Do you want another nightmare scenario for the BcS mess?  Well it could happen.  It looks like the winner of the SEC is on a collision course with Texas, but stranger things have happened.

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Editor’s Note:  The following is an article written by guest blogger Adam Jones from Jones Top Ten.  Although I think Adam is a great blogger and author, we are not related.  I urger visitors to check out a copy of his book, Rose Bowl Dreams: A Memoir of Faith, Family and Football which I reviewed here.  You can buy a copy of the book at the CFTT Book Store here.

Texas/Oklahoma Preview 2009

By Adam Jones, special to collegefootballtopten.com

Almost everything that could go wrong for the Oklahoma Sooners offense has during the first stretch of the season. Meanwhile, Texas rolls along mostly intact. So why are Longhorn fans nervous?

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Note:  Remember my reasons for updating every three weeks, even if some of you think I am really an idiot.

1.  Florida, 12-1
Alabama was number one in my poll, and Florida beat them in the SEC Championship Game and looked good doing it.  Florida has been on a tear after the loss to Ole Miss.  Tim Tebow has become a great leader, and he has lead this team to where it is now.

2.  Oklahoma, 12-1
There is no easy way to do this.  Oklahoma beat the number two team in my poll, Texas Tech, therefore, I will put them at number 2.  That being said, arguments can be made for both Texas and Oklahoma.  Texas, we know, beat Oklahoma on a neutral field the first weekend of October and only loss to Tech on the road on a TD pass with one second left on the clock.  Oklahoma destroyed Texas Tech, and, I might add, is not the same team it was in October.   They are running the ball better, and they have fixed some of their defensive holes.

3.  Texas, 11-1
See Above

4.  Alabama, 12-1
The Tide is a bruising team.  They will absolutely knock you silly on both sides of the ball.  They only had one slip this year.  Unfortunately, it was in their last game against Florida.  I really would love to see them play one of those great Big 12 South games.  Oh well, they play Utah in the Sugar Bowl.

5.  USC, 11-1
No one will know for sure how good USC is.  It was a bad Thursday night in Corvallis earlier this year, and if Oregon State had not have been so beat up by the end of the season, USC would have had somewhere other than the Rose Bowl to go play.

6.  Utah, 12-0

The Utes are not a flashy team.  They play good defense, and they are led on offense by a senior QB.  They make just enough plays on offense to win their games.  They run a spread offense, but it is a grind-it-out kind of blue collar offense.  They took care everyone, and then they rallied to knock off TCU before pulling away from BYU to get to that undefeated season.  They deserve what they get.

7.  Texas Tech, 11-1
This is, undoubtedly, the best season in Red Raider history.  Mike Leach showed me something as he worked to improve his running game and his defense to get his team to this special place.  In most years, 11-1 would be good enough for a BCS Bowl.  A blowout loss to Oklahoma did not help their case.

8.  Penn State, 11-1
Joe Pa may have turned his best performance this year.  He just keeps winning games.  His offense was off- the-chart good this year, and his defense was its usual good self.  One loss to an improving Iowa team in Iowa City took them out of the national title hunt.

9.  TCU, 10-2
I just wasn’t sure if the Frogs were a top ten team.  However, after the season was over, I realized they were just a better offense away from being BCS buster material.  The Frog offense was good against most teams, but when they played teams with good defenses (Oklahoma, Utah), they just couldn’t generate enough points.  TCU finished number 2 in the country in total defense, and if you don’t think they were good, give Bob Stoops a call.  The Sooners scored over 700 points this year, but they only scored 35 on the Frogs with 21 of those coming in the first quarter.  That is 19 points below the Sooners’ average.  TCU is good.

10.  Boise State, 12-0
Unfortunately, the Broncos only played one team who was ranked this year making it hard to know how good they really are.  It’s not their fault, but it hurts their credibility.  They get a chance to prove it in the Poinsettia Bowl against TCU.  Many are calling it one of the best match-ups in the bowl season.  Nevetheless, it is really hard to go undefeated in 12 games in spit of who is on your schedule.

Whew!!!!  I really just did not not know what we were going to do.  I mean, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma were all tied at the top of the Big 12 South with a legitimate shot at a BCS title game, but only one could go to the Big 12 Championship Game.

