Alabama - At 11-0, they are ranked number one and have clinched a spot in the SEC Title game. They still must face Auburn in an in-state rivalry that could cause some problems. With an Alabama loss, a win in the SEC Title game may not get them back to a spot in the National Title game. Or could it? Beating Florida, even with one loss on their record, could impress the BCS enough to grant them that chance after all.

Texas Tech - Impressive wins against former number one Texas and Oklahoma State has catapulted the Red Raiders to the number two spot in the BCS standings. But those two wins were at home and their next test is on the road at number five Oklahoma. A loss to Oklahoma may crush Texas Tech's chances at a Big 12 Title game and assuredly out of the National Championship picture. Win at Oklahoma, and beat an overmatched Baylor team, they set up a match-up against Missouri. Even at 12-0, a loss to Missouri may knock them out if Texas, Florida or USC win decisively in their remaining games.

Florida - They have an SEC Title game against Alabama wrapped up. But with one loss already, they must beat Florida State to remain in the hunt for a National Championship. Two losses and a win in the SEC Title game may not be enough to leap back ahead of some other one loss teams such as Texas or USC. Winning all remaining games, Florida should stake a claim in early January for a shot at the National Championship.

Texas - Texas saw their National Championship dream crushed by rival Texas Tech earlier this year. But impressive wins within the tough Big 12 has Texas as the number four team in the BCS standings. With two games remaining against Arkansas and Texas A&M, teams that Texas should beat easily, Texas will need some help from a few teams such as Florida and Oklahoma. If Oklahoma were to beat Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, Texas would need Oklahoma to then lose to Missouri in the Big 12 Title game for them to be considered for the National Championship game.

Oklahoma - Two tough remaining games for Oklahoma has them at home against Texas Tech and at Oklahoma State. Lose either one and Oklahoma is out of the National Championship picture. Win both of them and Oklahoma may get a chance at the Big 12 Title game against Missouri. But like Florida, with one loss already on their record, a loss in the Big 12 Title game may leave them out of the National Championship game. Win it, and they may set up a matchup with either Florida or Alabama.

USC - USC may not win the Pac 10 because of a loss earlier in the season to Oregon State, but that doesn't matter to them if they can somehow watch the teams above them fail to solidify a spot for number one or number two in the BCS standings. A lot needs to happen for them, including winning their two remaining games against Notre Dame and UCLA. Could just enough things happen for USC to get there? A long shot.

Utah - Ok, no one is talking about the 11-0 Utah team. Undefeated and unrecognized, Utah may end up the only undefeated team in the polls once the season and Conference Title games are over. Their schedule doesn't boast wins against any top ranked teams. Perhaps their most impressive wins are against Oregon State and number twelve TCU. The BCS most likely would want them to lose their remaining game to a tough Brigham Young team. Otherwise, controversies would abound if all other teams in the race suffered a loss.

One thing remains clear in this 2008 College Football season. There is a lot of football remaining to be played. The next few weeks will be an exciting time for College Football fans as teams jockey for position. There have been many debates about whether the BCS system has answered the challenge of determining a National Champion. Well, it certainly hasn't diminished the suspense and excitement.

My picks for the National Championship Game - Florida vs. Texas Tech

He took LSU to the top and now he is at Alabama to try and restore a program that hasn't seen really great success in a number of years. Saban is the perfect person for the job as he loves challenges. The harder something is the better it seems Nick Saban is at it. Alabama fans love the Tide and he will get plenty of support from the fan base that's for sure.

The real question in everyone's eyes is can Nick Saban turn around a program that in the last few years had no direction and lost many top players to Auburn and other rival colleges. Saban is probably one of the best coaches at recruiting and getting the most from the players he brings in. Like him or hate him Nick Saban is a winner in college football and don't be surprised to see him in a major bowl game real soon.

Now of course I too am a football fan, but overall I am a sports fan and I have always admired the big games. The Yankees-Redsox games are huge, but college football rivalries are only played once a year.

One of the lessons I learned from creating such an article is to have more choices. For instance, when I first created this article I only had 14 rivalries on the list and a 15th selection for other. I had a feeling that the last choice, other, would be a popular one but I had no idea.

Cal-Stanford seemed to draw the most attention of the others. Fans of that game were down right nasty about this game not being on the list. The other game that drew a lot of attention was Texas-Texas A&M. Texas A&M fans seemed way more upset about this than Texas fans, since Oklahoma-Texas had made the list.

