Alabama has gone down, and there are now just 3 undefeated teams vying for two spots in the national title game. It once seemed impossible, but there is a chance that the SEC will not even have a representative in the championship game. While many were extremely surprised by Texas A&M's upset of the Crimson Tide, I was not among them. I had the Aggies ranked #2 going into the game, and though I didn't pick them to win, I did pick it to be Alabama's closest game of the season. Here are my current top 25 teams, with BCS rankings in parentheses and teams grouped by similar levels of performance.
TW. (LW) Team (Record) Result (BCS)
1. (3) Oregon (10-0) W (2)
2. (1) Alabama (9-1) L (4)
3. (2) Texas A&M (8-2) W (8)
4. (4) Kansas State (10-0) W (1)
5. (5) Oklahoma (7-2) W (12)
6. (11) Georgia (9-1) W (5)
7. (7) LSU (8-2) W (7)
8. (8) Florida State (9-1) W (10)
9. (12) Clemson (9-1) W (11)
10. (9) Florida (9-1) W (6)
11. (16) USC (7-3) W (18)
12. (6) Notre Dame (10-0) W (3)
13. (23) Texas (8-2) W (15)
14. (14) Oklahoma State (6-3) W (24)
15. (10) UCLA (8-2) W (17)
16. (18) Stanford (8-2) W (13)
17. (15) Oregon State (7-2) L (16)
18. (22) South Carolina (8-2) W (9)
19. (13) BYU (6-4) W (NR)
20. (20) Utah State (8-2) BYE (NR)
21. (NR) Wisconsin (7-3) W (NR)
22. (NR) Fresno State (8-3) W (NR)
23. (21) Nebraska (8-2) W (14)
24. (24) Michigan (7-3) W (21)
25. (19) Arizona State (5-5) L (NR)
Dropped Out
(25) Ohio State (10-0) W (NR)
(17) Utah (4-6) L (NR)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Pac 12 - 6
SEC - 6
Big 12 - 4
Big 10 - 3
ACC - 2
Ind - 2
WAC - 1
MWC - 1
Oregon took over the top spot this week after watching the Crimson Tide fall, then not taking the Cal Golden Bears lightly in a potential trap game between matchups with USC and Stanford. The Ducks have the toughest remaining schedule of the undefeated teams, with a trip to Oregon State also on tap, but that could also work in their favor, getting them some bonus points for strength of schedule if they win out.
Notre Dame dropped out of the top 10 this week even though they still have yet to lose. For the second straight week they were underwhelming in victory, allowing the Boston College Golden Eagles to hang around rather than blowing them out like everybody else has. They have some impressive wins, but without some help from the teams above them and a little more help from their own offense, the Irish will likely be left out of the title game.
Texas is looking better and better every week, dispatching a strong Iowa State team 33-7 over the weekend and extending their winning streak to 4 games since back-to-back losses against West Virginia and Oklahoma. This was their first double-digit victory since week 3, and if they can play that well against TCU on Thanksgiving, they could become a popular pick to end Kansas State's dream season a week early.
