So we're told.
Those words uttered by Oklahoma State coach Les Miles, preceded by "Oklahoma is the best team in college football," kick off Showdown Saturday.
This weekend is about proving it. Georgia might be the best team in the SEC but Florida owns the Bulldogs. Virginia Tech has rebounded from the West Virginia heartbreak. Don't bet against Miami in a big game on the road. Florida State is a heartbeat away from Sugar Bowl contention.
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Derrick Strait and the Sooners can't afford another loss to Oklahoma State. (Getty Images) |
So we're told.
Time to quit flapping the gums. Georgia, Southern California and Florida State want into the Sugar Bowl but they have to prove their worth to have a chance. Same with Oklahoma and Miami. Huge games, all, but it comes down to this:
We have officially entered the BCS end zone where losses will damn teams to limbo -- or at least out of the national championship race. Virginia Tech already found out. The best the Hokies can hope for is a Big East championship in their lame-duck season.
Lose and Southern Cal, Georgia, Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma and Florida State are all but out of the title race. There isn't enough time (one month) or games left to make a push in the BCS system. The human polls (still the biggest influence in the BCS) will not be kind to the losers. It will be even worse for big losers.
You thought victory margin had been factored out? Southern Cal jumped over Georgia in the polls last week when the Bulldogs struggled with Alabama-Birmingham and the Trojans spanked Washington.
This week we know that Penn State couldn't win a card game right now; Oklahoma State has Oklahoma's number; Miami has won 39 straight regular-season games. Texas -- remember the Longhorns? -- has beaten Nebraska three times in a row in the regular season.
"Past success never guarantees future success," Bob Stoops warned the world this week.
Or so we're told.
Breaking down the Showdown Saturday games in terms of importance:
Bedlam: The Oklahoma State loss (38-28) has hung around the Oklahoma locker room like a fanatic groupie for the past year. But that's what we were saying last year too, which gives this game so much juice.
Yeah, the Sooners are mad but they were mad last year. The Cowboys have to have somewhat of a mental edge going into Norman. They were 3-7 two years ago and went into Memorial Stadium and won. How hard can it be?
Not very hard, if you ask them. The triplets -- Josh Fields, Rashaun Woods and Tatum Bell -- are the best offensive forces since Mike Gundy, Hart Lee Dykes and Barry Sanders roamed the Plains for the Cowboys 15 years ago.
Oklahoma just about wraps up the Big 12 South and a spot in the conference title game with a victory. It's hard to imagine Texas A&M, Baylor or Texas Tech beating the Sooners down the stretch. Oklahoma State gains the upper hand in the Big 12 South if they win.
Warm up the Schooner, the groupie has been driven off. Sooners win a shootout 35-17.
Hokie, Hokie, Hokie low: Miami-Virginia Tech could have been so much better had the Hokies taken care of business Oct. 22. There is still a lot to play for -- like the last Big East title (in this configuration).
Tech types were extremely disappointed in quarterback Bryan Randall's performance at West Virginia. He will have to man up against Miami's defense, which should be the deciding factor on the road.
(Soon to be) All-American safety Sean Taylor is back from shoulder surgery. Receiver and punt returner Roscoe Parrish is recovered from internal bleeding (from a hit at Florida State).
Frank Beamer is 0-6 against teams ranked in the AP top 10. Larry Coker is 11-1 against ranked teams, the only loss in overtime to Ohio State.
Miami's D, locked and loaded, carries the 'Canes 20-16.
Memo to the masses: The top two teams in the BCS remain the same.
Wash (St.) out: This is not a good week for Washington State to run smack. It is coming off a Vanderbilt-like intramural performance against Oregon State. Cougars' quarterback Matt Kegel must rebound from a seven-turnover debacle.
But defensive end Isaac Brown wants the Trojans:
"If you want to hold them up to the gold standard, go ahead," Brown said of USC. "But we'll see who the best defensive line is in the Pac-10. Don't forget we're the defending Pac-10 champs. One thing we have on USC (is) we don't have a Pac-10 loss. I've never lost to USC, and I don't plan on leaving there with a loss."
Don't blame Pete Carroll for reminding his players to take a stroll past the bulletin board on their way to the showers this week.
The Trojans are 11-point favorites and at the top of their game under Carroll, but these Cougars never seem to stop coming. They are undefeated in the Pac-10 despite losing their coach (you know who), career passing leader (Jason Gesser), a first-round pick cornerback (Marcus Trufant) and an all-Pac 10 offensive lineman (Derrick Roche).
The Cougs won last week without a starting offensive tackle and tight end. The injuries are healing and the point-spread looks dangerous. Go with USC but only by something like 30-26.
If this is Jacksonville, this must be Florida: Winning, again. There couldn't be a better time for the Gators to play Georgia. The Bulldogs have limped through their past two games and are banged up worse than that old jalopy the Clampetts used to drive on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Herschel Walker has a better chance of playing than Fred Gibson.
Like Oklahoma State, Florida has the mental edge in this all-or-nothing showdown. The Gators have won 12 of the past 13 and five in a row. If Florida does win, the SEC is a step closer to having a three-way tie in the SEC East broken by a vote of athletic directors.
