Upon further review, a horrible weekend for the Pac-10

Conferences have had tough weeks before, but it is tough to recall one as brutal for a major conference as the Pac-10’s 30-hour fiasco Friday and Saturday. UCLA on the short end of a 59-0 score? That leaves the bottom eleven to wonder, did Neuheisel pay the Trojans to suit up in baby blue for the nationally televised victory over Tennessee? Cal sleepwalking to a loss at a Maryland team that the week before had fallen to Middle Tennessee State? Yikes. And Arizona State’s loss to UNLV? Unforgivable, as the bottom eleven wrote last week that a slip-up would be. Arizona, Stanford, Washington and Washington State all suffered disappointing, if not somewhat predictable losses, speaking volumes about the amazing depth of mediocrity in the Pac-10. Three weeks into the season, this much is clear: the only thing that will beat USC is USC getting complacent.

The Good
The Mountain West: Nobody benefited more from the Pac-10’s follies on Saturday than the Mountain West, which went 4-0 in its intersectional match-ups with the “Conference of Champions”.
Missouri: Scoring nearly 58 points rolling up 600 yards of offense per game, the Tigers demolished Nevada and now will feast on Buffalo before setting their sights on a trip to the Big 12 championship game. Are the Tigers as good as USC or Oklahoma? We’ll see when the level of competition gets better.
USC: Are the Trojans that good, or did Ohio State merely forget to show up for the most hyped game of the season? Regardless, one thing is evident… the football monopoly in Los Angeles is very much intact.

The Bad
The WAC: As good a day as the Mountain West had, the WAC suffered a tough day, though one could argue that despite going just 2-6 and having its BCS hopes all but dashed it wasn’t as bad as the Pac-10. Nevada, New Mexico State, Utah State, Idaho and Hawai’i all surrendered 45 or more points, and lost by an average of 38 points. Idaho came the closest of the badly beaten, but still managed to lose to (ahem) Western Michigan (cough) by 23 points (cough) at home.
Virginia: A week after beating Richmond 16-0, the Cavaliers returned to reality and got trounced 45-10 by a Connecticut team that had to eek out a 12-9 overtime victory over Temple.
UCLA: After stunning much of the college football world with the win over Tennessee, the Bruins laid a (goose) egg in Provo. 59-0 had to be a very hard fall for many of the Bruin faithful. Or was it merely deja vu all over again considering the 44-6 loss UCLA absorbed at the hands of Utah in Salt Lake last year?

The Very, Very Ugly
Syracuse: A banner ad on The Post-Standard website proclaims “DON’T MISS SU TAKE ON THE NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES”. If only Syracuse played as well as its marketing department wrote ad copy. In the category of “you know you’ve fallen on hard times when…” Northeastern is a “big” football game.
3-2: In case you missed it, the final score of the Auburn-Mississippi State football game was, in fact, 3-2. The game tape will be available later this week through a screamin’ Billy Banks tv commercial as a non-pharmaceutical sleep aid for one payment of $19.95 on VHS, or two payments of $19.95 on DVD. Act now and the Tigers promise to double their offense against LSU this week.
Rutgers: Has it really been almost two years since the Scarlet Knights threatened to crash the BCS party? Yup. Since peaking at 9-0 and No. 7 in the polls in mid-November 2006, the Knights are just 10-9. In 2008, RU has been outscored 68-19 in two home games, including a 44-12 loss to North Carolina which was the Tar Heels first win outside North Carolina since 2002.

Random Thoughts:
0-10: With Washington (0-3), Washington State (0-3), Eastern Washington (0-2) and the Seattle Seahawks (0-2) winless, beer distributors in the Evergreen State are stocking up figuring that fans will be self-medicating heavily this season.

Wake Forest v. Florida State: Ok, so they’re trying to drum up interest in ACC country for the Deacs and ‘Noles under the lights Saturday night. Try as I might, I just can’t see the importance. 1) It’s the ACC and the ball is not round and 2) Florida State is 2-0 having beat (division formerly known as) I-AA Western Carolina and Chattanooga while Wake Forest routed Baylor and had to rally to beat Mississippi. Not impressive.

Ian Johnson still has eligibility? In the notes surrounding Boise State’s visit to Oregon, Ian Johnson (you know, the guy who caught the pass on the statue of liberty play to win the Fiesta Bowl two years ago and then proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend) talked about how Boise has never beaten a BCS conference foe in a true road game and how he’s like to change that.  According to the Broncos website he is, finally, a senior.
If Ohio State is the class of the Big Ten… Yikes. One game without Chris Wells does not a panic make, but there is nothing special about Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan State or Minnesota. Michigan is clearly rebuilding and this is not the best Buckeye team of the sweater vest era.  That leaves Penn State and Wisconsin who meet in Madison on Oct. 11 in what looks like the game of the year in the Big Ten.

