40 Acres Sports

The latest BCS rankings are out and despite the gains by [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] in the two human polls, Texas has taken advantage of the the [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] loss and moved up two spots to number two in the rankings. The computer polls are the reason the Horns are hanging on now but since the Sooners play a ranked team this week it may take an impressive Thanksgiving Day win to remind voters that the Horns actually beat the Sooners when they matched up in October.

Check out the top 10 below:

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	Alabama	0.987
2	Texas	0.920
3	Oklahoma	0.912
4	Florida	0.875
5	USC	0.797
6	Utah	0.785
7	Texas Tech	0.778
8	Penn St.	0.752
9	Boise St.	0.658
10	Ohio St.	0.620

This weekend seems pretty boring compared to the barrage of top 10 match-ups we have seen recently. Everything has settled down and the race for the National Championship looks like it hinges on one important game, next week with #2 Texas Tech traveling to Norman and playing #5 Oklahoma. Still there are plenty of games this weekend with BCS implications.

#3 Texas at Kansas (+13) – 12:30 PM EST on FSN. Definitely can’t take this game lightly after what happened last time in Lawrence, KS. Expect weather to be a factor, as a cold front is coming in so it will be colder and windier than usual. So far this season Kansas hasn’t lived up to expectations, but they have one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12 and are always a threat to put up some points. Texas didn’t have their best game last week, which probably isn’t too much of a surprise in a letdown game against Baylor. Texas should get things back on track this weekend and I see them destroying Kansas. Give the points.

#25 South Carolina at #4 Florida (-22) – 3:30 PM EST on CBS. In my opinion Florida is the best team in the nation right now. Their speed on offense is absolutely ridiculous, and Tebow continues to just enough to not screw up. I think I could run an offense if all I had to do was hand the ball that Harvin, Demps, or Rainey. South Carolina has no shot in this game simply because they don’t have the speed to keep up with Florida, and the game is being played at the Swamp. This one could be over in the 1st quarter. Take Florida.

Boston College at #19 Florida St (-6) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Not really much to watch at night, but this match-up in the ACC will go a long way in determining who will be playing for the ACC championship. I think this game will come down to whether or not Florida State can impose their will and continue to run the ball as well as they have been lately. Boston College is no slouch on defense, allowing only 102 yards per game. Both teams don’t really have high-powered offenses, so I see this one staying close. Boston College should stay within the 6 points here.

Thanks to a (joyous) [tag]Penn State[/tag] loss the Longhorns have moved up another spot in the latest BCS rankings released Sunday. Thanks to that loss and human voters seeing the error of their ways, Texas is third ahead of [tag]Florida[/tag] and more importantly [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]. The Horns dropped big from number one after their loss to [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] but moved back passed those teams this week in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll.

Texas’ ranking against the Sooners is huge on the chance their is a three-way tie between those two teams and the Red Raiders for the Big 12 South. In that scenario the division winner will be determined by which team has the highest BCS ranking. If the Horns end up winning out and in the Big 12 Championship, a win over the North’s representative would likely mean a shot at the whole enchilada.

The BCS top 10 rankings are listed below:

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Comp. Rankings
	Team	BCS Avg	Prvs	RK	Pts	%	RK	Pts	%	Avg	%
1	Alabama	.9814	1	1	2808	.9853	1	1508	.9889	2	.970
2	Texas Tech	.9715	2	2	2768	.9712	2	1469	.9633	1	.980
3	Texas	.8798	4	4	2471	.8670	5	1300	.8525	3	.920
4	Florida	.8640	5	3	2531	.8881	3	1348	.8839	T-5	.820
5	Oklahoma	.8444	6	5	2427	.8516	4	1314	.8616	T-5	.820
6	USC	.7896	7	6	2329	.8172	6	1268	.8315	8	.720
7	Utah	.7692	8	8	2034	.7137	7	1104	.7239	4	.870
8	Penn State	.6839	3	7	2073	.7274	8	1074	.7043	10	.620
9	Boise State	.6783	10	9	1940	.6807	9	1028	.6741	9	.680
10	Georgia	.6156	13	12	1581	.5547	12	842	.5521	7	.740

Related: View the full BCS rankings

Texas’ loss to last week to [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] didn’t knock them completely out of the national title race but it certainly shook things up. Texas fans spent the next 72 hours crunching numbers and running scenarios that could result in the Longhorns still making it to the title game. That may make math and stats nerds happy but its just another sign of just how ridiculous the NCAA Division I FBS not having a playoff really is.

