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Unlike the passing weeks, we approach a college football weekend that features no collisions in the BCS top 10. This doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone gets a pass, because we should know by now that the digits preceding your school names make you marked men, regardless of opponent. Oklahoma and Texas Tech have a bye, before coming together two weekends from now in a game with Big 12 south implications, as well as survival or elimination in the national title chase. Texas visits a reeling Kansas program that struggles defensively, but if the Jayhawks can regain their offensive swagger, they can pose a legitimate threat. But outside of the BCS picture, we have some games that will be crucial to divisional leader boards, and others with great storylines.

Coastal Elimination: With the ACC coastal division at stake, Miami will host Virginia Tech in hopes of breaking a three way tie shared by the Tar Heels, Hokies, and themselves. The game calendar is growing thin, and for each of the division’s leaders, this may be the most important weekend in the race. As Miami and Tech collide, North Carolina will travel to Maryland, and all will finish out  the season’s schedule against against lesser opponents. A victory for Virginia Tech will give the Hokies a leg up, having already defeated the Heels earlier this season.

Revenge Match: Three historical power programs go into the weekend looking to find revenge over lesser name programs that pulled upsets in 2007. In what some called “The greatest upset in college football history”, the 42 point underdog Stanford Cardinal defeated top ranked USC  in the L.A Coliseum. The Trojans now travel to Palo Alto to meet the Cardinal for the first time since suffering the embarrassment. The Ohio State Buckeyes had just one regular season blemish last year, getting upset in “The Shoe” by Juice Williams and the Fighting Illini. The game now moves to Champaign, and another loss to the Illini will deny the Buckeyes any opportunity to repeat as Big 10 champions. One of the biggest storylines of the woeful 3-9 Notre Dame season of 2007 was the loss to Navy, which snapped a 43 game losing streak for the Midshipmen, dating back to 1964. Just as USC and Ohio State must find their revenge on the road, if the Irish are to begin a new streak, it will have to start in Annapolis.

You Can’t Go Home Again: Last week, we had Nick Saban returning to Baton Rouge for the first time since leading his former LSU Tigers to the National championship. Saban was victorious, and two other coaches will be looking to be the same on Saturday. Rick Neuheisel is still a hated man in Washington, as he’s continuosly fingered for the program’s demise that followed his Huskies coaching tenure. The first year UCLA Bruins coach now returns to Seattle to face the crowd. He didn’t make matters better by saying, “Washington would be better if I was there”, in a press conference earlier this week. As bad as the winless Huskies may be, I actually give them a shot at beating their former leader.  Steve Spurrier is headed back to the Swamp for the second time. You would think people would get over the old ball coach playing against his old program, but this one doesn’t appear to be dying. Florida and South Carolina is clearly a mismatch, but if the Gamecocks can pull the upset, it will send shockwaves across the country.

Upset Specials: (17) BYU at Air Force, (16) North Carolina at Maryland