COLLEGE GAMEDAY REWIND: TEXAS TECH SHOULD BE THE 1; VOTING IS UP

Immediately after Texas Tech upset Texas at home in dramatic fashion, I said the Red Raiders should take over as the No. 1 team in the nation. Texas made a similar jump when the Longhorns beat Oklahoma several weeks ago, and considering Alabama and Penn State were the only ones standing in Tech’s way this time around, there should be no complaining. Craig, who had another winning week, his third in a row, disagreed. He said that the Raiders didn’t deserve to be put ahead of Alabama or Penn State. That could have something to do with the fact he picked Texas to win Saturday night and that he wants Penn State to play in the national championship game for some reason.
But as far as I’m concerned, Texas Tech proved that it is the best team in the nation Saturday night. Not only did they win the game, but they did so with amazing resiliency. After building leads of 19-0 in the first half and 29-13 in the third quarter, Texas Tech watched Texas pull off a stunning comeback. Texas took a 30-29 lead with 1:29 to play, but the Raiders calmly went downfield, led by quarterback Graham Harrell, and played for the touchdown. This wasn’t from the Herm Edwards playbook of how to lose a game in the final minute. Tech went for the touchdown, not the field goal, and I admire that big time.
Tech ended up winning the game on an amazing pass and catch from Harrell to Michael Crabtree (can the Jets please draft him?) with one second left. Texas Tech then survived kicking off from its own 7-yard line to win the game.
On Sunday, however, it was Alabama that took over the top spot in both the AP poll and the BCS standings. Texas Tech did make a jump, all the way to No. 2 in both. Penn State stayed the same at No. 3. I will say this: Penn State should be steaming mad right now. If Alabama moves up one spot, then the Nittany Lions should have as well. It should have been a package deal – if Texas Tech is going to jump, they should jump both Alabama and Penn State, or none at all. But that makes too much sense. Things will work themselves out in the end, as Alabama is not going to survive the season undefeated, but it’s always interesting breaking down these polls that make no sense. Let me know who you think should be No. 1.
(Speaking of polls that make no sense, there is nothing dumber than high school media polls. You’ll see at the end of the year that 8 of the top 10 teams in any poll you can imagine have “NR” as their “last week rank”. That stands for not ranked, as in nobody knows who the best high school teams are until the class champions are determined. It’s the same every year. But, again, it’s something to talk about.)
Also, two quick notes: Phillip Fulmer will resign as Tennessee head coach at the end of the year. That is great news for Vols fans. And, Allen Iverson reportedly has been traded from Denver to Detroit for Chauncey Billips.

Now, on to College GameDay Rewind:

My Saturday: 4-3 (spread); 5-2 (overall); 1-0 (upset picks)
My Season: 38-30-2 (spread); 53-17 (overall); 4-3 (upset picks)
My Money: UP $500 (season)
Craig's Saturday: 4-3 (spread)
Craig's Season: 32-36-2 (spread)
Craig's Money: DOWN $760 (season)

Northwestern +7 at No. 20 Minnesota
My Pick: Minnesota 27, Northwestern 17
Actual Score: Northwestern 24, Minnesota 17
There was a lot of clicking back-and-forth in the early going, as three of our games were noon starts. It was a nice change of pace, considering it seemed like every big game was a late-night start this year. I thought Minnesota was an easy pick, as the Gophers were playing at home against one of the poorer teams in the Big 10 (can’t say the worst anymore, as that title is reserved for Michigan), but Northwestern hung around and made a ton of defensive stops to seemingly send the game to overtime. Minnesota, however, threw an interception in the final seconds and Northwestern returned it for a touchdown to take the win. Like I always say, if I’m going to lose on a favorite, I’d rather they just lose the game outright. It’s just me wanting the team to suffer the same fate that I did in trusting them. Minnesota proved their not ready for primetime – or even noontime. We’re both 0-1.

Wisconsin +4.5 at No. 22 Michigan State
My Pick: Michigan State 28, Wisconsin 21
Actual Score: Michigan State 25, Wisconsin 24
Michigan State pulled off a nice comeback to take a one-point victory on a late field goal. Of course, that does me no good, and I’m 0-2 to start. Craig went with Wisconsin, so he moves to 1-1. Just another frustrating game as Michigan State could never take full control.

West Virginia -4 at Connecticut
My Pick: West Virginia 45, Connecticut 25
Actual Score: West Virginia 35, Connecticut 13
Even though this game ended after the two above, it was the first to be put in the unofficial win column. West Virginia took over in the second half to send Connecticut fans home with a loss. I can’t see any way in the future for Connecticut to beat West Virginia – it’s just not going to happen. UConn fans can fool themselves all they want, but it simply will never happen. Anyway, I’m 1-2 in the early going, while Craig improves to 2-1.

Pittsburgh +4.5 at Notre Dame
My Pick: Notre Dame 30, Pittsburgh 20
Actual Score: Pittsburgh 36, Notre Dame 33 (4 OT)
There are so many reasons why I dislike Notre Dame. It started as a youngster, as I had to watch Notre Dame win game after game (imagine that!) and I always went with the underdog. I’m also a Michigan fan (yes, I know), so there was always a game against the Irish during the year. Later, I worked at NBC and had to write about Notre Dame football every week in the fall. It wasn’t a bad gig; it just didn’t seem right that NBC gambled and decided to broadcast Notre Dame football only and ignore the rest of the country. Believe me, there’s been very few big Notre Dame games in the past several years to get excited about. NBC is still paying for that boneheaded move. Today, it’s the fact that every time I pick the Irish to win, they lose. And every time I pick the Irish to lose, they win. This was just another example in a long list of them this season. Craig was smiling here, however, as he went with Pitt to improve to 3-1. I’ll never say never, but this could very well be the swan song for Notre Dame in GameDay. Sorry, Tiffany.

No. 5 Florida -6 at No. 9 Georgia
My Pick: Florida 38, Georgia 21
Actual Score: Florida 49, Georgia 10
Florida coach Urban Meyer promised some sort of response to Georgia’s wild celebration in last year’s game, so with the game in hand late, he called a couple of timeouts to extend the game. Lame. Still, Florida took advantage of some blown calls (at least that is what Craig kept calling me about during the entire game) to take an easy win. GameDay moves to 2-3 heading into the night games, while Craig falls to 3-2.

Nebraska +22 at Oklahoma
My Pick: Oklahoma 52, Nebraska 24
Actual Score: Oklahoma 62, Nebraska 28
Oklahoma led 35-0 at the end of the first quarter – talk about a statement – and Nebraska didn’t have the offense to make this one a game, even with the 22-piont spread. This was a win from the get-go, as I move to 3-3 and Craig improves to 4-2.

No. 1 Texas -4 at No. 6 Texas Tech
My Pick: Texas Tech 33, Texas 30
Actual Score: Texas Tech 39, Texas 33
This was just a great college football game. The early lead, the great comeback, the unbelievable finish, the crowd storming the field three times, it was all there. Of course, it was even better that we go the victory. We end up tied with Craig, who went with Texas, for the day as both of us finish 4-3. Another profitable day.

(AP photo, top, Texas Tech wide receiver Todd Walker runs onto the field with teammates after Texas Tech beat No. 1 Texas 39-33 in Lubbock, Texas Saturday.)