(This is a guest series by MotSaG reader Jason Nafziger. He’ll be taking a weekly look at the college football polls and pointing out the absurd, the laughable and the head scratchers. Please note that Jason is not talking about the BlogPoll. Or my ballot to the BlogPoll.)

Well, the BCS lucked out again with Auburn’s rally from a 24-point deficit to win the Iron Bowl by a single point. Now the Tigers will try to beat South Carolina again for the SEC title and, of course, a coveted spot in the BCS championship game. Last time, the Gamecocks held a 6-point lead going into the fourth quarter, where they proceeding to turn the ball over on all four of their drives. South Carolina is on a three-game winning streak that includes road wins over rivals Florida and Clemson.

Oregon got off to a slow start in their Black Friday game as well, trailing Arizona by 5 going into halftime before exploding for five touchdowns in the second half. Next is rival Oregon State, and a loss to the 5-6 Beavers would be a shocker. This one is going to be ugly.

And then Boise State gave the BCS the final gift of the weekend, dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Nevada and eliminating virtually all ill will unless at least one of the top two teams loses (and TCU gets passed over, which would probably happen.) That sound you hear is the evil chortle of a corrupt system getting away with it again.

The Poll Dancing Hypothetical and Totally Awesome Playoff (v. 1.4):

(1) Oregon vs. (16) Florida International
(2) Auburn vs. (15) UCF
(3) TCU vs. (14) Connecticut
(4) Wisconsin vs. (13) Northern Illinois
(5) Stanford vs. (12) Virginia Tech
(6) Ohio State vs. (11) LSU
(7) Michigan St. vs. (10) Oklahoma
(8) Arkansas vs. (9) Boise St.

Lots of movement in our much more intriguing playoff scenario in light of the Boise, LSU, and Alabama losses. The Big Ten moves three teams into the top half, UConn gets in on the party, and FIU is looking at one of the longest road trips imaginable (while NIU has one of the shortest). And, honestly, who doesn’t want to watch that Arky-Boise game?

The Breakdown (full Top 25): 24% SEC, 20% Big 12, 20% mid-major, 12% Big Ten, 12% Pac-10, 8% ACC, 4% Big East

Thanks to Nevada’s win over Boise and Northern Illinois sneaking in at #25 (plus Iowa’s inexplicable loss to Minnesota), these numbers change for what seems like the first time in a month. The Big East finally returns with West Virginia, who is essentially a placeholder for whoever the eventual conference champion is.

(This is a guest series by MotSaG reader Jason Nafziger. He’ll be taking a weekly look at the college football polls and pointing out the absurd, the laughable and the head scratchers. Please note that Jason is not talking about the BlogPoll. Or my ballot to the BlogPoll.)

As expected, there was very little movement this week. Nebraska fell out of the top ten thanks to a 9-6 loss to Texas A&M that was full of thrills—on the Huskers’ sideline anyway. This weekend could get interesting though, starting with Black Friday, when three of the four remaining undefeated teams will face off against ranked opponents, two of them on the road. Get your cold turkey sandwiches ready…

First, #2 Auburn will travel to #11 Alabama for the Iron Bowl and the day’s best chance for an earth-shattering upset. Should the Tide pull it off, Auburn will still have the SEC championship game to boost its rating prior to bowl season. Even the tamest possible outcome—a one-loss Auburn getting the nod over unbeatens Boise and TCU—would still trigger a minor BCSpocalypse.

Next #1 Oregon hosts #21 Arizona. The Ducks spent the last two weeks thinking about their miserable offensive performance in a win over Cal. Meanwhile, the Wildcats rank 12th nationally in scoring defense. This is probably a long shot and Oregon has a better chance of losing next week on the road against Oregon State, but the ultimate goal for BCS-haters is for both of these teams to lose at least one of their next two games.

