Sports Extra - Blogs - Gameday Instant Analysis Bedlam awaits; TU celebrates; Oh and that whole BCS thing

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Gameday Instant Analysis: Bedlam awaits; TU celebrates; Oh, and that whole BCS thing
Published: 11/18/2012 12:57 AM
Last Modified: 11/18/2012 12:57 AM

It seems like I say this every weekend -- what a night of college football.

It's what makes following sports so enjoyable. It's also a good lesson that the only BCS standings that matter are the final ones.

You can talk all you want about who's supposed to win, but until they do it doesn't mean anything.

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

1. Don't make the SEC angry. You won't like it when it's angry
Just when you thought it was safe to watch college football without the possibility of a SEC national champ, here they come again.

By Sunday evening, Notre Dame will be No. 1 in the BCS, but Alabama, Georgia and Florida will very likely occupy Nos. 2 through 4.

Not only will an SEC team almost certainly play for a national title, a Notre Dame loss to USC next week could set up another SEC vs. SEC title showdown.

Oh by the way, with Collin Klein's face-plant against Baylor (three interceptions, less than 40 yards rushing in a 52-24 loss), Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel may be your new Heisman Trophy frontrunner.

The SEC laughs in your general direction.

2. Bedlam just got a whole lot more interesting
A few weeks ago, Bedlam looked like a matchup of teams going in opposite directions.

It still is, only now it's Oklahoma State headed in a mostly upward direction, while the Sooners are skidding to a stop.

Add to that fact the Big 12 title and BCS intrigue left, and Bedlam has a little extra juice -- not that the game really needs it.

Oklahoma still has a chance to play in a BCS game, and if the Sooners win out and Texas beats Kansas State, OU wins the Big 12 title.

A Texas win against Kansas State and two more OSU wins would give the Cowboys a share of the league title -- a year after winning the conference outright.

To this point, the Cowboys are a little better than I thought they would be. The back-to-back blowouts in the last two weeks have really established this team's place in the Big 12 pecking order.

The defense seems to be getting a little better, and the offense has proven it can win no matter who quarterbacks the team.

OU, on the other hand, is having a season similar to last year -- moments of brilliance, difficult losses and a lack of resolve down the stretch.

The good news Saturday was the Sooners won. The bad news was the historically bad defensive effort under new coordinator Mike Stoops. Just when you thought OU might have its defensive woes under control, Baylor and West Virginia made the Sooners look silly two weeks in a row.

OSU may not be better than Baylor and West Virginia on offense, but the Cowboys are more balanced and at least as dangerous.

Throw in the fact Oklahoma should be looking for some payback from the beating OSU handed the Sooners last year, and you have the makings of a great rivalry game.

3. Tulsa is some kind of resilient
It was quite the win Saturday afternoon for Tulsa.

In the second half, the Hurricane showed why its having a special season -- a rock-solid running game, a nice defense and a great attitude.

Cody Green's underthrow that set up Central Florida's interception return for a touchdown in the first half was a killer. It's the kind of play that can wreck a game -- from in control to trailing at the half.

But nothing really seems to bother this Hurricane team. Green responded by leading Tulsa on two long touchdown drives in the third quarter, reestablishing his team's hold on the game.

And when TU missed another field goal to keep the lead at two points late in the fourth quarter, the Hurricane defense just went out and stuffed Central Florida on four straight plays.

Tulsa is all but certain to host the C-USA championship game Dec. 1, and it's all but certain the Knights will return.

It should be another great game. But at this point, I wouldn't bet against the Hurricane.

Reader Comments

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On The Fly (3 months ago)

Congrats to TU.

colhi64 (3 months ago)

Nothing is certain in College Football.

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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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