The Top 10 Most Intriguing College Football Games Of The 2013 Season

After 15 years of constant debate and discussion and more controversy than an Amanda Bynes tweet or a Kendrick Lamar verse, the BCS is finally in its final year of existence (college football will move to a playoff starting in 2014). While the BCS has certainly had a prodigious amount of flaws (secluding teams outside of the AQ-conferences from playing in major bowl games, putting in rules seasons after they actually apply [Kansas St. Rule], revenue sharing amongst conferences), it has at least given college football the most exciting regular season in all of sports. Unlike college basketball where an eleven loss team can win the National Championship (the 1987-1988 "Danny and the Miracles" Kansas Jayhawks), one loss in a college football season can eliminate a team from title contention, which makes every week of the season a thrilling must win scenario. While the BCS setup obviously doesn't provide anywhere near the excitement of the college basketball postseason, it lends itself to a riveting and captivating regular season. In its last hurrah, the BCS will once again showcase some of the most scintillating regular season college football games for its fans. Here are the top 10 most intriguing contests of the season.

# 5 Georgia at #8 Clemson on August 31:

One of the many downfalls of the BCS has been the fact that many of the top teams in college football have avoided playing quality opponents in the non-conference. While out of conference rivalry games like Notre Dame-USC, Florida St.-Florida, and South Carolina-Clemson have still been contested over the years, teams in the powerhouse conferences (such as the SEC and Big 12) have seen little value in tough non-conference scheduling with an already grueling conference slate. For example, Texas A&M's four non-conference games this season are against Rice, Sam Houston St., SMU, and UTEP, whose players will likely be so out of place that they might ask Johnny Manziel for his autograph. However, college football may have one of its best games of the season before September even begins, as Georgia and Clemson, preseason top 10 teams, are both legitimate National Championship contenders. Georgia, who were just 5 yards and an unintentional catch away from an SEC Championship and a berth in the BCS title game last year, return nearly their entire offense from a team that ranked third in the SEC in points per game at 37.8. While Aaron Murray is the leader of the offense with his poise and leadership, Todd Gurley is a definite Heisman sleeper. The tail back will be running behind the exact same offense line as last season, which features Dallas Lee and all-conference guard Chris Burnette. Gurley, who finished with 1,385 yards in his freshman season and became the 3rd freshman running back in Georgia history along with Herschel Walker in 1980 and Knowshon Moreno in 2007 to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark in their first year in Athens, will be a handful for the Clemson defense. However, if the game turns into a shootout, the Clemson offense will be more then ready. Last season, Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd was in the top 5 in the country in yards per attempt (9.1), touchdowns (36), and quarterback rating (165.6), and his ability to move around the pocket with his feet gives his receivers extra time down the field. Clemson also has the most talented wide receiver in the country, outside of Marqise Lee at USC, in Sammy Watkins. Despite his off the field troubles last year, Watkins's ability is undeniable and how Georgia's cornerbacks, Darius Robinson and Bashaud Breeland, deal with his athleticism could determine the outcome of the game.

#6 South Carolina at #5 Georgia on September 7:

You will be hard-pressed to find another team in the last ten years of college football to open up their season in back-to-back weeks against top 10 opponents like the Georgia Dawgs have to do this season. After traveling to Death Valley, the Bulldogs return home to face death himself (just ask Vincent Smith) in Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney, who Georgia coach Mark Reicht says "is the best football player in the world," is the consensus top prospect in college football and could become the first pure defensive player to ever win the Heisman Trophy (cornerback Charles Woodson won the award in 1997 but he was also a prolific kick and punt returner). Clowney is a freak-of-nature and a once in a decade kind of defensive pass rusher. Last season, Clowney set South Carolina single season records in sacks (13) and tackles for a loss (23.5) and he is nearly impossible to block one-on-one for any college tackle. The defensive end possesses the rare combination of quickness and incredible strength, which is why he is often compared to former number one overall pick Mario Williams. Georgia will have to figure out a way to block Clowney whether it be keeping their tight end on the offensive line as an extra blocker or sending numerous double teams his way because in the Gamecocks last two victories over Georgia, Clowney has had 3 sacks and 6 solo tackles. While Clowney commands a lot of attention (and for good reason), Connor Shaw is going to have to make some plays for the South Carolina offense. Although Shaw's accuracy is underrated, his ability to run for first downs and keep the defense off balance is what caused Georgia so much trouble last season. South Carolina or Georgia have represented the SEC East in the conference title game the past three seasons, and the winner of this year's battle at Sanford Stadium should be in the driver's seat for the 2013 divisional crown.

#1 Alabama at #7 Texas A&M on September 14:

There is no doubt that the Alabama-Texas A&M showdown in Tuscaloosa was the best game of the college football season last year, as the clash had all the ingredients of an instant classic. First, the game featured a title contender, which put the battle in the national spotlight. Going into the conference matchup, Alabama was 9-0 and was looking to become the first team since Nebraska (1994-1995, 1997) to win three national championships in four years and the first team since USC (2003-2004) to repeat as college football title winners. The showdown also featured the compelling storyline of a new team coming into the very difficult and rugged Southeastern Conference. Most people assumed that it would take Texas A&M a few years to get accustomed to the physicality and toughness of the SEC. Although the Aggies went into the game against Bama with a 4-2 conference record, they lost to the two SEC powerhouses they played (Florida and LSU) earlier on in the season. Thus, the Aggies victory over Alabama was the all the more important because it proved that they belonged in the arduous SEC and that they could play with the best teams in the country. Finally, the game featured an incredible Heisman Trophy performance from Johnny Manziel. Not only did Manziel run for 92 yards, but he also was 24 for 31 throwing the football with 253 yards and 2 touchdowns including a wild TD pass where the freshman QB fumbled the ball, scrambled around the pocket, and then threw to a wide open Ryan Swope in the end zone. With the cloud over Manziel's eligibility no longer a dilemma (Manziel is only suspended for the first half of Texas A&M first game against Rice), the Alabama-Texas A&M rematch in College Station could once again be the game of the season. While the Aggies do have the Heisman Trophy winner returning at quarterback, the question marks surrounding Manziel's leadership will loom over him for the entire season. Obviously, Manziel was constantly in the spotlight following the 2012 season, and he did not handle himself in the most positive fashion. The quarterback's negligence surrounding his autograph signings and his departure from the Manning Passing Academy highlighted his immaturity. Nonetheless, Manziel is a very special quarterback, as his ability to move around in the pocket, coupled with his throwing touch, is nearly impossible to find in college football. Alabama will have to do a much better job containing Manziel if they want to avenge their only loss from last season. While the Tide do have some overhaul on their defensive line, the team's secondary is very similar to the one last season that allowed just 173.6 passing yards per game (best in the SEC). However, the key for Bama against the Aggies will likely be their linebacking core. Led by 2012 All-American C. J. Mosley, the Tide will have to make sure that Manziel doesn't get out of the pocket, where he can extend plays and move the chains with his feet or with his arm. Although the Manziel penalty is another example of the feebleness, incompetence, and languor of the NCAA, the ruling does allow for an unbelievable game in College Station.

