Week 4: College Football Trend Watching

Another big week (aren't they all?) in college football were teams on the rise (ahem Cal, Oregon, Ole Miss) were put in their place. Other teams that that were expected to dominate (ahem Penn State) were run over. Here's a few teams that stand out for me....


UP
Mid-Majors - While last week a few of the previous BCS busters were bounced (say that ten times fast) a few new ones were added to the mix, TCU and Houston. TCU went on the road and beat Clemson while Houston added Texas Tech's scalp (they've already beaten Ok State). While its unclear if either can over take Boise State for the automatic bid it could be an interesting race (and remember there's not necessarily a winner)

Cincinnati
At the start of the year, there was simply no favorite in the Big East. However with a crushing win over Rutgers, followed up by impressive wins over Oregon State and Fresno State Cincinnati has now clearly established itself as the favorite in the Big East. There are no remaining big games left so I don't see the team leaping into Mythical Championship land but a team that might start being in the conversation.

DOWN
LSU
LSU might be the most over-rated team in the polls at the moment. THey've barely escaped with wins at Washington and barely won against Mississippi State. When you need a goal line stand to beat MSU you know your team is struggling. This week the team takes on Georgia. LSU better fix their defense or LSU will go the way of Ole Miss.

USC
As seen below I want to explain why I have USC back in the Rose Bowl...it's really default. Each of the heavyweight Pac 10 teams (Cal, Oregon, USC) now have laid eggs. While normally I'd be confident in USC recovering from its early choke job, I'm not as convinced this year. They were literally booed at their home stadium over another bad offensive performance. Combined with the scary freak accident of their running back (who thank goodness seems to be ok) and the offense can't seem to get on track. Yes, I have USC winning the Pac 10 but that's only because I need a name to put for the Rose Bowl - not for any rational reason.

Games of the Week
Oklahoma at Miami
LSU at Georgia
USC at Cal

BCS Picks as of 9/30

BCS Championship: Alabama over Texas
Orange Bowl : OSU Over Virginia Tech
Sugar Bowl: Florida over Boise State
Fiesta: Oklahoma over Cincinnati
Rose Bowl: USC over Penn State