College Football Corner: Thanks, Texas Tech

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Texas Tech's last-second (literally) 39-33 win over top-ranked Texas last Saturday made a lot of people grateful -- and not just in Lubbock.

Sure, the Red Raiders jumped five notches to second in the BCS standings, and the only thing keeping the team from playing in the national championship game is running the table in its last three games, then winning the Big 12 championship game, more than likely against No. 14 Missouri and its high-octane offense.

Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach

But you'll forgive the rest of the country's elite teams for licking their chops: Tech has a tough game this weekend at home against No. 9 Oklahoma State -- a matchup that practically screams emotional letdown after last week's thrilling win.

And the road ahead isn't much easier. The Raiders still have a Nov. 22 date to face No. 6 Oklahoma in Norman, where Tech hasn't won since 1996.

That buoys the hopes of new No. 1 Alabama, which unlike Texas Tech, has just two tough games left (at LSU, and a probable date vs. Florida in the SEC championship game), and certainly No. 3 Penn State, which can sit back with three remaining winnable games and no conference championship to fret over.

But all of a sudden, there's life in those one-loss teams. Florida's 49-10 crushing of Georgia has put the Gators in prime position to profit from a very realistic scenario: If the Gators win out by beating Alabama in the SEC title game, and Texas Tech falters down the road, Florida would be paired with Penn State in the BCS Championship game.

Defrocked Texas and Oklahoma, sitting at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively, have entered "need serious help" territory. As of right now, the Longhorns would stay behind the Texas Tech-Oklahoma winner in the polls, so it needs some big unexpected upsets, the sooner the better. Oklahoma still has the wild card of getting a boost out of beating Texas Tech, which would probably bring the windfall of a Big 12 Championship berth. But two out of Alabama, Florida and Penn State will have to lose again this season.

Here's a closer look at some top games this weekend:

No. 9 Oklahoma State (8-1) (+3) at No. 2 Texas Tech (9-0), 8 p.m. EST (ABC): Not many in Lubbock want to speak the L-word this week -- letdown, that is. After the biggest win in school history, it could be a tougher task for Red Raider Coach Mike Leach to focus his team on the visiting Cowboys. Tech's confidence is riding high coming into this matchup, and last Saturday marked only the third game this year in which the team has scored fewer than 40 points. Fortunately, the Raiders are again at home, where the team has now won 12 of its last 13, quickly making Jones AT&T(T) Stadium one of the most feared venues for visitors. The potent combination of quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree is legendary at this point, pushing the team to seemingly score at will (like it did at Kansas two weeks ago, scoring five touchdowns in its first five possessions -- game over.)