In an instant Oregon went from National Championship contender to another statistic in the wild world of college football.  Dennis Dixon's injury opened the door for Oklahoma to sneek in to New Orleans, but then the Sooners fell to Texas Tech.  AccuScore analyst Wailele Sallas does his best to sort out the madness, in this week's edition of the AccuScore Top Ten.

If this college football season doesn’t scream playoffs, I don’t know what will.  There have been 11 upsets of top five schools at the hands of non-ranked opponents and six times the second ranked team was dropped by an unranked foe. 2007 has even the biggest BCS fans doing their best Jim Mora Sr. impersonation, “Playoffs!  Playoffs!”

When everything finally pans out and we have the BCS #1 vs. BCS #2, there will be more than a handful of teams who could rightfully argue they belong as much as the two teams invited to New Orleans on January 7.

This week’s upsets were as shocking as the rest have been.  Oregon’s loss to Arizona was improbable, especially speaking as a Wildcat alum.  No one wanted to see Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon go down as the main reason for the upset.  As word spread that Dixon tore his ACL against Arizona State, my level of admiration went from “I think he’s a nice player” to the ultimate man-crush.  Anyone who is willing to stick his neck out on the line for his university in an attempt to win a national championship with three games left is both dumb and gallant. 

Oregon’s loss to Arizona proved how much Dixon truly meant to this Duck team.  When he went down, the rest of the squad was never the same.  Not even the Gipper could have saved the Ducks from impending doom.  Oregon played like wounded Ducks rather than title contenders, and Arizona won thanks to a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams.

I don’t know what to say about the Oklahoma-Texas Tech game other than Sam Bradford’s injury was a killer.  There is no doubt in my mind Oklahoma would have walked away victorious had Bradford not been knocked out in the games opening minutes.  But that’s the way the ball rolls and now chaos has reclaimed the top spot on college football landscape.

Luckily for all of us, it will be another disputed national championship, much like I believe this week’s AccuScore Top Ten will be viewed as well.

10) USC – I never understood how Team A could get ranked ahead of Team B, even though Team B beat Team A.  However, in the case of USC and Oregon, I have put the Trojans ahead of the Ducks.  At this point in the season, the Trojans are a better team than the Ducks.  Oregon without Dennis Dixon is like peanut butter with no jelly and ham with no burger. You just can’t have one without the other. 

USC still has a great playmaking defense and an offense that does enough to win ball games.  This season, that’s more than enough to crack the top ten.

9) Oklahoma – The Sooners were in just as bad shape after its loss to Texas Tech.  Just a few days after Mike Stoops gifted brother Bob with what looked liked the golden ticket to the BCS title game, everything went south for Oklahoma.  Now the Sooners have to hope Missouri beats Kansas, and the Sooners topple the Tigers again, just to get back into the BCS bowl talk.  The Sooners are still dangerous if Bradford is healthy and still have many weapons on offense. The question is will they get a chance to prove it in a big time bowl?  They just might because I feel Oklahoma will not lose another game the rest of the year!  There’s a prediction for ya!

8) Virginia Tech – The Hokies should be higher, but I still can’t get over their two losses.  LSU was an embarrassment and Boston College proved this team is still missing some parts.  We’ll find out soon enough as Tech takes on Virginia with the winner clinching a rematch with the Eagles in the ACC title game.  Virginia Tech in my eyes still has something to prove and they have not beaten a quality opponent convincingly yet, and they are running out of games to prove it.

7) Hawaii – Since no one seems to be giving the Warriors much love, I am here to do my best.  Hawaii proved against Nevada that this team is more than just Colt Brennan, now they need to show that this team is for real.  Ridiculed for its schedule, Hawaii gets a chance to show how good they really are when they play before a national televised audience on Friday against Boise State.  While Hawaii might not have the most loyal fans, based solely on attendance, when the team is good, Aloha Stadium can rock with the best of them.  The Green and White will be in full island pride mode and if you have ever been to Hawaii, you know that is a scary thought.

