Posted by Tom Fornelli

1. Nebraska will be playing for the Big 12 title. Forget about that loss to Texas at home a few weeks ago, unlike the Longhorns, the Cornhuskers will be back in Dallas for the Big 12 title game this season.  Its last in the conference. I just don't see a team left on the schedule that can knock off the Cornhuskers, especially if they play the way they did against Missouri on Saturday afternoon.  Speaking of the Tigers....

2. Missouri isn't quite ready for primetime. It's one thing to beat Oklahoma at home, which was a huge win for Missouri last week, but going on the road with the Big 12 North on the line is a completely different animal.  The Tigers got blown out of the water early by Roy Helu Jr, and just couldn't recover.  Still, just because I don't think it's going to happen doesn't mean it won't.  Missouri needs to shake this loss off because if they win out they are still alive for the conference championship and a BCS bowl.

3. Mike Sherman needs to listen to me sooner.   A few weeks ago I told him to bench Jerrod Johnson.   He didn't.  Now, this week, he finally handed the keys to the station wagon over to Ryan Tannehill, and Tannehill returned home with a Maserati and a full tank of gas.  Tannehill set a Texas A&M record with 449 yards passing and 4 touchdowns in the Aggies 45-27 rout of Texas Tech.

4. Things actually can get worse for Texas. What's worse than losing two straight home games to UCLA and Iowa State?   Losing three straight home games to UCLA, Iowa State and Baylor. It's the first time Texas has lost to Baylor since 1997, and the first time its lost at home to the Bears since 1991.  All of which means Baylor gets to spend another week atop the Big 12 south.  I only wish that the now-defunct Baylor blog, Bear Meat , were still around to see this.  Since they aren't, however, we share this video in their honor.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

During a 45-10 win over Kansas last week, Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson became the Aggies all-time leader in total offense while splitting time with fellow quarterback Ryan Tannehill.   Something that should be of some consolation for a quarterback who has failed to meet the expectations placed on him before the season started.

What kind of reward will Johnson be getting for this feat?  Well, it looks like he's going to lose his job.

Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman won't come out and say it just yet, but from the sounds of it, Tannehill will be starting for the Aggies when they take on Texas Tech this weekend.

"We'll play it by ear. It's too early in the week to make that decision when I don't have to," Sherman told the Dallas Morning News . "I have two really good quarterbacks."

Sherman also went on to say that the Aggies would need both quarterbacks, but if I understand my coach speak, I believe what Sherman is saying is that Tannehill is going to start.  Generally when there's a question at quarterback, if the starter will remain the starter, a coach says that his starter is still his starter.

When he starts implying that he hasn't made his decision yet, that just means he's made his decision and he's trying to protect his former starter for as long as possible.  So, to me, it looks pretty clear that Tannehill will be starting against Texas Tech.  Which is a decision that Sherman probably should have made a few weeks ago.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

The Saturday Meal Plan is a helpful guide put together for you to maximize the results of your college football diet.  Just enough to leave you feeling full, but not so much you spend your entire Sunday in the bathroom.

Breakfast

Main Course - Northwestern vs. #8 Michigan State - Noon - ESPN

Michigan State leads the way for breakfast for the second straight week, which is what happens when you're the only undefeated team left in the Big Ten.  Be forewarned, though, just because this matchup doesn't seem all that appealing, it...ok, it isn't really.  It's just that the morning slate is light again because that's just the way things work in this television dominated world.

Still, the Spartans shouldn't take Northwestern all that lightly.  First of all, no road game is easy, even if it's being played in a stadium with 35 people in it.  Yes, Northwestern inexplicably dropped a game to Purdue last week, but that's Northwestern's style.  It has a tendency to play to its opponents.  So there's a chance that the Wildcats could hand MSU it's first "Sparty, no!" of the season.

Side Orders: Ohio State hosts Purdue, and this game may be interesting for a few reasons.  First of all, it's our first chance to see how the Buckeyes will respond following a loss, and they'll also be looking for revenge for last season's loss in West Lafayette.  Speaking of revenge, I'm sure Notre Dame wouldn't mind beating Navy and starting a new trend there as well.  Or you can just watch Texas, West Virginia and Virginia Tech romp over some conference foes.