#16 Oklahoma at #14 Notre Dame on September 28:

Oklahoma and Notre Dame have a lot more in common then you may think. First off, both schools are two of the most accomplished programs in the history of college football, as only Alabama has won more National Championships than the Fighting Irish and the Sooners since the poll era began in 1936 (Alabama has 10 titles, while Notre Dame has 8 National Championships, including 4 in a 7 year span from 1943 to 1949 and Oklahoma has 7 titles including back-to-back championships in 1955-1956 and 1974-1975). Coming into this season, both schools have to replace very successful starting quarterbacks although for very different reasons. The Sooners need to find a successor to Landry Jones, who set Oklahoma school records in career passing yards (16,646), completions (1,388), and touchdowns (123) and finished with a 39-11 record in four years as a starter at the school. Notre Dame have to replace Everett Golson (suspended for the season), who led the Fighting Irish to their first National Championship game in the BCS era (since 1998). Finally, while both schools have some very high level starters returning on the defensive side of the ball (2012 All-Big 12 First Team cornerback Aaron Colvin for Oklahoma and 2012 First Team AP All-American defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt for Notre Dame), both teams will need to find players to fill the shoes of players that moved on to the NFL like Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o (2nd in the 2012 Heisman Trophy voting, the highest finish for an exclusively defensive player since Hugh Green of Pittsburgh in 1980) and Sooners cornerback Tony Jefferson. First and foremost however, if both programs want to find success in 2013, they will have to get consistent quarterback play. The Fighting Irish are going to go with Tommy Rees as their starter. Rees, who started every game for Notre Dame in their 8-5 season in 2011, has no where near the explosive capabilities of Everett Golson. Furthermore, Rees lacks the mobility that Golson possesses and the arm strength, but he has shown that he can be a steady presence behind center, which is what Notre Dame is going to need out of him. In Norman, Blake Bell and Trevor Knight are still in a quarterback battle despite that fact that Oklahoma opens up their season in less than 2 weeks, but most people think that Bell will eventually come out as the starter. "The bulldozer" is a physical specimen and has shown his strength the last two years in goal line packages, as Bell had 13 rushing touchdowns his freshman year and 11 last year, which puts him on pace to break Oklahoma's career rushing touchdowns record by a quarterback. Despite his running prowess, Bell has only completed 10 passes in two years at the school (albeit as a backup) and will have to prove to defenses that he can throw the ball down the field in order to open up his downhill running ability.

#3 Oregon at #4 Stanford on November 7:

USC dominated the Pac-10 for so many years during the 2000's that it became almost a forgone conclusion that the Trojans would be in the National Championship picture at the end of the year. From 2002 to 2008, Southern Cal had a combined record of 80-9 and won 7 straight Pac-10 titles (to put that in perspective, Cal is the only team in Pac-10 history to win more than 3 consecutive conference titles). In that 7-year span under Pete Carroll, not only did USC have three Hesiman Trophy winners (Carson Palmer in 2002, Matt Leinart in 2004, and Reggie Bush in 2005), but they also made 7 straight BCS Bowl games and were co-champions in 2003 with LSU, sole champions in 2004 after a 55-19 blowout win over Oklahoma, and runner's up in 2005 after a 41-38 loss to Texas in one of the greatest games in college football history. However, things have changed out west over the past 4 years, especially after the departure of Pete Carroll to the NFL. Oregon, with their flashy uniforms and high tempo offense, became the first team since Ohio St. to appear in four straight BCS bowl games, and in 2010, the Ducks narrowly lost the in BCS National Championship Game to the Auburn Tigers. Stanford has also enjoyed an unprecedented amount of success over the past few years. The Cardinals, who from 1981 to 2008 had 21 losing seasons and just 7 winning seasons, have made three consecutive BCS bowl appearances. Stanford's 2013 Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin was the school's first win in "the grandadday of them all" in 41 years since a 13-12 victory over Michigan in 1972. With USC outside of the preseason top 25 for the first time in 12 years since 2001 and Oregon and Stanford in the top 5, expect more of the same in the Pac-12. While Oregon return 15 of their starters from last season's 12-1 team, the Ducks will have a very different feel without Chip Kelly on the sidelines. Kelly, who left Oregon for the Philadelphia Eagles, was an offensive mastermind in Eugene, as the Ducks fast paced offense averaged 44.65 points per game in Kelly's four seasons in the northwest. Although replacing Kelly will not be easy, Mark Helfrich is inheriting a loaded Oregon offense. Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Marcos Mariota is the perfect quarterback for Oregon's spread offense, as he keeps the defense honest on the read option with his outstanding quickness. The Hawaiian native is also a very underrated passer, as Mariota threw 32 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions in his first year in the Pac-12. The Ducks also have the biggest home run threat in the entire country with their skilled running back and returner De'Anthony Thomas. Arguably the fastest player in the country, Thomas averaged nearly 8 yards per run and almost 10 yards per catch in a 16 touchdown sophomore season that showed his ability to break almost any play for a touchdown. On the other side of the field, Stanford have one of the most efficent quarterback in the country in Kevin Hogan. After taking over the starting job from Josh Nunes last season, Hogan had a 6-0 record, which included victories over four ranked teams and was highlighted by Stanford's overtime win over undefeated Oregon. With a team that loves to pound the football behind a huge offensive line (which is returning all-american tackle David Yankey), Hogan is very smart with the football, as he threw just 3 interceptions in over 150 passes last season. Although a lot can happen in a football season, do not be surprised to see an undefeated showdown in Palo Alto between Oregon and Stanford on November 7th.

#12 LSU at #1 Alabama on November 9:

There has not been a better college football game over the past 5 years than the LSU-Alabama clashes in the SEC West. In 2008, undefeated and top ranked Alabama needed overtime to beat LSU in a wild game that featured a blocked Crimson Tide fied goal at the end of regulation from just 29 yards away. In 2009, in their first of five straight top 10 battles, Alabama knocked off the Tigers for the second year in a row, the first time the school had won the rivalry game two consecutive seasons since 1998-1999. The following year, LSU got a measure of revenge, as Les Miles and the Tigers beat Nick Saban's Crimson Tide for the first time since 2007 in a 24-21 win in Baton Rouge. Despite the rivalry's newfound vigor in Nick Saban's first few years in Tuscaloosa, the LSU-Alabama game has managed to somehow intensify itself over the past two seasons. In 2011, in what many pundits dubbed as the latest "game of the century" due to the fact that it was college football's first regular season matchup between the top two teams in the nation since Michigan and Ohio St. in 2006, LSU beat Alabama in a defensive struggle 9-6 in overtime. However, the teams met again in the BCS National Championship Game and the tides were turned (no pun intended), as Alabama shutout the Tigers 21-0. Last season, in the latest matchup between the teams with National Championship implications, AJ McCarron engineered a 72-yard game winning drive with 51 seconds remaining to help the top ranked Crimson Tide edge past the Tigers. Once again this year, the LSU-Alabama matchup will be one of the most significant games of the entire season. Alabama could have the best college football team since the 2001 Miami Hurricane squad that featured Ken Dorsey, Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Frank Gore, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow Jr., Andre Johnson, Bryant McKinnie, D.J. Williams, Jonathan Vilma, Sean Taylor, Antrel Rolle, and Ed Reed (just to name a few). If the Tide do have a question mark, it is their offensive line. Anybody who watched the BCS National Championship Game last year could tell you just how dominant Alabama's line was against Notre Dame, as the Bama running backs were constantly getting into the second tier of the Fighting Irish defense without even getting touched due to the massive push from their offensive line. However, Alabama lost All-American guard Chance Warmack, two time All-American guard and center Barrett Jones, and All-American tackle D. J. Fluker to the NFL, and will thus have to replace a significant portion of one of the best offensive lines in college football history. While the Alabama line may not be as overpowering as it has been the past few years, it is blocking for another supremely talented Bama running back in T.J. Yeldon. As good as Eddie Lacy was last season for the Crimson Tide, Yeldon, who set the Alabama freshman record in yards (1,108) and tied the school record in touchdowns as a freshman (12), caught the eye of fans across the country. Unlike some of the recent power backs from the Crimson Tide like Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, Yeldon is more of a speed back and can turn any play into major yardage. On the other side of the field, while LSU is losing a majority of their defensive starters including Barkevious Mingo, Sam Montgomery, and Eric Reid, the Tigers should still be very solid defensively, as the team has only had one season since 2002 in which they allowed more than 20 points per game, which was in 2008. If former Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron can help Zach Mettenberger become more then just an average quarterback that doesn't make a lot of mistakes, the Tigers could be one of the most underrated teams in the nation heading into this season.

