Another week of surprises comes and goes.  My thoughts below…

Thanks a lot West Virginia: If you haven’t been reading each week I’ve been hyping up West Virginia all year and felt that after surviving a tough road game at Texas they’d cruise in their week seven road game at Texas Tech.  Turns out this was a “not so fast” that I wasn’t expecting from the Red Raiders as they played very well in an astounding 49-14 beat down of West Virginia.  Maybe I shouldn’t jump to conclusions as much because I thought WVU had a chance to play for the national title.  Nevertheless I think they can still win the Big 12.  I gave Florida State the benefit of the doubt last week after their loss to NC State saying they can still win their conference and get in the BCS, and I’ll take the same stance with WVU as long as they beat Oklahoma which I think they will.

Silly Computers: The first weekly BCS standings were released over the weekend.  Alabama was number one which was no surprise but the thing that surprised me was Florida at two over Oregon.  I don’t know how those computers operate to calculate the standings but I sure hope I don’t end up operating in a similar manner one day in my life.  Oregon for years under Chip Kelly has been an offensive machine scoring at will which has made them a staple when it comes to the BCS.   They are hands down the second best team in the country.  I’m not slighting Florida I think they’re a great football team and potential BCS team if they can manage their way through the rest of the rigorous SEC schedule.  But if Oregon played Florida I undoubtedly pick the Ducks.  Not sure why this happened but don’t be fooled, always refer to the AP poll like I do.  Oregon is very much so superior to Florida.

LSU rebounds, South Carolina suffers first loss: In probably the biggest game of the weekend LSU defeated South Carolina 23-21.  It was essentially a must win for LSU in terms of remaining in contention for a BCS bowl game and having won it they’re back in the mix.  South Carolina isn’t out of the mix either as the number of undefeated teams continues to dwindle but South Carolina’s tilt with Florida Saturday just got a whole lot more important for South Carolina because it’s hard to make it to a major bowl game with two losses.  You can say the same about LSU though as they still have to play Alabama. 

Notre Dame, Ohio State, Kansas State keep moving up: With three top five teams going down in week six I wrote about how Notre Dame, Ohio State, West Virginia and Kansas State were the four teams to directly benefit the most as all four teams went ahead of LSU, Florida State, and Georgia.  With two more top five teams going down this week (West Virginia and South Carolina) these three teams continued to move up all three winning albeit by single digits.

Updated Top 10:

1. Alabama- Duh…42-10 easily over Mizzou in week seven.  Another game against a low-end SEC team next for the Crimson Tide…Tennessee.
2. Oregon- If you’re listening to the computers and thinking Florida actually is better than them, then please stop reading right now.  I don’t even think it’s that close.  They travel to Arizona State next. 
3. Kansas State- If I can’t ride West Virginia, why not go with the team that is ahead of them in the Big 12 right now.  I haven’t talked about Colin Klein as much as I have Geno Smith but Klein appears to be something special.  It would not surprise me one bit if he’s a Heisman finalist.  K-State can really stay in the driver’s seat for good in the Big 12 if they can beat West Virginia in week eight.  With wins against West Virginia and Oklahoma, barring a collapse they’d win the Big 12 if they beat the Mountaineers Saturday. 
4. Florida- I am not down on them as much as I am up on K-State and Oregon.  I’m just skeptical that they may lose to South Carolina this week.  Wouldn’t that be something?  Florida beats LSU, LSU beats South Carolina, and then South Carolina beats Florida.  Pretty much defines the SEC. 
5. Notre Dame- It was a questionable call on the 4^th and goal play for Stanford but nevertheless the Irish have fought their way (no pun intended) to 6-0 with a tune up in week eight against BYU for their showdown with Oklahoma in week nine.
6. Ohio State- I know it was only a three-point win at Indiana, but I’m starting to like the Buckeyes more and more as a BCS team.  They’re remaining schedule is a joke, as is the rest of the Big 10.  Braxton Miller and company look good and should continue to do so Saturday against Purdue. 
7. Oregon State- Very quietly continuing to win and at this rate the civil war could actually have some serious Pac 12 implications if both Oregon and Oregon State are still undefeated by November 24^th.  I certainly think both will keep winning in week eight the Beavers host Utah. 
8. LSU- They’re back in the mix but I’m still not completely buying in.  Tough road game at Texas A&M up next.
9. South Carolina- I think they bounce back and beat Florida but that’s just me.  They could easily lose and with two losses could end up in a bowl game they weren’t expecting to be playing in. 
10. USC- I like them a little more than Oklahoma here and though Oklahoma crushed Texas I don’t see them as a national threat.  I think USC is slowly getting back into BCS talks and I think they’ll continue in that direction with a win against Colorado in week eight. 

 Trending Up:

Louisville

            Teddy Bridgewater is really fun to watch.  They’re undefeated but in a really bad football conference so they don’t get a lot of talk when it comes to the nation’s best but that makes sense because if they played in the SEC they’d probably be 3-3 right now instead of 6-0.  They have games against Cincy and Rutgers who are both in the AP Top 25 left on their schedule.  If Louisville runs the table they’ll get the BCS automatic bid from the Big East.  Why the Big East is an automatic qualifying conference I’ll never know but if Louisville keeps winning they’ll grab the spot. 

Trending Down:

Texas

            After a loss to West Virginia you come out and play like that against your biggest rival?! For an NFL reference for those that watch Monday Night Countdown….C’MON MAN! They’ve gone from top 10 to unranked in a matter of two weeks.  You’d think the Red River Rivalry would bring out the best in both teams.  63-21 Oklahoma indicates that the Longhorns for some reason I don’t understand weren’t up for this one.  They are officially out of contention for the Big 12 in my mind.