DeShawn Wynn is now Pierre Thomas’ backup, but another player to keep an eye on is Chris Ivory. He was very impressive in the preseason but is currently nursing a knee sprain. Before the injury, he appeared to be the player best capable of replicating Bush’s backfield spark. He’s under the radar right now, but keep an eye on New Orleans injury reports. Once Ivory is healthy, he’s got strong sleeper potential.

Unlike a lot of analysts, I don’t see this as a blow the Saints offense can’t recover from. Bush is important, but New Orleans is used to him missing large chunks of time. He has only played all 16 games once in his five NFL seasons. If there’s one thing Drew Brees has shown, it’s that he can improvise with whatever offensive components they plug into the Saints offense. Without Bush as a backfield safety valve, the touchdown chances for all Saints receivers increase.

Remarkably, this is one of only two games between ranked teams happening this Saturday, even with conference play in full swing. But that’s okay, because both are premium SEC match-ups, which are always as exciting as watching Adrian Peterson throw safeties to the sideline.

The drama around this game is at new heights, thanks to the game-time decision regarding Tim Tebow’s concussion recovery. It seems everyone has written off LSU’s chances – even at home, at night – if Tebow does in fact play. But is Florida good enough to win without the man-boy that some think is making a case for the greatest college football player of all time?

Methinks they are, and here’s why: John Brantley (Florida’s back-up QB) isn’t some sort of NFL-style downgraded backup. He’s the real deal. He has his own Wikipedia page, for goodness sake. And I can name him without looking at a depth chart. That’s something that 90 percent of starting FCS quarterbacks can’t boast (not that my ability to name them is at the top of their life goals…but it should be).

Brantley was the 2006 Gatorade National Player of the Year, and could be starting at nearly any other big-name program in the country, perhaps with Tebow- and Sam Bradford-like sophomore year Heisman aspirations. He’s seen action in three games this year, in which he has completed 73.3 percent of his passes for 232 yards and four TDs. His passer rating is 182.29. Though he’s not Tebow, he’ll have the entire defensive unit (and entire back-up defensive unit) that won last year’s national championship backing him up.

I ragged on LSU’s defense last week, and they looked good for the majority of the game (A.J. Green’s touchdown was a display of his athletic prowess, not of weak coverage) but I’m still not sold on the fact that stopping Georgia’s offense for three-and-a-half quarters is worth bragging about. And Florida – with or without Tebow – is better than LSU.

Winner: I like to pick upsets, especially when it’s a 57-vote number one-ranked team, but LSU has quietly (until last week) gotten to its position. The Tigers are probably a top-ten team, yes, but the Gators are too good.

Other Good Stuff:

Michigan at (12) Iowa: If you get a chance to watch the fourth quarter of any Hawkeyes game this year, do it without question. Iowa loves to play to their level of competition (see: one-point win over FBS Northern Iowa and three-point win over Arkansas State), and Michigan loves to take it down to the wire (see: games vs. Notre Dame, Indiana, Michigan State). Tate Forcier has proven to be one of the most watchable players in the game right now. This is probably my favorite game of the week. I expect Iowa to win at home, but not by much. In fact, I won’t be surprised if I’m wrong.

(3) Alabama at (20) Ole Miss: At the beginning of the year, I picked Texas to win the BCS title. I’m sticking by my pick, but they’re probably going to have to beat Alabama (who I think is the best team in the nation right now) to do it. Jevan Snead has looked, um…not good, or at the very least not consistent, so far this year. A surprise considering the hype coming into the year. Alabama’s defense has looked amazing so far. They’ve held opposing passers to a 4 TD-5 INT ratio, a 50 percent completion rate and a sub-100 passer rating. Their run defense is okay, too: they’ve allowed only 2.19 yards per carry, including only one yard on 26 attempts against Florida International. In addition, Greg McElroy has stepped up to be a better passer and leader than most expected. Alabama in Rebel-embarrassing fashion.

It’s conference football time.

Games like Alabama-Virginia Tech and Ohio State-USC were great and all, but the few weeks since have proven that a loss in those games won’t keep you out of the national championship game if you run the table in your own conference. After all, Non-conference games are for conference prestige; conference standings are what determines bowl placement. It doesn’t matter that Texas is 4-0 and Oklahoma is 2-1, both still have an even chance to win the Big 12 (and in reality, the BCS title).

Game of the Week: (8) Oklahoma at (17) Miami (FL)

That being said, the game of the week is a non-conference game (whoops!). This is not quite the match-up we expected to see back in August, but it’s more exciting than we anticipated, so I don’t think anyone is complaining.

