1. Texas isn’t there yet. They’re young, and there are flashes of potential here and there, but they were absolutely dominated by Oklahoma.
2. Oklahoma is for real, and Landry Jones is a Heisman candidate. I still expect Andrew Luck to win, but Landry should be in the top 5, if not the top 3.
3. The Tide just keeps rolling. It’s a shame Alabama and LSU are both in the SEC West, because they would put on one hell of an SEC Championship game. As it is, their November 5th game is shaping up to be epic.
4. Michigan fans can increase their optimism level- slightly. If memory serves, this is their first 6-0 start since 2006. Their schedule hasn’t been overly challenging, and their last six games should be considerably more difficult that their first six; even so, I’d be very surprised if they finished worse than 9-3. Of even more importance to Michigan fans is that a win over Ohio State looks entirely possible for the first time in a long time.
5. Wake Forest is quietly putting together a nice season. It’s easy to overlook them as conference-mates Clemson and Georgia Tech work their way up the rankings, but the Demon Deacons are 4-1 with a win over a strong Florida State team on Saturday. And no, I didn’t look at basketball scores by mistake.
6. As expected, Baylor got back on track after last week’s loss with a 49-20 win over Iowa State. QB Robert Griffin III is another player who should finish in the top 3 of the Heisman voting.
7. What can I say about Stanford that I haven’t already said this season? Some years I think they’d be the odds-on favorite to win the BCS title game. This year, there are too many unbeaten teams playing more difficult schedules. I wouldn’t be surprised if the loser of the LSU-Alabama game stayed ahead of an unbeaten Stanford at the end of the season. It’s unfortunate for the Cardinal, because they are a very good team.
8. I don’t know that Vanderbilt will ever be competitive in the SEC. They’re a such a huge recruiting disadvantage, both because of the perception of them as a perennial doormat and because their admission standards are so much higher than any other school in the conference. It’s an excellent school though, and I really admire their players for choosing to go there and get a Vandy education, knowing they’ll probably take regular beatings on the football field.
9. Arizona State is putting together a nice record in the Pac-10. Sorry, Pac-12. (I’ll get these new conference alignments straight about the time they start re-aligning again). I don’t know that they’ll be able to leapfrog Oregon, and they definitely won’t end up ahead of Stanford, but they’re a good team.
10. Oklahoma State doesn’t get the pub that in-state rival Oklahoma does, but they’re also 5-0 and dominating the teams they should dominate. The OSU-OU game on December 3 will be a can’t-miss.
