Saturday, November 29, 2008

The College Football Blog: Week 13 Review

Week 13 Recap: After a very tame week 12, things heated up again as college football’s two week long Rivalry Week got underway in week 13. Along with the rivalries that are always interesting there were a few big games left to be played to determine conference champions and the like. There were some surprises and some great games as always. And just when it looked like the BCS might get lucky and work out with no controversy this year, the door was flung back open and chaos stepped through.

The Big Games

There were 4 games between ranked teams in week 13, each of them with conference championship and BCS implications. The one common theme that ran through all 4 games was that in each case the home team prevailed. The matchup of ranked teams getting the least attention was an important Big East battle between the #20 Pitt Panthers and the #19 Cincinnati Bearcats in Cincinnati on Saturday night. The teams have decided to call this new rivalry the River City Rivalry, and going into this season Pittsburgh had had the upper hand, winning all 3 of the meetings since the formation of the new Big East. The Bearcats were 0-7 vs. Pitt all-time going into this game but they had everything going for them on this night, with the first capacity crowd of the year at Nippert Stadium. Cinci came into the game 4-1 in the Big East while Pitt was 3-1 in conference and looking to throw a wrench into Cinci’s conference title plans. Early on it looked like they might well do that, as star RB LeSean McCoy scored on a 6 yard run to give Pitt a 7-0 1st quarter lead. But Tony Pike fired a pair of 2nd quarter TD passes to put Cinci up 14-7 at the half, and Pike threw a 3rd TD in the 3rd quarter as the Cats took a 21-7 lead into the 4th. They scored again early in the 4th to go up by a seemingly insurmountable 28-7 score, but Pitt made a late comeback. McCoy scored on a 16 yard run to make it 28-14 with 10:12 to play and Bill Stull threw a 41 yard TD to bring the Panthers within a TD with just 1:22 remaining. But the Bearcats recovered the onsides kick and by the time Pitt got the ball back at their 32 there were just 18 seconds left. A sack with 4 seconds left sent the Cincinnati fans rushing onto the field but a penalty on the defense extended the game for one play and the students had to clear the field. Pitt then ran one of those crazy lateral plays and the fans ran onto the field early again and began tearing the goal posts down as Pittsburgh crossed into Bearcat territory. If the Panthers had broken a few more tackles and gotten closer to the end zone there would have been a chance of a “band on the field” repeat. But eventually Pitt fumbled and Cincinnati recovered to secure a 28-21 win. The victory put the Bearcats on the verge of their first ever Big East title and BCS bowl. A win next week at home vs. bottom feeder Syracuse or a loss by West Virginia at Pittsburgh will clinch the title for the Cats. It’s not over yet, although Cincinnati students seemed to feel pretty confident, as they covered the field with oranges following the victory.

While sometimes would play for 2 more weeks following week 13, Big Ten play wrapped up in week 13. The most important game of the week was the annual battle for the Land Grant Trophy between #8 Penn State and #15 Michigan State, this year taking place at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. The Spartans had won a year before but the Nittany Lions had won 7 straight at home vs. Michigan State. Both teams came into the game 6-1 in the Big Ten. The Lions needed just to win this game to clinch a share for the conference title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Spartans needed to beat Penn State and hope Ohio State lost to Michigan. If both things happened Michigan State would be the outright champion of the Big Ten and would go to the Rose Bowl. If Michigan State won and Ohio State won then they would tie for the title and Ohio State would go to the Rose Bowl by virtue of their win over the Spartans. All of that talk seemed a little unnecessary in the days leading up to this one, as most expected PSU to win and win easily. And as it turned out, the Lions would put the matter to bed before halftime. As they had in their other game against a top opponent this year (Ohio State), the Spartans wet themselves and fell into a huge hole that they never climbed halfway out of. PSU went ahead 7-0 midway through the 1st quarter and then scored 3 more touchdowns in the 2nd quarter as the Lions scored the game’s first 28 points. Michigan State got a TD right before the half but a pair of TD passes from Daryll Clark to Deon Butler in the 3rd quarter put the Lions up 42-7 and put the game away. It was 49-7 until the Spartans scored a FG, a TD, and a 2-pt conversion in the final 10 minutes to make the score slightly more respectable. PSU went on to win 49-11 to earn a share of the Big Ten title and the school’s first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1994. A day after announcing at a pep rally that he would be back as head coach in 2009, 81 year old Joe Paterno watched from the press box as his team racked up 557 yards of offense and held Javon Ringer to 42 yards rushing on 17 carries. Clark threw for 341 yards and 4 TD (3 of those to Butler) and he also scored a TD on the ground. PSU finished the regular season 11-1 with the 1 point loss at Iowa the only blemish.