On the bright side for the Pac-10: There won’t be any embarrassing road losses this week… all the non-conference games are at home.

Week 2: The good, the bad and the oh so ugly

College football’s second week has come and gone with a ton of close calls for heavy favorites, but only a few upsets. And most of the “upsets” come from heritage rather than performance – Akron beating Syracuse. Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame all struggled with lesser competition and yes, it wouldn’t be two weeks into the season without a controversial call in the Pac-10. 

The good:
East Carolina: With West Virginia and Virginia Tech vanquished, the Pirates now have dreams of a 4-0 non-conference record with NC State (not good) and Virginia (worse) still to come. Does Conference USA have a BCS darkhorse?
Arkansas State: Say what? After beating Texas A&M last week, the Red Wolves followed up with an 83-10 win over Texas Southern.  Sure, it’s I-AA, but many other I-A teams haven’t piled up numbers like that.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils managed to rout Stanford, even though its obvious that everyone around them is already looking to the Georgia game in two weeks. A slip against UNLV would be unforgivable.

The bad:
Connecticut 12, Temple 9 (OT) : Tropical Storm Hanna made conditions in Philly bad. But 12-9 in overtime? Yikes.
Syracuse: Dropped to 0-2 by virtue of a 42-28 home loss to Akron. The Orange have lost 72-38 to Northwestern and the Zips.
The ACC: Another rough week for the league as it went 1-3 in non-conference action against I-A foes with losses to Northwestern and Middle Tennessee State included. But what has to be of greater concern is that NC State struggled for a time with William and Mary, Virginia only led Richmond 3-0 at the end of the third quarter and Virginia Tech didn’t put it in gear against Furman until the second half. Conference favorite(?) Wake Forest had to drive in the final 90 seconds for a game winning touchdown against Mississippi, which is clearly not among the SEC’s elite.

The very, very ugly:
Army: a week after getting blasted by Temple, New Hampshire of the division formerly known as I-AA knocked off the Black Knights 28-10.
Maryland: after struggling past I-AA juggernaut Delaware last week, the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders were too much for the Terps who lost 24-14. Memo to Maryland: Look out. Cal just hung 66 on Washington State.
Washington State: The celebrated the return of indoor plumbing to the east end zone of Martin Stadium didn’t exactly go as planned, with the Cougars performance likely causing more than a few fans to use the new facilities while losing their lunch.

Random thoughts:
Repeat after me: Reason 8,267 why time of possession is a meaningless statistic: Washington State, 31:35; California 28:25. Having the ball doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t do anything with it.

Coach on the hottest seat: For Syracuse’s Greg Robinson, a home loss to Akron (the media’s pick to finish last in their MAC division) may have been the fatal blow and each loss from here will just be another nail in the job coffin.

Zebras under fire: Once again, the Pac-10 home office is having to defend its officials… this time for getting the call right. You can hate the rule, but you can’t hate the call. If you’ve watched the Pac-10 for any length of time, they’ve had a strict interpretation of the celebration rule for years. If you can’t make the extra point from the 18 yard line, learn to hand the ball to the official.

Most interesting week 3 match-up? The hype is on for USC-Ohio State, but for those that prefer watching a train wreck, check out Michigan at Notre Dame. Michigan lost to Utah and struggled with Miami (Ohio), while Notre Dame had to muscle out a win over lowly San Diego State. Neither Rich Rodriguez nor Charlie Weis can afford this loss. Michigan fans would read it as a sure sign of impending doom, while Notre Dame fans will see how far the Irish have to go given that they can’t beat Michigan when it’s down.

Better competition: After more than 30 games involving (division formerly known as) I-AA teams in each of the first two weeks, there are only eight inter-subdivision battles slated for week 3.

Pac-10 Scheduling: Give the Pac-10 some credit for its non-conference scheduling.  Unlike Nebraska and Indiana, Pac-10 teams go on the road. And the Pac-10 plays and extra league game over all the other conferences. Take a look at the Pac-10 non-conference slate this week:
USC: Ohio State
Washington: Oklahoma
UCLA: @ BYU
Arizona: @ New Mexico
Oregon: @ Purdue
Washington State: @ Baylor
Oregon State: Hawai’i
Arizona State: UNLV
Stanford: @ TCU
Cal: @ Maryland

Michigan, Va Tech and A&M all go down… notes from Week 1

College football’s first weekend is nearly in the books. While a handful of games are strung out to Sunday night and Monday, there are plenty of college football fans cooking up the links to fire(my coach’s name here).com or plotting BCS bowl plans based on the first of 12 or 13 games. Lets not get too carried away here, people. Here is my roundup of week 1:

“Welcome to Michigan, Rich. I know you expect better. So does everybody else”: Utah quietly spoiled Rich Rodriguez’s coronation as the savior of all things maize and blue, prompting this salvo from Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg: “…when a coach takes over the winningest program in college football history, the free pass ends when his first team takes the field.”

