Oklahoma is a more talented football team than Texas Tech. I think even the most ardent Red Raiders fan would have to acknowledge that the Sooners, from the top of their roster to the bottom, have more NFL-type football players.

But Texas Tech, which is a touchdown underdog at Oklahoma despite being the No. 2 team in the country,
can win Saturday night. And the reason is that the Red Raiders, while having less overall talent than the Sooners, will also have the best player on the field.

That player, wide receiver Michael Crabtree, is the player who needs to have a big game if Texas Tech is going to pull the upset and take a big step toward a spot in the BCS national championship game. While Texas Tech has plenty of good players, Crabtree is the one guy who can look at the opposite sideline and say, “I’m better than all of them.”

Will Crabtree do it? I expect Oklahoma to make stopping him its first, second and third priority on defense, but I still think he can. This is the biggest stage yet for the best player in college football, and I think he’ll come up big.

Miami was ranked for the first time in two years this week, and people in and around college football started to ask the question: Are the Hurricanes back?

Tonight that question was answered with an emphatic no.

Miami went to Georgia Tech and got manhandled by the Yellow Jackets, who looked physically stronger than the Hurricanes in the trenches and more athletic at the skill positions. Georgia Tech led throughout, was ahead 24-3 at the half, and had the game put away late in the third quarter. The Canes scored a couple of late touchdowns to make the final score 41-23, but the fourth quarter was garbage time.

The most amazing thing about the game was the Hurricanes’ complete inability to stop the Yellow Jackets’ running game. Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer made the Hurricanes’ secondary look slow as he ran through it for a 56-yard touchdown, and even the lumbering 256-pound fullback Lucas Cox got in on the action, picking up 78 yards on eight carries. The total damage? An unthinkable 472 rushing yards for Georgia Tech.

We shouldn’t go too far in criticizing the Hurricanes. They were, after all, on a five-game winning streak before tonight’s debacle. But they’ve still got a long way to go before we can say that Miami is back.

After Florida State safety Darius McClure picked off a pass on Saturday, he did what so many football players do to celebrate big plays: He ran toward a teammate, jumped into the air, and bumped chests with him.

One problem: When McClure landed from the chest bump, he tore cartilage in his knee. The injury is season ending, and since McClure is a senior, that means his college football career is over.

Amazingly, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden says he won’t tell his players to cool it with the celebrations — and he says the real fault lies with the rule that penalizes players for individual celebrations.

“They do it all the time and all over the country; it’s just kind of a thing right now,” Bowden said. “I’m sure it’s instigated by the officials saying they don’t want any celebrating [alone]. … I’d hate to cut that enthusiasm out. I’ll take my chance on injury.”

Uh, Bobby? The rule that tells players they can’t celebrate alone doesn’t compel the players to hurl their bodies into teammates at full speed. How about you tell your players to find a way of celebrating as a group that doesn’t require them to take a chance on an injury?

Penn State coach Joe Paterno says he’s not thinking about anything except beating Michigan State on Saturday.

Iowa picked up a linebacker recruit from Chicago.

Stanford could go bowling for the first time since 2001.

Miami coach Randy Shannon may be delivering on his promise to bring “The U” back to its glory days.

Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is one of the top candidates at Tennessee.

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino hasn’t decided on his starting quarterback when the Razorbacks play at Mississippi State on Saturday, but both Casey Dick and his younger brother Nathan Dick are possibilities.

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden hopes he has his five suspended wide receivers back Saturday at Maryland.

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez made a PR blunder when he brought up the economy in telling Michigan fans to get their priorities straight.

Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain has made a major impact in his first season with the Crimson Tide.

East Carolina coach Skip Holtz could be a candidate for the vacancy at Syracuse.

Notre Dame is not a good football team, but bowl games aren’t about putting the best teams on the field.

No, bowl games are about selling tickets and attracting TV viewers, which is why Notre Dame may play in the Cotton, Gator or Sun bowl — bowls that are usually reserved for teams with records better than 7-5, which is what Notre Dame will likely be when the year is over. Neither the Cotton Bowl nor the Gator Bowl has ever had a five-loss team, but Cotton Bowl president Rick Baker said that doesn’t matter.

