Football - Weekend Review

The three teams I thought would be the nation's best were all beaten within a three-day span.

- Oregon State stunned USC in Corvallis
- Ole Miss shocked Florida in The Swamp
- Alabama manhandled Georgia Between the Hedges

That leaves the college football landscape shrouded in uncertainty.

Is Alabama really the second-best team in the country? Right now, maybe, but I doubt that'll be the case for the remainder of the season. When I think of Alabama playing Oklahoma, I immediately pencil in OU as the winner. However, I think Georgia, despite the loss, is a more talented team than OU, and considering that, maybe Alabama could beat the top-ranked Sooners.

What I can't get out of my head is the Nov. 8 Saban Bowl -- Bama at LSU. My foam at the mouth just thinking about how awesome it will be to watch these two sets of lines battle. Alabama's offensive line vs. LSU's defensive line should be glorious; think about OT Andre Smith facing DE Tyson Jackson, and C Antoine Caldwell battling DTs Ricky Jean-Francois and Marlon Favorite. On the other side, imagine watching Bama man mountain DT Terrence Cody (6-5, 365) against LSU G Herman Johnson (6-8, 350), the largest baby ever born in Louisiana (almost 15 pounds).

I attended the Texas-Arkansas bloodletting and came away impressed by the Horns' new end zone complex, which pushes capacity to more than 98,000. It doesn't even look like the same stadium, and although I was sitting about a mile from the field, I could tell that with one end completely closed that the noise level now is higher than it was before when both ends were open.

I also left DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium knowing that DE Brian Orakpo is a grown man. He wreaked havoc on Casey Dick and the 'Backs all afternoon. I think he's a solid candidate as an NFL hybrid LB prospect.

Sunday, I attended my first professional football game: Washington at Dallas.

I offer two numbers that explain why Dallas lost -- 47 and 11. That's Dallas' passing attempts vs. Dallas' rushing attempts.

Wow.

You can't win in the NFL when your offense is that unbalanced, especially when the opponent's running 35 times and with success.

From an experience standpoint, NFL can't hang with college, and that includes the Texas-Arkansas game, which was very laid back and low key. Pro fans often think college loyalists are snobs, but I've got to side with the college folks on this one. Pro fans are more obnoxious in general and appear more likely to incite barroom brawls. (This theory, of course, does not pertain to Oklahoma Sooner fans.)

Overall, it was a good weekend. Two football games and a Saturday supper on the road of Chicken Express outside Round Rock. Plus, Sunday's NFL matchup was free for us thanks to my friend's business hookup.

I'm looking forward to these college games this weekend .....

- No. 1 Oklahoma at Baylor, 11:30 a.m.
- Kentucky at No. 2 Alabama, 2:30 p.m.
- Florida State at Miami, 2:30 p.m.
- No. 13 Auburn at No. 19 Vanderbilt, 5 p.m.
- No. 5 Texas at Colorado