The chill is in the air, and the feel of "late season" is upon us. With such a slate of high-profile, high-impact games last week, we got one more calm before the final surge this week. Some high-impact games are clear (Michigan State-Nebraska, Texas Tech-Baylor), some a bit less-so.
1. Ball State at Northern Illinois. I almost didn't put this one on here, figuring the impact was too obvious. But of course, a lot of folks don't follow the MAC (or the specifics of the yearly non-AQ race). Ball State has a great record - only one loss. This figures to provide a nice boost in NIU's computer resume if the Huskies emerge victorious at home, and it could ease the gap with Fresno State in the BCS rankings. A loss to the Cardinals, however, and gone will go the ranking, MAC contention, and most importantly, BCS Bowl contention. But no pressure, Huskies!
2. Washington at UCLA. A Friday night matchup...and it looks to be a good one. UCLA is aiming for a South Division showdown with Arizona State, but a loss to these pesky Huskies could derail that plan. Washington, meanwhile, looks to get back to its early-season ranked ways (before its brutal stretch of Stanford, Oregon, and Arizona State)...win out, and a 10-3 season can become a huge stepping stone for this not-unrecently-horrid program.
3. Florida Atlantic at Southern Miss. Hard to believe that Southern Miss has lost 21 straight...with a 12-win season just before! With Florida Atlantic in an interim coach situation, and looking pretty bad themselves, this unfortunate and bizarre streak could come to an end this weekend.
4. Michigan at Northwestern. Hard to believe that the Wildcats were once in the Top 20, with a ten point lead against Ohio State. Or that the Wolverines were on the verge of the Top 10, after an exciting Chicken-Dancing win over Notre Dame. My, how the tables have turned. What once looked like a possible division showdown has become a survival game, especially for Northwestern. Games are running out, and the Wildcats are now in serious danger of becoming bowl-ineligible. Michigan, meanwhile, has lost its last two, and with Ohio State not too far away, cannot afford to lose focus now.
5. Houston at Louisville. Another survival/elimination game. Houston is most likely out of the BCS picture...so is Louisville. But the winner remains alive in desperate hope that it can win out and UCF can lose two of its remaining games. On a more positive note, the winner of this game, even without a BCS Bowl, has a serious shot at an 11-win season and a final Top 25 ranking if it can win out.
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