THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
As another college football weekend looms, I'm loading up the latest Spectacle of the Week poll with a bumper crop of choices.
College GameDay is at TCU, where the Horned Frogs will welcome Utah in a battle of Top 25 teams. It's one of two games between ranked programs, though I honestly don't think Iowa-Ohio State will be that entertaining.
For better or worse, though, it will have very high stakes. The winner will have the inside track to a berth in the Rose Bowl, and with Ricky Stanzi out injured there's a real chance that team could be Ohio State.
If the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes both finish the season with two losses, many of the projections I've seen would put both those teams in the BCS. That would almost surely keep either TCU or Boise State out, with the Broncos being the more likely victim.
Boise State hosts rival Idaho on the blue turf, in a game that ESPN.com's Pat Forde described as "the impossible dream" for College GameDay a few weeks back. But that was before the Vandals lost conferences games to Nevada and Fresno State, taking the shine off this Spud State showdown.
If you're a fan of the little guy, you want Iowa to win this weekend and knock Ohio State out. You all know where I stand on that debate, and I know a lot of you are on the same side that I am.
The other game that interests me this weekend is Notre Dame at Pittsburgh. Charlie Weis is on the hot seat, but Dave Wannstedt isn't anymore. In fact, the Panthers are ranked No. 9 in the AP poll and are a dark horse candidate for the Big East title.
If Pitt beats the Irish and wins at West Virginia the day after Thanksgiving - which isn't guaranteed by any means - they'll play Cincinnati for all the marbles on Dec. 5 at Heinz Field.
That would be a great game for Big East football, which has taken more than a few knocks in recent years.
Before we get to the Top 10 chart, I wanted to point out this really good piece by ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel detailing the history of Memorial Stadiums across college football. From Navy to Nebraska and Wyoming, the article is full of great stories. There's also a photo gallery of archival and current photos from each venue.
So we head for the weekend. Which games will you be watching?
|
Rank
|
AP
|
Coaches
|
Sagarin
|
Harris
|
BCS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Florida
|
Florida
|
Florida
|
Florida
|
Florida
|
| 2. |
Texas
|
Texas
|
Alabama
|
Texas
|
Alabama
|
| 3. |
Alabama
|
Alabama
|
TCU
|
Alabama
|
Texas
|
| 4. |
TCU
|
TCU
|
Texas
|
TCU
|
TCU
|
| 5. |
Cincinnati
|
Cincinnati
|
Cincinnati
|
Cincinnati
|
Cincinnati
|
| 6. |
Boise State
|
Boise State
|
Oregon
|
Boise State
|
Boise State
|
| 7. |
Georgia Tech
|
Georgia Tech
|
Boise State
|
Georgia Tech
|
Georgia Tech
|
| 8. |
Pittsburgh
|
Ohio State
|
USC
|
Ohio State
|
LSU
|
| 9. |
LSU
|
Pittsburgh
|
Georgia Tech
|
Pittsburgh
|
USC
|
| 10. |
Ohio State
|
USC
|
LSU
|
USC
|
Iowa
|
