T3R WEEK 3

Sorry for the delay this week, I spent most of the week trying to track down a Nutcracker shirt from the white-out to give to Terrelle Pryor.

#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 35-3 win vs UCF
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Baylor
Texas can pretty much sleep walk their way to the national title game at this point. The remaining schedule consists of Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M. Those three teams are a combined 4-11 in conference play so far this year and they would have to lose 2 of those 3 to not make it to the BIG XII Title game. Then they will go up against one of the jokes from the Big XII South (maybe the worst division of any conference in the history of college football). So I’m saying it now, Texas has already stamped their ticket to Pasadena and will be playing for the national title.

#2 FLORIDA GATORS (9-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 27-3 win vs Vanderbilt
NEXT GAME: Sat @ South Carolina
I am starting to wonder if Florida has just being toying with the college football world this season. Everyone doubted them and they started to lose points in the rankings and then they came out and smashed Georgia in a rivalry game. This week could be interesting though. If the offense really is struggling, SC is not the team you want to have to face. The Gamecocks have a very stingy defense and could be a tough road environment if it is close in the fourth quarter.

#3 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (9-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 25-14 win vs #7 LSU
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Mississippi State
By beating LSU last week, Alabama has clinched a re-match with Florida (who also clinched last week) in the SEC Title game. Alabama should be able to stay unbeaten until that game with only contests against Mississippi State, Chattanooga and Auburn remaining on their regular season slate.

#4 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 47-45 win vs UCONN
NEXT GAME: Fri vs WVU
The Bearcats survived a scare against a pesky UCONN team. Cincinnati now has two more conference games remaining against the other top teams in the Big East. If the Bearcats win Friday, it makes the Dec 5th match-up with Pitt the unofficial title game for the Big East conference, regardless how either teams fares in their games until then.

#5 TCU HORNED FROGS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 55-12 win @ San Diego State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Utah
Ten weeks down and TCU is still undefeated! If you are a fan of the BCS-buster then you love this. If you are not, you should be pulling big-time for the Utes this week in Fort Worth. Utah is the only team remaining on TCU’s cake schedule that stands a chance at beating them and knocking them out of BCS consideration.

#6 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (9-1, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 30-27 OT win vs Wake Forest
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Duke
The Yellow Jackets escaped last week with a win against a poor Wake Forest team. GT needs to be on its game this week against a much-improved Duke team that is fighting to get bowl eligible for the first time since 1994. If Georgia Tech wins, they clinch the ACC Coastal division. A loss puts the ball in Miami’s court and the Yellow Jackets would have to hope for a Canes loss in the final weeks of the season.

#7 LSU TIGERS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-15 loss @ #3 Alabama
NEXT GAME: Sat vs La Tech
How does a team move up after losing? They play well. The LSU defense played well enough to win that game last week, and minus one terrible call and review by the SEC officiating, they could have won that game. LSU has lost twice this season. Once to Florida and once to Alabama, that is not too bad!

#8 PITT PANTHERS (8-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: win 37-10 vs Syracuse
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Notre Dame
Pitt has survived the easy part of their schedule and now has a tough 3-game stretch to close it out. The Pitt secondary should face a stern challenge against Jimmy Clausen and the Irish, but the next two games are what really matter as they push towards their first outright Big East title.

#9 OREGON DUCKS (7-2, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 51-42 loss @ #16 Stanford
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Arizona State
How do you take the air out of a program after a huge win? Go out and lay an egg the next game out. The Ducks did that exact thing. After coming off arguably the biggest win in school history Oregon got down early and never recovered against Stanford.

#10 SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 14-9 win @ Arizona State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Stanford
The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the college football world have to be the USC offense. They were held under 20 two games earlier this year, then ran 5 straight games scoring 27+, and in the past 2 weeks they have scored a total of three touchdowns.

#11 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (8-2, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 24-7 win @ #18 Penn State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Iowa
Well I was hoping for a 40 point win and a career day for Pryor last week, I guess I will settle for a 17-point win and seeing an empty Beaver Stadium as the time ticked off the clock in the 4th quarter. If last week was the Big Ten semi-final for the Buckeyes, that would make this week the Championship game. Looks like the Ohio State University will be going back to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1996.

#12 ARIZONA WILDCATS (6-2, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 48-7 win vs Washington State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ California
Mike Stoops FINALLY has his team in place to reach expectations that were set when he took over in Tucson, but he still has a tough road ahead of him. The Wildcats still have this week vs Cal, then they host 1st place Oregon before going on the road to rival Arizona State and finishing at USC. Can it be done? Yes, but it certainly won’t be easy.

#13 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (9-0, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-35 win @ La Tech
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Idaho
59-2 on the Smurf Turf this decade is all you need to know about this match-up. Idaho is not a bad team and if this were a road game for Boise State, it would pose a challenge, that being said the Broncos will roll to a very unimpressive 10-0.

#14 WISCONSIN BADGERS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 31-28 win @ Indiana
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Michigan
John Clay and his power running game for the Badgers versus a hit-or-miss Michigan team who has had trouble stopping anyone on the defensive side of the ball. Wisconsin has quietly played itself into a battle for 2nd place in the Big Ten.

#15 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (7-2, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 34-8 win @ Iowa State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Texas Tech
Oklahoma State has two bad losses, but I really do feel that they could play with anyone in the country outside of the top 3 teams. The loss to Houston is still a bad loss despite what the Cougars have done since. And the Texas game was a bad loss simply due to the margin of defeat, you can’t be ashamed losing to the Longhorns, it was just how it happened, at home none the less.

#16 STANFORD CARDINAL (6-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 51-42 win vs #9 Oregon
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Southern Cal
The Trees had a big win last week on the road to get into the rankings this week, now they need to do it again on the road to stay in the rankings. If they do upset the Trojans, not only will they stay in the rankings but also they will vault right into the Pac-10 race for the Rose Bowl.

#17 MIAMI HURRICANES (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 52-17 win vs Virginia
NEXT GAME: Sat @ North Carolina
The Canes are an OT loss against Clemson from being in first place in the Coastal Division of the ACC. They are not out of it however, with two games to play in conference and the head-to-head tiebreaker over 1st place GT, the Canes still have a lot to play for. This week won’t be easy though, they have never won in Chapel Hill.

#18 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-7 loss vs #11 Ohio State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Indiana
What happened to the home field advantage that Penn State used to have with 110K crazy loud fans? Last week was the second time they lost at Beaver Stadium this season, and most of the fans left before the game was even over. Indiana won’t be as easy as many Nits think this week. The Hoosiers have lost their last three games and are just 1-5 in conference but they just haven’t finished well. In those five conference losses, they have held leads late in the 4th quarter or lost by one possession in four of them.

#19 HOUSTON COUGARS (8-1, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 46-45 win @ Tulsa
NEXT GAME: Sat @ UCF
Tulsa had a lot of hype coming into the season for their high-powered offense, but they haven’t really produced much. They were 4-5 coming into this game and got smacked by Oklahoma 45-0. This game should not have been close. The Cougars escaped thanks to a 51-yard FG by a freshman as time expired capping a 9-point rally in the final 21 seconds of play. You can’t struggle to win two straight weeks against bad competition and expect to climb in the rankings.

#20 CLEMSON TIGERS (6-3, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 40-24 win vs Florida State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ NC State
Clemson started the season 2-3, including a terrible lost at Maryland, but since has won four straight and currently lead the ACC Atlantic division.