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Tough week for three of our contenders as Utah, BYU, and Tulsa all lost. Utah put up a good fight at Oregon, but BYU and Tulsa both got leveled.
Tulsa is not receiving votes any longer, and it's doubtful a non-BCS team beaten so handily will make a BCS bowl, so they are eliminated. We'll see them again in the Armed Forces Bowl.
However, they're replaced in the Eliminator by their C-USA brethren, Southern Miss.
We still have seven non-BCS teams that are unbeaten and/or receiving votes in the coaches' poll. We'll likely lose a couple after Saturday, as we have five make-or-break games on the non-BCS schedule this week.
| Team | Wins vs. BCS/Ranked teams | Losses | Still to play (Bold=Home) |
| No. 9 Boise St (3-0) | Oregon 9/4 | None | |
| No. 14 TCU (2-0) | at Virginia 9/12 | at Clemson 9/26, at No. 20 BYU 10/24, No. 28 Utah 11/14 | |
| No. 20 BYU (2-1) | at No. 9 Oklahoma 9/5 | No. 25 Florida St 9/19 | Colo. St 9/26, No. 15 TCU 10/24, No. 28 Utah 11/28 |
| No. 23 Houston (2-0) | at No. 16 Okla St 9/12 | Texas Tech 9/26, at Miss St 10/10 | |
| No. 28 Utah (2-1) | none | at Oregon 9/19 | Louisville 9/26, at No. 14 TCU 11/14, at BYU 11/28 |
| No. 40 Colorado St (3-0) | at Colorado 9/6 | at No. 20 BYU 9/26, No. 28 Utah 10/10, at No. 14 TCU 10/17 | |
| NR Southern Miss (3-0) | Virginia 9/19 | at No. 19 Kansas 9/26, at Louisville 10/10 |
No. 9 Boise St (3-0) is in the cat-bird seat, getting a shootout win over Fresno St, 51-34. Well, not really a shootout, as the teams combined for 619 yards rushing (987 yards total). Bowling Green is next up on Boise State's ho-hum schedule
No. 14 TCU (2-0) pasted FCS Texas St, 56-21. Yawn. The Horned Frogs have a giant game this week, visiting that other Death Valley at Clemson. It's not a stretch to say a win here would make their season, and they'd probably pull a lot closer to Boise St.
After BYU's 54-28 loss to Florida St, they're still ranked on the strength of their win over Oklahoma. To make a BCS game, BYU (2-1) needs TCU and Boise St to lose, and cannot afford any losses of its own. They'll battle conference unbeaten Colorado St. at home this week.
No. 23 Houston (2-0) is finally ranked and coming off a well-placed bye. They host Texas Tech in what's sure to be a shootout. Houston is averaging 50 points per game, and Texas Tech is scoring 42. This is the Cougars' last BCS foe of the season, and a win here would set them up well for an unbeaten run.
Utah (2-1) lost a close one to Oregon, 31-24, but that didn't stop the coaches from dropping them 12 spots in their poll. They'll have to win out to have any hope of a BCS bowl. They host a Louisville team this week fresh off a tough loss at Kentucky.
Colorado St (3-0) pistol-whipped Nevada, 35-20, forcing five turnovers. Colorado St is now plus seven in the turnover category. CSU will need to keep up with the ball-hawking, as they go on the road to BYU, their first ranked opponent of the season. The loser here is definitely eliminated.
New to the Eliminator this week is Southern Miss (3-0). They edged hapless Virginia, 37-34, at home and go on the road to face No. 20 Kansas. We'll see if the Golden Eagles are for real this week.
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