The October Effect and The Bullseye at The Top

October is the best month. The weather is crisp but comfortable, the cowboy boots come out, and college football is as deep as it gets.

Everyone is in the torrents of conference play. The top teams have separated themselves from the pack, and every team every week has something powerful to play for. Whether it's the big upset for that career win or keeping an egg in the loss column, each Saturday in October is Judgement Day.

This week's top three are proof positive of the October effect. Florida, Alabama, and Texas all had shaky offensive performances but played like champions play: they found a way to win no matter how ugly.

Florida got a middle-of-the-pack team whose last two performances (and Mallet's arm) put on a little extra shine before heading to the Swamp. This was nearly the exact week last year they lost to Ole Miss, and both teams knew it. Florida couldn't overcome that midseason hump to play Florida football, but they still won the game -- barely.

Bama hasn't had a week off and has been running full steam since week one. McElroy showed mental fatigue, a down drive leaving its ugly scar on sequential possessions. Thankfully, like always, the ground game and robotically relentless defense compensated for his slump.

Texas had to handle what Bama gets next week: that out of state rival that depending on who you ask is their biggest rival. For both Texas and Alabama, that rival has a lot more to gain than just a win if they win. Ultimately Texas staved off an Oklahoma upset (Would it have been an upset? Or would it have simply righted the course they traveled sans Bradford? Different article, sorry), but Colt McCoy's usual splendor was almost invisibly dull.

Every week the bullseye on the top teams gets bigger and bigger. Every week the guys underneath -- those with the mental prowess to never back down no matter what their record is -- play with more and more abandon. In October few teams will escape unscathed, and even fewer escape with glamorous wins.

(Throw in baseball playoffs, and October is hands down the best month of every year.)

Roll Tide.