Halftime is Over

We take a look at all the big college football match-ups from this past Saturday 

By Audrey Hart

(AP Photo/Christopher Jackson)

Welcome to the second half of the season.

As it stands, the BCS rankings, in order, have Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Kansas State, and Notre Dame as the top five teams in the country.

But maybe more interestingly, recently departing from the Top-5 are West Virginia, South Carolina, Florida State, and LSU.

So the question to ask, who’s next on the chopping block?

The Ducks are safe for now. No. 3 Oregon manhandled Arizona State Thursday night on what was supposed to be a nailbiter. Arizona State, until then, had the leading defense in the Pac-12, and quarterback Taylor Kelly was No. 1 in conference passing efficiency. It was also Oregon’s first true road game. But Oregon quartback Marcus Mariota put him to shame with one beautiful 6-yard passing touchdown to freshman Bralon Addison, one Oregon record breaking 86 yard touchdown run, and one receiving touchdown off of a 2 yard toss from back-up quarterback Bryan Bennett. Pretty good for a redshirt freshman.

Next, top 5 match-up is No. 7 South Carolina at No. 3 Florida. It shouldn’t need to be said, but this is a big one.  South Carolina is going through the toughest bit of their season, if not anyone’s season this year. Especially right off a disheartening loss at LSU. If they can come out of the swamp alive, the Gators will drop and the Gamecocks might have a chance to get back in it. At least they’ll have a date in Atlanta for the championship game. If Florida wins and then they can make it by Georgia (likely), they’ll be able to cruise till the the end and will be facing off against No. 1 Alabama for the crown. This one is a toss up.

No. 1 Alabama is up against unranked Tennessee in what at first looks like an easy win. But despite being unranked, Tennessee has a Top-25 offense, with the probably best quarterback Alabama has seen so far in Tyler Bray. Bray also probably has the best weapons Bama’s defense has seen with receivers Justin Hunter and Coradarrelle Patterson. Tennessee’s defense is nothing compared to Alabama’s though and this is what Alabama will rely on in the end.

No. 4 Kansas State and No. 13 West Virginia  face off  on Saturday night in a toss up game. Kansas State has had some big wins over teams like Oklahoma, and quarterback Collin Klein might be the only one who can compare with Geno Smith this year. Smith looked human for the first time last weekend against Texas Tech, but he should fare better against lower ranked pass defense in a less windy stadium.

Finally, No. 5 Notre Dame plays BYU. This should be a worry-free game if Notre Dame can take care off the football. Irish quarterback Everett Golson is expected to play after sitting out last week with a mild concussion.  This will help Notre Dame’s young offense. On the otherhand, BYU’s offense is nothing to talk about, but their defense is good. This game will come down to turn overs.

Florida State and LSU play this weekend against Miami and Texas A&M respectively. This is their chance to make a statement. With a big win, LSU can definitely get back in the race. Especially if they can upset No. 1 Alabama next week. Florida State’s schedule doesn’t have the strength to get back to National Championship standards, but its necessary for conference standards and a BCS bowl berth.