Lunch

Main Course - #5 Auburn vs. #6 LSU - 3:30pm - CBS

Two undefeated Tigers roll into Jordan-Hare on Saturday, and only one will emerge.  Who is it going to be?  Well, there are going to be two different games being played in this one.  There's the game between each team's strength -- Auburn's offense and LSU's defense -- and their weakness -- Auburn's defense and LSU's offense.

Odds are that whichever team's weakness best resembles a strength is going to emerge victorious, and have a much easier path to the SEC title and possibly a BCS game.  If you're wondering which way I'm leaning, well, I'll just say that one team has Cam Newton at quarterback and the other has some indecipherable combination of Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee.

Also, I'll be doing a live-chat during this game over at our Facebook page, so stop on by and make fun of Les Miles for four hours with me, won't you?

Side Orders: The afternoon is packed with some big games this week.  If for some reason two undefeated teams battling it out isn't good enough for you, you can always go with Iowa and Wisconsin or the also undefeated Oklahoma State taking on previously undefeated Nebraska.

Dinner

Main Course - #18 Missouri vs. #3 Oklahoma - 8pm - ABC

Personally, I've been waiting to dig in to this one for a while.  I've seen Missouri play a few times this season, and as I've said here before, I'm just not sure what to  make of them.  The Tigers are a good team, but are they really 11th in the BCS good?  Is that what a couple of victories over some 3-3 BCS teams and nobody else gets you these days?

Whatever the case, we'll find out on Saturday night.  If the Tigers can knock off the team that sits atop the current BCS standings, then I guess we have to take them seriously. 

Though, I feel I should point this out as well, just so Missouri fans can hate me a little less, I think Oklahoma is a bit overrated as well.  Still, I think the Sooners will prove to be better on Saturday night.

Side Orders: Bit of an light night on the menu this week.  There really aren't any other marquee matchups being played on Saturday night.  Kentucky and Georgia could be interesting seeing as how both teams are still alive in the SEC East, but other than that the only game that even catches my eye is TCU and Air Force.   Though, if you hate yourself, you could always tune in to Texas A&M and Kansas.

Late Night Snack

The Washington Huskies have found a home as a late-night snack here.  I've featured them here twice in the last few weeks, and they're undefeated in those games.  Can they run the streak to three on the road against an Arizona team that is without Nick Foles?

Posted by Tom Fornelli

1. T-Magic has a lot of tricks left to learn.   Seems somebody left their top hat and magic wand back in the dorm room this morning, because Taylor Martinez had no answer for the Texas defense in Lincoln on Saturday.  Martinez only had 21 yards on 13 carries and had completed 4-of-12 passes for 63 yards before getting yanked by Bo Pelini in favor of Zac Lee.  The good news for Martinez is that Lee didn't exactly do anything to take away his starting job. 

2. Texas' defense is still pretty good, the offense, however, is not.   Hey, listen, the way things have gone for the Longhorns this season, they have no reason not to be thrilled after picking up a big win on the road against Nebraska.   That being said, unless they start picking things up on offense, whatever slim hopes they have of winning the Big 12 are nothing more than a pipe dream.  The good news is that the 'Horns finally found some semblance of a running game, as they did gash a stout Nebraska defense for 209 yards on the ground.  The biggest surprise being Garrett Gilbert 's 71 yards and two touchdowns.  Still, that 4-of-16 passes for 62 yards needs a lot of work.

3. I still don't know what to make of Missouri.   I made a comment about this on Twitter on Saturday afternoon, and caught a lot of flak from Missouri fans over it.  Listen, I don't think Missouri is a bad football team, it's just I don't know how good they are.  I'm sorry, but beating Texas A&M just doesn't impress me all that much because the Aggies are horrible.  So far the Tigers most impressive win is against an Illinois team that is 3-3.  Other than that it's wins against teams like McNeese State, San Diego State and Miami (OH).   Next week's date with Oklahoma will give us all a better idea of how good this Missouri team actually is.

4. Jerrod Johnson just isn't working.   It's time for a quarterback change in College Station.  I don't care what Johnson has done in the past, or what everybody thought he'd do this season, the fact is the kid has played horribly.  Maybe Mike Sherman is just worried about losing his job and doesn't want to give the ball to another quarterback at this point in the season, but trust me, staying with Johnson at this point is only going to help ensure he's out of work at the end of the season.