They don’t bow down to Washington any more: Oregon beat Washington for the fifth straight year with a 44-10 beat down in Eugene. With just 11 wins in his 3+ seasons at UW, Coach Ty Willingham was quoted as saying, “This was one that we didn’t anticipate.” Really?

That was good, this one’s better: After suffering his second loss to Cal Poly in three seasons, San Diego State coach Chuck Long said, “I’m encouraged more than anything.” How?

Unexpected score: Kentucky 27, Louisville 2. Sure, Brian Brohm and a number of receivers are gone, but there’s trouble in Bat City when your only points come off an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone.

Missouri rolls on: With Southeast Missouri State, Nevada and Buffalo up next, look for the Tigers to roll up some impressive numbers on offense.

Emptying the bench: Florida used three quarterbacks, had 11 players carry the ball and eight catch a pass in routing 2007 BCS Cinderalla Hawai’i. 21 of Florida’s 56 points were on interception or punt returns.

One hit wonder: After winning 12 straight games over the likes of Northern Colorado, Charleston Southern, UNLV and Washington and running the table in the WAC, Hawai’i has been dumped 97-20 by Georgia (in the Sugar Bowl) and Florida in the season opener.

Toughest schedule: With four BCS conference foes on its non-conference schedule, East Carolina scheduled itself no breaks. With Virginia Tech down, West Virginia is next and the Pirates get the Mountaineers at home before traveling to NC State and Virginia later in the season.

Destination Ruston: Perhaps it will be another century before an SEC school visits Louisiana Tech after Mississippi State lost in the college football wide spot on I-20 known as Ruston (I’ve been there for a game, and have to say they’ve got a nice tribute to Terry Bradshaw just outside the stadium). It was the first appearance in the town of 20,546 by a current member of the SEC in 100 years.

Cupcakes-R-Us: 30 teams from the division formerly known as I-A invited opponents from the division formerly known as I-AA for a little Labor Day weekend game of tackle football, including 10 teams ranked in the Top 25. Those 30 teams playing for the paycheck went 1-29. The sole victor? Cal Poly knocking off San Diego State with a 22-yard field goal as time expired.

Ohio State, Georgia, Southern Cal, Oklahoma and Florida all hold serve: Given the level of competition, USC’s win is by far the most impressive. Trojans fans who feared the worst for Mark Sanchez’s leg can breathe easy. Meanwhile, Buckeye fans everywhere are waiting for news on Chris Wells’ foot injury.

(As a side note, is Al Groh running out of his nine lives at Thomas Jefferson’s U?)

Woe is the ACC: It wasn’t just Clemson getting manhandled by ‘Bama. NC State got blanked by South Carolina and Va Tech and Virginia’s follies have already earned mention. After week 1, the only thing the league has to hang its hat on is Wake Forest’s win at Baylor, if that’s possible.

Big XII schedule making: Week one foes included such powers as Florida International, Chattanooga, Eastern Washington, Western Michigan, South Dakota State, Arkansas State, North Texas and Florida Atlantic. Oklahoma State played the only “road” game in the league.

Guilty of looking ahead: One glance at the El Paso Times and it’s obvious that Texas’ visit to UTEP this week might be the event of the decade in El Paso… It’s the only thing they’re thinking about. But getting drubbed 42-17 at Buffalo is no way to show you’re ready for the spotlight. Buffalo? Seriously?

It was good while it lasted: Losers of 10 straight to close out 2007, SMU looked to be starting the June Jones era right when it jumped in front of Rice 13-0 with 2:00 to play in the first quarter. Then, reality hit the Mustangs and Rice scored the first 14 of its 56 points before the end of the quarter to take the lead en route to a 56-27 butt kicking.

When they say time of possession is a meaningless stat, maybe this is what they mean: Army held a 37:05-22:55 advantage in time of possession but lost 35-7 to TEMPLE.

Then again, the only statistic that matters IS the score: Pitt tallied 393 yards to Bowling Green’s 254 and was called for a mere two penalties but the Falcons rallied from a 14-0 deficit to win 27-17 at Pittsburgh.

That storm cloud had no silver lining: After waiting out lightning for an hour to play Arizona, Idaho got blanked 70-0, totaling just 112 yards of offense, going 1-12 on third down and committing 5 turnovers.

Fear the Red Wolf: When Mike Sherman took a look at the schedule after taking the Texas A&M job, it wasn’t the Arkansas State portion of the schedule that he worried about. The Big XII South looked far more daunting. After coming out on the short end of an 18-14 score against ASU, how does the Big XII South look now?

