Week Eight NCAA News

The Texas Longhorns (7-0), coming off a dominating victory against Missouri, received all of the 65 first-place votes and is a unanimous No. 1 in the NCAA's newest Top 25 poll.

"We told them that everybody questioned if they could win two weeks in a row," Texas coach Mack Brown said after the Missouri game. "I'm really proud of the way they responded and now we have to do it again next week."

A week ago, Texas had 39 first-place votes...

Saturday night the no. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns look to stay on top of the NCAA rankings as the no. 11 Missouri Tigers come in to Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Odds makers are calling the Longhorns a 4 point favorite with the total sitting at 65.

For 6-0 Texas, this is the second in a four game stretch of which the Longhorns will play top ranked teams.

We do have a difficult schedule but it may be good for this team. They're going to have to keep their foot on the pedal," said Texas coach Mack Brown...

Saturday afternoon, the 3rd ranked Penn State Nittany Lions will be looking remain unbeaten and end a nine game losing streak against the Michigan Wolverines in Happy Valley. Odds makers are calling Penn State a 24 1/2 point favorite with the total sitting at 47.

The 7-0 Nittany Lions won three in a row over the Wolverines from 1994-1996, but hasn't beaten them since. That gives legendary coach Joe Paterno a 3-10 record against Big Ten rival Michigan...

Saturday, the no. 4 Oklahoma Sooners try to keep their Big 12 championship and national title hopes afloat when they host a fellow one-loss team in No. 16 Kansas. Odds makers call the 5-1 Sooners a 19 1/2 point favorite against visiting Jayhawks.

A week ago in last Saturday's Red River Rivalry game the no. 5 Texas Longhorns upset the top-ranked Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma led by as many as 11 points in the first half before being outscored in the game's final 20 minutes, dropping the contest 45-35.

"It's always disappointing to invest so much and you end up losing," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said...

Quarterback Mackenzi Adams will start in place of Chris Nickson as no. 22 Vanderbilt tries to pull off an upset in Athens as the Commodores head into Georgia to take on the 10th ranked Bulldogs in this Top 25 showdown. Odds makers call the Bulldogs 14 point favorites at home.

Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said that he would be switching to Adams as his starter to spark the offense. Johnson pulled Nickson in last Saturday's 17-14 loss at Mississippi State after he threw a fourth quarter interception.

"A lot of things that went wrong last Saturday in the first half weren't particularly Chris Nickson's fault," Johnson said...

Friday night the 15th ranked Boise State Broncos host the Hawaii Warriors at Bronco Stadium in Boise. Odds makers are calling the 5-0 Broncos a 24 point favorite at home against the 3-3 Warriors.

Hawaii is coming off two straight wins after starting 1-3, including a 32-29 overtime victory on the road at then-ranked no. 22 Fresno State. Junior quarterback Inoke Funaki was 17-of-25 for 170 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start for the Warriors. Funaki also ran for 79 yards on 14 carries in the win.

Under the lights on Thursday night the Florida State Seminoles head to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The betting odds have the Seminoles as a 10 1/2 point favorite with the total sitting at 48.

The game is a big one for both programs, especially for Florida State. They want to make a good impression on a national stage.

"This is a lot of great exposure for the program. I am actually really looking forward to this game. When we head up to Raleigh, we know that this going to be a really big game for us"...

Thursday night the 9th ranked BYU Cougars travel the Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth to take on Texas Christian. Odds makers are calling Brigham Young a 1 point favorite over the Horned Frogs.

After recording two shutouts and outscoring opponents 137-14 over its previous three games, 6-0 BYU extended the nations longest win streak last Saturday to 16 games. However, they received an unexpected challenge a week ago...

Saturday night under the lights of Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, the 6-0 Texas Longhorns will look to remain undefeated and protect their first regular-season No. 1 ranking since 1984 against the Missouri Tigers. The no. 11 ranked Tigers will be trying to bounce back from their first loss of the season last week at the hands of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

"Right now, this team would be known for heart and character and toughness," said Texas coach Mack Brown.