LVSC Week 14 College Football Rankings

Every week Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the world's largest oddsmaking company, releases their top polls/rankings for the major sports. They describe their polls as ones in which "teams are ranked purely by the numbers, without media, regional, league, conference or any other biases – just the facts as determined by LVSC’s team of experts." Because they use the same information that is used to make the betting lines, it is perhaps the most complete and accurate poll. We will post the updated college football poll here every Tuesday and the updated NFL rankings on Wednesdays.



The most interesting move this week is TCU jumping into the third spot ahead of Alabama. Vegas is confirming what most experts have been saying all along, that TCU can hang with the big boys. While still seen as 3.5 points below Texas, the Horned Frogs are clearly making their presence felt. Not sure I would want to draw them as my BCS bowl opponent. A team to keep an eye on this week is Nebraska. Checking in at nineteen, they have the capability to give Texas a tough game in the Big 12 Championship. Texas better be sure they are not looking ahead to a BCS Championship game, or they may get knocked out of it. Texas is clearly the better team, but Bo Pelini's Huskers have the ability to give them a tough game. One other team to note is USC. They move back up into BCS contention at number thirteen, which makes them eligible for an at large berth. Can you imagine the outcry from all of the Trojan haters if they were to slide into a BCS game? It is definitely a very outside chance, but just something to think about.

BCS Review

No changes this week at the top of the BCS as the top 5 remain Florida, Alabama, Texas, TCU and Cincinnati. The most impressive of the 5 was clearly TCU. TCU welcomed the sixteenth ranked Utah Utes to town and pounded them 55-28. Texas won big as well, but it was against Baylor. TCU definitely looks like they belong in the discussion with the big boys. If Texas finds a way to lose, TCU deserves a chance to play for the title. They have as much first line talent as anyone in the country, but they do not have the same depth as top teams. There is no doubt, however, they can compete at the highest level. It will be a treat to see them play a top team in a BCS bowl.

A Look Back at Saturday's Games

The Iowa Hawkeyes luck finally ran out, taking them out of BCS title contention. They have trailed at the half in every game this season, but had come back to win them all before yesterday. They now will have to win at Ohio State to give themselves a shot at the Rose Bowl. Hard to imagine anybody being surprised to see them lose.

Florida and Texas both kept their undefeated records intact by beating Vanderbilt and Central Florida respectively. We really do not learn anything from either game against obviously inferior opponents. Florida had no choice as it was a conference game, but Texas picked this game. That wraps up their grueling non-conference schedule featuring games against powerhouses like Louisiana Monroe, Wyoming, UTEP and now Central Florida. It would have been nice to see them schedule at least one legitimate non-conference game. When the BCS standings are released this afternoon, we will likely see the Longhorns back in the third spot behind Alabama.

Alabama kept a zero in the loss column with a win over LSU. The game was a bit sloppy and I am still not convinced that the Alabama offense will be able to do enough to win against a team with a top defense. They look very inconsistent and have to settle for field goals way too often. We again saw a terrible call by SEC replay officials play a significant role in the outcome of this game. Officials upheld an incomplete pass call on an LSU interception late in the game despite replays clearly showing Patrick Peterson getting his foot down inside the line. The call allowed Alabama to kick a field goal and go up by two scores with only 3 minutes left, rather than the Tigers having the ball with a chance to win. It has not been a good year for SEC officiating, to put it mildly. Alabama now clinches a spot in the SEC title game against Florida.

I would say that Oregon fell trap to the "letdown" game against Stanford, but that would be selling Stanford short. Stanford and running back Toby Gerhart ran all over the Oregon and dominated the Duck defense. Oregon's offense gave it their best shot, but Stanford was just too much to handle.

Quick Hits:
USC gets back in the win column, but looks very pedestrian in doing so.

Notre Dame loses to Navy again. Charlie Weiss has got to be getting nervous.

McCoy to Shipley is the best QB/WR combo and it is not even close.

Iowa and Penn State losing has got to help Boise State's chances of a BCS berth.

Quick Hits From Yesterday's College Football Action

For the first time in a few weeks Florida looked convincing in their win over Georgia. They could be hitting their stride at the right time. Georgia is not a great all around team, but neither are some of the teams they have struggled against. I would still like to see them against a top tier team that can play on both sides of the ball. Offenses in the SEC are way down this year which has let the top teams struggle and still come away with wins.

Colt McCoy and the Texas offense are finally coming together. They had struggled to find any consistency all season, but the last two weeks have been a different story. To perform the way they did on the road last night shows me they are hitting on all cylinders again. I would take them over either SEC team right now. Let's see if they jump ahead of Alabama for the number 2 spot in the BCS who was idle yesterday.