ESPN’s Pat Forde makes a(nother) strong case for a playoff in college football:

No less a voice than Barack Obama’s called on Monday night for a playoff in college football. To which The Dash says hallelujah, it’s time for some pressure on the ossified system from the top down. Once upon a time, the Tide wooed Butch Davis to be their coach. The first round of The Dash’s eight-team playoff would shape up as follows today: Top seed and SEC champion Alabama versus eighth-seeded ACC titlist [tag]North Carolina[/tag] in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The backstory would make this interesting, since the Crimson Tide were interested in current Tar Heels.

The first round of The Dash’s eight-team playoff would shape up as follows today:

Top seed and SEC champion [tag]Alabama[/tag] versus eighth-seeded ACC titlist [tag]North Carolina[/tag] in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The backstory would make this interesting, since the Crimson Tide were interested in current Tar Heels coach Butch Davis as far back as 2000, when he was the coach at Miami. That was before Mike Price, before Dennis Franchione and before Mike Shula. Then Bama got it right — royal-flush right — with Nick Saban.

Second seed and Big Ten champion [tag]Penn State[/tag] versus seventh-seeded Big East winner [tag]West Virginia[/tag] in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. Just for fun they could award the old Lambert Trophy for the best school in the East to the winner.

Third seed and Big 12 champion [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] versus sixth-seeded Pacific-10 champ USC in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Would anyone enjoy seeing the Red Raiders’ O (first nationally in passing offense, second in total offense, third in scoring) against the Trojans’ D (first nationally in pass defense, first in total defense, first in scoring defense)?

Fourth seed at-large selection Texas versus fifth seed at-large selection [tag]Florida[/tag] in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and Tim Tebow on the same field might be a little fun.

(Dash apologies to [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] and Utah for being the best teams left out. Y’all can console each other in, say, the Alamo Bowl.)

After that: semifinals at the Orange and Fiesta Bowls. National title in the Rose Bowl. Championship trophy presented by Dashette Irina Shayk.

Decide for yourself whether that playoff would generate any interest. After you’ve thought it over for five seconds, call the president of your favorite university and scream into the phone that you want a playoff. Do not stop screaming until you are out of breath or they have hung up on you — and then redial and scream again.

Maybe it will come to pass by the time Tebow’s kids are in college.

Or maybe it happens a little faster depending on Tuesday’s election results.

Just imagine adding the Texas Rose Bowl win over USC, plus the brutal four game stretch the team just finished, plus even more on the line than ever before. How fun would that be?

The Longhorns lost the battle to [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] on Saturday but they still haven’t lost the war. The new BCS rankings were revealed tonight and Texas fell only to number four, behind [tag]Alabama[/tag], [tag]Penn State[/tag], and Texas Tech who moved all the way up to number two. The Horns still have a every good chance to end up back in the top two and headed to the national title game.

All the Horns need is for two teams ahead of them to go down, and with the remaining schedules ahead for both Tech and Alabama that is a distinct possibility. Texas fans need to be rooting hard for [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] and [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] the next few weeks and for [tag]LSU[/tag] this week against Alabama. The team needs to take care of business during the final weeks of the season for any of this to matter, but fans will be doing a lot of scoreboard watching.

