By the way, hate the BCS? Root for this implosion to occur. Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma. Sending Texas Tech to the Big 12 Title Game. Oregon State beats Oregon meaning the Beavers win the Pac-10. Florida State beats Florida who then beats an undefeated Alabama in the SEC Title Game. What happens in this scenerio? Three different one-loss teams that didn't win their own conference are all competing for a shot at the BCS Title. Even more interesting two of them might play for the national title. All would be ranked higher in the BCS than the teams that did win their conferences. Meet the Texas, USC, and Alabama one-loss derby. I know we've seen it before with Oklahoma but can you imagine if three of the top five contenders for the national title didn't win their conference? (The other two teams contending for the national title that did win their conference would be Texas Tech and Penn State.) Anyway on to the most intriguing games of the weekend.

Fresno State at Boise State (-21)- Can Boise State close out their season 12-0 with a win over Fresno State? Yeah, it's looking like it. Little known fact, since taking over Boise State from Dan Hawkins (who I believe is now working as a bike valet in Boulder) Boise State head coach Chris Petersen is 34-3. Seriously, 34-3. Including, of course, a BCS bowl win over Oklahoma. How is Petersen not an extremely hot coaching candidate? Why wouldn't, say, Washington mortgage their soul to get him? And, be honest, you had no idea he was 34-3, did you?

Georgia Tech at Georgia (-8)- Georgia's defensive gameplan: Try and keep Georgia Tech from rushing for over 300 yards. This Paul Johnson offense is way too gimmicky to work in a major conference. Right? Meanwhile, Georgia fans will silently weep at the end of this game over the presumed exit of Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford. That redshirt year on Knowshon really worked out well.

Virginia at Virginia Tech- Win and the Hokies are your Coastal Division champs. Lose and Georgia Tech advances to the ACC Championship. At least there's no animus between Virginia and Virginia Tech fans. These guys love each other. By the way, is Al Groh really safe for another year? Has Virginia just given up on ever being good at football? It's fine if they have but I feel like they owe it to their fans to hold a press conference and allow the AD to say, "I know there's been a lot of question and rumors surrouding this football program. Let me be clear: we are not ever going to be very good. If you're hoping for more than 8 wins in a season, you should root for another team. Like Virginia Tech or Richmond. We just aren't about winning football games here. We're going to focus on law school softball championships, instead. That's all. Go 'Hoos."

Kentucky at Tennessee (-4)- Tennessee has beaten Kentucky more consecutive years, 23, than any team has beaten another team in the country. Once, when I was a kid, I witnessed one of UT's coaches running off the field after a win over Kentucky screaming, "Go to hell Kentucky, now you can have your damn basketball season!" Why do I feel like a Kentucky coach could say the same thing at the end of tomorrow's game?

Syracuse at Cincinnati (-22)- - Win and Cincy is BCS bowl bound. Lucky for Cincinnati there's no history of a twenty-plus point underdog Syracuse team going on the road and winning a game no one anticipated they could win. Nope, this one is going to be completely easy.

Florida (-16.5) at Florida State - Hopefully this is Tim Tebow's final regular season college football game. If only so we can spend the next three months hearing Mel Kiper and Todd McShay incessantly debate Tebow's draft status. Here's a guess, one guy will think he's a stud and the other guy will think he isn't. Then they will repeat these positions 4 billion times until the draft arrives. Then, on draft day, a team will select him and, guess what, they'll debate about Tebow again. If there's any irony in the world, Tebow will get drafted by the Titans. My wife will deliver our second son, I'll go down to the nursery and Tebow will be circumcising babies on his day off.

Maryland at Boston College (-6.5)- Beat Maryland and BC is in the ACC Championship Game. Lose and that honor goes to Florida State. Has anyone else noted that it's possible the ACC regular season is going to end without any team winnning 9 games? Has this ever happened in a major conference before, where the best team only has 8 wins? Especially now that there are 12 regular season games.

Auburn at Alabama (-14.5)- Auburn has beaten Alabama six consecutive years. If they find a way to march into Tuscaloosa and win again, Tommy Tuberville, the original beaver pelt trader, Alabama fans are going to come undone. I don't know what will happen but I feel like I'll turn on the television and the entire state of Alabama will look like Jonestown, Guyana.

Oregon at Oregon State (-3)- The final obstacle to Oregon State's first Rose Bowl since 1965 arrives. I've never been to a rivalry game in the Pac-10, but I've heard this game is the one to attend above all others. think if you're a college football fan, you have to be rooting for Oregon State to go to the Rose Bowl, right? Can you imagine what odds you could have gotten on this when Oregon State was 1-2 (with a loss to Stanford and a blowout loss to Penn State) and about to play USC on Thursday night back in September?

