Each week, our bloggers will take a closer look at the storylines you should be watching. What's on tap for Week 9?
ACC
UNC's rushing receivers. The Tar Heels have been looking for yards from everyone, and against Florida State last week, receivers accounted for 109 rushing yards. Greg Little had 48, Johnny White added 40 and Jheranie Boyd chipped in 21. The Tar Heels also got a spark in their running game last week from tailback Shaun Draughn, who ran for a season-high 126 yards. UNC will look to keep it going Saturday against a Hokies rushing defense that has struggled this year compared to seasons past and is ranked 76th in the country.
Big 12
Can Mack Brown continue his remarkable winning streak against Oklahoma State? Since coming to Texas, Brown has won 11 straight games against Oklahoma State. For whatever reason, the Longhorns always seem to make the play they need to make to beat the Cowboys. Will the winning streak continue again this season, or are the Cowboys finally due to spring an upset that would turn the South Division race and the BCS on its ear?
Big East
Can West Virginia solve South Florida's defense? The Mountaineers have scored 13 points in each of their past two games against the Bulls and have failed to break 20 points in the past three installments of this series. South Florida's defensive adjustments are one reason Bill Stewart wanted to diversify the West Virginia offense. It's much more balanced now between the pass and the run, and a multiple-touchdown game would serve as validation to the system change.
Big Ten
Iowa in search of style points. After rising to No. 4 in the BCS standings, Iowa can help its cause and possibly win over more pollsters with a convincing win against Indiana (ESPN, noon ET). The Hawkeyes have fallen behind in seven of their eight wins and own only one victory by more than 11 points this fall. Indiana isn't a pushover this season, but the Hoosiers are vulnerable in the secondary. Iowa is banged up entering the game, and freshman running back Brandon Wegher makes his first career start in place of the injured Adam Robinson. The Hawkeyes also could use true freshman backs Brad Rogers and Josh Brown.
Pac-10
Matt Barkley thinks Autzen Stadium is going to be a barrel of monkeys. Matt Barkley told the LA Times that he's looking forward to playing in Autzen Stadium: "The energy is going to be awesome and it's going to be a cool atmosphere, especially on Halloween night," he said. Hmm. You know, all this talk about how intimidating and loud Autzen Stadium is might be a bollocks. This whole really cool "blackout" thing is just a rumor, after all. Hey, wear yellow! That will be scary. Oregon fans aren't really loud. They're very nice, actually. Cuddly, even.
SEC
Halloween tricks. What trick might we see in Jacksonville on Saturday other than gridlock traffic on the way to the game? Two years ago, it was Georgia's sideline emptying and the players dancing in the Gators' end zone following the Bulldogs' first touchdown. Georgia was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but went on to win for only the second time in 10 years against Florida. It goes without saying that Urban Meyer wasn't amused. In fact, he was livid and exacted a little payback last year when he called a pair of timeouts in the final seconds of Florida's 49-10 blowout victory just to rub it in. The wand is in Georgia's hand this year. Of course, the real trick may be simply winning the game. The Gators have won 17 games in a row and are huge favorites, while the Bulldogs have lost 16 of the past 19 games in the series.
Non-AQ
Familiar foes. Missouri and Utah never met when current Wyoming coach Dave Christensen was Mizzou's offensive coordinator, but Christensen used to spend a lot of time in Utah trading offensive plays with his good friend and former Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. With the exception of some personnel tweaks, Utah's offense hasn't changed much.
Notre Dame
Breaking out the cruise control. It's been six straight edge-of-your-seat, hold-your-breath games for Notre Dame. Finally, the Irish should have a good old-fashioned rout on their hands against 1-6 Washington State. The Cougars rank in the bottom 10 of the FBS rankings in the following categories: rushing offense, scoring offense, total offense, total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and pass defense. You get the idea. Everything is set up for the Irish offense to have a huge day and for the defense to feel good about itself. Anything less would qualify as a complete disappointment.
- Rumors: Kelly, Meyer odds leaders for Irish job
- Feldman: A Week 12 wrap-up
- Tools: Game Predictor | PickCenter
- Draft: Mel's Big Board (11/18) | NFL draft blog
