Could it be? Could it actually be a stellar weekend for ACC football? One of our average teams goes to the Big East's best team's home, beats them, and shuts down their Heisman candidate. An SEC team that's been scoring 30 points a game on SEC defenses is getting shut out by an ACC defense. We get ragged on a lot. You think the ACC could get some love this week?

You may not be impressed by how our Hokies won, but we did win, which is more than I can say for all these other Top 25 teams. We always play well against Clemson. Just wait and see.

Before you throw Clemson under the bus, understand how big a rivalry Ga Tech and Clemson is...

You had Wisconsin ranked 14th, and at least five teams ranked above them have already lost today — but you "still think the Badgers are not a top-10 team." That makes for some tricky math (fourteen minus five being less than ten, etc.). Are you going to keep one of those one-loss teams ranked ahead of a Wisconsin team with the longest win-streak in the nation? And maybe also leap-frog South Florida over the Badgers?

Or are you going to put Wisconsin in the top ten even though you don't think they belong there? That oughta be good for the credibility of weekly rankings, eh?

What does Miami of Ohio (MAC) and Colorado (Big 12) have anything to do with Louisville and the Big East? Just wondering...

if oregon had scored, it would have been the game-TYING touchdown...not the game-winning TD...kinduva big difference stewie

Thanks, yat...I came here to point out the same thing.

Colvin's finely-timed fumble only prevent the game-TYING touchdown. No doubt Belotti would have gone for one and, being the home team, take it to overtime.

So much for that hindsight, Stewart. Of course, hindight is all about looking out your a$$.

I've been looking to buy both your book and Feldman's. I bought Feldman's. Your book is hard to find in Sacramento. I suppose I could order it, but I would hope that your opinion about Cal has changed somewhat.

Once again K-State proves that football in the "Little Apple" is alive and well. Thank God we didn't have to listen to Brent Musberger saying "The MAjor....." Fortunately he was somewhere else. Hey..How about that Big 12 North?? Kinda turned the "Showdown" into a "Shmow-down".

What does Miami of Ohio (MAC) and Colorado (Big 12) have anything to do with Louisville and the Big East? Just wondering...

Colorado Beat Miami who beat Syracuse who in turn beat supposed big east powerhouse Louisville. All the games were blowouts.

It's a bit of a stretch in logic, but it still might say something

Gosh, Stew, it almost sounds like you're relieved you won't have to deal with that pesky Big 12 conference anymore (I think some of your biases are showing...), and especially Oklahoma.

You could have written about a resurgent Big 12 North, with great performances by well-coached and disciplined teams (Colorado & K-State), but instead, you only wanted to restate how you never believed in Oklahoma and Texas anyway.

So let's see - since the Red River Shootout is, uh, what was your word, "irrelevant"? Then what if Oklahoma meets Colorado for the Big 12 Championship game?

Have you already declared that game irrelevant also?

someone needs to wipe that hawkins dude down!!

Hey Stewart, when you toss the Hokies out of your top 25 for their "ugly" win against UNC, be sure you also throw out Rutgers, Texas, and all the other teams that have just barely been getting by so far this season. The same argument you use to justify potentially leaving the Hokies off your ballot can be used on another half a dozen teams you have ranked.

It's easy to point out the Badgers flaws, but as long as they keep on winning its even easier to hedge and give them credit I guess.

Mass had a heck of a 3rd quarter against BC today too, and deserve some real credit. They're better than a lot of 1-A teams.

I want to congratulate the Pac-10 officials in Eugene for turning a solid 17-point Cal win into a down-to-the-wire nailbiter. Good work, boys, and the check from ABC is in the mail.

The OU funble was decisive. He did not score so the game was decided right there. If he had scored (or not fumbled and OU scored later), then it would not have been a decisive play.

It seems so many read Stewart just to find nit picky things to rip him on.

How much longer will the Clemson IPTAY (I Pay Two Athletes Year) put up with Bowden? I say if he does not rebound and win the ACC title, he is a goner. Maybe Daddy can find a place for him on his staff like he has been recycling all his other coaches who have been fired elsewhere--which is all of them except Mark Richt.

What SEC team was scoring 30 points against SEC defenses? Alabama scored 21 against Arkansas, but 23 against Georgia and 24 against Vandy.

