Saturday was truly separation Saturday folks for NCAA football contenders, and many underdogs in big games came through big time. Ohio State who has struggled to put anyone away the entire college football season, including the likes of Northern Illinois went down to the wire in Columbus as a 14 point favorite. If Michigan State is not in the top 3 then something is wrong! Despite a loss at Nebraska on a very bad call by the refs, with wins over Oregon, Michigan and Ohio State something would be wrong if they are not a Top 3 team in the nation.

Michigan State has the best resume of any team in the Top 10 right now and that includes mighty Alabama, as the SEC is way down this year and is top heavy with Alabama, as Florida needed OT to beat Florida Atlantic, LSU lost their 3rd straight and the Citadel beat South Carolina, in a shocker. The fall of LSU, Missouri, Auburn and Georgia this season has been shocking and Ol Miss and Miss St have been inconsistent all season so not sold on Bama being the best in the nation. The Iron Bowl is this Saturday but with Auburn being sub par that lacks the luster of previous years as the Tide are 14 point favorites.

Oklahoma survived a scare in Normand against TCU who was without their two best players, but I can forgive that because OU had Baylor last week and Okie State on deck, a tough spot for the Sooners. Speaking of Okie State, what a total meltdown in Stillwater against Baylor, who beat them with a 3rd string QB . . . who took no reps in practice all week!

I felt Oklahoma State was a top 4 team headed into the weekend, but I guess I was wrong. They tee it up against OU this weekend and are a 4.5 point home underdog. Bedlam for sure in that one, and, if Oklahoma can pull it off, it will be interesting to see, with no Big 12 championship game, how OU will fare with 1 loss with the Final 4 committee at seasons end, as the Big 12 was nixed out last year.

Iowa is up for much debate, they took care of Purdue this past weekend, and they have a huge game in Lincoln, NE this Friday. Remember, while the Huskers are a shell of themselves, they did beat Michigan State in Lincoln with help from the refs, but this one won't come easy for Iowa.The Huskers have nothing to lose and Iowa has everything to lose, which is always a tough scenario. Iowa is installed as a 2.5 point favorite.

This is rivalry weekend so I would not be surprised at a few upsets and the Ohio State and Michigan game is intriguing, as Ohio State opened early at -2.5 and now Michigan is favored by 1.5. Clemson faces another patsy as they take on in state rival South Carolina, who just got beat by The Citadel this past Saturday in a shocker. Clemson is favored by 17 in that one, and I doubt the Gamecocks offer little resistance.

Oregon continues to impress with a late run in the PAC 12 off an absolute blowout of USC, and USC takes on cross town rival UCLA who managed to squeak out a win against Utah this past weekend. Surprisingly, with all the defensive injuries to USC, they are installed as a 3 point favorite. The other powerhouse in the PAC 12 is Stanford, who has Notre Dame on deck at home, and they are 3.5 point favorites in that contest to open up. The Irish looked terrible in a 3 point win against Boston College, who has just 3 wins all year and are on a 4th string QB. Perhaps a look ahead spot for the Irish, who surely on most days would beat BC by double digits.

Tony's Top College Football Power Ratings headed into this weekend:

1. Clemson         (96.5 - Power Rating)
2. Michigan St    (96)
3. Alabama         (95)
4. Oklahoma       (93)
5. Notre Dame    (92)
6. Iowa               (91.5)
7. Baylor            (91)
8. Ohio State      (90)

To note, Stanford is the best 2 loss team in the nation in my opinion, and my 9th place team on the power ratings is North Carolina, and I put that out for you since they are getting a lot of chatter about being an elite team, but needing OT to beat Virginia Tech regardless of it being Frank Beamer's last home game or not, tells me they are pretender in a weak conference as I suspected.

My Best OFF THE RADAR TEAM:

Navy, who blew up Tulsa this past weekend and basically everyone else this year, is no joke! Keenan Reynolds is the real deal at QB and can run the triple option attack near flawlessly and they have speed and are very well coached and have a huge game against Houston this week on the road. The Midshipmen are ranked 2nd in rushing the country and their defense is ranked 19th in points allowed. Ass if this isn;t enough to convince you, their lone loss was to Notre Dame this season!

I think Navy could compete with many of the top 15 teams in the country and are installed as a "Pick Em" or -1 against Houston Friday, they will be worth a look this Friday against the line gents, as Houston is dejected off a shocking loss to U Conn by 3 last Saturday.

Check out Tony George this weekend plus Red Hot NFL Action after another wining week in Pro Football!