Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

Two rather calm weekends in a row? What’s going on here?

Yesterday was actually one of the more fun days of watching I’ve had this season for a few reasons:

1. Virginia Tech finally beat Florida State.
2. Ohio State lost. While I had them No. 1, it was by default. If last year’s team was blown out by Florida, there’s no way this year’s version was worthy of a title.
3. I didn’t have to keep track of 523 upsets.

So, what did we learn this weekend?

1. The Big 10 is lacking a powerhouse team. With Ohio State losing to a talented Illinois team, there’s no clear cut big dog in the conference. Michigan losing to Wisconsin pretty much means the conference is like any other of the big ones, except the Big 12. Why? Well, Kansas is undefeated and no other BCS conference can boast such a stat. How long the Jayhawks stay undefeated is the question.

2. Illinois is going to be for real soon. The parts crucial in the win over Ohio State will be around next year, for the most part. And as Ron Zook keeps developing his system, the Illini are going to only become better.

3. This year’s title game will not feature two undefeated teams, again. And it might feature two one-loss teams. Again, we’ll see what Kansas does. It’s understood that Hawaii isn’t going to make it. How do we feel about that? Does this raise the argument for a playoff? I’d have to say yes. We could have seven one-loss teams come December 2.

4. One of Virginia Tech, Virginia and Clemson will win ACC. Boston College’s loss at Maryland and Virginia Tech’s win over Florida State (finally) and Virginia’s romping in the Orange Bowl were big in determining this. And I don’t think there’s much of an argument. Clemson is running the ball better than anyone in the conference, Virginia Tech is playing better defense and Virginia has a knack for winning football games which is very dangerous.

5. The Big East is a fraud if West Virginia doesn’t win the conference. WVU is the conference’s last hope. But if commissioner Mike Tranghese wants his eggs in any basket, it should be the Mountaineers’. And if a couple of teams aren’t careful, you might see Rich Rodriguez’s team sneak into that title game.

6. I might stop predicting SEC games.Seriously, what the heck is up with that conference. Pretty much every team in the conference has shown brilliance, then completely flipped themselves upside down with a bad loss. Is the conference too good or are we giving it too much respect? I think it’s still the best conference in the country, but it’s maybe not as dominant as we all thought. Georgia clicking at the right time gives the SEC some extra validity.

7. USC should be much more dominant than it shows. This has been obvious, especially with the two losses. But the win at Cal was very unimpressive for anyone not named Chauncey Washington (29 carries, 220 yards, TD). But with all the weapons USC has on offense, it was outgained by Cal. And the Trojan defense forced three turnovers but the team scored just 24 points. Overall sloppy and unimpressive.

8. Arizona State needs to wake up sooner. Somewhere Paul is nodding his head in agreement. Speaking of the Trojans, if they jump out to an early lead next Saturday like UCLA did this past weekend, Arizona State might not be able to mount another comeback. A win Saturday would all but lock up a BCS berth for the Sun Devils, which would be quite the treat.

9. Knowshon Moreno is the best freshman in the country. He’s been a rock for Georgia this year and has had the best freshman season for a running back since Herschel Walker. You might see this kid holding a Heisman Trophy this decade.

10. Notre Dame is still terrible. But at least Jimmy Clausen shows some signs of life throwing the ball.

For the weekend: 13-11 against the spread.