KU's Mangino worth watching

Three to watch

Kansas at No. 3 Texas

8 p.m., WTVD, WCTI

The Longhorns are a 28-point favorite, so it's not the actual game that has us fired up. We just don't want to miss it if embattled Kansas coach Mark Mangino pulls a Woody Hayes on national TV.

California at No. 14 Stanford

7:30 p.m., Versus

The Big Game is suddenly a big deal for No. 14 Stanford, which has posted back-to-back wins against top 12 teams and will have Tiger Woods there as the honorary captain.

No. 9 Ohio State at Michigan

Noon, WTVD, WCTI

Could another loss to OSU - the Buckeyes have won five straight in this rivalry - inspire Michigan to dump Rich Rodriguez (3-12 in the Big Ten) and make a play for a coach who makes more sense, either Stanford's Jim Harbaugh (a Michigan alum) or Cincinnati's Brian Kelly?

Observations

No reason for these matchups

There are a lot of reasons to love college football, but the system's tacit approval of substandard scheduling is not one of them. No. 1 Florida hosts Florida International today, while No. 2 Alabama gets a visit from Chattanooga. Why? Because they can, and the BCS system doesn't hold it against them.

At least Alabama played one real nonconference game at the start of the season, against Virginia Tech. The Gators have no such alibi, nor do they make any apologies for it. Why should they? They've won two national titles in three years by following the same soft nonconference formula.

Speaking of soft ...

The Mountain West can't be as bad as fourth-ranked Texas Christian is making it look. The Horned Frogs, 6-0 in the MWC, have won five straight conference games by an average of 34 points. A three-point win over Air Force on Oct. 10 stands as the only challenge on TCU's conference slate. Even Utah, which finished 13-0 last year, sweated out a pair of three-point wins over TCU and New Mexico in 2008.

The Frogs travel to Wyoming (5-5) today, which doesn't look like much on paper, considering that the Cowboys lost by 52 to BYU, a team TCU beat by 31. However, November road games have a way of going against the grain.

Rose Bowl bid up for grabs

There are four Pac-10 teams with either one loss or two, and three of them control their own destiny for the Rose Bowl. If No. 11 Oregon (6-1 in the Pac-10), No. 20 Oregon State (5-2) or Arizona wins out, it would end up in the Rose Bowl. No. 14 Stanford (6-2) needs all three to lose one more conference game.

The good news for the Cardinal is Oregon visits Arizona today, and Oregon State finishes the season at Eugene on Dec. 3. Bottom line, winning out will be easier said than done.

Numbers to know

309 Points allowed by Michigan this year under second-year coach Rich Rodriguez.

347Points allowed by Rodriguez's first Michigan team, the most in school history.

35-25 Charlie Weis' record through his fifth season at Notre Dame.

0 Wins by Weis over an opponent that finished the season with fewer than four losses.

Top 25

Thursday's result

No. 12 Oklahoma State 31, Colorado 28

Friday's result

No. 6 Boise State at Utah State, late

Today's games

No. 1. Florida vs. Florida International, 12:30 p.m.

No. 2 Alabama vs. Chattanooga, 12:20 p.m.

No. 3 Texas vs. Kansas, 8 p.m.

No. 4 TCU at Wyoming, 2 p.m.

No. 9 Ohio State at Michigan, Noon

No. 10 LSU at Mississippi, 3:30 p.m.

No. 11 Oregon at Arizona, 8 p.m.

No. 13 Penn State at Michigan State, 3:30 p.m.

No. 14 Stanford vs. California, 7:30 p.m.

No. 15 Iowa vs. Minnesota, Noon

No. 16 Virginia Tech vs. N.C. State, 3:30 p.m.

No. 17 Wisconsin at Northwestern, 3:30 p.m.

No. 18 Clemson vs. Virginia, 3:30 p.m.

No. 19 BYU vs. Air Force, 3:30 p.m.

No. 20 Oregon State at Washington State, 6:30 p.m.

No. 21 Miami vs. Duke, Noon

No. 23 Utah vs. San Diego State, 4 p.m.

No. 24 Houston vs. Memphis, 1 p.m.

No. 25 Rutgers at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m.

Idle: No. 5 Cincinnati, No. 7 Georgia Tech, No. 8 Pittsburgh, No. 22 Southern Cal

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