What I'm Watching - 9/26/09

Early
Indiana at Michigan, 12 pm, ESPN2 - Match-up of unbeaten teams in the Big10.  Look for Indiana to keep it close for awhile against the young wolverine team

LSU at Mississippi State, 12 pm ESPN GamePlan 789 - LSU has dominated this rivalry for almost a decade.  Jordan Jefferon might finally open up the LSU offensive game plan, but rain in the forecast might slow down both offenses.

North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 12 pm ESPN GamePlan 790 - After losing last Thursday @Miami, the wreck really needs a win at home against undefeated UNC.



Afternoon
Arkansas at Alabama, 3:30 pm, CBS - Alabama hasn't played anyone since opening weekend against Virginia Tech, and Arkansas has a better offense than the Hokies.  If Petrino's team can slow down the Alabama running game this one could get very interesting.

Miami at Virginia Tech, 3:30 pm ABC and ESPN GamePlan 793 - A Miami win will but end the ACC Coastal race, but a team with this many young kids is due for a letdown, especially with Oklahoma a week away.

California at Oregon, 3:30 pm, ABC and ESPN GamePlan, 792 - Is this finally the year Tedford gets the Cal Bears to the Rose Bowl?  We'll know with their next two games @Oregon and home against USC.



Evening
Arizona State at Georgia, 7;00 pm ESPN - Time for the UGA defense to finally step up


Iowa at Penn State, 8 pm, ABC - can JoePa get redemption from Iowa's upset win from a year ago?  This is the most likely upset of top 10 teams this weekend (after Ole Miss on Thursday) 

Texas Tech at Houston, 9:15 pm, ESPN2 - Houston has had two weeks to prepare since their great win at Oklahoma State.  The red raiders showed they are gamers last week in Austin and could ruin Houston's BCS dreams

Washington State at USC, 10 pm FSN - USC won't get upset two weekends in a row, and Matt Barkley is back under center ready to get the Trojan offense rolling again.

What I'm Watching - 9/19/09

Morning
California at Minnesota, 11 am, ESPN or ESPN2 - Best is worth the price of admission all alone.  Cal big


Boston College at Clemson, 12 pm, Raycom/ESPN GamePlan 790 - BC is one of only 3 undefeated teams left in the ACC, but they haven't been tested.  Clemson looked good in the second half against GT last week, but were way too late with a horrible first half.  Can they put it together at home?



Afternoon
Michigan State at Notre Dame, 3:30 pm, NBC - Most important game in Charlie Weis' career at ND?  Irish need this one more than Sparty.

Nebraska at Virginia Tech, 3:30 pm, ABC - The ACC needs this win.   

Tennessee at Florida, 3:30 pm, CBS - Welcome to the SEC, Lane Kiffen


USC at Washington, 3:30 pm, ABC - USC let down?  I don't think so, Trojans big.


Utah at Oregon, 3:30 pm, ESPN - nation's longest win streak comes to an end in Eugene.


Evening

Cincinnati at Oregon State, 6:45 pm, FSN - The Big East needs a big win, even against a middle of the road Pac10 team.  OSU really needs Quizz Rodgers healthy

Louisiana-Lafayette at LSU, 7pm, ESPNU - ULL has never scored a touchdown in Tiger Stadium.  This will be the 22nd meeting between the schools.


Florida State at BYU, 7:00 pm, Versus - Does the BCS dream stay alive for BYU?

Texas Tech at Texas, 8 pm, ABC - Texas will be fired up wanting revenge, but the defense has been too weak this season so far, and wild upsets always happen in college football.



Late
Hawaii at UNLV, 9 pm, Mtn. - Love staying up late for the Hawaii games.  This is a match-up of bad teams, though.

Kansas State at UCLA, 10:15 pm, FSN - KSU lost to ULL last weekend.  UCLA didn't look much better in their win over Tennessee, but they did get the win on the road.  

