SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Interesting, now fallen off to No. 13 in the top 20 polls, if Alabama just happens to drop Saturday’s college football game to visiting No. 15 Mississippi, it will no doubt be unranked for the first time since 2007.
The Crimson Tide is favored by seven, but it appears to be a good match-up between the Southeastern Conference rivals.
Also Saturday, No. 1 Georgia figures to have the upper hand at College of Alabama Birmingham, and the same with No. 2 Michigan against visiting Rutgers, although the unranked Scarlet Knights are also unbeaten.
No. 6 Ohio State at No. 9 Notre Dame is also an undefeated tussle, with the Buckeyes a slight choice despite home field advantage for the Fighting Irish.
As well as Colorado has pieced thing together at 3-0 under first-year head coach Deion Sanders, it, too, has to take to the road as No. 19 and against No. 10 Oregon, also 3-0, the Ducks somehow line up as a 21-point pick. Not a very stable line? Tell Sanders and his two outstanding sons who lead the way.
No. 6 Florida State, though, is only a 2 and one-half point favorite on the road over unranked, one-loss Clemson, and a huge test for the Tigers’ chance to crack the top 20.
Tough conference games? No. 14 Oregon State at No. 21 Washington State, with the Beavers the slight choice in a season in which both Oregons and Washingtons are unbeaten and ranked. The Cougars are No. 8 and are home to unranked California as a strong pick.
Another undefeated pairing has No. 22 UCLA at No. 11 Utah in Pac-12 play and it figures to be a tough tussle.
No. 18 Oklahoma has been unbeaten and piling up points as it travels to unranked Cincinnati. There’s seventh-ranked undefeated Penn State playing host to No. 24 Iowa in another clash of unbeaten teams.
Southern California, at No. 5, heads to unranked Arizona State but as a huge favorite in Sundevils land. Miami, No. 22, is favored by plenty when it heads for Temple. Same for No. 12 LSU over visiting Arkansas.
Unranked Brigham Young is out to go 4-0 for the second season in a row, could get a tough test at unranked Kansas, but a quality win could bring a ranking for the Cougars.
Close to call, 17th-ranked unbeaten North Carolina at unranked Pittsburgh. Same with unranked Memphis at Missouri, both looking to crash the top 20. Then there’s No. 3 Texas at unranked quality rival Baylor, with the Longhorns having dropped two in a row in Waco, but doesn’t appear that way again.