Other than BC, the ACC is awful. Terrible QBs, terrible coaching throughout the league.

Another Wisconsin win. That ought to take them right out of the top 25, right?

I can't wait for all the rationalizing for today's games...especially from the SEC and Florida fans. Big Ten overrated? But Florida loses to unranked Auburn AT HOME because Auburn and the SEC in general are just SOOO tough?

Can I suggest that after this weekend, pretty much NOBODY has any real legitimate reason to talk too much smack. I said this two weeks ago...we here in the Big 10 are just going to play ball and wait for the rest of you in the bowl games. SEC, etc. fans...go ahead and whine, complain, rationalize, etc. Talk about how TOUGH the SEC is, but know that pretty much the rest of the country doesn't believe it. And you'll find out the hard way at the end of the season.

As for me, I'm NOT saying the Big 10 is better than anybody else, and I'm NOT dissing any conference. But I AM saying that after tonight's results (and seeing how the teams actually played), I think we'll find that the conferences are pretty close in parity. And I think you'll see that in the bowl games.

OU fans will now choose to pay their rent on their double wides rather than go to the games. A start-up dentist could make a fortune setting up shop outside of Gaylord Family Stadium, if he sold false teeth.

Give Colorado credit. They deserved the win. gopokes

Could it be that since they pared down the scholarships and more college teams get TV exposure that we are reaching a parity in college football? Yes you'll always have your Kings and Queens etc but the serfs are not as far behind in power as they once were?

The SEC is really tough. LSU got caught looking in the first half. When the realized it, they ran off 24 unanswered points. Georgia was the only dominant team in the top 25 this week. Illinois beats Penn St. I don't think Mandel is insulting anyone, but Auburn was ranked to begin the year, and one of their losses is against undefeated USF, with a stellar defense. So Carolina's loss is against LSU. Georgia's loss is agains So. Carolina. Kentucky is undefeated. Who would have thought that LSU vs Kentucky would be huge this year? Even Miss St is running some good stuff. Point is, SEC always beats on itself year in and year out. While the Pac10 may be catching up, most other leagues have 2-3 elite teams and 8-10 also-rans. That is never the case in the SEC. Every team is good almost every year, especially recently. Vandy may be the only exception, but even they have improved. THere is no autowin in the SEC. I think that is the point that Mr. Mandel is making. Thanks.

Guiseppe:

Maybe I missed where Mandel was talking about how the SEC beats itself up every year, but as other writers have suggested, that's ALWAYS what the SEC people say but it could apply equally well to other conferences. Preseason ratings don't mean that much, and so many people bought into the SEC hype this year that if multiple teams are rated in the same conference, even unjustifiably, when they do "beat up" on each other (or just win the game) one of them always benefits. Sorry, but the "we beat up on each other, nobody from another conference could go undefeated in our conference but our top 5 teams would be undefeated in other conferences, blah blah blah" is just plain old. And c'mon..."every team is good almost every year"? Are you serious?

Of all these "upsets" today, only two came against another ranked team. Number 11 Oregon lost to #6 Cal, while #18 South Florida defeated #5 West Virginia.

With the exception of the 1.5 pont favorite Florida State, ALL losses were to underdogs (lower-ranked Oregon was favored by 6 points).

Further, four of these: Florida, Texas, Rutgers and Oregon were all home games. The Alabama/Florida State game was played at neutral Jacksonville.

Nine upsets. Eight favored teams. Seven unranked opponents. Four played on home fields.

I expect to see some MAJOR shake-up in the polls tomorrow...

Starting with new #3 Cal. Go Bears!!

LSU #1

The young Buckeye team's 33-14 win at Seattle over the resurgent Washington Huskies looks better and better, especially after USC's narrow 27-24 win. Most of the football mags picked the Bucks to finish fourth in the Big Ten, and way down nationally -- and that still may happen. But it is starting to look like this "rebuilding" year will be another coaching masterpiece by Senator Tressel. Stay tuned!

After watching the Cal - Oregon game is was funny to re-read your Week 5 - Pickoff titled "Oregon will continue home field dominance over Cal". You said: "Neither team's defense inspires confidence -- but neither does Cal's 20-year drought in Eugene."

However, the game turned out to have "a surprising amount of big defensive plays." I hope the country shows the Bears the well deserved respect and vote them to #3!


