Only once in the history of the BCS has a two-loss team every played for the national title (LSU in 2007). So forgive the Virginia Tech Hokies if they’re not feeling too good about their title hopes after they were upset 28-23 by Georgia Tech on Saturday.

The Hokies became yet another victim of the Yellow Jackets’ option attack as quarterback Josh Nesbitt passed for only 51 yards, but gained 122 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. Running back Jonathan Dwyer added 82 yards on 20 carries in the victory.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter when VA Tech played like a team with something on the line. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor rushed for a 22-yard touchdown to cut Georgia Tech’s lead to 21-16, but Nesbitt scored on a 39-yard touchdown with three minutes remaining to put the Jackets back up 28-16. Ryan Williams scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Taylor with just under two minutes remaining, but it was too little too late. Despite making strides as a passer the past couple weeks, Taylor struggled outside of the fourth quarter.

What a win for Georgia Tech. They quieted many pundits that deemed them overrated and one-dimensional by turning in a solid defensive effort to go along with their potent option attack. The Jackets turned some heads tonight.

With the Hokies’ loss, the Coastal Division is now wide up. Between VA Tech, Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia, the division is completely up for grabs.

One would have thought that Tim Tebow and Florida learned from their loss to Ole Miss last year to never take an opponent for granted. Maybe that wasn’t the case on Saturday, but it sure seemed like it.

The Gators are extremely lucky to still be undefeated and when the BCS releases its standings for the first time on October 20, Florida will be extremely lucky if they’re still ranked No. 1.

The word “lucky” might not sit well with some Gator fans, but most teams that play as bad as Florida did in its 23-20 win over Arkansas on Saturday usually don’t win. The Gators turned the ball over four times, benefited from two Razorback missed field goals and had no answer for backup running back Dennis Johnson, who broke so many tackles the stats people will need a calculator to add them all up.

Tebow was good – damn good. He threw for 255 yards on 17 of 26 passing with one touchdown and also added 60 rushing yards on 24 carries. But the key in this game wasn’t Tebow – it was that Arkansas didn’t capitalize on Florida’s mistakes. For all intents and purposes, it was a game they probably should have won.

But “should have” and “did” are two different things. Bobby Petrino’s squad didn’t win and that’s the bottom line. They could have shocked the college football world by beating the No. 1 team in the nation but in the end they choked. That said, this is one of the most dangerous unranked teams in the nation, which they’ve proved over the past two weeks by routing Auburn and hanging with Florida.

Back the Gators. If Alabama comes out and absolutely crushes South Carolina, does the Crimson Tide deserve to be No. 1? Alabama hasn’t suffered one setback this year – not one. I realize Florida still won today, but the Gamecocks are ranked and would therefore prove to be a more worthy opponent than Arkansas.

If ‘Bama produces a rout tonight, Nick Saban’s squad has an argument that it deserves to be No. 1. Tonight should be interesting.

No. 11 Iowa had to overcome an early 7-0 deficit to narrowly beat Michigan last week, a 10-0 deficit on the road to beat Penn State in late September, and also needed to block two last-minute field goals to avoid a shocking upset to Northern Iowa in the opening week.

So is anyone surprised that the Hawkeyes once again had to overcome adversity to beat Wisconsin on Saturday?

Iowa owes much of its 20-10 victory over the Badgers today to its defense, which was amazing in the second half. Pat Angerer and Adrian Clayborn essentially took the game over as the Hawkeyes shut the Badgers out in the second half.

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi also played a key role in Iowa’s victory. Despite leading the Hawkeyes to an undefeated record, Stanzi has been often criticized by fans and college football pundits this year. And while his final numbers (17 of 23, 218 yards, 1 TD) weren’t eye-popping, the junior quarterback never panicked despite facing the early deficit and turned in a solid second half performance.

Wisconsin once again shot itself in the foot with turnovers and the inability to move the ball offensively in the second half. After looking great in the first quarter, Badger signal caller Scott Tolzien was brutal in the second half and was the main catalyst in Wisconsin’s collapse. He continues to waste solid performances by sophomore running back John Clay.

With Ohio State’s loss to Purdue on Saturday, all eyes are now on Iowa in the Big Ten. It’s the Hawkeyes’ conference to lose and outside of a pivotal game in Columbus in November, Iowa doesn’t face many roadblocks the rest of the season.

After turning in one of the more pathetic offensive displays in recent memory, No. 7 Ohio State was shocked in West Lafayette on Saturday as Purdue beat the Buckeyes 26-18.

His final numbers (17 of 31, 221 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) don’t do justice to how bad sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor was today. Midway through the third quarter, he was just 7 of 14 passing for 84 yards with interceptions. And his fumble in the second quarter killed a potential scoring drive.

Pryor has all the physical tools to succeed, but Jim Tressel was wrong when he said this summer that the sophomore was developing as a passer. He’s not. His decision-making isn’t very sound and he’s not good enough to overcome turnovers, which was evident today.

That said, Tressel hasn’t helped Pryor in his development. His play calling and in-game decisions are often befuddling and he clearly isn’t the right person to nurture a quarterback as skilled as Pryor. Also, Ohio State’s running game was non-existent on Saturday, which is staggering considering Purdue was allowing over 160 rushing yards per game coming into today.

This was a sad offensive display by the Buckeyes and they deserved to lose with the way they played. But let’s give credit to a Purdue team that took advantage of the opportunities that it was given. They could have opened the door for an Ohio State comeback when the Buckeyes added a field goal early in the fourth to cut the Boilermakers’ lead to 23-10. Instead, Purdue added a field goal of its own to all but put the game out of reach.

This was a nice victory by a Purdue team that many people figured would just play dead today.

