NCAA Top 25 - Week 10

I start a new section this week, as I analyze what teams need in order to win conferences or divisions.  This will be different from just listing the standings, as I'll look at their upcoming opponents and gauge who has the best chance.

Upset of the Week:  We had some interesting Top 25 upsets this week.  I thought the Ohio State and Penn State game would be challenging.  A Buckeye victory was possible, but a blowout was not expected.  Navy knocked off Notre Dame for the second time in Charlie Weiss' tenure.  I feared Oregon might suffer a letdown after their emotional victory over USC, and Stanford has been tricky since Jim Harbaugh took over.  However, the most shocking upset was Northwestern's over Iowa.  The Wildcats had played a couple of tough games this season, but they were even considered a challenging opponent for Iowa.  However, their defense knocked out Iowa's Rick Stanzi, and the backup QB couldn't produce.

This week's ranking [Last week's position]
1.  Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0) [1] : The Tide knocked off LSU to clinch their division and guarantee a trip to the SEC Championship Game.
2.  Texas Longhorns (9-0) [2]
3.  Florida Gators (9-0) [3] : The Gators are one step closer to a showdown with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game
4.  Boise State Broncos (9-0) [4]
5.  TCU Horned Frogs (9-0) [9] : The Frogs put two non-BCS unbeatens in the Top 5
6.  Cincinnati Bearcats (9-0) [5] : A close call against UConn knocked down the Bearcats
7.  Pittsburgh Panthers (8-1) [11] : The season closer against Cincy should decide the Big East
8.  Utah Utes (8-1) [12]
9.  Iowa Hawkeyes (9-1) [6]
10. Ohio State Buckeyes (8-2) [13] : The Buckeyes gain a chance to capture the Big Ten title if they beat Iowa
11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-1) [14] : Clearly the strength of the ACC
12. Oregon Ducks (7-2) [7]
13. Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-2) [13]
14. BYU Cougars (7-2) [19]
15. Penn State Nittany Lions (8-2) [8]
16. USC Trojans (7-2) [16]
17. Central Michigan Chippewas (7-2) [17]
18. Houston Cougars (8-1) [18]
19. LSU Tigers (7-2) [10]
20. Miami Hurricanes (7-2) [NP] : The Hurricanes are finally showing some muscle
21. Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-3) [21]
22. West Virginia Mountaineers (7-2) [23]
23. Virginia Tech Hokies (6-3) [24]
24. Arizona Wildcats (6-2) [NP] : The Wildcats are in the Pac-10 hunt
25. Stanford Cardinal (6-3) [NP] : Harbaugh's team created chaos at the top of the conference

On the Edge
+1 Wisconsin Badgers (7-2)
+2 Clemson Tigers (6-3)
+3 South Florida Bulls (6-2)
+4 Auburn Tigers (7-3)
+5 Temple Owls (7-2)
+6 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-2)
+7 Navy Midshipmen (7-3)

Dropped:  Notre Dame Fighting Irish [#20], Oklahoma Sooners [#22], California Golden Bears [#25]

Race for the Titles
We'll start with division titles, then look to BCS conferences before concluding with the minor conferences.
ACC Atlantic:  Clemson leads the division.  They've already beaten Boston College and Florida State, their closest competition.  With conference games at NC State and Virginia remaining, they should win easily.  BC is the only other team with a chance.  They need to win out and hope NC State or Virginia beats Clemson. 
ACC Coastal: If Georgia Tech beats Duke, they win it.  Miami gave them their only conference loss, so Miami has a chance holding the tiebreaker.  Miami needs to win both of their remaining conference games and hope Duke upsets Georgia Tech.
SEC East has already been won by Florida and SEC West has already been won by Alabama
Big XII North: Believe it or not, Kansas State leads this division.  They capture the title if they win out, as they still must play the second-place Nebraska Cornhuskers.  That game essentially determines the division, unless Nebraska loses twice.
Big XII South: Texas commands this division, and they have beaten the only other contenders.  If the Longhorns win one more game, Oklahoma State is the only team who could contend for this title, and they'd need Texas to lose their last two games.  Somehow, it's same to assume that Texas will capture the division.
Conference USA East: East Carolina leads this highly competitive and close division.  There's too many contenders to analyze this one succinctly.
Conference USA West: Houston has the same conference record as SMU, despite a huge disparagy in their overall record, so this has some competition.  Houston already beat the Mustangs, so two more victories clinch the division for the Cougars.  With Rice and Memphis two of the remaining opponents for Houston, they seem primed to win this division.
MAC East: Temple has the edge, and is yet to play the two teams who can also compete for the title:  Ohio and Kent State.  I like Temple's chances, but a win by Ohio gives them the edge.  Kent State would need a lot of help.
MAC West: Central Michigan leads this division, and they win it if they win out.  However, they close the season against the other contender - Northern Illinois.  If both win their next two games, the winner of that game wins the division.
Big East: Three teams lead this conference, and they remain to face each other.  West Virginia, Cincy, and Pitt haven't played each other yet, so whomever wins both games against their opponents win the conference.  If each loses one, the winner of the Cincy v. Pitt battle gains the title.
Big Ten: Iowa and Ohio State have both beaten both Penn State and Wisconsin, so the former are the only two teams competing for the title.  Next week's battle between these two will determine the conference winner.
Mountain West: This one is fun.  TCU, Utah, and BYU all have a shot; even Air Force has an outside chance.  TCU has beaten both BYU and Air Force.  If they beat Utah next week, Air Force is out of the running.  If Utah wins, they would win the conference by beating BYU in their closer.  BYU would need to beat Utah and hope TCU loses twice.
Pac-10: Stanford opened the floodgates this weekend.  Half of the conference is still in consideration, so this one needs at least a week before I can do a succinct analysis.
WAC: Idaho has an outside chance, but a loss to Fresno State, and a game remaining against Boise State, pretty much removes them from contention.  Boise has already beaten Fresno State, so the Bulldogs need Boise to lose twice.  The Boise State v Nevada game might determine the winner.
Sun Belt: Troy has the advantage, as they are unbeaten in conference and have been their two nearest competitors.  Middle Tennessee and Louisiana-Monroe must hope that Troy loses to both of its remaining conference opponents, or the Trojans are winners.