GO BEARS!

FLORIDA BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

Can all the people who come on hear to complain or brag about how well a conference did shut up and leave? What type of college football fan cheers for a conference? Pick a team and root for that team. Do you honestly mean to tell me that a Clemson fan should be happy that the ACC had a good weekend even though they're team lost their undefeated record and the chance for the BCS title game that goes with that? Seriously, who are you people?

It's funny Stu... The Badgers play great defense against Iowa last week and their offense is terrible and they shouldn't be top-10. Then their defense plays bad and our offense plays great and we shouldn't be in the top 10. When Wisconsin puts together a complete game, both offense and defense... will you give them their props or will you just call them lucky?

You said it best: They were one of the only top 10 teams that didn't lose today and remained undefeated. They win ball games, no matter what it takes.

Hey Mandel--I agree Wisconsin has not shown themselves to be one of the best teams in the country, but please give them some respect over the next week. Going 5-0 is not easy to do and I have a feeling that you will rate some team with a loss above them just because the Badgers are in the Big 10 and the other team (West Virginia?) is in the SEC, or the ACC, or the PAC-10, or whatever...
The Big 10 has as many teams vying for Top 25 rankings as most any other conference.
And oh yeah, did you hear the one about Florida getting beat at home by an unranked team?

Interesting year in college football.

It seems like all the good teams are mediocre compared to previous years.

There is no dominant team out there, and the after USC and LSU it's kind of a free for all.

USC isn't that impressive for a #1 team but at least they won. If I were USC I'd start running the ball more. They have unbelievable talent in the backfield, and it appears the passing game with young receivers and a sometimes non-accurate passer in John David Booty is not going to carry them like in years past.

Ohio State will be an interesting team to watch. I imagine they'll lose somewhere down the road, but their new QB Todd Boeckman looks impressive.

This post will most likely be deleted but here it goes. I know you sports writers are only human, but some consistency would be nice to see. I don't know how much free reign you have over what you write, but unless your bosses are telling you to make whacked out "observations" that vary widely from week to week, maybe another of your fellow columnists should get the gig you currently have.

Mandel, I can't take you too seriously by the amount of respect you had previously been giving Rutgers. The only "big" team they beat last year was Louisville. WVU beat them with their second string QB (who, to be fair to you, may be as good as Pat White) last year. Anybody in their right mind who follows football knew that this past Friday's matchup b/w WVU and USF was in essence, this year's Big East Championship game. Most likely it will be that way next year too. Those two teams clearly are a distance above the other competitors. If WVU's coach could get the guts to throw the ball more often, particularly down the middle, WVU could even be a powerhouse. But, alas, he likes to throw sideways and allow teams to collapse the safeties. With Louisville's faltering, the picture is all bet set, assuming WVU recovers mentally. #1 USF, #2 WVU #3 Cincy #4 Rutgers #5 and on up for grabs. Pitt will be licking the bottom of the toilet bowl. How are they SOOO bad?

What can you say, its been one hell of a weekend for college football. Cannot wait to see how the pollsters deal with this one. I know there are some broken hearts out there...and Im loving it.

Couple of observations...

1. Sick of people comparing conferences and rooting for a conference. The only time that makes sense is during the bowl games. Otherwise cheer for your team and leave it at that.

2. Sick of people using the word "overrated". Since when are people so adept at determing a team is overrated. These couch potato CF analysts are a sad lot. My suggestion, get a life.

3. Why do people need to over analyze and over justify. Let me see, since WVU (btw thats the team I root for and I actually attended) loss (barely) to a USF Bulls team that was playing the most inspired football in its history in front of an awe-inspiring home crowd, and that same USF Bulls team beat an Auburn team on their home turf, that happens to have just beat the Florida Gators today on their own home turf...well that must mean that the Bulls are the # 3 team in the country. Does it not? Hmmmm, yeah. Give me a break people.

4. We need some sort of playoff system in CF.

5. We also need to keep the biggest idiots from posting on these blogs. I bet half of the people that so religiously defend their "teams" have probably never even set foot on those campuses.

It seems to me that there is no one who wants to step up at this point and be a clear front runner for the national championship. Each team has flaws which could be exploited with the right matchup (OSU v. UF last year?)

