The Weekend Review

Slew of upsets clears up title picture in time for first BCS poll

Alex Smith and Utah have run away from the competition into a spot among the elite in the BCS standings. AP

You wanted it, you got it: a little clarity in this crazy thing called the national championship picture. And just in time for the first BCS rankings of the season, no less.

In the blink of an eye, the pool of undefeated teams remaining from the major conferences was reduced nearly by half this weekend, from nine to five, and a discernible pecking order began to emerge among the rest of the pack, to be officially unveiled Monday afternoon.

Sizing up the contenders:

On top until proven otherwise

USC (6-0), Oklahoma (6-0): After their thunderous smackdown of previously unbeaten Arizona State, it's a fairly solid bet the Trojans will get to 11-0 (Washington, at Washington State, at Oregon State, Arizona and Notre Dame), with their Orange Bowl bid to be decided by a Dec. 4 clash with rival UCLA at the Rose Bowl. The Sooners are slightly behind Miami in the BCS now, but, with a tougher remaining schedule, would likely pass the 'Canes if both won out. That, however, will require getting through back-to-back road games with Oklahoma State (Oct. 30) and upstart Texas A&M (Nov. 6) -- and you know both teams will be jacked up after losing in Norman last year by scores of 52-9 and 77-0, respectively. As stated last week, expect at least one to slip up.

Next in line

Miami (5-0), Auburn (7-0): The 'Canes (whom the BCS computers absolutely love) continue to escape disaster by the slightest of margins -- let's face it, if Louisville's Kerry Rhodes hangs onto a sure interception, they wouldn't be on this list -- but their only real remaining challenges are this weekend at N.C. State and Nov. 13 at better-than-they-looked-Saturday-night Virginia. The torrid Tigers should cruise into their Nov. 13 home game with Georgia at 9-0, and while they'll certainly be favored to beat the 5-1 Dawgs, the question is whether they can make it through that, the Iron Bowl and the SEC championship unscathed -- no small task.

Creeping into contention

Florida State (5-1), Wisconsin (7-0): After stomping Virginia 36-3, it's not unreasonable to think the 'Noles could run the table the rest of the way. Bobby Bowden's teams have a knack for losing early, then sneaking their way into the championship game -- see 1998 and 2000 -- and they're already back in the top five. The Badgers find themselves below one-loss FSU simply because they started so much lower in the preseason polls (21st and 22nd), but before Wisconsin fans get all up in arms about the new poll-weighted formula, consider that in the old strength-of-schedule component, the Badgers, according to Palm, would currently be about 80th.

Still alive, but very badly burned

Cal (4-1), Tennessee (5-1), Georgia (5-1), Texas (5-1) and the winner of Purdue (5-1) vs. Michigan (6-1): All of these teams would obviously need to win out and wait for a whole bunch of other teams to lose, but lest you think it's hopeless, consider that LSU reached the Sugar Bowl last season after debuting at No. 12 in the first BCS standings. Of those, the team that's in the best position is Cal, whose only remaining road games are at Arizona, Washington and Southern Miss.

The wild card

Utah (6-0): Yes, you read right -- the Utes have already reached the top seven of the BCS standings. But don't go booking those tickets for Miami or Tempe just yet, Utes fans. Even if the other undefeated teams lose, they may have a hard time moving up or even maintaining their position. While major-conference teams' computer ratings will go up as they play the meat of their league schedules, Utah's can only go down as it plays out its Mountain West slate. Also, the Utes may be hitting their glass ceiling in the polls. In this week's coaches poll, for instance, Utah stayed grounded at No. 10 while voters moved both Wisconsin and Texas ahead of them.

The conservative Orange Bowl prediction

USC vs. Auburn

The "all hell breaks loose" version

Florida State vs. Cal

Player of the Week

MAILBAG MAILBAG Stewart Mandel will answer questions from SI.com readers each week in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Erasmus James, DE, Wisconsin: It's hard to imagine a single defensive player having a bigger impact on a game -- actually, a half -- than James did in the Badgers' dramatic 20-17 win at Purdue. With James applying constant pressure, star Boilers QB Kyle Orton could get nothing going in the first half Saturday. James had two sacks -- one of which caused Orton to fumble deep in Badgers' territory -- and forced an interception when he hit him on the arm. Purdue tackle David Owen, who got called three times for holding, simply couldn't block him, nor could the Boilers' running backs. They could, however, send him to the sidelines early with what Wisconsin coaches felt was an illegal chop block to the ankle. Suddenly Purdue was able to drive the ball, building a 17-7 lead before Wisconsin rallied. "We just weren't the same in the second half without him," said Badgers coach Barry Alvarez. "No one is playing as well as he is." An NFL scout who was in attendance told SI.com's Mark Beech it was the best individual performance he'd seen this year.

