UTEP's win over Tulsa last night was a nice little mid-week treat. So Boise beat Tulsa 28-21 last week...and then UTEP beat them 28-24. Hopefully the voters pay attention to that. But UTEP/Tulsa was just the beginning of a huge week for the Strength of Schedule Watch. Sure, the Frogs need to take care of their own business in Provo, but their opponents can also help out a lot when they go to bat this weekend.
Game of the Week:
Clemson (3-3) at Miami (5-1) (2:30pm Saturday, ESPN 360)
-This game is actually on ABC, but most of the Texas affiliates will probably carry the Oklahoma-Kansas game during that time instead. Is Clemson back after annihilating Wake Forest last week? Not only would a Clemson win do wonders for TCU's SOS and overall reputation, but a Miami loss would ease the Hurricanes off of breathing down the Frogs' necks in the BCS standings, as they currently are.
Other big ones:
Virginia (3-3) vs. Georgia Tech (6-1) (11:00am Saturday, ESPN 360)
-Almost everything I said about Clemson/Miami can be applied to this game, too. UVA has come on strong in the past few weeks, and could do the Frogs all sorts of favors by knocking off the Ramblin' Wreck this weekend. The Wahoos currently control their own destiny in terms of winning their division within the ACC, so hopefully they can claim that at this time next week, too.
Utah (5-1) vs. Air Force (4-3) (3:00pm Saturday, Versus)
-The Utes are ranked 18th in the BCS right now, and the Frogs need them to just keep on winning and shuffling forward in the polls until they come to Fort Worth in a few weeks. But as we all saw a few weeks back in Colorado Springs, the Falcons are a tough & relentless squad. With only one conference loss on their ledger, Air Force still has a chance to win their first conference title in 11 years.
SMU (3-3) at Houston (5-1) (6:30pm Saturday)
-Don't look now, but the Ponies are actually all by themselves in 1st place in the Western Division of CUSA. With UTEP knocking off both Houston and Tulsa, the Miners and Ponies are the only two teams in the division that still control their own destiny. SMU already showed they can play with the better teams in CUSA by knocking off East Carolina, but beating Houston on the road could be the signature win that June Jones has been looking for. The Cougars are also currently ranked ahead of both BYU and Utah, so it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all to see them stumble again.
Colorado State (3-4) vs. San Diego State (2-4) (3:00pm Saturday, The Mtn)
-It would be nice to see the Rams rebound after taking their whipping in Fort Worth last weekend and get back to .500. They've still got a chance at going to a bowl game, but not if they slip up against the Aztecs.
The two TCU opponent games that have little impact:
UNLV (2-5) at New Mexico (0-6) (7:00pm Saturday, The Mtn)
-Neither of these teams are going bowling, and neither are going to improve TCU's strength of schedule one bit. New Mexico will be without head coach Mike Locksley, who was suspended for punching one of his assistants in the face. If they win without him, is there any more evidence needed that they should fire him?
Texas State (3-3) at Northwestern State (0-6) (7:00pm Saturday)
-Ugh, Northwestern State. When I was a pledge, I made the mistake of laughing (in front of actives) about the Frogs losing to them. That next week wasn't the best. Karma has come around on them, though, as they are winless on the year and only one of those six losses were NOT a blowout. A loss by the Bobcats here would end any chance they might still have of winning the Southland and going to the I-AA playoffs.
Wyoming (4-3) is off this week, with a trip to Salt Lake City looming next.
Other games you ought to care about:
Oregon (5-1) at Washington (3-4) (2:30pm Saturday, ESPN 360)
-Another ABC game in that 2:30 time slot that I'd MUCH rather watch than OU and Kansas. Oregon has just GOT to lose, as their loss at Boise State is basically all that is propping up the Broncos in the rankings. The Huskies have been pretty tough at home this year, losing a squeaker to LSU in the opener and beating USC and a surprisingly-good Arizona squad.
Notre Dame (4-2) vs. Boston College (5-2) (2:30pm Saturday, NBC)
-I may be getting ahead of myself here, but let's just say TCU runs the table and somehow
does not pass Boise State in the BCS rankings. In that situation, the Frogs wouldn't be guaranteed anything, and you have to assume that the 4 BCS spots not reserved for the BCS conference champs would go to: 1) Boise, 2) the loser of the SEC Championship (presumably Florida or Alabama), 3) a 1- or even 2-loss team from the Big 12/Big Ten/ACC, and 4)...a 12-0 TCU or a 10-2 or even 9-3 Notre Dame. As unfair as it sounds, most bowl officials would probably pick Notre Dame in that situation, just because the Irish can sell tickets and TV advertising. Maybe I'm being paranoid by working through such hypotheticals, but no harm in cheering for BC just in case, right?
Of the four top stories on ESPN.com's College Football front page, two focus at least partially on the TCU-BYU game. First is our favorite semi-literate blogger Graham Watson, explaining that this year, the roles are reversed for BYU and TCU.
Next up is Rece Davis, making the case that this weekend's big games are essentially the playoff that we all long for. Not sure I quite agree with him on that, but I like to see the Frogs getting the exposure.
