• Is No. 3 Louisiana State a fraud masquerading as a title contender? Coach Les Miles will find out when he takes his team to No. 10 Florida after two subpar performances, against Auburn and Towson.
LSU is 5-0 against teams with a combined record of 7-14. The Tigers are No. 108 nationally in penalties and have committed five turnovers the last two games.
"I think there is an understanding that we need to play better," Miles said.
• Was Justin Wilcox the best assistant-coach hire this season?
Washington's first-year defensive coordinator turned heads Sept. 27 when his schemes shut Stanford down in a surprising 17-13 win in Seattle. For the first time in years, it seems, Washington players tackled people in open space. These are some of the same players, remember, who allowed 67 points to Baylor in last year's Alamo Bowl.
Washington plays at No. 2 Oregon, where Wilcox played and mentored under coordinator Nick Aliotti.
If Washington stops Oregon's offense, in Eugene, Wilcox should have his pick of plum head coaching jobs next year.
• Is Northwestern really the class of the Big Ten? Saturday's trip to Penn State should provide more insight as Northwestern tries to get to 6-0 for the first time since 1962.
• Is UCLA a pretender or a contender? The Bruins take their No. 25 ranking and 4-1 record to Berkeley, where they have not won since 1998.
Cal is a wounded 1-4 team with an embattled coach. It would be shocking and telling if Jeff Tedford's team did not respond with its best effort of the season.
• Texas Tech has the nation's No. 1 defense?
Seeing Texas Tech ahead of Alabama is like seeing "Burp" by "Billy and the Belchers" ahead of "Hey Jude" on the Billboard 100.
Tommy Tuberville's Red Raiders are allowing only 167 yards per game, but they have played Northwestern State, Texas State, New Mexico State and Iowa State.
Texas Tech should get severely tested when Oklahoma visits Lubbock. If not, Oklahoma may not stand the test of time.