Fourth and Dumb

1.  Whether postseason possibilities fall into place in the ACC.

2.  Who gets the upper hand during Rivalry Week in the Big Ten.

3.  Whether the Pac 10 Conference race tends toward sanity or chaos.

4.  Who will compete in the Big XII Championship Game.

5.  Who are set to emerge as the contestants in the Conference USA Championship Game.

1.  Whether postseason possibilities fall into place in the ACC. While Georgia Tech sits at home and enjoys some well-deserved R&R, the remainder of the ACC is fighting for respect, bowl eligibility, respect, and a shot at Georgia Tech the first week of December.  Clemson can wrap up the Atlantic division and secure a rematch with the Yellow Jackets in Tampa by knocking out Virginia.  The Cavaliers, who clinched a losing season last week in allowing Boston College its first road win of the year, are playing out the string and hoping to upset other orange-clad teams.  Realistically speaking, however, it is a question of when, not if, Al Groh is furnished his walking papers.

Speaking of Boston College, they participate in the most intriguing battle of the day as they welcome North Carolina to Chestnut Hill.  After a midseason swoon, the Tar Heels are looking better and better by the week, more in line with how they were expected to fare in Butch Davis’s third season in Chapel Hill.  This battle of 7-3 teams will help determine the ACC’s bowl line-up.  The Eagles also still have a chance at the ACC Championship Game if Clemson somehow lets Virginia escape victorious from Death Valley.

The other three games look slaughtertastic.  Florida State welcomes woeful Maryland to Tallahassee as the Seminoles try to become bowl eligible before their lethal trip to Florida next week.  Miami tries to put their North Carolina failure behind them as Duke comes to town desperate to remain in the bowl picture.  Finally, Virginia Tech hosts North Carolina State.  The Hokies have nothing concrete to play for, but a win over the mediocre Wolfpack should entertain them enough this week.

2.  Who gets the upper hand during Rivalry Week in the Big Ten. The number one rivalry in the Big Ten is, of course, Ohio State-Michigan, but the level of competitiveness has fallen a long way since the Game of the Century three years ago.  Last year was a complete smackdown, but this year Michigan has something to play for: bowl eligibility.  It is an unfamiliar situation, but delightfully simple: beat their rival, or stay home for the holidays.  The Buckeyes have nothing to play for, having already punched their ticket to the Rose Bowl, but continuing their streak in the rivalry is something Jim Tressel will likely remind his players as they head to Ann Arbor.

Up to the north in East Lansing is the latest edition of the fake rivalry between Penn State and Michigan State.  Penn State has a chance at a BCS bid should they come up big at Spartan Stadium.  This would actually be Penn State’s best win of the season if they can make it happen. Meanwhile, Michigan State wants to grab its seventh win so it can secure a Big Ten-connected bowl bid instead of getting an at-large bid to a bowl no one cares about.  A similar situation arises in Iowa City where the Hawkeyes, once 9-0, can put themselves in BCS bid contention at 10-2 by winning possession of Floyd of Rosedale.  Meanwhile, Minnesota is bowl eligible, but it needs a seventh win to avoid being at the mercy of the bowl cartel.

Yet another team in the Big Ten has BCS hopes, and that team is Wisconsin.  The Badgers aim for 9-2 when they head to Northwestern for their Big Ten finale.  Unlike the other contenders for the elusive wild card, Wiscy has a non-conference game remaining: they head to Hawaii in two weeks, so a win this week does not clinch anything for them.  They could end up facing a Hawaii team that can become bowl eligible with a win over the Badgers.  Thanks to this game, bowl destinations for the Big Ten teams could be held up until Selection Sunday, although it is also possible the BCS tells Wisconsin that they are out of the running for the big money games.  Northwestern has its seven wins, but an eighth would not hurt as they try for a bowl game in January.

The one game that does not affect holiday destinations is Purdue-Indiana.  With both teams at 4-7, the only thing up for grabs is the Old Oaken Bucket.