The good news for Illinois: 532 yards of offense and 42 points will win a lot of games.

The bad news: not when you give up two special teams touchdowns, 549 yards and 52 points to Missouri.

Week 11: Notre Dame can’t lose to Duke, can it?

Throw the record books out when 1-9 Duke visits 1-9 Notre Dame Saturday afternoon. Perhaps the ultimate statement about just how brutally awful the Irish are this year? They’re ranked behind Duke by in the Sagarin computer rankings. Eleven I-AA schools are ranked ahead of Duke (95) and 15 are ranked ahead of the Irish (103). The four teams ranked between them? Villanova, Yale, Montana and Western Illinois.

Allow me to rephrase it for dramatic emphasis – Western Illinois is among 15 I-AA schools ranked ahead of Notre Dame. It’s not the end of the world, but it must feel like the giant space ship from the movie Independence Day is hovering over South Bend.

the bottom eleven

11. Syracuse – Nothing says more about how far Syracuse has fallen than seeing the Orange listed as a 19-point underdog to Connecticut.

10. UAB – There are a bunch of rivalry games this weekend… quick name the battle between UAB and Memphis. (Insert Jeopardy theme song here) Didn’t come up with “Battle of the Bones”? Um… yeah… me either. UAB will try to extend its streak of eight straight over the Tigers.

9. SMU – The move to fire Phil Bennett in October hasn’t exactly inspired greatness from Mustang players. 1-7 before the firing, they’re 0-2 since including a home loss to Rice (gulp!).

8. Colorado State – With Sonny Lubick’s future in doubt, the Rams host I-AA Georgia Southern in a “win one for the Gipper” game.

7. Idaho – Back in their Big Sky days, the Vandals dominated rival Boise State including a 12 game streak in a series with only 36 meetings. Since the move to I-A, the roles have been reversed, and the Broncos currently own an eight game win streak in the battle for Gem State supremacy.

6. Duke - The oddsmakers don’t like Duke’s chances, but then again, they didn’t like Navy or Air Force either. Both Navy and Air Force are seemingly bowl-bound. Duke? Um… No. As low as Notre Pathetic is this year, the ultimate indictment would be a loss to Duke.

5. North Texas – Mean Green is 1-0 when holding its opponent under 30 points. Unfortunately, UNT has given up 45 or more six times.

4. Minnesota – 1-10 Gophs stand out like a sore thumb in a game of Big Ten “which one of these is not like the others?” HINT: They’re the ONLY team that doesn’t have at least SIX wins.

3. Utah State – How not to plan senior night: Invite Boise State and pile more Broncos fans than Aggies fans into Romney Stadium (and still have 8,000 empty seats) and then get shelled 52-ZIPPO.

2. Florida International – Miami couldn’t see fit to give the Orange Bowl a proper farewell (getting shut out by Virginia) but before they knock the old horseshoe down, FIU is going to play there three more times, twice against bottom eleven-listed foes. Up first: Louisiana-Lafayette.

1. Notre Dame – The Irish are awful and it is well documented – in the school’s own 66-page weekly press release. At least we know Tom Hammond (TV) and Don Criqui (radio) won’t run out of material.

The Top Ten

1. LSU – At the outset of the season, many folks had the Tigers right here and they’ve survived the toughest part of their schedule. From the home office of the bottom eleven, a trip to Naw’lins for the Car Insurance Championship Game looks to be theirs to lose.

2-tie. Oklahoma – All of America will get to check out the Sooners at Texas Tech on ABC in prime time. OU can’t coast to the Big 12 title game against the winner of KU-Missouri, they need every possible decimal point in case neither LSU or Oregon loses.

2-tie. Missouri – Looking at the one-loss teams, Missouri’s 10-point loss at Oklahoma is perhaps the “best loss” out there, and the Tigers beat Illinois and won at Mississippi outside conference action. Neither victory says a great deal but both say far more than anything Kansas has done.

4. Oregon – The sagging Pac-10 isn’t going to help the Ducks chances of hanging on to the No. 2 spot in the B(c)S. Team Green will be cheering hard for Michigan on Saturday morning, assuming they beat Arizona on Thursday night. A Michigan win over Ohio State just makes the Oregon victory in September look better in the computers.

5. West Virginia – Last week, Cincinnati took out Connecticut. This week, the Mountaineers visit Nippert Stadium in the Queen City. The Mountaineers better be ready, because the Bearcats know a trip to the Orange Bowl is within reach if they can pull the upset.

6. Kansas – The Jayhawks will face one team ranked higher than No. 39 in Jeff Sagarin’s ratings during the regular season. Win two neutral field games in Kansas City against Missouri (9) and Oklahoma (2) and I’ll grudgingly vote the Jayhawks No. 2.

