Thoughts for the coming week of college football

Three thoughts for the coming week:

1.) If Oklahoma has any hope of a national championship run, the No. 14 Sooners might have to come through in a big way on Saturday. After an upset loss to Houston and a cakewalk against Louisiana-Monroe, they get No. 3 Ohio State at home with a chance to jump back into the playoff conversation.

2.) Clemson’s stock has slipped, with the undefeated Tigers dropping three spots to No. 5 in the new Associated Press media poll. Next week’s “guarantee” game against South Carolina State probably won’t help much — we may not get a true read on this team until its Oct. 1 showdown against No. 10 Louisville.

3.) In case you missed it, San Diego State’s 45-40 victory over California late Saturday night extended the Aztecs’ winning streak to 12 games, second-longest to Alabama’s current run of 14. Also, running back Donnel Pumphrey’s 281 yards nudged him past Marshall Faulk as the school’s all-time leading rusher. Next comes Northern Illinois.