There was an enormous game in the Mountain West Conference in week 13. As expected, both Utah and BYU entered the 84th Holy War with in contention for at least a piece of the MWC title. The Cougars came into the game 6-1 in conference play and a win for them would clinch at least a share of the conference title. The stakes were much greater for the Utes, who entered the game 7-0 in the MWC and 11-0 overall. At stake for Utah was a perfect season, the outright conference title, and in all likelihood a BCS bowl bid by virtue of being the highest of the highly ranked non-BCS teams. This was a home game for Utah and that figured to be a major advantage for them as usual. Utah was expected to win but BYU definitely had a shot. This one turned out to be as exciting as hoped but in the end the Utes proved again to be the stronger team and pulled away. Utah scored first and led 10-3 after the 1st quarter but the 2nd quarter was wild. Utah scored to go ahead 17-3 early in the quarter but BYU stormed back behind a pair of TD runs by Harvey Unga that tied the score with over 6 minutes left in the half. After a Louie Sakoda field goal with 1:41 left in the half put the Utes back up by 3, it looked like BYU was going to tie or take their first lead, but Max Hall was picked off in Utah territory, and moments later Brian Johnson tossed a long touchdown pass to put Utah back up by 10 with just 15 seconds left in the half. The Cougars stayed in it in the 3rd quarter, with Hall running for a TD to make it a 27-24 games midway through the quarter. But the 4th quarter was all Utah, as the Utes put the game away with 21 unanswered points and went on to double up the Cougs, 48-24. It was a nightmare game for Hall, as the one time Heisman dark horse completed just 21 of 41 passes for 205 yards and no touchdowns and was intercepted 5 times. Brian Johnson threw 4 TD passes for the Utes who finished the regular season undefeated at 12-0, champions of the MWC and bound for the BCS.

The biggest game of the week was yet another huge showdown in the Big XII. But like the majority of the primetime main event games this season, this one was over early and ugly late. Actually, it was ugly early too. #2 Texas Tech came into week 13 undefeated at 10-0 having defeated then #1 Texas on a last second touchdown at home back in week 10. But now they would have to prove they could beat a top opponent on the road. #5 Oklahoma was 9-1 and 5-1 in the Big XII and looking to inject themselves back into the Big XII South race and the National Championship conversation. Most people thought Oklahoma would win, as this game would be in Norman, where the Sooners had lost just 2 games this decade. Many people thought it would be close and surely even those who thought Oklahoma would win decisively could not have imagined things would turn out the way they did. The poor Red Raiders looked as if they had no idea what they were in for. Sure the Red Raiders had won the year before, but that was when Sam Bradford had been knocked out on the first play, and more importantly, that game was at home, not in Norman, on a Saturday night, when the Sooner Nation felt challenged. The Sooner fans rattled the Red Raiders and inspired the Oklahoma’s defense to play with lightening fast speed, as they corralled Tech’s offense in a way previously not thought possible. Oklahoma’s offense moved the ball at will against Tech’s defense and came at the Red Raiders with every weapon in their repertoire. The game was over before halftime and in the end the beating was so severe that it ended all consideration of Texas Tech as one of the elite teams in the country. The Sooners took the first lead in the game with just under 9 minutes left in the 1st quarter and they held Tech scoreless in the 1st. Oklahoma scored again early in the 2nd and then scored twice more over the next 6 and a half minutes to make it 28-0 with 7:45 remaining in the half. It was pretty much over at that point but because of Tech’s offense you couldn’t completely write them off and they were finally able to get into the end zone with 6:28 to play in the quarter. But Oklahoma put the game out of the reach with a pair of touchdowns in the final minute of the half to take an unfathomable 42-7 lead into intermission. The Sooners scored the first 10 points of the 2nd half and led 58-14 going to the 4th quarter. Oklahoma went on to win by 44 points, 65-21, but hard as this is to believe, it was not as close as that score would suggest. With reserves in the game and leading 65-14, Oklahoma had a 1st and goal at the 4 and looked to be on the verge of breaking the 70 point barrier. But they ended up getting held out of the end zone and turning the ball over on downs at the 1. Texas Tech then went on a 99 yard drive against Oklahoma’s reserves and scored a TD with 11 seconds left to make the final score 65-21. The score should have been more like 72-14. It would be difficult to explain in words how badly Oklahoma beat Texas Tech and the stats don’t tell the story ether. The Sooners put up 625 yards of offense and gained 32 first downs. Texas Tech was just 1 for 13 on 3rd down and 3 for 6 on 4th downs. Sam Bradford completed 14 of 19 passes for 304 yards and 4 TD. Oklahoma outrushed the Red Raiders 299-45. Tech turned it over 3 times and only turned the Sooners over once. Graham Harrell was intercepted and threw 22 incompletions, while Michael Crabtree’s streak of 13 games with a TD reception came to an end. Two Sooners rushed for over 100 yards. Oklahoma’s victory created a 3 team log jam atop the Big XII South, with all teams 6-1 in conference play. All 3 teams are still alive for the division title and a trip to the conference championship game but there is much to be determined in week 14. Regardless of what happens, the Red Raiders are going to find it hard to repair their reputation after the damage that Oklahoma did to it on Saturday night in week 13.