7. Ohio State – Oops. There’s no way to know what might have been, but that doesn’t mean they’re not kicking themselves in Columbus.

8. Georgia – As two loss teams go, Georgia is pretty good, and the Bulldogs would love a shot at LSU in the SEC title game in Atlanta. They need a little help to get there, but it’s possible.

9. Arizona State – The Sun Devils rebounded (sort of) with a win over UCLA, now they’ll play Southern Cal on Thanksgiving Night to stay in the race for a BCS spot.

10. Virginia Tech – Hokies have to avoid slipping on the proverbial banana peel against mediocre Miami before meeting Virginia in the game that will determine the champ of the ACC Coastal Division.

Week 9: College FB season hits the stretch run

As the calendar turns to November and the autumn afternoons turn from crisp to cold, the college football season heats up. A couple more key losses and we might really get to see some smoke curling from the B(c)S computer. Just as importantly, the race to avoid spending a long, cold winter on the bottom eleven’s list starts to get desperate. On to this week’s countdown:

the bottom eleven

11. Rice – There are only two winless teams in I-A football, and Marshall has Rice to thank for no longer being on that list. Owls have surrendered fewer than 29 points just once.

10. Duke – The bottom eleven was starting to miss its friends from Durham, but the Blue Devils have dropped in for a visit, and it might be a long stay with Clemson and Georgia Tech up next.

9. Notre Dame – The Irish offense is so bad it netted 0 yards against mighty B-Y-E last weekend. Maybe there is a chance for the Golden Domers to get well against a Navy club that has to be reeling after a 59-52 loss to Delaware.

8. Iowa State – Much like the New Kids on the Block, the Cyclones have been “Hangin’ Tough” against clubs like Missouri and Oklahoma but they’ve got just three chances left to hang a crooked number (anything more that a 1) in the win column.

7. SMU – The Mustangs officially hung the “HELP WANTED” sign up along Mockingbird Lane outside Ford Stadium when they fired Phil Bennett. It’s never a good sign when you get your pink slip before Halloween.

6. North Texas – The Mean Green get to watch Notre Dame and Navy Saturday afternoon knowing that the Midshipmen are their next opponent. Navy is looking to make a living on the bottom eleven – its next three foes (Notre Dame, North Texas and Northern Illinois) all reside here.

5. Minnesota – There won’t be any Gatorade baths or Champagne when the Gophers visit Champaign to play Illinois. The last, best shot for a win the Gophers have is a visit to Iowa City on Nov. 10.

4. Northern Illinois – Losing 44-3 to Wisconsin is one thing. Getting hammered 70-21 by a 4-5 Toledo club? That’s bad. That’s bottom eleven hall of shame bad.

3. Idaho – It’s 2,265 miles from Ruston, La. to Moscow, Idaho and Louisiana Tech will make the journey to visit the Vandals, the longest distance between conference rivals on the mainland US. The Bulldogs hope to make the cross-country journey prosperous as Northern Illinois, Hawaii and Fresno State did and fly home happy.

2. Utah State – The Aggies visit Fresno State Saturday afternoon and have hope. After all, it was a 13-12 win last Oct. 7 against the Bulldogs that afforded USU its last victory. It’s been 14 straight losses since.

1. Florida International – The Panthers may be the only team in division I-A history to play consecutive road games in Arkansas. After getting drubbed 58-10 by the Razorbacks last week, the Golden Panthers play their final road game of the season against Arkansas State in Jonesboro.

and Top Ten

1. Ohio State – The Buckeyes have only three games to play. Win out and they’ll take one of spots in the Decimal Point Championship game. When they play Michigan on Nov. 17 it could be the first time all year the Buckeyes play a team ranked higher than No. 21.

2. Boston College – A whole lot of writers had to redo their stories on deadline after the Eagles rallied in the final three minutes to win at Virginia Tech. It’s not an easy road to undefeated from here: Florida State, @ Maryland, @ Clemson, Miami and then the Big East championship game against either Virginia or Virginia Tech.

3. LSU – The Tigers drop a notch here. They’ve allowed 91 points in their last three games against ranked opponents after allowing 34 to their first five foes. LSU faces its biggest remaining test at Alabama Saturday evening. Then it is Louisiana Tech, @ Ole Miss and Arkansas before the SEC Championship game (likely Tennessee or Georgia, neither of which were on the regular season schedule)

4. Oregon – You weren’t the only one that didn’t have Arizona State at Oregon circled as the Pac-10 game of the year. Saturday’s UO/ASU wasn’t slated for anything but local TV in Arizona and parts of Oregon. TV network folks got together Monday and patched a unique ESPN/Fox Sports Net combination package together that will have most fans able to find the game somewhere. The Ducks still have to go on the road to enigmatic Arizona and UCLA squads before hosting rival Oregon State to finish the season.