Finally, #4 Boise State takes on #19 Nevada. Save for a 6-point loss to Hawai’i, Nevada has been basically crushing the same teams as Boise so far this season. Their win over Cal is not as impressive as the Broncos’ triumphs over Virginia Tech and Oregon State, but they did slaughter the Bears by three touchdowns. A Boise loss isn’t as intriguing as losses for the other two teams, but picking one (or two) from a slew of one-lossers would be a PR nightmare for the BCS. There are currently eleven 0- or 1-loss teams and no pair of 1-loss teams plays each other, meaning that all eleven could end the season with one loss (although TCU is pretty much a given to remain unbeaten).

The Poll Dancing Hypothetical and Totally Awesome Playoff (v. 1.3):

(1) Oregon vs. (16) Florida International
(2) Auburn vs. (15) Pittsburgh
(3) TCU vs. (14) UCF
(4) Boise St. vs. (13) Northern Illinois
(5) Wisconsin vs. (12) Virginia Tech
(6) LSU vs. (11) Michigan State
(7) Stanford vs. (10) Oklahoma St.
(8) Ohio State vs. (9) Alabama

Some shuffling around here, proving that a playoff is already more interesting than the BCS. The Buckeyes’ opening game shifts to last year’s champ Alabama. Wisconsin slides up to take on Virginia Tech, while LSU drops down face Michigan State.

The Breakdown (full Top 25):
24% SEC, 20% Big 12, 16% Big Ten, 16% mid-major, 12% Pac-10, 12% ACC, 0% Big East

One thing that strikes me is that these numbers have remained virtually unchanged for weeks even though the individual teams have been different. It’s almost as if there’s some inherent regional bias built in to the system…

(This is a guest series by MotSaG reader Jason Nafziger. He’ll be taking a weekly look at the college football polls and pointing out the absurd, the laughable and the head scratchers. Please note that Jason is not talking about the BlogPoll. Or my ballot to the BlogPoll.)

Sorry the Dance is so late this week; I fell asleep during the BCS standings show Sunday night and just woke up. Not only was there absolutely no movement in the Top 10, but the top three teams are off this week, so the only hope for a major shake up would be Cam Newton being declared ineligible, which is becoming more of an inevitability with each passing day. My question is: If this happens before the season is over, what becomes of LSU, whose only loss (so far) would have to be forfeited?

The Poll Dancing Hypothetical and Totally Awesome Playoff (v. 1.2):

(1) Oregon vs. (16) Florida International
(2) Auburn vs. (15) Pittsburgh
(3) TCU vs. (14) UCF
(4) Boise St. vs. (13) Northern Illinois
(5) LSU vs. (12) Virginia Tech
(6) Wisconsin vs. (11) Michigan State
(7) Stanford vs. (10) Alabama
(8) Ohio State vs. (9) Nebraska

Again, very little change here. Florida International is technically leading the Sun Belt, so they get the automatic bid over Troy. The seeding of the last four teams is shuffled a bit, my best guess despite three of them having no AP votes. Also, Alabama and Michigan State swap places, creating a first round Big Ten showdown (to go with the almost-Big Ten showdown between OSU and Nebraska).

The Standings:

1. Oregon
2. Auburn
3. TCU
4. Boise State
5. LSU

Despite a few close calls, the order stands pat from last week, and there isn’t likely to be any change next week either.

The Breakdown (full Top 25): 24% SEC, 20% Big 12, 16% Big Ten, 16% mid-major, 12% Pac-10, 12% ACC, 0% Big East

(This is a guest series by MotSaG reader Jason Nafziger. He’ll be taking a weekly look at the college football polls and pointing out the absurd, the laughable and the head scratchers. Please note that Jason is not talking about the BlogPoll. Or my ballot to the BlogPoll.)

