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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Breaking down the national championship race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The first BCS standings are now only a few weeks away (Oct. 14) and some teams are starting to separate themselves from the field.
1. LSU (4-0): South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier found out early in his game last Saturday that the Tigers are simply unblockable. There is no use trying to run on these guys. On offense, any team that can bring Ryan Perrilloux off the bench to play quarterback is ridiculously deep. In fact, this could be the deepest team that LSU has ever had.
2. Southern Cal (3-0): The Trojans have looked invincible the past two weeks against Nebraska (49-31) and Washington State (47-14). But the road schedule could catch up with them as USC goes to Washington (Saturday), Oregon (Oct. 27), California (Nov. 10), and Arizona State (Nov. 22).
3. Oklahoma (4-0): Oklahoma’s 51-13 win over Miami now looks a little more impressive. And if Texas doesn’t beat the Sooners on Oct. 6, who will? Oklahoma has scored at least 50 points in every game.
4. Florida (4-0): The Gators drop a spot because last Saturday (30-24 win over Ole Miss) we were reminded that they are a talented, but young, team. The defense gave up too many big plays. QB Tim Tebow had to carry the ball too much. Still, if they find a way to win next week at LSU, Florida be in position to make another run at the national title.
5. West Virginia (4-0): The Mountaineers could be the first contender to get knocked out of the box when they go to South Florida on Friday.
Possible breakthroughs:
California (4-0): The Bears are at Oregon this Saturday and that won’t be easy.
Clemson (4-0)/Boston College (4-0): Two long shots at best, but they meet on Nov. 17 in Clemson. If one is still undefeated after that game, it could be in the mix.
Ohio State (4-0): With Penn State losing to Michigan, the Buckeyes and Wisconsin are the Big Ten’s only hopes.
Texas (4-0): We won’t know about the Longhorns until Oct. 6 in Dallas against OU.
Wisconsin (4-0): The Badgers had to fight like crazy to beat Iowa (17-13). They still have to play at Penn State and at Ohio Sate.
