Poll Position - Week 11 | by Jeff

Once again, the Game of the Week is in the Big East, as another Thursday night undefeated match-up takes place at the top of the standings. A Louisville loss will almost certainly drop the Cardinals below ND, but it is likely that Rutgers will do some serious leapfrogging with a victory. As for the rest of the Top 10, the oddsmakers say the most likely upset victim is Southern Cal, as every other team is favored by a couple of TDs or more.

#1 Ohio State at Northwestern (OSU by 23)
#2 Michigan at Indiana (UM by 19)
Both teams go on the road against after weak perfromances last weekend. IU and Northwestern have played well at times this season, so maybe upsets aren't as far fetched as we might have thought at the beginning of the season.

#3 Louisville at #13 Rugters (Cards by 6.5)
Louisville can all but clinch a spot in the BCS Championship with a win. It will be interesting to see Rutgers' highly ranked defense match up against Louisville's powerful offense, but Rutgers' offense may be what decides this game.

South Carolina at #4 Florida (Gators by 13.5)
Steve Spurrier returns to The Swamp, but the Gators look to be rolling to the SEC Championship.

#5 Texas at Kansas State (Horns by 17)
I still don't buy that Texas is that good, but the voters seem to love them.

#6 Auburn vs Georgia (Auburn by 13)
Georgia is reeling, and Auburn is unlkely to help break their fall.

#7 Southern Cal vs #21 Oregon (Trojans by 8)
The Trojans finish with four tough games, a victory over Oregon would keep them in the hunt to win the PAC-10.

#8 Cal at Arizona (Bears by 13.5)
Cal should roll before their matchup with Southern Cal next weekend.

And most importantly...
#9 Notre Dame at Air Force
Air Force has played well at times this season, and should bring their A-game to Falcon Stadium.

There is one other matchup with big BCS implications, although I'm not really sure how it will affect the Irish. Arkansas hosts Tennessee and gets a chance to prove their victory over Auburn was not a fluke. However, an Arkansas victory all but assures Auburn a spot in the BCS, as it would likely mean that Arkansas would win the SEC West and thus play Florida in the SEC championship game. Auburn, by virtue of their loss to Arkansas earlier in the season, will lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with Arkansas, even if Arkansas loses one of their last three conference games. As a result, Auburn is a near lock for a BCS bid, and could sneak into the BCS championship game without winning their division of their conference. I believe Nebraska did this a few years ago and got pounded by Miami in the Rose Bowl.