5. Oklahoma – After its “hard fought victory” over Iowa State, Oklahoma got a week off to prepare for Texas A&M. I’ve got a hunch that some folks down in Aggieland are secretly hoping the Sooners take Coach Fran out back of the woodshed so they can have more ammunition to run him out of town. With five games left, the Sooners still have a long road to hoe in terms of its B(c)S aspirations.

6. West Virginia – The Mountaineers punished Rutgers last week. In WVU’s seven wins this season, it has outscored its opponent by an average of 29 points and hasn’t had a closer call than 17 points. The final four weeks for WVU: Louisville, at Cincinnati, Connecticut and Pittsburgh

7. Missouri – Either Big 12 teams are really overlooking Iowa State or the Cyclones are playing tougher. First Oklahoma and now Mizzou were closer to the Cyclones on the scoreboard than they should have been. The Tigers have possibly the toughest road to go to the BCS, going to Colorado, Kansas and Kansas State with a single home date against Texas A&M. Survive that, and a Big 12 title game rematch with Oklahoma would be their “reward.”

8. Arizona State – The Sun Devils took down California in a fairly convincing half. The celebration that ensued would have been better saved for a victory over the Ducks. Convenient that ASU jets north to the banks of the Willamette for an early November blockbuster. While the Devils have won over the computers, they’ve not convinced the pollsters or the wallets. They’re seven point underdogs to the Ducks.

9. Kansas – Not since 1983 have sunglasses at night been quite so popular. But Mark Mangino is sporting them at KU and has the Jayhawks at 8-0 for the first time since William H. Taft was in the oval office, and they’ve won their last two games by scoring only 19 points. That’s not a number that will hold up for another five weeks of conference action.

10. Connecticut – The record says the Huskies have a shot. The schedule? Maybe not. Combined score of the Huskies’ last three games: 60-48. Nice effort, Huskies, but the run atop the Big East will end, at least until basketball season.

If the winner of the Hawai’i / Boise State game runs the table, that team might have high enough digits behind the decimal point of fate to earn a trip to the Fiesta Bowl

Game of the Century… of the Week: Southern Cal at Oregon

In terms of rankings, Boston College and Virginia Tech might have been a bigger game this week (it is being played in a driving rainstorm as the bottom eleven types). But in terms of the ACC race and the league’s automatic BCS bid, this game doesn’t matter that much. Both teams control their own destiny in terms of reaching the ACC championship game regardless of the outcome of Thursday night’s game. That’s kind of like the Yankees meeting the Red Sox when one will win the division and the other will win the wild card. It just doesn’t matter that much until the ACC championship game. Thus, while it could be a very entertaining game, there is a battle with much more meaning in the Pac-10.

At Autzen, the Trojans and Ducks meet in a game that the shameless self-promotion machine from Bristol won’t tell you a great deal about. Why? Because it’s buried on Fox Sports Net, head to head with its own coverage of five other games.

USC enters with a question mark as John David Booty has been nursing a broken finger since the Stanford loss and Mark Sanchez was solid, if not spectacular, against Arizona and Notre Dame. But against Oregon’s basketball-on-grass attack, USC can’t afford a Booty who “doesn’t have full command” as coach Pete Carroll described him after Wednesday’s practice. It’s highly possible that Carroll won’t name a starter before kickoff – even if it is just to keep the Ducks thinking.

Oregon operates the highest scoring offense west of Honolulu with new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. In the new environment, Dixon has thrived and that has something to do with Jonathan Stewart emerging as one of the Pac-10’s best tailbacks, averaging 134 yards per game. The Ducks rush for nearly 300 yards per game and throw for 250 more. On average, the Ducks score 10 more points per game than USC.

Both teams own a narrow loss, Oregon to Top 10-ranked Cal and SC to Stanford in the final minute of play. With as yet unbeaten Arizona State still on the schedule for both squads, a second loss would be particularly costly. It’s the first time a pair of teams ranked this high have met at Autzen in the history of the Pac-10’s best facility, so you know the locals will be revved up and ready to go for the noon PT kickoff. FSN (at least in some markets) has the broadcast with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papdakis and Jim Watson (sideline) on the call.

Week 8: Are the B(c)S Computers reading Tarot Cards?

It’s pretty easy to compute the bottom eleven. With a Big Ten team like Minnesota continuing to embarrass itself and Notre Dame continue to mock its own legend, that’s easy. The Top Ten? Not so easy, especially when it comes to the 8-10 spots. Ohio State is a unanimous – if not unquestioned – No. 1. After that? The bottom eleven can’t come up with an explanation that either replicates or justifies the B(c)S’ inexplicable installation of Arizona State at the No. 4 spot, much less one that has Kansas ninth.

the bottom eleven

11. Iowa State – Close but no cigar against the Sooners isn’t enough to save the Cyclones from the bottom eleven. It’s been a long time since that upset win over Iowa, their only win of the season.