5. More people need to learn about Justin Blackmon.  The Oklahoma State wide receiver has been a monster this season, and his name should be thrown out there when it comes to Heisman talk.  He has 48 catches for 748 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, including a 10-reception 207-yard performance against Texas Tech on Saturday.  His worst game of the season (yardage wise) came in the Cowboys' opener.  Blackmon only had 8 catches for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns that day.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

The Texas A&M Aggies trail Missouri 16-0 at halftime, but they're lucky that there are no negative points in college football because if there were, they'd surely qualify.  The good news for the Aggies is that Jerrod Johnson hasn't thrown any interceptions or fumbled in the first half.  The bad news for the Aggies is that he's still Jerrod Johnson.

Johnson has completed only 7-of-21 passes for 83 yards in the first half.  Which means that over his last six quarters of play, Johnson has thrown 61 passes and completed 22 of them.  Now while some of the blame can be laid with his receivers -- Ryan Tannehill dropped what should have been a touchdown late in the second quarter -- the overwhelming majority of it lies with Johnson.

The very next play following the dropped touchdown, Johnson had Tannehill wide open and overthrew him by about ten yards.  The Aggies then went for it on fourth down, and Johnson dropped back before overthrowing his receiver by a good 20 yards.  In fact, the closest person to the pass was a water boy on the Missouri sideline.

Now, the Aggies don't have much depth at quarterback on the roster.  The backup is actually Tannehill, who has completed 3-of-4 passes this season, so I wouldn't blame Mike Sherman if he doesn't want to replace Johnson under center.

But for the love of god, man, call some more run plays.  There is no reason for Christine Michael to only have six carries in the first half when the passing game is as abysmal as it has been.

Posted by Adam Jacobi

Here's the weather outlook for all of today's important matchups. It's another gorgeous day across the country, but it's starting to get just a little bit chilly. You should still bring the sunscreen. All times are Eastern.

Noon kickoffs

Boston College at No. 16 Florida State , 12:00, Tallahassee, FL: Low 70s, clear

Illinois at No. 13 Michigan State, 12:00 , East Lansing, MI: Mid 50s, partly cloudy

Missouri at No. 21 Texas A&M, 12:00 , College Station, TX: Low 70s, clear

Afternoon kickoffs

No. 15 Iowa at Michigan , 3:30, Ann Arbor, MI: Low 60s, partly cloudy

No. 12 Arkansas at No. 7 Auburn , 3:30, Auburn, AL: Low 70s, clear

Texas at No. 5 Nebraska , 3:30, Lincoln, NE: Low 70s, clear

Evening kickoffs

No. 10 South Carolina at Kentucky , 6:00, Lexington, KY: Low 60s, clear

No. 1 Ohio State at No. 18 Wisconsin , 7:00, Madison, WI: Mid 50s, partly cloudy

Mississippi State at No. 22 Florida , 7:00, Gainesville, FL: Low 60s, clear

Late night kickoffs

Ole Miss at No. 8 Alabama , 9:00, Tuscaloosa, AL: Low 50s, clear

No. 24 Oregon State at Washington , 10:15, Seattle, WA: Mid 40s, partly cloudy

Posted by Adam Jacobi

Here's the weather outlook for all of today's important matchups. Short version: warm and clear. It's beautiful everywhere today. This is Mother Nature's way of apologizing in advance, so plan on seeing it snow bloodflakes by Thursday. Anyway, as usual, all times are Eastern.

Noon kickoffs

Indiana at No. 2 Ohio State, 12:00, Columbus, OH: Mid 70s, clear

Minnesota at No. 20 Wisconsin, 12:00, Madison, WI: Mid 70s, clear

Afternoon kickoffs

No. 1 Alabama at No. 19 South Carolina, 3:30, Columbia, SC: Mid 80s, clear

No. 17 Michigan at No. 18 Michigan State, 3:30, East Lansing, MI: Low 70s, clear

No. 11 Arkansas at Texas A&M, 3:30, College Station, TX: Upper 80s, clear

Evening kickoffs

Oregon State at No. 9 Arizona, 6:00, Tucson, AZ: Upper 80s, clear

No. 10 Utah at Iowa State, 7:00, Ames, IA: Mid 70s, clear

No. 12 LSU at No. 14 Florida, 7:30, Gainesville, FL: Low 70s, clear

No. 8 Auburn at Kentucky, 7:30, Lexington, KY: Upper 60s, clear

Late night kickoffs

No. 23 Florida State at No. 13 Miami, 8:00, Coral Gables, FL: Upper 70s, clear

Southern California at No. 16 Stanford, 8:00, Palo Alto, CA: Lower 70s, clear

Posted by Tom Fornelli

The Saturday Meal Plan is a helpful guide put together for you to maximize the results of your college football diet.  Just enough to leave you feeling full, but not so much you spend your entire Sunday in the bathroom.