What I'm Watching - 9/12/09

I didn't post the tv games I was watching last week because I was in Seattle for LSU/UW. I did catch most of Okie State vs UGA and BYU vs Oklahoma, however. I wish I had posted because I was telling everyone I knew that BYU would cover the +22 against OU, but I was not confident BYU would actually pull the win. Anyways, here are the games for the 2nd Saturday of the season.

Early Games
Fresno State at Wisconsin, 12 pm ESPN or ESPN2 - Can the Bulldogs pull off a win against Wisconsin, one of the first BCS teams they knocked off to get on the map at the beginning of the decade?

Iowa at Iowa State, 12 pm, FSN - Was Iowa asleep at the wheel against Northern Iowa, or is this team not for real?

Syracuse at Penn State, 12 pm, BTN - Game 2 of the Greg Paulus experiment. He actually looked good last weekend against Minnesota before throwing the pick in OT. Penn State completely dominated their game against Akron, only allowing 8 yards of offense in the first half.

Afternoon

Notre Dame at Michigan, 3:30, ABC - One of the biggest games of the weekend. Both teams had nice blowout wins last week, but the winner of this game announces their reemergence on the national scene.

UCLA at Tennessee, 4:00, ESPN - Tennessee looked awful against UCLA last season and through the rest of the season, but great against Western Kentucky. Does Kiffin have the offense going already? They need this game if they want to go bowling with the schedule they have.

Evening

South Carolina at Georgia, 7:00 pm ESPN2 - UGA had issues on offense against Okie State last weekend. South Carolina seems to have issues on offense against everyone. Will Joe Cox start for UGA? Can Spurrier find anyone to sling the ball around? Both defenses should be good, look for a final score of 17-14 with the home team pulling it out.

Purdue at Oregon, 8:00 pm, FSN - Oregon looked AWFUL last Thursday, and is now without their top RB. Purdue didn't play great, but put up 1,028 combined yards with Toledo a week ago. In that game Purdue RB Ralph Bolden ran 21 times for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and Toledo WR Stephen Williams caught 15 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. The Pac10 will get plenty of buzz if they win the other big game in this slot, but an Oregon win over Purdue would definitely help the league's image of dominance over the Big10

Vanderbilt at LSU, 7 pm ESPNU - homer pick that I'll be watching on the small tv. On my big screen will be...

USC at Ohio State, 8 pm, ESPN - The biggest OOC game of the season could be right here (if BYU goes undefeated they might point to their upset of OU as being the most important OOC game, but Sam Bradford's health will determine that). Everyone is on USC, and it seems to be the smart choice, but at some point Tressel will shake this monkey off of his back and win a really big game again. A true freshman starting only his second game and it being on the road at the Shoe, add in the fact that USC still coughed it up against San Jose State last weekend and didn't score for almost an entire half makes me think tOSU really has a shot.

Late Games

Utah at San Jose State, 10:30, ESPNU - Was the struggle against Utah State just cobwebs? Does San Jose State have anything left after getting punished by USC? Utah needs to crush people to keep up with BYU.

Oregon State at UNLV, 8 pm, CBS College Sports - Oregon State looked fantastic crushing overmatched Portland State last week. With Oregon imploding, will the Badgers emerge as a legit threat to USC's Pac10 dominance this year (along with Cal)?

2009-2010 RPI

Until all teams have played at least one game against D1 opponents the RPI won't be updated. This season will be the first time all games against D1 opponents will be calculated for this site (FBS and FCS). Games against D2 and lower will not be part of the rankings

CFB RPI for 30Nov2008

The debate throughout the country will be who "deserves" to play for the Big12 title against Missouri next weekend: Oklahoma, Texas, or Texas Tech.  All 3 have the same overall record, same conference record, same record against shared opponents, etc, so it all comes down to the BCS rankings on Sunday.  I personally think Oklahoma will get the nod, but until then here are the full RPI rankings up through the games Saturday.