Of course, we look to our wise sages for answers, and they helped us make a decision.  Coaches from as far away as California and New England decided that Oklahoma’s throttling of two top twelve teams two weeks in a row was worthy to put them in front of Texas and Texas Tech.  Longhorn fans are fuming.  What happened to 45 to 35 (Texas’ score over Oklahoma if you didn’t know)?  What happened to to 39 to 33 (Tech over UT)?  It’s madness I tell you!  Madness!  Only it is November not March.

Oh well, what’s done is done.  It will be Oklahoma vs. Missouri (again) for the Big 12 title.  Of course, if Chase Daniel has some magic left and Mizzou upsets Oklahoma, well, I guess Texas gets to go to the BCS title game.  Who needs a playoff (tongue in cheek!), this is just fine!

BCS Standings

1. Alabama 12-0
2. Oklahoma 11-1
3. Texas 11-1
4. Florida 11-1
5. USC 10-1
6. Utah 12-0
7. Texas Tech 11-1
8. Penn State 11-1
9. Boise State 12-0
10. Ohio State 10-2

AP Standings

1. Alabama (62) 12-0
2. Florida (3) 11-1
3. Texas 11-1
4. Oklahoma 11-1
5. USC 10-1
6. Penn State 11-1
7. Utah 12-0
8. Texas Tech 11-1
9. Boise State 12-0
10. Ohio State 10-2

Note:  Remember my reasons for updating every three weeks, even if some of you think I am really an idiot.

1.  Alabama, 11-0
The Crimson Tide keep winning, but they are starting to look a little less intimidating.  They have some business to take care of in the “Iron Bowl.”  Then, they have to beat Florida, the hottest team in the country, in the SEC Championship Game.  Defeat Arkansas State 35-0, at LSU 27-21 OT, Mississippi State 32-7.

2.  Texas Tech, 10-0
The Red Raiders have played some of the most exciting football in the past three weeks beating routing Kansas and Oklahoma State slipping past Texas 39-33.  The Raiders go to Norman to play the Sooners and then get Baylor at home to finish the season.

3.  Florida, 9-1
Fans can argue that Texas looks better on paper when considering the results, but no one is hotter than Florida is now.  The Gators survived the early part of their schedule, and then they were promptly upset by Houston Nutt’s Ole Miss Rebels.  Then, the Gators regrouped and have not looked back since.  The Gators won at Georgia (49-10) and Vandy (42-14) and annihilated South Carolina 56-6.

4.  Texas, 10-1
The Longhorns may be the victim of circumstances when it is all over.  The Horns beat Oklahoma on a neutral field and their only loss is on the road in a very close game to Texas Tech.  But, when the dust settles, will Oklahoma get the nod to play in the Big 12 Championship Game?  It could happen.  What do you do with three teams with one loss, to each other, tied for first?  The Horns lost at Texas Tech 39-33, won over Baylor 45-21 and at Kansas 35-7.

5.  Oklahoma, 9-1
The Sooners have rebounded from the October loss to the Longhorns, and they are looking to exact a little revenge on Texas Tech who beat them last year and further completecate the Big 12 South.  However, even if they beat the Raiders, they have to beat a very salty Oklahoma State team in Stillwater.  The Sooners won at Kansas State (58-35), beat Nebraska 62-28, and at Texas A & M 66-28.

6.  USC, 9-1
The Trojans got their revenge on Stanford last week in Palo Alto pulling away for the 45-23 win.  The Trojans beat Washington 56-0, Cal 17-3 and at Stanford (45-23).  Up next is Notre Dame and UCLA.  Unfortunately, USC may go 11-1 and not make the Rose Bowl.  Oregon State controls its own destiny there.

7.  Utah, 11-0
I don’t know what to say about the Running Utes.  They just keep winning.  They aren’t flashy, their defense leads the way and they are able to win the game when trailing.  The Utes beat New Mexico and TCU 13-10 and ripped San Diego State 63-14.  The next game is what locals call the “Holy War.”  It’s the yearly rival with BYU, and it is a home game for Utah.  These kind of games transcend records, so Utah will be in for a tough, close game.  If they win this game, they will go to a BCS Bowl.

