National title chase takes shape

From the Coliseum to Athens, the national championship race will take shape today.

Six games will match ranked teams, with the biggest of the big games being played in California, Texas and Georgia.

No. 1 Southern California faces No. 7 California at the Los Angeles Coliseum; No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas meet at the state fairgrounds in Dallas in the Red River Shootout; and No. 3 Georgia hosts No. 17 Tennessee between the hedges at Sanford Stadium in Athens.

Coach Mack Brown’s Longhorns have lost four straight to coach Bob Stoops’ Sooners in both embarrassing and excruciating fashion. Last season, the Sooners won 65-13 in the most lopsided contest in the 98-game history of the border rivalry.

Georgia also has a four-game winning streak in its series against Tennessee, including the last three under coach Mark Richt, who has turned the Bulldogs into the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference East.

Bulldogs quarterback David Greene looked like Heisman material last week, when he threw five touchdown passes against LSU.

USC-Cal doesn’t have the history of Oklahoma-Texas and Georgia-Tennessee, but it is every bit as significant. The Trojans have won 13 straight since losing 34-31 at Cal last season. The loss cost USC an outright national title.