Breakfast

Main Course - #2 Ohio State vs. Indiana - Noon - ESPN

You know what the real problem is with the ACC and Big East being so awful/mediocre this year?  It really leaves the early menu of games leaving a lot to be desired.  I mean, I have Ohio State and Indiana as the morning's best option.

Think about that for a second.  Ohio State and Indiana.  A game which hasn't seen the Hoosiers get within more than 19 points of the Buckeyes in every meeting since 2002 -- though the teams didn't meet in 2007 or 2008.  The good news for Indiana is that the 19-point loss came last season, with Ben Chappell at quarterback.

The Hoosiers offense has been very impressive this season, but the Buckeyes will be by far their biggest test six weeks into the year.  Considering that we can't be sure just how healthy Terrelle Pryor is, and the struggles the Buckeyes had in Champaign last week, this game could prove to be more interesting than you'd think.

Side Orders: Should that game go the blowout route, your other options Saturday morning would be the ACC fare of North Carolina State and Boston College.   One is a team looking to rebound from its first loss, the other is a team that is having its three quarterbacks pick a number between 1-10 to see who gets to start.  If you prefer something else, you can watch Georgia and Tennessee fight to see which school's season is more far gone than the other.  It's a must win for Mark Richt, because a loss to Tennessee at home would only send him to the hospital with third-degree burns on his backside.

Lunch

Main Course - #19 South Carolina vs #1 Alabama - 3:30pm - CBS

If there's one thing I think we can all be certain at this point of the college football season it's that Alabama is the best team in the country.  There's a bit of a gap between them and Ohio State and Oregon, but after the Ducks, things drop off quite a bit.  That being said, going in to Columbia to take on the Gamecocks shouldn't be a cakewalk for the Tide.

What I think will be the key to this one is if Marcus Lattimore can do anything against the Alabama defense.  While the Alabama defense is barely giving up nine points a game, they are allowing an average of 101 yards per game on the ground. 

Though even if the Gamecocks do get a ground game going, they still have to stop Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, which no one has done to this point ('Bama is averaging 230 yards a game rushing).  Considering the Gamecocks allow 128.3 yards a contest on the ground, I'm not sure they're up for the challenge either.

Side Orders: Listen, if people are taking this Michigan/Michigan State game so seriously that they're willing to die in order to see it, maybe you can take a few hours of your Saturday and do the same.  There is never a bad time to watch Denard Robinson play football, as he is without question the most dangerous one-man show in the sport right now.  If that's not good enough for you, check out Arkansas and Texas A&M.   One team has a quarterback who lives up to the hype, and the other has a quarterback who lives up to the hype on one series and then proceeds to get that hype lodged in his throat, suffocating himself and his team.  See if you can tell which one is which.

Dinner

Main Course - #14 Florida vs. #12 LSU - 7:30pm - ESPN

This game will be interesting for plenty of reasons, but perhaps none more so than the battles between the fans in the seats.  Watch as LSU and Florida fans argue about which team's offensive coordinator is going to drive some student to the top of the nearest bell tower with a sniper rifle sooner.  Then watch the other fan base tell them that if their offensive coordinator climbed up that same tower he'd only manage to fall out before getting a single shot off.

Then watch both fan bases fall into each other's arms in tears, unified in despair.  Then they'd smile when both agreeing that if it were Les Miles atop that tower, he'd kill 40 people before going to trial and being found not guilty on some technicality.

Side Orders: Though the rivalry between Florida State and Miami has lost some of its luster the last few years, the fact is both teams come into this game ranked and looking to stay on top of their respective divisions in the ACC.  Or you can watch Stanford try to run its win streak over USC to three games in Palo Alto as Ed Orgeron yells incoherently from home thanks to that staph infection in his leg.

Late Night Snack

The Washington Huskies look to build on any momentum they picked up by beating USC on the road last week against an Arizona State team that couldn't headbutt its way to a victory against Oregon State.