Conference RPI - 11/30/08

The ACC had a good weekend against the SEC and it was enough to move from 2nd to 1st overall

1. ACC - 0.547481 (1)
2. Big12 - 0.541444 (2)
3. Big East - 0.534323 (5)
4. Big10 - 0.528425 (4)
5. SEC - 0.527430 (3)
6. MWC - 0.514701 (6)
7. Pac10 - 0.491577 (7)
8. WAC - 0.479518 (9)
9. MAC - 0.461593 (11)
10. CUSA - 0.453967 (10)
11. Independents - 0.453305 (8)
12. Sun Belt - 0.424245 (12)

Conference RPI through 11/24/08 (sos in parenthesis)

1. Big 12 - 0.545795 (2)
2. ACC - 0.541973 (1)
3. SEC - 0.537016 (3)
4. Big East - 0.535797 (5)
5. Big10 - 0.529880 (4)
6. MWC - 0.513405 (6)
7. Pac10 - 0.494340 (7)
8. WAC - 0.479719 (8)
9. MAC - 0.461299 (11)
10. CUSA - 0.450870 (10)
11. Independents - 0.443687 (9)
12. Sun Belt - 0.421364 (12)

Really interesting to see the ACC at 2, but it makes sense since it is the one conference without a really bad team dragging down the overall ranking.  

Conference RPI Week 11 (SOS in parenthesis)

I maintain the RPI and this site purely for fun, and after seeing the way the rankings look it is better that this be done for entertainment than as a substitute for the current computer polls.  However, come the end of the season I bet the RPI very similarly reflects the final BCS.  Here is the conference breakdown after Week 11

1. Big 12 (1)
2. ACC (2)
3. SEC (3)
4. Big10 (4)
5. Big East (5)
6. MWC (6)
7. Pac10 (7)
8. WAC (9)
9. MAC (10)
10. Independents (8)
11. CUSA (11)
12. Sun Belt (12)

The Independents are really hurt by 0-9 Western Kentucky who will join the Sun Belt next season.  Very interesting to see the MWC ahead of the Pac10 this late in the season.  That really could be interesting if USC gets back into the national title discussion with Utah undefeated.

What the computers are saying

Here are the BCS computer rankings for Week 4:

1. Texas Tech
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Utah
5. Florida
6. Oklahoma
7. Georgia
8. USC
9. Boise State
10. Penn State
11. Oklahoma State
12. Ohio State
13. Missouri
14. North Carolina
15. Ball State
16. TCU
17. Michigan State
18. Florida State
19. BYU
20. Cincinnati
21. LSU
22. Wake Forest
23. Pittsburgh
24. South Carolina
25. Tulsa

Note: Tulsa did not finish in the top25 of ANY of the 6 computers used in the BCS rankigns but is receiving votes so is included at 25th

RPI Week 10

The RPI is starting to look more like the human polls, but there are still some crazy things going on near the top. Here is this week's top 25 with SOS in parenthesis

1. Texas - 0.686342 (5)
   
2. Texas Tech - 0.660032 (26)
3. Georgia - 0.645064 (4)
4. Florida - 0.636287 (16)
5. Oklahoma - 0.634306 (25)
6. Ohio State - 0.629987 (9)
7. Utah - 0.613088 (56)
8. North Carolina - 0.613088 (11)
   
9. Missouri - 0.609006 (18)
   
10. Penn State - 0.603454 (64)
    
11. Alabama - 0.60269 (81)
    
12. Cincinnati - 0.602262 (46)
    
13. Boise State - 0.601304 (84)
    
14. USC - 0.598927 (68)
    
15. Oklahoma State - 0.598034 (48)
    
16. Virginia Tech - 0.594343 (15)
    
17. TCU - 0.590557 (58)
    
18. Florida State - 0.580614 (35)
    
19. Connecticut - 0.575237 (44)
    
20. Miami (FL) - 0.572404 (19)
    
21. Ole Miss - 0.570287 (6)
    
22. Pittsburgh - 0.564197 (55)
    
23. Michigan State - 0.564146 (71)
    
24. Virginia - 0.564042 (3)
    
25. Georgia Tech - 0.562945 (33)
    

What I'm Watching - Saturday November 8, 2008

Early Games

Ohio State at Northwestern, 12:00 PM, ESPN2

Georgia Tech at North Carolina, 12:00 PM, GamePlan

Georgia at Kentucky, 12:30 PM, GamePlan

Afternoon Games

Alabama at LSU, 3:30 PM, CBS
Penn State at Iowa, 3:30 PM, ABC
Oklahoma at Texas A&M, 3:30 PM, ABC

