It’s back to the drawing board in NCAA Football once again. One big problem with being number one in the nation is that there is nowhere else to go but back down again. First mighty Alabama goes down to upstart Texas A&M and then, this past weekend, heads really started to roll as previously undefeated Oregon and Kansas State both went down to humiliating defeats at the hands of long time conference rivals Stanford and Baylor leaving only the golden domes of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame to claim the number one berth. Now the rankings are all jumbled up again with much speculation flying about as to which one loss teams is still in the running for this year’s Crystal Football. Of course, the Alabama Crimson Tide is now right back in the thick of it.
However, Notre Dame stands unbeaten this season and has only to get by a battered up USC team to finish that way. The path was made all the more easy for the Irish when it was announced that Matt Barkly, the star quarterback for the Trojans, will not see action against the Notre Dame because of a shoulder injury he sustained during the 38-28 loss to UCLA this past Saturday.
Heisman Trophy hopeful Collin Klein the Quarterback of the Kansas State Wildcats may have taken a dive in the polls along with his team after throwing three interceptions and getting sacked twice while being pressured and harassed all night. He threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns, but had only 39 yards on 17 carries with a score. The Baylor Bears led 28 to 17 at halftime but piled on 24 points in the third quarter before defeating the top ranked Wildcats by a final score of 52-24. Kansas State falls to number 6 in the latest BCS rankings.
The Oregon Ducks went into the weekend as number one in the nation. They seemed to have the world by the tail and were a virtual certainty to be there in Miami for the National Championship on January 7th. But then, Jordan Williamson hit a 37-yard field goal in overtime and No. 14 Stanford upset No. 1 Oregon 17-14, denying the Ducks a chance to clinch the Pac-12 North and derailing their straight shot at the BCS title game.
So, congratulations to the Irish, but, beware, you might just have to take on Alabama in the BCS Championship Game. Good Luck!
