With so many sports going on at once, how can you keep track of them all? You don't have to, but I will. Every Tuesday I will look back and hit briefly upon the five story lines that stuck out from the previous weekend.1. Iowa deserves a huge thank you. They cleared up the brewing BCS disaster to make it about as easy as it ever has been to determine the national championship. It's pretty simple: Big 12 champion vs. SEC champion. If Texas Tech goes undefeated through the Big 12, obviously they make it. If they lose to Oklahoma, you can bet it's going to be Oklahoma in the big game. If Alabama runs through the SEC, obviously they get in; if Florida beats them in the SEC championship, Florida will get in.
That's of course barring any huge upsets.
2. The ACC is going to be the most fun conference to watch in college football for the rest of the season. The SEC is now a two team race. You know exactly who's a contender in the Big 12. The Pac-10 has the worst two teams in college football, and nobody cares about the conference past USC. The Big-10 is the Big 1. Nobody cares about the Big East. Meanwhile, in the ACC, UMD, FSU, WF, UNC, GT, VT, and UM all have a legitimate shot for the title. Every week is a huge week.
3. That being said, football is already starting to be overshadowed in the conference by basketball.
The papers down in North Carolina have all but given up talking about UNC and Duke football; it's basketball season. Duke led off the season with a typically easy win versus Presbyterian. You can even see it in Maryland. The NCST game, a must-win game for the Terps in the ACC, had the same percentage filled in the student section as a basketball exhibition against Northwood, and Maryland basketball isn't even supposed to be good.
4. Out with the new, and in with the old in the AFC. The feel-good stories of the year in the AFC were the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. All four are still very much in the thick of things. They can't help but look over their shoulder and see that the Patriots, Colts and Chargers all won on Sunday, though. (Ignore the fact the Chargers beat KC. Hang with me here.) It looks like the playoffs could be a situation where you have maybe the Patriots and the Colts in, along with some of the upstart teams from this year. It will be interesting to see what plays out.
5. Meanwhile, the NFC playoff picture is looking pretty clean-cut. The East, South, and West races are pretty close to being decided. The North is still a three-team race. The Wild Card will come down to the Falcons, Bucs, Redskins, Eagles, and Cowboys battling it out for two spots.
(Photo Credits: AP)
