40 Acres Sports

The latest BCS rankings are out and despite the gains by Oklahoma in the two human polls, Texas has taken advantage of the the Texas Tech loss and moved up two spots to number two in the rankings. The computer polls are the reason the Horns are hanging on now but since the Sooners play a ranked team this week it may take an impressive Thanksgiving Day win to remind voters that the Horns actually beat the Sooners when they matched up in October.

Check out the top 10 below:

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	Alabama	0.987
2	Texas	0.920
3	Oklahoma	0.912
4	Florida	0.875
5	USC	0.797
6	Utah	0.785
7	Texas Tech	0.778
8	Penn St.	0.752
9	Boise St.	0.658
10	Ohio St.	0.620

Even though there is no Texas game this weekend, it almost feels like it with all of the Big 12 South implications that come with Texas Tech playing at Oklahoma. I feel like our best shot to go to the National Championship game is if Oklahoma beats Tech, but does that really mean I have to root for OU? That kind of makes me nauseous.

Well besides that game there really isn’t much to watch this Saturday. I guess that just gives more time to warm-up before the big game at night. And just FYI, I did go 3-0 last weekend against the spread, and plan to this weekend also.

Michigan at #10 Ohio State (-21) - 12:00 PM EST on ABC. I guess if you wake up early enough and have nothing else to do, this is the game to watch. With Michigan losing 8 games this year (first time ever by the way) and Ohio State in the #10 spot, you would think this would be an easy win for OSU. But in this kind of game anything can and usually happens. Ohio State doesn’t have the offense to cover a 21 point spread against Michigan, and this could be the game to save Coach Rodriguez’s job. Now I don’t really expect Michigan win, but it wouldn’t surprise me, and I think they easily stay inside the points. Take Michigan.

#15 Michigan State at #8 Penn State (-15.5) - 3:30 PM EST on ABC. A win for Penn State here and they are in the Rose Bowl. This could also be Coach Pat’s last year in Happy Valley, so you know the players are fired up. Michigan State has lost 10 straight games against ranked opponents. The weather looks rough up north, which means the running game takes on more importance. With Michigan State’s already weak passing game, I expect Penn State to load up on the run and prevent Javon Ringer from having a big game. This one will be over in the first half. Take Penn State.

#2 Texas Tech at #5 Oklahoma (-7) - 8:00 PM EST on ABC. The game every Texas fan will be watching. If Texas Tech wins they are automatically in the Big 12 Championship. If Oklahoma wins, they will have to also beat Oklahoma State and stay ahead of Texas in the BCS to play in the championship. Lots of pressure in this one. Texas Tech always pulls a “Tech” and implodes on themselves for at least one game. And this year will be no different. Oklahoma has been averaging 47 points in the first half in their last 4 games. When playing an offense like Tech, it can never be over in the first quarter, but this one could start getting ugly early. Take OU in this one.

An interesting note on the spread. It is holding steady at 7 even though you will see the juice rising all the way up to +110 at some places. That means there is obviously a lot of public money coming in on Tech, but there is some reason the bookies are holding that number. To me that seems odd and just another reason to take OU.

Thanks to a (joyous) Penn State loss the Longhorns have moved up another spot in the latest BCS rankings released Sunday. Thanks to that loss and human voters seeing the error of their ways, Texas is third ahead of Florida and more importantly Oklahoma. The Horns dropped big from number one after their loss to Texas Tech but moved back passed those teams this week in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll.

Texas’ ranking against the Sooners is huge on the chance their is a three-way tie between those two teams and the Red Raiders for the Big 12 South. In that scenario the division winner will be determined by which team has the highest BCS ranking. If the Horns end up winning out and in the Big 12 Championship, a win over the North’s representative would likely mean a shot at the whole enchilada.

The BCS top 10 rankings are listed below:

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Comp. Rankings
	Team	BCS Avg	Prvs	RK	Pts	%	RK	Pts	%	Avg	%
1	Alabama	.9814	1	1	2808	.9853	1	1508	.9889	2	.970
2	Texas Tech	.9715	2	2	2768	.9712	2	1469	.9633	1	.980
3	Texas	.8798	4	4	2471	.8670	5	1300	.8525	3	.920
4	Florida	.8640	5	3	2531	.8881	3	1348	.8839	T-5	.820
5	Oklahoma	.8444	6	5	2427	.8516	4	1314	.8616	T-5	.820
6	USC	.7896	7	6	2329	.8172	6	1268	.8315	8	.720
7	Utah	.7692	8	8	2034	.7137	7	1104	.7239	4	.870
8	Penn State	.6839	3	7	2073	.7274	8	1074	.7043	10	.620
9	Boise State	.6783	10	9	1940	.6807	9	1028	.6741	9	.680
10	Georgia	.6156	13	12	1581	.5547	12	842	.5521	7	.740

Related: View the full BCS rankings

Texas’ loss to last week to Texas Tech didn’t knock them completely out of the national title race but it certainly shook things up. Texas fans spent the next 72 hours crunching numbers and running scenarios that could result in the Longhorns still making it to the title game. That may make math and stats nerds happy but its just another sign of just how ridiculous the NCAA Division I FBS not having a playoff really is.

