Sports Extra - Blogs - Gameday Instant Analysis Arkansas still has TUs number and BCS chaos on the horizon

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Gameday Instant Analysis: Arkansas still has TU's number, and BCS chaos on the horizon
Published: 11/4/2012 1:54 AM
Last Modified: 11/4/2012 1:54 AM

Saturday was another great day of college football, with further confirmation why there will be a playoff in two years.

The top four teams in the BCS remained undefeated with various levels of intrigue. Upsets happen every year, so it's hard to believe we'll finish the year with four unbeatens. But it could certainly happen, turning the BCS into a beauty contest of epic proportions.

As for the locals, Saturday was a day of standing pat.

Tulsa continued its losing streak against Arkansas. And while disappointing for Golden Hurricane fans, it couldn't have been too big a shock after watching the team play the last several weeks.

Oklahoma wasn't inspired, but didn't need to be to run past Iowa State.

Oklahoma State was game against Kansas State, but was really no match for the Wildcats.

So here's a look at what we learned Saturday:

1. It's going to be a really entertaining month of November in college football
If you're a fan of the sport beyond our three state teams, you can't help but enjoy the next month -- four undefeated teams fighting for two BCS title game spots.

You have two traditional heavyweights in Alabama and Notre Dame, a newcomer in Oregon and perhaps the greatest coach of this generation -- Bill Snyder.

Alabama still has to play in the SEC championship game, Notre Dame still has USC, Oregon plays Stanford and Oregon State, and Kansas State has two road trips remaining and a game against Texas.

After a great win Saturday at LSU, Alabama solidified itself as the best team in the nation -- but not by much.

Notre Dame played like I thought it would -- a week ago. Unfortunately for Oklahoma, the inconsistent Irish showed up a little late.

Kansas State has all but clinched the Big 12 championship. But if Collin Klein misses any significant time, the Wildcats could struggle to stay undefeated.

Oregon's offense trashed USC, but the Ducks probably have the most challenging games left among the four contenders.

It should make for some great football and some great controversy.

2. Welcome Oklahoma State back to the middle of the pack in the Big 12
The Cowboys certainly gave a nice effort against Kansas State, but had Klein not left early in the third quarter with an injury, the Wildcats would have been able to name their score.

Down to its third-string quarterback, OSU will certainly be challenged the rest of the way. And the last four games -- West Virginia, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Baylor -- didn't figure to be easy anyway.

It's likely the status of starting quarterback Wes Lunt won't be known until late in the week after he left Saturday's game with what appeared to be the symptoms of a concussion.

It would make things better for OSU if he did return this week, although Lunt was a significant part of the problem in this loss and the earlier road loss to Arizona.

Clint Chelf gave a nice accounting of himself, leading the Cowboys to 13 second-half points.

But no matter who plays quarterback, two wins for OSU in its final four games would be good. Three would be excellent.

3. One door closes and another opens for Oklahoma
The possibility of Kansas State losing two more games to give the Sooners a chance at a Big 12 title becomes more remote by the week.

But while one door closed Saturday, another opened. With Boise State losing to San Diego State late Saturday, OU's chances of earning an at-large BCS berth increased.

The Sooners will be a trendy pick if they win their final four games. Is that enough motivation to propel OU through the remainder of the regular season? We'll see.

OU was predictably flat Saturday against Iowa State but did a nice job stretching its lead in the second half.

The Sooners defense will be severely tested the next three weeks. Those are tests it failed a year ago playing for similarly middling stakes.

4. Tulsa isn't ready for the national stage
In the last few weeks, the Hurricane was getting some buzz as one of the best non-BCS teams in the country.

That conversation was put to rest Saturday.

Tulsa is a nice Conference USA team. But the opener against Iowa State and Saturday's game against Arkansas prove this team still has a ways to go if it wants to join the Boise States of the world.

It has to be frustrating for TU coaches, players and fans because the Hurricane had its chances to break the 17-year losing streak to the Razorbacks.

But Tulsa can't let Saturday beat it twice. The Hurricane has games left with Houston, Central Florida and SMU. TU leads Houston and SMU by two games for the C-USA West Division title.

Any combination of TU wins and Houston/SMU losses that equals two puts the Hurricane into the C-USA title game. Win two of its final three (with one coming against UCF) and Tulsa hosts the championship game.

It can still be a special season. It just won't be a streak-breaking or BCS-busting one.

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Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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