#13 Oklahoma St. at #15 Texas on November 16:

One of the best games of the college football season is typically the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma. The two schools have combined for 11 national championships (7 for Oklahoma and 4 for Texas), 75 conference titles (43 for Oklahoma and 32 for Texas), 7 Heisman Trophy Winners (Bill Vessels in 1952, Steve Owens in 1969, Billy Sims in 1978, Jason White in 2003, and Sam Bradford in 2008 for Oklahoma and Earl Campbell in 1977 and Ricky Williams in 1998 for Texas), and 1 legendary rivalry game. However, there has been another matchup the last few years that has dwarfed the Red River Rivalry: the Texas-Oklahoma St. game. In 2011, Oklahoma beat Texas by 38 points in the largest blowout in the rivalry since a 2003 65-13 Oklahoma smashing. That same year, the Cowboys and the Longhorns, both top 25 teams at the time, played a thrilling game in Austin, which featured a 100 yard kickoff return by Foswhitt Whittaker and a 74 yard run by Jeremy Smith in the same quarter. Last year, Oklahoma once again dominated Texas, as the Sooners won 63-21 in Dallas, the 5th biggest blowout in the 107 year history of the historic game (only in 1908, 1956, 2000, 2003 were their bigger blowouts). In comparison, Texas and Oklahom St. played the most electrifying game of the Big 12 season last year, as the Longhorns knocked off the Cowboys 41-36 in a game that featured 77 points, including 35 in the first quarter. Oklahoma St. and Texas figure to be the top two teams in the Big 12 this season, which means that their game in Austin figures to be not only the most exciting game in the conference, but also very significant in terms of what Big 12 team will represent the league in the BCS. For Texas, longtime head coach Mack Brown is in a make or break year. Brown, who has been at UT since 1998 (the longest longest tenured coach in FBS besides Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech and Larry Blakeney at Troy), obviously has had a lot of success at the school, taking Texas to 4 BCS Bowl games (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009) including a National Championship in 2005 with Vince Young. However, in the last three years, the Longhorns have not had a season of more than 9 wins, and their 22-16 record over that span is the worst three year record for the Longhorns since they went 16-16 from 1991-1993 under John Mackovic. Fortunately for Mack Brown, Texas is returning 19 starters (tied for the most in the country with Bowling Green, Indiana, Miami, and UTSA) including their starting quarterback David Ash. Ash was very solid last season behind center, as he avoided throwing an interception in 7 of his 12 starts and only had 3 games where he had more than 8 incompletions. However, for Texas to have their best season since they went to the National Championship in 2009 with Colt McCoy, Ash has to improve against better opponents like Oklahoma, where he was 13 for 29 with 113 yards and 2 interceptions in the game last year. For Oklahoma State, their offense is going to put up a lot of points like they always do, no matter if J.W. Walsh or Clint Chelf is starting. In the last three years under Mike Gundy, the Cowboys have been in the top 5 in both yards per game and points per game offensively. The question that will define the Cowboys season is how their defense will play against an offense with the explosive of Texas. If Oklahoma St. can improve their defense, which allowed only 24 points per game at home last season, Mike Gundy could lead the Cowboys to their 3rd double digit win season in the last four years.

#2 Ohio St. at #17 Michigan on November 30:

There are only a few rivalries in sports where you can truly throw out the records because of the intensity and emotion that the players always show on the field regardless of what has happened earlier on in a season, and Michigan and Ohio St. is definitely one of those such rivalries. While it may not be fair, coaches at the two schools are often defined by how their team performs in "The Game." For example, despite the fact that John Cooper led Ohio St. to three Big Ten titles (1993, 1996, 1998) and a Rose Bowl in 1996 and two straight Sugar Bowls in 1997 and 1998, he was a dismal 2-10-1 against Michigan. In fact, the Buckeyes lost their undefeated seasons in 1993, 1995, and 1996 to the Wolverines, which was a principal reason why Cooper was fired from the Ohio school. When Cooper was asked if the losses to Michigan had anything to do with his dismissal, the longtime Ohio St. coach replied, "I'm sure that was a big factor, and the reason I won't be coaching here anymore." Furthermore, although Lloyd Carr won a National Championship with Michigan in 1997, his legacy is often damaged because he went just 1-6 against Jim Tressel's Buckeyes from 2001 to 2007, which allowed Ohio St. to make five BCS Bowl games (2002-2003, 2005-2007) and two National Championships (2006-2007). Obviously, the Michigan-Ohio St. game means a lot, and this year will be no different. The Buckeyes, whose 12-0 record in 2012 was just the school's second undefeated season in the last 38 years, may have their best team since they won the National Championship in 2002 and the school's best quarterback since Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy in 2006. In a very deep class of college football quarterbacks, Braxton Miller may be the most dangerous matchup in all of college football. Miller's speed and agility in the open field is unmatched by any other top college football quarterback, as Miller was 4th in the Big Ten last season with 1,271 yards and set an Ohio St. QB record in rushing yards in a season. While Miller's ability to make big plays with his feet gives him the latitude to not be as efficient throwing the ball as some other quarterbacks need to be, the 2012 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year needs to be more accurate in the intermediate passing game. If Miller can bring up his completion percentage from 58.3 percent (only Andrew Maxwell from Michigan St. and Caleb TerBush from Purdue had a lower completion rate in the Big Ten), it will open up the Buckeyes run game even more. On the other side of the field, Michigan have some very good pieces returning from last season, but they may be one year away from contending for much more than a Big Ten title. While Denard Robinson certainly provided the highlight reel plays with his unbelievable quickness last year, the Wolverines will be much more steady on offense with a quarterback that can actually throw the ball in Devin Gardner (sorry, Denard). They also have one of the top offensive lineman in the country at left tackle with 2012 First Team All-American Taylor Lewan returning to school for his senior year. However, not only do Michigan have to replace a significant amount of their defensive front, but they also will be without star linebacker Jake Ryan for most, if not the entire season. Nonetheless, no matter who is on the field, Michigan and Ohio St. is arguably the best rivalry in all of sports, so saddle up for Brady Hoke-Urban Meyer round 2 in November.

#11 Florida St. at #10 Florida on November 30:

Some college football rivalries are synonymous with the tradition and the history attached to the contest like the Army-Navy Game, the Big Game (Stanford and Cal), or the Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate Game (Georgia and Georgia Tech). While Florida-Florida St. certainly has its fair share of history, the rivalry has become one of college football's most attractive battles because of the flare and fervor associated with the teams. Whether it was Deion Sanders, Derrick Brooks, Charlie Ward, Warrick Dunn, or Chris Weinke from Florida St., or Emmitt Smith, Brad Culpepper, Danny Wuerffel, Ike Hillard, or Fred Taylor from Florida, the in-state bragging rights game always had electrifying star power during the 1980's and 1990's. However, the rivalry lost its excitement when Florida went just 32-18 from 2002 to 2005 and when Florida St. had a mediocre 47-30 slide from 2004 to 2009. However, the Florida-Florida St. rivalry seems to be returning to its glory days. Last year, both teams finished in the top 10 of the AP poll for the first time since 2000, and the Gators and Seminoles have expectations to do the same this year. While Florida St. is losing a significant amount of talent on the defensive front, they return their entire secondary except for Xavier Rhodes and have the second best recruiting class in the country coming into school. With a solid defensive backfield and an entire offensive line returning for their junior and senior seasons, the Seminoles have the ingredients for another BCS Bowl bid if they can get consistent quarterback play out of Jameis Winston. Winston, who was the top quarterback recruit in the 2012 class, is a lethal dual threat quarterback that can throw and run the ball equally well. While his maturity under pressure has yet to be seen, he has the natural ability to be college football's next star quarterback. On the other side of the field, Florida will have a very similar philosophy to the one that carried them to the Sugar Bowl last season: pound the football with the run and keep the game close with a stout defense. Despite his ability to extend plays with his feet, Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel does not have a big arm and he is more of a game manager then anything else. The Gators will once again rely on him to be smart with the football and not make silly turnovers (he only had 5 interceptions in 245 attempts last year). Although the Gators lost some key defensive pieces to the NFL (DT Shariff Floyd, S Matt Elam, LB Jonathan Bostic), do not expect their defense to take a step back in 2013. While the Florida-Florida St. game doesn't have the same feeling it once did, it is working its way back to being one of the two or three most significant rivalries in college football.

