Conference races take center stage in BCS crunch time

There are big games with BCS implications all over the map this week as the conference and national championship races hit the home stretch.

It seems like the game of the week is always the Big 12 South, and this week is no exception. Texas Tech, undefeated and in control of its own destiny for the BCS championship, hosts Oklahoma State. For the Red Raiders, the key to the game is between the earholes. They can't be so high over last week's win that they give it back this week. The Cowboys have already held Texas to 28 points in Austin and Missouri to 23 in Columbia, so they know something about slowing down a high-powered offense.

The Red Raiders and Cowboys will have to work hard to be better than the other big game of the week. Utah got a touchdown with 43 seconds left to beat TCU 13-10. The Utes remain undefeated at 10-0 and still have the inside track to a BCS bid.

In the SEC, everyone is paying attention to Nick Saban's return to LSU. That's nice, but Saban isn't suited up. LSU has played two good teams this year and got absolutely pounded by both, so keeping 'Bama under 50 points would be an improvement. The Tide play to the perceived level of the competition, and they'll respect the Tigers. That's not good news for LSU. Alabama would clinch the SEC West with a win.

Florida can also clinch a division title this week when it travels to Vanderbilt. The Commodores have been looking for that sixth win to get bowl eligible for a month and counting.

Penn State gets back in action after a week off. The Nittany Lions make their last road trip of the season when they visit Iowa. The focus of the BCS discussion this week has been whether Penn State could get jumped in the standings by a one-loss team. That's more than a bit insulting, and Penn State might look to take it out on the Hawkeyes.

USC hosts Cal this week in a battle for the top of the Pac 10. One of these teams controls its own destiny for the league title, and it isn't the Trojans. USC head coach Pete Carroll made news this week when he complained that the BCS "stinks." Losing to Cal would stink even more.

There is a battle for first place in the Big East as well as suddenly resurgent West Virginia hosts Cincinnati. After their miserable start, the Mountaineers have now won five straight games.

The ACC remains a 12-car pileup after Virginia Tech knocked off Maryland 23-13 on Thursday night. Eight -- not one, not two, but eight -- teams are tied for first in the loss column with two each in the conference. Three others have three conference losses, and North Carolina State is mired in last with four.

As we enter the final month of the regular season, it is still mathematically possible for the entire ACC to finish 4-4. I wonder how the league tiebreaker handles that?