Stanford and Boise go down HARD.

As Auburn proved, a team can come out of nowhere and win the National Championship.

The way I see it, 2011 is a three horse race between Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma. It will become a two horse race after November 5th when LSU travels to Tuscaloosa. I expect the winner of that game to go onto New Orleans and beat the Sooners.

The rest:
Boise – Schedule is too weak. The only way they get in the big game is if all the big boys have 2 or more losses.
Stanford – I know everyone is in love with Andrew Luck, but his head coach is gone and historically hyped players have a less than stellar follow-up season: Mark Ingram, Tim Tebow, Jake Locker, etc.
Florida State – With a weak ACC, the Seminoles could sneak in there if they beat Oklahoma.
Oregon – After losing bad to LSU, it’s going to be tough to get back in the mix.
Arkansas – if they can go undefeated (Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn. MSU, S Carolina) they deserve the BCS birth.
Wisconsin – The Badgers could sneak in the back door behind NC State transfer QB Russell Wilson but they will have to go through Nebraska and back-to-back road games versus Michigan State and Ohio State. Then there is the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game.
Nebraska – The Cornhuskers basically the same story as Wisconsin but have OSU & MSU at home. October 10th in Madison, WI will be huge.

Below are recruits from Georgia with a Rivals.com rating of 4-stars or higher (updated 2/7/11):

The Bulldogs ends up with eleven of the Top 22 players in the state of Georgia. Only time will tell if the “Dream” pans out.

Were you as sick of the Denard Robinson hype as I was? Thank goodness for Michigan State. The Spartans held the frosh QB to 86 yards on 21 rushes and intercepted him three times for a 34-17 upset in Ann Arbor.

How did Arizona get to #9? The Wildcats lose at home to unranked Oregon State 29-27.

Every time people get high on the Miami bandwagon, the team lays an egg. #23 Florida State routs the #13 ‘Canes in Miami 45-17.

Idiotic Colorado fans rushed the field after beating 1-4 UGA last week. The Buffaloes followed up this magic act with a 26-0 loss to Mizzou.

Southern Cal and their weak defense loses to Stanford 37-35. Can’t you just imagine the Monday morning coaches meeting between Lame Kiffin and his daddy, the defensive coordinator?

In the Game of the Weak, two of the worst teams in I-A faced off with the winner getting their first win. If you were strong enough to stay awake through the game, New Mexico State – who the week before lost to Boise 59-0 – snoozed its way to a 16-14 win over New Mexico.

Gators fans thought they had righted the ship with the second coming of Jesus… oops, I mean Tebow in Trey Burton. Wrong. After scoring 6 TD vs. Kentucky, Burton was 0-1 passing with an end zone INT, 4 rushes for 5 yards, 0 catches, 0 TDs. #1 Alabama 31 #7 Florida 6.

Oblivious UGA fans who thought the absence of AJ Green was the reason for all their losses. Colorado wins 29-27 and the stupid fans storm the field. For beating a 1-4 team???

What did I say about #9 Stanford? Every year they make a little noise that the media wants to make into a big noise and they fall flat on their faces (52-31 loss to Oregon). No disrespect to the Ducks – who I now see as the co-number one team with Alabama – but I see a bumpy road ahead for the Cardinal.

#11 Wisconsin – same as above. They will always be a second tier. Michigan State wins 34-24.

#21 Texas – has gone from BCS runner-up to dropped from rankings in a few short months. Oklahoma 28-20.  †

It took an extra week, but now there are no more undefeated teams in the ACC. Va Tech over #23 NC State 41-30.

Haha on Charles Barkley and his best friend Turner Gill who wasn’t hired at Auburn – according to Chuck – because he is black. Kansas loses to li’l ol’ Baylor 55-7. #10 Auburn is 5-0.

Rutgers loses at home to Tulane 17-14. How’s that career move working out for you, Greg Schiano? Still think he is heir apparent in State College, PA?

Tommy Tuberville is 2-2 at Texas Tech losing to Iowa State(?!) 52-38.

†  The above rankings represent pre-game positions.

#10 Arkansas – Bill Clinton was there. So were John Daly and Jerry Jones. Some students camped out since Monday to get a good seat (I guess going to class at Ark is optional). Others stood on a hill outside the stadium. Alabama had other ideas, 24-20. Good try. Back to second tier with you.

#7 Tex-ass – LAME. Lost at home by 21 to a mediocre UCLA team. Looking ahead to the Oklahoma game, Longhorns?

#12 South Carolina and Spurrier – it’s just NOT gonna happen. Ever. Auburn 35, South Carolina 27. Lattimore 14 rushes for 33 yards.

UGA and Richt – see above. The Dawgs (1-3) lose at Mississippi State 24-12 AND had another arrest on Sunday night (DUI). Their tenth since March.

Georgia Tech – Coach Johnson, I think teams are figuring out that silly little offense. NC State wins in Atlanta 45-28.

Minnesota – first they lose to South Dakota and now to Northern Illinois (quick, team colors and mascot?) at home 34-23.

Boise – You’re saying “why do they get a haha? They beat Oregon State.” Yes, but they did not really impress anyone in either of their high profile games (the other being Va Tech). Even the wonks who were pushing them are now backing off.

Notre Dame – ahh, this never gets old HAHAHAHA! Another loss for the Dames. This time the beneficiary was Stanford 37-14.

Preview of Week 5: every year it seems Stanford has a player who gets overhyped or they win a few games and everyone goes into a tizzy. But now they travel to Eugene Oregon to see what they are REALLY made of.

#1 Alabama at #10 Arkansas – it’s Heisman hopeful Ryan Mallett vs. the young and inexperienced Alabama defensive backfield. The winner emerges as the SEC West favorite, as well as a BCS Bowl aspirations.

#12 South Carolina at #17 Auburn – Both teams are 3-0 and looking to show they are for real. SC has probably the best team under Spurrier in his six mediocre years in Columbia. The Tigers are coming off a hard-hitting OT win over Clemson.  This game is BIG for both teams.

#24 Oregon State at #3 Boise – We all know about Boise trying to bust their way into the big boys’ dance. Their answer to lame scheduling was to play Va Tech, OSU, Wyoming & Toledo. IMHO, if they wanted to be taken serious, those last two games should’ve been harder opponents since the WAC sked is SO lame. But anyway… The Beavers are like Jekyll & Hyde. For the sake of College Footbal, let’s hope they bring their A-game.

Nevada at BYU – Why is this important? Because we will get to see if Nevada is for real. The ‘Pack has rolled to a 3-0 start in three home games including a 52-31 romp over Cal. They may be the last shot at beating Boise who travels to Reno on November 26th.

Also watching:

• #22 West Virgina at #15 LSU -  Tigers fans are getting restless in Baton Rouge. A loss might cause a riot.
• #5 Oregon at Arizona State – The Ducks are my #3 behind Alabama and Ohio State.
• Kentucky at #9 Florida – Cobb and Locke should not be taken lightly as Florida tries to find their way.
• #16 Stanford at Notre Dame – the sun is always sunnier, the birds sing more merrily, everything is right with the world when Notre Dame loses.

Worst game of the Week: #118 New Mexico at #110 UNLV (rankings according to cbssports.com) – Both are 0-3. NM has given up 180 points in three games. I am taking Vegas.