Evening Games

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech, 8:00 PM, ABC
Notre Dame at Boston College, 8:00 PM, ESPN

Cal at USC, 8:00 PM, ABC

Full Listing

New RPI now up

I have been busy so I haven't updated the RPI in the last two weeks. The new data has been entered for games up through Sunday.

Some really interesting things in the top25:

Texas above Texas Tech
Georgia above Florida AND Alabama
Ohio State above Penn State
Virginia above USC
Florida State above Georgia Tech

Also Ball State has the 120th rated SOS, putting them dead last in the nation


Conference Rankings also were interesting (SOS in parenthesis):

01. Big12 (1)
02. Big10 (3)
03. ACC (2)
04. SEC (4)
05. Big East (5)
06. MWC (7)
07. Pac10 (6)
08. WAC (9)
09. Independents (8)
10. MAC (11)
11. CUSA (10)
12. Sun Belt (12)

What I'm Watching - Nov 1, 2008

Early Games

Auburn at Ole Miss, 11:30 PM, GamePlan 790 - Can Tubs save his job?

Northwestern at Minnesota, 12:00 PM, ESPN2 - Are either of these teams legit?
Wisconsin at Michigan State, 12:00 PM, ESPN - Mich State can still win the Big 10 if they win out

Miami (FL) at Virginia, 12:00 PM, GamePlan 789 - Is UVA a true ACC contender?

Afternoon Games

Pittsburgh at Notre Dame, 2:30 PM, NBC - Former NFL guys meet with neither getting much respect
Florida at Georgia, 3:30 PM, CBS - National Title implications if Texas/PSU lose a game

Florida State at Georgia Tech, 3:30 PM, ABC GamePlan 788 - Major game in ACC country

Oregon at California, 3:30 PM, ABC - Which Cal team will show up?

Late Games

Texas at Texas Tech, 8:00 PM, ABC - Texas is at the end of the gauntlet and TT is just starting theirs

Tulane at LSU, 8:00 PM, GamePlan 788 - Two bad losses bookend the last 3 LSU games, Tulane gets to be the sacrificial lamb to start the healing

RPI on the Eve of the Initial BCS Standings

Sunday will see the first BCS standings released. Texas should be the clear cut #1 team followed by Penn State and Alabama. After that will be a slew of 1-loss teams and the undefeated Big12 teams that are left. Here are the updated RPI standings through the games of October 18, 2008

What I'm Watching - October 18, 2008

Morning

Wake Forest at Maryland, 12:00 PM, GamePlan - Maryland doesn't bounce back from embarrassing defeat by UVA

Georgia Tech at Clemson, 12:00 PM, ESPN - Clemson in absolute disarray and Paul Johnson gets QB Nesbitt back for the trip to South Carolina

Vanderbilt at Georgia, 12:30 PM, GamePlan - Vandy had a good thing going...and then came back to Earth last week against Miss St. Look for much of the same against UGA between the hedges


Afternoon

Mississippi at Alabama, 3:30 PM, CBS - Houston Nutt has made a living winning games like this, and after seeing Bama against Tulane and Kentucky I could see Ole Miss pulling the upset. Saban is known for slipping against inferior opponents after getting up for the really big ones (in the same manner as Pete Carroll)

Kansas at Oklahoma, 3:30 PM, ABC - Oklahoma rebounds from the loss to Texas last week in the Red River (Shootout) Rivalry

Ohio State at Michigan State, 3:30 PM, ABC - Could this be the biggest game in Michigan State history? A win here would make the last game of the season against Penn State absolutely huge for both teams.