“I don’t think we necessarily look just at the records,” Baker said. “We’re going to look at the matchup and the history that we have with the programs that we’re considering. That’s not a policy that we don’t take a 7-5 team, that’s just the way that it’s happened.”

Sorry, but that’s ridiculous. Of course the bowls look at the teams’ records. It’s just that Notre Dame is a big enough draw that the Cotton Bowl is willing to give the Fighting Irish a bid despite their sub-par record.

Of course, there is a down side to Notre Dame getting better bowl bids than it deserves: The Fighting Irish have lost an NCAA-record nine straight bowl games. This year it’s likely to become 10 in a row.

We’ve invited Russell Levine of Football Outsiders to post his weekly Seventh Day Adventure podcast here at CFT.

It’s yet another Game of the Century in the Big 12, this time with Texas Tech visiting Oklahoma. A win by the Red Raiders keeps them on track to play for the national title. A win by the Sooners means utter BCS chaos. To break it down, we’re joined by Texas blogger Peter Bean of Burnt Orange Nation, who has seen both teams up close and personal this season.

Ball State has gone through its toughest test of the season and come out of it undefeated.

The Cardinals took on Central Michigan tonight and pulled out a hard-fought win 31-24 win on the road, improving their record to 11-0. Central Michigan was the two-time defending Mid-American Conference champion, but Ball State can now lay claim to the title of best team in the MAC.

With quarterback Dan LeFevour having a big game both running and passing, Central Michigan led most of the way, and the Chippewas were up 24-17 in the fourth quarter. But Ball State quarterback Nate Davis threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the come-from-behind win.

David Letterman’s alma mater doesn’t have a strong enough position in either the computer ratings or the polls to get to the BCS, but they’ve now won their toughest test on the way to an unbeaten season.

Says Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez of the mean things fans say to him, “It’s amazing some of the things that people would say … or yell at you of a personal nature. You almost want to tell them, ‘Get a life.’”

Incoming Mississippi State President Mark Keenum said he has the “utmost respect” for coach Sylvester Croom.

Says Minnesota coach Tim Brewster of the Gophers’ last game in the Metrodome, “I’m an outdoor football guy; I don’t think the Dome is conducive to college football. I don’t think the Dome is conducive to a game-day experience for collegiate fans and kids. I think we’re all genuinely excited about going to TCF Bank Stadium.”

This year’s Vanderbilt team might be the best in school history.

The Big Game no longer has the big-time quarterbacks it used to.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops says his team needs a loud crowd against Texas Tech.

West Virginia C Mike Dent might miss the rest of the regular season because of a pinched nerve in his neck.

Colorado LB Nate Vaiomounga has been kicked off the team for violating team rules.

The ACC is still up for grabs.

Oklahoma State QB Zac Robinson had to call timeout when someone in the Colorado crowd shined a laser pointer in his eye.

Responding to a CFT post saying he could retire, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said he’s staying put.

“Somebody said someone put it on an Internet blog or something?” Spurrier said. “No, I’ve got a good three-year deal, I hope.”

Spurrier also said, “Who out there’s retiring? They can’t even get Joe Paterno to retire. Somebody said the other day, ‘How could coaches retire? They’re getting way too much money to retire.’ I do enjoy it. We do have a chance here; I’m convinced of that.”

Spurrier said he’s not lobbying for his son, receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr., to be his successor.

The 63-year-old Spurrier says he’ll retire before he’s 70.

New Mexico coach Rocky Long has announced his resignation, saying that after 11 years at the helm, he doesn’t think he’s the man to bring the program to the next level.

“I want this program to be on top,” Long said. “I wanted it be on top as a player. I wanted it be on top as an assistant coach. And I wanted it to be on top as the head coach. I don’t see it happening with me as the head coach.”

Most of the time, when a coach “resigns” that really means he was pushed out. But in the case of Long, who has been the head coach at New Mexico since 1998 and was the school’s starting quarterback from 1969 to 1971, it seems that it really was Long’s decision. In fact, administrators said they were surprised that he had decided to step down.

Long thanked the loyal fans of New Mexico but said that there simply isn’t enough passion among the casual fans: “If you want to compete with the big boys, you’ve got to act like it,” Long said.

New Mexico’s season ended with Saturday’s loss at Colorado State, and the resignation is effective immediately. Long went 65-69, including 4-8 this year. He took the Lobos to five bowl games.