#9 Louisville at Cincinnati on December 5:

Louisville should be feeling very good entering this season. Not only are the Cardinals coming off a year in which they won their first BCS Bowl game since the 2006 Orange Bowl, but their team is also in the preseason top 10 for the first time since 2007, they have a Heisman Trophy favorite at quarterback in Terry Bridgewater, their desirable head coach, Charlie Strong, turned down an offer from SEC power Tennessee in the offseason, and they have a very good shot at going undefeated for the first time in school history since 1947 when the team played just 8 games in a season. However, Louisville could be the final victim of the vicious college football system known by most as the BCS. The Cardinals are very unlucky that their best team since the days of Brian Brohm and Michael Bush will be competing in the murky American Athletic Conference, which will do nothing but hinder the team's chances at a birth in the title game. There is a distinct possibility that Louisville could become the 10th team in the BCS era to finish a season undefeated and not win the National Championship, which would put them in the company of the following teams: 1998 Tulane, 1999 Marshall, 2004 Auburn, 2004 Utah, 2006 Boise St., 2008 Utah, 2009 Boise St., 2010 TCU, and 2012 Ohio State. Although Louisville may not square off against a ranked opponent all season long, their biggest test in conference play will likely come from Cincinnati. If the Bearcats want to pull off the upset, they will have to stop a Louisville offense that is as dynamic and explosive as any other offense in the country. Terry Bridgewater, who will likely be the first quarterback selected in next year's draft, is the driving force of the vaunted Cardinals attack. While Bridgewater's arm strength allows him to sling the ball down the field and challenge opposing teams' backfields, he isn't careless with the ball, as evidenced by the fact that he averaged just one pick for every 52.375 pass attempts last year. Consequently, Bridgewater is also very accurate with his throws, despite his propensity to go down field, as his completion percentage of 68.5 was the 6th best in the nation last season. Bridgewater's ability to make nearly any throw on the football field creates extra space in the middle of the field, which the Cardinal receivers love to exploit. Obviously, going undefeated is no where near a guarantee, but with a conference schedule of Temple, Rutgers, Central Florida, South Florida, Connecticut, Houston, Memphis, and Cincinnati, even an undefeated season may not be enough for the Cardinals.

The SEC Will Finally Be Knocked Off Its Championship Pedestal This Year

The SEC has reigned supreme over college football for the past 6 years. As shown by Florida in 2006 and 2008, LSU in 2007, Alabama in 2009 and 2011, and Auburn in 2010, college football has been controlled by the Southeastern Conference, and quite frankly, no other league has been anywhere close.

In the 2006-2007 season for example, Ohio St. came into the National Championship Game with Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith at quarterback and a team that strolled through the Big Ten with an average margin of victory of more than 26 points in conference games. But the title game was never close, as Florida took the victory 41-14 and illustrated the disparity between the SEC and everybody else.

In fact, the SEC was so dominate last year that two teams from the league, LSU and Alabama, met in the National Championship Game, marking the first time since college football went to a national championship setup 20 years ago in 1992 that two teams from the same conference were playing for all the marbles.

With 5 SEC teams (Alabama at #2, LSU at #3, Georgia at #6, South Carolina at #9, and Arkansas at #10) ranked in the top 10 of the preseason AP poll, many people expect the SEC to make it 7 straight National Champions out of the conference. However, this is finally going to be the year that a team outside the Southeastern Conference walks away BCS National Champion.

A major reason that it will be tough for an SEC team to win the national title is because of the unprecedented depth of the conference. With the additions of Missouri to the SEC East and Texas A&M to the SEC West, the league is going to be ruthless week in and week out. Aside from Kentucky in the east and Ole Miss in the west, every team in the conference has a legitimate top 25 caliber squad. With at least 5 national championship contenders in the league, it is going to be very difficult for a team to run the gauntlet in the conference because of the demanding nature of every team's schedule. 

#9 South Carolina for example, has a brutal 5 game stretch during the season where they play #6 Georgia, followed by #3 LSU in the Bayou, then #23 Florida in the Swamp, and finally games against Tennessee and #10 Arkansas back home in Columbia. Yes that's right, the Gamecocks could conceivably play 3 top 10 teams in a 5-week span. Talk about tough sliding. 

Meanwhile, LSU, who lost in the National Championship Game to Alabama last year after beating the Crimson Tide during the regular season, have a daunting conference slate as well. The Tigers have a stretch in October and November where they take on #23 Florida in the Swamp, return home for a game against #9 South Carolina, then travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M and the 12th man, and finally return home to play a title game rematch against #2 Alabama. And oh yeah, they have to finish off the season in Fayetteville against #10 Arkansas. Even an LSU fan, who is used to having a difficult schedule, will realize that it will be very tough to finish the year undefeated.

While the SEC clubs will be knocking each other out of the title race, teams from other leagues will have much easier paths to Miami. For instance, #7 Florida St. has just one top 15 team on their entire schedule (Clemson) and 5 of their 8 conference games are against teams who didn't finish with a winning record last year (Wake Forest, Boston College, Miami, Duke, and Maryland).

Aside from just scheduling, most importantly, there are a lot of quality teams outside of the SEC, specifically Oklahoma and West Virginia from the Big 12, and USC and Oregon from the Pac-12.

There is no way around it, Oklahoma had a lackluster 2011 season. Despite being the preseason number 1, the Sooners finished the year ranked outside the top 15, as they lost to Texas Tech at home for the first time since 1996 and lost to Oklahoma St. by 34 points, the Cowboys biggest beat down of the Sooners in the Bedlam rivalry since 1945.

However, the #4 Sooners are going to have a chip on their shoulders after their massively disappointing season last year, and with a potent offense, they are a very dangerous team. Landry Jones, who will likely end up in the top 5 in college football history in both career yards and touchdowns, is as good as any quarterback in the country and he will lead a Sooners offense as dynamic as any in the nation.

The other Big 12 team that could cause some trouble and is a sleeper pick for the National Championship is #11 West Virginia, as the Mountaineers have an electrifying offensive attack. We all know that Dana Holgorsen loves to put points up on the board and there is little doubt in anybody's mind that the Big 12 newcomers will be able to do just that.

Geno Smith, who set the West Virginia passing yards record last year, has two of the best threats in the country on the outside of the field with Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. Austin, who was one of just 8 receivers to catch 100 balls last season, is as quick as any receiver in the country and he and Smith form arguably the most lethal duo in all of college football.

Luckily for the Mountaineers, they get #22 Kansas St., #20 TCU, and #4 Oklahoma all at home in Morgantown.

Once Matt Barkley announced his decision to return to Southern Cal for his senior year, the Trojans were going to be one of the most popular picks, if not the most popular pick, to win the National Title. Although #1 USC do not have a lot of depth, as they are still feeling the ill effects of the NCAA sanctions placed on them in 2010, they have a majority of their starters returning on both sides of the ball.

Led by safety T.J. McDonald, the Trojans defense will be better than people expect it to be, but with all the star power on the offense end of the ball, the defense doesn't have to be Alabama-like.

With the addition of Penn St. transfer Silas Redd, USC will have a strong running game to go along with the best receiving core in college football, as Robert Woods and Marquise Lee are big-time playmakers on the outside of the field.

Few schools can lose their starting quarterback (Darron Thomas) as well as their all-time leading rusher (LaMichael James) and return the next season as a top 5 club, but that is exactly the position the #5 Oregon Ducks are in, and they could very well be better than they were last season.

Marcus Mariota, who dazzled for the Ducks at their spring game, won the starting QB job over Bryan Bennett this summer, and the dual threat redshirt freshman is the perfect fit for the Ducks offense, as he can make plays with both his arm and his feet.