Evening

Missouri at Texas, 8:00 PM, ABC - A week after jumping into the #1 spot Texas isn't able to duplicate the same defensive effort and Chase Daniel puts himself back into forefront of the Heisman race

LSU at South Carolina, 8:00 PM, ESPN - LSU also is able to recover on the road after the disaster last week in the Swamp. A win here gives LSU momentum going into a tough home stretch.

Virginia Tech at Boston College, 8:00 PM, ESPN2 - A rematch of last season's ACC championship game that can help Virginia Tech solidify their birth in this years game after beating UNC and GT already this season.

California at Arizona, 10:00 PM, Fox College Sports Pacific - How good is this Cal team? They've got a couple of good wins and a really bad loss at Maryland. Arizona is doing their normal rollercoaster under Stoops.

What I'm Watching - October 11, 2008

You know the big games, but what else is there to flip to when those games turn into duds? Surely one or two will, so here's who else is on tv on Saturday

Texas at Oklahoma, 12:00 PM, ABC GamePlan 790
Toledo at Michigan, 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network
Colorado at Kansas, 12:30 PM, ESPN2
South Carolina at Kentucky, 12:30 PM, GamePlan 791


Vanderbilt at Mississippi State, 2:30 PM, GamePlan 792
Nebraska at Texas Tech, 3:00 PM, FSN
Arizona State at USC, 3:30 PM, ABC GamePlan 789
Tennessee at Georgia, 3:30 PM, CBS
Purdue at Ohio State, 3:30 PM, ABC
Notre Dame at North Carolina, 3:30 PM, ABC
Michigan State at Northwestern, 3:30 PM, ESPN2


Penn State at Wisconsin, 8:00 PM, ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Boise State at Southern Mississippi, 8:00 PM, CBS CSTV
Oklahoma State at Missouri, 8:00 PM, ESPN2
LSU at Florida, 8:00 PM, CBS

What I'm Watching - September 27, 2008

After Oregon State's incredible upset of USC on Thursday there will be many teams auditioning for the top spot in the polls on Saturday. #2 OU hosts #23 TCU, #3UGA hosts #10 Alabama, #4 Florida hosts Ole Miss, and #6 LSU hosts Mississippi State. Here are the games I'll be keeping an eye on during Saturday's action.


MORNING
Maryland at Clemson, 12:00 PM, GamePlan Ch. 790
Virginia at Duke, 12:00 PM, ESPNU
Mississippi at Florida, 12:30 PM, GamePlan Ch. 792


AFTERNOON
Purdue at Notre Dame, 3:30 PM, NBC
Wisconsin at Michigan, 3:30 PM, ABC
Tennessee at Auburn, 3:30 PM, CBS


EVENING
TCU at Oklahoma, 7:00 PM, Fox College Sports Atlantic
Mississippi State at LSU, 7:30 PM, ESPN2
Alabama at Georgia, 7:45 PM, ESPN
Virginia Tech at Nebraska, 8:00 PM, ABC GamePlan Ch. 790
Illinois at Penn State, 8:00 PM, ABC, GamePlan Ch. 790

What I'm Watching - September 20

MORNING

Mississippi State at Georgia Tech, 12:00 PM, Gameplan 788 - There are a couple of good games early on Saturday, but I will be watching Sly Croom try and right the ship against Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets. Mississippi State was on the losing end of a 3-2 error filled defensive struggle with Auburn a week ago and will try and actually get something out of the offense in Atlanta. Unfortunately for fans of big plays this could be another defensive struggle.


AFTERNOON

Virginia Tech at North Carolina, 3:30 PM, ABC GamePlan 792 - The winner of this ACC clash will be in the driver's seat for the Coastal Division crown after VT beat GT last weekend. UNC looked great against Fresno State last week, but horrible against McNeese State the first weekend of the season. Virginia Tech has done the same thing with a much better week 3 than week 1. Of course with the Hokies a lot of that had to do with Tyrod Taylor no longer redshirting. Look for Taylor to take advantage of a Butch Davis team that still might be a year away.

