College Football Corner: Thanks, Texas Tech

Oklahoma State's offense is nothing to sniff at, either, albeit in an anti-Texas Tech sort of way. The Cowboys rely on a run-oriented offense led by sophomore running back Kendall Hunter's 1,220 yards and mistake-free quarterback play by Zac Robinson, who has completed 69% of his passes with a 20-5 touchdown/interception ratio. Don't forget that with a win here and a stumble by Texas, the Cowboys still have a shot to represent the South Division in the Big 12 championship game, and would have an outside shot at a national championship. The oddsmakers look smart here -- this is probably an even game on a neutral site. Corner's choice: Texas Tech 37, Oklahoma State 30.

No. 1 Alabama (9-0) (-3 ½) at No. 16 LSU (6-2), 3:30 p.m. EST (CBS): If Alabama manages to punch its ticket to the BCS title game, it will have earned it. The Crimson Tide's late-season gauntlet starts this Saturday in Baton Rouge, La., offers up the traditional Iron Bowl rivalry vs. Auburn (which has won six straight in the series) in late November, and ends with a date in Atlanta, probably against No. 4 Florida, in the SEC championship game.

Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody

Saturday's game has a little added spice with the return to Tiger Stadium of Alabama Coach Nick Saban, who went 48-16 in five seasons at LSU before his ill-fated move to coach the Miami Dolphins. As we've noted before, Alabama has already taken on the personality of those early-decade LSU squads: a solid running game, steady quarterback play, and most of all, a stifling defense. Nose tackle Terrence Cody has been an anchor for the Tide, which is allowing opponents only 12.2 points a game.

LSU's defense, on the other hand, has been that team's Achilles' heel, giving up more than 50 points in its two high-profile games against Florida and Georgia. The Tigers have been trying to rebuild that side of the ball, where the team had three players drafted by the NFL this spring, including defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, the fifth-overall pick. Redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee has been spotty at quarterback, but he remains the starter. Baton Rouge is one of the SEC's toughest places to play, and the Tigers have won 7 of 8, but this looks like the Tide's year. Corner's choice: Alabama 27, LSU 17.

No. 12 TCU (9-1) (-1 1/2) at No. 8 Utah (9-0), Thursday, 8 p.m. EST, (CBS College Sports): From an immediate standpoint, the winner gets an inside track to the Mountain West Conference title. More importantly, the winner likely dispatches all but Boise State and Ball State in the run for a non-BCS school to crack the BCS bowl party. Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham believes that when he sees TCU play, he sees his own team. "I see a lot of similarities. We both have speed and there are schematic similarities. We both run the ball very well, there are a lot of similarities between the two offenses."

However, TCU leads the nation in run defense, and defensive end Jerry Hughes tops the country with 14 sacks. TCU coach Gary Patterson didn't mince his words on the importance of the game. "I don't think we need to say much about this one. When you play against a team like Utah this late in the season, everyone knows what they have. As a head coach, you always like to play a big game like this at home, but we're not. We had our opportunity at home against BYU, and now it's our turn to go to Utah. This is what you coach for."

One number to remember: 17. Dating back to 1999, TCU has won 65 straight games when holding opponents under that amount of points, including four consecutive games this year when TCU allowed seven points each. Utah's defense is no slouch, either, ranking seventh in the nation with 266.2 total yards allowed per game. Corner's choice: Utah 21, TCU 20. -- Edison Sanon