Although LaMichael James will no longer be in the backfield for the Ducks, Kenjon Barner is as good as a replacement as you will find in college football. Only three running backs in the FBS, who had as many carries as Barner, had more yards than the Oregon back, showing that with more rushing opportunities, Barner can run for a lot of yards.

Finally, the Ducks have the best home run hitter in all of college football with De'Anthony Thomas. The speedster can make a huge play any time he touches the ball with his electrifying quickness, as he showed in the Rose Bowl with his 91-yard touchdown run as well as his 64-yard touchdown run in his only two carries of the game.

Finally, the two SEC teams who are most likely to win the National Title, #2 Alabama and #3 LSU, have a lot of question marks.

Although Alabama will once again have a very solid defense, there is no way the Crimson Tide will be able to replace 6 defensive players, 3 of which were selected with the first 25 picks in the NFL draft, that easily. Not only are they going to miss key components of their secondary with cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and safety Mark Barron gone, but the Tide are going to struggle without linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw, as the Crimson depended on the ball-hawkers to make so many tackles and plays around the field.

LSU was hit with a serious blow to their championship dreams when Heisman Trophy candidate Tyrann Mathieu was kicked off the team due to his violation of the team's substance abuse policy. Anybody who watched LSU's season last year will tell you that you can't underestimate the impact that Mathieu had on the Tigers run to the BCS title game. Although the Honey Badger was not even the best cover corner on the team last year, no player in the country made more game changing plays then Mathieu. With an offense that is not anywhere near as potent as others in college football, the Honey Badger made play after play either by forcing a turnover or returning a punt on special teams to keep LSU in games, and his absence will definitely be felt.

A lot of questions remain about this upcoming college football year, and I am as pumped as anybody for the season to begin. Although we will have to wait until January to see who is holding the Crystal Ball as the BCS National Champion, I think its fairly safe to assume one thing about the title winner; It will not be a team out of the Big East.

An Overview Of The BCS Bowl Games

Obviously, every college football fan looks forward to the BCS bowl games including the BCS National Championship and this year features an incredible slate of BCS games, which fans should be very intrigued about.

In the Rose Bowl, two of the best running backs in the country, Montee Ball of Wisconsin and LaMichael James of Oregon, will meet in a game that features two of the top 4 scoring teams in the FBS. Wisconsin is playing in the grandaddy of them all for the second consecutive year, while Oregon is playing in its second Rose Bowl in three years. However, Wisconsin hasn't won a Rose Bowl since 1994 when they beat UCLA 21-16 and Oregon hasn't won a rose bowl game in almost 100 years since 1917 when the Ducks beat Pennsylvania 14-0.

For fans that love to watch great offenses and teams that score a lot of points, the Fiesta Bowl and definitely not the BCS National Championship is the game to watch. Oklahoma St., led by the lethal aerial connection of Brandon Weeden and all-American Justin Blackmon, will be playing in their first BCS bowl against the Stanford Cardinals, who are led by Heisman runner-up and future number 1 pick, Andrew Luck. Both teams have potent offenses that ranked within the top 5 in scoring in the FBS.

For the first time since 2000, the sugar bowl will be a matchup where neither team is from the SEC. However, the matchup of Michigan and Virginia Tech, two of the most high profile schools in the country with two of the largest fan bases in the country, is going to be a huge attraction. While Virginia Tech has dominated the ACC and is in its sixth BCS game and its fourth since 2008, Michigan is appearing in its first BCS game since the 2007 Rose Bowl.

Although the Orange Bowl is once again the least attractive of the BCS games, it does feature two teams that can score a lot of points. Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd is in the top 10 of the FBS in passing yards and touchdowns, many of which go to his big time freshman receiver Sammy Watkins. The Mountaineers can also score some points and rack up a ton of yards, which they showed even against the incredible defense of LSU. West Virginia ranked 6th in the FBS in passing yards per game. Clemson is just playing in its fourth Orange Bowl and its first since 1982 when they beat Nebraska 22-15. West Virginia is playing in its first BCS bowl game since 2008 when they beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl 48-28.

The BCS National Championship is a rematch of the "Game of the Century" played earlier this year when the LSU Tigers beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa in a defense battle 9-6. The last rematch in a college football National Championship game was back in 1996 when the Florida Gators lost to Florida St. 24-21 in Tallahassee and then went on to beat Florida St. in the National Championship 52-20. The National title game features arguably two of the best defenses in college football history. Alabama ranked 1st in the FBS in points allowed at an incredible 8.8, while LSU finished 2nd allowing 10.5 points per game. Through Alabama's first 10 games, they were allowing just an average of 7.1 points per game including holding 6 of those opponents, Kent St., North Texas, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and LSU, to under 10 points. LSU's defense wasn't too far behind. In 8 SEC games and the SEC championship game, LSU allowed an average of less than 10 points per game and held everybody beside Arkansas to less than 11 points. Although the Alabama and LSU offenses should manage to put some more points on the board than in their previous meeting, don't expect an offense shootout with defenses like LSU and Alabama that have so many talented and NFL caliber players.

Montee Ball and Tyrann Mathieu Are Going To Make This Heisman Trophy Race Historically Close

It is very difficult to find an unprecedented circumstance when it comes to college football's most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy. The trophy has been around since 1935 when Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger won the inaugural award and has seen everything from USC halfback O.J. Simpson winning the award by the largest margin of victory in the 1968 Heisman race to running back Reggie Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy being vacated because of NCAA violations when he was at USC. The Heisman has also seen its fair share of close calls and narrow margin of victory. In 1985, Auburn running back Bo Jackson narrowly defeated Iowa quarterback Chuck Long by 45 points to win the Heisman. In 2009, running back Mark Ingram won the closest Heisman in history over Stanford running back Toby Gerhart by a slim 28 points. This year's Heisman is not only going to be tight at the top of the list, but it is going to be close all the way down to number 5 because of the fantastic seasons that Montee Ball and Tyrann Mathieu have both had.

It is incredible to look at the numbers that Wisconsin running back Montee Ball has put up, and think that he is probably going to finish in 4th in the Heisman trophy voting. By now, everybody has probably seen the stat that 45 teams in the FBS have scored less touchdowns than Montee Ball this season including high profile schools like Florida, Ohio St., Auburn, Tennessee, and Penn St. Ball has had one of the best statistical seasons for a running back in college football history. He leads the FBS with 1,759 rushing yards and an incredible 32 rushing touchdowns. Ball also has been effective out of the backfield as a reciever, as he has had 6 receiving touchdowns, which is 2nd in the FBS amongst running backs, who have had at least 14 carries this season. Montee has even thrown a touchdown pass against Inidana this season. Ball now holds the Big Ten Conference record for touchdowns in a single season and is just the 5th player in college football history to score 30 touchdowns in a season. His 38 total touchdowns are just one behind the FBS record for tochdowns in a season, which was set in 1988 when Oklahoma St. running back Barry Sanders scored 39 touchdowns. Obviously, Ball has been a scoring machine this season. Ball has reached the end zone at least 3 times in 8 of the Badgers' 13 games this season and he has had a multiple touchdown game in the other 5 as well.

If you look back at previous Heisman Trophy winners and runners-ups at the running back position, their numbers don't compare to the incredible stats of Montee Ball. In 2005, Reggie Bush won the Heisman trophy and received the 2nd most votes in Heisman history with 2,541. In 2006 and 2007 Darren McFadden finished as the runner-up in the Heisman trophy race to Troy Smith and then Tim Tebow the following year. In 2009 Alabama running back Mark Ingram won the Heisman Trophy becoming the first Alabama player to win the prestigious award. However, while it may seem surprising, Ball's stats are far more impressive than Bush's, McFadden's, and Ingram's. In 2005, when the Heisman was awarded to Reggie, he had rushed for 1,1658 yards and just 15 touchdowns. When McFadden lost the Heisman in 2006, he had rushed for 1,558 yards and 14 touchdowns and the next year when he lost the race, he had rushed for 1,725 and 15 touchdowns. When the Heisman was awarded to Ingram in 2009, he had just 1,542 rushing yards and only 15 touchdowns. Ball has rushed for more yards than Bush, McFadden, and Ingram, and while none of them had more than 15 touchdowns, Ball has more than doubled their rushing touchdowns with his 32. With this in mind, voters are going to look at Ball's incredible numbers and the Wisconsn back is going to get a lot of votes even if he does finish in 4th place.