If you are a fan of sports, not just football, tune into this game for a quarter, if you’re not glued to your set for the full four hours, I will give you your money back.  (Luckily, for my checkbook, the game is free on television)

6) Ohio State – Experts might say Ohio State’s victory over Michigan proved they are a legitimate national championship contender.  I say it only proved how weak and archaic the Big 10 is this year.  Don’t get me wrong, OSU is a good football team, but they only have two assets; a really good defense and Chris Wells…period. 

Supporters of the Scarlet and Grey will point to the numbers, Wells’ 222 yards rushing and holding Michigan’s offense to only 91 yards.  I also look at the numbers and point out Ohio State was 0-2 in the second half passing.  It’s true they pretty much ran at will against Michigan and didn’t need to throw, but what happens when they are forced to play a more balanced offense, Illinois is what you’re left with.

5) Georgia – Right now, Georgia might be the best team in football.  Since losing to Tennessee on October 6, Georgia has beaten Florida, Auburn and Kentucky, all who were ranked at the time.  Knowshon Moreno is breaking a new record every week and Georgia is playing like a team possessed.  In addition, the ‘Dawgs are averaging 35 points per game during this stretch. 

If you put out a poll right now, no one would want to play Georgia, and their play is the best evidence of their strength right now.

4) Missouri – When the season began who knew November 24 in Kansas City would mean so much.  The winner of Missouri-Kansas will be the Big 12 North champ and has an inside track to the BCS title game.  The offense continues to chug along and Chase Daniel gets his best opportunity to showcase his Heisman resume against a stellar Kansas defense.  Add Jermey Maclin’s 252 yard all-purpose, three touchdown day and the Tigers are peaking at the right time. Every week, I seem to say the same thing, Daniel and this offense are lightning in a bottle, and until someone stops them, I will continue to tout their efforts.

3) West Virginia – If Missouri is lightning in a bottle then the Mountaineers are a nuclear explosion in a perfume test tube.  Recently, however, the ‘Eers have had a slight case of fumbilitis which almost cost them the game against Cincinnati.  In games against the Bearcats and Louisville, the Mountaineers let three-score leads turn into one-score games in the fourth quarter because of turnovers.  If West Virginia continues to play error-prone football a national championship berth will be nothing but an afterthought, as will a Big Eat championship.

2) Kansas – It’s gotten to the point where I feel bad putting anyone at number 2. The number is cursed and with Kansas heading to Kansas City for the Border Showdown, all signs point to a minor upset this week.  The key for the Jayhawks will be to minimize the effectiveness of all-purpose threat Maclin.  If they can do that, Daniel will be forced to make more plays on his own, and with an aggressive Jayhawk defense and an outstanding secondary it could spell trouble for Daniel.  Then again, Daniel hasn’t been perplexed much this year, and even in its lone loss, Missouri still put up 30-plus points. 

Kansas’ signal-caller is no slouch either, Todd Reesing is eighth in passing efficiency and 24th in total offense.  The 76 the Jayhawks offense put up against Nebraska was like a beautiful flower finally coming to bloom.  Since that game, Kansas has put up 43 and 45 points respectively. 

If anything this week’s Border Showdown will be a fun one to watch.

1) LSU - The Tigers have consistently been at the top or near the top of the college football world since the season started.  Now the Tigers are just two wins away from playing for a national championship, and they may be the only team who everyone can agree belongs in the title game.

In the Tigers game against Mississippi, ESPN’s analyst brought up a graphic detailing the depth and game plan for the Bayou Bengals.  Basically, LSU coach Les Miles had devised a way to get all of his weapons playing time.  The list was eight deep with each player listed providing a specific skill.  In other words, this team is so deeply talented, they have guys who could start anywhere else as role players.  Could you imagine if a team in another sport had this type of freedom?  Imagine the Patriots, oh wait, bad example.  Let me put it into words that will easily display this team’s ability, there are draft boards that have half the Tigers as potential draft picks when they leave to make money.

If the Tigers had a better coach, this team would be undefeated.  As it turns out, Miles, with his gamblers anonymous type coaching will have this team playing for a title regardless.  That’s if, of course, if he can’t find a way to make this season go from chaos to Armageddon.  For some teams though, we have already reached that point, just ask Oregon and Oklahoma.

Questions or Comments.  Email Wai at wsallas@accuscore.com