...Aaand there's your season, for Oklahoma fans. At least in terms of any hope of getting back to the national-title game.
What a remarkable result in Norman -- one of the most remarkable we will see all season. It is a testament to college football's regular season as a de facto playoff: OU's national-title hopes are, effectively, over... just one game into the season.
Meanwhile, BYU has positioned itself as the leading non-BCS team. Let's be clear: An unbeaten season from BYU doesn't vault them to the BCS title-game ahead of unbeaten Florida and unbeaten Texas (or even unbeaten USC), but it does put them ahead of Boise State for the single at-large BCS-bowl bid that should go to a non-BCS team.
You know, upon further review, I think that BYU's games against TCU, Utah and FSU gives them as many "quality" remaining opponents as anyone from the "BCS" leagues.
(Of course, it is absurdly presumptuous to assume BYU will go unbeaten -- they still have to play TCU and Utah... yeah, and Florida State, but TCU and Utah will be tougher to beat.)
Meanwhile:
*Fire Al Groh. No, seriously. Should happen today.
*Alabama looked very strong -- after BYU, it was the most impressive win of the day. McElroy > Wilson.
*Ohio State didn't deserve to win that game -- or, at least, they don't deserve a whole lot of credit as a national contender for surviving that game.
*Speaking of which: Iowa DEFINITELY didn't deserve to beat Northern Iowa. Rankings should reflect this.
*VERY solid start for Oklahoma State -- think OK St fans were happier about beating Georgia... or Oklahoma losing? I would actually guess the latter.
*Joe Webb... Joe Webb... Joe Webb...
*So much for LSU's defense being enough to carry the team to an SEC West title. Either that, or Sarkisian has completely revived Washington's offense.
*Matt Barkley: Solid, if not spectacular.
*Greg Paulus: Almost. Wow: Almost. For Syracuse football, maybe there SHOULD be such a thing as a "moral victory."
*OK, so I was wrong about Michigan losing to Western Michigan. That was a huge win for RichRod.
*And, finally, I was VERY wrong about Notre Dame. And here's my response: Until they actually give me on-field reason to mock, that will be the last time I poke fun at them.
There it is: Until Notre Dame loses, ND fans, you won't get any anti-ND rhetoric from me, either here or at the Sporting News.
-- D.S.
(Oh, and yes: Florida romped. But it wasn't enough to hit the Biggest Stories of the Night.)
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2 comments:
Dan... the BYU/OU game wasn't in Norman. It was in Dallas in the new Cowboys stadium.
BYU is celebrating their 25th anniversary of the 84 national championship. Anybody remember how that season started? A BYU win over #3 Pitt in the first ESPN college football broadcast.
This year: A BYU win over #3 OK in the first ever regular-season game in Cowboys Stadium. Stay tuned.
DS, I know instant hitory is the lesson, but PLEASE. As a Hukser alum, I loathe the Sooners, but I still need to speak the truth. Last year, without anyone injured, your Gators lost by a point to Ol' Miss, later than this ... and won the BCS. Why would OU's chances be over, with an earlier loss, a built in injury excuse, and a really reasonable chance for the team that beat them to finish strong (just like happened last year)?
Yes, OU would have to run the table, and have several other key teams lose, and have impressive wins over the rest of the upper tier in conference. But unless two or more teams go undefeated (and, as recent history shows, even if two do under the right circumstances), OU is still in play.
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