I know people love to tout the superiority of their respective conferences (*cough* SEC *cough*), but at this point, the only thing we know is that we don't know anything.

The next few weeks should be exciting as we further refine who the haves and have nots are. For my money, I'm betting that a Big Ten team ends up in the National Championship game vs. a Pac-10 Team.

LSU loses next week. Write it down. Florida will give them fits.

Judging from the blogs (and the report of the UF fan pouring beer over the wife of a fellow wearing an OSU shirt while in the Big Apple), the U of Florida surely seems to have a fair number of fans with a really weird "thing" about Ohio State, if not the Big Ten. And it's not just during the football season. Some regularly trolled the Columbus Dispatch website over the summer for chances to 'dis the Buckeyes. This type of thing seems to have moved to an SEC v. the World thing. As an OSU alum, I suppose I should take it as a compliment that my school, and its conference, occupies such a large share of their mindspace. If these UF fans want some kind of rivalry with OSU, sorry, but that space is already filled by what is widely regarded as the greatest rivalry in all of sport -- Michigan v. Ohio State in football. To those UF fans who are obsessing over OSU and the Big Ten, I say, act like you've been there before -- display some class.

Okay, my sooners lost. i don't think you watched the game, however, mandel. while Bradford's stats may look bad on paper, almost no one could catch the ball when it hit them in the chest, and both of those interceptions come from juoaquin iglesias tipping catchable balls in the air. it seemed to me that the reason OU lost was because they did not throw to malcolm kelly once. i mean, when you have one of the best recievers in the country, you usually throw to him a couple times, right? at least a few? no pass was even thrown at him! the only player that the ball consistently got thrown to was iglesias, who was really good at tipping the ball into colorado's hands.
yes, this is a big loss, and i don't know any OU fans who were expecting us to go to the national championship anyway, but isn't it a little premature to say we're out of the hunt completely? what if OU wins out, Colorado goes on to win 8 games, and USC, LSU, or both go on to lose one or more games? are you saying OU shouldn't even be considered for a loss on the road during that team's homecoming?

There is a college football team in the midwest with the initials ND. What do the initials stand for? They could stand for NO DEFENSE. The Fighting Irish don't have much offense either (or fight for that matter). Alhambra HS in southern California (where my daughter cheers) has used the Irish's fight song for many years but they may need to start playing something else because a team that is 4-0 should not use the fight song of a college that is having the worst season in the history of the college. On another topic, my wife's alma mater (USC) played sloppy today but "winning ugly" is still winning and they are still undefeated (although the Pac 10 schedule may get harder as the season goes along). Go Moors and go Trojans.

I just don't get you sometimez, mandel. you say wisconsin is not a top-10. why is it that wisconsin can find a way to come back and win the ballgame unlike some of these top-10 teams?

That Klempsun take is great...because it's 100% dead-on true. Way to choke again, Taters.

To trumanhugh: Cal was already ranked ahead of Oregon so they should have been favored (unless Oregon was at home, I don't know where they played). West Virginia lost to a lower ranked team but the other team was still ranked. These two games were not as big an upset as the other upsets. To Cophidc: I don't exactly cheer for the other teams in the same conferance that my favorite team is in, but, I am glad that the conferance has a number of ranked teams. It also makes my team look better when they beat the ranked teams from our conference (although strength of schedule doesn't count as much in the ranking as it used to). Has anyone ever heard someone say "My two favorite baseball teams are the Red Sox and any team that beats the Yankees"?

Dave Rodriguez:

Great post; I agree with you completely. Time spent trying to persuade somebody else your conference is better than theirs is about as smart as arguing about religion or politics...it just doesn't change things. One thing that probably most people CAN agree on now, though, is that this weekend really highlights the need for a playoff system. Great teams find a way to get it done...consistently. Hey, if we had a playoff system and the team I can't STAND ends up winning it...well I won't be happy but I WILL say it was well deserved. As for other things to talk about rather than conference strength, well...this weekend served up a whole bunch of topics from coaching calls to big hits (Jefferson in the Wisconsin game...ouch) to great plays to great hearts. One of the reasons why college football is, IMHO, the best.