Honor roll

Texas A&M QB Reggie McNeal (19-of-25, 288 yards, two TDs, no INTs, 14 carries, 98 yards, two rushing TDs) vs. Oklahoma State; Cal RB J.J. Arrington (29 carries, 205 yards, two TDs) vs. UCLA; Michigan RB Michael Hart (40 carries, 234 yards, 1 TD) vs. Illinois; Michigan DB Ernest Shazor (12 tackles, 2 TFLs, forced fumble, fumble recovery) vs. Illinois; Auburn QB Jason Campbell (17-of-19, 297 yards, three TDs, no INTs) vs. Arkansas; Army RB Carlton Jones (19 carries, 225 yards, five TDs) vs. South Florida; Michigan State QB Drew Stanton (410 total yards) vs. Minnesota; Iowa QB Drew Tate (26-of-39, 331 yards, three TDs, no INTs) vs. Ohio State; Utah QB Alex Smith (28-of-36, 331 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT) vs. North Carolina; Texas LB Derrick Johnson (12 tackles, three TFLs, four QB hurries) vs. Missouri; UAB QB Darrell Hackney (15-of-24, 337 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT) vs. TCU; Boise State WR T.J. Acree (nine catches, 181 yards, two TDs) vs. Tulsa.

Gratuitous props to ...

Colorado kicker Mason Crosby for his school-record 60-yard field goal; Alabama RB Kenneth Darby, who in his first start in place of the injured Ray Hudson ran for 197 yards; Army, for racking up its second consecutive win, 42-35 over South Florida; and South Carolina fourth-string QB Michael Rathe, who came in late in the fourth quarter against Kentucky and led the Gamecocks to their only touchdown in a 12-7 win.

Team of the week

Texas A&M: This is why Dennis Franchione gets paid the big, big, big, big bucks -- he gets results. With their rousing 38-20 upset of undefeated Oklahoma State in Stillwater, the Aggies, just a year removed from a demoralizing 4-8 campaign and just five games removed from a discouraging, 41-21 season-opening loss to Utah, are now 5-1. Remarkably, it's just the latest in a series of stops (New Mexico, TCU, Alabama) where Franchione-coached teams have taken off in his second season. "Right now, we are a team with some chemistry, positive feelings, self-esteem and a belief system that we are going to find a way," he said. "We are doing the things that a team on a roll does." Much-ballyhooed QB Reggie McNeal is finally living up to his billing. Against the Cowboys, he threw for 288 yards, including a 55-yard Hail Mary touchdown, and ran for another 98. But most importantly for A&M in the wake of last year's debacle was the performance of its defense, which held the nation's leading rusher, Vernand Morency, to 111 yards on 28 carries and forced his first two fumbles of the season.

Dr. Feelgood story

Former Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee joined Nebraska's marching band on Saturday. AP

The Nebraska marching band had a new drummer during Saturday's game against Baylor -- Tommy Lee. Yes, that Tommy Lee. The Motley Crue icon, currently in Lincoln filming a prospective NBC reality show (he is also taking a chemistry class), auditioned for a spot in the drum line earlier in the week. Donned in full uniform and carrying a rack of tom-toms on his shoulder, Lee, 42, spent the game in the stands with his new bandmates playing the school's fight songs and joined them on the field for a Latin-themed halftime show that included a rendition of the Cuban song Malaguena. He seemed most excited, though, when he twice came out of the stands to man Der Viener Schlinger, which shoots hot dogs into the stands. "It's awesome, dude," said Lee. "You can launch a wiener in there." Lee, of course, is no stranger to garnering attention with a wiener.

