SouthernCollegeSports.com

SCS.com I had September 23rd circled on my calendar. It was the day that Penn State played Ohio State, and I took a six-hour road trip to Columbus, Ohio. The environment, crowd, and game were amazing, and I still managed to stay in touch with the college football world even though I was nowhere near a remote control or computer for most of the trip.

Michigan State disappointed its fans again with an upsetting loss to Notre Dame. During the game, I thought this win would secure John L. Smith's job for another year. Now, I am not so sure he will be around at the end of the year. Especially if State can only manage a six or seven win season. Georgia showed weakness, as they just avoided being upset by Colorado. Boston College's head-scratching loss to NC State makes the ACC the most up-for-grabs conference in the BCS.

TR>

DATE BOWL MATCHUP

Dec. 19 Poinsettia Colorado State vs. Navy

Dec. 21 Las Vegas UCLA vs. TCU

Dec. 22 New Orleans Southern Miss vs. UAB

Dec. 23 New Mexico Air Force vs. New Mexico State

Dec. 23 Birmingham UCF vs. Pittsburgh

Dec. 23 Armed Forces Utah vs. UTEP

Dec. 24 Hawaii Hawaii vs. Washington

Dec. 26 Motor City Ohio vs. Minnesota

Dec. 27 Emerald Arizona State vs. Maryland

Dec. 27 Independence Texas A&M vs. Kentucky

Dec. 28 Holiday Oklahoma vs. Oregon

Dec. 28 MPC Computers Fresno State vs. Miami (fl)

Dec. 29 Champs Sports Boston College vs. Michigan State

Dec. 29 Music City Arkansas vs. Florida State

Dec. 29 Sun Cal vs. Texas Tech

Dec. 29 Insight Wisconsin vs. Iowa State

Dec. 30 Alamo Penn State vs. Missouri

Dec. 30 Liberty Houston vs. South Carolina

Dec. 30 Meineke Car Care Rutgers vs. Wake Forest

Dec. 30 Chick-fil-A Alabama vs. Clemson

Jan. 1 Gator Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame

Jan. 1 Cotton Nebraska vs. Georgia

Jan. 1 Outback Purdue vs. Tennessee

Jan. 1 Capital One LSU vs. Iowa

Jan. 1 Rose [BCS] Michigan vs. USC

Jan. 1 Fiesta [BCS] Boise State vs. Texas

Jan. 2 Orange [BCS] Florida vs. Virginia Tech

Jan. 3 Sugar [BCS] Auburn vs. Louisville

Jan. 6 International Western Michigan vs. South Florida

Jan. 7 GMAC Tulsa vs. Akron

Jan. 8 *BCS TITLE* Ohio State vs. West Virginia

WHO'S HOT

Missouri and Texas A&M - These two teams are the only undefeated squads left in the Big 12. Missouri is a real contender in the Big 12 North, and may end up in the conference championship game. Life without Brad Smith isn't as bad as it first seemed.

Purdue - After a disappointing year in 2005, the Boilers are off to a 4-0 start. A win over Notre Dame would move Purdue into everyone's top 25.

Wake Forest - The leader of the Atlantic division, Wake Forest is undefeated and looking like an ACC contender. A game against Liberty this upcoming week will move the Deacons to a surprising 5-0.

David Ball - New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball is now tied with Jerry Rice for the most receiving touchdowns in Division 1-AA history. New Hampshire beat Northwestern this year, and Ball will soon own the record.

Rutgers - RU is in the AP top 25 for the first time since 1976. One of the biggest games this week will be when the Scarlet Knights visit South Florida in an important Big East matchup.

WHO'S NOT

Leigh Tiffin - Alabama lost to Arkansas 24-23 in double overtime. Leigh Tiffin, the Alabama kicker, missed 2 field goals in regulation. He also missed a field goal in the first overtime which would have won the game for Alabama. To top off a horrendous day, he shanked an extra point which led to the one-point loss.

Drew Stanton - The Spartans looked like they were about to pull off a huge upset against rival Notre Dame. Stanton, Michigan State's quarterback, fumbled in the 4th quarter which led to a Notre Dame touchdown. Later in the game, still with the lead, Stanton threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to give up the lead. Michigan State went on to lose the game after Stanton was intercepted with under 30 seconds left in the contest.

Boston College - Visiting NC State, Boston College was ready to solidify themselves as a contender in the ACC. They still are contenders, but a 17-15 loss in Raleigh puts BC in a tougher situation than they wanted.

Georgia - Even though they won, Georgia showed that they are very beatable after a 14-13 win over winless Colorado. It took a touchdown in the last minute to beat an upset-minded Buffaloes team that looks nothing like a Dan Hawkins squad.

Arizona State - Quarterback Rudy Carpenter was intercepted four times in a blowout loss to Cal. The favored Arizona State team was dominated in every aspect of the 49-21 loss. With Oregon and Southern California coming up next, ASU needs to turn things around in a hurry.

SCS.com STORE

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Write for SCS.com

In the Media

Player Testimonials

Audio Clip Archive

Team Addresses

Free Audio Links

D-I FB Location Map