ACC—Florida State trounced Florida 31-7 after losing the past six meetings between the two teams. The victory was Florida State’s third largest in the history of the rivalry. After losing 7-3 in the first quarter, the Seminoles broke out in the second quarter, scoring three touchdowns. The Seminoles forced the Gators to turn the ball over four times, while not turning it over once themselves. Seminoles cornerback Greg Reid averaged 24 yards on two kick returns. Florida State will play in the ACC title game next week.
Big 12—Texas A&M beat in-state rival Texas 24-17 on Thanksgiving. The Aggies have won six straight Big 12 games. Running back Cyrus Gray ran for a career-high 223 yards and two touchdowns. Gray has rushes for at least 100 yards in each of the Aggies’ last six games. The Aggies won the turnover margin by +2, making two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. To add insult to injury, this is the first year Texas has not been bowl-eligible since 1997. Texas A&M can now say it is the dominant football program in Texas.
Big East—West Virginia upset Pittsburgh for the second straight season in the Backyard Brawl. West Virginia was able to get touchdowns off of a Brandon Hogan interception in the first quarter and a Brandon Hogan fumble recovery in the second quarter. West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith connected with running back Tavon Austin twice in the third quarter for touchdown passes of 71 yards and 12 yards. With West Virginia’s win on Friday, Pittsburgh’s shot at a Big East title is likely over.
Big Ten—Minnesota defeated Iowa 27-24 on Saturday afternoon, winning the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy for the first time in four years. The Golden Gophers ran for 216 yards, the most Iowa has allowed on the ground all year. Gophers quarterback Adam Weber threw for 164 yards. Weber has started all fifty games of his career at Minnesota. Down 24-20, the Gophers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:31 remaining. Minnesota recovered an Iowa fumble on the Hawkeyes’ first play of the ensuing possession. From there the Golden Gophers drained the clock and celebrated. The rivalry win was bittersweet for a Minnesota team that has struggled all season.
C-USA—Tulsa beat Southern Miss in a shootout 56-50. Golden Hurricane quarterback G.J. Kinne passed for 406 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Twelve different Tulsa players had receptions during the game. The Golden Hurricane played disciplined football, committing no penalties. Tulsa finishes the season 9-3 and 6-2 in conference play.
MAC—Kent State beat Ohio 28-6 in front of a crowd of 8,340 at Dix Stadium. On Sunday, Kent State head coach Doug Martin announced that this would be his last game before resigning his post. The Golden Flashes played lights out against a statistically-superior Bobcats team in a sendoff game for their head coach. Kent State had seven sacks and recovered two Ohio fumbles. Kent State safety Dan Hartman had two interceptions in the game. Ohio was the first place team in the MAC East heading into the game, but the loss dealt by Kent State keeps them out of the MAC title game.
MWC—Utah got by in-state rival Brigham Young 17-16 after a fourth quarter comeback. The Utes were losing 13-0 heading into the fourth quarter. The Utes were able to get on the board with a field goal and converted a BYU fumble into a touchdown via a 37-yard pass. BYU answered with a field goal to make the score 16-0 in favor of the Cougars. Utes running back Matt Asiata scored a touchdown on a 3-yard run to give Utah a 1-point lead with over four minutes left. BYU got the ball back, drove down the field, and set up for a 42-yard game winning field goal with 4 seconds left. Utes cornerback Brandon Burton blocked the field goal. The Utes have won at least 10 games in three straight seasons for the first time in school history.
Pac-10—Washington knocked off California 16-13 to keep its hopes of going to a bowl game alive, while denying California bowl eligibility for the first time since the 2002 season. The Huskies won the game on a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Chris Polk as time expired. Jake Locker threw for 237 yards, playing with a broken rib. Wideouts D’Andre Goodwin and Jermaine Kearse had 126 yards and 77 yards on receptions, respectively. If Washington can win the Apple Cup next week, it will go to a bowl.
SEC—Georgia became bowl-eligible on its last game of a rough season. Georgia beat in-state rival Georgia Tech 42-34 at home. Georgia forced three fumbles and sealed the game with a Justin Houston interception on Georgia Tech’s final drive. Georgia linebacker Justin Houston also recovered one of the fumbles and returned it for a touchdown late in the third quarter. Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray completed 78.9 percent of his passes, throwing for 271 yards. Georgia will get an opportunity in a few weeks to end the season better than .500.
Sun Belt—The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns got a much-needed win over their in-state rival and snuffed Louisiana-Monroe from getting bowl-eligibility with their 23-22 win. UL-Lafayette held a 23-13 lead over UL-Monroe after three quarters. UL-Monroe came roaring back in the fourth quarter with a field goal and a touchdown, but Ragin’ Cajun freshman safety Cooper Gerami blocked Warhawk kicker Radi Jabour’s extra point attempt to hold out a 1-point lead. The win ended a seven-game losing streak the Cajuns had been on since October 8th.
WAC—After trailing 24-7 at the half, Nevada defense stepped up and held a dangerous Boise State offense to just one touchdown in the second half. The Wolf Pack scored 24 points in the second half to tie the game at 31-31. In overtime, Boise State had possession first. The Nevada defense held, and Boise State was forced to go for a 29-yard field goal on fourth down, which Kyle Brotzman missed. Nevada got the ball. The Boise State defense held, and Nevada was forced to go for a 34-yard field goal on fourth down. Nevada kicker Anthony Martinez connected; Nevada won the most important game in the history of the Wolf Pack program 34-31. Nevada ended Boise State’s 24-game winning streak and any chance the Broncos had at going to the national championship game.
