Elimination Saturdays begin this weekend (polls as they come)

BCS Rankings As of November 1st, 2009

RK TEAM RECORD
1 Florida 8-0
2 Texas 8-0
3 Alabama 8-0
4 Iowa 9-0
5 Cincinnati 8-0
6 TCU 8-0
7 Boise State 8-0
8 Oregon 7-1
9 LSU 7-1
10 Georgia Tech 8-1
11 Penn State 8-1
12 USC 6-2
13 Pittsburgh 7-1
14 Utah 7-1
15 Houston 7-1
16 Ohio State 7-2
17 Miami (FL) 6-2
18 Arizona 5-2
19 Oklahoma State 6-2
20 California 6-2
21 Wisconsin 6-2
22 Notre Dame 6-2
23 Virginia Tech 5-3
24 Oklahoma 5-3
25 South Florida 6-2
We stated last week that things were getting interesting in college football, well now they go from interesting to critical as every week beginning this week there will be games where the loser is out of BCS contention. For those who are in favor of the BCS system argue that there is a “playoff” system and it begins this week. Opening round:

#5 USC at #10 Oregon – The Trojans travel north to Eugene to take on the Ducks who have a plethora of injuries in the secondary but will USC have the aerial attack to exploit it? Oregon ranks third in the Pac-10 and 10th in the nation in sacks (3.14 per game) and is 25th in the nation in tackles for a loss (7.0 per game). This game comes down to the Ducks ability to stop the SC running game if they can do that, and force Barkley to beat them they can pull off the upset. On the other side Jeremiah Masoli who sat out against UCLA but looked great last week and 100% healthy, will be the X factor. If he can compliment the O running game then we could see the fans in Eugene pulling down the goal post.

#3 Texas at #14 Oklahoma State – Texas has bitter taste in their mouths from last year as it was this same week when a trip to Texas Tech and a last second TD by Michael Crabtree ended their NCG run. They’ve had a year to think about what if and it seems to be fueling their fire as this has been the best the Horns’ have looked all year, even though they’re running game has been non existent. On the other side of the ball the Cowboys are 3-0 in the B-12 and 6-1 overall, a win puts them on top of the B-12 South, with only the Championship game standing between them and a BCS birth. They won’t be able to climb the ladder to get to the NCG, but it would be the biggest bowl game in the school’s history.

Who will survive the first round of eliminations? Let us know here, chat live with fans from both the Cowboys and the Horns’ in the live game chatroom, or any of the quick links.
Let us know here and in the NCAA chat rooms,team rooms, and any of the quick links:

Now things REALLY get interesting as sky begins to clear

Now we reached the point of the year where the pollsters (both human and computer) actually pay attention to how the games are being played not just the final score the next day, as we see movement in the bottle neck that are the final eight spots even if both teams come away with a W. This week it appears Pete Carol’s lobbying has made an impact as although all 3 teams won, USC jumped over TCU and Boise St. to move up to 5 in the BCS. That’s huge because it’s impossible for both Bama and Florida to finish winless so that leaves Texas, Iowa and SC to fight for the a spot in final. Texas only has Ok. State and the B-12 championship game where they’ll probably see 3-loss K-Sate so one spot belongs to Texas. You have to figure the SEC winner will take the other unless Florida gets upset in the World’s Biggest Cocktail Party then wins the SEC Championship. Bama’ still has LSU to deal with and an NCG so it is possible that both SEC teams could find themselves with one loss and in the mix with everyone else. Lastly, Iowa still has to go to Horseshoe but beyond that there is no one between them and the goal line. Who do you think will be the last two standing? Let us know here and in the NCAA chat rooms,team rooms, and any of the quick links:

BCS picks up where it left off last year, with controversy

The BCS Pool is finally out and although most are content with their position and the possibilities, but like every year, some are unhappy as they can do the math and calculate their chances of climbing are slim. It seems like this year most of the top schools have ad to deal with either losing or playing with an injured QB, the top of the polls also represent who has dealt with the adversity the best, here’s our assessment of the BCS first poll;

Florida – Can’t really argue with this pick have dominated since the season ended last year and although Tebow has been banged up, perhaps not as bad as Bradford or Barkely, but they still have managed to remain unbeaten, doing what they had to do to survive and advance. The knock on Florida is that they are not even in the top 40 for passing yards and are 19th in total offense.

Alabama – The top team in the AP Poll that many believe is the best in the country, rank 7th in offense but surprisingly don’t have a defense ranked in the top 40. Fortunately, they have their toughest games prior to the SEC championship at home as they take on a much improved Tennessee, then LSU.

So, as we’ve stated on previous post, the loser of the SEC title game will get the version of a double play as in all probability the late season loss coupled with lack of interest in a “let’s run it back” immediate rematch, means the SEC Championship game loser will be playing for 3rd place and the winner goes to the NCG as the favorite.

Texas – Didn’t have to go through any QB issues thus far and won the Red River Shootout and now just Ok State stands in the way of a trip to the Big-12 Championship Game. Where they will probably play Kansas for the 2nd time only the Jayhawks won’t be ranked and that will cause Texas to lose ground in the BCS Polls but not enough to drop out of the NCG so the table is set for the Horns’, winout and your in.

Boise St. – What can you say besides they have one game left on their schedule against a team with a winning record, at home 11/14 vs. Idaho. Although they’re looking good right now, that will come back to haunt them as they slide down the BCS slope as slowly their strength of schedule gets more watered down. The only question is as it appears there will be some 2-loss teams in the BCS do they drop below them? We don’t think so, expect to see the smurfs playing in 2010.

