Conference shake ups offer a distraction.
Most college football teams have completed their first four weeks of play and have one-third of their games now behind them. October is when everyone hits their midseason stride, the month when the pretenders are separated from the contenders. Make it through the month in one piece and everyone will take you seriously. Fail, and your team may be looking at a third-tier bowl game or resigned to watching what might have been on television.
Conference Movements
This season, the drama isn’t being played out solely on the field, but in college presidential suites across the country. Conference realignment continues, with Texas A&M joining the SEC, following on the heels of the ACC’s announcement that Syracuse and Pittsburgh are now part of the conference. UConn is desperately trying to make a case for itself as part of a 16-team ACC, a move that could be announced in October. That is if the ACC wants to expand beyond 14 teams.
Games of significance this weekend are many and include the following contests beginning with tonight’s Big East battle:
South Florida at Pittsburgh — The Bulls are ranked No. 16 and open up conference action against the Panthers. A relatively soft schedule hasn’t shown us how well South Florida will compete in the Big East this year while Pitt is coming off a pair of tough losses to Iowa and Notre Dame. Will B.J. Daniels keep up his torrid, early season pace of 1,000 plus passing yards and 8 touchdowns?
Texas A&M at Arkansas — Future SEC team and No. 14 Texas A&M meets current SEC member and No. 18 Arkansas in a game that will allow each of these one-loss teams to stay in the hunt for a BCS bowl or risk seeing their aspirations take a near fatal hit. Tyler Wilson has already passed for more than 1,000 yards and has 7 touchdowns for the Razorbacks.
Clemson at Virginia Tech — The Tigers are for real and ranked No. 13 heading into its ACC showdown with the No. 11 Hokies. Sophomore Tajh Boyd has shown a strong arm this season, throwing for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Hokies have yet to be challenged this season although they struggled to beat East Carolina in week 2. These two teams may meet again in December for the ACC championship.
Alabama at Florida — This Saturday night contest starts the same time as Nebraska at Wisconsin and two hours after Clemson and Virginia Tech begin playing. The solution? Multiple TVs! The Tide has been playing up to its level as the current No. 3 team in the nation, vanquishing Penn State and Arkansas to get to this game. Junior RB Trent Richards has scored 8 touchdowns and has 441 yards rushing. Florida is No. 12 and has the advantage of “the swamp” to help keep itself undefeated.
Nebraska at Wisconsin — The No. 8 Cornhuskers get their first Big Ten Conference game on the road in Madison, Wisconsin, against the No. 7 Badgers. Taylor Martinez and Rex Burkhead each have 7 touchdowns, part of an explosive offense that is averaging nearly 43 points per game. Wisconsin is no slouch either, averaging 48 point per game, with Montee Ball rushing for 9 touchdowns. QB Russell Wilson has 11 touchdowns on 1,136 passing yards. Six touchdowns may not be enough for either team to win this contest.
Conference Play
With the start of fifth week action, most conference match ups have begun. With five weeks of Saturdays in October, we’ll have an excellent idea by month’s end which teams have the best shot at a national championship. By then, we’ll also have heard whether Texas and Oklahoma have left the Big 12 and if the Big East has a realistic chance of surviving.
See Also — Stoking the Conference Expansion Fire!
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