Earlier this week, we discovered Sam Bradford will be out at least another week, leaving backup Landry Jones to be under center on Saturday. This won’t be too big of a deal – Jones is one of the seemingly many true freshman who have stepped up in big positions this year, along with Michigan’s Tate Forcier and USC’s Matt Barkley. He’s got a passer rating of 159.55, completes 60.5% of his passes and threw a school record six touchdowns against Tulsa two weeks ago – bringing his two-and-a-half game total to nine. Oklahoma’s running game is okay, too. They’ve posted 589 yards in three games, led by DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, who have around 200 each. With the ability to throw or run (and have two strong backs to rotate in), the Hurricane defense will have its hands full.

Jacory Harris is Miami’s great hope though, showing lots of promise in his sophomore year, even being touted as a sleeper Heisman pick before being rendered useless last week against Virginia Tech’s stifling defense. But against that VT D, he suffered (9-25, 150 yards and an interception).

This week’s contest doesn’t get any easier for Harris. Oklahoma’s defense has allowed only 14 points in their first three games, all to a high-powered BYU offense, even shutting out a Tulsa team that has scored over 37 points in each of their other three games. This will be Miami’s fourth game in a row against a ranked opponent, and it’s their toughest one yet.

Winner: Oklahoma. With an average running game and a still-developing quarterback who is susceptible to aggressive defenses, it’s hard to see Miami surviving this one. Oklahoma would be at the top of the early national title discussion if Bradford had finished the BYU game, or Jones had started it, and unless they get spooked by The U’s re-energized fan base and Harris learned how to deal with tough defense in one week’s time, this will prove that Miami is just as finicky and more clutch than Florida State – nothing more, nothing less.

Other good stuff:

(7) USC at (24) California – Matt Barkley is back at the helm for the Trojans, and Cal comes off an embarrassing loss to the Oregon Ducks. Neither Barkley or Cal RB Jahvid Best are unstoppable, and USC’s run defense is pretty stellar (238 yards, 3 TDs in four games so far). Look for Cal to make some adjustments on offense after being held to three points last week, and if the Bears learned their lesson, they could pull off home upset. But probably not.

Washington at Notre Dame – If Steve Sarkisian can pull off a road win in South Bend, Charlie Weis is out of a job before December ends and Washington is well on their way to being bowl-bound. The Huskies come off a tough loss at Stanford and Notre Dame comes off two skin-of-their-teeth wins versus two 1-3 Big Ten opponents (Michigan State, Purdue). Watching the quarterbacks in this match-up will be fun, as they’re both finally coming into their own in their junior years. Jimmy Clausen has better athletes around him than Jake Locker does, though, so look for the Irish to pull out a win, perhaps again by the skin of their teeth.

(4) LSU at (18) Georgia – LSU’s defense hasn’t been what it was when Bo Pelini was around, and the Joe Cox-A.J. Green combo has an opportunity to tear the Tiger secondary apart. After all, Jake Locker threw for over 300 yards in a near-upset in Week 1. The game is being played in Georgia, so look for another Top 10 team to fall this week.

Week 1 brought the loss of pre-season #3 Oklahoma at the hands of Mountain West Conference kings BYU (now ranked #7 by the Associated Press), and Week 2 saw the #5 Oklahoma State Cowboys – lose to Houston, who play ball in Conference USA.

Two weeks. Two teams named the Cougars. Two Big 12 South non-conference losses to two non-BCS schools.

Normally this would bring on abundant media criticism of a supposedly-great conference, but there is something different this time: Houston and Brigham Young might be real teams. With Boise State’s win over Oregon and almost certain undefeated 2009 regular season, BCS busters seem to be coming from all points west.

Yet there’s more football to be played.

Unlike last week, there really is no marquee match-up. ESPN’s College GameDay is in Austin, Texas for an early rematch of last year’s amazing Texas Tech-Texas game, which affirmed Tech as a legitimate football school, Mike Leach as a top-tier coach, and Michael Crabtree as a first-round draft pick. The loss single-handedly barred the Longhorns from the BCS Championship Game. But I feel like the only reason there is any hype around this is because of that game. Texas Tech isn’t even ranked, and Texas is sitting pretty at #2. The storyline is a bit more intriguing than the matchup.

Which brings me to…

The Real Game of the Week: (19) Nebraska at (13) Virginia Tech

There are only two games pitting ranked teams against each other this week: Thursday’s game between (14) Georgia Tech and (20) Miami (FL) and this one, yet no one seems to be talking about either.

Sure, Nebraska is trying to work their way back from mediocrity, but so are Michigan and Notre Dame, who get much more attention on the national landscape, despite the Huskers having the most wins since 1970. And sure, the ACC looks weak … in comparison to the Big 12 and SEC. But they still have four ranked teams. This one has a much better chance to go down to the wire than the Florida-Tennessee game.

Last year, VT went to Lincoln and took home a 35-30 victory that was a bit more lopsided than the scoreboard dictated. The Huskers were held to 55 yards on the ground and converted only 2 of 11 third downs, giving testament to the defensive prowess that Beamerball brings to Blacksburg teams. Meanwhile, the Hokie offense put up 200 yards rushing and controlled the clock. And that’s when Tyrod Taylor was just getting settled in as the starter.

