I’m still trying to catch-up after the technical difficulties. Here’s a review of weeks 11 and 12 of the college football season.
Week 11 Recap: Week 11 of the college football season was just another surprising, thrilling, and fascinating installment of the greatest current sport. There were some big battles that shook up the landscape, including an unexpected loss by one of the major powers. There were numerous upsets and fantastic finishes. But in the end the picture would be much clearer than it had been at the start of the week.
The Stunner: Joe Pa and the Penn State Nittany Lions fall in Iowa CityWell this humble narrator will admit that he did not think this was going to happen. In fact, when Penn State came back to beat Ohio State late a few weeks ago I pretty much became resigned to the idea that everyone else in the country was fighting for 1 spot. The respect voters gave Texas Tech following their win over Texas caused me to loosen up on those feelings I little bit but that didn’t lessen my conviction that Penn State was a shoe-in to finish undefeated. There was nothing left for them. They had 3 games remaining on the schedule and the only decent team left was Michigan State, but that game was at home, where the Nittany Lions haven’t lost to the Spartans since the 80’s. I had totally skipped over their game at Iowa because, well…because Iowa sucks! Penn State was coming off of a bye week, Iowa had just lost at Illinois, and PSU was 9-0 and had been disrespect in the polls earlier in the week. I couldn’t believe it when the line for this game was hovering at around a touchdown in favor of Penn State. Luckily, rather than betting a bunch of money on PSU, I allowed myself to hope that maybe, somebody out there knew something, and we were all going to be saved from having a Big Ten team in the National Championship Game after all.
And first of all, it appears at this point that Joe Paterno is a figure head and nothing more. I mean, I know that many people would say that’s nothing new, but at least he was on the sidelines before. Now he’s sitting up in a box high above the field, essentially all by himself, and he doesn’t even appear to be in contact with the field. It wouldn’t appear that he has any affect on the game, good or bad, at any time other than right before the start or halftime. I don’t even know if his overall coaching record should continue to take on wins and losses if he isn’t really coaching anymore.
But getting to the game, Joe Pa watched it all from high above on a dark and chilly evening, as Penn State’s national title hopes went down on field somewhere out amongst all that corn in Iowa City (Iowa City---sounds like an oxy-moron doesn’t it?). Penn State had this one several times and I kept expecting them to put it away but they never did. They lost it by a point, 24-23, despite out gaining Iowa by 17 yards, getting 5 more first downs, and dominating the time of possession by almost 12 minutes. Iowa had to get off to a good start to have a shot in this one and the Lions allowed them to do so. Darryl Clark was sacked and fumbled on the opening drive of the game and the Lions recovered at the 1 but they had to punt out of their own end zone. As a result, Iowa’s first possession began at the Penn State 25 after a 35 yard punt and a 10 yard return. Shonn Greene rushed for 11 yards and then ran it in from 14 to put Iowa up early, 7-0. Penn State responded with an epic drive from their 22 to the Iowa 2, during which they converted 3 first downs, and then got a pass interference call on 3rd and goal from the 7 to give them a 1st and goal at the 2. But the Hawkeyes held on the next 3 plays and the Lions had to settle for a field goal, capping off a 19 play, 71 yard drive, that took 9:43 off the clock. Iowa went 3 and out on their next possession and Penn State took it back down the field, 75 yards, and this time they scored a TD to take the lead for the first time, 10-7, early in the 2nd quarter. PSU got the ball back again deep in their own territory and went on yet another long, clock eating drive, and they had a 1st down at the Iowa 14. But a holding penalty on 2nd and 9 from the 13 helped stall the drive, and the Lions had to settle for another field goal to make the score 13-7 after a 16 play, 78 yard drive that took 8:18 off the clock. Iowa got to the PSU 40 with seconds left in the half but couldn’t get any points and the game went to the break with the score 13-7.
PSU had dominated the first half, out gaining Iowa 205-75, and holding the ball for all but about 6 of the 30 minutes of play, and yet they had just a 6 point lead. In a way, Penn State’s slow and steady offensive game plan was keeping Iowa in the game. Many had said that Penn State’s athletic ability was the thing that had turned this Lions team into the best team in the Big Ten and a NC contender, and that’s why I expected they would have an easy time with a team like Iowa. But draining the clock and shortening the game like that really worked into Iowa’s favor if PSU was only going to get 13 points out of it. If they had scored 3 touchdowns, the game would have been over, but they scored a touchdown and 2 field goals, and now Iowa only had to outplay PSU for 30 minutes in order to pull off the upset.
