Crunch time is upon us!

It’s that time of the year again; the time when teams can see their post-season dreams become clearer and clearer after each game.

The BCS top five is as follows, Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, Stanford and Baylor, with Bama and FSU controlling their destinies and diminishing the dreams of the other three with each win.

Alabama struggled with Mississippi State, who Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban was one of the best 4-5 teams in the country, as the defense held the Bulldogs to just seven points. Bama won 20-7, but it wasn’t pretty. A.J. McCarron threw two touchdowns, but the senior signal caller also tossed two interceptions. Running backs T.J. Yeldon and Kenyon Drake each coughed up fumbles to put coach Saban into a red cloud of anger on the sideline (which isn’t exactly anything new). But four turnovers in a game is never good and the defense answered the call, standing strong the whole game.

Florida State cruised past Syracuse, 59-3, as quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns amidst his off field issues.

Alabama has Charleston next week and Auburn after that with the SEC Championship waiting if the Tide can beat the Tigers. Florida State gets Idaho and Florida, with the ACC Championship awaiting the Seminoles, no matter what.

Ohio State and Baylor soared out to big leads and held on in the end, but Stanford grinded with USC in Los Angeles, eventually losing after watching its championship aspirations fall from the leg of the Andre Heidari. The Ducks have canceled plans to fly south for the winter, they’ll stick around a little longer.

I don’t see any losses coming to the Tide or Seminoles, but It’s always interesting to watch these teams as the pressure rises.

Auburn posses a big threat to the Crimson Tide, as the Tigers have won their last seven games since losing to LSU in a monsoon at Tiger Stadium. However leave it to the Barners to storm out to a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, and watching the Bulldogs score 21 straight to take the lead. But in typical Dawg fashion, Auburn completed a 73-yard pass to take the lead and hold off an UGA charge that ended with Aaron Murray fluttering a ball out five yards. Auburn is still able to win the SEC West, if it can beat Bama.

Hats off to Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, who picked up his 157^th win with the Sooners, tying him with the great Barry Switzer. OU got back to its running ways today and hopefully found their quarterback of the future in Trevor Knight (Kendall Thompson looked pretty good in limited work too).

Bob Stoops and Barry Switzer each have 157 wins at Oklahoma and Bud Wilkinson has 143, giving the Sooners three coaches with 140 wins with the program, that’s impressive.

Duke defeated Miami today, 48-30, scoring 20-unanswered points at the end. The Blue Devils are 4-2 in ACC play this season and if they can beat Wake Forest and North Carolina in the next two weeks, they’ll get the Noles. Hats off to David Cutcliffe.

Moving from the top of the list, here are my top three underrated teams in the nation.

                Coming in at No. 3 is Arizona State. The Sun Devils are averaging 43.7 points per game and are ranked No. 19 in the BCS. ASU has wins over USC, Washington and at Utah, with a lucky bounce against Wisconsin. State is the least penalized team in the country and play tough defense and can score quickly. Don’t sleep on the Sun Devils.

                No. 2 is Michigan State, which is coming off its first-ever win over Nebraska, 41-28. The Spartans were neck and neck with the Cornhuskers until coach Dantonio called a fake field goal, which seemed to spark the Spartans. MSU might be ranked No. 1 in basketball, but Sparty is No. 16 in football, boasting the nation’s No. 1 total defense (210.2 yards per game) and rushing defense (43.4 yards per game).

                My No. 1 underrated team is Wisconsin. Besides the horrible loss to Arizona State (which shouldn’t have happened since the officials were as lost and confused as the OU fanbase last week when their Sooners were getting pummeled by Baylor) on the road, the Badgers have just one loss, to Ohio State. The Badgers are ranked 22^nd in the BCS but have wins over Northwestern, BYU and Iowa. Wisconsin hung with Ohio State for four quarters, and might be the only team in that region capable of beating them. Beware the Badgers in a bowl game.

I submitted job applications to 12 different jobs tonight, so if you’re reading this keep me in your thoughts and prayers please. As I am looking to substitute my three current jobs with one that pays much better, which would allow more time for me to write and keep up you all of you.

I’ll definitely be back midweek however, updating you on the big matchups of the weekend. I might also dive into some college basketball, but will probably stick to what I know best.

In the meantime, take care and have a wonderful week.

-The Wing Expert