Yes, Tech looked a little weak against Alabama’s impressive D in Week 1, but that was Alabama. Bo Pelini’s defense has done alright, but not up to his expectations – against two Sun Belt schools, there have been only three turnovers (only two of seven fumbles were recovered), only four sacks (approximately zero coming against Florida Atlantic), and 37 first downs (four by penalty). Though the Huskers defense has allowed only 12 points so far, Virginia Tech is a better team and will take advantage of anything Nebraska gives them.

Winner: Virginia Tech. I hate to bad-mouth my Huskers, but a road victory in Blackburg isn’t something I see an inexperienced Zac Lee pulling off. VT will probably extend their non-conference home winning streak to an impressive 32 behind home field advantage and the experience of Taylor.

Quick Picks

(3) USC at Washington: Some are making a big deal of the fact that Steve Sarkisian was at USC for most of the last decade, and therefore can give the Huskies an advantage. Kinda true, but not really. USC has better athletes, and Washington isn’t going to beat last year’s Pac-10 champ just because their coach knows the other team. I’m pretty sure Pete Carroll has an idea as to what Sarkisian’s plan of attack is. Winner: USC.

Tulsa at (12) Oklahoma: Oklahoma is still without Heisman winner Sam Bradford, but they probably won’t have too much trouble with the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa may put up a good challenge – they’re a well-coached Conference USA team that has won 18 of its last 22 – but they’re not a BCS-crasher by any means. It may be interesting going into the second half, so check it out if you get a chance. Winner: Oklahoma.

Wyoming at Colorado: Normally, as much as I dislike the Colorado Buffaloes, I would scoff at the idea that they could lose at home to a team that is mediocre by WAC non-”big six” standards. But Father Hawkins has shown that the Buffaloes might be this year’s Washington Huskies. Wyoming surprised Texas with a strong first half last week. Look for CU to struggle to get a win this year. Winner: Wyoming.

Arizona at Iowa: This might be one of the better games of the week. After a scare from a strong FCS team in Northern Iowa, the Hawkeyes blew out their other in-state rival, Iowa State. U of A, on the other hand, hasn’t completely owned a game this year, despite being 2-0 with victories over Central Michigan and FCS Northern Arizona. If Iowa can either contain Wildcat running back Nic Grisby or continue to throw the ball effectively, the Iowa City crowd will go home happy. Winner: Iowa.

Florida State at (7) BYU: A road win in Provo for Bowden’s squad? Not likely. Max Hall will earn a bit more Heisman cred in this game, and a second strong non-conference win could leap-frog the Cougars ahead of Ole Miss and Penn State in the rankings. I’m just hoping the skiing in Utah is as good as the football this year. Winner: BYU.

Team I Would Like to See Lose: (10) Boise State Broncos

Some schedules are built for victory parades. Example: Boise State. If the Broncos were in a decent non-BCS conference, i.e. the Mountain West, instead of the WAC – whose non-BSU members are a collective 4-8 in non-conference through two weeks (with wins vs. Prairie View A&M, UC-Davis, Central Arkansas and Washington State) – I might have a little respect. But at this point, I’m rooting for Houston to be the crappy-conference beast to crash the BCS this year. Tulsa, Nevada, Hawaii and Fresno State are the only teams that even have an outside chance at a victory over the Broncos, so let’s hope the Bulldogs of Fresno can do it this Friday night.

Team I Would Like to See Win: (18) Utah Utes

This reasons behind this selection are three-fold: Utah still has the nation’s longest winning streak. I want it to keep going. Winning streaks are exciting, and the longer they keep going, the harder teams fight to protect them.

In addition, the Mountain West looks great this year. TCU, Colorado State and BYU are still undefeated, and I want to see as many match-ups between no-loss teams as I can. A November 28 contest between BYU and Utah (who would no doubt both be top-10 teams at that point) would be ideal. It would serve as both a MWC championship game and possibly even a BCS Championship play-in game.

Of course, there’s also that whole opponent issue. Utah plays the Oregon team that struggled (and eventually fell to) Boise State two weeks ago. If Utah has a more impressive win over Oregon, it can make any BSU argument nearly moot. Go Utes!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on what team you play on), Week 2 matches an underwhelming college football schedule against the season premiere of NFL 2009. And while even there seem to be more reasons to be mulling over your fantasy team’s starting roster than to watch a little NCAA action, I’m here to reassure you: there is still a reason to watch football all day on Saturday, too.

Reason #1: We get to see Ohio State (and the Big Ten) put in its place.

Ohio State (as I said last week – and they proved) isn’t the real deal. National championship contenders don’t almost lose at home to a Navy quarterback’s one-man show. The Buckeyes got rolled 35-3 by USC last year while experiencing some uncertainty at quarterback, and I don’t expect things to be much different this time around. The game will be more competitive than last year, seeing that Terrelle Pryor has come into his own behind center, and freshman USC quarterback Matt Barkley will be playing his first road game against 100,000 screaming Buckeye fans inside the Horseshoe.