ESPN’s Pat Forde makes a(nother) strong case for a playoff in college football:

No less a voice than Barack Obama’s called on Monday night for a playoff in college football. To which The Dash says hallelujah, it’s time for some pressure on the ossified system from the top down. Once upon a time, the Tide wooed Butch Davis to be their coach. The first round of The Dash’s eight-team playoff would shape up as follows today: Top seed and SEC champion Alabama versus eighth-seeded ACC titlist North Carolina in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The backstory would make this interesting, since the Crimson Tide were interested in current Tar Heels.

The first round of The Dash’s eight-team playoff would shape up as follows today:

Top seed and SEC champion Alabama versus eighth-seeded ACC titlist North Carolina in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The backstory would make this interesting, since the Crimson Tide were interested in current Tar Heels coach Butch Davis as far back as 2000, when he was the coach at Miami. That was before Mike Price, before Dennis Franchione and before Mike Shula. Then Bama got it right — royal-flush right — with Nick Saban.

Second seed and Big Ten champion Penn State versus seventh-seeded Big East winner West Virginia in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. Just for fun they could award the old Lambert Trophy for the best school in the East to the winner.

Third seed and Big 12 champion Texas Tech versus sixth-seeded Pacific-10 champ USC in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Would anyone enjoy seeing the Red Raiders’ O (first nationally in passing offense, second in total offense, third in scoring) against the Trojans’ D (first nationally in pass defense, first in total defense, first in scoring defense)?

Fourth seed at-large selection Texas versus fifth seed at-large selection Florida in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow on the same field might be a little fun.

(Dash apologies to Oklahoma and Utah for being the best teams left out. Y’all can console each other in, say, the Alamo Bowl.)

After that: semifinals at the Orange and Fiesta Bowls. National title in the Rose Bowl. Championship trophy presented by Dashette Irina Shayk.

Decide for yourself whether that playoff would generate any interest. After you’ve thought it over for five seconds, call the president of your favorite university and scream into the phone that you want a playoff. Do not stop screaming until you are out of breath or they have hung up on you — and then redial and scream again.

Maybe it will come to pass by the time Tebow’s kids are in college.

Or maybe it happens a little faster depending on Tuesday’s election results.

Just imagine adding the Texas Rose Bowl win over USC, plus the brutal four game stretch the team just finished, plus even more on the line than ever before. How fun would that be?

The Longhorns lost the battle to Texas Tech on Saturday but they still haven’t lost the war. The new BCS rankings were revealed tonight and Texas fell only to number four, behind Alabama, Penn State, and Texas Tech who moved all the way up to number two. The Horns still have a every good chance to end up back in the top two and headed to the national title game.

All the Horns need is for two teams ahead of them to go down, and with the remaining schedules ahead for both Tech and Alabama that is a distinct possibility. Texas fans need to be rooting hard for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State the next few weeks and for LSU this week against Alabama. The team needs to take care of business during the final weeks of the season for any of this to matter, but fans will be doing a lot of scoreboard watching.

The BCS top 10 rankings are listed below:

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Comp. Rankings
	Team	BCS Avg	Prvs	RK	Pts	%	RK	Pts	%	Avg	%
1	Alabama	.9747	2	1	2798	.9818	1	1498	.9823	T-1	.960
2	Texas Tech	.9372	7	3	2644	.9277	3	1409	.9239	T-1	.960
3	Penn State	.9286	3	2	2689	.9435	2	1437	.9423	4	.900
4	Texas	.8531	1	6	2322	.8147	7	1227	.8046	3	.940
5	Florida	.8268	8	4	2391	.8389	5	1268	.8315	5	.810
6	Oklahoma	.8220	4	5	2366	.8302	4	1290	.8459	9	.790
7	USC	.7551	5	7	2273	.7975	6	1232	.8079	10	.660
8	Utah	.6972	10	9	1864	.6540	9	1018	.6675	7	.770
9	Oklahoma State	.6660	9	8	2021	.7091	8	1066	.6990	11	.590
10	Boise State	.6529	11	10	1797	.6305	10	958	.6282	8	.700

Related: View the full BCS rankings

The Texas defense bent (a lot) against Oklahoma State but held strong just when they needed to secure the win. In what may have been the most important play of the season so far they stuffed the OSU offense on fourth down on a critical fourth quarter drive. The defense sniffed out the wide receiver slip screen and defensive tackle Lamarr Houston tackled Dez Bryant as soon as he caught the ball, well short of the needed yardage.