As I began to count the votes, it occurred to me that I could not in good conscience count all of the votes. This is because some of the comments would say something like this. “No Cal-Stanford? This list sucks.” There are two problems with that comment, one being that the voter never implies that Cal-Stanford is the best game, he just implies that it should have been on the list. The second is that he was crude about it, which of course there is no need. His comment would have been better received if he hadn't of worded it in an attempt to insult the author. Therefore, the vote did not count.

I did this with several of the comments but did grant every single BYU-Utah vote because they were not like the Cal-Stanford voters. The ones that voted for BYU-Utah either just stated that was their game or gave good reason why it should be the top rivalry. Therefore, I counted all of their votes.

As it turned out, Cal-Stanford lost out on at least 8-10 votes. Texas-Texas A&M lost out on about 6-7 votes as well. Oklahoma-Texas, Michigan-Notre Dame and Harvard-Yale are more examples of games that lost out on votes due to derogatory or unclear comments. I will say again, I could not in good conscience post a vote that was not given clearly or was tainted by cruel and ridiculous verbiage.

Another lesson learned is to not only provide more options for a poll that is so big, but also give more information on each choice, that way the voter could base the choice off of facts rather than just being a fan.

Nonetheless, it was a success. So here are the Top Five College Football Rivalries based on the comments I received.

1. Ohio State-Michigan

This Rivalry was a heavy favorite going into this article, but I had no idea it would come out so far ahead. This game received 10 more votes than the second place game did and it also received a second place vote and a third place as well.

2. Texas-Oklahoma

This one barely squeaked in at number seven. I know that these two teams have a very big fan base, which probably helped them out in this one. It is one hell of a rivalry though and proved by the number of votes that it deserved to be on this list.

3. Alabama-Auburn

The Iron Bowl showed how big it is by gaining the third most votes on the poll. I will say this though, not one of the Alabama-Auburn voters complained or dogged on the author, which made them a favorite of mine.

4. Cal-Stanford

This rivalry drew the most controversy of all the rivalries. I quickly learned by the voters comments that I should have put this game on the list. One thing that seemed odd though was most of the voters referred to The Play, which is actually one of the worst officiating mistakes in college football history. In that play, there was a forward lateral pass, which is illegal. Still it is one of the most talked about plays in history.

5. South Carolina-Clemson

I knew this was a fierce rivalry but I had my doubts that it would do any good in this pole. But the SC-Clemson game got plenty and made it to number five. There may not be another rivalry with so much violent history, as there have been many a brawls in the last century.

6. Army-Navy

This game has more heart and soul to it than any other. However, as far as a fan base and the teams being competitive on a national level, this game doesn't quite match up with the ones above. Still, you cannot deny that a football game that features future veterans and Americas finest as just another football game.

7. Harvard-Yale

I was originally going to put this game on the list but decided not to because I thought it wouldn't merit very much attention. Well I was wrong, this game almost beat out Army-Navy and it is the oldest rivalry in college football. My bad.

8. Florida-Florida State

I had originally named the Florida-Georgia rivalry (which received only one vote) and the Florida State-Miami rivalry (Which received none) but this game seemed to matter the most between the two schools. So to all the football fans of the state of Florida, I will admit I had no idea that this rivalry was the biggest in the state.

9. Texas-Texas A&M

This rivalry was one of the biggest ones I missed. I had many upset voters (Almost all of them were A&M fans) that were willing to let me know just how wrong I was. If only they hadn't been so crude in their comments, this one would have probably been number 6, which would have been a huge surprise.

10. 5 Tied at Number 10

Utah-BYU

This game is called the Holy War and if you aren't from Utah I can only suspect that this game means absolutely nothing to you. But in the State of Utah, this is the Ohio State-Michigan of games.

Washington-Washington State

This game is about the same as the Utah-BYU game except there is no separation of church and state aspect to it. Still, both of these teams have a good history in the sport and this is definitely a tough rivalry.

Oklahoma-Nebraska

Another game which I should have added to the list but I didn't because they only meet twice out of every four years now. There is no doubt that during the 80's this game meant a lot in the championship picture and there were some very great games. How could we football fans forget?

USC-UCLA

These two teams are from the same city and have a rich history, but the Cal-Stanford game seems to be the California favorite.

Iowa-Iowa State

They are from different conferences but still meet annually and over the last ten years have had some really good games. Due to the recent success of both Universities, this game is becoming more and more popular in Iowa.

There were of course other rivalry games that grabbed votes but I'm sorry to say that I am not going to list them all. One thing I cannot help but think though, over the next ten years this list may change some. As some programs rise, others are falling and with it seems to go the old rivalries.