Luckily for the Trojans, Pryor doesn’t have Beanie Wells around to back him up (just like last year), and Barkley has the best 10,000 players born west of Denver to back him up. USC apparently only loses to conference underdogs and Ohio State can’t win big games anymore, so look for a Trojan victory that will allow the nation to stop talking about OSU like they matter.

Reason #2: Old school rivalry game.

This probably won’t be as good as Florida State-Miami (FL), but what it is? Michigan and Notre Dame both looked strong in Week 1. People expected it from Notre Dame, and Jimmy Clausen is showing that he could be a sleeper for the Heisman if the Irish win all but two or three games. Michigan looked speedy, especially Denard Robinson, who blew through the defense with his shoes untied. Quarterback Tate Forcier gave a good effort in the resurrection of Michigan’s ability to score points (and beat MAC opponents). Rich-Rod should be proud. This game won’t tell us much in terms of national significance, but it will probably tell us which team will play the better bowl game this year.

Reason #3: Greg Paulus is playing a real team.

He looked good against Minnesota last week in an overtime loss, but that was Minnesota. Tomorrow he plays Penn State, and we’ll see how much of a field general the former Duke point guard actually is. Something tells me he won’t be putting his arm around the ref after a touchdown pass this time, but I could be wrong. It’s up to JoePa, really.

Reason #4: Washington will probably tear down a goal post after winning a game.

No, really, it could happen! The Huskies play Idaho. Believe!

Oregon running back LaGarrette Blount seemed to dislike everything about the state of Idaho, including his own players, who happened to be playing a game of football there. Video is below.

If Blount isn’t out for at least the next 4-5 weeks after this unbelievable display of stupidity, Oregon coach Chip Kelly should be ashamed. If Blount isn’t kicked off the team, Marcus Vick-style, by the end of the season, I’ll be surprised. This guy is apparently made of testosterone and TNT.

By the way, there’s a bit of irony in the fact that former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost – who had to deal with the undeniably degenerate Lawrence Phillips – is the UO coach who ended up holding Blount back from a Ron Artest-inspired fan-brawl.

UPDATE: LaGarrette Blount has been suspended for the remainder of the 2009 football season. This isn’t good for Oregon football, as Blount – who set school records last year – was on the Doak Walker Award watchlist for the nation’s best running back.

Rabid fans, take heart! The college football season begins tomorrow, and I can hardly contain myself.

So many teams, so many questions, so many half-answers. Penn State and Alabama will be avenging disappointing ends to the 2008 season, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford return with their respective teams at the top of the preseason polls, and the Mountain West tries to confirm that it is for real. Oh, and Utah will try to continue a 14-game winning streak after being the only undefeated team in the nation at season’s end.

But nobody cares about 2008 anymore. We all just want to see Colt McCoy and his frickin’ sweet mustache win the BCS Championship already. (Yes, that’s how I declare my national championship predictions these days.)

So let’s get on to this week’s games!

Game of the Week: (5) Alabama at (7) Virginia Tech

The front office at Virginia Tech probably wasn’t betting on the fact that the legendary football programs at both Nebraska and Alabama would be on the upswing when they made their 2009 schedule. (Hey, mentioning VT and betting at the same time isn’t bad unless I mention the words ‘Vick,’ ‘dog,’ or ‘fighting.’)

No matter – this is a pretty sweet Week 1 bout.

As I said before, Alabama has something to prove: that the last couple games of 2009 were…um, flukes, and that the #5 ranking has nothing to do with the fact that Nick Saban’s job title was officially changed to Resident Badass after he ran up a 31-0 halftime lead on a third-ranked Georgia team last September.

Likewise, Virginia Tech hopes to prove that the BCS hype shouldn’t be tossed aside with whatever tissue scraps Darren Evans’ torn ACL surgery left. The running back’s season-ending injury all but halted discussion of an ACC uprising, at least in a national championship context.

But Beamerball has always highlighted defense and athleticism, something the Crimson Tide can appreciate. If Saban’s squad can pull off the road win in Blacksburg, it should provide great prep for the rest of conference play. Of course, both teams are lucky in that a loss doesn’t necessarily remove them from a conference – or, depending on how the winner fares through December, even national – championship.

Winner: Alabama. A top-tier SEC defense could – barring an Adrian-Peterson’s-rookie-year type of surprise – shut down the Hokies’ inexperienced tailbacks, and you better believe there will be fire in Nick Saban’s possibly soulless eyes (Bama fans, don’t get mad: souls aren’t required to win championships).