That play is up against plays from Florida State, Georgia. and probably the deserving winner from the Ohio State/Penn State game. That big hit and then fumble by Terrelle Pryor probably put Joe Pa in the title game.

Go to www.pontiac.com/ncaa and vote for the Horns. Be sure to click on “Rush” to see the ESPN guys talk at length after a good replay of Vince Young running for 80 yards against Okie State back in the incredible 2005 game.

The new BCS standings are out and the Longhorns remain easily atop the list. A close game against Oklahoma State had no effect on either the human or computer polls that make up the rankings. Texas is number one in every computer poll and holds nearly every first place vote in both the Harris and USA Today Coaches poll.

All the team has to do is take care of business and it appears there’s no way any other team could jump them in the rankings. One indicator of how much both the humans and robots love the Longhorns are the rankings of both OSU and Oklahoma even after losses to Texas. After the loss this weekend the Cowboys only fell one spot in the Harris Poll and two in the USA Today poll. This might mean the Horns could lose a game and still be around number three in the BCS. Let’s hope we don’t find out.

Check out the top ten in the latest BCS rankings below:

		Harris Poll			USA Today			Computer Rankings		BCS
	Team	RK	Pts	%	RK	Pts	%	%	Comp avg	BCS Avg	Prvs
1	Texas	1	2839	.9961	1	1522	.9980	1.000	1	.9981	1
2	Alabama	2	2696	.9460	2	1439	.9436	.960	2	.9499	2
3	Penn State	3	2650	.9298	3	1414	.9272	.920	3	.9257	3
4	Oklahoma	4	2370	.8316	4	1265	.8295	.820	T-4	.8270	4
5	USC	7	2255	.7912	6	1228	.8052	.750	6	.7822	5
6	Georgia	8	2124	.7453	8	1137	.7456	.820	T-4	.7703	7
7	Texas Tech	5	2286	.8021	5	1246	.8170	.610	T-10	.7431	8
8	Florida	6	2258	.7923	7	1199	.7862	.610	T-10	.7295	10
9	Oklahoma State	9	1871	.6565	10	972	.6374	.730	T-7	.6746	6
10	Utah	10	1802	.6323	9	987	.6472	.730	T-7	.6362	11

Related: View the full BCS rankings

Some really good match-ups this weekend, especially in the Big 12. You get to start off the day with Texas Tech playing on the road in Kansas, and then get to watch the #1 Texas Longhorns play Oklahoma State in the afternoon. Then you get to finish on the day with Penn State playing at Ohio State in the late game on ABC. Overall not a bad Saturday, not bad at all.

Now I did only go 2-2 last week, but I am still around 70% for the season. This weekend should be good.

#8 Texas Tech vs. #23 Kansas (PK) - 12:00 PM EST on ESPN. Texas Tech is 7-0 for the first time since 1976, but their undefeated is in serious jeopardy this weekend playing at Kansas. Kansas has proven they can score and Texas Tech’s defense has been looking pretty week in the last 2 weeks. The over/under in this one is around 68, which is not nearly enough for these two teams. Look for this one to be in the 80s as Kansas pulls out the victory in the end.

#6 Oklahoma State vs. #1 Texas (-12.5) - 3:30 PM EST on ABC. Texas doesn’t get a break as they face another top ranked team for the 3rd straight week. I think Texas has proven they can handle the pressure of being #1 in the nation by demolishing Mizzou last weekend. Even though Texas has won 10 straight in this match-up, Oklahoma State has been a trouble spot for Texas in recent years, needing many a miracle 2nd half comeback to pull out the victory. I think this year Texas will jump out early at home and continue to apply pressure throughout the game. Give the points in this one.

#7 Georgia vs. #13 LSU (-1.5) - 3:30 PM EST on CBS. To me this one seems pretty simple. LSU has nothing at the quarterback position, and that will kill you with the SEC defenses. LSU’s defense struggled mightily against Florida’s speed, and it will probably be more of the same against Georgia. I really hate to go against LSU, but my gut tells me they don’t have a shot in this one.

#3 Penn State vs. #9 Ohio State (+2) - 8:00 PM EST on ABC. This one might be the toughest on the board. You can make pretty good arguments both ways. Ohio State has been playing much better since getting blown out by USC, but Penn State has just been dominating every opponent. To me this one just comes down to offense. Ohio State struggles to score points, and Penn State averages 45 points per game. Even though this one is at OSU, take Penn State minus the points.

