-2 record entering the game.

Second-ranked Oklahoma, which plays host to TCU, could go to No. 1 with a victory, but so could Georgia, which isn’t far behind in third.

The Bulldogs are breaking out black jerseys for additional motivation today.

The rest of the USA Today top 10: Florida, Missouri, LSU, Texas, Wisconsin, Texas Tech and Alabama.

Also, the Harris Poll, also used to determine the final BCS standings, will be released for the first time Sunday.

The first BCS standings won’t be out until Oct. 19.

The teams ranked first and second in the final standings play in the BCS national championship game.

As for the Southern California loss, Trojans linebacker Brian Cushing said his team and not the underdog Beavers may have been the one with too much adrenaline.

“I think we were a little too amped up,” Cushing said. “We were missing tackles and not reading plays right.”