This year’s potentially awful Alabama-Clemson re-enactment: (13) Georgia at (9) Oklahoma State

Remember all the buildup for last year’s Week 1 match-up between first-year coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide and the then-thought-to-be-ACC-title-contender Clemson Tigers that turned out to be as memorable as Limp Bizkit’s 2005 comeback? No? Well, Alabama shocked the nation by blowing out the young Bowden’s crew, and Clemson lost to a rebuilding Nebraska team in the Gator Bowl after giving the reins to Dabo Swinney halfway through the season. So, without further ado, this year’s possibly sucky Week 1 game:

A lot rides on this game for both teams. Georgia – who was favored to be in the national title game a year ago – needs to earn some respect in the SEC East, and putting a dent in this year’s Big 12 dark horse would be a good start. Oklahoma State’s potentially lethal QB-WR combo of Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant (both big-time award contenders) want to justify T. Boone Pickens’ large donations to the program, and beating a big-time SEC opponent could do just that.

Of course, so little is really known about the on-field performance of either team. For all we know, this game could go four OTs, and both teams will end up bowl-less at 4-8. No matter – whatever the outcome of the game, it will no doubt add fire to the Big 12 vs. SEC flame that everyone loves to dwell on. As it’s early in the season (and I look at every team ranked between 7 and 16 as a risk to repeat an ’08 Clemson run), I really have nothing to guess winners by than pure speculation. Thus – due to my incredibly accurate gut-feeling prediction about how terrible last year’s Wisconsin Badgers were (a top 12 team until they got beat by Michigan…yes, you read that right) – I’m saying ‘sorry’ to UGA. You’re my ‘probably terrible’ team of 2009. Prove me wrong, kids.

Winner: Oklahoma State, because the game is in Stillwater, where fans are hungry for some intra-conference love. Beating an SEC opponent before the South gauntlet starts is the only way.

The Real Game of the Week: (16) Oregon at (14) Boise State

Seriously, guys. The Pac 10 is – according to more than a few people – right there, so close to the supremacy of the Big 12 and SEC that they can taste it. Many blame that whole East Coast Bias thing, but I say nay-nay. Yes, P10 teams like to schedule tougher non-conference opponents than some other teams (I’m looking at you, Ohio State, Florida and Texas), but it doesn’t make them a better conference if they lose. If you’re going to argue for a west coast conference, choose the Mountain West: they had great success against the Pac 10 last year and were home to Utah, who probably would have at least shared the national title if the BCS didn’t exist.

And just as the UGA-Okie State game will stir Big 12-SEC sentiments, this game will help solve that less-riveting (on the east coast) debate. I’ll definitely agree with the idea that this game would probably be a primetime Saturday game if it were two east coast teams, as it could very well be the best game of Week 1.

Winner: Boise State. The Broncos beat Oregon in Eugene last year by only a few points, but they were the underdog playing at one of the toughest locations in the country. With the game in Idaho on gaudy blue turf, the consistently impressive coaching and roster of no-names will probably overtake the Ducks and their cut uniform budget (Phil Knight, how could you?!)

Team I would love to see win: Iowa State

You have to feel sorry for the Cyclone football program. They’ve finished last in the Big 12 North for the last three years, and haven’t won a conference game since November 10, 2007. Their former head coach apparently just wasn’t trying in Ames, because he left to take over the helm at Auburn despite finishing on a ten-game losing streak (their only wins were against Kent State and South Dakota State). Cyclones fans, I have faith that they can win two in a row against SDS, but I don’t have faith that you’ll ever hear the phrases “Cyclones” and “win two in a row” in the same sentence again – unless the word “fail” is thrown in as well.

Team I would like to see lose (but won’t because of a cupcake Week 1): (6) Ohio State

Seriously guys, stop stealing JoePa’s TV time, will you? He doesn’t have much of it left. And I’m tired of seeing all the hype around you trouncing your mediocre conference before choking down the stretch/in the national championship game. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes are playing Navy in Week 1, and won’t lose, because they’re not Wolverines.

Team I would like to see lose (and actually might): (23) Notre Dame

Lou Holtz, you’re crazy. Notre Dame will not play in the BCS National Championship Game. They play Nevada, a team that can’t be overlooked, despite their lack of prestige. As far as WAC opponents go, they’re not quite Boise State or 2007 Hawaii, but they’re not quite San Jose State or Utah State either. Jimmy Clausen, Charlie Weis and company have a lot to prove to earn BCS-caliber respect from me, and I don’t want to give it to them, so I’d rather they just lose.

I’m a bit discouraged on how off my picks for last week were, so instead of previewing a few games this week, we’re going to be reviewing conference performance thus far this season. 

In order from best to worst:

1.) Big 12

Schools from Tornado Alley have been tearing up the rest of the country so far.  Even after the series of blowouts that shed light on the Big 12’s hierarchy, the most recent series of games showed the less talented teams making some adjustments to demonstrate that they are no doormats.  Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are still undefeated, while one-loss Oklahoma is still in the top 5 and Kansas and Missouri in the top 20.  It has also become the marquee quarterback conference: eight are in the nations top 20 for completion percentage, and seven in the top 20 in yards per game (4 of them in the top 5). Don’t be surprised if Kansas State, Nebraska or Iowa State takes down one of their ranked opponents in the near future.

