College Football: Pretenders or Contenders?

Time to take another look at the top teams in the country and label them their true status of pretender or contender...

Oklahoma: Contender. Sure, they played Baylor, but so what? They put on another dominating performance.

Alabama: Contender. While they struggled mightily against a Kentucky team that always seems to show up in big games, can we assume the Tide was just a little hung over from their win against Georgia?

LSU: On the fence. The Tigers were on a bye, but I'm still not impressed with their QB play. This is the one area that may do them in next week against Florida. I have them dropping in the rankings this week. Byes can be a killer when Mizzou is playing lights out.

Mizzou: Contender. Heck, the Tigers look just as strong as the Sooners, and actually have played stronger teams than the Sooners. They should move up.

Texas: Contender. Finally, Colt McCoy has officially recovered from his sophomore slump, and the Red River Rivalry all of a sudden looks to be the new "game of the century."

Penn State: Contender. The Nits look better than LSU, and I don't understand why they are ranked below the Tigers. Big Ten backlash?

Texas Tech: Pretender. The Red Raiders have a prolific offense, but the D will not be able to hide anymore when the Red Raiders play Texas on Nov. 1. Until that date, they will probably be undefeated.

BYU: Contender. Yeah, OK, big deal, they beat Utah State 34-14, and next week they play New Mexico. The soft part of the schedule comes up, and they may actually get dropped down a few notches if they don't start dominating these cupcakes more.

USC: Contender. Was the Oregon State game a hiccup? Or was the Oregon game a hiccup for the Ducks? Hard to tell. If the Trojans play ASU like they did the Ducks, then it's the former, not latter. The fact that the Trojans bounced back big after the Beavers loss means they are mad.

South Florida: Pretender. Grothe simply hasn't lived up to the potential he showed in his freshman year.

Georgia: Pretender. They were exposed in the 'Bama game, and really, the signs were there before that game. This week they get the Vols, and if the Dawgs don't beat them by 18+, they may actually drop in the rankings, even if they win.

Florida: Hesitant Contender. The Gators' O just isn't jelling, but they are winning, aren't they? This week they host LSU, and even though it's not a divisional game, the magnitude of its importance is not overlooked; the pretender will get exposed.

Auburn: Pretender. The spread isn't working, and Auburn fans have to be pretty ticked at the OC right now. Even though the Tigers have only one divisional loss (to LSU) they struggled against Missy State and Tennessee before finally getting exposed at Vanderbilt.

Ohio State: On the fence.

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