Unbeaten Teams Try To Impress the BCS

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The New York Sun

The first Bowl Championship Series standings of the season have yet to be released, and already worries are growing that this could be another disastrous season for the much maligned system used to determine college football’s national champion. With precious few potential matchups of undefeated teams remaining, the regular season could again finish with three or more major conference unbeatens. Stiff tests do remain for teams near the top of the polls, however. On Saturday, two of the nine remaining undefeated schools face difficult road challenges, while just behind them, a pair of one-loss SEC teams angle to remain in the national title hunt.


NO . 1 USC AT NO . 9 NOTRE DAME
3:30 P.M ., NBC


In what is perhaps the biggest game in South Bend since no. 1 Florida State arrived to play undefeated Notre Dame in 1993, USC comes to town riding a 27-game winning streak. After watching Southern Cal stumble through the early parts of each of its last three games (wins over Oregon, Arizona State, and Arizona), and knowing that Notre Dame and master schemer Charlie Weis have had an extra week to prepare since hammering Purdue two weeks ago, it’s tempting to think the Irish can wake the echoes and upset the Trojans.


Playing defense against USC is a case of “pick your poison.” If the Irish are to pull off a stunner, they’ll have to do something to slow USC’s two-headed running game. Reggie Bush dominates the headlines and Heisman attention, but LenDale White is averaging more rushing yards per game with 123,and leads the team with 10 touchdowns. USC knows its green secondary could be vulnerable to the Notre Dame passing attack, and will likely go to Bush and White early in order to sustain drives and open up downfield passes to receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith. If Notre Dame rolls coverage to the wideouts, look for Bush and tight end Dominique Byrd to come open on screens and medium-range passes over the middle. Trojan quarterback Matt Leinart has too much big-game experience to get anxious; he’ll be content to wait for favorable matchups and exploit them.


Notre Dame’s offensive resurgence was on full display against Purdue on October 1, when quarterback Brady Quinn notched his third straight 300-yard game and threw a touchdown pass for a 10th straight game, tying a school record. Quinn’s favorite target, 6-foot-5-inch receiver Jeff Samardzija, has eight of the team’s 13 touchdown receptions, and has been making spectacular catches with stunning regularity’s struggled to contain another big receiver, Arizona State’s Derek Hagan, two weeks ago, so Samaradzija could be in for a big day.


If Notre Dame wins, it’s likely to be in a shootout, as no team has slowed the USC offense this season. Weis has crafted stunning game plans in the past (New England’s upset win over St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI comes to mind), and nobody doubts his ability to push the right motivational buttons – after all, Notre Dame has posted three straight 31-point losses to USC. If the Irish come out firing, they could be the biggest obstacle separating USC from a second straight BCS crown and a third-straight AP national title.


NO. 8 PENN STATE AT MICHIGAN
3:30 P.M., ABC


After last week’s win over Ohio State, it seemed that everyone was in agreement that Penn State was back as a major player in college football. Apparently, America’s bookmakers didn’t get the memo, installing the 6-0 Nittany Lions as slight underdogs at 3-3 Michigan.


Perhaps they’re foreseeing a letdown game for Penn State, which earned its biggest victory in years last Saturday thanks to two early touchdown runs and a suffocating defense. Michigan, though severely wounded – both medically and mentally – remains dangerous, especially when backed into a corner. If the Wolverines are going to maintain their record string of 30 consecutive bowl bids, they need to take a stand in this game.


For that to happen, Michigan must protect quarterback Chad Henne, who has struggled when pressured in the pocket by the likes of Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Minnesota – all Michigan losses. That is no easy task against defensive end Tamba Hali and linebacker Paul Posluszny, who have the ability to make life miserable for Henne. Michigan tailback Michael Hart can make yardage on his own, but even a big day from Hart is unlikely to lead to a win if Henne looks skittish throwing the ball.


Penn State’s offense will be attacking a banged-up Michigan secondary, which saw both starting safeties – already a thin position for the Wolverines – go down with injuries last week. That could be a bigger problem in run support than against the pass, where Penn State doesn’t exactly stretch the field despite the presence of an outstanding young receiving corps led by freshman Derrick Williams. If Williams makes a big play in this game, it’s just as likely to come from the backfield on a run as on the receiving end of a Michael Robinson pass.


For Michigan to extend it’s recent mastery of Penn State – six straight wins in the series, though the schools haven’t met since 2002 – they must force Robinson into mistakes and turnovers, an area in which he has vastly improved this season. If they fail to do it, the Wolverines could find themselves home for the holidays.


NO. 11 FLORIDA AT NO. 10 LSU
3:30 P.M., CBS


Both of these schools have already suffered a conference loss this season, so this is a de facto elimination game for both SEC and national championship contention. Florida coach Urban Meyer began the year as a “genius,” but now his spread-offense is in doubt thanks to a 31-3 thrashing at the hands of Alabama on October 1.


Gators quarterback Chris Leak much prefers throwing the ball to running it, even though the option is a big part of Meyer’s offense. Still, he has to be looking forward to throwing against an LSU defense that ranks 87th in the nation against the pass.


LSU will have to cut down on turnovers and penalties to win this game – both were crucial in the second-half meltdown against Tennessee that led to their only loss. That starts with quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who has been too careless with the ball, especially when playing with a lead.


Perhaps a return to normalcy will help LSU. This will be just their second game at Tiger Stadium this season, and the first to be played on scheduled after hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused some major shuffling of the schedule.



Mr. Levine is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.


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