There is no player in college football that makes more big plays than LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, or more commonly known to his teammates as Honey Badger. The Chuck Bednarik award winner, as the nation's best defensive player, has made play after play to keep the Tigers undefeated this season, especially against top ranked opponents.

In the Tiger's huge 40-27 victory over #3 Oregon in their opening game of the season, Mathieu was all over the field, as he made 11 tackles, 6 of them being solo. In the second quarter, with the LSU offense struggling and the Tigers punting the ball back to the Ducks already down by 3 points, Mathieu made a huge play for his team. After Kenjon Barner fielded the punt from LSU punter Brad Wing he tried to spin around Mathieu, but Tyrann wasn't fooled and striped the ball away from Barner and took the ball into the end zone. The play changed the course of the game, as the Tigers took a 9-6 lead and stopped the Duck's offense momentum.

The Tigers can thank the Honey Badger for their big 47-21 victory over #16 West Virginia as well. In the first quarter of that game, Mathieu stripped West Virginia wide receiver Brad Starks and then recovered the football to halt a West Virginia drive. Mathieu sealed the victory for the Tigers during the end of the second quarter. With LSU up 20-7 and the Mountaineers looking to make the game a one score contest, Mathieu intercepted Geno Smith's pass and returned it to the West Virginia 1 yard line, which set up the LSU touchdown and their 27-7 lead at halftime.

Mathieu is also a huge reason that the Tigers were able to beat #3 Arkansas 41-17 and secure a spot in the SEC Championship game. Not only did the Honey Badger have 8 solo tackles during the game, but his big plays helped the Tigers jump out of an early 14-0 hole and outscore the Razorbacks 41-3 for the rest of the game. With Arkansas up 14-7 and expecting to pin the Tigers back deep into their own territory, they punted the ball to Mathieu. What a mistake. The Honey Badger took the punt back 92 yards to the house for the longest punt return for a touchdown all season and tied the game up at 14. Mathieu said, "I could hear my teammates in my ear saying, 'Man, we need you to go make a play.' I was able to help the momentum really go in our favor. You have no idea how bad I just wanted to go out there and make a big play for our team. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that." The Honey Badger wasn't done just yet however. With Arkansas looking to go up before halftime, Mathieu stripped Arkansas running back Dennis Johnson, which set up a LSU touchdown. In the blink of an eye, Mathieu's punt return and forced fumble gave the Tigers a 7 point lead and totally changed the momentum of the game.

Mathieu had his Heisman moments against Georgia in the SEC Championship game. The Bulldogs came out firing against the Tigers and took a 10-0 lead, while the LSU offense remained non-existent. They had just 12 yards of total offense on 5 possessions and were struggling to move the ball on the Georgia defense. With Georgia punting the ball back to LSU, the Tigers needed a play and guess who made it for them? Yes, the Honey Badger. He took the punt from Drew Butler and returned it 62 yards for an LSU touchdown and cut the Bulldogs lead to 3 points. After halftime, Mathieu recovered a fumble at the Georgia 27 yard line, which set up a LSU touchdown and gave them a 14-10 lead. After a three and out on the Bulldogs next possession, Mathieu had his signature Heisman moment. He took a punt 47 yards back to the Georgia 17 yard line after faking out and alluding at least 9 Georgia tacklers. Mathieu's fantastic return set up another Tiger touchdown and gave LSU a 21-10 lead. The LSU offense had mustarded a total of just 51 yards and yet the Tigers were leading 21-10 because of the great punt returns and a fumble recovery by Mathieu.

If you look back at the previous Heisman Trophy winners, many of them have won the Heisman trophy because of the great plays that they have made to lead their team to the National Championship game. Since 2000, of the 10 Heisman trophy winners (not including Reggie Bush), 8 of them have played on teams who played in the BCS National Championship Game. With this in mind, voters are going to look at all of the plays that Mathieu has made and his importance to LSU's Championships run and the LSU cornerback is going to get a lot of votes even if he does finish in 5th place.

This Weekend In College Football Is Going To Show The Best And The Worst Of The BCS

The Bowl Championship Series, or more commonly known as the BCS, has been the most highly debated system in sports since its inception in 1998. It is nearly impossible to meet a sports fan that feels indifferent about the BCS. Whether people love the BCS or want a college football playoff to determine the National Champion, people have an opinion on the subject. 

The criticism for the BCS has been widespread throughout college football analysts and coaches and even some politicians. 

College football analysts Brent Musburger said, "My dream scenario -- and it's not going to happen -- would be to take eight conference champions, and only conference champions, and play the quarterfinals of a tournament on campuses in mid-December. The four losers would remain bowl-eligible. The four winners would advance to semifinals on New Year's Day with exclusive TV windows. Then, like now, one week later, there would be the national championship game." 

Just this week Stanford coach David Shaw said, "Bottom line is, the BCS is flawed... I don't understand it. Most of the people I talk to don't understand it. Most of the people that are explaining it don't completely understand it... All I've heard all year is the computers don't like Stanford. Well, the computers haven't programmed themselves."

Politicians from Utah have been extremely outspoken against the BCS. In 2009, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch questioned and explored if the BCS violated anti-trust laws. In 2011, Shurtleff announced that he would file an anti-trust lawsuit against the BCS for "serious anti-trust violations" and this lawsuit was supported by 21 high profile economists and anti-trust experts. 

Although President Barack Obama supports a college football playoff, he doesn't believe that the BCS should be up for legal debate like many of the politicians from Utah. Obama said, “If you’ve got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season and many of them have one loss or two losses, there’s no clear, decisive winner. We should be creating a playoff system... I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football. You know, I am fed up with these computer rankings, and this and that and the other. Get eight teams. The top eight teams right at the end. You've got a playoff. Decide on a national champion." 

Although criticism for the BCS seems to be much more widespread in the public, there is still a lot of support for the system. 

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney is one of the most outspoken supporters of the BCS. Delaney said, "There is nothing more powerful than the regular season in college football. All the games that were local are now regional. The regional games are now national. The level of interest of young people, 12-17, was measured recently. I think NASCAR and the NFL gained 1%. College Football gained 9%. I understand the paradigm of the American sports fan is to play it out. I know we're swimming upstream on it. But we've grown the fan base, we've grown the regular season and we've maintained the postseason... The majority of the presidents and faculty and athletic directors and coaches in the Big Ten believe in the Rose Bowl and believe in the bowl system." 

Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman added that no system can be implemented where every conference and every school is "going to have as competitive a chance as others- I mean that's just the reality of the world."

This weekend figures to bring out the best and the worst of the BCS. It is going to show why all of the critics of the BCS are right, while showing at the same time why all of the supporters of the BCS are right. Confusing? Chaotic? Crazy? Welcome to the BCS.

For the critics of the BCS, this weekend is going to once again show how every team in the FBS doesn't have an equal opportunity to reach the National Championship and how non-AQ schools (schools from conference other than the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, or Pac-12) will never have the chance for a national title. It is also going to show how the regular season is extremely important for only some teams and not every team.

