NCAA Football (Week 9 recap)

Wow, I haven't updated this blog in a long time. OK here we go.

With LSU, Alabama and Boise State all idle this weekend, the College Football standings continue to shuffle regardless. Since the BCS Standings aren't released to tomorrow, I'll just focus on some of the conferences and where teams stand.

BIG-12
Oklahoma loses last Saturday to Texas Tech, but they release their anger on a Kansas State team, coached by Bill Snyder, who looked to be a sleeper team, defeating them 58-17 as Landry Jones threw 5 TDs. Problem is, Sooners lose running-back Dominique Whaley (fractured left ankle) for the rest of the season, which is bad news. Meanwhile, the Wildcats knew this game was gonna be tough, but losing to 41 will hurt their Big-12 Championship hopes. Speaking of the Wildcats, they play Oklahoma State next Saturday in Stillwater. The tandem of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon will continue to be factor, especially in next week's game. Remember, the big showdown between OK State and Oklahoma is December 3rd and that game is HUGE.

BIG TEN
Wisconsin lost a huge game last week thanks to a hail-mary pass conducted by Michigan State in the last second. Tonight, they saw almost the same fate, this time against Ohio State. The Buckeyes have had an off-year, mostly due to the off-the-field issues from the offseason, but having Boom Herron back makes the difference for this team, going 160 yards on the ground against the Badgers. Braxton Miller threw a 40-yard TD pass to Devin Smith with 20 seconds left and settled the lead 33-29. Wisconsin, will continue to drop from standings. Buckeyes play Indiana, while Wisconsin hosts Purdue next week. Meanwhile, Penn State had a tough game in the snow against Illinois, but Silas Redd's 3-yard TD run gave the Nittany Lions a 10-7 lead w/ 1:08 to go. Illini's Derek Dimke's 42-yard field goal attempt was no good, and that gave Joe Paterno's 409th career win as coach, most of all-time.

ACC
Clemson was favored to win the ACC title, but tonight got outplayed by Georgia Tech's ground-game. The Tigers were down 24-3 at halftime, and never recovered. They will drop from the 5th spot in the BCS Standings to about 10. Georgia Tech may jump back into the top-25.

SEC
LSU and Alabama each had a bye week, but they will be facing each other next Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, and that game is HUGE, probably the best game of the year. Winner will more likely be in the SEC Championship game come in December. Arkansas was able to hold off Vanderbilt by 3 points to grab a huge win, as did Auburn and both teams will remain in top-25.

PAC-12
Darron Thomas & LaMichael James both returned to action today after missing 2 weeks due to injuries as the Ducks were able to hold off Washington State 43-28. Oregon is heading for a huge showdown in 2 weeks at Stanford but first travels to Washington next week. Speaking of Stanford, Andrew Luck and the Cardinal had a huge game in LA against USC tonight. Lack of offense in the first half gave the Trojans a 10-6 lead after 30 minutes, but the future NFL 1st overall pick and Stanford were able to fight back in a back-and-forth 2nd half to force overtime. In the 3rd overtime, Stanford up by 8, Trojans RB Curtis McNeal fumbled the ball in the end zone which gave Cardinals the big W and remain undefeated. Like I said, Stanford hosts Oregon in 2 weeks. The winner of that game will more likely play Arizona State for the Pac-12 Championship in December. USC is 6-2, but are ineligible for the title game and a bowl game this season.


After Week 9, here are my Top-10 BCS Standing Predictions:
1) LSU
2) Alabama
3) Oklahoma State
4) Boise State
5) Stanford
6) Oregon
7) Oklahoma
8) Clemson
9) Arkansas
10) Kansas State