I'm not sure how the BCS system works, nor am I going to try to figure it out in the column and make myself look silly. But I will say that however they figure this thing out, Texas is the right choice to be No. 1 at this point in the season.
They are the more complete team right now than USC.
Take last week for example: The Longhorns pasted then-No. 10 Texas Tech, 52-17. This was one week after the Red Raiders were able to throw the ball for 643 yards. Texas kept Cody Hodges in check with only 369 yards against them. It was Texas Tech's first loss all season.
In comparison, USC beat unranked and 1-6 Washington, 51-24.
The quality comparison of the two opponents is a big difference. The fact that Texas beat a ranked team should move them ahead of the Trojans.
The Longhorns' wins over ranked opponents have been more impressive than USC's to date. They have beaten aforementioned Texas Tech, Colorado and Ohio State. Neither the Texas Tech nor Colorado games were close as Texas dominated both of those opponents. The Longhorns used nine fourth quarter points to rally and beat the Buckeyes. But they could never really be considered out of the game
USC has beaten Arizona State, Oregon and Notre Dame. But in each and every one of the games, the Trojans had to come from behind to win. They were down 13-0 to Oregon and 21-3 to the Sun Devils at the half.
The key difference between the two teams is the defense.
Texas' is better. Plain and simple.
It has kept them in games early and stopped its opponents and let Vince Young, and the offense built some pretty big leads to win games. USC on the other hand has let other teams build leads against them and forced its offense to come from behind.
The most points Texas has given up was 22 to then-No. 4 Ohio State, and even in that game, they racked up four sacks and a fumble recovery. The last sack was a safety to secure the win.
Although the styles of football are different in the Big 12 and the Pac-10, if you want to be a good team, you need to learn how to stop offenses. Right now the Longhorns would be able to stop the Trojans winning streak, and they may be the only team.
Then again, with five weeks to go, it doesn't matter who is in first or second. These two teams right now are the best in the country and should be playing in the Rose Bowl. USC still has two more games against ranked opponents, California and UCLA, so it can still prove that it's the team to beat as the Trojans have been for the last two seasons.
Open mouth, insert foot
No matter how many times it happens, nobody learns his or her lesson. Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry decided to blame his team's woes on his lack of African American players. He told the Associated Press that he lost to No. 20 TCU because they have more black players who "can run very, very well."
During his weekly luncheon he qualified his statement by saying "That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids or other descents can't run, but it's obvious to me they run extremely well."
This coach represents one of the United States' military institutions and basically said the individuals on his team, who are going to be protecting this country when they graduate aren't not good enough because of their race.
Air Force officials are aware of the comments and are in the process of reviewing them. DeBerry is the winningest coach at an academy and has been at Air Force for 22 years. He doesn't deserve to be fired for his comments, but he needs to realize he is a public figure and needs to be careful of what he says.
Game of the week
No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 16 Florida
This is Saturday's best game. But it has lost some of its luster since Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley will be out for the contest. Also, Florida is out of the SEC East race so it really has no big implications on that. Both teams have pretty good defenses which means Shockley's replacement Joe Tereshinski might struggle. But the Gators' Chris Leak is struggling more. Urban Meyer will need a drink from the "Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" after this one.
Georgia 20, Florida 10
