This week, several college football announcers confidently proclaimed that if Texas and either Alabama or Florida go undefeated, there would be no argument about who should play in the national title game. It’s easy to understand an undefeated SEC champion playing for a title, but why does Texas get an automatic pass?
The philosophy seems to be that everyone expected Texas to be great, so they deserve to be there. However, this reasoning ignores the fact that Oklahoma (5-3) was ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP Poll, Virginia Tech (5-3) was No. 7, Ole Miss (5-3) was No. 8, Georgia (4-4) was No. 13, and Cincinnati was unranked.
These are the same “experts” who tell you that a mid-major like Boise State or TCU does not deserve to play for a title. But Boise State is undefeated and beat Oregon, which is better than any team Texas has beaten.
The thinking appears to be, “Sure, we were wrong about a lot of teams, but we were dead on with Texas.” College football analysts have already proclaimed Texas as a great team, so they can’t go back. This is why Texas gets a free pass, but do they deserve it? Cincinnati and Iowa both play in BCS conferences and are also undefeated. Iowa even has a better strength of schedule than Texas.
The best team that Texas has played this season is Oklahoma State, and the Longhorns thrashed them 41-14. That is a very good victory. However, Oklahoma State was playing without one of the best wide receivers in the country, Dez Bryant. Plus, earlier this season, Houston defeated Oklahoma State on the road, with Bryant playing.
What’s the point? The point is that, on the field, Texas has simply not faced the level of competition that would inarguably solidify its spot in the BCS Championship Game. Yet, announcers and college football analysts keep telling us that the Longhorns will and should play for a national title if they go undefeated. If this ends up being the case, the average fan will not argue because this is what was expected.
Don’t be fooled. As of right now, Texas has not done enough to prove it is, without a doubt, the best non-SEC school. Just saying so doesn’t make it so. Actually, since these “experts” help shape the opinions of people who vote in the BCS polls, saying so actually can help to make it true. Oh well. … Here’s to a playoff.
No. 5 Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0 Big East) 28, Syracuse (3-5, 0-3) 7
For the second straight week, Cincinnati was without its starting quarterback, Tony Pike. In his place, Zach Collaros put in another great game, throwing for 295 yards and four touchdowns. Syracuse is a bad team, but an in-conference road win is always a good thing.
Syracuse continues to have a long season, but at least the Orange are more competitive than they’ve been in recent years. Ultimately, they need more overall talent before they can make a move in the Big East.
South Florida (6-2, 2-2) 30, No. 20 West Virginia (6-2, 2-1) 19
Any time you have a freshman at quarterback, you are sure to have some ups and downs. That is the case with South Florida and its quarterback, B.J. Daniels. Against Florida State and Syracuse, Daniels made some big plays. Against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, he looked like a freshman. In this one, he was good again, throwing for more than 200 yards and rushing for more than 100.
West Virginia is a solid team, but not quite as good as its record would indicate. The Mountaineers’ best win this season is against UConn, so they have not played a particularly tough schedule. They still have games against Cincinnati and Pitt, so they have more chances to prove themselves.
Rutgers (6-2, 1-2) 28, UConn (4-4, 1-3) 24
For the second straight week, UConn allowed a touchdown return on the opening kickoff. Although the overall offensive numbers weren’t great for Rutgers, freshman quarterback Tom Savage had his best game of the season. This is a big win for a Rutgers team that looked very bad in recent weeks.
For UConn, it was the second straight game that it lost very late, allowing an 81-yard touchdown pass with just 22 seconds to play. With a few breaks, UConn could be 8-0 this season, but that’s just not the way it’s gone. As it stands right now, the Huskies are in danger of not winning enough games (six) to be bowl eligible. Their remaining schedule includes No. 4 Cincinnati, No. 19 Notre Dame, Syracuse and South Florida.
Louisville (3-5, 0-3) 21, Arkansas State 13
Louisville won despite having to start freshman quarterback Will Stein because of injuries. Arkansas State may not be a good team, but it did give Iowa a game earlier this season, falling by only three points on the road.
What We Learned
1. The Big East is now a two-team race between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
2. South Florida still has an opportunity for a very good season.
3. West Virginia is not an elite Big East team.
4. UConn faces the possibility of not making a bowl game this season.
Respect Barometer
As long as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh keep winning, the Big East is in good shape. These are the only two ranked teams in the conference, but they are both playing very well.
As of right now, the SEC is the only conference that is comfortably ahead of the Big East. Each of the other conference appears to have major flaws. For example, in the ACC, Virginia Tech just lost to cellar-dweller North Carolina. In the Big Ten, Iowa needed an improbably comeback to beat Indiana.
It’s not time to anoint the Big East as a top conference, but its play this season is on par with that of the other BCS leagues.
