By Cabrone D. Brewer

It’s been one heck of a wild ride around the college football community this year, but for some schools the troubled journey will soon be over. As for the others, let the postseason conference championship madness begin.

Typically the last week in November signals the arrival of Bedlam in the state of Oklahoma, but due to the shrinkage of the Big 12 conference the annual clash between No. 13 Oklahoma and No. 3 Oklahoma State has moved to the first week in December and has never been more important.

Both schools enter the game chasing championship dreams with the Big 12 title on the line for the winner of the contest. OSU is looking to avoid their ninth consecutive loss to the Sooners and keep their national championship hopes alive with a victory. OU is seeking their eight Big 12 title under Bob Stoops.

A win for OSU would give the Cowboys’ their first outright conference title as a member of the Big 12 or Big Eight.

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By Cabrone D. Brewer

And so it begins.

With only three weeks left to go in the regular season, the race for college football’s elite to claim division supremacy and secure post-season appearances in a variety of conference championship games has drastically started to heat up — just as the temperatures outside have begun to rapidly cool down.

The pressure continues to swell for No. 17 Nebraska and No. 20 Michigan, as both schools prepare to face each other in a matchup of serve importance for complete ownership of the lead in the Big Ten’s Legends Division.

Both teams enter the game at 8-2 overall with identical 4-2 records in the conference. A Michigan State loss to Indiana would put the winner of Saturday’s game at the Big House into a tie for the chance to play in the inaugural Big Ten Championship. The Cornhuskers hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Spartans, with Michigan needing to win out in order to make a solid case for a conference championship game appearance.

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By Cabrone D. Brewer

The current atmosphere surrounding the area of central Pennsylvania known as Happy Valley is the antithesis of its namesake.

As members of the Penn State community continue to weather the fallout from the school’s handling of sex abuse allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and subsequent firing of legendary coach Joe Paterno after 46 seasons, the football team must now prepare to face No. 19 Nebraska on what will ultimately be remembered as the most somber Senior Day in PSU history.

Having recently passed former Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson for the all-time FBS lead in wins with his 409th victory over Illinois, Paterno will now be forced to watch the game from outside the confines of Beaver Stadium for the first time in a career that stretched over six decades.

Security measures have been enhanced in the borough of State College, as local police look to maintain order ahead of the riots experienced Wednesday night when news first broke that the Hall of Fame coach had been relieved of his duties at the university.

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By Cabrone D. Brewer

If you’re an avid sports fan, chances are you haven’t been able to escape from the hype surrounding two of college football’s most dominating forces in recent weeks.

Now, you’ll finally get the chance to witness the outcome of their acquaintance.

For only the fifth time in BCS history, No. 1 and No. 2 will meet each other in the regular season as No. 1 LSU travels to Tuscaloosa to face SEC West rival No. 2 Alabama in a high-stakes positioning battle of championship importance.

Both teams have been on a collision course towards this highly anticipated matchup since the first BCS rankings were released Oct. 16, boasting heavy offensive and defensive arsenals that have allowed them to thoroughly decimate opponents in the process. Alabama ranks at the top of the FBS in rush defense, yards per game and points per game, while LSU lingers close behind in all categories.

Saturday will mark the first time that two SEC teams have met before the conference title game ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation — not to mention the winner of the LSU-Alabama contest has played in the SEC championship game four of the past six years.

It may be hard to believe, but there other games of note this weekend in the SEC as well.

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By Cabrone D. Brewer

The debate over which school has the No. 1 team in college football lost two contenders in grand fashion last weekend, and many of us will witness yet another team get brushed to the side next weekend when No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama face each other in Tuscaloosa.

In the mean time, however, some schools are looking to garner a few votes for the No. 1 position, while some are simply looking to put the pieces back together after devastating outcomes to the previous weekend’s contests.

No. 11 Oklahoma, who recently ended a 39-game home winning streak in Norman at the direction of a surprising Texas Tech squad, takes a field trip to the Little Apple to face No. 10 Kansas State.

After taking the field as the preseason No. 1 in the AP Poll, the eleventh-ranked Sooners look to avoid dropping back-to-back conference games for the first time since 1998 against a resurgent Kansas State team that boasts the top-ranked defense in the Big 12 conference.

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With the college football season set to kick off tonight, I’m going to take a look at the three biggest story lines for this weekends’ games. This will be a weekly feature, so be sure to check back each week!

1. My kingdom for a Tarheel

Twenty-first ranked North Carolina heads into their match-up against #18 LSU with major issues. Thanks to an ongoing NCAA investigation, UNC, a team with one of the best defenses in the country, will be without standout defensive tackle Marvin Austin for their season-opener. Other players could be held out of the game as well. This is a major distraction for a team that could have won the ACC. Read the rest of this entry »