Four Teams Fall to Unranked Opponents

As usual there were a few ranked teams who went down to unranked opponents in week 13. There were 4 such cases in week 13, and not at all surprisingly, 3 of those games took place in the wacky ACC. The one such game that did not take place between ACC teams came in an SEC battle. The unranked Ole Miss Rebels went down to Baton Rouge in week 13 and laid a beating on #18 LSU at Tiger Stadium. This was a little big less surprising than it would have been had the Tigers not fallen down 31-0 at home to Troy in week 12 before coming back to win 40-31. People knew that the Bayou Bengals were cruising for a bruising and the Rebs came in on a role, having won 3 straight. Unlike in their somewhat fluky win over Florida, the Rebels dominated this game, outgaining the Tigers 409-215, throwing for 307 yards on the LSU defense, and limiting LSU to just 37 yards rushing. Jevan Snead fired 2 TD’s to Mike Wallace and Ole Miss intercepted Jarrett Lee and knocked him out of the game. Ole Miss led 7-0 at the end of the 1st quarter and it was 21-3 midway through the 2nd. The Tigers cut it to 21-10 before halftime behind 3rd string QB Jordan Jefferson, and a field goal early in the 3rd quarter made it an 8 point game. But Mississippi scored a TD with just under 8 minutes left in the 3rd to make it a 15 point game and the Rebs shut LSU out the rest of the way. Ole Miss put the game away with a field goal to make it a 3 score game with just over 4 minutes remaining on the clock. Ole Miss won 31-13 to snap a 6 game losing streak against LSU and move ahead of them into 2nd place in the SEC West.

The first ranked team to go down to an unranked opponent in week 13 was Miami, who got hammered, 41-23 on Thursday night by Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Hurricanes needed a win to clinch a tie for the ACC Costal Division title but they were literally run over by a Tech team that found itself back in contention for a conference championship following their unexpected win. The Jackets led 3-0 after 1 and took an interception back for a TD early in the 2nd to go up 10-0. Miami got on the board with a field goal but the Jackets scored twice more before halftime to head to the lockers with a commanding 24-3 advantage. The final score was deceiving, as Tech led 41-10 heading to the 4th quarter. The Jackets outgained Miami 518-388, piling up 472 yards on the ground against the Caines on their way to a 41-23 win.

That Maryland lost to Florida State in week 13 wasn’t that surprising. That they lost 37-3 at home on Senior Day clearly was. Maryland was in the driver seat to win the Atlanta Division and play for the conference title in the championship game, but instead they were eliminated by the Seminoles, who now need Maryland to upset Boston College in week 14 in order to make the conference title game. FSU dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for 36 minutes, and they forced 4 Terrapin turnovers. The game was scoreless after 1 but the Noles scored 21 unanswered points in the 2nd quarter to lead 21-0 at the half. FSU added a field goal to make it 24-0 before the Terps finally got on the board with a FG late in the 3rd. The Seminoles shutout the Terrapins 17-0 in the 4th and went on to hand Maryland their first home loss of the season, 37-3.

As surprising as the lopsided wins for GT and FSU were, they were not quite as strange as the one NC State recorded in week 13 on the road against their rivals from Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack smoked #22 North Carolina 41-10, ending the Heels’ chances of winning the Costal Divisions, and pulling within a win of bowl eligibility. With the win, NC State finished 4-0 against the other 4 major schools in North Carolina for the first time since 1986. NC State dominated UNC behind the efficient work of QB Russell Wilson and the opportunistic play of a defense that forced 6 turnovers. The Wolfpack did not turn the ball over and outgained UNC 466-203 while holding the ball for 38 minutes. The Pack scored the first 10 points in the game and led 10-3 at the half. It was 17-3 until a UNC TD midway through the 3rd made it a 1 score game, but the Wolfpack scored twice in the final minute and a half of the quarter to put the game away. They scored the game’s final 24 points to roll to a stunning 41-17 win that was the biggest so far in the Tom O’Brien era.

Four Relatively Significant Upsets

Four underdogs pulled off upsets over teams favored by at least 7 points in week 13. NC State was an 11 point underdog on the road against UNC in week 13 but the Wolfpack won, 41-10. In the Sun Belt, Louisiana-Monroe was an 8 points underdog on the road at Florida International but the Warhawks came up with a 31-27 victory. ULM’s Kinsman Lancaster threw for 2 TD’s and ran for another in the win. FIU led 3-0 after 1, but ULM scored 21 unanswered points in the 2nd and led 21-3 at the half. ULM led 28-10 midway through the 3rd and took a 31-17 lead to the 4th quarter. FIU mounted a comeback, scoring 10 points to cut the lead to 4 points and they got the ball back with 3:14 left and a chance to take the lead. But ULM sacked FIU’s QB 3 times and deflected a pass to stop the Panthers’ final drive and hang on for the upset win, 31-27.

