College title race thrown open

Colorado left Nebraska in their wake

BBC Sport Online's Kevin Asseo reviews a week of unexpected results in college football and looks ahead to the season's conclusion.

The road to college football's national championship took a sharp left turn last week, and many of the top teams in the country missed it.

In a weekend filled with shock upsets, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings, the rankings used to determine which sides will reach the championship game, were thrown into chaos.

No-one could have predicted before last week that the BCS standings would look so different once the dust had settled on the weekend's action.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers, undefeated and ranked number one by the BCS, allowed the most points in school history while getting run over (quite literally) by the Colorado Buffaloes in a 62-36 loss.

Colorado ran the ball at will against Nebraska, gaining 380 yards on the ground and scoring an almost unfathomable eight rushing touchdowns.

The Sooners lost to local rivals, Oklahoma State

It was a rude awakening for a team some were comparing to the all-time great Nebraska sides of the past.

The chances of Nebraska playing for the national championship have gone from probable to remote.

"We really had a big dream. That is over with now. This is going to be a tough one to swallow," said Eric Crouch, the Cornhuskers' star quarterback.

The Oklahoma Sooners, ranked number three by the BCS entering last weekend, looked to be the team that would take Nebraska's place in the national championship game, but their title hopes lasted just a few hours.

Playing as a huge favourite at home against an Oklahoma State team that had struggled to a 3-7 record this year, the Sooners played their worst game of the season, losing 16-13.

Oklahoma's showing on Saturday was so pathetic they dropped all the way from number three in the BCS standings to number nine.

After the game, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops summed up the performance of his team.

"Was there anything we could have done better? How about everything," Stoops said.

With both Nebraska and Oklahoma slipping from the top of the rankings, the national championship game is shaping up to be a Florida derby.

The Miami Hurricanes are now squarely atop the BCS standings following their impressive 65-7 win over Washington on Saturday.

Miami remain undefeated this season and will reach the championship game if they can win their only remaining regular season game, away at Virginia Tech on Saturday.

The Miami Hurricanes are undefeated this season

That may be easier said than done, however.

Virginia Tech is a strong side that always plays well at home and as was proven last weekend, anything can happen in the season's final weeks.

If the Hurricanes beat Virginia Tech, their likely opponent in the title game would be the Florida Gators, who moved into the number two spot in the BCS standings in the wake of the defeats of Nebraska and Oklahoma.

But as difficult a game as Miami face to finish their season, Florida face two games that are even more daunting.

First the Gators play host to Tennessee, currently ranked fourth by the BCS, and then would have to face either Auburn or Louisiana State in the South-eastern Conference championship game.

It is likely Miami and Florida will prevail in those contests, but defeat for either or both would open the door for Tennessee, Texas, Oregon, or even Nebraska to slide back into the championship picture.

What a week ago appeared to be a straight path to the national title game now looks like a very crooked road.