For the second time this year 3 of the Top 4 teams in the nation lose. No one is safe at the top, and most of the Top 10 will be playing each other in the next few weeks so expect to see even more changes. So far this year is looking even crazier than last year.

1. Alabama

   
   LW: 3

   Even though they didn’t play, I don’t think they deserved to be bumped down below Texas.

2. Texas

   
   LW: 5

   Texas won with Colt’s leadership and the defense stepping up at the right times. Will Muschamp has the defense improving every week. It was kind of nice cruising through the season unnoticed, but that time is definitely over.

3. Penn State

   
   LW: 7

   I guess I to move up Penn State after their blowout win. It looks like they are definitely the class of the Big 10, though that is not saying very much.

4. Oklahoma

   
   LW: 1

   Sam Bradford threw for 5 touchdowns and still lost. Oklahoma has a great team and their schedule is setup to keep them in a BCS bowl game.

5. Florida

   
   LW: 11

   I had watched Florida play a few times this year, but I have never seen the speed and precision they displayed against LSU. They have some of the fastest running backs in the nation, and if they can keep Tim Tebow from making mistakes they should be good.

6. Texas Tech

   
   LW: 8

   Texas Tech played like crap but was surprisingly still able to come out with a win against Nebraska. They have a pretty easy road before playing Texas at home.

7. Oklahoma State

   
   LW: 15

   Not sure if was too much of an upset, but Oklahoma State managed to put a hurting on Mizzou. Oklahoma State has proven they definitely have the offense, but do they have the defense to hang with the big boys.

8. Missouri

   
   LW: 2

   I am actually pretty disappointed that Mizzou lost, because that would have meant Texas would play two #1 teams in a row. Now that Mizzou has lost, Texas will definitely be expected to beat them this Saturday.

9. USC

   
   LW: 10

   Looks like USC is getting back into form after totally dominating Arizona State 28-0. They probably have the easiest schedule left of any Top 10 and will probably somehow backdoor their way into the national championship.

10. Georgia

    
    LW: 9

    Georgia had a solid win against Tennessee but I am still not very impressed with this team. I expect them to lose 2 more games this season.

11. BYU

    
    LW: 6

    I have decided to not leave BYU so high up in the polls. They play nobody, and until they beat Utah I will not move them any higher.

12. LSU

    
    LW: 4

    You either smoke, or you get smoked, and LSU got smoked. That was a pretty weak performance against Florida, and if they don’t get someone to play quarterback they will struggle all season long.

13. Kansas

    
    LW: 12

    Kansas continues to plod along and will probably go relatively unnoticed the rest of the way unless they can beat one of the big teams in the Big 12. Don’t expect that to happen.

14. Utah

    
    LW: 13

    Utah and BYU really don’t seem much different to me. They will have to prove their ranking by beating both TCU and BYU.

15. Boise State

    
    LW: 16

    Thank goodness we didn’t have to see them play on their ugly blue field this weekend.

16. Ohio State

    
    LW: 17

    Luckily Ohio State beat Purdue because they are about to lose two in a row. I can’t wait to drop them out of the Top 25.

17. Michigan State

    
    LW: 19

    Again, the only thing they have going for them is their running back, but man is he awesome. Can we trade for him?

18. Virginia Tech

    
    LW: 18

    Does anyone really care about anyone in the ACC. They will probably all beat each other and end up with a conference champion that has 3 losses.

19. South Florida

    
    LW: 20

    Bye week

20. North Carolina

    
    LW: 21

    It took a last minute play, but North Carolina thankfully kept Notre Dame out of the Top 25. North Carolina is making the most out of their spot, but see Virginia Tech.

21. Wake Forest

    
    LW: 22

    Another so-so ACC team barely holding on to their spot in the Top 25.

22. California

    
    LW: 24

    Bye week

23. TCU

    
    LW: -

    TCU has another huge game coming against BYU. Can they prove BYU is overrated, or will they fall back out of the Top 25?

24. Vanderbilt

    
    LW: 14

    It was only a matter of time before Vanderbilt came back down to reality. They couldn’t handle the pressure of the being a top team and now they will probably struggle the rest of the way.

25. Tulsa

    
    LW: 25

    They struggled a little only scoring 37, but I am sure they will get back on track and put up 60+ on UTEP.

