AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 13
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Can Kansas jump over Oregon?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here is one man’s Top Five as we head down the stretch:
1. LSU (9-1): The Tigers dodged a bullet against Auburn (30-24) and they dodged a cannon ball against Alabama (41-34). They are at Ole Miss this Saturday and host Arkansas on Nov. 23. Then comes the SEC championship game where a win puts them in New Orleans for the BCS title. I agree with Mark Bradley. If LSU has to play Georgia at the Georgia Dome, things could get very interesting.
2. Oregon (8-1): The Ducks are playing well but their final three games with 4-6 Arizona (Thursday night), UCLA (5-5) and Oregon State (6-4) are not particularly exciting. Oregon not only needs to win these games, it needs to win impressively.
3. Kansas (10-0): Here is my bottom line on Kansas. The Jayhawks played a lousy non-conference schedule: Central Michigan (6-4), I-AA Southeastern Louisiana (2-8), Toledo (5-5), and Florida International (0-9). But if Kansas runs the table, it would have beaten No. 5 Missouri (Nov. 24) and No. 5 Oklahoma (Big 12 championship game) in consecutive weeks. The Jayhawks will have beaten Kansas State, Colorado, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State on the road. They would have hung 76 on Nebraska. That’s a better resume than Oregon’s and the Fighting Manginos would jump into the No. 2 hole ahead of the Ducks.
4. Oklahoma (9-1): The Sooners need to be careful this week against a mad Texas Tech team in Lubbock. Oklahoma’s best chance is to run the table (Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Big 12 championship) and hope that Oregon stumbles. If Oklahoma beats Kansas convincingly on Dec. 1 while Oregon is beating Oregon State, the voting for No. 2 might get interesting.
5. West Virginia (8-1): I’m not sure any of these teams would want to play the Mountaineers right now. They are just impossible to stop when QB Pat White and RB Steve Slaton are both healthy. West Virginia has an interesting game this week at Cincinnati. Then it finishes at home with Connecticut and Pittsburgh
