Notes on the Nation:
Recap:
Let's start with Penn State beating Ohio State in a game that not just set them a part from the rest of the Big Ten, but also has cemented them of having one of the best shots at going to the national title game. The Nittany Lions may have the best chance of the remaining undefeated BCS conference schools to win out the rest of their schedule. They face Iowa, Indiana and then close out against a decent (but not elite) Michigan State team (is it just me or is this season just flying by?).
Texas, on the other hand, continues to plow through its rough schedule, managing to surpass Oklahoma State this past weekend. Meanwhile, Alabama continued to pickup another win as it gets through the thick of its always grueling SEC schedule, beating old rival Tennessee (which has really fallen from grace this season).
If all three of these teams go undefeated, which is probably not likely but still very possible, the match-up would have to be Texas versus Alabama. Their schedules are substantially tougher than Penn State's (playoff anyone?).
All right, I've finally jumped on the Texas Tech bandwagon with its blow out of Kansas. Let's see what the Red Raiders can do against Texas this weekend. I'm still refusing to jump aboard Tulsa or Ball State's bandwagon since they've played pretty weak schedules and I probably won't rank them until just before going into bowl season.
Does someone want to step up in the ACC? It looks like Florida State may be returning to the class of the conference, but it seems that just as we get ready to bring another team in the Top 25 from this league, they just get knocked out. This week's ACC victim: Boston College who fell to North Carolina who dropped out of my poll the week before by losing to Virginia.
I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm going to rank Duke this week after beating Vanderbilt. David Cutcliffe is doing something right there.
Speaking of conferences not stepping up, let's also talk about the Big East. Pittsburgh somehow loses to a reeling Rutgers team, allowing Scarlet Knights quarterback Mike Teel to look like Ty Detmer by throwing for six touchdowns. On top of that, South Florida can't get by Louisville (and make it two losses in a row after Thursday's drubbing to Cincinnati).
An offensive explosion happened in Baton Rouge last Saturday, but LSU came out on the losing end against Georgia. Right now, Georgia and Florida are clearly the top two teams in the SEC East with 'Bama being the elite team in the West.
Finally, USC squeaks by Arizona in a late night showdown. This one looked bitterly close in the box score. I wish I could have watched it some how.
Top 25
1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Utah
4. Penn State
5. Georgia
6. USC
7. Boise State
8. Texas Tech
9. Florida State
10. Florida
11. Oklahoma
12. TCU
13. BYU
14. Oklahoma State
15. North Carolina
16. Oregon
17. Missouri
18. Louisville
19. Ohio State
20. LSU
21. Pittsburgh
22. Boston College
23. South Florida
24. Duke
25. Arizona
Looking Ahead:
Florida versus Georgia will determine who will go to Atlanta to represent the East Division in the SEC Championship game. Take the over on this one folks, as everyone knows that these two offenses are simply electric.
The only other big game this weekend would be Texas traveling to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech. If the Longhorns can survive this ridiculous run of opponents, they will take on cupcake Baylor next but then face a solid Kansas team and then have the Lone Star Showdown versus Texas A&M, which is never easy no matter how bad of a team the Aggies are.
If the Red Raiders were to pull off the upset, they would find themselves in the middle of a death row themselves. Texas Tech is in the middle of a four-game stretch against ranked teams (Kansas was ranked last week, No. 1 Texas this week, followed by Oklahoma State and Oklahoma the next two games).
Heisman Watch:
1. Colt McCoy QB Texas
2. Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma
3. Tim Tebow QB Florida
4. Graham Harrell QB Texas Tech
5. Knowshon Moreno RB Georgia
My BCS:
Title Game: Texas vs. Alabama
Fiesta: Utah vs. West Virginia
Sugar: Georgia vs. Florida State
Orange: Texas Tech vs. Boise State
Rose: Penn State vs. USC
+1 Format:
Texas vs. Penn State
Alabama vs. Utah
8-Team Playoff:
Texas vs. West Virginia
Georgia vs. Penn State
Utah vs. USC
Florida State vs. Alabama
16-Team Playoff:
Texas vs. Troy
Florida State vs. Texas Tech
Georgia vs. TCU
Tulsa vs. Penn State
Utah vs. Ball State
USC vs. Oklahoma
Boise State vs. Florida
West Virginia vs. Alabama
The Bull Breaker
Recap:
It was a bit of a weird one this week with the game be played on Tuesday night, but still nice to see the Bulls push themselves towards the top of the division by beating Ohio. I don't have ESPNU at my house, so I went up to my old school newspaper office at UB to watch it with some of my old friends which was fun.
First off, Ohio looked terribly sloppy. Their special teams was brutal with getting a kick blocked, missing field goals and not even able to get the snap off right. On offense, Solich needs to re-teach some fundamentals like not carrying the ball like it's a pizza.
It was nice to see Starks back in there for Buffalo and to also see him have a big run to seal the win. He's a true difference maker. Other than that, the Bulls really didn't do anything to lose the game on the road they just capitalized on most of Ohio's mistakes. It's good to see Gill institute such discipline in his squad.
The guys calling the game (including Jim Donnan) were horrendous. It was also funny that they tried there best to avoid showing all the empty seats in the stadium. I can't blame anyone for not showing up on a chilly Tuesday night to see a team like that get beat.
Looking Ahead:
Another Tuesday night game is lined up for the Bulls, this time back at UB Stadium on Election Day night. Buffalo will lock horns with yet another MAC East opponent in the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks.
The RedHawks were supposed to be the class of the division this season. However, they are far from it (1-3 in conference play). They are coming off a 33-point loss to Kent State, which isn't a good sign for their program.
Buffalo definitely has more momentum going into this game. The Bulls also are a significantly better team at home than on the road. I give Buffalo the edge here and should be able to pullout a victory on ESPN2.