10. SMU – Tulane’s Matt Forte shredded the Mustangs for 342 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries. After 30 carries or so, you’d think SMU could adapt things to slow him. Apparently not.

9. North Texas – With seven interceptions in the last two weeks, the Mean Green has the defense improving and the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State have an offense just pedestrian enough make it a happy homecoming in Denton.

8. Notre Dame – The Irish woke up Sunday thankful that North Dakota State isn’t on the schedule. They’ve got big enough challenges with Navy, Air Force, Duke and Stanford. If the Irish don’t find some answers on offense, it could lose all of them. Notre Dame is one of five I-A schools that hasn’t played a I-AA squad since they were divided in 1978.

7. Louisiana-Lafayette – The Cajuns were within reach of their second win, but in classic bottom eleven fashion, allowed Florida Atlantic to tie the game with :07 remaining and lost in overtime.

6. Northern Illinois – The Huskies play their fifth road game in six weeks at Toledo. In its last three road games, NIU has been outscored 95-28. There will not be a second straight bowl game for the Huskies.

5. Idaho - The Vandals allow 37 points per game and Nevada, this week’s foe, scores 37 points per game. That’s a recipe for a long afternoon at the Kibbie Dome.

4. Minnesota – The worst part of the Gophers loss to North Dakota State: it wasn’t really a surprise. When you surrender 585 yards to any opponent, you’re going to lose. Player Dominique Barber told the Pioneer Press, “Unfortunately, we’re not going to get to go (to a bowl) this year.” Um… no, and really, the Gophers have bigger problems, like a Saturday date with Michigan.

3. Marshall – TV audience and all, Marshall tried to depart the ranks of the winless, but four turnovers were too much. If the Herd can keep the turnovers in check, they’ll have a good shot to get that win at home against Rice on Saturday.

2. Utah State – In the eight key offensive and defensive statistics tracked by the NCAA, the Aggies rank 100th or higher (of 119 teams) in six and no higher than No. 89 in any category. That 13-12 win over Fresno last season seems like the good old days now.

1. Florida International – The Panthers rank No. 102 or higher in every key category and simply can’t score. They average eight points per game, and that’s not enough to win a lot of college baseball games or lacrosse matches, let alone football.

and Top Ten

1. Ohio State – Many people seem to think Ohio State isn’t worthy of the No. 1 spot. Here’s your chance to quiet some critics, Bucks, at Penn State Saturday night on national television.

2. LSU – Clock management nearly cost the Tigers, but they made the plays to win the thriller Saturday night. After running the Florida-Kentucky-Auburn gauntlet, the Tigers get a much needed week off before traveling to Alabama.

3. Boston College – The B(c)S computer rankings don’t compute. Somehow, the Decimal Point Deities have BC ranked No. 1, despite the fact its opponents to date are a combined 26-26, including a 6-1 UMass (I-AA) team. If the Eagles beat Virginia Tech on the road this week, they’ll have a lot more believers.

4. Oklahoma – 17-7 against Iowa State? Come on, Boomer Sooner, you’re better than that.

5. Oregon – Sure, Oregon racked up 661 yards of offense and hung 55 points on the board at Husky Stadium, but what about the 421 yards and 34 points allowed to a Washington team that starts a redshirt freshman quarterback and averages well under 200 passing yards per game?

6. Virginia Tech – The Hokies stumbled out of the gate in September but with undefeated Boston College visiting for the Thursday night special, Va Tech has the chance to erase voters memories of the Bayou blowout.

7. Florida – The Gators went to Lexington and did what LSU couldn’t, win. Yes, the Gators have a pair of losses but both games have been down to the final possession against solid competition. The win over Kentucky wasn’t as close as the final score, either.

8. Southern Cal – The Trojans finally dispatch a lesser foe the way they’re supposed to, white washing the Irish 38-0. The impact of injuries on USC has been grossly underreported outside the LA market. The healthier Trojans head north for a big huge game at Autzen Stadium Saturday afternoon.

9. South Florida – After the top eight, it’s a tough call to hammer out the Top Ten. How will the Bulls respond to the Rutgers loss? They’ll have to get over it for a key game on the road against Big East leader(?!) Connecticut.

10. Arizona State Even with Cal’s back-to-back losses, it’s the most formidable foe the Sun Devils have faced, but that’s not saying much. Kansas Non-conference schedule: Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo, FIU. Puh-leaze. West Virginia – We’ll see how the Mountaineers do against foes that are 25-13. The competition they’ve played to date is 23-30.
Someone please phone the bottom eleven when any of these teams defeats an opponent of any consequence, the No. 10 spot is available to the first winner of a big game.

