Miami Bound - The BCS Hunt - Week 6

Week 6 did not show much of a change from the previous week’s rankings in the USA Today Polls. The only movement was a flip flop of the number 2 and 3 ranked teams. This week will warrant more of a change than that though. I will not spoil it by saying the reasons here, so keep reading. I am actually excited to see the top five games this week. These teams are some of the best powerhouses that are in college football today. This week I believe that we will get to see a few upsets in the top 5 rankings. I think that we will see one team finally emerge as the true powerhouse that they are. I also think that we will see some future NFL superstars shine in the upcoming games this Saturday. Just knowing that 4 out of the 5 top 5 teams will be playing top caliber teams just gets my blood pumping. Alabama is the only of these teams that are not playing this weekend.

This years BCS Championship will be held in sunny south Florida. Miami Gardens, Florida to be more precise. It will be called the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game. The game will be host in Dolphin Stadium in sunny Miami Gardens on January 8, 2009. This will be a great stadium to watch the championship game in as it houses 74,916 spectators for football games. Currently the stadium is home to the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Marlins, and the Univeristy of Miami Hurricanes.The AP and USA Today polls are almost identical in the top five except for the fact that they have USC and OSU flip flopped. All others are correct. For the sake of these post, we will be using USA Today.

1) University of Oklahoma Sooners

The University of Oklahoma traveled to Waco, Texas last weekend to meet the Baylor University Bears. The task that was ahead of them had been built to be the toughest test of the Sooners to date. The problem with that is the fact that all of their games seem to be billed as their toughest. I wonder if they use this as a ploy to get their players fired up. For me sitting in the number spot in the nation is enough motivation to keep me fired up. The Sooners invaded Floyd Casey Stadium and proceed to beat the Bears into submission. OU opened the first quarter by crossing the goal line 4 times to score a total of 28 points. Even though Baylor would make some noise in the second quarter with 14 points of their own, they would still go into halftime with a 21 point deficit. The Sooners would finish dominating their opponents in from of 37145 fans. The final score was 49-17.

Oklahoma truly will face their toughest test this week as they have to travel to Dallas, Texas where they will face the University of Texas Longhorns. You can tell how big this game is by ESPN broadcasting College Day this weekend there. The game will take place in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at 11 am CT on Saturday. The stadium holds 98000+ and I expect it to be a total sell-out. I will go out on a limb and predict that the Longhorns will upset the Sooners.

2) University of Missouri Tigers

Well, if you think that the Sooners did a number on Baylor, then you have to really respect the number 2 University of Missouri Tigers. They did not less that head to the back yard of the University of Nebraska Huskers. To say that the Tigers beat the Huskers up and down Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska is a gross understatement. Unlike the Sooners, Mizzou took their time with the Huskers. They decide to score in each of the first three quarters of the game. Chase Daniel still made a bid for the run at a Heisman as he connected on 18 of his 23 passes for 253 yards in the air. The ground game added another 201 yards. With the final score of 52-17, I think it is safe to say the boys of Mizzou are the real deal for 2008.

The Tigers are now getting ready to face the Oklahoma State University Cowboys at 7 PM CT. The game is set to be played in Columbia, Missouri at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field. This stadium has seen just over 65,000 screaming fans packed in at one time already once this year and I expect it will see that and some more this weekend. As for the outcome, I look for the Tigers to move into the number 1 spot this weekend as Mizzou runs over the Cowboys.

3) Louisiana State University Tigers

To me, the biggest reason that these guys fell to number 3 in the USA Today poll is because they sat idle last weekend. Well that truly will not be the case as this week, the Tigers of LSU will head south to the “Swamp” to take on 12th ranked University of Florida Gators. This will be a great game as Florida has proved that they can score almost at will. LSU seemed to stumble when they met the Auburn Tigers and then again when they meet Mississippi State. Neither of these teams can be considered true top 10 caliber teams. It will be interesting to see how the LSU Tigers can handle a potent offense the likes of the Gators. It will also be interesting to see if Urban Myer will unleash the monster know as Tebow.

4) University Of Alabama Crimson Tide

The University of Alabama is the only team in the top 5 that will be on their “bye” week this weekend. As they are currently 6-0, it will be interesting to see if the week off will help them or hurt them. After last weekends escape close game showed, these boys are not invincible. It will not surprise me at all if the Ole Miss Rebels are not the team to break there winning streak. The rest of the season is going to be tough for these boys of the Rollin’ Tide.

Alabama actually did escape a close one as the University of Kentucky Wildcats came calling. The thing with the SEC this year is that you can not take any team lightly. That is what it looks like Alabama did. The fate that they dealt to the Georgia Bulldogs was almost handed to them. However, they managed to escape with a 17-14 victory and hang on to their 4th place ranking. Once again, here is an upset in the making. Time will tell if they can sustain.

5) University of Texas Longhorns

The University of Texas Longhorns might actually be the most surprising and impressive team to make it into the top five. They have yet had a team come close to them in scoring. Last Saturday was no different as the Colorado University Buffaloes played host to the Longhorns. The game was quickly put out of reach as the Longhorns pounded out a 21-0 first half. This was just the start as they rode that on to victory by a final score of 38-14. This weekend, I have gone out on a limb stating that the Longhorns are going to take the Sooners to the wire to make 1 less undefeated team. The Longhorns will celebrate the home town victory on ABC as a nation watches on. Dallas, Texas will not only play host to the Sooners but will also enjoy ESPN’s College Day.