The last full month of college football is upon us with key games being played this weekend. Texas, Alabama, and Penn State are clearly in the hunt for the national championship, but neither school has a clear road ahead of them. A lot can happen on the gridiron, as several schools learned last weekend, who were caught looking past lesser opponents and suffered a defeat.
Among conferences, the Big 12 is making a compelling argument for being the best college football conference out there, but the Southeast Conference certainly isn’t about to be counted out. The Big East is going through an uncharacteristically bad year with its sole ranked team, #23 South Florida, sitting in sixth place in the conference.
Starting with tonight’s game, let’s take a look at who is playing and the stakes that are involved with this weekend’s major tilts:
South Florida at Cincinnati – Both teams are coming off of losses and needing a win to preserve any chance of bowl season redemption. At 1-2 in league play, South Florida has been the most disappointing team in the league, the one school that was expected to challenge West Virginia for the crown.
West Virginia at Connecticut – The Huskies won’t soon forget the 66-14 shellacking from the Mountaineers that did not cost them a share of the Big East title last year. WVU isn’t as strong of a team this year, but Connecticut isn’t either. The winner of this game has a clearer shot at taking the conference title.
Tulsa at Arkansas – The Golden Hurricanes cannot afford to take the Razorbacks for granted. At 8-0, Tulsa might forget that 3-5 Arkansas has kept the last three games close, even upsetting #20 Auburn on October 11th. There is a good chance that Tulsa could leave Little Rock 8-1 if they’re not careful.
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame – This is a non-conference tilt for the Panthers who are coming off a 54-34 smarting at the hands of a rejuvenated Rutgers squad. Both teams have a lot to prove in November with Pittsburgh hoping that their season isn’t coming crashing down upon it like it did in 2006. As for Notre Dame, they’re still trying to bury the ghost of 2007 once and for all.
Florida at Georgia – The winner of this contest has a leg up on the SEC East and could still represent the SEC at a BCS bowl game by knocking off Alabama in the championship game. First things first: both schools have been playing exceptionally well of late, making this game one of the best of the weekend. Expect a last minute winner in a seesaw battle that will be downright electrifying!
Texas at Texas Tech – 8-0 v. 8-0 – it doesn’t get any better than this! #1 Texas will be playing their fourth straight game against a ranked team when the Longhorns face off against the #7 Red Raiders this Saturday. If the Longhorns win it, they’ll only have to face Baylor, Kansas, and Texas A&M before the Big 12 conference title game in December. But, the high powered Red Raider offense still must be stopped, something no opponent has managed to do all season long.
Meanwhile, #2 Alabama catches a break this weekend when they host Arkansas State while #3 Penn State gets a week of rest before finishing the season at Iowa followed by home games against Indiana and Michigan State.
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