College Football: What We Learned After Another Wacky Saturday
Saturday was another game day that left fans shaking their heads.
Once again, the No.1 ranked team was beaten and several highly-favored, ranked teams lost at home.
So what did we learn in Week 8, from the Heisman race to the BCS?
Here are 10 things you should come away with from this past weekend's games.
No.1 Teams Should Stay on High Alert
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This week it was the Sooners.
Last week it was the Buckeyes.
The week before that it was the Crimson Tide.
What gives?
One could argue that being No.1 in any poll is the college football curse of 2010. The No.1 teams in the nation have not been beaten in three consecutive weeks since 1960.
Oregon is next, as the Ducks will be put to the test at the Coliseum against USC.
There Is a Gameday Curse
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It seems like Gameday could also be to blame for this crazy run of luck for No.1. The show has been hosted from the home underdog's campus the last three weeks.
It also could be the Erin Andrews curse.
She's smart, sexy and knows her football, but maybe the woman is too distracting for the No.1 team in the land.
10 Teams Are Still in Title Contention
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There are currently seven unbeaten teams and three teams with one loss that deserve consideration for a shot at the BCS national championship.
Oregon is perhaps the best of the best right now, as the Ducks have been trouncing opponents.
Auburn is Cam Newton, Cam Newton, Cam Newton. It will face a tough test in Bama, though.
Alabama still controls its BCS destiny, but it can't have a slip up. That makes the Tide dangerous.
Michigan State has not been pretty at times, but the Spartans are winning games and have just one tough trip--a game at Iowa this week--left on their schedule.
Ohio State is still dangerous, but it will have to win at Iowa and lay the wood on everyone else.
Missouri is a very interesting team. Its improved defense has led the way. The Tigers will find out how good they really are when they travel to Lincoln this week.
Boise, TCU, and Utah are all unbeaten, but who knows how well the computers will like them. Boise will go unbeaten, and so will the winner of the TCU-Utah game.
Stanford may be the real long shot, but an Oregon slip up puts them and Andrew Luck back in the race.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Cam Newton Is the Heisman Front Runner
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Simply put: Cam Newton is Auburn's offense.
He has thrown for over 1,300 yards and ran for almost 1,100. There is little doubt that he will own the record for most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback.
His biggest upside is that he is quarterbacking a Top 5 team that has a shot at the national title. This puts him light years ahead of Denard Robinson. Another advantage is that LaMichael James of Oregon plays out west.
The Big Ten Is a 4-Team Horse Race
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As it stands right now, the Big Ten race is going to come down to four teams: Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State.
The catch? So far Sparty has the head-to-head win over two of the other three and can go for the sweep by beating Iowa this weekend.
If Iowa wins, that sets up the possibility of a God-awful tiebreaker situation in which BCS rankings may come into play. The Buckeyes surely would prevail, then.
Bottom line: Sparty is in control, with three others in the mix.
Notre Dame Is Irrelevant
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At 4-4, the Fighting Irish are no longer the team that strikes fear into the heart of its opponents.
New head coach Brian Kelly has failed to rally the Golden Domers in his first season, and the Irish may miss out on bowl season all together.
Yesterday's embarrassing loss against Navy may spark a total collapse for a team with such a rich tradition.
Texas Is the Most Jekyll-and-Hyde Team in America
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One week they are handing Nebraska a tough loss in Lincoln, the next week they are falling on their faces at home against Iowa State.
What is up with Mack Brown's squad?
Obviously they have tried to transform the offense through a more run-oriented scheme, but that hasn't worked. Will Muschamp's defense has looked great at times, but horrible otherwise.
Texas is the most inconsistent good team in college football right now.
The Big East Is a Mess
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This conference started out the season labeled the most disappointing of the BCS conferences. So far in conference play, it has lived up to its billing.
West Virginia had been the most consistent team in the conference, but it lost to Syracuse on Saturday. The Orange now sit at 2-1 at second place in the conference.
Pitt looks a little more stable on offense and at QB, but not everyone is sold on the Panthers.
Meanwhile, teams like Louisville, Cincinnati and Rutgers are all capable of winning on any given week.
The word for this conference is "parity," and unfortunately, the winner gets a BCS spot over a team that may be more deserving.
Hawaii Is Back and Could Test Boise
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The majority of the country is unaware that Hawaii could once again be the team to beat in the WAC.
At 4-0 in the conference, Hawaii already has a win over Nevada under its belt and could be 5-0 entering its bout with Boise on the blue turf.
QB Bryant Moniz has already thrown for nearly 3,000 yards, and the Warriors are putting up points in bunches.
It may be interesting to see how Boise handles the Hawaii spread.
Western Kentucky Can Win!
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Western Kentucky's 26-game losing streak--encompassing two presidential terms--is over, as the Hilltoppers knocked off UL-Lafayette 54-21 on Saturday.
A big congrats goes out to head coach Willie Taggart and his program.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
