Let’s rewind the tape of last week and see what it means to this season and talk about myth versus fact. Two undefeated teams, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, both fell to conference foes unexpectedly. There is no longer an unbeaten team in the BIG, still known as the Big Ten. A surprising team in Kansas State and high powered Oklahoma State of the Big XII remain undefeated, though Kansas State will put their unblemished mark on the line this weekend against psychologically wounded Oklahoma. This blog will profile the remaining unbeatens and their chances to win it all.
#1 LSU
LSU is ranked No. 1 in every poll but they’re on a collision course with the Crimson Tide next Saturday for the 
default national championship game. The winner will represent the Western Division in the SEC championship game and more than likely represent the conference in the BCS championship game. The Tigers possess what it takes to win it all if they can escape Tuscaloosa with a victory.
#2 Alabama
There isn’t much difference between the Tide and the aforementioned school that they play on November 5th. The game will be a historic one with the largest drawing to Tuscaloosa in school history. A special edition of ESPN’s College Game Day is rumored to be in store an entire day early. It will be interesting to see what price a ticket will go for near kick off. I personally just hope my ear drums aren’t ruined when I leave that place. Saban will have his team well prepared for the Bayou Bengals in the clash of the Titans. The winner will have a clear path to win it all.
#3 Oklahoma State
Brandon Weeden hasn’t been mentioned much for the Heisman and it is quite a shame. If he played for Oklahoma, that wouldn’t be the case but it hard to overcome that shadow unless something is done about it on the field. The Pokies will have to win out and hope that the BCS Polls like them enough in the end to give them the No.2 spot and a chance to play in the BCS national title game. Oklahoma State posses the most brutal November schedule in the nation down the stretch, starting with this weekend’s match up against a very dangerous Baylor team. The season ends with games against #8 Kansas State (Nov 5th), #20 Texas Tech, Iowa State, and arch rival #9 Oklahoma. If Oklahoma State can win all of those, they may be allowed to pack their bags up for a January 9, 2012 date in New Orleans. History just isn’t on their side.
#4 Boise State
This is by far the most intriguing school in the mix. As of now, the Blue Turf Smurfs are ranked 4th in the BCS and will 
only move up when any of the schools in front of them lose. Either Alabama or LSU will lose their matchup against each other next week, helping Boise move one step closer to the price that keeps eluding their program year after year. We will get a chance to see if a move to the Mountain West, still another non- AQ conference, was enough strength of schedule wise, to propel them into a chance to play for the BCS championship. It is highly likely that Broncos will finish up their remaining schedule by demolishing its opponents in un-sportsman like fashion. They’ll have to, to even be considered for an outside shot by poll voters, who account for two-thirds of the BCS poll. Last year’s Boise State team could have beaten both teams who played for the BCS national championship. But would you want to see this Boise State team matched up against Alabama or LSU in the season’s final game? I didn’t think so.
#5 Clemson
This week’s game against Georgia Tech and the last game of the season against arch rival #13 South Carolina are the 
biggest tests that remain for Tigers of Death Valley. Tajh Boyd has been remarkable in leading his team through September and October. Clemson now has national aspirations and hopes to remain undefeated and win the ACC title game. The weakness of the ACC may end up costing Clemson a shot at a national championship game appearance if there are undefeated schools from two other conferences when the regular season ends. If Dabo Swinney can keep his team undefeated, they’ll still likely need a loss from Stanford and/or the remaining undefeated teams in the Big XII to have a shot. Regardless of what happens, this has been a special season for Clemson’s football program and Swinney will definitely use it to build on in the near future. Clemson is back!
#6 Stanford
The BCS polls have the Cardinal ranked 6th and for good reason. They didn’t play anyone with a winning record until this past week’s victory over #25 Washington. Now the stretch of games begins that will help Stanford climb in the polls should they continue to win. This week they have USC, followed by key games at home against Oregon (Nov 12th) and the last game of the regular season against Notre Dame. If victorious against Oregon, the Cardinal will then turn around and play in the first ever PAC 12 championship game. Should they win, it will more than likely go over well enough for voters to push them into a spot for the BCS title game. Still, we are a long way off from all of that happening. Let’s just see if they can beat the Trojans in the Coliseum this weekend.
#8 Kansas State
I wonder how it would feel to be currently playing home games in Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium for head coach Bill Snyder. The guy is like 104 and coached K-State last when I was in grade school. The magic of turning a program around apparently never left him as he has guided K-State back to the brink of contention for the Big XII title. It isn’t pretty how they do it, but they do things right. They play ball control offense and minimize mistakes and play great defense. So far it’s worked, however, with the toughest part of their schedule remaining; it’s hard to see the Wildcats remaining unscathed. Even if they do, I don’t see voters pulling for K-State too much in the end. It is still good to see them back. Great job coach Snyder, I’m sure you’ll be up for coach of the year awards everywhere.