The Poll Dancing Hypothetical and Totally Awesome Playoff (v. 1.1):

(1) Oregon vs. (16) Troy
(2) Auburn vs. (15) Northern Illinois
(3) TCU vs. (14) Pittsburgh
(4) Boise St. vs. (13) UCF
(5) LSU vs. (12) Virginia Tech
(6) Wisconsin vs. (11) Alabama
(7) Stanford vs. (10) Michigan State
(8) Ohio State vs. (9) Nebraska

A little bit of shuffling from last week, and LSU and Michigan State replace Utah and Oklahoma in the field, giving the Big Ten and SEC three berths apiece. The Pac-10 has two and all other conferences have only their guaranteed champion slots. Remember that this exercise uses the AP poll to seed teams and award at-large berths, so an actual playoff might differ slightly, especially the last at-large spot held by Alabama (this would be Oklahoma State if I used the BCS standings).

The Standings:

1. Oregon
2. Auburn
3. TCU
4. Boise State

No change in order, but TCU’s decisive victory over a good Utah team moved them closer to Auburn than Boise State. I don’t think the remainder of their schedule can add any juice to jump up unless one of the top two falters though. These are the only undefeated teams left, and Auburn is going to have a tough time remaining perfect with Georgia, Alabama and presumably the SEC title game still to go.

5. LSU

All you need to know about the Tigers’ big win over Alabama is that Les Miles eats grass on a regular basis.

The Breakdown (full Top 25): 28% SEC, 24% Big 12, 16% Big Ten, 16% mid-major, 12% Pac-10, 4% ACC, 0% Big East

The Buckeyes aren’t playing, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be firmly in front of your TV following another day of football goodness.

Mid-afternoon update – I really thought it was going to be Purdue’s day and they were going to pull off the Upset of the Century (of the Week!) but it wasn’t meant to be. That being said, perhaps Wisconsin is more vulnerable than we initially thought and maybe it will be Indiana’s turn for the UotC (ofW).

And what about the LOLverines? 132 combined points? 1251 combined total yards? Did someone call “no tackling” before the game?

Early-evening update – I can’t figure out this LSU team. So much for that one-loss SEC team in the BCS title game, right? And bless Iowa State trying to go for two in OT. In a veritable windstorm.

What about Utah? Clearly they were over-valued by a lot of people (myself included). We’ll have to revisit their resume before the BlogPoll draft ballot. I guess that Pitt win wasn’t as impressive as we thought it was, Week One.

And congrats to Joe Paterno and his 400 win. That is an impressive feat.

(This is a guest series by MotSaG reader Jason Nafziger. He’ll be taking a weekly look at the college football polls and pointing out the absurd, the laughable and the head scratchers. Please note that Jason is not talking about the BlogPoll. Or my ballot to the BlogPoll.)

Yeah, I’m a little late this week, but I spent the time since last week’s entry reading Death to the BCSby Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter, and Jeff Passan. It’s a surprising – sometimes downright shocking – book that will leave you angry, disillusioned, and bewildered that this is the way it is. The authors’ proposal of a sixteen-team playoff featuring all 11 conference champions (three rounds played at home stadiums and a title game at the Rose Bowl) is enticing and exactly the way it should be. Anyway, go read it.

If you need more convincing, here is a look at what this year’s playoff could look like, assuming all conference championships go to the current leader (with seeding and at-large berths based on AP poll):

(1) Oregon vs. (16) Troy
(2) Boise St. vs. (15) Northern Illinois
(3) Auburn vs. (14) Pittsburgh
(4) TCU vs. (13) UCF
(5) Alabama vs. (12) Virginia Tech
(6) Utah vs. (11) Oklahoma
(7) Wisconsin vs. (10) Stanford
(8) Ohio State vs. (9) Nebraska

The first round has some pretty sweet games already, and the second round could feature a Rose Bowl rematch, and a chance for three mid-major programs to advance to the Football Final Four! No wonder the BCS powers-that-be are scared to death of this thing.

On to the standings:

1. Oregon
2. Auburn

Despite playing virtually the exact same game as Auburn, the Ducks vaulted the Tigers in this week’s edition. The argument could be made that USC is a better team than Ole Miss, and that’s probably true, but their records are 5-3 and 3-5 respectively—hardly a major difference.

Next: Home games vs. Washington (Ore.) and Chattanooga (Aub.)