The BCS top 10 rankings are listed below:

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Comp. Rankings
	Team	BCS Avg	Prvs	RK	Pts	%	RK	Pts	%	Avg	%
1	Alabama	.9747	2	1	2798	.9818	1	1498	.9823	T-1	.960
2	Texas Tech	.9372	7	3	2644	.9277	3	1409	.9239	T-1	.960
3	Penn State	.9286	3	2	2689	.9435	2	1437	.9423	4	.900
4	Texas	.8531	1	6	2322	.8147	7	1227	.8046	3	.940
5	Florida	.8268	8	4	2391	.8389	5	1268	.8315	5	.810
6	Oklahoma	.8220	4	5	2366	.8302	4	1290	.8459	9	.790
7	USC	.7551	5	7	2273	.7975	6	1232	.8079	10	.660
8	Utah	.6972	10	9	1864	.6540	9	1018	.6675	7	.770
9	Oklahoma State	.6660	9	8	2021	.7091	8	1066	.6990	11	.590
10	Boise State	.6529	11	10	1797	.6305	10	958	.6282	8	.700

Related: View the full BCS rankings

Things are heating up in the Big 12 South as two more undefeated teams square off on Saturday. Texas has to travel to Texas Tech where the fans remind me of those from the Philadelphia Eagles. The two best teams in the SEC also face each other this weekend, Florida vs. Georgia, in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” in Jacksonville, Florida. It doesn’t get much better than this folks.

I went 2-2 again last week as the Tech/Kansas game surprised me a little. There are really only 2 games to watch this weekend, but luckily both of them should be great.

#8 Florida at #6 Georgia (+6.5) – 3:30 PM EST on CBS. Florida is fresh off a huge route against Kentucky. Florida has really hit a groove on offense since losing to Ole Miss and their team speed looks unstoppable. Georgia is also coming off a big win absolutely destroying a good LSU team in Baton Rouge. Florida has to be looking for some revenge in this game after Georgia’s team celebration in the end zone. Whoever wins this game will take control of the SEC East. Bottomline is Florida’s team speed is too much for Georgia to handle and they will cover the touchdown.

#1 Texas at #7 Texas Tech (+3.5) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Another week and another undefeated Big 12 South opponent. This time Texas has to travel to Lubbock in their first big road test. The Tech fans can be rowdy, and this being a night game no doubt things will be extra crazy (drunk). Tech has proven they can score points (ala Kansas), but they have also proven they can struggle mightily (ala Nebraska and A&M). If Texas can pressure Harrell early they should be able to control the clock and the game. I think the defensive front seven of the Longhorns will be the key to this game. Colt will score the points, and the defense will save the game. Take Texas and give the points.

The new BCS standings are out and the Longhorns remain easily atop the list. A close game against [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] had no effect on either the human or computer polls that make up the rankings. Texas is number one in every computer poll and holds nearly every first place vote in both the Harris and USA Today Coaches poll.

All the team has to do is take care of business and it appears there’s no way any other team could jump them in the rankings. One indicator of how much both the humans and robots love the Longhorns are the rankings of both OSU and [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] even after losses to Texas. After the loss this weekend the Cowboys only fell one spot in the Harris Poll and two in the USA Today poll. This might mean the Horns could lose a game and still be around number three in the BCS. Let’s hope we don’t find out.

Check out the top ten in the latest BCS rankings below:

		Harris Poll			USA Today			Computer Rankings		BCS
	Team	RK	Pts	%	RK	Pts	%	%	Comp avg	BCS Avg	Prvs
1	Texas	1	2839	.9961	1	1522	.9980	1.000	1	.9981	1
2	Alabama	2	2696	.9460	2	1439	.9436	.960	2	.9499	2
3	Penn State	3	2650	.9298	3	1414	.9272	.920	3	.9257	3
4	Oklahoma	4	2370	.8316	4	1265	.8295	.820	T-4	.8270	4
5	USC	7	2255	.7912	6	1228	.8052	.750	6	.7822	5
6	Georgia	8	2124	.7453	8	1137	.7456	.820	T-4	.7703	7
7	Texas Tech	5	2286	.8021	5	1246	.8170	.610	T-10	.7431	8
8	Florida	6	2258	.7923	7	1199	.7862	.610	T-10	.7295	10
9	Oklahoma State	9	1871	.6565	10	972	.6374	.730	T-7	.6746	6
10	Utah	10	1802	.6323	9	987	.6472	.730	T-7	.6362	11

Related: View the full BCS rankings

For the second time this year 3 of the Top 4 teams in the nation lose. No one is safe at the top, and most of the Top 10 will be playing each other in the next few weeks so expect to see even more changes. So far this year is looking even crazier than last year.

1. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   
   LW: 3

   Even though they didn’t play, I don’t think they deserved to be bumped down below Texas.

2. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   Texas won with Colt’s leadership and the defense stepping up at the right times. Will Muschamp has the defense improving every week. It was kind of nice cruising through the season unnoticed, but that time is definitely over.

3. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

   
   LW: 7

   I guess I to move up Penn State after their blowout win. It looks like they are definitely the class of the Big 10, though that is not saying very much.

4. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   Sam Bradford threw for 5 touchdowns and still lost. Oklahoma has a great team and their schedule is setup to keep them in a BCS bowl game.

5. [tag]Florida[/tag]

   
   LW: 11

   I had watched Florida play a few times this year, but I have never seen the speed and precision they displayed against LSU. They have some of the fastest running backs in the nation, and if they can keep Tim Tebow from making mistakes they should be good.

6. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Texas Tech played like crap but was surprisingly still able to come out with a win against Nebraska. They have a pretty easy road before playing Texas at home.

7. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

   
   LW: 15

   Not sure if was too much of an upset, but Oklahoma State managed to put a hurting on Mizzou. Oklahoma State has proven they definitely have the offense, but do they have the defense to hang with the big boys.

8. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   I am actually pretty disappointed that Mizzou lost, because that would have meant Texas would play two #1 teams in a row. Now that Mizzou has lost, Texas will definitely be expected to beat them this Saturday.

9. [tag]USC[/tag]

   
   LW: 10

   Looks like USC is getting back into form after totally dominating Arizona State 28-0. They probably have the easiest schedule left of any Top 10 and will probably somehow backdoor their way into the national championship.

10. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

    
    LW: 9

    Georgia had a solid win against Tennessee but I am still not very impressed with this team. I expect them to lose 2 more games this season.

11. [tag]BYU[/tag]

    
    LW: 6

    I have decided to not leave BYU so high up in the polls. They play nobody, and until they beat Utah I will not move them any higher.

12. [tag]LSU[/tag]

    
    LW: 4

    You either smoke, or you get smoked, and LSU got smoked. That was a pretty weak performance against Florida, and if they don’t get someone to play quarterback they will struggle all season long.

13. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    
    LW: 12

    Kansas continues to plod along and will probably go relatively unnoticed the rest of the way unless they can beat one of the big teams in the Big 12. Don’t expect that to happen.

14. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    
    LW: 13

    Utah and BYU really don’t seem much different to me. They will have to prove their ranking by beating both TCU and BYU.

15. [tag]Boise State[/tag]

    
    LW: 16

    Thank goodness we didn’t have to see them play on their ugly blue field this weekend.

16. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    
    LW: 17

    Luckily Ohio State beat Purdue because they are about to lose two in a row. I can’t wait to drop them out of the Top 25.

17. [tag]Michigan State[/tag]

    
    LW: 19

    Again, the only thing they have going for them is their running back, but man is he awesome. Can we trade for him?

18. [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag]

    
    LW: 18

    Does anyone really care about anyone in the ACC. They will probably all beat each other and end up with a conference champion that has 3 losses.

19. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

    
    LW: 20

    Bye week

20. [tag]North Carolina[/tag]

    
    LW: 21

    It took a last minute play, but North Carolina thankfully kept Notre Dame out of the Top 25. North Carolina is making the most out of their spot, but see Virginia Tech.

21. [tag]Wake Forest[/tag]

    
    LW: 22

    Another so-so ACC team barely holding on to their spot in the Top 25.

22. [tag]California[/tag]

    
    LW: 24

    Bye week

23. [tag]TCU[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    TCU has another huge game coming against BYU. Can they prove BYU is overrated, or will they fall back out of the Top 25?

24. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    
    LW: 14

    It was only a matter of time before Vanderbilt came back down to reality. They couldn’t handle the pressure of the being a top team and now they will probably struggle the rest of the way.

25. [tag]Tulsa[/tag]

    
    LW: 25

    They struggled a little only scoring 37, but I am sure they will get back on track and put up 60+ on UTEP.