This year’s version of the Apple Cup between the Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars was really a moment of humiliation for both schools, as their awful records were put on display in front of the nation. The combined record of the two in-state rivals was 1-20 and they were 0-20 vs. FBS competition. Though the game was in Pullman, Washington came in as a 7 point favorite. This was because while Washington was winless on the season, Wazu had been by far the worst team from a BCS conference this year. The only reason to watch this game was for the train wreck aspect of the whole thing, but it wasn’t like that for the two programs and fan bases involved. The crowd at Martin Stadium was fired up for this thing and the players were treating this game like the Super Bowl. The game was extremely ugly as you would expect but it turned out to be highly entertaining, particularly late in the game, and some of the more dramatic moments of week 13 would come from this battle of losers from the state of Washington. For most of the day the game played out as expected, with Washington being just a little less inept than Wazu. The game was scoreless until the Huskies went in for a score early in the 2nd quarter to take a 7-0 lead and then led 10-0 at halftime, having controlled the action for the entire first half. The Washington players taunted the Wazu fans as they headed for the lockers, and indeed it looked like the Huskies were in complete control. The Huskies continued to control the game throughout most of the 3rd quarter but then all of the sudden the Cougars got into the game when Logwone Mitz got loose for a 57 yard TD to get the lead to 10-7 with just 2:06 left in the 3rd. It was Wazu’s first TD in over 6 quarters. At the start of the 4th quarter the Huskies looked to make it a 6 point game with a 40 yard FG try by Jared Ballman but he missed it. Washington had a 1st and 10 at the Wazu 12 as the clock ticked under 5 minutes and it looked like they might put the game away but they couldn’t get the ball in the end zone. They ended up having to settle for a 28 yard field goal try that would have made it a 6 point game but Ryan Perkins somehow missed the chip shot to give Washington State the ball down just 3 with 3:24 to go. The Cougars faced a 4th and 7 at their own 37 and QB Kevin Lopina completed a pass that nearly kept the drive alive but Washington stopped the play a yard shy and took over on downs at the Washington State 43 with just 2:02 left on the clock. It looked like the Cougars were going to come up short to the dismay of their fans. But the Washington could not get a first down and Washington State called 3 timeouts. The Huskies decided to punt on 4th and 3 from the Wazu 36 and it went for a touchback to give the Cougars the ball at the 20 with no timeouts and 56 seconds on the clock. The Cougars converted a 3rd and 1 with a 5 yard completion to the 34 but they weren’t moving fast enough. They didn’t have a kicker who could hit from really far out so they would have to get deep into Washington territory. There was really no way they could do anything if the Huskies played smart defense. But then somehow, someway, Jared Karstetter got behind the Washington secondary down the right side and Kevin Lopina made his best throw of the day to hit Karstetter with a bomb. The play went for 48 yards and gave Wazu a first down at the Washington 18 with 24 seconds left. The Cougars called another play and Karstetter caught a pass for 7 yards but didn’t get out of bounds and the Cougars had to rush to the line to spike the ball with just 2 seconds left at the Washington 11. Wazu kicker Nico Grasu started his kick early but was able to get enough behind the kick to hit the 28 yarder with no time left to send it to OT tied at 10-10. The Cougars went first in OT and they converted on 3rd and 1 from the 16 and then on 4th and 1 from the 4, but they couldn’t get in the end zone after having a 2nd and goal from the 1. On 4th and goal from the 2 they kicked a 19 yard field goal to make it 13-10. The Huskies then appeared on the verge of winning the game with a TD, as they had a 2nd and 4 at the 6 against a worn out Cougar defense. But they lost 2 yards on 2nd down and then on 3rd and 6 they gained just 3 yards and had to settle for a 22 yard field goal to make it 13-13. Now Washington had to go on offense first and they had a 2nd and 3 from the 18 but they lost 2 yards and then on 3rd and 5 they threw incomplete to bring up 4th and 5 from the 20. Perkins came out to try a 37 yard field goal and he missed it to open the door for Wazu. The Cougars gained 5 yards and then on 4th and 5 from the 20 Grasu made his 37 yard try to give Washington State a 16-13 win in double overtime. The Washington State players and fans celebrated like they were going to the Rose Bowl. A shaken and defeated Tyrone Willingham walked off the field looking dazed while Washington players collapsed on the turf weeping. They were still losers.

