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As the college football season makes the turn into the back half of the season, were due for a startling upset.The first week of the season, two teams ranked in the top 10 lost to unranked teams.No. 5 LSU fell to Wisconsin and No. 10 Notre Dame lost to Texas . Since then we have learned Notre Dame is not all that good and Wisconsin really is.Only one top 10 team has lost to an unranked team since that first week. That was Navy upsetting then-No. 6 Houston .It almost happened last week, when North Carolina State nearly upset Clemson.Maybe Penn State can do it this week against No. 2 Ohio State. N.C. State gets another shot Saturday at No. 7 Louisville.Five things to know for college footballs Week 8:BEST GAMENo. 6 Texas A&M at No. 1 Alabama.Recommended with caution because the Crimson Tide can often turn these marquee matchups into opportunities to watch third-teamers play in the fourth quarter. By the way, many of Alabamas third-teamers are future NFL players.The odds makers dont have much hope for the Aggies, who are 18-point underdogs. Still, it is a huge opportunity for a season-shifting victory. A victory by Texas A&M has the potential to lock Alabama out of the Southeastern Conference championship game and the College Football Playoff.HEISMAN WATCHTexas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight could get the beat-Bama bump with a big game in Tuscaloosa, but lets look a little deeper.Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield came into the season as one of the big-name returning stars getting Heisman hype. Losing two September games pretty much ended that talk, but Mayfield might still have a chance to get the invitation to New York he probably deserved last season.The oh-so accommodating Texas Tech defense awaits the No. 16 Sooners in Lubbock on Saturday.NUMBERS TO KNOW0-7 -- Penn State coach James Franklins record against Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.20-6 -- Alabama coach Nick Sabans record in games matching top 10 teams.11 for 12 -- No. 20 Western Michigan leads the nation in fourth-down conversion rate (91.67) heading into its game against Eastern Michigan.OFF THE RADARUCF (3-3) visits Connecticut (3-4) in a game between two American Athletic Conference teams hoping to stay in the league title race and inch closer to bowl eligibility. Thats pretty far off the radar.But what you need to know is that last year UConn coach Bob Diaco named this rivalry the Civil ConFLiCT (FL, CT. Get it?) and had a trophy made . Diacos enthusiasm for the rivalry seems to have waned and new UCF coach Scott Frost was not about to get lured in this week .But beyond the comic relief, Frosts Knights are worth watching. The former Oregon offensive coordinator took over a team that was a winless wreck last season. Its already a noteworthy turnaround, but if Frost can get UCF to a bowl his own stock will soar.COACH IN NEED OF A WINSpeaking of Oregon, Frosts former boss is having a tough time. Mark Helfrichs Ducks (2-4) have lost four straight games.If the season is to be salvaged a victory at California on Friday night is almost a must. This is another series the Ducks have dominated in recent years, winning seven straight. But Oregon has already had its five-game Pac-12 winning streak against Colorado snapped, a 12-game streak against rival Washington broken and lost consecutive years to Washington State for the first time in 13 seasons.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAPJake DeBrusk Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Phil Esposito Bruins Jersey . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. http://www.thebostonbruinshockey.com/johnny-bucyk-hockey-jersey/ . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Chris Wagner Bruins Jersey . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Terry OReilly Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team.ATLANTA -- Heres one argument against the notion that money is ruining golf: The PGA Tour is playing for $69 million over the final month, and all anyone seems to care about is an exhibition that doesnt pay a dime.Maybe it would be different if the Americans had won the Ryder Cup more than twice over the last 20 years.They have stopped at nothing this time in a desperate bid to get it right, even though the outcome can easily hinge on a 45-foot putt like the one Justin Leonard made in 1999 at Brookline and Justin Rose made in 2012 at Medinah.All the while, an important part of their season is being overshadowed.The FedEx Cup ends Sunday at East Lake, where the winner gets a $10 million bonus. A total of $35 million in bonus money is awarded -- even the players who didnt qualify for the playoffs received $32,000 last year -- after four tournaments that each offer $8.5 million in prize money.Lets be clear: Four tournaments that comprise the FedEx Cup playoffs dont compare to three days of the Ryder Cup, and its not even close. Not in history or passion, not in ticket sales or television ratings. No one this side of PGA Tour headquarters will argue that.The Ryder Cup might be second only to the Masters in terms of pure theater in golf.Still, the process of making the U.S. team is over the top. The Americans have asked for four weeks to get 12 players. Europe had its team in two days.The Ryder Cup has been as much a part of the conversation as the FedEx Cup.The Barclays was the final tournament to earn one of the eight automatic spots on the U.S. team, and the story out of Bethpage Black was as much about Patrick Reed playing his way onto team as it was winning for the first time in nearly 20 months. The Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship might as well have been auditions for Davis Love III before he made three of his four captains picks.And before getting to East Lake for the FedEx Cup finale, Love invited potential picks such as Bubba Watson, Daniel Berger and Justin Thomas to play practice rounds with part of the U.S. team at Hazeltine over the weekend and into Monday.Thomas is No. 12 in the FedEx Cup, well in range of a prize that would pay more than his career earnings. Berger is No. 24 and has a longer road to the $10 million, though its worth noting Bill HHaas won the FedEx Cup in 2011 from the No.dddddddddddd 25 seed.Watson, the No. 7 player in the world, already is stung by not being chosen thus far. He must feel like every shot will determine whether he flies to Minnesota on Sunday night or has time to check on his new candy store in Pensacola, Florida.Jordan Spieth doesnt have this problem. He easily qualified for the team and is trying to become the first back-to-back winner of the FedEx Cup. He was at Hazeltine on Monday playing with whom he described as the three hopefuls -- Watson, Berger and Thomas.Spieth figures his best chance to play well at Hazeltine is to play well at East Lake. The matches dont start until Friday, anyway.Now that Im here, he said Tuesday at East Lake, Im only thinking about this.And those three hopefuls?I think its challenging. I think its tough, he said.Spieth and Thomas have been friends since they were 14. He said Thomas has told him hes been so consumed with the Ryder Cup that it has hurt his game. Thomas missed the cut at the TPC Boston and tied for 32nd in a 69-man field at Crooked Stick.They all know that if they come in here and if they can somehow block that out and focus on this tournament, it will help all of them, Spieth said.Tim Finchem, in his final year as the PGA Tour commissioner, managed to take it as a compliment that the PGA of America was taking so much attention away from what tour marketing officials once described as their Super Bowl.The way the Ryder Cup approaches this has really changed because of the FedEx Cup, he said Tuesday. It says that players are gearing their game to be at the top of their game during this period of time.Nine of the 30 players at the Tour Championship are assured of being in Hazeltine next week.Russell Knox of Scotland is part of the 21 who will not. He was left off the European Tour team despite two PGA Tour victories in the last year and a world ranking (No. 19) better than seven players for Europe. Once he was overlooked as a pick, Knox has thought about only one cup.Theres four or five U.S. guys this week still hoping to play well to make the Ryder Cup, Knox said. The position Im in, Ill take the $10 million. ' ' '