3.  Whether the Pac 10 Conference race tends toward sanity or chaos. Has the ACC moved out west?  There is plenty up for grabs out west, whether it is the Rose Bowl, where four teams remain in contention, or a bowl bid.  The game most likely to follow the script is Oregon State’s visit to Washington State.  The Beavers are still in the Hunt for the Rose Bowl, while the Cougars have been cooling their heels for weeks.  An upset would be a sign of hope as Paul Wulff completes his second season on the Palouse, as well as provide momentum heading into the Apple Cup, which will once again take place between the two worst teams in the conference.  Another game does not affect the Rose Bowl race, but is major for the number of bowl teams.  Arizona State heads to UCLA in what is effectively a bowl elimination game.  The Sun Devils need to win their final two games to go bowling.  Meanwhile, UCLA sits at 5-5 with a trip to the Coliseum next week, so they had best lock up that sixth win now.

The first rivalry game of the season takes place when California heads across the bay to visit Stanford.  While bowl positioning is at stake and so is the Stanford Axe, the bigger issue is Stanford is still in the race for the Rose Bowl.  The hottest team in the conference must complete a 6-2 conference season if they are to remain in contention and hope the other contenders cannibalize themselves in the next two weeks.  However, the biggest game of the week involves those teams Stanford needs to drop games, Oregon and Arizona.  With a win, the Ducks eliminate the Wildcats from contention and can wrap up the title with a win over Oregon State in two weeks.  However, if Arizona holds serve at home, they would hold tiebreakers over all three of their co-combatants and would thus be the only team to control its own destiny.  With the Ducks roasted, the only things standing between the Wildcats and their first ever Rose Bowl appearance are Arizona State and USC.

4.  Who will compete in the Big XII Championship Game. Texas has been the dominatrix-in-waiting for weeks now, but the Longhorns can make it official by goring Mark Mangino’s Men of Misery (aka Kansas) at high noon in Austin.  However, the necessity of such formalities looked questionable Thursday night as Colorado gave Texas’s challenger Oklahoma State all they could handle before falling 31-28 to the Cowboys, who were playing their third-string, Chris Weinke-sounding quarterback, Brandon Weeden.

Elsewhere in the Big XII South, bowl positioning continues.  Oklahoma heads to Texas Tech to fight for third place.  The Sooners are having an unusually barren season, but with wins over the Red Raiders and then Oklahoma State next week, they can work themselves into being elite again in 2010.  Meanwhile, Baylor and Texas A&M are battling just to remain bowl eligible.  The Bears already have six losses and are at the edge of the cliff, while if they lose, A&M has the inenviable task of hoping to catch Texas on a bad day so the Aggies can knock off a high-level Longhorn team for the second consecutive time at Kyle Field.  The Baylor-Texas A&M series has been competitive the last few years, so Mike Sherman will be feeling the heat if the Aggies do not come out winners this week.

Up north, the Big XII North representative will be determined when Kansas State visits Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers look to be the class of the division, but do not discount a Wildcat team desperate for two more games with its back at the abyss.  In other north action, Iowa State and Missouri meet, each hoping to improve their position in the bowl pecking order.  They are hoping their lines are not crossed as they were in the 1959 and 1960 matchups.

5.  Who are set to emerge as the contestants in the Conference USA Championship Game. While Borglum is lamenting the lack of meaningful games and exhibiting his east coast bias, both divisions of Conference USA are in doubt and are gearing toward exciting conclusions.  In the West, the surprise of the season and shoo-in for Coach of the Year is June Jones and the Southern Methodist University Mustangs, who are set to go bowling for the first time in 25 years.  SMU is currently 5-1 and is two wins away from the conference championship game.  Their remaining competition is Houston, whose loss at Central Florida last week saw them relinquish control of their destiny.  The Cougars, who handed SMU its only conference loss, must now win out and hope the Mustangs trip up against Marshall or Tulane.

In the East the race is more complicated.  Dead team walking Memphis is the only team out of contention.  East Carolina carries the banner at 5-1, while a trip of teams sit at 4-2: Alabama-Birmingham, Central Florida, and Southern Mississippi.  Marshall needs some major help and may already be out of it at 3-3.  The key games this week are UAB’s visit to ECU, Tulsa’s visit to Southern Miss, and Tulane’s trip to UCF.  The Golden Knights and Golden Eagles must win to keep up with the Pirates.  Meanwhile, UAB will either be eliminated from the race or level it if they can leave Greenville with a win.  With potentially four teams at 5-2 heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the C-USA East race could rival the Pac 10 for intensity.