Top 5 story lines in college football this week

Five things to keep an eye on in college football this week:

Oklahoma vs. Texas: In the past five meetings, both teams were ranked in the top 25, with three meetings when both were top-5 teams. That's not the case this season as the 2-2 Sooners stumble into the annual showdown in Dallas.
The Sooners have won five in a row in the series by an average off 27 points per game. Oklahoma is down this year, but the Sooners would like nothing more than to knock the Longhorns out of the national championship picture. - - College Football - -

Rose Bowl: UCLA plays host to Cal in a big Pac-10 showdown. The Bruins are looking to go 5-0 for the first time since the 2001 season. Cal is unbeaten, too. The Bears are 5-0 for the first time since 1996, when Steve Mariucci was their coach, and can start 6-0 for the first time since 1950.

DeAngelo Williams: Don't forget about this Heisman Trophy candidate from Memphis. Williams has had three consecutive 200-plus yard games, including a 236-yard performance last week against UTEP. Williams can pad his stats this week against a Central Florida team that yields an average of 138 yards rushing per game. - - College Football - -

A Big Ten slugfest: The Penn State-Ohio State game features two of the top defenses in the country. Penn State is giving up just 16.6 points per game and will have supreme confidence after shutting down Laurence Maroney and the vaunted Minnesota running game. Ohio State is giving up 12.8 points per game and leads Division I-A in rushing defense (41 ypg). This is the game to watch if you're afootball purist. - - College Football - -

Scarlet Knights: Rutgers would be 4-0 if it hadn't blown a 20-point lead at Illinois in the season opener. As it is, the Scarlet Knights are 3-1 after beating Pitt. They play host to another big Big East game this week against West Virginia. If they find a way to beat the Mountaineers, they'll be a legitimate contender in the conference championship race. - - College Football - -

Copyright ©1997-2005 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.