The biggest upset spread wise in week 13 was one that happened fast and its affects are still being felt now and probably will be for months. No team from a BCS conference has been worse over the past 4 years than the Syracuse Orange. In week 13, the 2-8 Orange and their lame duck coach traveled to South Bend as 19.5 underdogs to be an automatic win for the struggling Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame’s season had not turned out the way the fans had wanted and everyone expected they would be plastered by USC in the final game of the year to finish 7-5. But no one was considering that they might not beat Syracuse at home in week 13. Certainly their fans weren’t expecting it to happen, as the student section spent the entire first half throwing snowballs at their own players standing on the sidelines. Early on Notre Dame let Syracuse hang around. The Irish kicked a field goal on their first possession and then the Orange missed a field goal. ND went for it on 4th and 2 from the 35 on their next drive and got stopped for a loss of 2 to give the Cuse the ball, and the Orange turned it into a field goal to tie the game at 3-3 on the final play of the 1st quarter. Midway through the 2nd, the Orange stopped ND and then went on an 81 yard drive that was capped off by a 1 yard TD run that gave the Cuse a 10-3 lead with 6:48 left in the half. Notre Dame kicked a field goal to cut it to 10-6 with 2:19 left in the half, and then Syracuse suffered a serious let down right before intermission. ND took over at their own 24 with just 50 seconds left and no timeouts but the Orange allowed them to move down the field quickly and then Golden Tate caught a pass from Jimmy Claussen for 35 yards to score and give ND a 13-10 lead with just 2 seconds left on the clock Syracuse should have had the lead heading to halftime but they didn’t. In the 3rd quarter ND had plenty of chances to blow the game wide open. After a terrible punt the Irish took over at the Cuse 23 but after a series of penalties and mistakes, ND ended up with a 4th and 40 from their own 47 and had to punt. Another horrible punt moments later gave them 1st and 10 at the Cuse 21. They got a 1st and goal at the 9 but ended up settling for a 26 yard FG and Brandon Walker missed the chip shot to keep it 13-10. Finally Tate scored on a 36 yard reception to put the Irish up 20-10 with 2:49 remaining. So it looked like ND was in the clear and when the Orange fumbled on the first play of their next possession to give ND the ball at the 5 yard line it looked like the Irish might cover. But they couldn’t punch it in and had to settle for a 23 yard field goal. Still, with 1:34 left in the 3rd the Irish had a 13 point lead and no one thought Syracuse was in the game when the 4th quarter began with them still trailing 23-10. But then Antwan Bailey scampered 26 yards for a TD to make it 23-17 with 12:30 left and that made it a 1 score game. It still didn’t seem like ND was going down, not because of anything they were doing, but because it was so obvious to anyone watching how bad Syracuse was. ND drove into Cuse territory on their next possession and had a 1st and 10 at the 33. All they had to do was get points to basically put the game away, but Walker came up short on a 49 yard field goal try to keep it a 6 point game and give the Orangemen the ball at the ND 32 with 4:58 to go. The Cuse moved quickly into ND territory and then on 3rd and 1 a pass interference call on the Irish helped the Orange pick up a key first down. Still it looked bad for Syracuse when a holding penalty gave them a 2nd and 17 from the 20. But they got 9 yards on a completion on the next play and then on 3rd down and 8 from the 11, Cameron Dantley found Donte Davis over the middle in the end zone for a TD. Patrick Shadle’s extra point gave Syracuse the lead, 24-23, with just 42 seconds to play. After the Irish could only return the ball to the 26 they were in dire straights because they had no timeouts. Claussen began throwing the ball deep and nearly connected a couple times before the passes were broken up at the last moment. It was now 4th and 10 from the 26 and all Syracuse had to do was knock down one more pass, but on 4th down Tate went down the right sideline and went up and pulled a rainbow pass down at the 34 for a gain of 40. The Irish spiked it with 7 seconds left. Rather than trying to throw a pass to the sidelines for 5 more yards, the Irish decided to try the 53 yarder now. It seemed like Walker’s kick was in the air for 10 seconds, and a couple of times during the ball’s flight it looked like it was going to be good, but it came up short and Notre Dame fell to the 8 loss Orangemen, 24-23. The loss as 19.5 point favorites at home dropped ND to 6-5 on the season. What a glorious moment for all of us ND haters.

Number of Unbeaten Teams Shrinks From Five to Four

At the start of week 13 there were 5 FBS still without a loss. By week’s end that number would be down to 4 teams. Only 1 team lost for the first time in week 13. Texas Tech entered week 13 undefeated at 10-0, but the Red Raiders got crushed on the road at Oklahoma, 65-21, to fall to 10-1 on the season. Alabama was idle in week 13 and thus remained unbeaten at 11-0. The other 3 undefeated teams were in action in week 13 and got victories to stay perfect. Utah went into week 13 undefeated at 11-0 and smashed visiting BYU 48-24 to finish the regular season undefeated at 12-0.