Five wide

1. It's almost time for someone to take another secret flight to Louisville to meet with Bobby Petrino. Auburn's pursuit of the then-first year Cardinals coach last year was somewhat puzzling at the time, but after watching his team move the ball at will against a previously dominant Miami defense on Thursday, it's clear Petrino will soon be a coach-in-demand. In fact, if I were Florida AD Jeremy Foley, I'd start putting out the feelers right now. Petrino would be a perfect fit in Gainesville, where Steve Spurrier made high-flying offenses as much a part of the Gators' identity as winning. It's becoming increasingly harder for Foley to defend embattled coach Ron Zook, as witnessed by his public criticism last week of Zook's handling of an incident at a UF fraternity involving his players. The terminally anxious Zook said last week he hadn't been able to eat or sleep following his team's 24-21 loss to LSU. Barring a dramatic late-season turnaround, perhaps Foley ought to put him out of his misery once and for all.

2. While Petrino's reputation as an offensive mastermind is soaring, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen's has been grounded the past couple weeks. The Terps' offense is beyond struggling -- it's downright terrible. In a 13-3 loss to N.C. State on Saturday, Maryland racked up 51 yards on its opening drive -- then just 41 the rest of the game. This a week after totaling just 81 yards in another home loss (He's not doing a very good job of "protecting his house") to Georgia Tech. "I'm embarrassed," a visibly shaken Friedgen told reporters afterward. "I wish I could wave a magic wand and make things start happening, but I can't." Friedgen, whose first three teams in College Park all won at least 10 games, has been unable to find a consistent successor to underrated QB Scott McBrien. Against the Wolfpack, starter Joel Staham went just 6-of-11 for 18 yards. His replacement, freshman Jordan Steffy, fared no better (1-of-7, 6 yards). But the quarterbacks hardly deserve all the blame -- the offensive line has allowed 13 sacks the past two weeks.

3. One of the saddest stories of the season has to be what's happened to Kansas State running back Darren Sproles. Coming off a tremendous junior year in which he really should have been at least invited to New York, Sproles has been spiraling steadily downward. Saturday against the Sooners -- the same team he torched for 235 yards in last year's Big 12 title game -- he managed just 34 yards on 13 carries, with the Wildcats completely abandoning the run in the second half. "I'll do whatever I have to out there to help the team," said Sproles, "but I would like the ball." It marked the fourth time in six games he's been held below 75 yards. He's also been plagued by fumbles, having lost five in his first four games. Sproles' rocky season comes on the heels of losing his 41-year-old mother, Annette, last spring following a five-year battle with cancer. It was Annette who had asked him to return to school this year and get his communications degree, and to whom Sproles dedicated this season.

4. It's probably a case of too little, too late, but Pittsburgh's 20-17 overtime win against Boston College couldn't have come at a better time for embattled coach Walt Harris. In the most intense week of speculation yet surrounding the eighth-year coach's job status, Harris' agent, Bob LaMonte, criticized the school for leaving his client "hanging out to dry" by not defending him publicly. More damning, Pitt legend Tony Dorsett went public with his displeasure about the program. "It's sad. It's god awful," said Dorsett, whose statement "I didn't even know that Connecticut [which beat the Panthers] had a football team" lessens his credibility just a tad. While the Panthers have certainly looked bad much of the season -- even against BC they got outgained 423-308 -- but the reality is, by handing the Eagles their first conference loss, Pittsburgh (4-2, 2-1) now has as much a shot at the Big East title as anyone.

5. Minnesota's hopes of a dream season have once again gone by the wayside, and once again, the Gophers couldn't get over losing to Michigan. A week after suffering yet another heartbreaking, last-minute loss to the Wolverines, Minnesota never even got off the bus at Michigan State, with the Spartans housing the Gophers 51-17. The Gophers' star running back tandem Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney managed just 90 yards between them, and the defense, rumored to have been improved, allowed a staggering 636 yards. "The first thing that comes to my mind, I feel this is the worst defeat we've endured in the seven-plus years I've been here," said Minnesota coach Glen Mason. Maybe that's because he knows he's probably missed his best chance at taking the program to the next level. He's been building toward this season for several years, assembling his deepest, most experienced roster, and had a highly favorable schedule to work with. Alas, for all the positive strides he's made in eight years there, Mason can't seem to crack the Big Ten's upper echelon.

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.