A Quiet Weekend Ahead? Think Again

While the average college football fan has started making plans for bowl tickets for their favorite team or starting making reservations for the conference championship games to be played they need to hold off a few more weeks. There is still a lot of football to be played and as this season and a lot is still on the line for many teams. This season has showed, NO ONE IS SAFE.

Tonight on ESPN ,#24 South Florida is tangling with Rutgers in the first of two huge Big East match-ups on ESPN on consectutive nights. South Florida is playing solid football and have not noticed the absence of 4-year starting quarterback, Matt Groethe, who went down with a knee injury prior to the Bulls meeting Florida State. BJ Daniels has stepped up and held them together. The Bulls have losses to Cincinnati and Pitt but recovered last week and handed West Virginia their first conference loss of the season. Rutgers has recovered since the opening day drubbing, 47-15, that Cincy laid on them. As with South Florida, Scarlett Knights only two losses have been to fellow Big East members Cincy and Pitt.

Friday night on ESPN, the nation will get to see if #5 Cincinnati is for real. With a back up quarterback, that has played well, the Bearcats get to take to host West Virginia in a Big East match-up. The Mountaineers have been fairly quiet all year but have managed to climb into the ranking at #25. Cincy, meanwhile still has high hopes for a possible shot at the National Championship Game. It probably won't happen but could. The winner of this game controls their own fate in winning the Big East.

The game of the week is #4 Texas Christian and #16 Utah. Last year the Utes knocked off TCU to keep a BCS game in the cross hairs. This year TCU will be hoping to reverse that any keep their own National Title or BCS Bowl hopes alive. ABC has decided that #19 Oklahoma State and un-ranked Texas Tech game will be more entertaining than this Mountain West Conference match-up. TCU wins they capture the Mountain West and will find themselves in a BCS Bowl. Utah wins and they prove that they are still kings of the Mountain West.

#1 Florida gets to face their old coach and a South Carolina Gamecocks squad that is itching for an upset and chance to climb back into the rankings. South Carolina has yet to have that marquee win under Steve Spurrier and this could be the best shot they have ever had. While ranked #1 most of the season there have been times that the Gators have looked vulnerable especially on offense. The last two games the Gators have been breaking out of the offensive funk, if you want to call it that, that has kept them from posting the numbers they have in years past. The Gamecocks only hope for sending the Gators home with National Title hopes dashed, is that they are already prepping themselves mentally for Alabama and the SEC Championship game. Meyer has been reminding his squad all week long to not look past South Carolina and to stay focused.

#2 Alabama must get over the euphoria of beating LSU last week and winning the SEC West and focus on Mississippi State this week. This will be the second game in a row that Bama has played an opponent that Florida has already beaten and it will be interesting to watch the outcome. We all know the cowbells will be ringing and every year the Bulldogs manage to pull an upset out of their sleeves. As with Florida, Nick Saban has been preaching all week long to his Crimson Tide players to not look ahead.

#10 Iowa and #11 Ohio State hook up in the Horseshoe to settle the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes are coming off an upset loss to Northwestern and will be without starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi. Ohio State is coming off a big win over Penn State and their QB Terrelle Pryor seems to be finding his groove at the right time. The Buckeyes last smelled roses in1996 while Iowas has waited even longer, not since 1990 have the Hawkeyes seen Pasadena and the Rose Bowl.

For all the joking that goes on with #6 Boise States strength of schedule, the Broncos are going to have to bring their A game against the resurgent Idaho Vandals. The Vandals are 7-3 this year, after being the doormat of college football for the last decade or more. This is more than an in-state rivalry between the two. With conference rival Nevada still undefeated, Boise State needs to win this game to win the WAC and stay in the hunt for BCS game.

With an outside chance at the PAC-10 title and a Rose berth, there is a lot riding on the game between #25 Stanford and #9 USC. Stanford has split the series the last two years against the Trojans, losing last year but pulling off a victory in 07' when they were 41-point underdogs. There's a lot more on the line this year though.

#12 Pittsburgh has come a long way under head coach Dave Wannestedt and and are looking for a Big East title. They will be taking on Notre Dame, who is smarting from an upset loss to Navy. An Irish loss and and head coach Charlie Weis will be looking at his last season on the sidelines for the Domers. A win for Pitt and a huge showdown with Cincinnati is ahead.

In a side note, and I'm writing this not just because I'm a Florida State fan, it will be interesting to see heralded recruit and red shirt freshman quarterback EJ Manuel take the field against Wake Forest this Saturday. Manuel was trumpeted as Jimbo Fisher's prize recruit when he decided to come to Florida State. He will now be pressed into action because of the loss of Christian Ponder for the season. Fisher has stated, he will not change the play book for Manuel in his first college start and expects Manuel to tow the line. Manuel drop-passing style does not differ much from Ponders, as he can also run much like Ponder out of the pocket and on options.

So you thought it was going to be a quiet weekend. Don't be surprised if a big upset or two or maybe three takes place this weekend.