DFW football teams “step up” to play BCS foes

by Todd E. Jones of College Football Top Ten

All three of the DFW college football teams play opponents that are members of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) power conferences this Saturday, September 13, 2008. BCS power conferences are conferences in the Bowl Championship Subdivision in which the conference winner receives an automatic bid to a Bowl Championship Series Bowl at the end of the year. The Bowl Championship Series bowls include the Sugar Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl, and the BCS National Championship Game. Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University and the University of North Texas are all in Bowl Championship Subdivision conferences that are considered Non-BCS conferences.

The University of North Texas Mean Green will travel to Baton Rouge, LA on Saturday night to take on Louisiana State University Tigers from the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers are the defending national champions in the Bowl Championship Subdivision beating Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game in January. Teams from the Southeastern Conference have won the BCS National Championship Game the past two years. UNT is without a win in two games this year losing to Kansas State and Tulsa.

The Southern Methodist University Mustangs will travel to Lubbock, TX to take on the Texas Tech University Red Raiders. Texas Tech is a member of the Big 12 Conference along with other Texas schools including the University of Texas, Baylor University, and Texas A&M University. Texas Tech has one of the most prolific passing attacks in college football. Leading the Texas Tech attack is quarterback Graham Harrell of Ennis, TX and Michael Crabtree of Dallas' Carter High School. The Ponies have lost to Rice and defeated Texas State.

The Texas Christian University Horned Frogs host BCS power conference member the Stanford University Cardinals of the Pacific 10 Conference Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. The Frogs rallied to win a shootout in Palo Alto, CA last year 38 to 36. The Frogs have won two straight this year defeating New Mexico on the road and blasting Stephen F. Austin at home. Stanford has a victory over Oregon State University and a loss to Arizona State University in the 2008 season. While the Frogs are stepping up to play Stanford from a BCS power conference, they are favored to win the game. The Frogs have won six out of the last seven against BCS power conference teams including wins over Texas Tech, Baylor, and Oklahoma whom they play on September 27, 2008 in Norman, OK. The kickoff for this game has been moved from 6:00 p.m. to noon due to the pending weather related to Hurricane Ike.