Florida at Tennessee, 3:30 CBS - If UF is as good as so many are saying they should be able to go into Tennessee and get a win. The Vols have had 2 weeks to stew over their embarassing loss at UCLA Labor Day weekend. If they want any chance of turning this season around it might rely on winning this game as a loss could set them into a downward spiral like in 2005.

Notre Dame at Michigan State, 3:30 PM, ABC - Can Notre Dame really start our 3-0? Sure beating SDSU was ugly, and Michigan is bad, but this is a power running MSU squad and Notre Dame's first road game of the year. Look for the Irish to struggle against this tough MSU offensive line.


EVENING

Wake Forest at Florida State, 7:00PM, ESPN2 - With Clemson looking less like a championship team, this might be the championship game for the ACC Atlantic division. FSU has looked good the last two weeks, but they haven't played anyone with a pulse. Wake needed everything they had to beat a not-that-great Ole Miss team. The ACC really needs someone to step forward and give the conference a bright spot.

LSU at Auburn, 7:45 PM, ESPN - The home team has won the last eight...look for that to change. This game is always wacky, so I can't even guess what will happen. If Charles Scott keeps running like a man possessed and LSU wins, look for him to jump to the top of many Heisman lists come Sunday.

Georgia at Arizona State, 8:13 PM, ABC - This was the premier game of the weekend until UNLV stunned ASU a week ago. UGA has gone from preseason number 1 all the way to #3 without suffering a loss. A big win in Tempe could help them steal votes from idle Oklahoma.

What I'm Watching - Saturday, September 13, 2008

MORNING

NC State at Clemson, 12:00 PM, Raycom GamePlan Ch. 789 - NCST is horrible, but Clemson looked bad against Alabama two weeks ago and not much better against The Citadel last week. Clemson needs this win to get their ACC championship hopes back on track, and NCST needs the win just to keep this season from being an absolute disaster.

Cal at Maryland, 12:00 PM, ESPN or ESPN2 - Cal has looked fantastic so far and I expect nothing more than the same offensive output this weekened. Maryland is not a good football team (a trend with ACC teams it seems) and probably won't score more than 7 points in this one.

AFTERNOON

Georgia at South Carolina, 3:30 PM, CBS - The SCAR defense will be fantastic, but the UGA running game will be good enough to put points on the board while Spurrier's offense will sputter and not do anything. Look for this one to be low scoring but ugly...something like 20-3 UGA.

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech, 3:30 PM, ABC GamePlan Ch. 789 - Can the Paul Johnson era get off to a 3-0 start for the Jackets? GT was supposed to be the one at 1-1 while Virginia Tech was supposed to be undefeated coming into this game. Instead the Ramblin' Wreck pulled off the upset last weekend against BC while VT is still smarting from their loss to ECU. Look for a game similar to that GT/BC game a week ago where the defenses are stifling and the offense who makes the least amount of mistakes wins by a field goal.

Michigan at Notre Dame, 3:30 PM, NBC - This game feels eeriley like last season's matchup between these two squads. The course of the season for both teams will hinge on this game with the loser likely spiriling down into a 3-4 win season and a nightmare for fans. Michigan hasn't looked great against Utah and Miami (OH), but Notre Dame looked much, much worse against San Diego State. The Rich Rod era at Miiiiiiiichigan gets their first marquee win (if a win over a bad ND team can be considered such) while Notre Dame loses their 3rd straight to the Wolverines for the first time in over a century. Skip Holtz to the Irish?

EVENING

Auburn at Mississippi State, 7:00 PM, ESPN2 - Auburn was "Croomed" a season ago, and this year the game is in Starkville. Mississippi's best bet is to jump on the tigers early and hope to catch them looking ahead to next weekend's massive game with LSU. Auburn fumbled 5 times a week ago, and MSST will need a similar number of mistakes by the Auburn offense to get the job done.