ACC—Clemson ended No. 21 Auburn’s 17-game winning streak and avenged its overtime loss to Auburn last year. The Clemson Tigers’ 624 yards was the most the program has ever put up on a SEC school. Clemson beat Auburn after losing the last fourteen meetings. It has been sixty years since the Clemson Tigers have beaten the Auburn Tigers. At one point, Clemson converted ten-straight third downs, going 13 for 18 overall on the day.
Big 10—Illinois got by an improved No. 22 Arizona State squad 17-14, despite putting up 240 yards of offense and giving up 362 yards to the Sun Devils. The Illini defense stepped up when it had to, tallying 6 sacks and 2 picks against Sun Devil quarterback Brock Osweiler. Illinois led 10-7 before the first quarter was over. Early in the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils took the lead 14-10 on a 14-yard quarterback rush. A 16-yard touchdown pass to Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins put Illinois back on top 17-14 and was enough to get a big victory for a program that has struggled since going to the 2008 Rose Bowl.
Big 12—No. 1 Oklahoma’s resume for the BCS Championship Game is looking good after a 23-13 victory over No. 5 Florida State in Tallahassee. The Sooners defense was phenomenal: 6 sacks and held the Seminoles to 27 rushing yards on 26 attempts. Oklahoma defensive back Javon Harris had two interceptions, while linebacker Tom Wort added another. Florida State tied the game at 13-13 in the fourth quarter, but the Sooners added a touchdown and field goal in the final minutes to get the W.
Big East—Louisville took out rival Kentucky 24-17 on Saturday. Louisville last beat the Wildcats in 2006. Louisville quarterback Will Stein left the game early in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. True freshmen Teddy Bridgewater came in to replace him and completed 10 of 18 passes for two touchdown and no interceptions. The Cardinals are 2-1 and have two weeks to get ready for Marshall at home.
C-USA—UTEP prevailed over New Mexico State 16-10 in the Battle of I-15. UTEP kicker Dakota Warren had most of the Miners’ points: field goals of 42, 47, and 37 yards. The Miners only touchdown was set up by a 60-yard run off of a fake punt. UTEP’s defense played a great game, getting 6 sacks and holding NMSU to 16 yards rushing on 29 carries. The Miners have now beaten the Aggies three straight years.
MAC—Western Michigan routed in-state rival Central Michigan 44-14. Broncos wide receiver Jordan White had 13 catches for 177 yards, while quarterback Alex Carder threw for 355 yards, going 28 for 37. The Broncos have lost to the Chippewas each of the last five seasons. If Western Michigan can go on to defeat Eastern Michigan later in the season, it will win the Michigan MAC Trophy.
MWC—UNLV pulled a huge upset over Hawaii Saturday evening at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Rebels beat the Warriors 40-20, despite the Vegas line favoring Hawaii by 17.5 points. UNLV running back Tim Cornett ran in an 80-yard touchdown, the longest touchdown run for the Rebels in 22 years. The Rebels defense was opportunistic, recovering all four of Hawaii’s fumbles. The Rebels got their first win of the season and the biggest of the Bobby Hauck era.
Pac-12—Utah absolutely destroyed BYU in the latest installment of the Holy War. The Utes put up 54 points on the Cougars, while only allowing 10 points and 11 rushing yards with stout defense. The Utes forced the Cougars to turn over the football a whopping seven times. Young was embarrassed on its home field. Utes running back John White IV rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns. After losing 10-7 in the second quarter, Utah scored 47 unanswered points in the blowout.
SEC—Florida beat Tennessee for the seventh straight time Saturday in a 33-23 decision. Florida senior running back Chris Rainey was the MVP of the game. He rushed for 108 yards, caught for 104 yards, and blocked a punt. The Florida rush defense totally shut down the Volunteers run game. The Vols rushed for -9 yards in the contest. Luckily, solid play was able to overcome the Gators’ 150 yards of penalties.
Sun Belt—Florida International gets the Sun Belt helmet sticker for the third straight week. FIU was the only Sun Belt team to get a win over a FBS opponent, which was Central Florida this past Saturday. The Golden Panthers got by the Knights without stud wide out T.Y. Hilton. Hilton was injured. FIU is 3-0 for the first time in school history. The Panther defense put up six sacks on Central Florida’s Jeff Godfrey. One of those sacks came from FIU cornerback Tevin Blanchard late in the first half. It resulted in a fumble that was picked up by FIU defensive end Isame Faciane and returned 51 yards for the score.
WAC—Nevada defeated conference foe San Jose State by a score of 17-14. The Spartans were poised to get the go-ahead touchdown with 1:10 remaining in the game, but Nevada safety Duke Williams intercepted the Spartans’ third down pass into the end zone to clinch the victory for the Wolf Pack. Running back Mike Ball rushed for 124 yards and scored both of the Wolf Pack’s touchdowns.
Independents—The Black Knights got a quality 21-14 win over Northwestern, their first win of the season. All but 6 yards of Army’s offense came on the ground. Army quarterback Trent Steelman scored all three of the Black Knights’ touchdowns on runs, the third of which gave Army the lead with less than 3 minutes left. Victory was sealed after the defense stopped the Wildcats on 4th and 1 on the Army 33-yard line. The Black Knights controlled the clock for over 40 minutes with their triple-option offense.
