The college football season is just underway, yet we have already seen some instant classics. In the first week, Baylor and TCU had a 50-48 shootout. Last week, Georgia and South Carolina combined for 39 points in the 4th quarter with a 45-42 final. The nightcap between Notre Dame and Michigan saw a combined 35 points in the fourth quarter, and 28 of those belonged to the Michigan Wolverines. This Saturday has some compelling matchups. Ohio State plays Miami, Tennessee plays Florida in the Swamp, and the big game belongs to No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Florida State. But enough chatter, let’s get to ranking the contenders to the BCS title!

Eliminated

BYU – The Cougars had a chance to start getting noticed by beating Texas and Ole Miss in two consecutive weeks, but they came up a little short against the Longhorns. Speaking of Ole Miss though, how great would it have been if they had actually been the Ole Miss Admiral Ackbar Rebels? Star Wars fans would have flooded the school with applications!

Honorable Mention

Virginia Tech – The Hokies only managed to put up 17 points on the ECU defense, which gave up 56 points the week before to South Carolina. Virginia Tech still has the advantage of playing in the ACC, but if the offense struggles all season long, they will be very vulnerable to defeat.

Ohio St. – The Buckeyes played a close one against Toledo. I don’t think the NCAA will need to worry about a Ohio State team in the BCS title game. The big test happens Saturday against Miami.

Auburn – The Tigers pulled out another close game at home, beating Mississippi State 41 -34.  It will be interesting to see what the defending champs can do when they have to go on the road, which they will Saturday at Clemson.

Top 10 Contenders to the BCS Title

10. Florida State – The Seminoles have blown away the competition in the first two weeks of play. Of course, some people wouldn’t call Louisiana Monroe and Charleston Southern competition. We will know if Florida State is for real on Saturday against Oklahoma.

9. Nebraska – The Cornhuskers may be on upset alert this week. The Washington Huskies come into town with a little momentum, and they passed a tough test against the Hawaii Warrior passing attack last week.

8. Oklahoma State – The Cowboys are averaging 49 points per game and are second overall in the NCAA in passing yards with 427.5 yards per game. Oklahoma State stays in state this week as they take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane…which begs the question, how many hurricanes come through Tulsa? I thought that was more of a twister town.

7. Michigan State – Last season the Spartans used a fake field goal to beat Notre Dame. The game was so stressful that Mark Dantonio had a heart attack. The Irish have not won this year, but all of their games have been close and down to the wire; they lost by three to USF and four to Michigan in the last few seconds. Expect the Fighting Irish to play another close one against the Spartans.

6. Alabama – The Crimson Tide went to University Park, Pennsylvania and took care of business. Alabama’s competition will be in conference play as cupcake North Texas is on the schedule this week.

5. Wisconsin – The Badgers destroyed Oregon State 35-0. Expect another destruction this week against Northern Illinois. A big game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers looms on Oct. 1.

4. Oklahoma – The Sooners were off this past week and will head down to Tallahasee to take on the Seminoles. To prepare Oklahoma fans for the trip south, here’s a song you’ll probably here on Saturday…

3. LSU – The Tigers used a stifling defense to smother the Mississippi State offense, holding the Bulldogs to just six points after they scored 34 vs Auburn last week. LSU has the most impressive resume out of all of the title contenders, but there are still many SEC tests on the road ahead.

2. Boise State – Boise State was off this past week, but they will play the Toledo Rockets, who gave the Ohio State Buckeyes everything they could handle last Saturday.

1. Stanford – The Cardinal may have struggled with Duke for almost two quarters Saturday, but in the end, Andrew Luck threw five TD passes in a 44-7 route. I still think they have the best chance to go underrated all season long due to the stellar play of Luck and a weak PAC-12 schedule.