Oregon made a huge statement. While many experts said USC would have a down year this season by their standards, a win over the Trojans is still a big deal. They completely dominated USC on both sides of the ball. There is not a team in the country who wants to play them right now. It will be interesting to see how far they move up in the BCS standings.

If only the computers had eyes. The computers will likely still have Iowa at the top of their rankings. Does anyone really think they could beat the other top teams? I am not sure they would be favored to beat anyone else in the top 10. If they do run the table and get beat out for a spot in the title game by a one loss SEC team, they will not have much of an argument. They have struggled to get through a very weak conference.

A Look at Some of Saturday's Key Games

This Saturday's college football schedule features 3 big games. Let's take a quick look at each of them.

Texas at Oklahoma State: The number 5 Longhorns travel to Stillwater to take on number 14 Oklahoma State. This will be the last big test for an undefeated Texas team looking to return to the BCS title game. The Cowboys are led by quarterback Zach Robinson, who is among the best in the country. They will, however, be without star wide receiver Dez Bryant who remains suspended for the balance of the season. Texas comes in fresh off of their best offensive performance of the season, a 41 - 7 victory over Missouri. If the offense can carry it's rhythm into this game, the Longhorns should be able to escape with their undefeated record in tact. Aside from last week, however, the offense has struggled to stay consistent. Look for the hostile Stillwater crowd to keep the offense off balance and help keep this game close. Oklahoma State will have a chance to win this game late, and I would not be surprised to see an upset.

USC at Oregon: In a battle of top 10 teams, USC travels to Eugene to take on the Oregon Ducks. You could make the argument that Oregon is playing better football than anyone in the country right now. After a season opening loss at Boise State, the Ducks have come back to look like the team they were thought to be prior to the season. The winner of this game will likely end the year as the Pac 10 champion and guarantee themselves a spot in a BCS game. Autzen Stadium is one of the tougher places in the country for visiting teams. A prime time, Saturday night game should have the crowd at a fevered pitch all night. USC and freshman quarterback can look to their experience at Ohio State to help deal with the crowd noise. I would give a slight edge to USC on both the sides of the ball, but special teams could play a big role in this game. USC has a dynamic punt returner in Damian Williams, but their kicking game has struggled at times this year. The USC offense could also be without tight end Anthony McCoy, who is nursing a sore ankle. McCoy has proven to be the safety valve for Matt Barkley all season. Oregon will look to run the football with quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and speedster LaMichael James. If the Trojans fill the box against the run, look out for Oregon tight end Ed Dickson to make some key catches. USC's balanced offense should be able to run the ball early to help setup the passing game. Overall, the difference will be the wide receiver's from USC taking advantage of the Oregon secondary to win a close game.

Georgia at Florida: Georgia will take on top ranked Florida in the annual showdown known as the "Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party." Florida has shown signs of vulnerability the last couple of weeks as the offense has struggled to be as dynamic as we are used to. You could easily make the argument that if it were not for some very questionable officiating, we would be looking at a Gator team with at least one loss. The lack of a big time receiver has been more of a problem than most thought. Fortunately, they have one of the best defenses in the country. Georgia does not have the talent to match Florida, but anything can happen in a rivalry game. If Georgia can force Florida into a couple of turnovers as Mississippi State did last week, they can stay in this game and give themselves a chance to win. In the end, I expect Florida's talent to be too much for Georgia to handle.

BCS Review

The latest BCS standings were released Sunday afternoon, with the top 3 spots remaining unchanged. Florida, Alabama and Texas hold down the first three positions, while Iowa and USC round out the top five. Florida and Alabama will likely meet in the SEC championship game, meaning one of them will have at least one loss. Unbeaten Texas and Iowa control their own destiny for the second spot in the title game. Texas' only real test left is at Oklahoma State, while Iowa still has to travel to Columbus for a showdown with Ohio State. USC's toughest remaining game will come this weekend at Oregon. Two of these five teams will likely meet for the BCS title, but which two will it be? You could probably make a case for any of them. The top 4 are undefeated, but all have looked beatable at times. My guess is that we have either an undefeated Florida or Alabama taking on a one loss USC in the title game.

Florida Jumps Alabama

Florida has moved ahead of Alabama in the AP poll to once again claim the top spot in both the AP and Coaches' polls. Texas and USC are 3 and 4 respectively in both polls, while Cincinnati is in the five spot in the AP and Boise State claims the five spot in the Coaches. It's hard to argue with the top four teams in whatever order you want to put them. Personally, I would have USC ahead of Texas based on overall talent and offensive balance. So again, the human polls put USC ahead of the other unbeaten teams. We'll see where the computers put them when the BCS standings are released this afternoon. A win next week in Eugene would certainly help.