Oklahoma (-7) at Oklahoma State- The over/under on this game is 72. Meaning, if you have a hearbeat, you should be watching come Saturday night. Oklahoma State hasn't beaten Oklahoma since 2002. Is this the game where people finally sit around and realize that Sam Bradford has 42 touchdowns against 6 interceptions? I think the Heisman is his to lose today. Either that or all the Big 12 voters will conflict with one another and Tim Tebow will snag another one. We'll see. Personally, my vote is for the Oklahoma girl at the top of the preview.

Already Obama put some dents in the Republican South by winning North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida. Southern states like Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, and Louisiana went for Bill Clinton and have demonstrated that they will vote for southern Democrats. Neither Obama nor his Vice President is Southern, but, and this is key, they do hate the BCS. An opinion that is shared, conservatively, by 99.9% of all Southerners. (The only thing we're more in favor of down here is pre-marital abstinence for everyone but yourself.) Keep attacking the BCS and pretty soon those favorability ratings are going to climb in Tennessee and Georgia and Alabama. Not to mention Mississippi and Louisiana. Even Texas and Oklahoma. Anyway, something to think about when there isn't much to think about after this week's status quo round of games. Obama is already crazy like a fox. If he brings down the BCS, no Republican on earth is beating him in 2012.

1. Florida beat Spurrier and South Carolina 56-6. This is the worst loss of Steve Spurrier's coaching career. Prior to this game South Carolina's defense was number 3 in the nation and the most points they'd given up all season was 24. Remember when Tim Tebow cried and said no one was ever going to work harder after the Ole Miss loss? And you and all your friends made fun of him for crying? Yeah, he was right. And it pains me to say this but no one is beating Florida for the reason of the season. And it's possible no game will be close.

2. The long march towards the ACC Championship remains steeped in confusion. Miami now holds the Coastal Division lead at 4-2 but has two road games (at Georgia Tech and at N.C. State remaining). If Tech wins then we're all set for our four-way 5-3 tie. Meanwhile, with their win over North Carolina, Maryland — Maryland! — has surged into the lead of the Atlantic Division. But I almost feel like even writing about the ACC race is steeped in futility.

3. After their Friday night win over Louisville all Cincinnati has to do to win the Big East is beat Pitt next week and then close out with a road win over Syracuse. But if Pitt wins then the Big East would come down to the West Virginia-Pitt game on the final week of the season. Can you imagine the television ratings that a Cincinnati-Utah BCS game would get? The Fox network might assassinate Brian Kelly. Thank god we've got the BCS to put together four games that no one cares about.

4. Remember a couple of weeks ago when Tulsa was undefeated and in the top 20. Then they lost to Arkansas? Yeah, Houston just dropped 70 on them on Saturday. Including 63 in the first three quarters. Also, don't look now but Rice is now contending to win their division in Conference USA. The nerds are inheriting the football turf.

5. Oregon State continued their run towards the Rose Bowl with a win over Cal. Now they have a game at Arizona and close out at home against Oregon. Win both and they're in for the first time since 1965.

6. Vandy is bowl eligible for the first time since 1982 thanks to their win over Kentucky. (Talk about a bad weekend in the Bluegrass...the Wildcat basketball team lost to Stonewall Jackson's VMI.) This ended the longest bowl drought from a big 6 conference school. Baylor, without a bowl since 1994, the football made of feces is now in your hands. Vandy's D.J. Moore is the best player you've never heard of. He scored two touchdowns at receiver and intercepted two passes. You're going to want your team to draft him when he comes out early this fall. Now the 'Dores have opened as a 3.5 point favorite over Tennessee. Meaning the end of the world is truly nigh.

7. Alabama, Texas, Penn State, and USC all held serve. Meaning nothing changed in the BCS rankings. Oh, and Utah is 11-0 and Boise State is now 10-0. But no one's really paying attention to either team. For now there is one game and one game only, Texas Tech at Oklahoma. Let the planning begin. Personally, I'm watching Texas Tech-Oklahoma without any pants. Which is completely normal.

Pittsburgh at South Florida (-13.5) - Friday night’s game on September 12 between South Florida and Kansas has already been forgotten. But if Kansas wins that game they’re inside the top 10 with four other Big 12 teams. Instead South Florida is #10 in the AP and will be favored in every game remaining on their schedule with the possible exception of an away game in Morgantown/Deadwood on December 6. But how good is South Florida? They’re 5-0 with one overtime win over a mediocre team (Central Florida), one last second field goal win over a good team (Kansas) and a near disaster against Florida Atlantic (17-8)? Last season things were also going smoothly for South Florida, they rolled to #2 in the country before losing three straight in conference games and plummeting out of the polls. This season their rise hasn’t been meteoric but their position is similar. Win their final 7 games and it’s hard to believe they won’t be in the BCS Title Game at 12-0. Even still, you’re reading this and thinking, there’s no way South Florida runs the table. They’re not a top 5 caliber team. And I’m writing this and thinking the same thing. Even though I have nothing to base this on.

