Conference Updates
By The Gold Sheet
ACC...Here's one of the shockers of the young season; Maryland actually sits atop the ACC's Atlantic Division by virtue of its upset win over Clemson last week. The Terps are the only team in that half of the loop without a defeat, but with Clemson and Florida State already sitting with two losses, you get an idea of how jumbled things are in the Atlantic. Also, there are some ominous developments in Tallahassee, where it looks more and more likely that we're in the midst of Bobby Bowden's farewell season. In the Coastal half, things look a bit more predictable with Virginia Tech setting the early pace, but who would have guessed under-fire Al Groh and Virginia would be right on the Hokies' tails? North Carolina and its struggling offense rate as a major letdown thus far. Surprise team...Boston College; Disappointing teams...North Carolina and Florida State.
BIG EAST... Remember, the Big East is a card-carrying member of the BCS, so if one of its teams should go unbeaten, shouldn't it have a crack at the BCS title game over some one-loss teams from other leagues? We'll see, but for the moment we can at least project ahead with Cincinnati, cruising along unbeaten and now in the Top Ten of all polls. South Florida is also progressing in unbeaten fashion, and if not quite a serious BCS title game threat with QB Matt Grothe done for the year (although backup B.J. Daniels hasn't looked bad), the Bulls, Pitt, and West Virginia are all going to provide some difficult hurdles for the Bearcats if Cincy really fancies itself a title-game hopeful. The league has fared better than most predicted in the first month of the campaign, with only Louisville appearing outclassed...not good news for beleaguered HC Steve Kragthorpe. Surprise teams...Cincinnati, South Florida, UConn; Disappointing team...Louisville.
BIG TEN... We don't think there are any serious BCS title game threats in the league (the best chance would have been for Ohio State to knock off Southern Cal when it had the chance back on September 12), and we don't think unbeaten Iowa (which has barely survived at home vs. Northern Iowa and Arkansas State) is a threat to run the table, not with a trip to Columbus on deck in November. Nor do we think unbeaten Wisconsin (at Ohio State this week) is a threat to win out, although RB John Clay could emerge as a peripheral Heisman threat, and QB Scott Tolzien is improving by the week. Michigan is providing some unexpected thrills, but Rich Rodriguez' defense is going to prove a liability. On the bottom end, Ron Zook could soon find himself in trouble at Illinois, one of the nation's big letdown teams thus far. Surprise teams...Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan; Disappointing team...Illinois.
BIG XII... Interesting doings in the North, where a bristling three-team race between Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska looks to be in the cards. A measured vote for the Tigers, who get to face the Huskers in Columbia this Thursday and misses Oklahoma entirely; Kansas gets both the Sooners and Texas and must also travel to Texas Tech, while the Huskers visit both Mizzou and the Jayhawks. Don't count Oklahoma out of the Southern half just yet, because QB Sam Bradford figures to return for the showdown in two weeks vs. Texas, although OU is out of the national title picture with two losses already. Surprise team...Missouri; Disappointing team... Colorado.
CONFERENCE USA... There will be no BCS Buster threats in CUSA after Houston was so rudely dumped at UTEP last Saturday. That result also puts the West half up for grabs, with Tulsa now the pacesetter. East Carolina and Southern Miss are probably still the class of the Eastern half, although the unpredictable nature of this league was highlighted again in UAB's shock win over the Golden Eagles last week. Memphis appears on the skids, and rumors are floating in the Bluff City that HC Tommy West's days are numbered. Surprise team...UCF; Disappointing team...Memphis.
MAC... With only one team (Central Michigan, at 4-1) having as few as just one loss, it's obvious things are up for grabs in both halves of the loop. Al Golden's Temple, perhaps picking up in surprise fashion as did Buffalo a year ago, is currently setting the pace in the Eastern half (where, by the way, only Frank Solich's Ohio stands above .500 overall). The West appears to be the stronger of the two sides, with the aforementioned Chips, Northern Illinois, and Toledo also figuring as serious contenders. Surprise team...Temple; Disappointing teams...Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo.
MOUNTAIN WEST... Eventually, this will probably come down to a race between TCU and BYU, with Utah perhaps involved. Remember, the Frogs must travel to Provo and have a tricky assignment on deck at Air Force this week. The Utes, however, have seen their long win streak halted and are now minus workhorse RB Matt Asiata. On the bottom end, New Mexico has been such a mess that new HC Mike Locksley might be fortunate to survive the season. Surprise team...Wyoming; Disappointing team...New Mexico.
PAC-10... Southern Cal's shock loss at Washington opened up the race sooner than expected, but with surprising Stanford emerging as a possible contender, the chase has taken on an unexpected hue. Oregon has also rebounded nicely from a shaky start and gets the Trojans in Eugene on Halloween. Only downtrodden Washington State appears certain to be out of the eventual bowl mix. Surprise teams...Stanford and Washington; Disappointing team...Cal.
SEC... With the balance of power apparently shifting to the West (despite Florida's presence in the East), the top contenders again threaten to cannibalize themselves and jeopardize their BCS title game hopes. Ironically, the Gators probably have the easiest path, although they must travel to LSU this week. Alabama, Ole Miss, surprising Auburn, and the Baton Rouge bunch are all tightly bunched in the West, and we'd be stunned if anyone gets through that gauntlet unscathed. By the way, the loser of this week's Georgia-Tennessee game will have three losses and ticketed for minor bowl territory at best. Surprise team...Auburn; Disappointing teams...Georgia and Tennessee.
SUN BELT... A lively three-team race could be developing between Troy (which has bounced back nicely from early losses at Bowling Green & Florida), Middle Tennessee (with wins vs. Memphis & Maryland), and perhaps Charlie Weatherbie's UL-Monroe, currently on top of the loop at 2-0. Surprise teams...Middle Tennessee and UL-Monroe; Disappointing team...Florida Atlantic.
WAC... The major discussion will be if any league contender can derail Boise State's BCS hopes. With Hawaii forced to now proceed minus QB Greg Alexander (out for the season with a knee injury), the Warriors are an unlikely roadblock, and the Broncos have already beaten Fresno State. Potential threats Nevada and WAC surprise Idaho visit the blue carpet, so the best chance to derail Boise might be La Tech hosting the Broncos November 6. But we wouldn't bet on it. Surprise teams...Idaho & Utah State; Disappointing teams...Nevada & San Jose State.