Week 9: College Football Trend Watching

What Happened
Oregon crushed USC to end USC bid for another Pac 10 title. Oddly enough only Arizona stands between the Ducks and the Rose Bowl....Texas crushed Ok State which means short of catastrophe Texas will win the Big 12.....Iowa continued to win in less than impressive fashion....V-Tech lost to UNC thus ending their reign of dominance in the ACC....Florida clinched the SEC East with a beatdown of Georgia and South Carolina loss

Games of the Week
LSU at Alabama - The biggest remaining regular season SEC game. A win by Alabama will pretty much clinch the SEC West for them and a matchup against Florida for a birth in the Mythical Championship Game. A win by LSU will put them in first place, on the path to the SEC championship game, and an outside chance for a trip the Championship.

tOSU at Penn State - Neither team has beaten a ranked opponent this year so its a bellweather game. A victory by Penn State should be enough to get them to a BCS bowl. A win by tOSU will keep their Big 10 Championships hopes alive. This is a Pryor's first trip back to his native PA so the hate will be strong.

UConn at Cinci - Cinci in prime time. Big chance to impress the voters and perhaps move their candidancy up for a Championship bid....


Team to Watch
Ohio State - Ohio State faces a grueling 3 game schedule of at Penn State, Iowa, and at Michigan each with important implications. Penn State can get to a BCS bowl with a win, Iowa can win the Big 10 (and possible BCS Championship bid), and Michigan can salvage its season. tOSU can win the Big 10 and get its first Rose Bowl bid since the 1990s if it wins out. Multiple losses will turn the heat on Tressel and Pryor even higher....


Bowl Predictions

BCS Championship: Alabama over Texas
Orange Bowl : Georgia Tech over Penn State
Sugar Bowl: Florida over Cincinnati
Fiesta: USC over Boise State
Rose Bowl: Oregon over Iowa