Ball State was the first undefeated team to play in week 13, as the 10-0 Cardinals visited Central Michigan on Wednesday night for what was expected to be their biggest test of the season. Both teams went into the game 6-0 in MAC play and the two-time defending MAC champion Chippewas had their star QB Dan LeFevour back in the lineup. The Cardinals took the first lead in the game late in the 1st quarter on a TD pass by Nate Davis but CM tied it up early in the 2nd on a TD pass by LeFevour and then hit a FG to go up 10-7. BSU tied it up with less than a minute to go in the half on a FG. CM retook the lead with a TD early in the 3rd but the Cardinals answered with a TD a few minutes later and the game went to the 4th tied at 17-17. A 38 yard TD pass by LeFevour put the Cardinals behind by 7 again early in the 4th but Davis threw a 45 yard TD pass to tie it up again with 12:51 to play. On BSU’s next possession they drove deep into CM territory again and Davis fired an 11 yard TD to put the Cardinals ahead 31-24 with 7:29 left on the clock. CM drove into BSU territory on their next possession and had a 1st down at the 32 but Ball State stopped the Chippewas on downs with 5:08 to go. Central Michigan got the ball back for one final shot and they got a 1st down at the BSU 36, but Sean Baker intercepted LeFevour at the 9 with 35 seconds left to seal the win for Ball State. The victory got Ball State to 11-0 and clinched at least a share of 1st place in the MAC West. They would play Western Michigan the following week with a trip to the conference championship game on the line.

The final undefeated team to win in week 13 was Boise State, which came into week 13 without a loss on the season at 10-0, and facing a somewhat tough road game at Nevada. The Broncos dominated the first half and appeared in complete control midway through the 3rd quarter but their own mistakes and Nevada’s refusal to accept defeat combined to tighten things up late in the game. Kellen Moore put Boise on top with a 16 yard TD pass midway through the 1st and the Broncos led 14-0 after 1. Nevada got on the board with a field goal but the Broncos kicked one of their own to make 17-3 and then Moore threw an 18 yard TD late in the 2nd and Boise State took a commanding 24-3 lead into halftime on the road. Moore threw for 319 yards in the first half but he got into trouble by making some poor throws in the 2nd half. Boise State’s first drive of the 2nd half ended when Moore was intercepted at the Bronco 37, but Nevada got nothing out of it when Colin Kaepernick’s pass on 4th and 6 from the 33 fell incomplete. Moments later, Moore’s pass was intercepted by Jerome Johnson and returned 28 yards for a TD to make it 24-10 with 10 minutes left in the quarter. Ian Johnson got loose for a 66 yard TD run to make it a 31-10 game just a minute and 12 seconds later and it seemed that all was well. Nevada kept playing and Vai Taua scored on a 31 yard dash to the end zone to make it 31-17 with 6:24 left in the 3rd. When Moore’s 3rd interception of the quarter was returned 46 yards for a TD by Josh Mauga to make it 31-24 with 5:14 still on the clock in the 3rd, it was a brand new ball game. Nevada would get the ball right back after a bad punt, taking over at the Boise State 43 with 3:11 remaining in the 3rd, but Kaepernick threw incomplete on 4th and 3 from the 36 to turn it over on downs, and the game went to the 4th with Boise State still up 31-24. Moore made it a 14 point game again with 10 yard TD strike to make it 38-24 with 10:11 to go and Kyle Brotzman hit a 50 yard field goal to make it a 3 score game with only 7:20 remaining. It looked like Nevada’s opportunity had passed and the game was now out of reach. But the Wolf Pack went down into Boise State territory and on 4th and 5 from the 9 Kaepernick fired a TD pass to make it 41-31 with 4:36 to go. The Pack recovered an onsides kick and hit a FG to make it 41-34 with 2:36 on the clock. The second onsides kick was recovered by Boise State at the Nevada 40, but the defense forced a 48 yard try by Brotzman and he missed to give Nevada the ball at their own 31, down by 7, with 1:34 on the clock and no timeouts. On 4th and 6, Kaepernick completed a pass for 28 yards and a first down at the 26 of Boise State with 28 tics on the clock. But the Pack could get on further. The Broncos broke up Kaepernick’s pass on 4th and 10 from the 31 as time expired to hang on for a hard fought 41-34 victory. With the win the Broncos clinched the WAC title and remained perfect on the season at 11-0.

One Team Still Without a Win

The Washington Huskies entered week 13 as the only FBS team still without a win of any kind on the season at 0-10. At week’s end, Washington was still the lone winless team in the country, as they fell to their struggling rivals, Washington State, on the road, 16-13, in double overtime. The loss dropped the Huskies to 0-11 on the season. They have just one more chance to get a win this year, as they travel to Berkley to play the Cal Bears in week 15.

