College Football Week 12

WOW! WOW! What a day it turned out to be. Nobody could have predicted this. Well, we have all been waiting for Ohio State and Michigan, and we will get our dream next weekend. Both teams mowed through the opponents this afternoon after slight struggles the past week. I will have a full preview of this game in the middle of the week right here, so for now, lets move on to all the upsets and what it means for the BCS. My number 3 Louisville travelled to NJ in the biggest college football game in that state possibly ever, but certainly in my 30 years on this earth. The Cardinal went up 25-7, and the Knights came storming back in the second half. The RU defense shut out the vaunted 'Ville attack, and came back mostly led by the ground game combo of Rice and Leonard. Ito buried a FG with under 30 seconds to play (after missing the first attempt, but an offsides penalty gave him another opportunity) and the field shortly thereafter became a sea of red. Rutgers probably will not be able to get themselves into the National Title talk, but lets see if it can finish off the season undefeated with a trip to West Virginia still in the cards. Last weeks #4 Texas also went down in a HUGE upset in Manhattan, KS. McCoy went down in the first quarter, but that was not the reason they lost. Their defense got totally abused against a very average Wildcat offensive attack prior to this week. Texas had been struggling on the road prior to this week in conference games (2 wins by 6 points combined) finally caught up to them, which will happen with a Freshman at QB. Tough loss for the Horns, but they should still make it to the BIG 12 Title game. However, we will have a new champion this year. Florida, my #5 barely sqeaked out a victory against their old coach and the South Carolina Gamecocks. It took 3 blocked kicks, and another field goal that was taken off the board because of a delay of the game in the first half to win 17-16. Once again the Gators were less than impressive, and this time it was their offense. Well, it usually is. I am not sure what to think of the Gators at this point other than they are clearly going to be ranked #3 this week in my poll, with a lot of the season still to play for them and they teams chasing them. My #6 last week, California blew a big lead in the desert, got shut out in the second half like Louisville, and lost 24-21 to Arizona. Stoops really has this Wildcat team pointed in the right direction, and they are going to be a force to reckon with in the very near future. I was not crazy about this Cal team, very inconsistent in my opinion, and that was obvious today. They still control their own destiny to play in the Rose Bowl with a win over USC, but their margin for error to play in a BCS game went down a ton after this loss. Next team from last weeks poll, Arkansas had a big win today. The Razors had the biggest win of the day (Rutgers had the biggest of the week) and are in firm control of the SEC West, and appear to be on a collision course against Florida in what could be for a spot in the National Title Game. The Razors still worry me with their unsettled QB position, but as long as McFadden stays healthy, their offense will always be a threat as long as the QB can protect the ball. I would like to see Coach Nutt stick with Mustain at this point and ride out the season. Really only one game left at home vs LSU, and with a win there, watch out. Big time darkhorse here for the whole shabang. Auburn, another SEC team in last weeks rankings came up with an absolute clanker at home vs a 12 pt underdog Georgia. Mark Richt really had his team ready to play here, which was kind of surprising since UGA has lost their most SEC games in 10 years, and has a Freshman QB in their this year. I did not catch any of this game, but it seemed weather was a slight factor that led to more than a few turnovers, especially from Cox the Auburn QB. Auburn is eliminated from the SEC race and figures to match up with either Wisconsin or Penn St in a Jan 1 bowl game. Speaking of Wisconsin, is there a team getting less respect than the Badgers? These guys are 10-1, finished the Big 10 season 7-1 (only loss to Michigan), and not a peep about them prior to this week as one of the top one loss teams. This week they traveled to Iowa, a place they dont play well, and the only team in the Big 10 their Sr. class did not beat, without their starting QB John Stocco and win the game 24-21. New coach Beilema has these guys playing very well and believing in what they are doing. It will be interesting to see how the last few weeks plays out, and how high the Badgers will climb. It is very realistic in my opinon we could have 3 of the Top 5 at the end of the season from the Big 10. Notre Dame rounded out my Top 10 last week, and they continued to roll on beating Air Force. One more tune up before what suddenly again looks like a Top 5 match up with the Trojans. Wake Forest, which will debut in my poll for the first time buried Florida State in Tallahassee Saturday night. The Seminoles were blanked at home for the first time ever by the Deacs. I can hear the cries for Bobby Bowden's head all the way up here in PA. They got dominated in every single aspect in a half empty stadium. Things are going downhill for the young Seminoles quickly, and they only thing that can save them now is a home victory vs the Gators in a couple weeks. Dont count that out just yet. My new Top 10:

#1 Ohio State 11-0
#2 Michigan 11-0
#3 Florida 9-1
#4 USC 8-1
#5 Notre Dame 9-1
#6 Arkansas 9-1
#7 Rutgers 9-0
#8 Wisconsin 10-1
#9 Wake Forest 9-1
#10 West Virginia 8-1

Next 5 in alphabetical order: Boise St 10-0, Louisville 8-1, LSU 8-2, Oklahoma 8-2, Texas 9-2

Latest BCS Bowl projections:

Title game: Michigan v Ohio St
Rose: USC v West Virginia
Fiesta: Texas v Boise
Sugar: Arkansas v Notre Dame
Orange: Florida v Georgia Tech