Well lookie here, the Texas Longhorns are the new number one team in the land. After the team’s big win over Oklahoma the team vaulted from number five in both polls to the very top. Huge shakeup this week with losses in the top five by OU, Missouri, and LSU, but in the AP poll the Sooners surprisingly only fell to number four. Alabama is a very close second in both polls followed by Penn State.

This week’s opponent Missouri fell out of the top ten with a loss, but they’re still a very good team and it doesn’t get easier after them. Due to the way the schedules lay out, the Longhorns could actually face two more top five teams in Oklahoma State and Texas Tech if they win the games they should and stay undefeated.

Check out this week’s rankings or view the top 10 teams below:

	AP Top 25		USA Today Poll
1	Texas (39) 6-0 1,599		Texas (44) 6-0 1,505
2	Alabama (26) 6-0 1,582		Alabama (14) 6-0 1,452
3	Penn State 7-0 1,492		Penn State (3) 7-0 1,416
4	Oklahoma 5-1 1,306		USC 4-1 1,198
5	Florida 5-1 1,284		Texas Tech 6-0 1,195
6	USC 4-1 1,247		Oklahoma 5-1 1,147
7	Texas Tech 6-0 1,210		Florida 5-1 1,145
8	Oklahoma State 6-0 1,184		Brigham Young 6-0 1,143
9	Brigham Young 6-0 1,131		Georgia 5-1 1,010
10	Georgia 5-1 1,081		Oklahoma State 6-0 958

This could be one of the biggest weekends of the year in terms of national title implications. Arguably the top four teams in the Big 12 are playing each other, #1 Oklahoma vs #5 Texas and #3 Missouri vs #17 Oklahoma State (I think Texas Tech is probably a little overrated). Then you have the two powerhouse teams in the SEC squaring off with #4 LSU traveling to the Swamp against #11 Florida. And if you feel like checking out the boring Big 10, you get to see #6 Penn State playing at Camp Randall Stadium against Wisconsin.

Let’s take a look at a game in each of the big conferences. Remember, I did go 3-1 last weekend against the spread (for around the 4th straight weekend).

#5 Texas at #1 Oklahoma (-6.5) - 12:00 PM EST on ABC. For a #5 team in the nation, Texas has managed to keep a relatively low profile this year. I think that has been a blessing in disguise since it has let the team grow without a lot of added pressure. Honestly if you asked me to pick this game at the beginning of the season, I would probably have said Oklahoma without even a doubt. But with the way Texas has played this season and their improvement on defense, they have a legitimate shot of coming out of this one with a victory. Both offenses have overpowering stats and high profile quarterbacks. Neither quarterback has faced any adversity, and I think that will change greatly for Sam Bradford this week. Will Mushcamp has something going here in Austin, and I think that will be the difference in the game. I don’t bet on this game, but the Texas moneyline looks good.

#17 Oklahoma State at #3 Missouri (-14) - 8:00 PM EST on ESPN2. The O/U is set at 77 in this one and features the #2 and #3 scoring offenses in the nation, so you know some points will be scored. Both teams are undefeated when scoring 40 or more points since 2001, but that should change this weekend. This is basically a matchup of one of the nations best rushing attacks (OSU) versus one of the nations best passing offenses (Mizzou). I always prefer a better running game since it moves the ball more consistently and wears down the defense. This game should come down to whoever has the ball last. OSU might now win this one, but I think they easily cover the 14.

#4 LSU at #11 Florida (-6.5) - 8:00 PM EST on CBS. Tim Tebow has not impressed me much this season. And losing to Ole Miss at home? Come on now. LSU also has big questions at the quarterback position, but they have the defense to win them games in the SEC. I think they key here is LSU was off last week so they have had extra time to prepare and get some players healthy. Don’t take the points on this one, take LSU moneyline.

#6 Penn State at Wisconsin (+6) - 8:00 PM EST on ESPN. Yawn. Two more boring Big 10 teams playing each other. Not sure who is really going to watch this game with the two games above starting at the same time. Maybe if both games are at commercial? Penn State did not fair well in their last trip to Camp Randall Stadium (remember Coach Pat’s broken leg?), but it should be a much different game this year. Penn State is better than Wisconsin in every phase of the game and will dominate this game. You know what, don’t watch this one, just take Penn State and win some money.

Finally a week were pretty much all of the top teams went out and took care of business. There is a lot of shuffling around towards the bottom of the Top 25 as many teams have dropped out.

1. Oklahoma

   
   LW: 1

   Went out and took care of business and didn’t look ahead to playing Texas. I was actually somewhat surprised they only scored 49 points against Baylor.

2. Missouri

   
   LW: 3

   Missouri hadn’t won in Nebraska in 30 years. Apparently they were a little tired of losing there and put a whooping on the Cornhuskers. Pretty sure Bo Pelini is a little embarrassed after that one.