Ohio State at USC, 8:00 PM, ABC - I'll be keeping an eye on the SEC clash in Starkville in addition to Oklahoma traveling up to play Washington and also North Texas at LSU, but the true game of the night will be Ohio State going out to LA to play USC. The way some are talking USC will beat this Ohio State team by 40+. I just can't see USC being so much better than a top 5 team, even at home. Beanie Wells is doubtful for the game, but I feel this young man will find his way onto the field. Look for Tressell to have to use his dynamic freshman QB Pryor both as a running and passing threat. I do think USC wins the game, but much closer than some of the madness being spewed on message boards the past few weeks. Look more for a 21-13 type of game.

EXTRA: North Texas at LSU, 8:00 PM, Gameplan GamePlan Ch. 78 - LSU needs to play this game to give its young QBs some experience before going on the road to play Auburn in a week. North Texas has a pourous defense that will give up gobs of yards to the home Tigers and LSU will do their best to end this one early. It won't be in doubt past the first quarter.

FULL TV LISTINGS

What I'm Watching - 9/6/08

So the first weekend of games is in the books, and there were a number of upsets already. This weekend doesn't have the firepower of what is coming up on 9/13, but this weekend still has a few games worth tuning in for (picks in red).


MORNING

Georgia Tech at Boston College, 12:00 PM, Raycom - As bad as the ACC looked last weekend it appears that anyone could be in the championship game come Decemeber. Paul Johnson's first game in Atlanta was a win over overmatched Jacksonville State, but is the "perfect option" ready for the touch run defense of Boston College?

Southern Mississippi at Auburn, 12:30 PM, Raycom - Auburn had no difficulties in crushing ULM last weekend, but the passing game was very inefficient and the offense didn't score a touchdown until well into the 3rd quarter. Southern Miss is sure to pose a bigger threat this weekend as Auburn begins preparing for LSU in 2 weeks.

AFTERNOON

Ole Miss at Wake Forest, 3:30 PM, ABC - With Clemson losing to Alabama last Saturday Wake Forest has emerged as the front runner for the ACC crown. Houston Nutt always seems to pull the crazy upsets, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them pull this off in North Carolina, but Wake Forest will cause Ole Miss to make just enough mistakes to win.

West Virginia at East Carolina, 4:30 PM, ESPN - ECU knocked off Virginia Tech on Saturday, but West Virginia is not inept on offense like the Hokies were. WVU wasn't incredibly sharp in their opening day win, but Pat White showed he can pass by throwing for a career high in TDs. Look for more running against ECU, and WVU to keep lightening from striking twice for the Pirates.

EVENING

Sept 6: Louisiana Tech at Kansas, 7:00 PM, FSN - Louisiana Tech and transfer QB Taylor Bennett knocked off Mississippi State in Ruston for their first home victory over a BCS school in the history of the program. Now they look to knockoff a BCS team from a year ago an a hopeful for the Big 12 title. Louisiana Tech had to take advantage of a number of MSU miscues to get the win, and they'll have to play MUCH better on the offensive side of the ball to keep this one close. Sorry, Bulldogs, the Jayhawks might be overrated but they'll get the win at home against the overmatched WAC team.

Sept 6: U Miami at Florida, 8:00 PM, ESPN - Is Miami back? Well, probably not quite yet. This would be a massive win for the ACC and for the Miami program, both of which are reeling the last few seasons. Florida steamrolled Hawaii, but they've had a number of injuries during Spring/Fall practice that could start showing effects against a team of Miami's talent level. The Hurricanes have talent, but it is all freshman so probably another two years away from dreaming this big.

Sept 6: Stanford at Arizona State, 10:00 PM, FSN West - Is Stanford ready to be a bowl team again? Is Arizona State ready to be an actual contender to USC for the Pac10? Oregon State isn't going to be very good this year, but it was still a big win for the Cardinal. A win in the desert would be huge for this program, almost on par with the USC thriller a season ago, but again I think we're looking at a team that's a year away. Dennis Erickson wins games like this, which is why he's been a successful coach for so long.