Charlie Weis may have his job on the line when USC comes to town tomorrow. Very interesting that a college football team can get fired for losing to USC. Isn't that essentially the same as if the Raiders came to town and beat Notre Dame and they gave him the axe? Is it maybe not as bad? Either way, last time this game was played they gave us an absolute classic and the teams, talent-wise, are a lot closer this time around. But something tells me this one is going to get ugly. Clausen might be in for a rough day and the Notre Dame defense seemingly doesn't have a prayer in trying to stop USC. You would think the only chance of a win they have is to put up 40+ and while the USC defense this year is not as good as those of the recent past - it is probably still talented enough to keep Clausen somewhat in check. Thinking Notre Dame is going to need the friend to lean on after this week.
The other big match is, of course, the Red River Rivalry, Oklahoma-Texas. Last year, Texas avenged the loss in 2007 with a 45-35 win. At the time, Oklahoma was ranked #1 in the nation, with Texas #5. This season Oklahoma is ranked #21 and Texas is #3. I have a feeling this will be the best game of the early college football season. Neither team appears to have played its best game to date. Texas has gotten away with playing some cupcakes and even struggled early on in those games at times. 
Oklahoma lost a pair of games by a single point, in their opener against BYU after Bradford went down with an injury and at Miami, two weeks ago. The question is, can they beat a good team? So far, they have not. But Bradford is back and healthy and this is the team's best chance to salvage an already disappointing season. Certainly, Bradford didn't get what he wanted out of this season (an injury, and no chance at a National Title, after passing up being the likely first pick in the draft...though he still may be this year, that is another story though)...you have to figure he is going to be fully motivated to try and get this done...if they win out they could still land a BCS bowl. A friend who is a big Longhorns fan, had this note, which I felt was insightful, through text message, regarding the Texas defense this year vs last year, "It's ten times better the 2nd year under Muschamp. Texas is always good against the run but a lot better against the pass this year." If Texas can go out and prove that against the strong Oklahoma passing game, then that should be the difference...if not, the Big 12 might once again look wide open. He also noted that excitement is much higher than confidence...Personally, I think this one comes down to the wire with a good chance to see who has it in them tomorrow - Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford? Could say a lot about the BCS this year and could say just as much about the NFL Draft (I prefer Colt for the record).
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