Thanks Larry. Appreciate your comments. I remember there being always some sort of "havoc" in college football when it came to rankings and the National Championship. Im 35, and Ive liked the Mountaineers even before I went to school there. I liked them because although not an "elite" school, they had some great seasons among their rebuilding seasons and were always an outsider and underdog. Just think since the BCS was created, CF has become some sort of exclusive club, where you should consider yourself lucky you're invited if you arent in the elite conferences. AS we've seen this year, and to a large extent with Boise St last year, that any team can win. Think BCS has made everything much worse and has allowed for already arrogant fans to become even worse. Its a carte blanche to be an ass. And even if thier "elitist" team sucks ex.Penn St. , they will still have the coattails of their conference to ride on. This is all wrong. Teams should stand on their own 2 feet, and not have the overall conference performance to cushion their existance. With no playoff system, this will obviously continue unchecked. In every sport, perfection is not a requirement. Granted, all teams seek it, but lets realistic all teams gain something from a loss (ie humility and an awareness of weakenesses that require attention). I at least see it like this for WVU. We didnt get the pants beat off us. We lost to a better playing team that night and hopefully walk away understanding what caused us to play so poorly. Hopefully it makes us that much more of a better team. Unfortunately without a playoff system we have been written off for dead. Seriously, if it wasnt for all these other upsets, I wouldn't have doubted us getting booted to the high teens in the rankings. What are the pollsters to do now? Both Florida and Colorado lost to unranked teams. How does this all fall into place. No doubt, I still think a team like WVU is screwed. No fault to their own. They have to play Big East conference teams, so their schedule will always be perceived as weak. You see the current set up of the BCS has a set of pre-determined winners and champs. Its up to them to lose and for the perfect alignment of the stars for another team to crack the Top ranks. And make sure you dont make any mistakes...we require perfection. Its just ridiculous. And I think its hurting the sport.

I think the BCS has been lucky thus far. Last year was defintitely a year where the system looked its most challenged. Last year will be a cakewalk compared to this year. If Florida beats LSU, then things will really get rough.

That sure was a satisfying victory by CAL over Oregon and its home town booster officials, especially with "Homer" Dan Fouts calling the game. How do you get FG's wrong??!! 2 things come away from this game - out of town, out of conference refs should be required at Autzen, and local hero Danny Fouts should not be allowed to call any Oregon games. After Duck cheering non-stop for nearly 3 hours he literally swallowed his microphone after the critical last second funble, unable to fathom that the right call might actually be made and his precious ducks were about to lose. Poor guy.

Stewart, just admit you don't follow Pac10 football. Unbelievable the kind of nonchalance/indifference you had for the perhaps the most exciting game of the weekend, and the obvious bias against the Golden Bears: " -- and, following Oklahoma and Texas’ defeats, a likely No. 4 national ranking this time tomorrow." Did I miss #5 West Virginia somewhere, or you intend to hold yourself to your words: put Oregon ahead of Cal? Of course, Cal has had a history of failing to convince others. I know, bec. of the yearly heartbreaks I've endured the past 20 years. But to favor some unproven teams (hello, WVU, Louisville, Rutgers) over this tough-minded group of Bears and their to-date accomplishments shows your internalized biases, whether you admit them or not. If you have any conscience, South Florida should also deserve to be in the top 10. Thus far, they've proved it, and whether or not it proves in the course of the season, they still deserve the "snapshot" honor.

Unbelievable you still don't get the picture of how hard it is to recruit to Cal. Any kid seeing the Oregon facilities would very likely say no to Cal. It's not too hard to imagine why it's been tough for Cal to compete against Oregon, you agree?

Before you go attributing Clemson's lose solely to their tendency to choke, consider that Jon Tenuta, one of the most prolific DC's in College Football, came into this game with a HUGE chip on his shoulder after what Clemson did to Tech last year. That, coupled with the return of Tashard Choice - even if he wasn't quite 100% - was enough for a victory for the White & Old Gold.

The Jackets definitely had designs to neutralize 'Thunder & Lighting', aka Davis & Spiller. Although, I am surprised that Clemson did not try to use them more than they did. Maybe Coach Bowden was trying to copy BC's formula for shutting Tech down.

Couldn’t complain too much after the BC loss – we were out played by a very good BC team. PO’d by the loss to UVA – no knock to the Cavaliers, but Tech gave that one away. The win over Clemson gets us back on the right track. I’m cautiously optimistic for the rest of the season.

Go Jackets!