8.  Penn State, 10-1
The Nittany Lions is a feel good story, but they saved everyone a lot of Big Ten heartache when they lost at Iowa a couple of weeks ago.  They are still a go for the Rose Bowl.  How do you like that match up, Penn State versus Oregon State, a rematch?  The Lions won at Ohio State  (13-6), lost at Iowa (24-23) and beat Indiana (34-7).  Up next, Michigan State.

9.  Oklahoma State, 9-2
What can you say about the Cowboys?  They have been impressive all year.  Yes they loss two games, but those games were on the road against teams that were ranked number 1 and number 2 when they played them.  OSU had its own gauntlet to run, and they managed beat Missouri on the road.  What’s more, every top 5 team they have played has been on the road.  The next on will be in Stillwater.  After a week off, they get cross state rival Oklahoma.  The Cowboys beat Iowa State (59-17), loss to Texas Tech (56-20) and beat Colorado (30-17).

10.  Missouri
The Tigers had dropped out in my last poll because they had dropped two straight games.  But give them credit, they are pretty good.  One of those losses was at Texas in Austin.  The Tigers take care of business, and their offense is just so explosive.  They get the unfortunate task of facing whoever survives the Big 12 South in the Big 12 Championship Game.  Good luck.  The Tiges won at Baylor (31-28), beat Kansas State (41-24) and won at Iowas State (52-20).  Next up, the “Border War” against Kansas on November 29th.

Falling

Penn State (but not out)
Georgia

Rising

Utah
Oklahoma State

This week there are more interesting games in the context of conference races, and, ultimately, in the context of the BCS race.  This is week number 9 which means that I will update my CFTT Top Ten after the week is over.

Games to Watch

Oklahoma State vs. Texas
Two teams that are undefeated.  The Big 12 South is on the line, the Big 12 may be on the line, and the BCS Championship is on the line.  Is that enough drama for ya?  The Horns have struggled to beat the Cowboys in recent years.  How will these two teams match up?  Oh yea, the game is in Austin.

Georgia vs. LSU
The ‘Dawgs are still in the hunt for everything with their only loss being to undefeated West Division Alabama.  LSU rebounded from the pounding at Gainesville.  This game should be a peir six brawl in Baton Rouge.

Penn State vs. Ohio State
The Nittany Lions take their Spread HD offense into the Horseshoe to take on Chris Wells, Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Can Pryor manage the game with the help of Wells while the defense keeps the Lion offense in check?  Or will the Buckey offense have to try to keep up?

UCF vs. Tulsa
The Golden Hurricane take their new top 25 ranking in against a team that beat them twice last year.  Can the Hurricane take advantage of a down year for the Knights?

Note: I just want to reiterate my reasoning for updating every 3 weeks.  I read on a message board this week about my doing so as being kind of strange.  That’s fine, maybe I am strange.  Look back at the original post which I will link to on every CFTT Top Ten hereafter.  I think parity, for the most part, has arrived in college football, therefore, I want to see teams play out a few weeks before updating.  Again, at the least, I’ll be kown as “the guy who updates his poll every three weeks.”

1.  Oklahoma, 5-0
The Sooners continue to prove their worth unlike anyone else in the country.  They have not had a close game including road blow outs against Washington (before Locker was injured) and now Baylor.  The even handled TCU at home by 25 points.  Sam Bradford rises in the Heisman Trophy race each week.  This week, they get their toughest test by far, Texas in the Red River Shootout (I mean Rivalry).

2.  Alabama, 6-0
Thus far, the most impressive team because they have knocked off two teams ranked in the top ten, and they won fairly handily.  If you throw out the Georgia game where they gave up 30 points to Matthew Stafford and Co., the defense has only given up 9 points per game.  Their offensive and defensive lines may be the best in the country.  Sure, they struggled with Kentucky, but good teams will struggle in at least one game (usually more), especially after an emotional win against Georgia.  Oh yeah, Kentucky is pretty good.

3.  Missouri, 5-0
The Tigers dominated Nebraska, on the road.  Now, I know the Cornhuskers aren’t quite a top 25 team, but it was still impressive.  Missouri’s schedule hasn’t been the toughest just yet, but their offense is humming.  They have only played one game outside of Missouri, and Texas awaits them in Austin on October 18th.  Take out the Illinois game, and the Mizzou defense has only allowed 14.5 points per game.

