It's indeed a weird year when neither Ohio State, Michigan nor Michigan State is in college football's Top Ten list at midseason and their Big Ten Conference is represented only by Wisconsin. But the Big Ten Conference could be shut out of the Top Ten completely when No. 6 Wisconsin and No.16 Michigan State do battle at Michigan State in the weekend's top game.
A Spartan win could drop Wisconsin out of the Top Ten, but might not be enough to vault Michigan State from 16th place into the Top Ten. And how often has college football moved into the second half of the season without a Big Ten team up there in the running for the national championship? However, the Badgers are a nine-point favorite and a convincing victory might even move them up a spot or two in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) ratings.
LSU Takes On Auburn
The Wisconsin-Michigan State game is the highlight of Week 8 in college football's 2011 season. It is one of only three games matching two teams from the top 25 this weekend. The other two are:
- No. 1 LSU (7-0) hosts No. 20 Auburn (5-2) in a Southeastern Conference Western Division battle
- No. 8 Stanford (6-0) hosts No. 25 Washington (5-1) in a PAC 12 Conference game.
No Major Upsets
The number of unbeaten teams in the Top 25 dropped last week from 13 to 10 as No. 11 Michigan, No. 12 Georgia Tech and No. 16 Illinois suffered their first losses. However, the losses to Michigan State, Virginia and Ohio State were not considered major upsets.
Meanwhile, the top eight teams rolled on undefeated, No. 9 Oregon moved to 5-1 and No. 10 Arkansas moved to 6-1.
Top Ten Teams Expected to Win Again
The experts expect much of the same this week. Here are the odds:
- No. 1 LSU is a three-touchdown favorite over Auburn
- No. 2 Alabama is a four-touchdown favorite over Tennessee
- No. 3 Oklahoma is a four-touchdown choice over Texas Tech
- No. 4 Oklahoma State is a one-touchdown favorite over Missouri
- No. 5 Boise State is expected to roll over Air Force by 30 or more points
- No. 6 Wisconsin is a nine-point favorite over Michigan State
- No. 7 Clemson is a 10-point favorite over North Carolina
- No. 8 Stanford is a three-touchdown favorite over Washington
- No. 9 Arkansas is a 17-point choice over Old Miss
- No. 10 Oregon is a four-touchdown favorite over Colorado.
With the BCS announcing its first rankings this past week, the Associated Press poll lost most of its interest because it is the BCS poll that determines who appears in the year-end playoff games. The AP rankings are not part of the BCS.
References:
College Football's Disappearing Upsets
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