What We Learned This Weekend in College (Football)

What a week for upsets. Numbers 4, 5, and 6 all go down. And who would've suspected Virginia Tech to be ranked ahead of USC and Oklahoma at this point, yet still have the same record as both these teams? Here are 10 lessons from the games:

#1 DON'T SCHEDULE TWO CUPCAKES TO START YOUR SEASON!!!
Ole Miss paid the price for juicing their schedule with Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana. I put this lesson as Lesson #10 in last week's edition of this series. Then on Thursday I predicted a South Carolina win over Ole Miss. It's been like clockwork this year. Teams that schedule two easy wins to start their year have struggled mightily in Game #3.

#2 Being Ranked in the ACC is the Kiss of Death
Formerly #18 Florida State lost at home to South Florida. Formerly #22 North Carolina lost to Georgia Tech. Neither team is that good, and have been in the Top 25 almost out of default. In the ACC, apart from Virginia Tech, no team is good enough to be incapable of choking away 2 or 3 games.



#3 The Big Ten is Wide Open
Sorry, BMack, but Michigan State sucks. They lost 38-30 in Wisconsin. Michigan is undefeated, but that won't last (I think they'll lose to MSU next week). Wisconsin is undefeated, so is Iowa. Indiana almost beat Michigan. The mighty Penn State has fallen, and Iowa is in the driver's seat of the conference. Oh yeah, then there's Ohio State. The Big Ten might be the most interesting conference in college football.



#4 Miami is Good, Not Great
The Hurricanes deserved to be ranked in the top 15 last week, but didn't deserve the 9 spot, especially after Virginia Tech had just beaten a solid Nebraska side. Some pundits even wanted to put Miami in the Top 5. The biggest problem I have with college rankings is the bonus points schools like Miami get for having great history. The big programs like Miami, Texas, and USC all get a few extra positions in the rankings just because they are Miami, Texas, and USC. Miami is a top 25 team, but Virginia Tech is a legit BCS power.

#5 Stanford is the Class of the Pac-10
I don't mean to say Stanford is the best, or will even come close to winning the Pac-10. They're 2-0 within the conference (which puts them in 1st place) with wins over Washington and Washington State. But they are the best coached team out there, and they get the most out of their talent. USC, Cal, and Oregon all have shameful losses in which they played like crap. Stanford might get beaten by more talented teams, but they don't choke.

#6 Tim Tebow is Mortal
Tebow Haters like myself might enjoy the Schadenfruede of watching him get slammed to the ground, but this is bad news for those of us sick of hearing how great he is. If his college career is done, the Tebow Lovers will probably put an asterisk next to his name, and have it mean "would've won the Heisman had he remained healthy." The Tebow lovers can now also blame his imminent NFL failures on this injury. "He would've been great if not for that day in Kentucky." Nevertheless, the Kentucky Wildcats are one of my new favorite teams.



#7 Georgia is Permanently Overrated
Earlier I discussed teams that get bonus points just for being historic programs. A perfect example of this is Georgia. This team barely survives a home game against Arizona State, barely survived against South Carolina, and let Arkansas put 41 points on the board against them. This is not a top 15 team, and is barely a top 25 team.



#8 Houston Might Go Undefeated
The Mountain West and Boise State were predicted to be the BCS busters this year, but Houston of C-USA might have something to say about that. The Cougars have beaten Oklahoma State and Texas Tech already, and now their schedule gets easier, opening up the possibility of a 13-0 season and a BCS berth. They're the only ranked team in C-USA right now.

#9 BC Will Be Bowl Eligible
The Eagles needed overtime, but they defeated Wake Forest 27-24. They get to play Maryland and Virginia later this fall, two of the worst teams in Division I-A. If we assume those are wins (which is never ever a safe thing to do with BC), then they just need one more victory in their remaining schedule (which is: Florida State, @ Virginia Tech, NC State, @ Notre Dame, Central Michigan, @ Virginia, North Carolina, @ Maryland)

#10 We Need a Playoff!
Boise State will be the only undefeated team this year. Texas, USC, Virginia Tech, and either Ohio State or Penn State will all finish with only 1 loss. The SEC will produce a messy situation. 5 or 6 teams in total will all have a legitimate claim to a berth in the National Championship. Which two will be determined by moron coaches and idiot writers. Reputation will play an unfortunate factor. Teams like USC and Virginia Tech will benefit from their losses coming early. It will be another college football season lost to confusion.

-The Commodore