Cincinnati – The lone representative of Big East in the BCS Mix and soon to be the only Big East team in the top 25, still has to hold their mud against Pitt and WV then we’ll see how high they can climb as one of the only unbeaten teams left in the BCS. An impressive victory over then unbeaten USF brought the nationwide attention they needed but is it too little too late? Who will be left out of this year's BCS? Should USC be down as far as #7? Would you want to see a Championship game rematch if the SEC team has only 1 loss? Let us know here and in the NCAA chat rooms and quick links:

BCS Standings
RK TEAM RECORD
1 Florida 6-0
2 Alabama 7-0
3 Texas 6-0
4 Boise State 6-0
5 Cincinnati 6-0
6 Iowa 7-0
7 USC 5-1
8 TCU 6-0
9 LSU 5-1
10 Miami (FL) 5-1
11 Oregon 5-1
12 Georgia Tech 6-1
13 Penn State 6-1
14 Virginia Tech 5-2
15 Oklahoma State 5-1
16 Brigham Young 6-1
17 Houston 5-1
18 Utah 5-1
19 Ohio State 5-2
20 Pittsburgh 6-1
21 Wisconsin 5-2
22 Arizona 4-2
23 West Virginia 5-1
24 South Carolina 5-2
25 Kansas 5-1

Are the 'Tide and Gators (and BCS) heading for a train wreck?

Although Tim Tebow was cleared to play hours before the FLA/LSU game on Saturday, he clearly was not the t-squared we had seen in the past. His one TD pass was enough however to push the Gators past the Tigers 13-3 in front of a record crowd of better than 93k. Unless you were a fan of defense the was the most disappointing, lackluster matchup of top 5 teams since Ohio State got run out of the NCG. LSU’s futility on offense (1-9 on 3rd downs, 162 total yards) was the story of the day and now the lingering question is weather you can credit the Gator D or is LSU over-hyped? The Gator D will be tested again as high octane offense of Arkansas comes to town. Meanwhile LSU isn’t completely out of the mix as they only drop down to number 10, and all eyes are now on the 11/7 date with Bama.

Speaking of Alabama, who very well may be the ‘peoples champion’ as the best team in the nation, easily disposed of #20 Ole Miss, leading 16-0 before finishing up 22-3. Similar to the afore mentioned SEC marquis game, the Tide silenced the Rebels holding them to 212 total yards and 0-9 on 3rd down. Bama gets the leap over Texas in the AP poll, stealing 10 of the Gators first place votes in the process, but still sit at number 3 in the USA Today poll.

This brings up the question, if both Bama and Florida run the table and meet in the SEC Championship game, what do you do with the loser? Under the Ohio St./Michigan precedent, where it’s assumed that the country doesn’t want to see a rematch, do you bring in a Texas, USC, Va Tech to take on the SEC Champ? Would that produce a game with two best teams in the nation? Will it finally force the BCS to make changes?

Elite fraternity membership is decreasing rapidly

Although the exclusive ‘members only’ frat “Phi Beta Unbeaten” is seeing its membership dwindling, and it’s looking like their may not be any remaining members come December, no member were expelled last weekend. However the one member that will be talked about for the rest of the year, particularly if they do remain unbeaten, are the LSU Tigers as they were the benefactors of perhaps the worst arbitrary call in the history of college football. The “excessive celebration” call that set up LSU’s winning score inside a minute was truly a travesty of justice. In the heat of an SEC battle with the loser on the outside looking in, if the call was not made, there wouldn’t have been one person complaining, but you have outrage that the call was made and the in a world where one loss could mean the difference between a BCS bid and the obscurity bowl, they will be talking about this for a while.

In the marquis game of the week with old school feel, the Canes’ and Sooners locked up and since Bosworth and Kosar were on opposite sides of the ball was there that much attention paid to the matchup. Miami was kicked out of the frat the previous week after a bad loss to Va. Tech but is back in the good graces of the pollsters after a another victory over a top 5 school in Oklahoma. After 4 consecutive games against ranked opponents it gets a much easier for the Canes’ and they get an opportunity to pad the w column as well as their stats and by the time the pumpkins have all been carved, Miami should be sitting a BCS position. Meanwhile the word on Bradford is that surgery is still on the table which means he isn’t coming back anytime soon and that spells doom to OK’s bowl hopes with two losses already.

Whatever excitement last weeks schedule lacked it is more than made up for this week as there are several huge matchups beginning with #4 Florida traveling to Baton Rouge to take on #4 LSU. The implications of this game are huge, and Tebow’s cracked bonnet only adds to the drama, however the truth is that both teams know that even if they lose they’re not out of the running the way things are shaping up this year. Firstly, they have a good chance of catchin’ up with each other again in the SEC Championship game, it would be better to lose NOW then later on in the year where voters would not want to see an immediate rematch of the SEC Champ Game in the BCS title game. So although it may seem like do or die on Saturday, it will be far from over.

We begin our upset watch games in the same conference with a huge matchup as #3 Bama travels to #20 Ole Miss. The Rebels and their faithful felt the sentenced they received for a tough SEC loss was way too severe and now must climb the Mt. Everest (AP Poll) for the second time this season. The home crowd, which makes Miss tough to beat at home (handed the Gators their only loss in 08) will be waiting for the ‘Tide come Saturday and Bama had better be ready or they will be the next to ask to leave the frat house. Also on upset watch are #15 Oklahoma State who travel to A & M to take on the Aggies with the infamous 12th man. No on really knows how good the Aggies are which makes this game a tough one to call. The last school that needs to mind it’s P’s & Qs are the #12 Hawkeyes even though they’re at home, the Michigan spread my cause problems for them if they can hit a couple of big plays and get up early. Who do you think will come out on top in the two SEC battles? Will any of the upset watch teams lose? Who should be on upset watch? Let us know here and in the other NCAA Football quick links.