College Football Week 5: Five Games With BCS Championship Implications
Call it a gimmick, call it a schtick, call it whatever you want to call it.
But last week we introduced a mini-feature that took a look at five games pertaining to the theme of the week.
Last week was “games worth tailgating for,” if only because it was the middle of the week and we couldn’t wait for the gluttony of good matchups on Saturday.
And you know what?
It was fun, darn it.
So we are back for more this week with five games that will have some sort of say in determining who plays in the BCS Championship at the end of the season.
Now, these aren’t the only games that could make an impact on the national title, of course.
For instance, TCU versus Colorado didn’t make the list because, well, not everyone could make it.
But No. 5 TCU has to win that game. TCU has to win every game if they want any argument of playing for a title.
With two premier games as givens—you can easily guess those now—we handpicked three others and tried to spread some love around the country, not just zeroing in on the SEC or Pac-10, or some other conference.
OK, on with the show.
No. 7 Florida at No. 1 Alabama
1 of 5
We’re getting this one out of the way first for obvious reasons.
Alabama is the defending champions and top-ranked team in America.
If winning on the road at Arkansas last week wasn’t their toughest test of the season, this may be it.
The Crimson Tide still have to go to South Carolina and LSU before ending the regular season at home against Auburn.
The LSU and Auburn games could potentially be as big as this one in terms of rankings, as both LSU and Auburn are currently in the Top 12, but as far as recent history, it doesn’t get bigger than Florida-Bama.
I expect this game to tell us little about Alabama and a lot about Florida.
Really, what could this game tell us about Bama?
That it is really good? We already know that.
If Bama loses this game, it still has a chance to redeem its season and potentially play for a national title if some other teams ahead of it lose.
But for a Florida team that waved goodbye to Tim Tebow and handed the ball to John Brantley, oh, this game means a heckuva lot.
I’m not sure we really know what Florida is yet, other than what appears to be an inferior version of the ones we have seen in recent years with Tebow at the helm.
Florida hasn’t dazzled anybody in its first four games.
The Gators have yet to play a ranked opponent, and currently rank 90th in the country in passing, 48thin rushing.
They’ve scored the 19th-most points per game and given up the 15th-least.
Does that sound like a No. 7 team to you? I’m not so sure that the ranking doesn’t have more to do with the brand that has become Florida Gators football and the pedigree and respect that head coach Urban Meyer has so deservedly earned.
Florida should look at this game as an opportunity to not only avenge for last season’s loss to Alabama in the SEC title game, but as an opportunity to create its post-Tebow identity.
If the Gators can win, they are an instant BCS title game favorite.
No. 3 Boise State at New Mexico State
2 of 5
I’ll be the first to admit that this is a bit of cop out pick.
“Of course any game Boise is in has title implications!” you say.
But I find something interesting about Boise, something that separates it from the also underappreciated TCU.
This isn’t a question of whether or not Boise will win this game. The Broncos will do just that.
I mean, damn, they are only 43-point favorites on the road.
The fact that this constitutes as a “conference” game for Boise doesn’t help its cause.
If Boise State wins out, the only thing keeping them from the BCS title games is an undefeated Alabama and an undefeated Ohio State.
But what makes Boise different is that I don’t think the same could be said for No. 5 TCU.
Boise State is playing for all the talented teams that hope to one day play for a title but don’t come from one of the big six conferences.
Boise has grabbed the heart of the country and has grown on enough of the media that the hype (for lack of a better word) is now overwhelming.
The Broncos may be talented enough to compete with anybody in the country, but that’s only part of what’s going to get them to Glendale, Arizona.
The other part is the outcry that would stem from an undefeated Boise team being snubbed from the big game.
Why is this?
Because Boise has now become a name-brand team. They play with style, they play with passion, and they play like they expect to be left out of the title game. They play angry.
Due to their performance and the Boise Movement throughout the media, the Broncos are now recognizable.
