Code Orange

I was going to make the last post a games to watch post, but then it turned into a tirade against the polls this week, so I’ll make this the games to watch post instead.

Florida State (4-1) at Wake Forest (3-2) - 7:30 PM, Thursday

This is a huge game in the ACC Atlantic Division was the winner stays within one game of Boston College in the division, while the loser is pretty close to out of the division race.  Florida State needs to prove that it has fully recovered from their game against Clemson while Wake needs to prove that they can win against a quality opponent after having close games against Army and Duke and needed to come back from 21 points down against Maryland to win.

Central Florida (3-2) at South Florida (5-0) - 12:00 PM

The game to determine the king of directional Florida, UCF can be a tricky opponent, almost pulling off an upset win against Texas.  South Florida needs a big win to amend for their close against against Florida Atlantic last week.

Purdue (5-1) at Michigan (4-2) - 12:00 PM

Michigan has started to roll after their embarrassing start, but still needs to knock off the lesser Big 10 opponents if they wish to keep their eyes on Ohio State and the Big Ten Championship.  Purdue, meanwhile, doesn’t want a good 5-0 start to go down the tube fast with two straight losses to the conference’s standard bearers.

Oklahoma State (3-3) at Nebraska (4-2) - 12:30 PM

Despite being 3-3, Oklahoma State is still only 1 game out of the Big 12 south lead, and a win over Nebraska would get them over a big hurdle to get them back into the race.  A loss by either team will make it very difficult for either to have a chance to play for their division.

Buffalo (2-4) at Toledo (2-4) - 1:00 PM

Has Buffalo ever had 3 wins since moving up to I-A football? They have a good shot at it this week as they take on a Toledo team which barely got by a I-AA team and beat a 1-5 Iowa State team by 1.  If they win, Buffalo will move to 3-1 in the MAC (though, apparently only divisional games count towards the division championship.  Buffalo is 2-0 in their division) and will people start *gasp* evening consider the possibility for Buffalo as a challenger for the Eastern Division title?

Tennessee (3-2) at Mississippi State (4-2) - 2:30 PM

The only reason why this is a game to watch is to see if Tennessee can continue on from their big win over Georgia.  Tennessee is one of three teams in the SEC East who control their own destiny for the division title, and probably have the easiest road of the three.  Tennessee will be removed from the driver’s seat if they lose to the other Bulldog team.

Texas A&M (5-1) at Texas Tech (5-1) - 3:30 PM

It’s the battle of the 5-1 should-be-ranked Big 12 teams.  The winner better be ranked or the human polls should probably be removed entirely from the BCS calculations.  Texas A&M can take a big leap forward in the Big 12 South if they win.  However, Texas Tech can essentially reset the division if they win.

Wisconsin (5-1) at Penn State (4-2) - 3:30 PM

Both of these teams depserately needs to rebound.  Penn State is probably already out of the Big Ten race, but is almost certainly eliminated with a 3rd conference loss.  Wisconsin also needs a win to keep their hopes alive.

LSU (6-0) at Kentucky (5-1) - 3:30 PM

Along with Tennessee, Kentucky is another team in the SEC East who controls their own destiny.  However, unlike Tennessee, they have the unfortunately duty of having to play LSU.  LSU can add a few more links to their armor of #1 votes with another win over a ranked team, while Kentucky probably must pull the upset to keep any hope of winning the division alive.

Connecticut (5-0) at Virginia (5-1) - 3:30 PM

A very curious out of conference match-up at both teams need this win to prove that they are, really, for real.  Virginia is still haunted by their Week 1 loss to Wyoming, but hasn’t played a team with a winning record otherwise.  Connecticut, on the other hand, while 5-0, hasn’t played anyone yet either, with their most impressive win being over 3-3 Akron.  This will be the first test for both teams, and the winner will likely become a strong contender to win their conference or division.

Missouri (5-0) at Oklahoma (5-1) - 6:30 PM

This is unquestionably the game of the week as Missouri tries to send a message to the rest of the Big 12 - and nation - that they are, indeed, for real.  Oklahoma will try to reassert themselves as kings of the Midwest by adding a win over undefeated Missouri.  A win would almost certainly catapult the Tigers into the Top 10 and National Championship talk may start buzzing around Columbia.

Indiana (5-1) at Michigan State (4-2) - 7:00 PM

Indiana has been oh-so-close to getting bowl eligible several times in the past few years, but haven’t been able to reach that 6-win mark.  They can do it this week against Michigan State, on top of getting their first true quality win and staying as a valid contender for the Big Ten title.

Louisville (3-3) at Cincinnati (6-0) - 7:00 PM

If Louisville were the team they were supposed to be, this would have challenged the Missouri/Oklahoma game for game of the week status.  Instead, Louisville comes into this game trying to stop the bleeding, having lost 2 in a row and 3 of their last 4.  They’ll have a tough time doing so against Cincinnati.  However, looking ahead at games against UConn, South Florida, West Virginia, and Rutgers, Louisville needs to try to find some games to win, or else they may not even go bowling.

Auburn (4-2) at Arkansas (3-2) - 7:45 PM

This is a game between two SEC teams who were hoping to have much better seasons than they have.  With two conference losses, Arkansas is probably already out of the SEC West race, but they can receive a final blow if Auburn beats them.  Meanwhile, Auburn themselves can’t afford another conference loss if they want to keep up with LSU.

East Carolina (3-3) at UTEP (4-2) - 9:05 PM

This is an interesting game if for no other reason than this could be a preview of the Conference USA title game.  Both teams currently lead their division, though neither can really afford a loss at this point in the season or else they’ll be playing catch-up in their division the rest of the way.

Colorado (4-2) at Kansas State (3-2) - 9:15 PM

Colorado is leading the Big 12 North along with Missouri.  If Missouri picks up the win against Oklahoma, Colorado really needs this win to keep up.  Meanwhile, Kansas State needs a win to stay in the division race altogether, or else they’ll fall 2 games back of (at least) Colorado.

OK, tell me how Southern California loses to Stanford, and only drops 8 spots in the AP poll and 6 spots in the Coaches poll, yet Wisconsin loses to now 5-1 and #18/19 ranked Illinois, and they drop 14 spots in the AP and 10 spots in the Coaches poll? I can at least see dropping them 10 spots for being in the top 5 and losing, but why does USC stay in the top 10? For that matter, why does Florida drop 7 spots in the Coaches poll for almost beating now #1 LSU?

Look, I’m generally a fan of the Pac 10 and think they don’t get as much respect as other conference (though that finally seems to have changed this year), and I have a major beef against the SEC, but dropping Florida - who lost to #1 (and deservedly so) LSU - more than USC, who lost to lowly previously 1-win Stanford, goes beyond stupid. Other than just voting for USC because they’re USC, it makes absolutely no sense and a stain on college football polling I think. I know that the polls often give preference to big name teams for the most part, but that’s ridiculous.

It just doesn’t make sense. And why is 5-1 Purdue still in the Coaches poll and why is 3-2 Tennessee back in the AP poll? Aren’t 5-1 Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Indiana, or Virginia good enough yet? What about 5-0 Connecticut, who isn’t even in the top 30 of either poll if you go through “others receiving votes.” How about 4-1 Wyoming who beat Virginia, and gets a grand total of 20 total points in both polls combined (only 2 in the AP!)

While the entire SEC East sans Vanderbilt is ranked (and knowing the pollsters, they would be too if they had beaten Auburn), we have all these other undefeated or 1-loss teams being looked over because they’re only Wyoming or only Indiana and why should we rank “only Wyoming” over the grand power that is Tennessee?