Oh my goodness what happened?
It’s called rivarly week, and it seems that weird things always happen at that time of year, but nothing like this week. Many teams that were just plain locks, found themselves on the short end of the score, and with some very dire consequences.
The whole thing started Thanksgiving evening with an ACC matchup between Boston College and Miami in the Orange Bowl. Miami, having one of the worst seasons in recent history, managed to shock the Golden Eagles 17-14 (after which coach Larry Coker was fired). BC had a chance to go to the ACC title game, if they had won, and Maryland had defeated Wake Forest, but now the best BC can hope for is a 4th place finish in the ACC which should still get them a berth in the Champs Sports Bowl. Benefitting, was Virginia Tech (who beat Virginia), who now finishes 3rd in the ACC and a potential bid to the Gator Bowl.
Then Friday came, and something was definitely in the water. Arkansas, who stood to make a statement for a very slim shot at the BCS title game, blew up and lost to an inspired LSU team at home! LSU has to be the absolute best 2-loss team in America. No one could have played their home schedule and survived as well. The Tigers should have made a strong statement for an at large bid to a BCS bowl, but we’ll see.
Later that day, the Texas Longhorns, taking home field, looked to lock up the Big-12 South and a trip to the Big-12 Championship against Nebraska. The only problem with that, was that Texas A&M ran for over 200 yards against the vaunted Longhorn defense and won 12-7 forcing Texas fans to have to cheer for Oklahoma State to beat OU. The Sooners, however, did their job on Saturday and beat their in-state rival Oklahoma State and as such, will play Nebraska for the Big-12 Championship and a BCS bid to the Fiesta Bowl probably against Boise State.
Finally we got to Saturday and watched Georgia take down Georgia Tech (who, despite losing will play Wake Forest for the ACC Title). We also saw Southern Florida grab 3 interceptions and defeat an ill-prepared West Virginia team. WV is now out of any Big East title consideration, and probably will drop out of an BCS bowl consideration. Florida, barely eeked out a victory over Florida State, which really amounts to not much of anything. Florida and Arkansas will play for the SEC Title next week, and an auto-bid to a BCS game.
Finally, USC took care of business by beating Notre Dame 44-24 to put themselves in control to meet Ohio State in the BCS Championship. All they have to do is beat UCLA next week, and they will get that title opportunity.
As a neat side note here, Dwane Jarrett, the outstanding WR for USC, had a stellar night, catching 7 passes for 132 yards, and 3 TDs. Interestingly enough, Jarrett was recruited by both USC and Notre Dame, but the Irish renegged on a scholarship offer to him, saying that he wasn’t good enough. Well, I guess we know who had the last laugh on that one.
So with all this, my new rankings are the following, with pertinent notes:
1. Ohio State (12-0) – Next stop, BCS Championship, prolly against USC.
2. USC (10-1) – Needs to beat UCLA next week, and its on to Glendale for another title shot.
3. Michigan (11-1) – Season’s done. Will probably get a Rose Bowl bid if USC beats UCLA.
4. Florida (11-1) – Beat Fla State 21-14. Next week: SEC Championship v. Arkansas.
5. Louisville (10-1) – Beat Pitt 48-24. Next Week: UConn at home.
6. LSU (10-2) – Beat Arkansas 31-26. Next stop, maybe a BCS Bowl game?
7. Notre Dame (10-2) – Lost to USC 44-24. Next stop is probably a Rose Bowl berth v Mich.
8. Arkansas (10-2) Lost to LSU 31-26. Next Week: SEC Championship v. Florida.
9. W. Virginia (9-2) – Lost to So. Florida 24-19. Next week: Big East title v Rutgers at home.
10. Auburn (10-2) – Season over. May be going to the Cotton Bowl against Texas.
11. Boise State (12-0) – Beat Nevada 38-7. Probably going to the Fiesta Bowl.
12. Wisconsin (11-1) – Season Over, probably headed for the Capital One Bowl.
13. Texas (9-3) – Lost to Texas A&M. Next stop, probably a Cotton Bowl bid.
14. Oklahoma (9-3) – Beat Okla State 27-21. Next: Big 12 Championship v. Nebraska
15. Virginia Tech (10-2) – Beat Virginia 17-0. Next: Probably a Gator Bowl bid.
16. California (8-3) – Idle. Next week: Stanford.
17. Tennessee (9-3) – Beat Kentucky 17-12. Next: Probably Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl bid.
18. Rutgers (9-1) – Beat Syracuse 38-7. Next Week: At West Virginia.
19. Georgia Tech (8-3) – Lost to Georgia 15-12. Next Week: ACC Title v. Wake Forest.
20. Wake Forest (10-2) – Beat Maryland 38-24. Next Week: ACC Title v. Georgia Tech.
21. Brigham Young (10-2) – Beat Utah 33-31. Next: Playing in the Pioneer Pure Vision Bowl.
22. Nebraska (9-3) – Beat Colorado 37-14. Next Week: Big 12 Championship v. Oklahoma.
23. Boston College (9-3) – Lost to Miami 17-14. Next: Probably a Champs Sports Bowl bid.
24. Hawaii (10-2) – Beat Purdue 42-35. Next: Playing in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.
25. Texas A&M (9-3) – Beat Texas 12-7. Next: A probable Alamo Bowl bid.
Most Impressive team(s): USC, Louisville
Least impressive team(s): Arkansas, West Virginia, Texas
why are you not impressed with arkansas? they have only losssed 2 games, they beat auburn at auburn, beat tennesse, beat south carolina, and have won the sec west. the LSU game was NOT a blowout, it was tight. The hogs have the two best running backs in the country and put amost 300 yards rushing against LSU.I don’t understand. Are you a texas fan? a big 12 fan? If yes to either question… then I understand your thinking.. Not many texas fans like arkansas, and big 12 fans think they have the best confernce which isa a joke. Hummm. the 23rd ranked team playing for the big 12 title…. oh that’s inmpressive! #4 Florida vs #9 Arkansas for the SEC title… that makes sense. I would think that makes arkansas impressive
k d
Hey k davis – Im very impressed with Arkansas, or was until this past weekend. Arkansas has had a pretty decent schedule, but lost big to USC and while taking Auburn and Tennessee down, neither of them has been that consistent. LSU on the other hand, has had the toughest road schedule of any SEC team I think, perhaps in the US. Let’s compare… LSU lost to Auburn 7-3 on the road, beat Florida (#4 team) on the road, beat Tennessee on the road, and beat Arkansas on the road (#5 team). There is almost NO way I rank Ark above where they are, except maybe Notre Dame, and I’ll admit, I might be tempted to put Ark above ND. Im not a Texas fan at all by the way, or a Big 12 fan at all in general. I just like good college football, whether its in the MWAC, PAC-10, Big East or South Florida