College Football: Week 5 and Week 6 Round-Up with Da' Whiz

By Brian Wisowaty

I wrote only two short weeks ago that this college football season was becoming bland.

Then, the Beavers struck.

Perhaps Oregon State read the WSOU Sports Blog and thought it was absurd to declare Southern Cal the runaway national title favorites after only five short weeks. Their stunning upset of the (at the time No. 1) Trojans, 27-21, has opened up the door for many programs across the land.



The problem with USC may not be that they have been overrated or overhyped, but rather that the Beavers play them extremely close in Oregon State. Consider the two most recent scores for Beavers/Trojans matchups in Corvallis, excluding this year:

Oct. 28, 2006: OSU 33, No. 3 USC 31
Nov. 6, 2004: No. 1 USC 28, OSU 20

Aside from the win/loss split, the Beavers rose to the occasion against the Trojans in both meetings, despite being big underdogs against a highly-ranked team. Impressive to say the least. So, here we are in early October with Southern Cal playing catch-up. Oklahoma will prove whether or not they are for real with Saturday’s Red River Rivalry game versus Texas.

And, if the Longhorns follow suit like Oregon State, my two “solid” predictions may be shattered.

Time to restore some credibility around here and reexamine the national title picture. In doing so, we’ll be able to see how exciting of a college football ride is coming up.

The contenders:

Missouri
The Tigers have stars all over the offense and an easy end to regular season play. I still get worried about the Big 12 Title game, let alone the Oct. 18 date with Texas. Essentially, the fate of Missouri may lie with the Longhorns. If UT can beat Oklahoma on Saturday, they’ll be among the top in the nation and ready for Mizzou come the 18th. But if the Longhorns fall to the Sooners, they might be just in position for the “angry upset”. Regardless, I’ll go with Texas to get it done versus the Tigers.

Texas
As to not rehash the above, the Longhorns have two key tests coming up. Look for UT to split. (That essentially gives my Saturday pick away – I like OU to win the Red River Rivalry.)

Penn State/Ohio State
I combine both here because of their Big Ten status. The Nittany Lions may be for real, but the Buckeyes are not. Terelle Pryor has done a nice job under center for OSU, however the ground game has not been the same since Chris Wells was hit with injury. Penn State will be the best in the Big Ten at the end of November, and should avoid upset through the next two months. It won’t be easy though, at Joe Paterno’s squad will meet Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State consecutively in October.

The SEC field
Florida proved they can be beat, as I mentioned, when QB Tim Tebow is pressured on defense and a coverage unit can lock down the speedy receivers for the Gators. Nicely played by Ole Miss.

Georgia looked like they left their poise on the team bus when Alabama drubbed them with over four touchdowns in the first half en route to a 41-30 win. You cannot take a national title with an effort like that, or lack thereof.

Alabama escaped by three over Kentucky last week. That’s a legit problem, but the Crimson Tide look defensively ready to be a national title and BCS player. They’re the best in the SEC overall and should win the conference.

LSU, too, has taken care of business despite a scare or two (see:Auburn).

Again, I cannot see one of these teams running the table completely in such a rough conference. The Gators and Bulldogs have fallen, and I see Alabama (at LSU on Nov. 8) and LSU (within the three game stretch of at Florida, at South Carolina, and vs. Georgia) picking up the proverbial “L”. Though the Crimson Tide might win the SEC with only one loss, that might not be enough to hoist the glass football in early 2009.

Brigham Young
They don’t deserve to be in the national title hunt because they play in the Mountain West. Going to Utah on Nov. 22 should make it official.

To reevaluate, I’ll take Penn State running the table of the Big Ten to be undefeated at year’s end. I’ll keep with Oklahoma, also without a loss, to meet them and win it all.

Then again, this weekend (for a second time) could change all that. The joys of college football: every week counts.





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