Did Texas Tech just kickoff another November to remember?
That the Red Raiders from Lubbock defeated the top-ranked Texas Longhorns 39-33 was not shocking. The way in which they won, Graham Harrell zipping a 28-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree with one second remaining, was.
If that game is a preview of things to come, get ready for a special month in college football.
Texas Tech deserved to win the game with Texas.
The Red Raiders piled up more than 500 yards of offense, dominated time of possession, won the turnover battle, shut down the Texas running game, and controlled Longhorn QB (and Heisman front-runner) Colt McCoy.
Still, the Longhorns led 33-32 with only eight seconds remaining.
Then Harrell to Crabtree upset the Longhorns, and scrambled the BCS rankings.
With the national elections ending this week after a ridiculously long campaign, let’s handicap the BCS conference races with some ridiculously early projections.
ACC: Atlantic Division trending Maryland; Coastal Division trending Georgia Tech. Early favorite: Georgia Tech.
Big East: West Virginia looks like a solid favorite.
Big Ten: Strongly trending toward Penn State.
Big 12: North is Missouri or Kansas. South is a shootout between four teams with Texas Tech on top now.
PAC 10: Cal controls its destiny, but USC should win this race.
SEC: No drama here. Alabama controls the West and Florida the East.
BCS Busters: Boise State and the winner of this week’s Utah-TCU game probably have the best chances of getting to a big bowl.
Keep in mind the BCS system is only meant to identify two teams to play for a national title at the end of the season.
If the season ended today, most likely Alabama and Texas Tech would play for the title … but the season doesn’t end for a few weeks.
If a guess had to be made right now as to the two teams that will meet in Miami?
How about Penn State and Florida?
Around the Nation
The Big 12 offers another Top Ten matchup when Oklahoma State travels to Lubbock to face Texas Tech. The Red Raiders will have to avoid a letdown after the dramatic Texas victory.
Texas A&M at Oklahoma might also be worth watching.
Big East front-runners meet in West Virginia when the Mountaineers welcome Cincinnati for a Saturday night game. Louisville at Pitt also matters.
Out West, Cal visits USC, and the winner is the heavy league favorite. USC retains a shot at the national title too.
The TCU-Utah matchup on Thursday should be outstanding.
Around the South
The SEC schedule pits the top two teams in each division against each other, although the division races are almost sewed up.
The biggest conference game takes place on the bayou where the LSU Bengal Tigers are feeling a bit blue, but could get well quickly by beating top-ranked and division leading Alabama. The Crimson Tide holds a two-game lead in the West, but has eyes on the national title. Check back later this week for The Campus Game SEC Game of the Week for a pick in that game.
In the East, Florida can clinch the crown by beating Vanderbilt at Nashville. The Commodores can seize control of the division with a victory but would still need to win out in the conference to reach the title game. Not much chance getting past Florida if the Gators stick to form.
In the ACC, Maryland takes on Virginia Tech in a Thursday night game, and Clemson faces FSU down in the panhandle.
The top game in Conference USA features East leader Marshall at second-place East Carolina. The winner probably makes it to the league title game.
See you at kickoff!
