Weekend in Review

True to typical BCS form (as of late) Texas Tech laid a huge egg against Oklahoma and tumbled out of the BCS race. For the moment. Analysts are already putting together scenarios in which the now 7th ranked Red Raiders can return to title game contention.

How big of a disaster would that be? Think about it. Let's say Oklahoma State knocks off Oklahoma next week. That would propel Texas Tech to the Big 12 Championship game, where they would face a Missouri team that has already been manhandled by Red Raider-victim Texas. Texas Tech would likely pass both Texas and Oklahoma with a Big 12 title on its resume, and presumably Utah and the loser of Alabama-Florida as well. For those keeping track at home, that would push them from #7 to #3. Would voters leapfrog Texas Tech over a somewhat uninspiring (and currently 5th ranked) USC team? Hard to say, but I can just imagine the complaints if a team that recently lost by 40+ points ended up in the title game.

In other news, we are inching dangerously close to another yawn-inducing Rose Bowl. Now that Penn State has locked up a Rose Bowl berth, no one seems to be mentioning the fact that current Pac-10 leader Oregon State has already played Penn State. And they certainly aren't mentioning the fact that the first matchup ended before it even started, with Penn State claiming a 45-14 victory. While I would love to see USC miss a BCS bowl, I'd much rather see them play Penn State that have to suffer a week-one rematch. Expect the Rose Bowl brass to be secretly rooting for Oregon to take down Oregon State this weekend.

The ACC continues to prove that is a worthless conference. Odds are overwhelming that the conference champion will have at least four losses, unless Boston College can salvage what's left of the ACC's dignity by winning out. Only three teams have less than four losses, and all three sit at three losses. Boston College of course is one of them, and the other two are Florida State and Georgia Tech. The latter two teams each have tough out of conference rivalry games (against Florida and Georgia, respectively) remaining, so I would not count on either of them pulling out a win.

Utah, Boise State, and Ball State all won to remain undefeated, but odds are that only one of them will receive a BCS invitation. Given that Utah has already wrapped up its season and has a hefty BCS ranking advantage over their two 'mid-major' rivals, it looks like tough cookies for Boise State and Ball State.

In another blow for Tennessee, albeit an indirect one, Wyoming fired its coach this week. What does it say about Tennessee's program that a win over Tennessee would not be enough to save the job of a coach at Wyoming (Wyoming!)? Five years ago, this would have been talked about for weeks, but now it's just another disappointing event in a looong season.

The Cincinnati Bearcats are poised to claim a Big East automatic BCS berth after downing Pitt. Only a win over lowly Syracuse stands in the way of a potential Orange Bowl appearance. Great job by that team, and totally unexpected this season: The Big East media picked Cincinnati to finish fifth in the conference. Expect to hear head coach Brian Kelley's name thrown around alot this offseason in connection with various big-time openings.

Finally, a word on Alabama. Yes, they are undefeated, but I can't help feeling they will fall short before they even reach the SEC championship game. According to most statistical rankings, Alabama has the weakest schedule of any top 25 team, excluding the non-BCS schools. Other than the big win over Georgia (in which they only played well for the first half) Alabama really hasn't put together a dominant performance. Three of their SEC wins have come by less than a touchdown, and those were against mid-tier teams like LSU, Ole Miss and Kentucky. Alabama clearly has talent, but I think they have benefited from a slightly easier schedule than the rest of their SEC counterparts. The Iron Bowl will be a big mental challenge this weekend. Although Auburn is not as talented as they have been in the past, emotions always run high in the Iron Bowl and I expect a tough game. Also, Alabama hasn't beaten Auburn since 2001, so this game certainly isn't a given for 'Bama.