NCAA Football Roundup: Oregon Rises in BCS Rankings, Klein Injured, The Week Ahead
Week 10 had less upsets but it didn’t come without a number of good games and near losses. #4 Notre Dame went to three OTs to defeat Pitt while #1 Alabama needed a late touchdown to keep its perfect season.
#2 Kansas State rolled onto another win over #24 Oklahoma State 44-30 but its star quarterback Collin Klein went down with an undisclosed injury.
Continuing its move up in the rankings with stellar play, #4 Oregon beat #17 USC 62-51 and jumped past the Fighting Irish for the third spot in the BCS rankings.
And now with the start of a new week, it’s not too early to look ahead to Week 11’s games.
BCS Rankings
Oregon QB Marcus Mariota
Undefeated seasons remained intact this week but the close wins changed the BCS rankings. #1 Alabama kept its top ranking after facing its biggest challenge; Kansas State remained #2.
Looking ahead, the Crimson Tide has winnable home games against vs. #15 Texas A&M, Western Carolina and Auburn but the Wildcats have a more challenging end of season with a visit to TCU on Saturday, then a trip to Baylor. They’ll enjoy a bye week and wrap up the season against #17 Texas at home.
Now it becomes more interesting for the rest of the Top 5.
Oregon moved past Notre Dame to take the third spot and the Fighting Irish fell to No. 4. In the computer rankings, the Ducks are moving closer to Kansas State.
Rounding out the Top 5 is Georgia while the next five includes (in order): Florida, LSU, South Carolina, Louisville and Florida State.
The Tigers fell two spots to No. 7 after their loss and Louisville, still unbeaten, jumped past the Seminoles for the ninth spot.
Arizona left the Top 25 after UCLA spanked them 66-10 and Northwestern joined #16 Nebraska in rankings at No. 24.
With another win, the bettors give Alabama even odds to win it all, while Kansas State is +375 and Oregon is +400.
K-State Klein Goes Down
Kansas State QB Collin Klein
With 25 minutes remaining of game time, Klein left with an undisclosed injury on Saturday. His absence was felt but the team rolled on to another win, keeping its perfect record.
Prior to his exit, Klein threw for 245 yards and ran for 64 yards. He grabbed career rushing touchdown No. 50, taking his team to a 38-17 lead.
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder has neither discussed the injury nor its severity and whether Klein is back playing on Saturday against TCU remains to be seen.
Snyder simply said of Klein, “Obviously he was injured or we wouldn’t have taken him out.”
Even Klein’s teammates don’t appear to know what happened to their field general.
Speculation includes either a wrist or a head injury, reported ESPN, but the player’s mother Kelly Klein was positive and said the quarterback should be 100 percent this week.
Most people would feel better if these words came from either Snyder or Klein.
The Heisman-contending quarterback should stay in the lead with his performance in Saturday’s game.
Week 11 Games
Alabama QB A.J. McCarron
Looking ahead to this week’s games, the top teams will look to advance their perfect season.
Alabama won’t get too much of a breather as it will play #15 Texas A&M but the winning nod goes to the Tide at -13.5.
It may be too early to tell about K-State until Klein’s status is announced.
Oregon travels to play California on Saturday and they are likely to grab another win at -27.5.
The Fighting Irish will face another mediocre team against Boston College. A win looks likely at -18.5 and for Notre Dame, their next big battle will come against USC on Nov. 24.
Georgia will play the winless Auburn in conference play; the Bulldogs are -15 for another win.
#7 LSU will play #21 Mississippi State with odds at -13.5 for the Tigers to get back on the win track.
And Big Ten Nation has #24 Northwestern (-11) vs. Michigan and Penn State plays #16 Nebraska.
