CFB Hangover: Where I Turn on TCU

BCS Contender Watch: T-C-Ugh. The combination of TCU's shouldn't-have-been-so-close win over San Diego State and Utah's blistering loss at sorry Notre Dame means that I'm off the TCU-as-No.-1 bandwagon, probably for good. I'm overly harsh. That's just how it goes.

And while I'm impressed by Auburn's offense, their defense let Georgia shred them for most of the game. Imagine what Oregon or Boise State's offenses would do to them.

Then again, Oregon's offense was stifled -- by unranked Cal, no less. And so we can ask a similar question: Can you imagine what would happen if Oregon played an elite defense, like TCU's? Or a better offense, like Auburn or Boise?

We can complain about "style points" all we want, but the fact is that among unbeaten teams and among factors to weigh, how a team looks (and why they look that way) matter.

It is harder than ever to stack the Top 4. Every time I try to rank Auburn, Oregon and TCU, I find myself re-jiggering into every configuration. But I find myself ranking Boise State at No. 1.

That is unfair, mostly because Boise State plays an unfairly easy schedule. I find it hard to think about Boise playing a schedule like Auburn's or Oregon's and not having weeks where they don't dominate -- they would likely not make it through without losing. I do think that Boise has a tough two-game gauntlet coming up, against Fresno State, then at Nevada.

Honestly, I'm a bit stymied. I'm inclined to rank them

(1) Boise
(2) Auburn
(3) Oregon
(4) TCU.

For now.

*****

Congratulations to South Carolina on its first-ever SEC East title (not to mention its first-ever win at the Swamp). Spurrier's crew dominated -- that's probably an understatement. In a season of disappointments, Florida looked worse than ever. It was hard to watch.

Meanwhile, speaking of watching, it's hard to watch South Carolina freshman RB Marcus Lattimore -- who shredded Florida's defense for 200 yards and 3 TDs on a Herculean 40 carries -- and not at least nod to the notion that Lattimore is the best player in the country.

*****

Great win by Northwestern. I'm really bummed about the season-ending injury to Dan Persa -- he has been the most valuable player in the Big Ten this season (and definitely the best QB).

-- D.S.