3. Alabama

   
   LW: 2

   Alabama actually showed some of their first signs of struggling, but they were still able to pull out the victory. Things will get a lot tougher for them as teams will be gunning to knock them off.

4. LSU

   
   LW: 4

   Bye week

5. Texas

   
   LW: 5

   I was actually a little nervous playing at Colorado, but thankfully Texas jumped out to the early lead and never looked back. Texas’ defense looked better than ever and might possibly be prepared for OU.

6. BYU

   
   LW: 8

   Still feels weird to have BYU up here so high, but they have been absolutely killing teams lately. Because of their week schedule though, they probably won’t move much past this spot.

7. Penn State

   
   LW: 9

   Penn State continues to dominate in the weak Big 12, and will face their first tough test playing at Camp Randall against Wisconsin.

8. Texas Tech

   
   LW: 10

   I actually thought Kansas State would give Tech a game, but Tech just scored at will. Graham Harrell threw for 450 yards and 6 touchdowns. Not a bad day.

9. Georgia

   
   LW: 12

10. USC

    
    LW: 11

    Starting off, USC looked like they might be losing another one to a team from the state of Oregon. But in the end they reeled off 40+ straight points and cruised to victory.

11. Florida

    
    LW: 13

    Florida was lucky to have a bye week, oh wait, they did play Arkansas, which is just like having a bye week. Now they have to play LSU in a showdown in the SEC.

12. Kansas

    
    LW: 14

    Kansas struggled a little bit at Iowa State but were able to squeak out of there with a win. Todd Reesing is a seriously talented QB.

13. Utah

    
    LW: 15

    Utah is quietly hanging around in the Top 15 and beating all the teams they should. I guess we will just have to wait until they play BYU.

14. Vanderbilt

    
    LW: 16

    Vanderbilt continues to be the surprise of the SEC. They are actually leading the SEC East! I doubt this will last much longer.

15. Oklahoma State

    
    LW: 17

    Hard to tell if Oklahoma State is really that good or if A&M is just that bad. It’s probably a little bit of both and I am really scared of playing this team later this month.

16. Boise State

    
    LW: 18

    I can’t stand to watch this team playing on that bright blue field, but they continue to win impressively and dominate their opponent. They have a legitimate shot at going undefeated this season.

17. Ohio State

    
    LW: 19

    Ohio State pulled off an impressive win at Wisconsin proving the whole Big 10 is just a joke. Everyone pretty much just sucks equally.

18. Virginia Tech

    
    LW: 21

    They don’t win big and they don’t win pretty. They somehow just manage to play just good enough to get the win. They will have to play better if they want to make it through the ACC schedule.

19. Michigan State

    
    LW: -

    The only thing they have going for them is their running back, but man is he awesome. Can we trade for him?

20. South Florida

    
    LW: 6

    South Florida of course had to ruin their dream season and go lose to a crappy Pittsburgh team. Does anyone want to step up in the Big East?

21. North Carolina

    
    LW: -

    Not sure the last time North Carolina was ranked in football, but it has to be a while. They have a solid team and have a pretty favorable schedule the rest of the way.

22. Wake Forest

    
    LW: -

    Hmm…not really sure what to make of this team. Sometimes they look really good, and sometimes they look really awful. Week to week it is tough to tell which team will show up.

23. Auburn

    
    LW: 7

    Auburn losing to Vanderbilt? Who would have guessed that in the beginning of the season? Luckily for them they have a bye week next week, oh wait, they play Arkansas.

24. California

    
    LW: -

    Doesn’t seem right to have a Pac-10 team in the Top 25 that’s not USC, but California is quietly putting together a nice season.

25. Tulsa

    
    LW: -

    Tulsa seems to score 60 points every time they play, and that will usually get it done. They play SMU this week, which means they will probably score 80.

No upsets mean not much movement within the top of the rankings this week. Alabama looked shaky and almost went down but otherwise just South Florida suffered a loss. The Oklahoma Sooners won impressively and picked up additional first place votes heading into their match-up against the good guys. The Longhorns stayed at number five in both polls but did lose a few points in the USA Today Coaches Poll, despite easily handling a solid conference opponent.