2.) SEC

Southeast schools are again in the thick of the national championship hunt, but some teams are looking weaker with each game.  Auburn’s spread offense has failed to produce, and the pollsters have therefore failed to rank them.  Alabama remains the sole undefeated, and with the newly-exposed LSU as the only remaining ranked team on the schedule, could very well finish that way.  With either the Tide or Tigers taking the West, we just have to wait to see if either Vanderbilt or Georgia are real enough to challenge the Gators for the East.  This conference isn’t quite as wide-open.

3.) Big Ten

Penn State is back, and it makes me happy.   The media has treated Paterno’s stay at Penn State questionably the last few years, and this year, one of the greatest college football minds is proving the detractors dead wrong with his new HD offense. Ohio State still isn’t the dominant team they could be. The Pryor/Wells combo was incredibly effective against a surprisingly strong Minnesota team, but the Buckeyes’ No. 12 rank suits them perfectly. Wisconsin is winless in the conference after showing so much  promise, but Javon Ringer of Michigan State and Northwestern’s rejuvenated defense have brought a new life to teams that normally sit in the middle or bottom of the pack.

4.) ACC

The Atlantic Coast Conference looked horrible the first two weeks of the season, but has collectively improved in a manner that seems impossible for an entire conference. Clemson and North Carolina State are now the only two unproven teams. Duke is no longer the laughing stock it once was, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland and Miami (FL) have all had key wins against relatively strong opponents, and North Carolina, and Wake Forest have proven themselves rankable, with Georgia Tech not far behind. If the top of the conference stays strong, expect a fun championship game and a possible BCS bowl win, depending on the match-up.

5.) Mountain West

That’s right, bitches.  The Mountain West beats out the Pac-10 and the Big East.  And with two top-15 teams, who can say they wouldn’t? BYU suffered a heart-breaking loss to TCU Thursday night, but they still have one of the most dominant offenses in the country (winning their first six games by a total of 227-61, and average victory of 28) and one of the most underrated quarterbacks in Max Hall (oh, how we wish he was still down here in Sun Devil country).  The MWC dominated Pac-10 teams in non-conference play, and – in my mind – have earned their conference winner a spot in a BCS bowl, even if Utah doesn’t go undefeated.

6.) Big East

Everyone’s got South Florida on their radar this year, but at No. 19 they are the highest ranked team in the conference. Pitt is this conference’s Cinderella story, and Dave Wannstedt is happy nobody is calling for his head as in years past. West Virginia is a decent team (better than Rich Rodriguez’s new school, anyway) and they – along with UConn and Cincinnati – have a legitimate shot at challenging for that prized automatic BCS bid that goes to the champ. The Bearcats’ lack of performance versus Oklahoma and Connecticut’s unconvincing win over Baylor, and WV’s OT loss versus the Colorado Buffaloes, however, have proven how wimpy this conference really is, especially considering the meltdown of a recently-powerful Rutgers squad that has joined Greg Robinson’s Syracuse team as the scum of BCS football.

7.) Pac-10

The Atlantic 10 might have better football teams than the Pacific 10 this year.  James Madison vs. Washington State? I’ll put my money on the Dukes, thank you very much.  The only team worth watching is USC, and even their No. 6 AP rank is inflated. Cal is the only other Pac-10 school in the top 25, but they are far from untouchable; if on their game, Arizona or Oregon could topple them. The rest of the conference isn’t playing to make it into a bowl game, but simply to avoid ridicule from now until next August.

…Since I can’t help myself, here’s who I’ve got for this weekend’s games:

 (11) Missouri at (1) Texas: The Longhorns proved just how good they were last week in Dallas against the Sooners. Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin are great players, but if McCoy is on his game, they can have as great of a game as Sam Bradford did last week (387 yards and 5 TDs) and lose by even more. The Missouri Tigers are a great team, but there’s no way they win in Austin. A December re-match is more than possible, however.

Winner: Texas Longhorns

(16) Kansas at (4) Oklahoma: The pollsters only penalized Bob Stoops’ squad three rankings for losing to Texas last Saturday, and I think this is fair. Expect them to have no trouble at home against a Jayhawk team that squeaked by a young, yet inspired, Iowa State Cyclone. Todd Reesing will perform, no doubt, but Kansas is not a BCS-worthy team.

Winner: Oklahoma Sooners

Baylor at (8) Oklahoma State: The Cowboys are coming off a great victory over Missouri, but Mike Gundy is looking for more. Robert Griffin, however, will show the rest of the Big 12 that OSU is not the best team in the South division. He will throw his first interception of the year, but it won’t matter. Oklahoma State is too busy either celebrating last week’s win or prepping for next week’s game at Texas.

