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SCS.com When Rutgers fans started rushing the field and celebrating their team's win over Louisville, BCS contenders celebrated with them. Many teams began to make their cases for the national championship game in Glendale, Arizona, but those teams forgot one thing. They had to win the rest of their games.

Cal lost to unranked Arizona on the road, the Wildcats sealing the win after tipping a Nate Longshore pass at the line, giving linebacker Ronnie Palmer plenty of time to situate himself under the ball and pick it off. Texas was without the freshman phenom Colt McCoy after he took a hit on a QB sneak that gave Texas a 7-0 lead in the 1st quarter. Kansas State then scored 45 points on a tough Texas defense. UT could not recover an onside-kick late in the 4th, giving Kansas State a 45-42 win in front of the home crowd. Georgia looked like their old selves as they routed Auburn on the road, the Tigers managing a measly 192 yards of total yards, while they let freshman quarterback Matt Stafford run and pass for over 300 yards.

This week was very beneficial for several teams. Rutgers moved up in the standings, keeping their slim national championship chances alive. One-loss teams such as Florida, Arkansas, Notre Dame, and Southern California are knocking on the door. All these teams are hoping that the Ohio State/Michigan game is a blowout. However, that seems very unlikely.

This a game for the ages, Michigan's defense against the balanced and powerful attack of Ohio State. There are many questions up in the air that will not be answered until the game is played. Can the Ohio State defense put pressure on Chad Henne by stopping UM's rushing attack? Who will win the special teams battle? Will UM wide receiver Mario Mannigham be healthy enough to be a factor? I cannot wait!

DATE BOWL MATCHUP

Dec. 19 Poinsettia Utah vs. Arizona

Dec. 21 Las Vegas Oregon State vs. BYU

Dec. 22 New Orleans UTEP vs. Middle Tennessee State

Dec. 23 New Mexico New Mexico vs. San Jose State

Dec. 23 Birmingham Southern Miss vs. Pittsburgh

Dec. 23 Armed Forces TCU vs. Tulsa

Dec. 24 Hawaii Hawaii vs. Arizona State

Dec. 26 Motor City Western Michigan vs. Cincinnati

Dec. 27 Emerald Oregon vs. Clemson

Dec. 27 Independence Texas Tech vs. Kentucky

Dec. 28 Holiday Oklahoma vs. Cal

Dec. 28 Texas Kansas State vs. West Virginia

Dec. 28 MPC Computers Nevada vs. Florida State

Dec. 29 Champs Sports Virginia Tech vs. Iowa

Dec. 29 Music City Alabama vs. Miami (FL)

Dec. 29 Sun Washington State vs. Missouri

Dec. 29 Insight Indiana vs. Texas A&M

Dec. 30 Alamo Purdue vs. Oklahoma State

Dec. 30 Liberty Houston vs. South Carolina

Dec. 30 Meineke Car Care Boston College vs. Navy

Dec. 30 Chick-fil-A Georgia vs. Wake Forest

Jan. 1 Gator Maryland vs. Louisville

Jan. 1 Cotton Nebraska vs. Tennessee

Jan. 1 Outback Penn State vs. LSU

Jan. 1 Capital One Auburn vs. Wisconsin

Jan. 1 Rose [BCS] Michigan vs. USC

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

Jan. 2 Orange [BCS] Rutgers vs. Georgia Tech

Jan. 3 Sugar [BCS] Arkansas vs. Notre Dame

Jan. 6 International Central Michigan vs. USF

Jan. 7 GMAC East Carolina vs. Ohio

Jan. 8 *BCS TITLE* Florida vs. Ohio State

WHO'S HOT

Rutgers - No one is hotter than the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers controls their own destiny in the Big East after they beat Louisville at home. With several one-loss teams losing, Rutgers is climbing up the polls. Also, Ray Rice may have punched his ticket to New York for the Heisman ceremony.

Arkansas - Speaking of Heisman, Darren McFadden is the best running back in college football. Backup running back Felix Jones would start at 85% of Division 1-A schools. Arkansas has won 9 straight games since losing to USC to open the season. UA is looking much better then their SEC counterpart Florida. A big game with LSU looms two weeks from now.

Nebraska - Nebraska has locked up the Big 12 South after beating Texas A&M 28-27. Quarterback Zac Taylor hooked up with Maurice Purify with 21 seconds left in regulation for the winning score. The Huskers have a legitimate shot at getting to a BCS bowl game, and they almost beat Texas, their most likely opponent, earlier in the year.

Arizona - Earlier in the year, I said UA was a program on the rise. I started to think I was wrong until these past few weeks. Arizona has won 3 of its last 4 games, the latest win coming against top 10 California. Coach Mike Stoops has now beaten 4 ranked teams in the month November since he arrived at Arizona in 2004. They are only one win away from a bowl game.

Kentucky - Kentucky is going bowling for the first time since 1999. Let that sink in. Quarterback Andre Woodson threw for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns last Saturday. UK faces LA-Monroe this weekend before they face rival Tennessee to close out the regular season.

WHO'S NOT

Iowa - Dubbed a Big Ten contender in the preseason, the 6-5 Hawkeyes may be the most disappointing team in college football. They have lost 4 out of their last 5 games, with the only win coming against Northern Illinois.

Washington - The Huskies have lost six games in a row, the latest loss coming against winless Stanford. They haven't been the same since they lost senior quarterback Isaiah Stanback for the season four weeks ago against Oregon State.

Tulsa - Two weeks ago, Tulsa was 7-1 and ranked in the top 25. How the mighty mid-major has fallen! The first loss came in a huge game against Houston. UH handled Tulsa with ease, winning 27-10. The Hurricane followed that loss with another to Rice. Tulsa has blown its chance at the Conference USA title game, and a top 25 finish.

Auburn - The Tigers did not just get beat by Georgia, they got dominated. The embarrassing loss takes Auburn out of the SEC West race. Quarterback Brandon Cox chose a bad day to have the worst game of his career. The junior threw for only 35 yards and tossed 4 interceptions. They can redeem themselves in the upcoming Iron Bowl, though as the best two rivalries in college football are set for the same day and time this year. What a shame!

Pittsburgh - The Panthers did not help their confidence level heading into an important Backyard Brawl. Pitt gave up a 2-point conversion in the 2nd overtime as they lost to Connecticut 46-45. They are now on a 3-game losing streak heading into games with West Virginia and Louisville.

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