Check out this week’s rankings or view the top 10 teams below:

	AP Top 25		USA Today Poll
1	Oklahoma (51) 5-0 1,608		Oklahoma (60) 5-0 1,524
2	Alabama (13) 6-0 1,537		Missouri 5-0 1,404
3	Missouri (1) 5-0 1,487		LSU (1) 4-0 1,398
4	LSU 4-0 1,444		Alabama 6-0 1,339
5	Texas 5-0 1,374		Texas 5-0 1,305
6	Penn State 6-0 1,287		Penn State 6-0 1,203
7	Texas Tech 5-0 1,163		Texas Tech 5-0 1,101
8	USC 3-1 1,137		Brigham Young 5-0 1,086
9	Brigham Young 5-0 1,103		USC 3-1 1,055
10	Georgia 4-1 1,014		Georgia 4-1 937

Talk about a crazy weekend in college football. Three of the top four teams go down in upsets, with unbeatable #1 of all-time USC losing to an unranked Oregon State team.

1. Oklahoma

   

   The clear #1 in the nation after other teams in the Top 5 seemed scared to win. The Texas game in two weeks looks bigger than ever.

2. Alabama

   

   Maybe even more of a butt-kicking than the USC/Ohio State, Alabama got out to a 31-0 lead at Georgia. I think this was a combination of Alabama having a solid team and Georgia being ridiculously over-hyped.

3. Missouri

   

   Good time to have a bye week. Their schedule gets tough now as they open Big 12 play.

4. LSU

   

   LSU didn’t look all that impressive in their win against Mississippi State. They will need to improve their quarterback play if they want to continue to win in the SEC.

5. Texas

   

   Talk about slaughtering the pig against Arkansas. The Texas defense finally showed up and held them to only 3 points for most of the game.

6. South Florida

   

   The class of the Big East continues to look good. Now they start conference play, so we will see if they can keep it up.

7. Auburn

   

   They don’t win pretty, but their defense can keep them in any game. If they actually had a good quarterback they would probably be #2 in the nation.

8. BYU

   

   BYU in the Top 10? Just doesn’t seem right somehow but they are playing great football right now. Two shutouts in a row will usually give a team some confidence.

9. Penn State

   

   I hesitate to put a Big 10 team so far up in the rankings because they will soon get smashed by some other crappy Big 10 team. Will this happen to Penn State? No doubt.

10. Texas Tech

    

    Not sure what to say about Tech except that they probably won’t last much longer with no losses. In fact, they will probably lose to Kansas State.

11. USC

    

    On cue, USC has their one “bare-minimum” game of the season and somehow loses to Oregon State. Now they can cruise for the rest of the season with their easy Pac-10 schedule.

12. Georgia

    

    Not really surprised that they lost to Alabama, more surprised about how they lost. Down 31-0 at the half at home? I knew they were over-rated, just didn’t know it was that bad.

13. Florida

    

    Rounding out the upsets this weekend is Florida. If Tim Tebow was an actual quarterback and could throw the ball, maybe they wouldn’t lose to a mediocre Ole Miss.

14. Kansas

    

    Bye week

15. Utah

    

    Utah continues to sneak up the polls relatively quietly. Now they have to play the vaunted Oregon State Beavers.

16. Vanderbilt

    

    With Georgia and Florida losing, Vanderbilt now leads the SEC East. If they beat Auburn this weekend is it time for them to start thinking national championship? Ha.

17. Oklahoma State

    

    The Big 12 is absolutely stacked this year. Oklahoma State’s offense can hang with anyone. Too bad they play @Missouri, @Texas, and @Texas Tech.

18. Boise State

    

    Bye week

19. Ohio State

    

    Not sure that a 13 point win over Minnesota is very impressive, but a win is a win. Terrelle Pryor looks like a legit college quarterback. I bet they are wishing he played more against USC.

20. Oregon

    

    Hard to get a read on just how good or bad the Pac-10 is. My guess is that Oregon will be dropping soon as they play USC this weekend.

21. Virginia Tech

    

    Man, Virginia Tech has an incredibly weak schedule this season. If they didn’t lose to East Carolina they would easily be in the Top 10.

22. Wisconsin

    

    The Big 10 is just awful and I think Wisconsin proves that. Not sure how a Top 10 team loses to a horrible Michigan team. Oh yeah, it’s the crappy Big 10.

23. Maryland

    

    Maryland actually looks like they have a good team this year. The ACC is wide open right now and Maryland should be near the top at the end.

24. Fresno State

    

    Pretty impressive win at UCLA.

25. Connecticut

    

    Impresive win at Louisville. They will be tested in next two games of three straight road games. If they can make it through that, they will be looking good.

Thanks to upsets losses by USC, Georgia, and Florida the Longhorns have vaulted into the top five of both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls. Alabama flew past the Horns after their win over the UGA but the easy win over Arkansas was enough to move Texas up to spots to the number five ranking. Texas is relatively comfortably ahead of Penn State in both polls, but rankings this week don’t matter much as Texas will prove itself over the next three weeks when they face Oklahoma and Missouri in consecutive games.