One example of this is the Georgia-Auburn game. This is the oldest rivalry in the south, there is so much history there and the teams have almost the same amount of wins in this series yet there was not one vote for this game. Very odd to me, but then again I'm not from the south.

• Name of the Game: Battle for the Palmetto State
• Played Since: 1896

There really isn't a bigger Saturday in the state of South Carolina. These two teams have one goal at the beginning of the season; Win this game.

Michigan VS. Ohio State

• Name of the Game: The Game
• Played Since: 1897

The Game is what it is called and there may be none bigger. This larger than life rivalry goes back a long time and the name “The Game” is well titled. You can always count on a great game when these two meet and the winner is usually the Big Ten Champion.

Alabama VS. Auburn

• Name of the Game: Iron Bowl
• At Stake: James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy
• Played Since: 1893

Hate, there is really no other way to describe how these two schools feel about each other. They honestly, flat out hate each other, which is perfect for watching football. They call it the Iron Bowl, and in Alabama, this is the game that really counts.

Florida State VS. Miami (FL)

Wide right, that is what it has come down to; botched field goals at the final seconds of previous games between these two teams. This game is an all out battle. All though it has only been a rivalry since the early "80"s and it really has no clear name, this game still deserves to be on the list.

USC VS. Notre Dame

• At Stake: Jeweled Shillelagh
• Played Since: 1926

They play this game for the Jeweled Shillelagh, they play this game for pride and they play it for the Championship picture. These two teams have had more Heisman Trophy winners play in this game than any other. It has been played since 1926.

Oklahoma VS. Oklahoma State

• Name of the Game: Bedlam Series
• At Stake: Bedlam Bell
• Played Since: 1900

This is the Bedlam game, a game in which is a fierce inner state rivalry in Oklahoma and a battle for the Bedlam Bell. Even though Oklahoma is the power house of the state, Oklahoma State will always come and play the Sooners tough.

Georgia VS. Georgia Tech

• Name of the Game: Clean, Old Fashioned Hate
• At Stake: The Governor's Cup
• Played Since: 1893

Clean, Old Fashioned Hate is the unique, but fitting name of this rivalry game. They play this game for pride and for bragging rights. Upsets have happened often in this big game.

Oregon VS. Oregon State

• Name of the Game: Civil War
• Played Since: 1894

When these two teams meet it is brutal. There have been many upsets in this series because both teams play with so much heart.

Army VS. Navy

• Name of the Game: Army-Navy Game
• Played Since:1890

Every patriotic American should automatically know that this game is about a lot more than football. It is about pride. It is about war. Even if both teams stink all year, it doesn't matter because when this game comes around, there is only one thing that they care about; Beating the other team. The whole Army and the whole Navy watch and cheer during this game, as does all the Veterans and the Nation.

Pittsburgh VS. West Virginia

• Name of the Game: Backyard Brawl
• Played Since: 1895

If you are from one of these two states, then you would understand how much is really at stake here. These two teams have a big history of close games and big upsets.

UCLA VS. USC

• Name of the Game: UCLA-USC Rivalry
• At Stake: Victory Bell
• Played Since: 1929

California has big schools and therefore produces big inner state rivalries, but none come with more hate than this one. UCLA in recent years have had the smaller program, but continue to come in and keep it close.

Oklahoma VS. Texas

• Name of the Game: Red River Shootout
• At Stake: Golden Hat, Red River Rivalry Trophy and the Governors' Trophy
• Played Since: 1900

They call it the Red River Shootout, these two teams have been going at it for over a century now. In recent years, the winner of this game will eventually be the Big 12 Champion for that year and also the winner could be on the way to the Championship game. Since 2000, one these two teams have played for the National Title 4 times and each have won it once.

Florida VS. Georgia

• Name of the Game: The Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party
• Played Since: 1912

It is called “The Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” even though neither school will give it that name officially. Although Georgia fans probably hate Georgia Tech more, this game has helped decide quite a few SEC titles over the years and usually has implications on the National Championship picture.

Iowa VS. Iowa State

• At Stake: Cy-Hawk Trophy
• Played Since: 1977

Even though it is a relatively young rivalry, this game is always good and packs quite a punch. Every year it seems to be a close game and there have been many good upsets.

Other:

You decide if there is a bigger game. Leave a comment with the schools and a few details of why it is the biggest.

Just three short months later, Nick Sabin's tide has turned. The wave crested, broke over the rocks, and has now begun to roll back. Sabin, in the past handful of days, has refused the media entrance to a spring scrimmage, canceled scheduled interviews, and poked fun at everyone in general for being over critical of how he acts in the interviews and press conferences he does do. Supporters, the few of them that there now seem to be, suggest he is just trying to get a football team ready of a long season. That season will, no doubt, be just as much of a feeding frenzy as spring training is shaping up to be.