THIS JUST IN: Joe Torre IS NOT Dead

It’s been headline news for days on ESPN and in the New York papers. The fate of Joe Torre hangs in the balance. Breathless reporters camped outside the Yankees organizational meetings waited for the slightest bit of news concerning the manager of the team with the highest payroll in baseball.

Yes, it was a national crisis along the lines of Natalee Holloway or Larry Craig.  Joe Torre was hanging in the wind. A man who hasn’t so much as hit a ground ball in a big league ball game since 1977 was the biggest story in the history of the Bristol, Connecticut-based nexus of all things sports.

But America, you can sleep safe tonight.  Joe Torre  is not dead.

On ESPN’s family of networks, you’d never know it.  A night long tribute on ESPN Classic. Uninterrupted coverage on ESPN News, wall-to-wall coverage on ESPN and ESPN2. The only thing that might have trumped it today was Brittney Spears regaining custody of her children.

There was a time when ESPN provided highlights and news about sports.  The mothership has become a mockery of its former self.  Instead of reporting what is now, they’re worried about reporting who is now in a manner more fitting of Page 6.

Instead of telling the compelling story of the Colorado Rockies and building interest in the World Series, ESPN’s cast of thousands spent hours upon hours on four networks on Torre. Instead of previewing a critical game 6 of the American League Championship Series, ESPN exhumed the corpse of the Yankees season, performed an autopsy and pronounced the team dead, a fact in evidence nearly 10 days ago when the Cleveland Indians won the Division Series.

By Tuesday, ESPN will probably have offered Torre a contract to appear on Baseball Tonight, further undermining its blithering coverage of a routine personnel decision. All the managerial changes, NFL coaching changes, college football hires and NBA coaching moves combined will not gather 1/10th the coverage on the departure of a decision that had been evident for weeks.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Joe Torre is not dead.

He won’t manage the Yankees next year.  This was a forgone conclusion weeks ago. Yes, the Yankees could have handled it better – by firing Brian Cashman, perhaps. But the bottom line is that heads of state have died with less attention.  Super Bowls have been played with less coverage. And the sun will rise in the east tomorrow morning.

Game of the Century… of the Week: Auburn at LSU

6 p.m. PT, ESPN

The Tigers already know they can move up a notch in the BCS standings as South Florida has lost and they know Boston College visits Virginia Tech next in a real test for the Eagles. Auburn has been enigmatic this year, losing at home to South Florida and Mississippi State followed by road wins at Florida and Arkansas.

LSU owns the nation’s longest home winning streak, 17 games, dating to an overtime loss to Tennessee in 2005. Already this season, the Tigers have beaten three teams in the top 12 in Tiger Stadium. This is the back-to-the-wall type game that Tommy Tuberville has made a trademark of winning. Just when you think he’s lost the game that gets him fired, he rallies to win one that rallies the fan base around him.

For the loser, it is a costly second loss in the SEC West, meaning no trip to the SEC championship game. Auburn has totaled 428 rushing yards over the past two weeks something that might be helpful considering opponents have found an LSU weakness. The Tigers have given up 281 yards on the ground the last two weeks after allowing only 44 yards per game on the ground in the first five games. The last three meetings in the series have been decided by a total of eight points, including last year’s 7-3 defensive struggle on the plains. Mike Patrick, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe have the call on the mothership.

Miss this Match-up: Oklahoma at Iowa State

9:30 a.m. PT, most Fox Sports Net markets

This has all the makings of what America anticipated when Stanford went to Southern Cal, a “name your score, coach Stoops” kind of morning/afternoon.  But given all that’s happened in college football this season, perhaps the Vegas oddsmakers are a little leery? Oklahoma is “only” a 28 point favorite against a team that failed to beat Northern Iowa, Kent State or Toledo. Each week has been progressively worse in Big 12 play for the Cyclones as they’ve fallen 35-17, 42-17, 56-3 in successive weeks, the latter against Texas at home last Saturday.

Sam Bradford has been sensational for OU, completing 45 of 66 passes for 510 yards, 5 touchdowns and no interceptions against Texas and Missouri the last two weeks. For the season, Bradford has thrown just two interceptions in OU’s 6 wins. Stoops and crew know style points count with the voters so don’t expect the Sooners to let up until it is well in hand.  The Sooners have nothing to look ahead to as they’ll be favored by infinity against B-Y-E next week.

It shouldn’t be a game, and given the days worth of coverage given to App State and Stanford following their stunners, should the unthinkable happen here, you’ll be able to see all you want of it from the highlights.  If you care, Bill Land, Dave Lapham and Jim Knox will have the call.  The bottom eleven has better things to do.