A Wild Day

Wow. The BCS got thrown for all sorts of loops, with chaos in the Top 10. The Game of this Century is set up for Saturday, with #2 Michigan set to travel to the Horseshoe to play hated archrival #1 Ohio State. A lot of things happened this weekend, all of which contribute to the greatness of college football.

First, on Thursday night, the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey broke through with a win over #3 Louisville, 28-25. Rutgers trailed 25-7 before coming back to win on a Jeremy Ito field goal. Speaking of Ito: Can you believe it’s been 11 years since the O.J. trial? I digress. Rutgers is still undefeated at 9-0.

Saturday was a wild day in the Top 10. The Florida Gators needed two blocked kicks to hold off Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks, 17-16. The Ole Ball Coach is snakebitten this year, with close losses to Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida. The Gators will find themselves third in the BCS standings this week.

The Texas Longhorns experienced disaster. As Texas took a 7-0 lead over Kansas State on a Colt McCoy quarterback sneak, Colt suffered a broken clavicle. Texas from there looked rusty, suffering turnovers and blocked punts, and allowed KSU to take a 42-21 lead. Texas closed to within 42-35, before K-State added a field goal, and Texas scored to make the final margin 45-42. Texas lost its chance at the national championship game, but can still win the Big XII South with a win at home over Texas A&M. I laughed this game off. However, injuries can turn things around in a heartbeat.

I predicted the Georgia-Auburn game would be ugly. I didn’t expect it to be ugly in favor of Georgia, as the Bulldogs ruined the season of War Eagle, winning 37-15. Auburn has now suffered two butt-kickings on their home field. Georgia salvaged some respectability for their season, after losing to the Wildcats of Kentucky in Lexington the previous week.

Out West, the Cal Bears were caught looking ahead to next week’s showdown with USC, as they were stunned in Tucson by the Arizona Wildcats, 24-20, in the biggest win in Mike Stoops’ tenure in the desert. Cal can still win the Pac 10 by winning their remaining games with USC (good luck with all that) and Stanford.

The world turned upside down in Tallahassee last night. Florida State played Wake Forest. One team was ranked 18th, the other was unranked. The game ended in a score of 30-0. Wake Forest is the ranked team, and they won 30-0, for FSU’s first shutout loss since 1971. Things are not well in Tallahassee. Bobby Bowden is protecting his son, offensive coordinator Jeff, at all costs. The wolves are out down there, with good reason. Coach Bowden is a legend, and deserves to leave/retire on his own terms. He built that program from nothing. However, he needs to see the train wreck that has developed here. At this point, whenever it may happen, he is going to leave his program in shambles. A terrible shame. At the same time, Wake Forest is the real deal. They are a team of destiny.

BCS Projections

BCS NCG: Ohio State vs. Michigan (rematch)
Rose: Notre Dame vs. USC (rematch, but the Rose would kill for ND if they can’t get a Big 10 team)
Fiesta: Texas vs. Boise State
Sugar: Florida vs. West Virginia
Orange: Arkansas vs. Wake Forest (this one is wide open)

Big XII Rankings

1. Texas: Shocking defeat in the Little Apple, but is still the best team here.
2. Oklahoma: Sooners keep overcoming adversity, defeating Tech with a third string running back.
3. Nebraska: Champions of the North Division, and a threat in Kansas City.
4. Oklahoma State: Took Baylor down Route 66.
5. Texas A&M: Lost second heartbreaker in a row at home.
6. Kansas State: Improving quickly, and pulled upset of the season over Texas.
7. Missouri: Good, but not great.
8. Texas Tech: See Missouri.
9. Kansas: Can salvage a bowl with win over K-State or Mizzou.
10. Baylor: Injuries have sucked the life out of the Bears.
11. Colorado: Finally out of the cellar.
12. Iowa State: On track for 0-8 in the conference, and a new coach around the corner.