Meanwhile Pittsburgh has won three in a row since a home-opening loss to mighty Bowling Green. Dave Wannstedt, who has been on the verge of perpetually turning the corner with Pittsburgh football for the past three seasons, needs to prove his team has actually improved. So far Wanndstedt has gone 5-6, 6-6, and 5-7. Is there any coach in America that’s lived on a perpetual hot seat longer than Wannstedt? Since 2002 he’s been on the verge of being fired for some offense or another.

Oregon State at Utah (-14)- Demonstrating the respect that Oregon State garnered by upsetting USC as 25 point underdogs last week, Utah opened as 12 point favorites. The line immediately moved to 14. Last week everyone expected for USC’s turn on Thursday night football to be an audition for the nation’s accolades. This week, the same holds true for Utah. Especially since the Mountain West is 5-1 against the Pac-10 this year.

Utah is averaging 38 points a game and is 5-0 including their opening game win at Michigan. If they can get past Oregon State, Utah looks to be in solid shape for a match-up of undefeated teams in their November 22nd game at BYU. Such a game could be a play-in between top ten teams (you’ve got to figure that the #15 Utah team would be in the top 25 by then) and could provide the necessary juice to propel whichever Utah team wins that game into the BCS Title Game. Against, you guessed it, South Florida.

If that happened, we could end up with a split national champion. Something the BCS was devised to keep from ever happening. So if you’re a college football fan who believes that a playoff would be a gift from God (and who doesn’t believe this?) then you might want to root for the winner of BYU/Utah to go undefeated and play South Florida for all the marbles. Because the indignation would be at an all-time high and just maybe, maybe, the low ratings and anger would finally mean something would have to change.

Meanwhile, Oregon State has already been passed over as the flavor of the week. Just seven days ago they shocked the college football universe by beating the best team in college football history. Now they’re going on the road for another Thursday night game and no one is giving them a shot in hell. Which seems odd. Unless you consider how much sex Jacquizz Rodgers has had since he went for 186 yards against USC. The oddsmakers clearly have to be factoring in his leg fatigue.

So I guess what I'm saying by way of these previews is, watch both teams if you can because it might be your only chance to develop an opinion about two national title contenders. Seriously. Or don't and watch Sarah Palin, all the while thinking that you're really watching Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin in a skit.

Granted USC opened as a 24 point favorite and will probably beat the bejesus out of Oregon State. But at least USC is going on the road against a Pac-10 team. In conference brain farts are the only thing that have kept the Trojans from complete and utter college football dominance. Crazier things have happened than USC losing to Oregon State. Stanford, anyone? In fact, the last time USC went on the road to lovely Corvallis, Oregon in 2006, they lost 33-31 to break a string of 38 consecutive regular season wins.

It's going to be cool (mid 50's with the potential of rain) at kickoff. Meaning USC's Mark Sanchez (who by the way, isn't he what A.C. Slater would have become if Slater weren't fictional) will have to break out the turtleneck to avoid the chills. Both teams are coming off bye weeks. In fact, USC has already had two bye weeks (three if you count UVa). It's been two weeks since they ran roughshod over the Buckeyes. This game will set up USC for 8 consecutive weeks of play until a much-needed third bye week of the season before the Notre Dame game.

Meanwhile Oregon State (the only people who can name all three of their opponents still think wearing Beaver baseball caps are cool and/or attend Oregon State) is 1-2 and also coming off a bye week. So far Oregon State has lost to Stanford and Penn State while beating Hawai'i. None of these performances instill great confidence. Least of all the 45-14 loss to Penn State. Even still, this is one of USC's 5 Pac-10 road games and how often do you get a chance to see the number one team in the country on a stage all their own?

Not often. Especially not when they're on the West Coast and have a television package that falls somewhere between nonexistent and "Hey, do I get Fox College Sports Pacific," or whatever the hell that station is that is still not in HD. Anyway, three things to note tonight.

1. Joe McKnight has still only carried the ball 18 times this season. Rumor is Brent Musberger has videotaped these runs and watches them flit across his ceiling at night while he's in bed. This is probably true. McKnight is averaging a Reggie Bushian 9.2 yards a carry. Better find out where his parents are living. Pronto.

2. Oregon State's quarterback is named Lyle. Meaning he must have been born in 1958. Which makes his performance all the more impressive. He's averaging over 300 yards a game passing including 404 against Stanford in the opener. On the downside he's 5'11 and weighs 235 pounds. I think he's eating those really cool Beaver hats.

3. Mark Sanchez is listed as "Questionable: groin chafing" on the USC injury report. When asked to explain this injury, Pete Carroll replied, "Hey, that's why you come to USC. We do bye weeks well." So there's that.

Kickoff at 9. Be there. I'm told that the most famous Oregon State alum not named Steven Jackson will be there. I have no idea what her name was but she was on the cover of Playboy holding a football. Sign her up.