Well lookie here, the Texas Longhorns are the new number one team in the land. After the team’s big win over [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] the team vaulted from number five in both polls to the very top. Huge shakeup this week with losses in the top five by OU, Missouri, and LSU, but in the AP poll the Sooners surprisingly only fell to number four. [tag]Alabama[/tag] is a very close second in both polls followed by [tag]Penn State[/tag].

This week’s opponent [tag]Missouri[/tag] fell out of the top ten with a loss, but they’re still a very good team and it doesn’t get easier after them. Due to the way the schedules lay out, the Longhorns could actually face two more top five teams in [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] and [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] if they win the games they should and stay undefeated.

Check out this week’s rankings or view the top 10 teams below:

	AP Top 25		USA Today Poll
1	Texas (39) 6-0 1,599		Texas (44) 6-0 1,505
2	Alabama (26) 6-0 1,582		Alabama (14) 6-0 1,452
3	Penn State 7-0 1,492		Penn State (3) 7-0 1,416
4	Oklahoma 5-1 1,306		USC 4-1 1,198
5	Florida 5-1 1,284		Texas Tech 6-0 1,195
6	USC 4-1 1,247		Oklahoma 5-1 1,147
7	Texas Tech 6-0 1,210		Florida 5-1 1,145
8	Oklahoma State 6-0 1,184		Brigham Young 6-0 1,143
9	Brigham Young 6-0 1,131		Georgia 5-1 1,010
10	Georgia 5-1 1,081		Oklahoma State 6-0 958

This could be one of the biggest weekends of the year in terms of national title implications. Arguably the top four teams in the Big 12 are playing each other, #1 Oklahoma vs #5 Texas and #3 Missouri vs #17 Oklahoma State (I think Texas Tech is probably a little overrated). Then you have the two powerhouse teams in the SEC squaring off with #4 LSU traveling to the Swamp against #11 Florida. And if you feel like checking out the boring Big 10, you get to see #6 Penn State playing at Camp Randall Stadium against Wisconsin.

Let’s take a look at a game in each of the big conferences. Remember, I did go 3-1 last weekend against the spread (for around the 4th straight weekend).

#5 Texas at #1 Oklahoma (-6.5) – 12:00 PM EST on ABC. For a #5 team in the nation, Texas has managed to keep a relatively low profile this year. I think that has been a blessing in disguise since it has let the team grow without a lot of added pressure. Honestly if you asked me to pick this game at the beginning of the season, I would probably have said Oklahoma without even a doubt. But with the way Texas has played this season and their improvement on defense, they have a legitimate shot of coming out of this one with a victory. Both offenses have overpowering stats and high profile quarterbacks. Neither quarterback has faced any adversity, and I think that will change greatly for Sam Bradford this week. Will Mushcamp has something going here in Austin, and I think that will be the difference in the game. I don’t bet on this game, but the Texas moneyline looks good.

#17 Oklahoma State at #3 Missouri (-14) – 8:00 PM EST on ESPN2. The O/U is set at 77 in this one and features the #2 and #3 scoring offenses in the nation, so you know some points will be scored. Both teams are undefeated when scoring 40 or more points since 2001, but that should change this weekend. This is basically a matchup of one of the nations best rushing attacks (OSU) versus one of the nations best passing offenses (Mizzou). I always prefer a better running game since it moves the ball more consistently and wears down the defense. This game should come down to whoever has the ball last. OSU might now win this one, but I think they easily cover the 14.

#4 LSU at #11 Florida (-6.5) – 8:00 PM EST on CBS. Tim Tebow has not impressed me much this season. And losing to Ole Miss at home? Come on now. LSU also has big questions at the quarterback position, but they have the defense to win them games in the SEC. I think they key here is LSU was off last week so they have had extra time to prepare and get some players healthy. Don’t take the points on this one, take LSU moneyline.

#6 Penn State at Wisconsin (+6) – 8:00 PM EST on ESPN. Yawn. Two more boring Big 10 teams playing each other. Not sure who is really going to watch this game with the two games above starting at the same time. Maybe if both games are at commercial? Penn State did not fair well in their last trip to Camp Randall Stadium (remember Coach Pat’s broken leg?), but it should be a much different game this year. Penn State is better than Wisconsin in every phase of the game and will dominate this game. You know what, don’t watch this one, just take Penn State and win some money.