3. TCU
4. Boise State

Another flip-flop, and this one is even more bewildering because while both teams abused cupcakes last week, TCU’s cupcake was the more, well, cupcakey.

Next: Both teams face off against their prime conference challengers as Boise hosts Hawai’i and TCU travels to take on…

5. Utah

While the Spartans were busy forgetting they had a game, the Utes became the third mid-major team in the top 5. If this isn’t the year the BCS gets busted, it’s never going to happen. The winner of TCU/Utah should have first dibs on the two-spot if Oregon or Auburn falters down the stretch.

The Breakdown (full Top 25): 24% SEC, 20% Big 12, 16% Big Ten, 16% mid-major, 12% Pac-10, 12% ACC, 0% Big East [no change from last week]

Report: Man dressed as U-M fan attacked at Penn State game (from The Detroit News via sportsMonkey).

NEVER FORGET. (language warning)

I meant to get this up earlier, but here’s this week’s open thread. I would have got it up earlier, but I was too busy playing with my new toy (iPhone).

The Minnesota Live Chat will go up later.
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(This is a guest series by MotSaG reader Jason Nafziger. He’ll be taking a weekly look at the college football polls and pointing out the absurd, the laughable and the head scratchers. Please note that Jason is not talking about the BlogPoll. Or my ballot to the BlogPoll.)

“ [#1 Oklahoma faces] #11 Missouri this Saturday. At night. On the road. Can you feel it?” – Me

Yeah, I’m patting my own back, deal with it. Perhaps just out to prove that the BCS is a complete traveshamockery, Bob Stoops essentially quit last week, punting with just over two minutes left in the game and his team down by nine. There is no way to justify this, and Stoops even admitted that a 9- point loss would look better later on than a 16-point loss (had an attempt to, you know, win failed, Missouri would have been in prime position to score again). It should be noted that in the previous two weeks, former #1’s Alabama and Ohio State each lost a road game by more than nine points. This is the world of the BCS, which has now successfully transformed the college football national championship into figure skating. Thanks.

1. Auburn

Last week, I discussed my suspicions about Auburn as a top team by pointing out that they have three 3-point victories so far against less-than-stellar competition. This week, they managed to beat LSU by seven at home. What got Auburn to this spot is the fallacy that LSU is a good team. Yes, they were undefeated up to this game and that is important. But that’s where the BCS stops looking, and that’s a big problem. Much like Auburn, LSU was just squeezing by, with only three of their wins by more than 6 points (two of those were against Vanderbilt and McNeese State).

Now, I hear your chants of the ’02 Buckeyes, and that’s a valid point; sometimes, you can win ugly all the way to the bank. (Although it’s frequently forgotten how that Ohio State team dominated its early opponents, some of whom were actually good.)

I’m not saying that Auburn is going to lose to Ole Miss this Saturday. At night. On the road. I’m just saying that sometimes patterns form for a reason.

2. Oregon

The Ducks bumped their offensive pace up to 0.92 points per minute with their 60-13 tar-and- feathering of UCLA Thursday night. If this team continues to improve on defense, it will be unstoppable regardless of the opponent in the title game. If not, well… at least we’ll get a hell of a shootout.

Then again, the Ducks play a resurgent USC this week. The Trojans are a rare team with nothing to lose or gain. Are the Ducks ripe for plucking?

3. Boise State

Boise State didn’t play last week, which is a lot like Boise State playing.

4. TCU

TCU beat Air Force 38-7. Right now, I’d pencil them in as the team who will beat Missouri in a bowl game.

5. Michigan State

While I must admit I am enjoying watching our old buddy Dantonio having success (and proving he can smile), as a Buckeye fan, I really hope Ferentz takes him out this week. If that doesn’t happen, I’m not sure if this team can lose. I’m also not sure how they’re not ahead of at least TCU.

The Breakdown (full Top 25): 24% SEC, 20% Big 12, 16% Big Ten, 16% mid-major, 12% Pac-10, 12% ACC, 0% Big East