Myth vs. Fact
Around the South, there has been a lot of chatter about LSU and Alabama potentially having a rematch in the BCS 
championship game in January. First, let’s allow them to play their November 5th matchup and see how that goes. Are these the two best teams in the country? Yes, without a doubt. Are they evenly matched? Yes, with not much in between. Would the country like to see a rematch in the National Championship game? If the first match is close, then maybe. Will the voters allow vote for them to play again? NO!!!! It won’t happen. One of them will have a loss and won’t even make an appearance in the SEC Championship game. Voters more than likely will choose a one loss Stanford, Oregon, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin or Clemson if they win their conference championship. Boise State more than likely won’t lose and are currently 4th in the poll so they are a factor also. As much as we’d like to think about it, under the BCS system and they way it works, it won’t happen due to the human element of the poll, the voters. It’s great food for thought though.
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the very first test to a feisty, undefeated Kansas State team that is sure to lose a few down the road at some point. I really hate the loss for the Heisman hopeful Robert Griffin III who could ill-afford one. It was mentioned to me by Mike Young, offensive coordinator for Athens High (AL), that RG3 would have to pull a Cameron Newton to win it and I think he is money with that prediction. RG3 has to nearly play a perfect game for his team to have a chance to win and a late interception, forced by a hit from defensive front pressure, just may cost him his outside shot at college football’s most prestigious individual prize. Even when he plays perfect, Baylor can only win by a few points against a good team. And when he doesn’t (i.e. 5 tds and 1 int this past weekend), Baylor loses. Baylor is good on offense and bad on defense with very little depth on either side of the ball. I still think they are on to something and have a few upsets in mind that may have them in contention at the end of the season. Baylor will definitely have to win the Big XII at this point for RG3 to have a chance. And as long as Wisconsin and Stanford remain undefeated, that chance remains in the “outside” category.
I guess I jinxed my two front runners (RG3 and Kellen Moore) last week by having such high regard to the season’s they were having so far to that point. Who would have predicted that Kellen Moore would have his poorest output ever, this year against a Nevada team that only has 1 victory on the season? Moore finished a decent 19 of 33 passing for 142 yards, 2 tds and 2 ints. Those are far from Heisman numbers playing in the Mountain West Conference. However, his team remains undefeated and I’m positive he’ll make up for it with a few spectacular performances in the weeks to come. Boise State’s remaining schedule is full of cupcakes and if they win the them all, as predicted, Moore will at least receive another December invite to New York’ Downtown Athletic Club.
At the start of the season, Landry Jones was my Heisman front runner. It was a safe pick since he was set to break the OU all time record for passing, as a junior by the way, and returned the nation’s second best receiving core (Arkansas). If healthy, I knew that he would pass for a ridiculous amount of yards and touchdowns and have OU in BCS contention again this season. Somewhere along the way I got caught in the hype of the flawless stats the guys above were putting up. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I had to admit that neither of them ever really had a chance to keep their respective astronomically pace. October 1
helped start October off in a nice way with a convincing 23-3 win over conference rival Virginia Tech. He has lead his team to victories for 3 weeks in a row in huge games, 2 of those against the teams that were predicted to duke it out in the ACC title game. Clemson quietly has one of the clearest paths from this point forward to a BCS game if they can avoid a slip up the rest of the way. Boyd and the Tigers control their own destiny and if they continue to win. The oft emotional, charismatic Dabo Sweeney needs to launch a late season Heisman campaign for his QB. But for now, I think they’re OK with trying to win them all.
draft continued to build his preseason Heisman stock with another impressive performance that included an ESPY worthy one handed catch (picture to the right) down the side line off a reverse throw back pass to the QB. The catch can be seen here via this Sports Illustrated link: 
If the SEC can continue its media stranglehold, all of aforementioned can be ignored for what is about to be stated. Run Trent Run has oft replaced the Crimson Tide Faithfull’s chant of Roll Tide Roll, and rightfully so. Nick Saban rarely gives any player credit, rather referring to his team as a whole when pointing out strength and weaknesses. But during SEC Media Days, Saban stated that Richardson was the most complete back he’d ever coached and said the guy has no weaknesses. WOW! I guess we all had a chance to see that opinion on full display in the Swamp last Saturday. Richardson is on pace for a 1,625 yard rushing, 26 td season. If he does that and his Alabama team goes undefeated through the SEC Championship, then its Trent’s Heisman to lose. I think I’ll make my way down to Tuscaloosa to see the game that will probably make or break the Tide’s season on November 5
Attack can continue to rebound from an early season loss to LSU, James may still have a chance to win it. A finalist a year ago, James has a big test on November 12