Winner: Baylor Bears

(12) Ohio State at (20) Michigan State: Javon Ringer has been thanking the offensive line all year for providing great protection, and he’ll need it from NFL-caliber linebackers like James Laurinaitis.  Each team will play to their ranking. The Buckeyes will win, but only comfortably enough to keep a spot in the top 12.

Winner: Ohio State Buckeyes

Team I would love to see win: (14) Utah Utes

Utah is the great hope of the Mountain West. Screw Boise State, I’m cheering for the truly little guy. If Utah stays undefeated through two more games, (which they should: vs. Colorado State and at New Mexico) the last games against TCU and BYU will provide more excitement. Plus, who doesn’t want to see a BCS buster?

Team I would love to see lose: (6) USC Trojans

As a fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, I understand what it’s like to have people hate your team because you are just flat-out good. I have never felt that way toward USC. I admire Pete Carroll’s work. But this year, they just aren’t that good. At least, not No. 6 good. As an added bonus, they are playing Washington State. If the Cougars could pull off this upset, it would be monumental. I would enjoy that slap in the face to all those who voted based on tradition and not talent. Texas Tech, though they narrowly escaped against my Huskers, did not struggle and should have moved up with the win, especially considering half the teams in front of them won. Down with the Trojans.

Last weekend, the college football hierarchy was set. Now that conference play has begun full-swing, it’s time for the real games to begin. This week should not disappoint, with three being Top 25 battles (five if you use the USA Today poll instead of the AP).

Game of the Week: (5) Texas vs. (1) Oklahoma

It’s time for the Red River Shootout! Texas and Oklahoma playing on neutral field? I’m there! And by “there,” I mean in front of my large television set.

Unfortunately, the closer this game gets, the more I think it will be underwhelming. The Big 12 – though a great conference perennially – does not display the down-to-the-wire urgency of SEC football, at least not usually. There have been exceptions, but since Oklahoma returned to national prominence in 2000 with a national title, the winner has won by an average of 24 points. The table below demonstrates just how great this match-up has looked on paper recently.

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This year marks the fourth time this decade that both the Sooners and Longhorns are in the country’s top five heading into the game. Last year was the first time since 1997 that the game was decide by a touchdown or less, and many players are returning from last year’s squads, including both starting quarterbacks. Indeed, most of the focus will lie on them.

Colt McCoy has impressed me since the moment he stepped into college football scene, following Vince Young’s departure for the NFL, and he’s only gotten better. Having won this game his freshman year, he knows beating the top-ranked Sooners is possible. McCoy has also added another dimension to his game, one that rarely was utilized when Jamaal Charles shared his backfield: his running game. So far this season, he has ran for 317 yards and four touchdowns with an average of seven yards per carry. He’s both the leader passer and leading rusher for the Longhorns this year.

Both teams have incredibly high-powered offenses, but the spotlight will lie on Sam Bradford, one of the leading Heisman candidates. While his numbers are only slightly higher than those of Colt McCoy, Bradford has two of the best receivers in the Big 12 in Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson. He also has a backfield to share the workload with. Oklahoma has two running backs in the top 100 nationally in terms of total yardage, while Texas only has McCoy.

As the saying goes, defense wins championships. Texas’ new defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, was torn away from Auburn last January to become the highest-paid assistant coach in the Big 12, and this weekend, we will find out if there are any kinks left in the new system. Oklahoma, on the other hand, has the eleventh best total defense (256.2 YPG), and third in yards per play (3.8). Texas’ relative lack of offensive diversity could prove trouble, and puts a lot of pressure on the offensive line to keep Colt McCoy safe both inside and outside the pocket.

Winner: Oklahoma, in not-incredibly-boring, yet not-Game-of-the-Century style.

Second Best Game of the Week: (4) LSU at (11) Florida

This could very well turn out to be the closest game of the week. Florida has struggled the last two weeks, especially on the offensive side of the ball. In their loss to Ole Miss two weeks ago, they entered as the only team in the nation without a turnover, then gave up three. Last week, the Gators had only 17 points through three quarters against an Arkansas team that is 113^th in the nation in scoring defense. They found their rhythm in the fourth quarter, though and rolled out 21 points to win 38-7.

Offensive struggles won’t be helpful against an under-the-radar LSU team, especially one that is threatening to take out Tim Tebow. The Tiger defense has always been a strong suit, and containing Tebow is a key to victory, but so far this year, the Gators have been more successful in plowing through the O-line. LSU has only recorded six sacks this year – three came against FCS Appalachian State – and ranks 78^th nationally in sacks per game. Tebow will be safe.

But while Florida is far superior in terms of tackling the opposing team’s quarterback for a loss, getting anybody else in the backfield has been a problem, and their run defense hasn’t even been tested yet. They rank 20^th in rushing defense, but Mississippi is the only team with a top 50 rushing game (49^th), and three teams don’t even rank in the top 80 (Miami, Hawaii, and Arkansas rank 84^th, 103^rd and 108^th, respectively).

