The Road to Pasadena Becomes Clearer in Week 11

While most so-called experts agree that Texas will win the Big 12 and play the SEC champion-either top-ranked Florida or No. 2 Alabama-in the national championship, unbeatens Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State still have hopes of crashing the party.

The Rose Bowl is the site of this year’s BCS title game, but a week earlier Pasadena will host the Rose Bowl game with tradition most likely to trump everything else. Expect the Big Ten champion to play the Pac-10 champ. Who those two teams are will most definitely come into focus after Saturday with several key matchups in both conferences.

So, getting right into it, here are the top 10, or so, games of the week to watch in Week 11. As always, BCS rankings are used, and all times are Central.

10/10a. Arizona State at No. 13 Oregon and No. 17 Arizona at California, Saturday, 9:20 p.m.

Right now Arizona and Oregon are the only two teams in the Pac-10 with just one conference loss. The Ducks suffered a big setback last week with their loss to Stanford. Arizona’s lone defeat was an inexplicable three-point loss at Washington on Oct. 10. The two teams meet next weekend in Tucson.

But first they have to dispatch of this week’s opponents. The task is much easier for Oregon, which gets a sub-.500 Sun Devils team at home. Oregon will also see the return of tailback LaGarrette Blount (pictured), who’s been suspended since the season-opening loss to Boise State.

Arizona travels to Cal, which will be without star running back Jahvid Best, who is out with a concussion following last week’s scary fall into the end zone. Both Oregon and Arizona are favored, and both need to win to set up next week’s clash for the conference crown.

9. Michigan at No. 20 Wisconsin, Saturday, 11 a.m.

The Badgers would like to think they belong among the Big Ten elite, but haven’t been able to clear the Michigan hurdle very often.

Even last season, when Michigan won just three games and the Badgers were a seven-win team, the Wolverines beat Wisconsin.

This year, Michigan is 5-5, but has just one win in conference play. Meanwhile the Badgers are 7-2 and eyeing a Jan. 1 bowl game.

Despite their struggles, Michigan has the Big Ten’s No. 1 scoring offense, averaging 32 points per game. But they scored 63 against Delaware State, and have lost three straight to Penn State, Illinois and Purdue.

Wisconsin has the Big Ten’s leading rusher in John Clay and a stout defense that has the Badgers favored at home. They should beat Michigan, but that could have been said last year, too.

8. Auburn at Georgia, Saturday, 6 p.m.

I can’t tell you the last time these two met when neither was ranked. It’s been awhile. That doesn’t diminish the tradition-rich history of one of the oldest rivalries in college football.

The fans will still be pumped and this game is the best matchup between two unranked teams. The season’s probably gone about as expected for a 7-3 Auburn team that wasn’t expected to contend for the SEC West title. But it’s been a disappointment for a Georgia club that entered the year with high expectations and even delusional national title dreams.

But at 5-4, all the Bulldogs can hope for is to salvage their season. A win over Auburn would get them bowl eligible, and they can do so if they get a strong performance from quarterback Joe Cox (pictured).

The senior has thrown 17 touchdown passes, but also 12 interceptions. If he can limit those mistakes, Georgia has a real shot at pulling off the upset at home.

7. Notre Dame at No. 12 Pittsburgh, Saturday, 7

Jimmy Clausen put up good passing numbers last week versus Navy, but couldn’t get the ball in the end zone when he needed to. Clausen threw three picks, and lost a fumble at the goal line to cost his team a shot at an unlikely BCS bowl berth and his own dim chances for Heisman consideration.

Now all the Irish can hope for is that their season isn’t going down the drains. A 9-3 season is still within reach, but so is losing all three of their games with Pitt, scrappy UConn and resurgent Stanford left on the schedule.

Clausen has put up pretty sick numbers this year, but lost in the shuffle of the Heisman-worthy quarterback numbers of Clausen, Colt McCoy, Kellen Moore, Tim Tebow and Case Keenum is Pitt’s Bill Stull (pictured).

The 6-foot-3 senior has Pitt off to its best start since Dan Marino was the quarterback. While leading the Panthers to an 8-1 record, Stull has thrown 17 TD passes to just four interceptions. He takes care of the ball, but knows when to hurl it deep with four touchdowns of 50 yards or more on the season. His two favorite targets have been receiver Jonathan Baldwin (35 catches for 698 yards and four scores) and tight end Dorin Dickerson (39 receptions for 450 yards and 10 TDs). Dickerson has caught at least one touchdown pass in five straight games.

6. Idaho at No. 6 Boise State, Saturday, 2:30

To call this a rivalry is almost an insult to the Broncos. Boise State has won the last 10 meetings, averaging 64 points over the last three matchups.

Idaho may be without starting quarterback Nate Enderle with an injured rotator cuff, but that didn’t stop Idaho coach Robb Akey (pictured) from throwing down the gauntlet. Akey said he would be delighted to upset the WAC brass by dashing the BCS dreams of the league’s top team.

“My goal is that on Saturday night that I will be the least popular individual with every administrator within the WAC conference because we have taken the BCS hopes away from our conference,” Akey told local reporters earlier this week. “That’s my goal and desire.”

The Vandals were 6-1, but have lost two of their last three, including a 70-45 blasting at the hands of Nevada. If they’re going to back up their coach’s words, they need to shore up their defense. Boise quarterback Kellen Moore has been nasty this year, throwing for over 2,200 yards and 27 touchdowns. The Broncos have scored fewer than 28 points just once, and that was in their 19-8 win over Oregon in the season opener.