The Houston Cougars are currently sitting at 11-0 (7-0 in Conference USA) and have one of the most prolific offenses in recent history. The Cougars offense, lead by Heisman trophy candidate Case Keenum, has been racking up unprecedented numbers. In 11 victories this season, Keenum has thrown for over 300 yards in every game and has thrown for over 400 yards in 5 of those games. Keenum leads the FBS in passing yards, as he has already thrown for over 4,000 yards, and he also leads the FBS in touchdowns with 38. The Cougars are scoring a ridiculous number of points, as they lead the nation in scoring at over 53 points per game. Since 2004, just Western Kentucky and Hawaii in 2007 have scored more points per game than the Cougars. In 7 conference victories, Houston is averaging over 58 points per game. The Cougars lead the FBS in total yards and total yards per game at 618.3. No team since 2004 has averaged more yards per game than the Cougars. Houston leads the FBS in passing yards as well with over 465 per game. Since 2004, just Texas Tech in 2007 has averaged more passing yards per game than the Cougars. Despite the fact that the Cougars are undefeated and are putting up these unprecedented and incredible numbers, they are not going to have a chance to play in the National Championship this year in New Orleans. Currently in the BCS standings, the Cougars are ranked 8th. It would take a loss by all 6 one loss teams to get the Cougars to number 2 in the BCS rankings and in a position to make the title game and the chances of this happening is unbelievable slim. Therefore, Houston's game this weekend against a solid Tulsa team, which hasn't lost a game in Conference USA as well, is not going to have the importance that it should because it doesn't have National Championship implications. Once again, a team that is undefeated will not win a National title, which has happened 6 times since 2004.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney said that college football is "the most important regular season in all of sport." However, BCS critics say that the regular season is "the most important regular season in all of sports" for the few teams who are competing to get into the BCS National Championship or into a BCS bowl game. For the teams that are not going to land in one of the five BCS games, the regular season losses its importance. There are a number of very good games this week that are not significant because college football lacks a playoff. #25 Texas at Texas A&M, Iowa at #21 Nebraska, and Texas Tech at  #18 Baylor are all great football games. However, since none of these teams have legitimate opportunities to make a BCS bowl game, the games lose their importance.

For the supporters of the BCS, the weekend’s slate of games is going to prove why the BCS causes more excitement in the regular season than any other sport. It is going to show why, like Jim Delaney said, "There is nothing more powerful than the regular season in college football."

If there was an 8 team playoff in college football, the LSU and Arkansas game would lose its appeal. Both teams would make the playoffs and their battle this weekend in Baton Rouge would just be for seeding. However, with the current BCS in place, the excitement surrounding the game is unbelievable because of all of the different possibilities that will result after the conclusion of the game, especially if the Tigers fall to the Razorbacks. With a Razorback victory coupled with an Alabama win over Auburn, there would be a three-way tie atop the SEC west standings with LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas. Therefore, the team with the lowest BCS ranking would be eliminated and then the tie between the two higher ranked BCS teams would be broken by their head-to-head result. If LSU does fall to Arkansas chaos and madness will ensue. Thus, everybody is going to have their eyes glued on the game in Baton Rouge because of its monumental importance in the National Championship race, which is just what the BCS wants. 

Who Should Be Number 3 In The BCS Standings?

If LSU can remain unbeaten by beating Ole Miss, Arkansas, and then most likely Georgia (who have to beat Kentucky at home to win the SEC East) in the SEC Championship game and Oklahoma St. can win out by beating Iowa St. and then Oklahoma in Bedlam, the National Championship game is simple. It will be #1 and 13-0 LSU against #2 and 12-0 Oklahoma St. in New Orleans. If LSU losses one of their final three games, they will most likely still land in the National Championship since they beat both #3 Alabama and #4 Oregon already this season. However, the craziness and huge debate will begin if Oklahoma St. losses to #5 Oklahoma in Stillwater the final week of the season. Therefore, it begs the question: What team deserves to be ranked 3rd in the BCS standings and jump into the National Championship if Oklahoma St. falls?

Alabama currently sits 3rd in the BCS standings and the Crimson Tide may have the strongest argument to be ranked at that position. In their 9 wins they have outscored their opponents by more than 30 points and their closest victory was a 16-point beating of Penn St. 27-11 on the road. The Tide have knocked off three ranked teams including #6 Arkansas 38-14. The Tide have been the only team all season to hold the Razorbacks to less than 29 points and their tremendous defense is allowing just 7.1 points per game, which is the best in the nation. Bama has held their opponents to single digits in 6 of 9 games as well. Compared to Oregon, Alabama's loss to LSU is much more impressive. The Ducks fell to the Tigers by 13 points, 40 to 27, in a game that wasn't even as close as the score indicates. In fact, Oregon trailed by 20 points for most of the 4th quarter until they scored a late touchdown. However, the Tide played a hard fought, tough game with the Tigers that they barely lost in overtime 9 to 6. The Tigers still have another chance to prove themself in a big game with they take on Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Oregon benefited greatly from having the national spotlight on them last week, as they made a big jump in the BCS rankings. In a huge primetime game against #4 Stanford and Heisman Trophy front-runner Andrew Luck, the Ducks whipped the floor with the Cardinals in a 53-30 whopping on the road in Paulo Alto. The Ducks offense looked unbelievable quick and devastating, as LaMichael James had 146 yards on 20 carries to go along with his 3 touchdowns on the ground. In total, the Ducks ran for 232 yards on the Stanford defense, which had been so good at stopping the run in previous weeks. They also forced Andrew Luck into two interceptions and forced 5 turnovers overall. The impressive win over the previously undefeated Cardinals moved the Ducks from 7th to 4th in the BCS standings, ahead of Oklahoma. Oregon will once again have a chance to prove its talent in primetime when they take on #18 USC on Saturday. However, their Pac 12 Championship game will be against an unranked and much weaker Pac 12 South opponent. Another cause for concern for Duck fans is that the Crimson Tide played a much closer game with the LSU Tigers than Oregon did.

Oklahoma's loss to Texas Tech at home is going to be a lot to overcome, especially since both Alabama and Oregon loss to #1 LSU. The Red Raiders are currently 2-5 in the Big 12 and are sitting in second to last in the conference. Not only have they been losing games, but they have been getting killed in recent weeks, which makes Oklahoma's loss to them so much worse. The Red Raiders lost to Iowa St. at home, who are 2-4 in conference play, by 34 points, Texas by 32 points, and they lost by 60 points, yes 60 points, to Oklahoma St. this past weekend in Lubbock at home. Despite their horrible loss, of the three teams, the Sooners have by far the best opportunity remaining on their schedule to prove on the national stage that they deserve to be in the National Championship game, as they will take on #2 Oklahoma St. on the road in Stillwater in the final week of the season. If the Sooners can knock off the Cowboys, who have been just destroying teams this season, it may be hard to keep them out of the National Championship.

Don't Sleep On The College Football Games This Weekend

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.

Top 5 College Football Games In Weeks 1 and 2

#3 Oregon vs #4 LSU in Week 1: Only once last season did two teams that were ranked in the top 5 play each other, and that was in week 10 when number 3 TCU beat number 5 Utah 47 to 7. Therefore, when you have a non-conference game between two top 5 teams in the first week of the season, there is obviously going to be a ton of hype. Oregon was a field goal miss away from winning the National Championship last season and starting quarterback Darron Thomas and Heisman Trophy runner-up LaMichael James have returned to school to win that title. Their quest will begin right away when the Ducks play LSU at Cowboys Stadium in week 1. James will have to carry the Oregon offense once again this season, as he did last year when he led the FBS in rushing yards with 1,731. He will have to come up big against the Tigers defense, which held great running teams like Alabama to just 102 years last season. Darron Thomas will have to find a new target on the outside as star wide receiver Jeff Maehl graduated. LSU head coach Les Miles said about containing the Ducks offense, "We're going to do the things that we've done, and done well on defense. I don't know that we'll have a lot of changes." If the LSU defense has difficulty stopping the Duck's attack, it will be imperative that Jordan Jefferson leads the LSU offense to some scores. The dual threat quarterback will have to improve upon last season when the Tigers averaged just 155 passing yards per game.

