"Rutgers Thursday" turned into "Holy S---! Saturday."
Network censors might not approve, but maybe that's why the Internet was invented. Only in the ether is it possible to accurately convey what was uttered in every production truck in the country. Not to mention most every bar, tailgate and campus kegger.
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| How wild was Saturday? This teary player is Florida's Dallas Baker -- and his team actually WON its game. (US PRESSWIRE) |
Calculators at the ready, BCS nerds. Half of the BCS top eight is now toast. No. 3 (until Sunday) Louisville you knew about. On Saturday, three more contenders fell harder than Goliath after an all-night bender.
Call it Lost Weekend '06. BCS No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Auburn and No. 8 Cal are outta here, pretenders to the Fox BCS Championship Game brought to you by Tostitos throne. Maybe they got winded just fantasizing about the prize.
Whatever the case, isn't it weird that on Veterans Day a true freshman helped upset Texas? Kansas State's Josh Freeman guided the biggest win of his career in his sixth career start, a stunning 45-42 victory. He is only slightly more experienced than Ron Prince, who upset a top-five team in only his 11th game as a head coach.
And you know what they say about Arizona. The Wildcats never give up. Actually, they never say that about Mike Stoops' crew, but the 'Cats went against form Saturday. Arizona rallied from a 17-3 deficit to beat the Bears 24-20.
Auburn didn't show up for the second time this season at home. Mark Richt actually had to call off the Dawgs at Jordan-Hare in a 37-15 victory.
Ohio State and Michigan are both still alive and undefeated. The nation's top two teams won by a combined 74 points. That sets up Saturday's showdown in Columbus.
The winner all but clinches a spot in the BCS title game. But who will it play? Florida is the favorite for the moment, surviving South Carolina 17-16 because of three blocked kicks.
And an otherwise putrid offense.
Let the shuffling begin. Here is one guess at what the BCS top seven might look like Sunday afternoon.
1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. USC
5. Notre Dame
6. Arkansas
7. West Virginia
Why top seven? No team has ever come from below No. 7 in November to play in the BCS title game.
• Wake Forest's 30-0 victory at Florida State might have been the most impressive of all. Bobby Bowden was shut out at home for the first time in Tallahassee.
• Texas' defense of its national championship is all but over.
• There are four undefeated teams and seven teams with one loss. Two of the undefeateds -- Rutgers and Boise State -- might not even show up in the top 10 of the BCS.
• Wisconsin (10-1) could finish 11-1 and not have a smell of a BCS bowl. That's because leagues are limited to two BCS teams. The loser of Michigan-Ohio State is expected to go to the Rose Bowl.
• Amazingly, Oklahoma is a heartbeat away from the Big 12 Championship Game. All Bob Stoops needs is Texas to lose its finale against Texas A&M on Nov. 24, and then for his team to beat Baylor and Oklahoma State.
• Nebraska clinched the Big 12 North for the first time since 1999 with a one-point win at A&M.
• Georgia Tech clinched the Coastal Division and a spot in the ACC title game with a 7-0 victory over North Carolina. Wake Forest (9-1) controls its own destiny in the Atlantic Division with two games remaining.