The epic game against Oklahoma a couple years back.
The swagger.
The blue turf.
It all makes Boise interesting.
Not to knock TCU, but what excites people about TCU?
I’ll wait …
OK, time. The answer is nothing.
TCU, as talented as it may be, is just another good football team from the state of Texas that has other good, and more importantly, better-known football teams.
As we all know quite well, finding your way into the title game is as much about politics and popularity as it is about anything football related.
For years, Boise has had the football part down. Now it’s finally created enough of a buzz nationally that we have no choice but to pay attention.
Louisiana-Monroe at No. 10 Auburn
3 of 5
A gimme game for the Auburn Tigers, but it’s vital because a win will put them inside the Top 10 as they head to Kentucky next week.
A win there probably makes them a Top 8 team with games against Arkansas and LSU to follow, and that will determine whether in his second year at Auburn, Gene Chizik will have the opportunity to lead his team into a title game.
Of course, Auburn will go where quarterback Cam Newton takes it.
Newton has been fantastic so far this season, and has to be up there with Denard Robinson of Michigan as one of the most exciting QBs in the country.
Newton can run, throw, has size; he’s a beast that has stirred Toomer’s Corner down in Auburn through the first month of the season.
If Newton can get Auburn to Oct. 16 at 6-0, that game against the Razorbacks could vault the Tigers into national title talks.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 21 Texas vs. No. 8 Oklahoma
4 of 5
You can forget about the Longhorns and a return to the BCS Championship.
Getting thumped at home last week against UCLA killed those dreams.
There are just too many good teams around the country to overcome a loss like that.
But the Sooners have something big to play for here.
Oklahoma could jump up a couple spots with a win and doesn’t have the most daunting of schedules ahead of it in Big 12 play.
Currently, Texas is the only ranked team left on Oklahoma’s schedule.
That could change, but even if it doesn’t, the Sooners will have to get by the likes of Texas A&M and Oklahoma State on the road.
This is the game, though, for Oklahoma.
Yes, UCLA embarrassed Texas last week, but the Red River Rivalry is never easy no matter what the rankings say.
Would it really be an “upset” if Texas beats Oklahoma on Saturday? Not really.
Either team is capable of winning.
But a win for Oklahoma gives it that ever-important victory against a well-known power program, and then the Sooners would have about as good a chance as anyone at running the remainder of their schedule.
Who knew that Sam Bradford walking out of Norman would present a potential title opportunity for Bob Stoops so quickly?
No. 9 Stanford at No. 4 Oregon
5 of 5
Ahh, yes, the national game of the week.
Autzen Stadium will be alive Saturday night as the Ducks have an opportunity to reinforce their Top 5 ranking.
For Stanford, a win would put them in the Top 5, waiting for its opportunity should Bama, Ohio State, or Boise State falter.
This is going to be the brilliance of Andrew Luck against the sheer ability of Oregon.
If you like playmakers, this is your game to watch.
I wonder, though, if Oregon or Stanford can escape the Pac-10 to get the shot to play for a championship.
The conference is so incredibly loaded this year that the SEC, for the first time in years, doesn’t just automatically run away with the Best Conference Award.
The Pac-10 presents many trap games for both teams.
If Oregon wins, it still has to play on the road against USC and Oregon State, and at home against Washington and Arizona.
If Stanford wins, it still has to play all of the aforementioned teams that Oregon has left as well as a Nov. 13 game at Arizona State, the team that ran up almost 600 yards of total offense against Oregon last week.
So this game is a conundrum of sorts: The winner will have great position in the standings, and the loser will not completely fall out of the race.
But then both teams need to quickly rebound in the following weeks or else this gem of a game in the Northwest will be all for nothing.
Luckily for us, it’s almost Saturday.
Enjoy the weekend, everybody.
Follow Teddy Mitrosilis on Twitter. You can reach him at tm4000@yahoo.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