Nick Sabin has thirty-two million reasons to love Alabama, yet I wonder now if the back of Sabin's neck gets prickly when he wonders if he make the right decision on coming there. The life span of an Alabama head coach can be measured on the same scale as a common rat. Since the departure of Paul “Bear” Bryant, in 1982, the longest any coach has been at the school was a seven year stretch by Gene Stallings, which no doubt would have been cut shorter had it not been for a national championship season in 1992.

Looking at the other coaches since Bryant is somewhat like watching at a ship sink; it's horrific to see, yet for some reason, you just can't look away. Ray Perkins spent only four years with the Crimson Tide before moving on to the NFL. Later on it was found that a former Alabama player had been receiving cash payments during his short tenure, resulting in the program being put on probation in 1995. The next coach, Bill Curry, lost the ability to chose his assistant coaches in 1990 and jumped ship for Kentucky. Mike DuBose offered to resign in the middle of the 2000, but the offer was rejected. Later the same year, DuBose was fired. In 2002, Dennis Franchione left the Tide for Texas A&M, even after telling the press he was staying at Alabama. Mike Price never coached a game due to an off the field incident. After only four years in which to try to clean up the fallout, Mike Shula was also shown the door after the 2006 season.

Now, still almost half a year away from the season opener on September 1st, over four months before he has coached his first game, Sabin is finding out what it is to be the head coach of Alabama. It now falls to him to field the pressure of leading a once great program back to the level they once held. I hope Nick Sabin has a national championship up his sleeve. Otherwise the Tide might drown him.

This is almost too easy. Auburn is playing a South Carolina team that has proven to be unreliable all year. By beating a no name school like Wofford by only 7 points earlier, not to mention allowing them to score 20 points is an outrage. Meanwhile, Auburn has a great defense and a strong running game. This will be an Auburn blowout and a statement that they are rightfully the number 2 team in the nation.

Rutgers -4
South Florida +4

Rutgers will cover hands down and this is one of the most solid picks of the week. The Rutgers are now ranked in the top twenty five and are undefeated while South Florida only put up 7 points against a mediocre Kansas team last week. Go with Rutgers on this.

Northwestern +18
Penn State -18

Kansas +21.5
Nebraska -21.5

Sure Nebraska hasn’t played anyone except for USC this year, but they have been looking very impressive. Do not underestimate this Nebraska offense. They are coming into this conference game with a lot of confidence against a Kansas team that has just looked pitiful. Do not let the 3-1 record fool you, they only won by two against La Monroe and by 6 against S. Florida. That is not what you would expect from a Big 12 school but let’s face it; they aren’t any good. Go with Nebraska to cover.

Wisconsin -11
Indiana +11

Even though Indiana has the home field advantage, I expect Wisconsin to go in there and run the ball down their throats. Indiana has played poorly all year against mediocre teams. Indiana is coming off of home field losses to S. Illinois and Connecticut. Wisconsin will cover and some.

Illinois +26
Michigan State -26

One thing is for sure, Michigan State will have no problem scoring in this contest. Illinois was blown out and shut out earlier this year versus Rutgers, which leads me to believe that Michigan State could do the same. But since the line is so heavy I would advise a pass on this one but if you do need a pick then go with Michigan State.

Houston +16.5
Miami -16.5

Miami has been slumping this year but then again, they have had a fairly tough schedule. Holding Florida State to 13 points is impressive but being blown out by Louisville isn’t. Houston however has been up and down. They had a big win over Oklahoma State last week but Oklahoma State is no Miami. Miami has speed on defense, a kind of speed that Houston hasn’t seen yet. So I would definitely go with Miami covering this one.

Toledo +14
Pittsburgh -14

Toledo has the ability to put up big numbers, but then again so does Pittsburgh. Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko has been on fire this year, already with over 1,100 yards. I don’t see Toledo having the answer and since they play at Pitt, I have to go with the home team in this one.

Virginia -5.5
Duke +5.5

In three games this year, Duke has scored 13 points. That is pretty bad. Meanwhile is 1-4 but their schedule has been tougher then expected. I give the edge to Virginia.

Wyoming +5
Syracuse -5

This is Syracuse all the way. They have the home field advantage and they just flat out of Wyoming’s league. A 5 point spread is a gift.

Purdue +14
Notre Dame -14

Notre Dame clearly has no defense. But then again, neither does Purdue. So far in four games this year, Purdue has allowed 20+ points in every game. Since Purdue is playing at Notre Dame, one would think that this would be all Notre Dame. The truth is that Purdue is 4-0 this year and Notre Dame cannot seem to stay consistent. I say Purdue covers the plus this week and we may even see an upset.