Check out this week’s rankings or view the top 10s below:

	AP Top 25		USA Today Poll
1	Oklahoma (43) 4-0 1,599		Oklahoma (57) 4-0 1,520
2	Alabama (21) 5-0 1,565		LSU (1) 4-0 1,399
3	LSU 4-0 1,466		Missouri 4-0 1,398
4	Missouri (1) 4-0 1,453		Alabama (2) 5-0 1,350
5	Texas 4-0 1,362		Texas (1) 4-0 1,310
6	Penn State 5-0 1,252		Penn State 5-0 1,146
7	Texas Tech 4-0 1,105		Brigham Young 4-0 1,054
8	Brigham Young 4-0 1,098		Texas Tech 4-0 1,047
9	USC 2-1 1,087		USC 2-1 990
10	South Florida 5-0 1,035		Georgia 4-1 888

Wow, talk about a shake-up in the national college football scene as USC goes down last night to unranked Oregon State. Now suddenly this weekend’s games take on much more importance as teams vie to grab the #1 spot. Oklahoma takes on a tough TCU team, Georgia and Alabama showdown in the SEC, and Penn St and Illinois match-up in the Big 10. This should be a great weekend for college football.

Let’s see what is going on this Saturday. Remember, I did go 3-1 last weekend against the spread.

Arkansas at #7 Texas (-27) - 3:30 PM EST on ABC. When these two teams were first scheduled to meet, both were sitting at 2-0. Now things look a bit different with Texas coasting to victory against Rice and Arkansas getting blown out at home against Alabama. The Texas Longhorns are huge favorites for the 4th straight week, and deservedly so. Texas is averaging 48.7 points per game (6th in nation) and should easily score in the 50’s again at home against a weak Arkansas defense. The only potential for trouble is the Arkansas passing game against the young Texas secondary. Lucky Casey Dick is prone to making some mistakes. This one should be another easy cover with the Longhorns winning by 35.

#24 TCU at #2 Oklahoma (-18) - 7:00 PM EST on FCSA. With USC losing, Oklahoma now has the opportunity to make a statement to becoming the #1 team in the nation. There is no way Oklahoma overlooks this game since TCU has managed to beat them in Norman twice in a row. So far this season Oklahoma is destroying teams by an average margin of 35.3 points per game and this Saturday will be no different. TCU’s defense has been impressive, but I doubt they have ever seen an offense like they will face this weekend. This might be the easiest cover of the weekend with Oklahoma winning by 30+.

#8 Alabama at #3 Georgia (-7) - 7:45 PM EST on ESPN. Probably the game to watch this weekend. Alabama looks like they are going to be a legit SEC contender and Georgia is still trying to prove they belong at the top. Georgia will be wearing the cool black uniforms trying their best to look like a high school football team. If you like tough, physical football, this game is for you. Both teams boast impressive running games and stout defenses. This game will probably be one of those typical 14-10 SEC games. But in this one I think Alabama comes out the winner with their running game and offensive line. So take Alabama money-line on this one.

#22 Illinois at #12 Penn St (-16) - 8:00 PM EST on ABC. I don’t normally care about or watch Big 10 match-ups, but I am interested in seeing how Penn St looks against Illinois. Penn St is scoring 52.7 points per game, and probably won’t be stopped Saturday. Take them to cover. Here is something to think about. Penn St demolished Oregon St. Oregon St dominated USC. USC killed Ohio St. I still haven’t figured out what that means about Ohio St and the Big 10, but on first thought I would lean towards the Pac-10 and Big 10 sucking.

My Top 8 remains unchanged this week as a few teams didn’t play and the rest won easily. The story of the weekend was the Cremation in the Coliseum - USC’s dismantling of the over-hyped Ohio State. Ohio State has pretty much become a joke, getting shallacked whenever they play on the big stage. I am starting to think if I should allow any teams in the Big 10 in the Top 25 at all? Hmm….

Agree or disagree? Please let us know in the comments.

1. USC

   
   LW: 1

   Was there really anyone surprised in their thrashing of Ohio State? USC looks unbeatable right now but they usually suck-up one game during the regular season, so we will see.

2. Oklahoma

   
   LW: 2

   Offense, offense, offense. Oklahoma probably won’t score less than 40 points all season long. Right now Oklahoma and USC are separating themselves from the rest of the teams in college football.

3. Florida

   
   LW: 3

   Bye week

4. Missouri

   
   LW: 4

   Chase Daniel has the offense rolling right now, though it does help when you play a high school team like Nevada. And 6 catches, 172 yards, and 3 touchdowns for Maclin? Ridiculous.

5. LSU