College Football: Five Games With National Championship Implications
We are only in Week 3 but the national championship is built week by week.
As the weeks unfold and "who beat whom" becomes the argument for who are the best two teams in the nation, it's not always the games that feature the contenders that have the most importance for the National Championship.
While both Alabama and Ohio State, the top two teams in the country today are playing, their games are not in doubt, and as such, bear little in the conversation.
But, if one of those giants fall there are teams that would look to rise up and take their place.
The games they play, or even the other teams in their conferences, will help to shape the landscape, and determine the teams who would play.
This is a look at those games and why they are important.
California at Fresno State
1 of 5
Neither Nevada nor California are going to be anywhere near a BCS game this year, or least it's highly unlikely.
Yet Nevada plays in the WAC, the conference where #3 team Boise state resides.
A respectable showing against a PAC 10 team just outside of the top 25 would have meant good things for Boise State.
It went even better than that, as Nevada demolished the Golden Bears 52-31, almost assuring them of moving up in the rankings.
Having another quality team in the conference lends credibility to the Broncos if they run the the table again.
Nebraska at Washington
2 of 5
If either Ohio State or Alabama were to fall, it's possible the Big 12 champion would become the new team to play in the National Championship game.
Nebraska's athletic defense will be presented a real challenge in potential No. 1 pick Jake Locker as they head to Washington, a tough place to play.
If the Huskies can pull off the upset, it might also offer some redemptive value to the PAC 10 after last night's embarrassing defeat.
Iowa at Arizona
3 of 5
This game features the only game this week between two ranked opponents.
Iowa is a possibility to be a contender for the National Championship should Ohio State fall somewhere, so for that reason it has implications.
Even if Iowa didn't make it though, purely for the fact that it's a great game for comparing the relative strengths of the PAC 10 and Big 10 it has value.
By tomorrow, this could be a very big day or a very bad day for the PAC 10, and the team with the most at stake is Oregon, who plays Portland.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Air Force at Oklahoma
4 of 5
Of all the games on the schedule, I see this as having the most opportunity for a major upset.
The Sooners are a week removed from a big game against Florida State and are only two weeks away from Texas on their schedule.
They aren't as lockdown against the run as they have been in the past, and the Falcons gain everything on the ground (I know, it's kind of a oxymoronic).
The Falcons offense is not conventional, meaning it will be harder to plan for, especially since it is couched between big games.
The Sooners seem to have a habit of dropping games like this against teams they are supposed to beat about once a year.
It might be the Sooners in a blowout, but if Air Force pulls it off, it's another WAC team that could move up in the rankings, and another WAC win against a major BCS team.
Arkansas at Georgia
5 of 5
I'm not sure if Ryan Mallett is under the radar or not, but he sure doesn't seem to be getting the noise I think he should. The kid's arm is just crazy-powerful and accurate as well.
The stage against Georgia gives Arkansas a chance to establish itself as a real national title type team.
If Arkansas can win big against Georgia, look for them to jump Florida in the rankings and move up into the "second-best team in the SEC" category, which at this stage of the season might be just as important as second-best team in the nation.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