#5 Boise St. vs #19 Georgia in Week 1: The last four years Boise St. has had to go out and play a difficult non-conference schedule to try and validate their case that they are good enough to make a BCS Bowl, and even a National Championship game. In 2008, Boise St. beat number 12 Oregon in week 3 in a high scoring game 37-32. The next year the Broncos beat number 14 Oregon once again 19-8 and went on to finish with an undefeated record of 14-0, concluding with a Fiesta Bowl victory over TCU. Last year the Broncos beat number 6 Virginia Tech at FedEx Field 33-30 in week 1. Boise St. is hoping that Georgia can be their next non-conference victim when the two preseason top 20 teams square off in Atlanta in week 1. The Broncos have their Heisman Trophy candidate Kellen Moore back at quarterback, but he will have to adjust without his great wide receivers Titus Young and Austin Pettis. The Georgia defensive will still have a lot to handle with the Broncos offense that scored the second most points in the FBS last season. Georgia will be expecting their sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray to build upon his performance from last year when he set a Georgia freshman passing record by throwing for 3,049 yards. If the Bulldogs lose to the Broncos, they could be in grave danger of falling to 0-2 as they play number 12 South Carolina the following week in a big SEC East game.

#20 Mississippi St. at #23 Auburn in Week 2: Auburn is just the second defending National Champion to be ranked outside the top 15 in the preseason rankings. In 1961, Minnesota was unranked in the preseason poll after winning the National Championship in 1960. Auburn is missing a whole lot from their National Championship team last season. The Tigers can no longer rely on Heisman winning quarterback Cam Newton, or wide out Darvin Adam, or Vince Lombardi award winning defensive tackle Nick Fairley, all of whom have left for the NFL. The Tigers will look a lot different this season and they won't have a long time to adjust to each other because right out of the gates in week two they play their first top 25 opponent, Mississippi St., at home. A lot of pressure will be on sophomore running back Michael Dyer to run well against the Bulldogs because Cam Newton's successor, Barrett Trotter, threw just 9 passes last season and is very inexperienced. That might be a tough ask though because Mississippi St. held Auburn to their second fewest yards rushing last season. The Bulldogs were one of the biggest surprises in the country last season. After going 5-7 in 2009, the Bulldogs improved their record to 9-4 last year and had one of the best running games in college football. Their running combination of quarterback Chris Relf and running back Vick Ballard is going to cause an Auburn defense that lost 9 starters from last year's team havoc.

#16 Notre Dame at Michigan in Week 2: The Big House will be packed to its capacity in week 2 when the beloved Michigan Wolverines take on Notre Dame in the first ever night game at Michigan Stadium. Michigan athletic director David Brandon said, "This also adds a new chapter to the storied rivalry between our two great programs." The rivalry, which Michigan leads 22-15-1, has been won by Michigan the last two years, but Notre Dame will be motivated to get a statement win on the road. With Brady Hoke replacing Rich Rodriguez as the new head coach at Michigan, there will be changes on both sides of the ball for the Wolverines. Quarterback Denard Robinson was worked a lot last year, as he was in the top 20 in the FBS with 256 rushes. Although he was second in the FBS with 1,702 rushing yards, Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges has said he will not run as much this season because he wants to keep him healthy for the entire year. He said, "[We'll] try not to [get him] beat up...Because we’re trying to get to more of a power-offense style, we’re trying to take some of the burden off him as a runner and more than anything, try to keep him in one piece.” However, we will see if Borges isn't tempted to let Denard run wild if Michigan begins to struggle offensively, especially after last season when Robinson ran for 258 yards in a 28-24 victory over the Fighting Irish. After a solid 8-5 season in Brian Kelly's first year at the helm in South Bend, the Irish will be looking for even more success this year. The biggest question mark for the Irish is at the quarterback position. Brian Kelly has still not named a starter, although the season is right around the corner. How it all works out for Kelly remains to be seen. If Kelly chooses Dayne Crist for example, Crist could feel pressure to perform knowing that Tommy Rees is right behind him ready to play. Either way, the Michigan defense that allowed an average of 35 points per game last season will be ready. Brady Hoke said about the new look defense, "They’re getting more comfortable. We've made really good strides from practice 7 to 14."

Utah at #25 USC in Week 2: When Utah officially joined the Pac 12 on July 1st, Utah athletic director Chris Hill said, "We're not afraid of the high expectations. It's not easy, but at the same time our fans expect us to do well... We didn't win a game today, but I feel like we won our future at the University of Utah." Utah's dream move to the Pac 12 will begin with a splash when they travel to the Coliseum to take on the 11-time National Champion USC Trojans. Utah has 7 returning starters on the offensive side of the ball, including quarterback Jordan Wynn and his two top receivers DeVonte Christopher and Jereme Brooks. The Utah secondary will be a key to watch against USC because of the Trojans ability to throw the ball around the field with quarterback Matt Barkley. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said, "Defensively we are on track. We've done a lot of good things, particularly the secondary. That has been a pleasant surprise, the way the secondary has performed through the first half of camp. We felt all along the line was strong and it has been." If you look ahead at Utah's schedule, they don't play another ranked team all season because they don't play number 3 Oregon or number 7 Stanford this year. If Utah can come away from the Coliseum with a victory, who knows what could happen. This is the final season of USC's two-year postseason ban, so they will be looking to finish with a great record, despite not being able to play in the Pac 12 championship game or a bowl game.

The SEC Is Making A Smart Move By Scrapping Its Two Divisions

Beginning in the 2011-2012 season, SEC basketball will no longer have an Eastern and Western division. Instead, the league will become one 12-team basketball league and the move makes perfect sense. SEC commissioner Mike Slive said about the league eliminating divisions, "I'm pleased that we came to this conclusion. I think it's better for SEC basketball." Florida coach Billy Donovan added, "...collectively, as a group, it's the best thing for our league." 

The SEC East has been a lot better than the SEC West since the SEC began its two-division structure 19 years ago. Since then, the SEC East has gotten 58 teams into the tourney, while the SEC West has gotten just 43 teams into the Big Dance. Last year, 5 out of the 6 teams in the SEC East got into the NCAA tournament, while not one of the teams in the SEC West got into the tournament. In the SEC West, Alabama played Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Auburn, and LSU twice. Those five opponents were a combined 77-82 including Auburn and LSU who were a combine 22-41. Compare Alabama's schedule with South Carolina, who had to play Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Tennessee twice. Those five teams had a combined record of 121-55. Many problems have arisen over the years with the unbalanced scheduling of the conference. For example, the SEC West teams complain that their RPI and SOS don't benefit like the teams in the SEC East who play each other twice. Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said, "The perception of the league has been that if one division was playing well, the other was getting criticized. That can't be pointed out anymore. We're hoping this will have traction for us going forward.'' John Calipari added that a big reason behind getting rid of the two divisions was to try and get more teams into the tourney. He said, "...how do we get six, seven or eight teams into the NCAA Tournament? What’s the best way for us to do that? I don’t know the answer. I’ve been through this a few times now. I’ve lived what Alabama just went through... The bottom line is I would like to think everyone [in the SEC] wants to play us twice and get us in their building. Well, the only way that happens is if there is something rotating [in the schedule]."

The SEC tournament will also be tweaked as a result of the abolition of the two divisions. Instead of the two top teams from each division being given a bye, now the top four teams overall will get a bye in the first round. Last year, Mississippi St. received a bye because it finished second in the SEC West although it finished 6th overall behind the 3rd and 4th place teams in the SEC East. Georgia coach Mark Fox said about the change in the SEC tournament, “...we want to go 1 through 12. We have to come up with tiebreakers and everything else, but the seeing will be based on conference record. It wasn’t unanimous but I think everybody is confident that this was the best thing for the league.” Kentucky coach John Calipari added, "You always have to look at it and says, How do we make our league better? How do we get more teams in the tournament? How do we make sure our best teams have high seeds? You look at league’s across the country and that’s what people are doing. How do we get our best four teams to get the highest seeds they can possibly get to the win the national title? It’s not about bringing those teams back to the pack, it’s about the SEC winning national titles."