Because of that, it has to be Florida 27, Georgia 19.
Touchdown Bowden: Bobby Bowden has been recounting all week how he made key motivational mistakes against Notre Dame 10 years ago. The Seminoles wore green hats as a "salute" to the Irish (They took it as an insult, by the way).
Thanks mostly to the computers, the Seminoles are No. 3 in the BCS and could benefit most (this week) if Oklahoma and/or Miami lose.
This time the Irish don't have enough luck, or athletes, to contend: Florida State 33, Notre Dame 16.
Huskers shucked: In a wide open Big 12 North, Nebraska (7-1, 3-1) needs this one bad. Texas (6-2, 3-1) can get back into the Big 12 South race with a victory and an Oklahoma loss.
As mentioned, the Longhorns have won three regular-season meetings in a row, including last year's 27-24 game at Lincoln that ended Nebraska's 26-game home winning streak.
"I can see where they would have that in the back of their minds," Texas offensive guard Justin Blalock said.
Nice, Tejas, but where are you against Oklahoma?
In an upset, Nebraska's defense gets turnovers, creates a short field and the offense cashes in early. Huskers hold on late 16-13.
Jeff Smoker is a cr*ckhead: Please, that's not us. That's a T-shirt that will be featured prominently by Michigan fans Saturday in East Lansing. We added the asterisk as a sign of respect because we respect the hell out of the kid for coming back.
But you want hate? The Annie Arbors are still seething over being jobbed two years ago by an asleep-at-the-switch timekeeper (from Michigan State by the way) that allowed the Spartans to get off the game-winning play.
A Big Ten official is now in charge of the clock and John L. Smith is in charge of the Spartans. The national coach of the year candidate has completely turned around Michigan State fortunes. Win and the Sparties are still on track for the Rose Bowl (with tough roadies against Ohio State and Wisconsin coming up). Lose and Michigan and its bent-out-of-shape noses are tied for the Big Ten lead.
Michigan is a more complete team and will need to play all 61 minutes to win 23-20.
NCAA 2004 (for Play Station 2) games of the week: Josh Fields throws for 478 yards and six touchdowns -- four of them to Rashaun Woods -- as Oklahoma State upsets Oklahoma for the third consecutive year 48-38.
Woods has a career game with 12 catches for 278 yards against a confused Oklahoma secondary.
Sooners quarterback Jason White is knocked out of the game with an undisclosed injury early in the third quarter after throwing three interceptions. Renaldo Works runs for 100 yards.
Elsewhere ...
Carter Warley misses a 40-yard field goal wide right, allowing Miami to escape with a 45-42 victory over the Hokies in four overtimes.
The Hurricanes are down 24-10 with six minutes to go but rally with two late drives. Brock Berlin hits Jason Geathers with a five-yard touchdown pass with three seconds left to send it into overtime tied 24-24.
The teams match each other through three overtimes until Jon Peattie kicks a 29-yard field to cap off the Hurricanes' possession in the fourth overtime.
LAST WEEK: 1-0. SEASON: 6-4.
Hurry-up offenses
Seventy-seven-year-old Saint John's University coach John Gagliardi goes for his 408th career victory Saturday against St. Thomas. You haven't heard of Gagliardi? He is the anti-coach, forbidding his players from playbooks, weights and any kind of strenuous practice. The result is Gagliardi is about to tie Eddie Robinson's all-time victories record at tiny St. John's, a Division III school in Collegeville, Minn. ...
Is Ron Turner in trouble? Illinois' 1-7 season isn't going to get any better when it travels to Iowa. The Illini haven't beaten a I-A team and have lost quarterback Jon Beutjer for the season to a back injury ...
Frank Beamer is 0-19 against teams ranked eighth or higher in the AP poll ...
One NFL scout says there are at least 11 free-agent or draft-quality players on the Washington State roster after it was depleted last year ...
The Cougars are in the middle of the second-best run in school history. They have won 27 of their past 33 games. From 1928-31, the Cougs won 28 of 34 ...
Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn is quickly becoming one of the best true freshmen in the country. His 350 yards last week against Boston College were the most since Joe Theismann threw for a school-record 526 yards in 1970 at USC ...
If the season wasn't enough to make one sick at Alabama: Tailback Shaud Williams threw up when he saw how grotesquely teammate Wesley Britt had broken his leg last week against Tennessee (home vs. Duke) ...
Lou Holtz is 2-9 in November at South Carolina, including four losses in a row. The Gamecocks go to Mississippi ...
LSU coach Nick Saban gave out "victory" cigars to a couple of reporters who predicted the Tigers would lose to Auburn ...
Get ready for a Gatorade bath, stop the presses and start minting commemorative coins. If Penn State upsets Ohio State and Notre Dame upsets Florida State then Joe Paterno ties Bowden for the I-A victory mark. See how silly this is? The back and forth could go on forever. Everyone needs to calm down and wait until one of them retires -- or punches an opposing linebacker.