4.  LSU, 4-0
The Bengal Tigers should be 5-0, but Hurricane Ike forced the Troy game to be moved to November.  So far, the Tigers have had to revamp their offense with their defense leading the charge.  The last couple of games, it seems that the LSU offense has found an identity.  It seems as if Jarrett Lee is the QB of choice.  After a disasterous start against Auburn, Lee found his poise and threw some nice passes down field giving LSU a deep threat to complement their run attack.  Their defense, however, has uncharacteristically given up 20 plus points the last two games against Auburn and Mississippi State, two teams not known to be great offenses.

5.  Texas, 5-0
The Horns are giving up just 11.4 points per game, and they have played some offenses who have exploded for big scores this year (Rice, UTEP).  Many wondered how they would do on the road against Colorado, but their was appraently nothing to worry about.  They buried Buff in their own stadium setting up a huge game against number one ranked Oklahoma.  Their offense is really playing well, and their defense has been surprising excellent under first year coordinator Will Muschamp.

6.  Penn State, 6-0
The Nitany Lions have been almost as impressive as Alabama.  They beaten everyone handily with their only struggle on the road against Purdue.  The Lions have already played tow road games which gives them early season tests that should be good for the stretch run against Wisconsin (this week) and Ohio State (10/25).  They are the team to beat in the Big Ten.

7.  USC, 3-1
The Trojans have dominated everyone except Oregon State who should prove to be pretty good when the years done.  They don’t have a single ranked team left on their schedule as it is now.  How good are the Trojans, we probably won’t know until the bowl season.  They need a game against a Big 12 or SEC team.

8.  Texas Tech, 5-0
For the first time this year I have the Red Raiders in my top ten.  There are some stats that are standing out that lets me believe this a legitimate top ten team.  First, defense.  They are giving up just 18.4 points per game which is tough considering the type of offense they run.  Second, they are averaging 144.4 yards rushing per game.  That is something that was missing last year, and it looks like Mike Leach has found himself some backs.  Unfortunately for Tech, they are in the same conference with Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri.

9.  Georgia, 4-1
I would make too much out of Georgia getting beat by Alabama at home.  The Tide is very good, and so is Georgia.  Georgia was not ready in the first half against Alabama, but once they woke up, they made a very good rally and looked like they would keep their national championship aspirations alive.  Unfortuantely, Knowshon Moreno was hurt, and the score took him out of the game as they were coming from behind.  They still have a tough schedule.

10.  BYU, 5-0
BYU has only had one close game and that was at Washington before Jake Locker was injured.  Their offense is averaging 41.2 points per game and their defense is giving up just 11.6 points per game.  At Utah State Saturday, BYU put it in cruise control during the second half winning 34-14.  After hosting New Mexico Saturday, they have to come to Fort Worth on Thursday to play the Horned Frogs.  TCU made it close in Provo last year, and their defense has been dominant.

Rising

BYU
Alabama
Texas Tech
Penn State

Falling

South Florida
Oregon
Auburn

Note:  Remember, poll is updated every 3 weeks.  The poll will be updated next week.

1. USC
The Trojans were ambushed by the Beavers in Corvallis.  They play Oregon in LA.

2. Oklahoma
The new number 1 team in the polls defeated a good TCU team in Norman on Saturday.  The Sooners play a Baylor team coming in with a bit of a swagger in Waco.

3. Florida
The Gators were caught off guard Saturday against Ole Miss in Gainesville.  The will most likely be very “upset” when they play at Arkansas on Saturday.

4.  Georgia
The ‘Dawgs got knocked around against Alabama in Athens, but the rallied only to fall short. They get Tennessee at home and will be looking to take out their frustrations on one of the most disappointing teams so far this season.

5.  LSU
The Tigers beat Mississippi State on Saturday and get the week off before traveling to Gainesville to take on Floriday on October 11.  The Tigers running game continues to roll, and they may have found the perfect complement in the passing game with Jarret Lee who passed for 261 yards against Mississippi State.

