Associated Press
The national notebook …
Take a look at the top of the polls. See No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Penn State. There’s a good chance none of those teams will be playing for the national championship.
The 2008 season might not match 2007 for unprecedented unpredictability, but it’s already become obvious that it’ll take a minor miracle for the race to the BCS title game to have a tidy outcome.
After the second weekend of the season in which three top-five teams lost, there are 10 undefeated teams left in major college football. At this point last season, there were 11 unbeaten teams, according to Stats LLC, and remember how that turned out.
Three (Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State) play in the same division, and the best of those three ó the Longhorns ó have a murderous remaining schedule to navigate.
Congratulations on beating Oklahoma 45-35 and being No. 1, coach Mack Brown. Now go get your team ready for No. 11 Missouri, No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Texas Tech, the Longhorns’ next three opponents.
ACC IN POLL
Virginia Tech is No. 17, followed by North Carolina, which jumped four spots after beating Notre Dame 29-24.
Wake Forest is 21st after coming from behind to beat Clemson on Thursday.
TUBBY’S BAD TIMING
Auburn couldn’t have picked a worse season to have a bad season, one that took another ugly turn Saturday when Arkansas beat the Tigers 25-22 on the Plains.
That came after the firing of Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin last week.
Now the Tigers seem on their way to a wasted season and Alabama is No. 2 in the country, pushing the pendulum further toward Tuscaloosa.
SINKING FASTWisconsin (3-3, started season ranked No. 13)
The lack of a passing game, even by the Badgers’ modest standards, has snarled the offense and led to three straight losses, including a 48-7 humiliation in Madison against Penn State.
Tennessee (2-4, started No. 18): Another inept offensive performance by the Volunteers in a 26-14 loss to Georgia has the fire Phillip Fulmer segment of Vols nation foaming at the mouth.
QUICK HITS- Army has won two straight, virtually abandoning the pass. The Cadets did not complete a pass in a 17-13 victory against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
– Vanderbilt could only hide it’s terrible offense for so long.
– The best turnaround in the country? Minnesota is 6-1, after 1-11 in Year 1 under coach Tim Brewster. The Gophers have beaten four teams they lost to last season.
HEISMAN-WORTHYJosh Freeman, Kansas State, went 21-for-26 for 234 yards and ran for 86 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-30 victory at Texas A&M.
LOOKAHEAD- Missouri’s 28-23 upset loss at home to Oklahoma State takes some of the shine off the Tigers’ visit to Texas, but it’s still the game of the week.
– Penn State tries to snap a nine-game losing streak to Michigan, coming off a 13-10 loss to Toledo. Looks good for the Nittany Lions.