So Long Sooners

Last night in Lubbock, TX, the Oklahoma Sooners became the 2nd team in 3 days to fall from the national title race. Texas Tech's junior QB Graham Harrell threw SEVENTY TWO passes, and completed 47 of them for 420 yards, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders held on after building a 34-13 lead to stun the third ranked Sooners, 34-27.



With the Oklahoma loss, next weekends showdown between Kansas (who crushed Iowa St. 45-7 yesterday) and Missouri (who got a road win at K State 49-32) becomes a matchup of the 2nd and third ranked teams in the country. That means that the winner of that game advances to the Big 12 title game, and would then have a clear path to the BCS title game if they can survive that test, which will most likely come against Oklahoma.

The Sooner loss was a boon for the West Virginia Mountaineers. They have moved up to third in the BCS poll on the strength of that game, and their 28-23 win this weekend at a tough Cincinnati team behind a combined 258 rushing yards for QB Patrick White and RB Steve Slaton. The Mountaineers are home for their last 2 games against UConn and Pitt, and a Sooner win in the Big 12 title game would move them up to at least #2, and give them a national title date.

This week was unique in that the #1 team DIDN'T lose, as has been the custom lately. LSU managed to hold on to the top spot for at least one more week, topping Ole Miss on the road 41-24. The Tigers close the regular season schedule with a home date against Arkansas next week, then will move on to the SEC Championship game.

Buckeye Nation should be extremely interested in both the SEC and Big 12 Title games. The Buckeyes renewed their annual tradition of spanking Michigan, this time doing it in the Big House on a cold, drizzly day, grinding out a 14-3 win. While the picture above suggests the Buckeyes are going to the Rose Bowl, an LSU loss in the SEC Title game and an Oklahoma win in the Big 12 championship would set up an Ohio State vs. West Virginia national title game. It's unlikely, but in this season, unlikely means nothing.