Number of Teams Without a Win vs. FBS Shrinks From Four to Three

Going into week 13 there were four teams without a win vs. FBS competition including Washington. The other 3 teams all had wins vs. teams from the FCS but were thus far winless against teams from the FBS. Only 1 of those 3 teams was in action in week 13 but that 1 team got its first win over an FBS team. SMU was idle in week 13 and thus stayed at 1-10, 0-10 vs. the FBS. Western Kentucky was likewise idle and stayed at 2-9, 0-9 vs. FBS teams. Washington State came into week 13 with a record of 1-10, 0-10 vs. FBS teams, but the Cougars beat their rivals, the winless Washington Huskies, at home, 16-13, in double OT for their first win over an FBS team this season. With the victory the Cougs moved to 2-10 on the season, 1-10 against FBS teams.

Three Games Last into Overtime

There were 3 overtime games in week 13. Washington State defeated Washington, 16-13, in double overtime to win the Apple Cup in Pullman. Earlier in the week there was an overtime game in the MAC. On Friday night, Buffalo played on the road at Bowling Green and the two teams battled into overtime. The Falcons were in control throughout the first half, scoring twice in the 2nd quarter to go up 14-0. With less than a minute to play in the half, BG had a 1st down at the Bulls’ 21 leading 14-0 but Tyler Sheehan’s pass was intercepted at the 2 with 23 seconds left and the score stayed 14-0 going to the half. The Falcons scored on their opening drive of the 2nd half to go up 21-0. Buffalo got on the board with a TD on their next drive but the Falcons led 21-7 going to the 4th quarter. Early in the 4th the Falcons scored again but missed the extra point to leave the score 27-7 with a little over 13 minutes to play. The Bulls score a TD just over 2 minutes later but they also missed the PAT to leave the score 27-13. Bowling Green was on the verge of putting the game away for good as they had the ball at the Buffalo 20 with just over 5 minutes to go but the Falcons decided to go for it rather than kick a field goal and the Bulls stopped them to take over at their own 29, still down 14, with 4:53 to play. The Bulls scored in just 2:24 and then recovered an onsides kick at their own 42 with 2:29 remaining. A 5 yard TD pass from Drew Willy to Naaman Roosevelt tied it up with 37 seconds to go and the game went into OT tied at 27-27. Buffalo had the ball first in OT and scored on their second play, with Willy throwing a 26 yard TD to make it 34-27. Sheehan fired a 23 yard TD on 3rd and 8 on BG’s possession to tie it up again and the game went to a second OT. BG had it first this time and they moved all the way to the goal line. But on 3rd and goal from the 1 they fumbled and lost a yard and then Sheehan threw incomplete on 4th and goal from the 2. On Buffalo’s first play, James Starkes went 25 yards on the ground for the TD to give the Bulls a 40-34 victory in double overtime.

The other overtime game in week 13 was the shocker that didn’t happen, although by all rights it should have. The Big Ten came oh so close to taking another embarrassing loss to an FCS team at home, as the slumping Wisconsin Badgers needed a number of miracles to defeat Cal-Poly of the FCS by a point in overtime on Senior Day at Camp Randall. The Mustangs rushed for 276 yards against the Badgers, putting up 371 yards of offense and achieving 23 first downs, while hogging the ball for 40 minutes. Cal-Poly recovered a fumble at their own 40 on Wisconsin’s first drive and the Mustangs then went 60 yards in 11 plays over 6:01 and scored on a 2 yard run to go up 7-0 with 6:13 to play in the 1st. They took that lead into the 2nd quarter and then Tredale Tolver returned a Wisconsin punt 40 yards for a TD to make it a 2 TD lead for the Mustangs with 8:42 to play in the 2nd. But kicker Andrew Gardner missed the extra point to keep it 13-0. Wisconsin then went on a quick 64 yard drive, with John Clay running in from 17 yards out to get the Badgers on the board. The Mustangs answered with a 10 play, 71 yard drive that took up 4:59, scoring on a 2 yard run to go up 20-7 with 1:15 left in the half. But Cal-Poly couldn’t hold the Badgers over the final 75 seconds, allowing Wisconsin to go 73 yards in just 32 seconds, with Nick Toon catching a 26 yard TD pass to cut it to 20-14 going into halftime. Early in the 3rd quarter the Mustangs embarked on a 15 play drive that gained just 58 yards and ended in a FG but it took 8:49 off the clock. It was 23-14 Cal-Poly with 2:32 to go in the 3rd. But the Badgers went 80 yards in just 4 plays, with PJ Hill running in from 10 yards out to make it a 23-21 game just a minute and 21 seconds later. The Mustangs still led by 2 at the start of the 4th when they went on a 15 play, 76 yard drive, taking 7:59 off the clock, scoring on a 2 yard run with 8:12 left in the game. It looked like Wisconsin was about to be down 2 scores with just over 8 minutes to play, but Gardner missed another extra point and that left the door open for the Badgers as it kept the score 29-21, an 8 point game. Cal-Poly’s defense then stepped up, breaking up Dustin Sherer’s pass on 4th and 7 from the 50 to take over on downs with 5:45 to play. But Wisconsin’s defense wouldn’t allow the Mustangs to move and the Badgers got the ball back at their own 11 with 4 minutes left. This time it took only 9 plays and 2 minutes and 18 seconds for the Badgers to go 89 yards for the score. Hill ran it in from 3 yards out and then did the same thing on the 2-pt conversion try to tie it up at 29-29 with 1:42 to play. Cal-Poly played to win and made it to the Wisconsin 29 but with their kicker having missed 2 extra points, the Mustangs decided to give their kickoff man a try from 46 yards out on 4th and 2. But Jake West came up about 20 yards short. The Badgers tried to do something with just seconds left but Sherer’s pass was picked off at the 47 and the game went to OT tied at 29-29. The Mustangs went on offense first in OT and you figured they would fold, but Jonathan Dally fired a 25 yard TD pass to Ramses Barden on the very first play to put Cal-Poly ahead once again. It was a bit surprising that the Mustangs didn’t try and go for 2, as they were having success moving the ball, and they had already missed 2 extra points. Also, Cal-Poly just wasn’t going to be able to stay up physically with the Badgers for that many more overtimes. There best chance might be to try and go up 8 and then force Wisconsin to score and get the 2 point conversion. But they tried to kick it and Gardner banged the PAT off the right upright to leave it a 35-29 game. Wisconsin now had its escape in sight and they cut through the Cal-Poly defense with ease, as Clay ran for 16, 3, and then for a 6 yard TD to tie the game 35-35. Philip Welch then kicked the extra point right down the middle and Wisconsin escaped with 36-35 win in overtime.

