Auburn and Oregon on Upset Alert: Ole Miss and USC Looking To Play Spoilers

Any college football coach will tell you that being the No. 1 ranked team in the country is the last place you want to find yourself in the middle of the regular season.

Sure, it’s everybody’s ultimate goal to finish atop the standings when all is said and done. But having the added pressure of carrying the weight of the college football world on your shoulders throughout the season can make even the most talented and toughest of teams crumble under the pressure.

Nothing exemplifies that more than what we’ve seen over the last three weekends with three No. 1 teams falling in succession.

First it was Alabama losing on the road at South Carolina, then came Ohio State’s utter egg laying at Wisconsin and on Saturday night we watched as a sea of yellow engulfed the Oklahoma Sooners in Columbia.  

Notice a trend there—all three No.1 teams were toppled on the road. Hmm, maybe Kerouac was trying to tell us something.

The rapid turnover we’ve seen this season is comparable to the one we witnessed back in 2007 when it seemed like every weekend another top team was falling by the wayside just like what’s happening this year.

Now we welcome the Auburn Tigers, led by the sensational play of revitalized quarterback Cameron Newton, into the fray as the new No. 1 team in the land.

And guess where those Tigers are heading this weekend? On the road.

After an impressive win over LSU, Auburn will now head to Oxford to take on the Ole Miss Rebels, a team that currently stands at 3-4 and is coming into this weekend's contest after back to back losses to SEC West foes Alabama and Arkansas.

Houston Nutt’s Rebels team looks to be on a roll of inconsistency this year coming up with big efforts some weeks while also failing to compete on other occasions.

From a pure match up standpoint, everything about this game with the exception of the defensive secondary play favors Auburn.

People have to learn though that it’s not necessarily about the talent your running out onto the field with, it’s about the stigma your carrying out there with you as well. As a No. 1 team, you’ve got the target firmly placed on your back every weekend, and it’s hard for any team to take an opponent’s best shot on a weekly basis and survive without getting at least a scar or two along the way.

There’s no doubt Ole Miss has the capability to compete and hang around with Auburn. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is a seasoned veteran whose been in big situations before and running back Brandon Bolden, when he gets into his groove, can be one of the most effective running backs in the country.

Right now, Las Vegas has this line as Auburn (-7), and quite frankly if I’m a Tiger fan that would scare the you know what out of me.

It’s conceivable that we could see the nation’s two top ranked teams, Auburn and Oregon, both fall on the same night as the Ducks have themselves their own road battle to wage with USC in the Coliseum.

Remember, there's no postseason play for Lane Kiffin's bunch this year so you better believe that they're approaching this game like it's their Super Bowl statement game.

And let’s not forget about No. 5 Michigan State heading to Iowa to take on a disgruntled Hawkeyes team and No. 7 Missouri having to calm themselves down in time for a crucial Big 12 north showdown with a hungry Nebraska squad.

I’m not saying that it’s likely that both the Tigers and the Ducks will fall. But for those thinking that the chaos we’ve seen in the last three weeks is nearing an end, they better think again.

The craziness has only just begun!