6.  Missouri
Mizzou sat at home last week watching Tyrod Taylor and the Virginia Tech offense tear up their next opponent, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Chase Daniel will be ready.  The game is in Lincoln.

7.  South Florida
The Bulls haven’t been particularly impressive, but all they have done is win.  The may have put it all together last week when they routed NC State.  This week they host Pitt on national TV.

8.  Oregon
I thought that the Ducks would struggle with Boise State, and they did losing close.  This week the Duck travel to USC.  Oregon is playing with a back up QB, and we all know how that worked out last year.

9.  Auburn
The Tigers have a highly anticipated game against a ranked and undefeated SEC East team who is also in first of the SEC East standings.  No, it’s not Florida, or Georgia.  Auburn travels to Nashville to play the SEC East leading Vanderbilt Commodores.  Vandy is ranked at 19th too.  What’s next, Ball State will be undefeated too?

10.  Texas
The Razorbacks were no match for the Longhorns Saturday, and the Buffaloes better bring some defense if they want to beat the Horns.  Will Muschamp has the Texas defense playing better, and Colt McCoy looks like a career passing leader for Texas.

AP Top Ten

USA Today Poll

Last year I started a Top Ten Offseason Stories segment.  There were two parts, and this year I will split the segment in to two posts as well.  The first post will contain numbers 6 through 10 while the second post will contain numbers 1 through 5.

10.  Tim Tebow Mission Trip–The Legend of Tim Tebow grows which each passing year.  Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in his first year as a starter, and now, there are reports that Tebow took a mission trip during the Spring.  Mission trips are nothing new for the Tebow family, his parents are missionaries.  However, it seems Tebow has convinced his head coach, Urban Meyer, to take a mission trip too.  Tebow just seems too good to be true.

9.  Josh Jarboe dismissed from OU Scholarship–After making a dramatic decision to sign his Letter of Intent with Oklahoma, the Georgia native recruit was dismissed for a video of a freestyle rap that surfaced on YouTube.  At first, the Sooners dismissed the significance, but after outcry from some in the media, decided that to remove Jarboe’s scholarship.  Jarboe had been arrested in the spring for a carrying a weapon on his high school campus.  Jarboe has since enrolled at Troy.

8.  Plus One Playoff Considered–And was rejected by BCS officials.  Nevertheless, a “plus one” was considered.  Despite being considered, the system was turned down and has left many upset about the evil while others are content.

7.  Coaches Visit Middle East–Five very prominent coaches including Georgia coach Mark Richt and Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis paid a visit to the Middle East to visit our soldiers, and they even got to meet the Commander In Chief when they returned.  The Coaches Tour was a great experience for both the coaches and the soldiers.

6.  Howard Schnellenberger calls out Texas–Schnellenberger has always coached with a swagger, but he just gave Texas incentive to not overlook Florida Atlantic.  Of course, he tried to back off his words, but it might be Texas who is hitting FAU in the mouth.

To Be Continued

Are you like me?  Have you been searching the internet and your favorite blogs to find out what has been going on in the first week of college football practices?  It’s August in Texas, and it is hot.  Two-a-days in Texas have begun from El Paso to Fort Worth, to Texarkana.  If you need a cool off, and you still want football, I have an article for you.  Da Wiz posted an article that tells the story of the first football game of the season anywhere, in Alaska.  And, it was cold.  Check out the article.

Ever woundered what happened to Wendell Barnhouse.  Barnhouse covered college sports for years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  He was a veteran, and was well respected around the country.  Well, he left the Star-Telegram to write for, of all things, a website.  Barnhouse now covers the Big 12 full time at Big12Sports.com.  He is the Big 12 Insider, you’ll find the link in the navigation bar on the top right.  Right now he is doing a Bottom 25 at The Wizard of Odds.  Guess who is number 25?  SMU.  It doesn’t seem that Barnhouse thinks the Ponies will stay there.

“Is there hope?: Yes. Jones proved at Hawaii that he is capable of resurrecting losing programs. Phil Bennett, Jones’ predecessor, did a good job of recruiting and the school’s stringent academic guidelines have been softened. The pass-happy run-and-shoot (mostly shoot) offense Jones prefers is similar to the schemes used by most successful high school programs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.”