Nobody has to remind Notre Dame’s players and head coach Charlie Weis what this Saturday means for the program. A win would serve as a stepping-stone for the school to get back among the nation’s elite. A blowout loss would send them spiraling backwards and might inevitably cost Weis his job.

“I said, Saturday night fellas, you’re going to be the lead story in the country, one way or another,” Weis said. “So which lead story do you want to be?”

Besides the fact that Charlie must not realize Oklahoma is also taking on Texas this weekend, his comments pinpoint the magnitude of Saturday’s game. This isn’t just another game for the Irish – it’s the game of the year.

The Trojans have beaten the Irish seven straight times. During that span, USC quarterbacks have averaged 323 passing yards and since October of 2002, the Trojans are 31-2 against ranked opponents.

Oh, and they also rank sixth in the nation in total defense.

But this is a different Notre Dame team, at least offensively. Jimmy Clausen ranks No. 1 in the country in passing efficiency and the Irish have the 10th best offense in college football. They’re averaging 470 yards per game and over 30 points per contest. Their ground game doesn’t get as much attention as their passing attack, but the Irish are averaging 148 rushing yards per game so they can beat you in a variety of ways.

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As Pete Thamel of The New York Times writes, Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators appear to have gotten their swagger back after thumping SEC rival LSU on Saturday night.

There were moments all over the field Saturday night that showed how re-energized Tebow was. He chest-bumped Mullen before the game. He knocked helmets with Percy Harvin after a 70-yard touchdown pass — a career high for both — in the game’s first minute. He led the team in celebratory helmet slaps, fiery fist pumps and any other signs of emotion.

“That’s the difference between this year and last year,” Tebow said. “They scored and they made it within 6 points and we knew we had to put a drive together. That’s where you see a difference now, a more mature team and a more poised team.”

Tebow is a more mature and poised player, more content to share the wealth with his teammates and not try to do everything himself. That is one reason his 10 passing touchdowns and 3 rushing touchdowns through six games are off last year’s pace.

Even after its stunning loss to Mississippi, Florida (5-1) is in line to win the SEC East. Few things are certain in college football when it comes to the national championship game, but it is likely that whoever wins the SEC will have the best shot of any league champion to play for the title.

Tebow and Florida can partially thank LSU defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois for getting their swagger back. Even in a blowout win over Arkansas two weeks ago you could tell Tebow and the Gators were still feeling the effects from their loss to Ole’ Miss. But once Jean-Francois shot his mouth off about ‘taking Tebow out,’ UF seemed to re-focus.

Florida is still a juggernaut – I don’t care what anyone says.

Thanks to their thrilling 45-35 win over previously top-ranked Oklahoma, the Texas Longhorns moved into the No. 1 spot in the latest college football rankings.

USA Today Top 25:

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. USC
5. Texas Tech
6. Oklahoma
7. Florida
8. BYU
9. Georgia
10. Oklahoma State

I hate to pick on Texas Tech because they’re exciting to watch, but they’re proof that the college football system is crap. These are the teams the Red Raiders have beaten this year: Eastern Washington, Nevada, Southern Methodist, Massachusetts, Kansas State and Nebraska. And they had to go into overtime to beat Nebraska. On neutral ground, I’ve got to believe Florida and Oklahoma beat Texas Tech.

And USC is already back in the top 5, are you kidding me? I’m not a big Ohio State advocate, but their only loss was to USC back in mid-September and they still can’t crack the top 10. Yet the Trojans lost to an unranked Oregon State team three weeks ago and they’re magically back in the top 5? What a crock.

LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois said early this week that if he and/or his linemates got the opportunity to knock quarterback Tim Tebow out of their game Saturday against Florida, they would do so.

Not only did the Tigers fail to knock Tebow out of the game (Jean-Francois didn’t even play due to an injury), they failed to do much of anything as the Gators routed their SEC rivals 51-21 in Gainesville Saturday night.

Tebow completed 14 of 21 passes for 210 yards and also threw two touchdowns with zero interceptions. On the third play of the game, Tebow found Percy Harvin for a 70-yard touchdown pass after an LSU defender tipped the ball up while trying to make an interception. From there, the Gators mounted a 20-0 lead before the Tigers made a small rally to cut the score to 20-14 early in the second half. But the comeback was short lived as Florida scored touchdowns on their next three possessions and the rout was on.

An outcome like this proves how broke the college football voting system is. LSU was ranked seven spots higher than Florida in the polls, yet was smoked by 30 points. Remember LSU’s big win over Auburn a couple weeks ago? Looks pretty weak after Auburn lost to Vanderbilt (who lost to Mississippi State Saturday) and unranked Arkansas the past two weeks.

Florida proved tonight that they’re still the team to beat in the SEC. Furthermore, this game might have proved that the SEC is weak as a whole this season.

Coming into Saturday’s action, people were wondering whether or not No. 17 Oklahoma State was for real or not. Sure their offense was averaging 530 yards and over 50 points a game, but their toughest opponent prior to this week was arguably an unranked Troy team.

But no longer do we have to wonder if the Cowboys are for real after they beat No. 3 Missouri 28-23 in Columbia. They picked off Heisman candidate Chase Daniel three times in the second half, including on MIZZOU’s final drive when the Tigers were in range to possibly take the lead late in the fourth quarter. The job OK State’s defense did in getting pressure on Daniel was outstanding and the trio of QB Zac Robinson (19 of 28 for 215 yards, 2 TDs), RB Kendall Hunter (154 yards rushing, 1 TD) and WR Damian Davis (3 rec., 76 yards, 2 TDs) came up with big plays all night.

Now that Missouri, LSU and Oklahoma all lost, the top 10 in college football will undergo a major shakeup. It’ll be interesting to see how everything takes shape when the new polls are released. How far will MIZZOU fall?