This is bad news for Florida. LSU is not a passing team. There is a chance that Charles Scott may finish the season with more rushing yards than Jarrett Lee has passing (right now Scott has 535, while Lee has 643). A strong performance in this game could move him higher up the Heisman watch list and put LSU into heavier rotation in BCS Championship conversations.

Winner: LSU. Both teams look much different this season, but I’d be satisfied seeing a game as exciting as LSU’s come-from-behind victory in Baton Rouge last year.

Team I would love to see win: (13) Vanderbilt Commodores

The rationale behind this one is much more simple than Ricardo’s theory of distribution, or even Adam Smith’s spiral of growth, for that matter. I just don’t want to Vanderbilt lose. They are the Cinderella of college football.

Think George Mason, Davidson, or Gonzaga. They aren’t supposed to win. Maybe two games at the most. Instead, they keep on taking it deeper, and the girls above are no longer frowning. The Mississippi State Bulldogs are 1-4 so far this year, and look like they took over the SEC role Vanderbilt used to play. With a victory in Starkville, the Commodores are bowl eligible for the first time in 26 years. If MSU beats my Commies, I swear…pow! Right to the moon!

Team I would love to see lose: (15) Boise State Broncos

Maybe it’s the fact that my roommate used to play for them (and thinks Dirk Koetter is a god, which he’s not – I’m sure he’s a nice guy, though), or maybe it’s that the Big 12 and SEC are so much better, but BSU better not go undefeated this year. Sorry, Ian Johnson. I predicted your victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl when I was trying to convince my father to buy tickets, but you don’t deserve it this year. Go back to your blue turf. The Mountain West is my pet underdog conference this year, and you’re only allowed to have one. Maybe it’s that I’m hungry (and everyone knows that Ryan O’Neal gets angry when he’s hungry), but the thought of you taking up space in this January’s BCS makes me so very upset.

The (1) Oklahoma Sooners did nothing to warrant an uprising against their pole position on Saturday, holding Baylor’s star QB Robert Griffin to only 177 total yards (he had 217 yards rushing against Washington State earlier this year). They won handily in a predicable 49-17 game, extending their record to 18-0 against the Bears. Sam Bradford (left) posted more Heisman-worthy numbers in Waco: 372 through the air to 10 different receivers and two touchdowns. Even with all the excitement that many (including me) got wrapped up in, Baylor is still at the bottom of the Big 12, though they should be happy Griffin has three more years to help them reach a bowl.

(4) Missouri ended its 15-game losing streak in Lincoln Saturday by bowling over Nebraska’s supposedly-improved defense. The result was almost identical to the OU-Baylor game (52-17), and about as entertaining as watching one of those robot vacuum cleaners do their work - it’s fun to watch for a little bit, but you really don’t need to watch it clean the entire house, and Memorial Stadium was looking pretty spotless by halftime. Chase Daniel proved that Nebraska is far from returning to the Top 25, let alone the upper echelon of college football (or even of the Big 12). The Tigers are by far the best team in the Big 12 North, and it’s hard to imagine Daniel and his 76.3% completion percentage would be left out of the Heisman finals.

Colt McCoy and the (5) Texas Longhorns did not get overzealous and look too far forward to next week’s Game of the Week against top-ranked Oklahoma (see above).  My hopes for a Big 12 North victory by the up-and-coming Colorado Buffaloes were quickly dashed by McCoy’s incredibly heads-up (if questionably scrimmage line-crossing) shovel pass that went 65 yards for the TD just minutes into the game. Boulder’s father-son Hawkins combo couldn’t come back, and the result was an easy 38-14 victory.

(7) Texas Tech often gets overlooked, especially with a high-profile rivalry like Texas/Oklahoma taking the Big 12 South title 10 of 12 years. For years the Red Raiders’ incredibly high-powered, air-heavy offense has been the source of many passing yards and many points. Unfortunately, the gains were not always enough to win the game. This year, it’s safe to say that the trend has been to the contrary. Graham Harrell has averaged over 400 yards passing each game, has 18 TDs and only 3 interceptions, and has led his team to an average victory of nearly 30 points. The 58-28 win over Kansas State in Manhattan is just another example of demonstrative domination.

The Big 12 is a conference with a tiered power system. The above four teams outscored their opponents this week 197-76, a 30-point win on average. The four top teams should not have any losses dealt to them by teams other than each other, barring an Oklahoma State upset, and there are plenty of amazing games to come.

Right now, there are two big questions in Big 12 country: 1) Who will play against Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game? and 2) Can anybody escape the conference undefeated? I cannot stand to see another USC/Ohio State BCS Championship when there’s so much talent in the SEC and Big 12. Unfortunately, I am halfway convinced that one – if not more – of the above teams will get dealt a bad hand by the BCS Selection Committee come December.