Fourth and inches…(week of Nov. 22, 2008)

By Todd Erickson  |   Wednesday, November 19, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

College Football
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Best rivalry in college football? It used to be Ohio State and Michigan. Not this year. It’s a question that can be argued in every region of the country. Alabama and Auburn. Brigham Young and Utah. Texas and Oklahoma. Texas and Texas A&M. Florida and Georgia. The entire Pac-10 is based on five intense rivalries: Oregon and Oregon State. Stanford and Cal. USC and UCLA. Arizona and Arizona State. Yes, even Washington and Washington State. The Big Ten, SEC, and Big XII conferences are all packed with great rivalries. No matter what any poll or sportswriter claims, though, the most intense college football rivalry is the one in which you are most emotionally invested.

Need a job? These nine Division 1-A schools are interviewing…Syracuse, Washington, Utah State, New Mexico, Purdue, Clemson, Kansas State, Tennessee, and Toledo. The fact that Texas has recently named defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as “head coach in waiting” for Longhorns (whenever Mack Brown retires) is a clear sign that Auburn might also soon be searching for a new head coach. Muschamp left Auburn last year to join Mack Brown’s staff.

ESPN locks in the TV contract with the BCS for 2011 through 2014…it will be the first time that all of the BCS bowl games will be televised on a cable TV system. ABC Sports had the BCS contract before FOX Sports picked it up starting in 2007. FOX has the rights to telecast all of the BCS bowl games for 2009 and 2010, except the Rose Bowl Game -- which is under contract with ABC Sports through 2014.

BCS Busters still standing: Utah, Boise State and Ball State are still hanging around with Boise State having the easiest path to remain undefeated. Utah and Ball State both have huge conference showdowns this weekend that could derail their BCS dreams. BSU faces Nevada on the road.

Heisman Thermometer: Heisman Hot and his to lose: Graham Harrell, Texas Tech. Burnt Orange Hot: Colt McCoy, Texas. Movin’ up the chart Hot: Tim Tebow, Florida. Eager to be really Hot this weekend: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma.

Conference Power Meter: 1. Big XII. 2. SEC. 3. Big Ten. 4. MWC 5. Pac-10 6. ACC. 7. Big East. 8. C-USA. 9. WAC. 10. Sun Belt.

Top games this weekend and why:
No. 14 Ball State at Central Michigan (Wednesday night). CMU aims to help you say goodbye to another BCS buster in this tense contest for MAC West Division supremacy.
Miami at Georgia Tech (Thursday night). Two decent 7-3 teams square off to see who will remain in contention in the ACC title race.
Michigan at Ohio State. Just to see college football history—the Wolverines’ worst season ever comes to an end in Columbus.
Air Force at No. 15 TCU. A Horned Frogs’ win will clinch them a share of the MWC title.
No. 17 Michigan State at No. 7 Penn State. If the Nittany Lions win they will play in the Rose Bowl Game for the first time in 13 years.
Stanford at Cal. There’s always a chance the Stanford band will race onto the field and change the outcome of the game.
Illinois at Northwestern. The Wildcats are exciting to watch, plus they are on the verge of finishing 9-3 and landing a plum New Year's Day bowl game invitation.
No. 9 Boise State at Nevada. If the Broncos are to lose a WAC game this year it will happen in Reno.
No. 20 Pittsburgh at No. 19 Cincinnati. Big East battle royale.
No. 21 Oregon State at Arizona. The Beavers are two wins away from their first Rose Bowl Game appearance since 1965.
**Co-Game of the Week** No. 16 BYU at No. 8 Utah. It’s easily one of the best rivalry games year after year. If Utah wins, it's the undisputed champ of the MWC and in a BCS bowl game. If BYU wins, it gains a share of the MWC title and could end up in a BCS bowl game if Nevada upsets Boise State.
**Co-Game of the Week** No. 2 Texas Tech at No. 5 Oklahoma. A shot at the Big XII title game and the national championship is at stake for the Red Raiders.

Upset Specials: I was 2 for 3 last week, correctly picking Maryland over North Carolina and Houston over then-No. 25 Tulsa. This week: Arizona over Oregon State; Nevada over Boise State; and Central Michigan over Ball State.

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About Todd Erickson

Todd Erickson is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and pens the RealFootball365 Top 25 college football power rankings and "Fourth and inches..." weekly columns from August thru January. He is currently working on the second edition of Road to the Rose Bowl ...
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