After LSU knocked off the Oregon Ducks 40 to 27 in week 1 at Cowboys Stadium, every college football fan circled November 5th on their calendar in anticipation of the what some are now calling "the college football game of the decade" between LSU and Alabama. While it may be a stretch to go to that extreme, the matchup between the two SEC heavyweights features to be the best regular season game in years. The last time the top 2 teams in the country played in a game that was not a bowl game or a conference title game was back in 2006 when #1 Ohio St. beat #2 Michigan in both teams final regular season game of the season. Not only, are LSU and Alabama 1 and 2 in the BCS poll, but they have also been destroying all of their opponents. LSU has beaten 5 ranked teams by a combined score of 192-75 and they have scored at least 40 points in 4 of those 5 games. Alabama has scored at least 37 points in 6 of their 8 games and they have allowed an average of just 6.9 points per game. Although it is going to be tough to have to wait another week for this much-anticipated matchup, the college football schedule still has a lot of room for excitement this weekend.
If you are a college football fan who loves offense, then the Oklahoma St.-Baylor matchup is a perfect game for you to tune into. The Cowboys are averaging just a little under 50 points per game (yes 50 points per game), which ranks 2nd in the FBS and that includes a 45.75 point per game average in four Big 12 games. The Cowboys are led by a scary passing attack that ranks 2nd in the FBS in passing yards per game at 387. Oklahoma St. quarterback Brendon Weeden slings the ball all over the field and against any team as he showed when he threw for 438 yards against Texas A&M on the road earlier this year. The Cowboys passing game should fare very well against a Baylor defense that is allowing an average of 39 points per game in their three Big 12 games. In fact, Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw for 415 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Bears horrible defense. However, the Bears make up for their lack of a defense with an extremely potent offense. Heisman Trophy candidate Robert Griffin III leads the FBS in passer rating at 205.7 and completion percentage at 78.0. In fact, after Baylor's first four games, Griffin had just two more incompletions at 20 than touchdown passes at 18. Griffin will be looking to go to his main receiving target Kendall Wright, who had 201 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 36-35 Baylor loss to Kansas St. on October 1st. Aside from the fact that the game will feature a lot of offense and scoring, the matchup also carries an extreme amount of significance in terms of the National Championship. Oklahoma St. current number 3 ranking is the schools highest ranking since 1984.
Another game that has national championship significance is between undefeated and #5 Clemson and Georgia Tech. With South Carolina struggling at the quarterback position and without their star running back Marcus Lattimore for the rest of the season, the Yellow Jackets could pose the biggest threat all season to knock the Tigers off of the ranks of the unbeaten. Georgia Tech's potent running game, which is averaging 321.1 yards per game, will have to eat up clock and time of possession, so that it can keep the dynamic Clemson offense off of the field. If the Georgia Tech ground game sputters, like it did last week against Miami, the Clemson offense should have a field day. Tajh Boyd ranks 7th in yards passing and 2nd in touchdown passes with 24 and his main target, Sammy Watkins, ranks 2nd in touchdowns and 8th in receiving yards in the FBS and the kid is just a freshman. Boyd will be riding high after he had his best ever college football game ever last week, as he threw for 367 yards and 5 touchdowns in Clemson's 59-38 win against North Carolina in Death Valley.
Kansas St. is 7-0 for the first time since 1999 when they went 11-1 and finished 6th in the AP poll. The Wildcats will have a chance to show their doubters that they can play with the best of the Big 12, as they face #9 Oklahoma at home in Manhattan this weekend. Although the Wildcats are 4-0 in conference play, they have not played any team that is in the top 5 of the conference standings. To add to the difficulty of playing a very good Oklahoma team, the Sooners will be a very angry bunch after their dreams of reaching a National Championship may have been broken after their crushing 41-38 loss to Texas Tech at home last weekend. Kansas St. quarterback Collin Klein will have to play very well to keep the Wildcats in the game because the Wildcats defense isn't good enough to hold down an offense that is as talented as Oklahoma. Klein has been very effective in the Kansas St. running game. In his last three games, Klein is averaging 82 yards per game and he has 10 touchdowns in that span. Klein has 14 rushing touchdowns this season, which ranks 4th in the FBS.
While the "Suck for Luck" slogan is gaining widespread support in Miami and even in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck is currently focused on guiding his Stanford Cardinals to a National Championship. Dating back to last year, the Cardinals have won 10 straight games by at least 25 points, which has not been done for 75 years. The Cardinals rank 2nd in points per game at 48.6 and 4th in points against per game at 12.6. Luck is surgically picking apart opposing defenses each week and ranks in the top 10 in nearly every passing category. However, the Cardinals will have a very difficult test this weekend against the USC Trojans. Since USC is in the second year of their two year postseason ban (which includes the Pac 12 championship game), their matchup with #6 Stanford this weekend is like their bowl game because it is their most significant game all year. Matt Barkley has looked very good this season and he has found a great target in Robert Woods, who has 902 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.
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