Notable Scores From Week 13

GT 41, Mia 23 (Miami falls to 4-4 in ACC.)
NIU 42, Kent St. 14 (NIU gets bowl eligible.)
BSU 31, CM 24 (BSU stays undefeated, CM loses first MAC game.)
Buf 40, BG 34 (OT-II) (Bulls got to 7-4, 5-2 in MAC.)
WV 35, Louis 21 (WV goes to 4-1 in conference.)
NC St. 41, UNC 10 (Pack drops rivals to 3-4 in ACC.)
Rut 30, Army 3 (Rut gets bowl eligible.)
Ohio St. 42, Mich 7 (Buck’s 5th straight over Mich, go to 10-2, 7-1; Mich 3-9, 2-6.)
Pur 62, Ind 10 (Last Oaken Bucket game for Tiller.)
Tenn 20, Vandy 10 (Vols avoid another embarrassment.)
Fla 70, Citadel 19 (Gators roll to 10-1).
Cuse 24, ND 23 (Cuse shocks ND as 19.5 point dog, drops ND to 6-5.)
CSU 31, WYO 20 (CSU gets bowl eligible.)
Tulsa 56, Tulane 7 (Tulsa goes to 9-2, 6-1 in C-USA.)
Miss St. 31, Ark 28 (Miss State breaks 9 game losing skid to Hogs.)
Wash St. 16, Wash 13 (OT-II) (Wash St. wins Apple Cup for first win vs. FBS; Wash remains only winless team in FBS.)
NW 27, Ill 10 (NW goes to 9-3; Illinois falls to 5-7.)
Cal 37, Stan 16 (Cal wins the Big Game.)
BC 23, WF 23 (BC now 4-3 in ACC.)
Miss 31, LSU 13 (Miss snaps 6 game losing streak vs. LSU.)
PSU 49, Mich St. 18 (PSU wins Land Grant Trophy, share of Big Ten title, Rose Bowl berth, goes to 11-1, 7-1 in conference.)
Hou 42, UTEP 37 (Hou 6-1 in C-USA.)
Rice 35, Marsh 10 (Rice 6-1 in C-USA.)
Wis 36, Cal-Poly 35 (OT) (Wisconsin escapes thanks to missed PAT’s.)
TCU 44, AF 10 (TCU finishes 10-2, 7-1 in MWC.)
Boise St. 41, Nev 34 (Broncos win WAC and stay undefeated.)
LT 35, NMS 31 (LT goes to 5-2 in WAC.)
Utah 48, BYU 24 (Utah wins MWC and finishes undefeated; BYU finishes 10-2, 6-2.)
Ore St. 19, Ariz 17 (Beavers now 7-1 in Pac-10.)
Cinn 28, Pitt 21 (Cinn’s first ever win over Pitt, now 9-2, 5-1.)
Iowa 55, Minn 0 (Floyd of Rosedale taken in a shit kicking.)
Troy 48, ULL 3 (Troy goes to 5-1 in SBC, ULL falls to 4-2.)
FSU 37, Mary 3 (FSU buries Maryland on the road.)
Haw 49, ID 17 (Haw gets bowl eligible.)
OK 65, Tex Tech 21 (Okla deals Tech first loss, goes to 10-1, 6-1.)

No comments: