Every Second Counts

By Audrey Hart

(AP Photo)

This weekend provides a little bit of a break from the excitement of last weekend. Somehow all four of the top teams came out undefeated, but it was close. This week there aren’t as many big games but as the season is dying down, there is still plenty to watch for.

1.    No. 1 Alabama plays against No. 15 Texas AM on Saturday. Alabama survived last week, but just barely. You have to know they’ll have bruises and maybe won’t have the energy they had last week. It’s no easy task to play these two games two weeks in a row. The question is, can Texas AM capitalize on the fact that LSU did the seemingly impossible task of making Alabama look beatable. They’ll have to come out with heart, but its possible.

2.    No. 11 Oregon State plays No. 14 Stanford. Both teams have lost their starting quarterback. Both teams have also had some disappointing losses and exciting wins. They’re about as comparable as you can get in the Pac-12 and provide a great conference match up.

3.    No. 21 Mississippi State plays in Death Valley this weekend against No. 7 LSU. LSU will be as bruised as Alabama and it doesn’t have the consolation prize of at least getting the win.  Mississippi State is ready to prove itself and come out hard. No one wants to be the laughing stock of the SEC.

4.    Speaking of a disappointing season, No. 19 USC goes up against Arizona State on Saturday. USC has had probably the most disappointing season of them all, expected national title contenders at the beginning. They didn’t end the game to tight with Oregon last week, but USC did what no other team has. They starters played for the whole game. Let’s see if they can keep up that energy this weekend.

5.    Finally, No. 4 Notre Dame is playing Boston College. That should be an easy win but so should have Pitt. Instead it was a nail-biting triple over time thriller. Boston College has spoiled Notre Dame’s season before. In 2002 Notre Dame was also undefeated until they lost to the Eagles. Then they lost three more of their last five. Let’s hope it doesn’t derail like that, but its possible.

The best part of the end of the season is because this is when every second counts so let’s see which team makes it count more.