The Akron Zips relieved head coach Lee Owens of his coaching duties after he led the team to a 7-5 record. The team finished 5-3 within their division, the MAC, the same conference which is home to nationally ranked teams Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, and Miami of Ohio. The administration at Akron may have been too hard on Owens considering he coached the Zips to a better record than many nationally known and respected programs. Colorado (5-6), Penn State (3-8), Notre Dame (4-6), Washington (5-6), and Alabama (4-7) have all had worse seasons than Akron. All this excluded, Akron finished third in the eastern division of the MAC behind Miami of Ohio and Marshall…USC is quickly becoming known as one of the best teams in the country. As it stands now, they are No. 2 in the BCS rankings and No.2 in the coaches’ poll. The problem with USC being ranked as high as they have played a soft scheduled compared to the likes of Miami and Ohio State. Their only loss, to unranked and perennially bad California, is the only blemish on their record. The fact that the Trojans have beaten Arizona, Arizona State, Notre Dame (4-6), and BYU (4-7) does not make anyone fall into a deep stage of awe. They have defeated two ranked teams, and one was No. 6 Auburn the first game of the season and the Tigers have proceeded to drop out of the top 25. That leaves a 43-16 win at No. 6 Washington State as their only quality win. Tennessee (2), Virginia Tech (2), and Ohio State (4) all have more wins against ranked teams. So why is USC that high in the polls…Oklahoma did not win by 77 points this time around, they only beat Baylor by 38. With the win, the Sooners go to 11-0. Quarterback Jason White had 307 yards passing along with four touchdown passes. However he was negative 44 yards rushing. Even if Oklahoma were to lose a game the remainder of the way, it is very unlikely that they would fall from their No. 1 spot atop the BCS poll. That just shows how dominant they have been this year…Without a doubt; West Virginia is the best team no one knows about. After defeating Pittsburgh, the No. 16 team, which makes two ranked teams that have fell to them. The Mountaineers also beat Virginia Tech 28-7. A 22-20 loss to Miami and a 24-17 loss to Wisconsin are the only things between the unranked West Virginia, and the top 15 Mountaineers. With games at Syracuse and home against Temple left on the schedule, it is possible for the Mountaineers to be 8-4, and go to a New Year’s Day bowl game…North Carolina State might be the biggest disappointment of the season. The Wolfpack were picked to be at the top of the ACC and possibly be in a BCS bowl game. Instead they are 7-4 with losses to unranked Wake Forest and Georgia Tech and losses to ranked Ohio State and Florida State. Phillip Rivers has had a sold season, throwing for 3,740 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also has a quarterback rating of 169.8. The possible reason for the collapse is the lack of a running game. T.A. McLendon, struck by the injury bug, has only rushed for 471 yards, down from his 1,101 total during his freshman campaign…