5. No. 25 West Virginia at No. 5 Cincinnati, Friday, 7

In order for the Bearcats to move to 10-0 and keep their BCS title hopes alive, they need to find a way to slow down West Virginia’s bevy of playmakers led by quarterback Jarrett Brown. The 6-4 senior makes plays with his arms and legs, making it easier for tailback Noel Devine to run loose.

Cincinnati, which has never been 10-0 in its history, has its own playmaker at quarterback in sophomore Zach Collaros (pictured). Since stepping in for senior Tony Pike, who went down with a left forearm injury against South Florida, Collaros has thrown eight touchdown passes in three starts and rushed for another two - all without a turnover.

Although Pike has been cleared to play, Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is rewarding the youngster with a fourth consecutive start.

Although third in the Big East standings right now, the Mountaineers control their own destiny for the conference title. If WVU can beat Cincinnati Friday night, it could clinch the Big East with wins over Pitt and Rutgers to close the season.

4. No. 1 Florida at South Carolina, Saturday, 2:30

As Alabama should be cautious heading into Starksburg to face Mississippi State, so should the top-ranked Gators when they travel to Columbia to face the Ol’ Ball Coach.

Steve Spurrier (pictured) will have his Gamecocks, and their stout defense, ready to take on his former school and quarterback Tim Tebow.

While the Florida offense has not been up to par with the last two seasons, and Tebow’s offensive productivity has dipped, he is still one of the best players in the country. But the main reason for Florida’s continued success is perhaps the nation’s top defense.

The Gators have allowed 20 points just once, and have only given up 91 points in nine games. South Carolina has had trouble scoring this season, so Spurrier may have to dig into his bag of tricks to pull off this upset.

With spots in the SEC championship game already secured, neither Florida nor Alabama can afford to stumble this weekend on the road. Of course, folks in Boise, Fort Worth and Cincinnati are hoping just that happens.

3. Stanford at No. 9 USC, Saturday, 2:30

When the schedules were finalized last year, few people thought this game would have such an impact on the Pac-10 title.

After all, it’s lowly Stanford and powerful USC. Well, Stanford is 5-2 in the conference - half a game ahead of USC - and just throttled last week the same Oregon team that pummeled the Trojans a week earlier. Plus, Stanford beat USC two years ago in its last trip to the Coliseum.

Stanford won four games in 2007, then five last year. At 6-3 this year, the Cardinal is bowl eligible and thinking Rose Bowl, or at the very least Holiday Bowl.

Of course, Pete Carroll (pictured) and his club are fully aware of what happened to them versus Oregon and two years ago against Stanford. So don’t expect history to repeat itself, ’cause it probably ain’t happening.

2. No. 10 Iowa at No. 11 Ohio State, Saturday, 2:30

The Big Ten title is on the line in the defacto Big Ten championship game Saturday in Columbus.

Iowa limps into this game down its starting tailback Adam Robinson, lost two weeks ago, and now senior quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who needed surgery to repair a severely sprained ankle suffered in last week’s loss to Northwestern.

Stanzi was sacked in the end zone with his team up 10-0 on the play. He fumbled, and Northwestern recovered for a touchdown to provide the spark for the 17-10 upset to give Iowa its first loss in 10 games.

Iowa’s defense is one of the best in the country, led by St. Louis native (Webster Groves) Adrian Clayborn (pictured). But if the Hawkeyes are going to win in Ohio Stadium, they will need a near-perfect performance from freshman James Vanderberg, who was just awful replacing Stanzi last week.

Vandenberg completed just 9 of 27 passes for a paltry 120 yards with an interception. Making his first start inside the Horseshoe against an aggressive Buckeyes defense could spell doom. Then again, maybe that fits right into the Iowa game plan. The Hawkeyes have been living on the edge all season.

1. No. 16 Utah at No. 4 TCU, Saturday, 6:30

In the game of the week, TCU has a chance to make its latest case for a berth in the BCS title game. The Horned Frogs, who won national championships in 1935 and 1938, haven’t finished a season unbeaten since 1938.

TCU has won 11 games in four of the last six seasons, and is 9-0 this year with hopes of sneaking into the BCS title game. Utah can prevent TCU from getting to 10-0 for the first time in over 70 years and possibly play itself into a BCS bowl game.

Utah owns a 5-1 series edge, with the only TCU win coming in overtime in 2005.

Both teams have strong resumes. TCU owns road wins against Virginia and Clemson out of the ACC and a 38-7 demolition of then No. 16 BYU (now No. 22).

Utah is unbeaten in Mountain West play, and its lone loss was a 31-24 defeat at No. 13 Oregon in week 3.

Neither team got caught looking ahead last week, cruising to easy wins.

The winner controls its own destiny for a Mountain West title (Utah hosts San Diego State and is at BYU, TCU is at Wyoming and closes at home against New Mexico), but both teams have their sights on a much bigger target.

Not too often does a late-season Mountain West Conference matchup have such national championship implications.

This one most definitely does, and it’ll be a blast to watch last year’s true national champions - after all Utah was the country’s only unbeaten and spanked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl - try to figure out arguably the nation’s best defense. Defensive end Jerry Hughes has nine sacks, and is the catalyst for a Horned Frogs unit that ranks third statistically behind Texas and Florida.