Wisconsin has clinched its spot in the Big 10 title game even though they still haven't played the top 2 teams in their division. They finish off the season with Ohio State and Penn State, both of which are ineligible due to NCAA sanctions, but I think that they'll win both and make themselves the rightful champs and not just the replacements.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Wednesday
Ohio at Ball State - Cardinals by 13
Toledo at Northern Illinois - Huskies by 18
Thursday
North Carolina at Virginia - Tar Heels by 1
Friday
Florida International at Florida Atlantic - Owls by 13
Hawaii at Air Force - Falcons by 25
Saturday
(10) Florida State at Maryland - Seminoles by 26
Northwestern at Michigan State - Spartans by 6
Iowa at (21) Michigan - Wolverines by 22
Kent State at Bowling Green - Falcons by 3
UCF at Tulsa - Golden Hurricane by 5
Indiana at Penn State - Nittany Lions by 22
Houston at Marshall - Thundering Herd by 6
Temple at Army - Black Knights by 9
(22) Rutgers at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 14
West Carolina at (4) Alabama - Crimson Tide by 74
Arkansas at Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 14
Virginia Tech at Boston College - Hokies by 7
Jacksonville State at (6) Florida - Gators by 50
Miami-Ohio at Central Michigan - Chippewas by 7
Wofford at (9) South Carolina - Gamecocks by 28
(25) Washington at Colorado - Huskies by 24
Georgia Southern at (5) Georgia - Bulldogs by 32
Alabama A&M at Auburn - Tigers
Memphis at UAB - Blazers by 9
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan - Broncos by 17
Buffalo at Massachusetts - Bulls by 13
South Florida at Miami - Hurricanes by 11
(18) USC at (17) UCLA - Bruins by 3
Middle Tennessee at South Alabama - Blue Raiders by 12
Duke at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 20
Wake Forest at (3) Notre Dame - Fighting Irish by 35
Mississippi at (7) LSU - Tigers by 21
Minnesota at (14) Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 23
Washington State at Arizona State - Sun Devils by 22
Colorado State at Boise State - Broncos by 24
Nevada at New Mexico - Wolf Pack by 7
Texas Tech at (24) Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 12
North Carolina State at (11) Clemson - Tigers by 28
SMU at Rice - Owls by 1
Sam Houston State at (8) Texas A&M - Aggies by 50
Ohio State at Wisconsin - Badgers by 8
Purdue at Illinois - Boilermakers by 7
Texas State at Navy - Midshipmen by 16
Arkansas State at Troy - Red Wolves by 4
East Carolina at Tulane - Pirates by 6
Utah State at (20) Louisiana Tech - Aggies by 4
North Texas at Louisiana-Monroe - Warhawks by 14
Wyoming at UNLV - Rebels by 4
Texas-San Antonio at Idaho - Roadrunners by 6
Syracuse at Missouri - Tigers by 8
Tennessee at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 11
(12) Oklahoma at West Virginia - Sooners by 16
Western Kentucky at Louisiana-Lafayette - Ragin Cajuns by 14
Iowa State at Kansas - Cyclones by 5
Samford at Kentucky - Wildcats by 24
(1) Kansas State at Baylor - Wildcats by 13
(13) Stanford at (2) Oregon - Ducks by 24
UTEP at Southern Miss - Miners by 6
Arizona at Utah - Utes by 13
BYU at San Jose State - Cougars by 1
California at (16) Oregon State - Beavers by 21
NBA
Washington at Charlotte - Bobcats by 1
New York at Orlando - Knicks by 21
Toronto at Indiana - Pacers by 4
Cleveland at Brooklyn - Nets by 8
Portland at Sacramento - Trail Blazers by 1
San Antonio at LA Lakers - Lakers by 1
College Basketball
(9) Duke vs. (3) Kentucky - Blue Devils by 16
Cleveland State at (5) Michigan - Wolverines by 19
(21) Michigan State at (7) Kansas - Jayhawks by 10
UC-Irvine at (13) UCLA - Bruins by 3
Alcorn State at (14) Missouri - Tigers by 53
Vermont at (23) Connecticut - Huskies by 15
Mississippi Valley State at (24) Cincinnati - Bearcats by 46
San Diego Christian at (25) San Diego State - Aztecs
Alabama-Huntsville at Kansas State - Wildcats
Harvard at Massachusetts - Minutemen by 15
Tennessee State at South Dakota State - Jackrabbits by 19
Wichita State at VCU - Rams by 29
Middle Tennessee at Savannah State - Tigers by 9
Lehigh at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 7
Maryville-Missouri at Belmont - Bruins
Prediction Results
College Football: 41-16 (.719) 493-173 overall (.740)
Upsets: 6-3 (.667) 56-68 overall (.452)
NBA: 3-5 (.375) 66-35 overall (.653)
Upsets: 0-2 (.000) 12-9 overall (.571)
College Basketball: 12-1 (.923) 45-6 overall (.882)
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