Kansas State +1.5
Baylor -1.5

This is an odd spread since Kansas State’s only loss was against a high powered Louisville last weekend. Baylor on the other hand is riding a two game losing streak and after four games, still has yet to produce a back with over 100 yards on the season. K. State wins it outright, let alone covering the spread.

Boise State +3.5
Utah -3.5

Again I have to go with the underdog on this game. Boise State has done everything right so far and is proving that they deserve some credit. Utah is a tough team, but I stand by Boise St. on this one.

USC -17
Washington State +17

I’m just as sick of USC as the next football fan but the fact remains; they are a very talented football team and this week they will roll over a very unimpressive Wash St. team by at least 24. This line is too nice, you’re a fool if you chose the over.

Cal -9.5
Oregon State +9.5

Cal rolled over Arizona State last week and in their second game man handled Minnesota. Oregon St. is a disappointment this year and there is no chance for an upset in this one, at least on paper anyway. Cal beat a very good Arizona St. team last week by 28, they’ll beat Oregon St. by at least twenty.

Stanford +23.5
UCLA -23.5

I wouldn’t even take this game. UCLA is so inconsistent it’s not even fair and Stanford is going to bust out sooner or later. The fact remains it could go either way.

Alabama +13.5
Florida -13.5

I might say Alabama if they were playing at home but they are not. Florida is a power house with a good coach and even though Bama always holds a threat of upset, I wouldn’t count on it this week. Florida is just too strong. Florida covers.

Mississippi State +33
LSU -33

J. Russell, remember that name because you will hear it several times during this game. The LSU quarterback will lead his offense up and down the field all day and the LSU defense will likely hold Miss St to 7 points or less. Big spread but I feel comfortable choosing LSU.

Texas Tech +2
Texas A&M -2

Take A&M, or don’t bother. Tech hasn’t done good against any decent team this year and the game is at A&M, one of the toughest places to play in college football. This line is almost stupid. A&M will be 5-0 after this one and I guarantee it will be by more than 2.

Georgia -18
Ole Miss +18

In conference spankings, that’s what this should be. Don’t let that close call against Colorado fool you, the Bulldog’s are for real. Ole Miss has lost big against Missouri, Kentucky and Wake Forest this year and won a squeaker against Memphis. Meanwhile Georgia has two shutouts to their credit and they are a legitimate top ten team. Georgia wins big in this one.

Colorado +14.5
Missouri -14.5

Colorado has a decent defense but it seems that they have forgotten how to win. Missouri is 4-0 and has won all of their games convincingly this year and by playing this one at home, I don’t see that Colorado has a chance. Missouri is too good on offense and they force turnovers. The Georgia game was a fluke, Missouri wins by more than two scores.

Georgia Tech +9
Virginia Tech -9

Virginia Tech still has yet to be tested this year while Georgia Tech has. Last weeks 24-7 win over Virginia was impressive, almost as their earlier performance this year when they held Notre Dame to 14 points. This game though could only be called on a coin toss and to tell the truth, I cannot say that I have a solid pick for this one. It should be a good game though. (If I were forced to call it I would say V. Tech)

Ohio State -7
Iowa +7

Ohio State has a bulls eye on their backs, but I don’t think Iowa is the team to knock it off. OSU has one of the most talked about offenses in college football but it’s their defense that has been the most impressive. The most points they gave up this year was 12 to N. Illinois but their second team defense played a lot of that game. And anyone that walks into Texas and holds them to 7 points deserves some credit. Meanwhile Troy Smith and the Buckeyes have all the tools to dismantle the Iowa defense, with a strong run game from speedy Antonio Pittman and bulldozing freshman Chris Wells. Still need proof? Then need I say more than Ted Ginn? Buckeyes win by at least 17.

Michigan -10
Minnesota +10

No brainer? I think so. Michigan is one of the most impressive teams in football this year and Minnesota is not. Purdue beat them last week by 7. Michigan will spank them by 20 plus.

Tennessee -13
Memphis +13

What can we say about Tennessee? How about a big win against Cal, a one point loss against Florida and a strong performance in the other two games. What can we say about Memphis? They lost by 15 against E. Carolina. I think Tennessee can do better than that. Go with Tennessee or go home.

In summary, this week should be a little more stable then last weeks fiascos. My top five picks for this week are; Ohio State -7, Syracuse -5, Rutgers -4, Michigan -10 and Auburn -14. Should be a great week of football.