Week Eight NCAA News

The top-ranked Florida Gators are very excited about the fact that they could have four key defenders, including linebacker Brandon Spikes, back for this weekend's game against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Spikes and defensive tackles Lawrence Marsh and Jaye Howard practiced Tuesday for the first time in more than a week, and coaches expect them to play Saturday against the Bulldogs.

"If they continue to work like they did tonight, they will definitely play in the game on Saturday," defensive line coach Dan McCarney said...

The computer has spoken and after struggling a bit in their 29-19 win agianst Mississippi State, the Florida Gators are again on top of the BCS standings and are now back at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 Poll.

The top three spots in both polls are identical, with Florida, the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas Longhorns at 1, 2, and 3. In the Associated Press poll, the USC Trojans are No.4 and the Cincinnati Bearcats round out the top 5.

The BCS sees it a little differently, with unbeaten Iowa moving up two spots to fourth place after beating Michigan State 15-13 on Saturday. USC holds down the fifth spot after their...

Saturday in Tuscaloosa, 7-0 Alabama hosts the 3-3 Tennessee Volunteers in an SEC Conference match-up as the Crimson Tide play their first game of the season as the No. 1 team in the nation. After beating No. 22 South Carolina 20-6 last Saturday, Alabama jumped Florida to claim the top spot in the AP poll for the first time since last November.

The Tide may be the AP's No. 1, but they still sit behind the Gators in the BCS standings and they won't face Florida unless they meet in the SEC championship game Dec. 5 in Atlanta.

NCAA odds makers like the Tide's chances to remain unbeaten as they have listed Alabama as...

The Florida Gators are undefeated, but it has not been easy. In fact, as the Gators premiered as the top team in the BCS Poll, they fell out of the No. 1 spot in the AP poll for the first time all season after winning by just three points last week against Arkansas as a 25-point favorite.

This week, they head to Davis Wade Stadium to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs and are once again heavily favored.

NCAA odds makers see Florida a big performance in the Gators future as they have set the Vegas line at...

Friday night, the Rutgers Scarlett Knights head to West Point to take on the Army Black Knights in front of a national television audience on ESPN2.

This intriguing match-up features two teams looking to get back on track after losses disappointed each team last week. At 4-2, Rutgers had a four game winning streak snapped last Friday night against Big East Rival Pittsburgh, while the Black Knights lost their fourth game of the season at Temple.

NCAA odds makers are calling the Scarlet Knights heavy road favorites in this one as the Vegas line sits at...

Thursday night in Chapel Hill, the North Carolina Tar Heels will play host to Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles at Kenan Stadium as both teams look for their first conference win.

Before the season began there was a lot expected from these two teams but so far they have both been a bust. The Tar Heels may be 4-2 over all, but with both of their losses coming to ACC foes a win against FSU could get them moving in the right direction.

NCAA odds makers see this one as being a pretty close game as the Vegas line is sitting at...

Wednesday night in El Paso, the Utep Miners host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at the Sun Bowl in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN. This Conference USA match-up could shape up to be a good one as both teams are filled with confidence.

The last time the Miners were on their home turf, they shocked then-12th ranked Houston in a shootout, 51-48. The Hurricane went toe-to-toe with Boise State, but lost 28-21 against the then ranked 5th Broncos.

NCAA odds makers have the Golden Hurricane as...

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...