Iowa got the ball first in the second half but on just the 3rd play of their first possession of the 3rd quarter, QB Richard Stanzi was intercepted at his own 39 and PSU returned it to the Iowa 29. It looked over. But PSU was unable to put it away. Clark threw for 17 yards on the first play of the drive to make it 1st and goal at the 12, but Iowa’s defense forced another field goal. That made it 16-7 and it looked like PSU was in complete control, but they were allowing the Hawkeyes to stay in the game. And that began to matter when Iowa started to move the ball on their second possession of the second half. Stanzi threw for first downs on 3rd and 5 from his own 32 and 3rd and 6 from the PSU 35. Then on 3rd and 13 from the 27, Stanzi hit a receiver whose name is too long to write for a huge 27 yard TD strike to make it a 2 point game. Now suddenly there was some pressure on Penn State and they went 3 and out on their next possession. But then Stanzi fumbled on first down and PSU recovered at the Iowa 28. Evan Royster rushed 3 times to bring the ball down to the 9 and then Derrick Williams ran it in for a touchdown to push the lead back to 23-14 with just seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter. Once again, it looked over.
The Hawkeyes went 3 and out on their ensuing possession but Penn State was unable to move the ball out from deep in their own territory on their next drive or even take time off the clock. After a 1 yard run and 2 incompletions, PSU got just a 32 yard punt and gave Iowa the ball back at the Penn State 44 with only 1:04 having come off the clock. Stanzi completed an 18 yard pass on 3rd and 8 and then Greene ran it in from the 6 yard line to bring the Hawkeyes back to within 2 points with 9:20 still on the clock. We had ourselves a ball game.
But of course, Iowa had to stop Penn State. It appeared that they had when Royster was thrown for a 7 yard loss on 3rd and 1 from the PSU 35 on the first series of PSU’s next possession, but Iowa was called for roughing the punter and PSU got a first down at the 43. When Derrick Williams completed a 24 yard pass for a first down at the Iowa 23, the Lions appeared to be headed for a game ending touchdown, but Williams rushed for a loss of 1 on the next play and then lost 3 on second down. On 3rd and 14 from the 27, PSU looked to have converted for a backbreaking first down but it was negated by a holding call which brought up 3rd and 24 from the 37. This was obviously a huge play, as it not only cancelled out the first down, it took PSU out of field goal range. On 3rd down, Clark tried to make something happen and made a mistake firing an interception at the 15 that Iowa returned to the 29. That’s what everybody rooting against PSU needed to see happen. Somehow, miraculously, Iowa had the ball back down just 2 points, with 3:46 to play.
Iowa was quickly faced with a 3rd and 15 from their own 24 but a huge pass interference penalty gave them a first down at the 39. Iowa moved to midfield and on 3rd and 10, Stanzi threw complete for 11 yards and a first down at the Penn State 39. Stanzi threw one more 10 yard completion for another first down and then Greene ran a couple of times to move the ball to the 25. On 3rd and 6, Stanzi fired to the guy with a long name again, complete to 15 for 10 yards and a first down. It came down to Daniel Murray attempting a 31 yard field goal with 6 seconds on the clock. I couldn’t believe Penn State had allowed it to get to this point but they had. Murray kicked it up and good, right through there to put the Lions on life support. They could do nothing on the kickoff, and the fans rushed the field at Kinnick Stadium, as the Hawkeyes upset the #3 Nittany Lions, 24-23.
The Other Big GamesThere were 6 matchups of ranked teams in week 11, including 5 featuring at least one team ranked in the top 11 of the BCS. One of the bigger games of the year concerning teams from non-BCS conferences took place on Thursday night in week 11, as #8 Utah hosted #12 TCU. The Utes came into the game looking to stay unbeaten, while the Horned Frogs were 9-1 and also thinking BCS. Actually, the Horned Frogs had the momentum going into this game as they had been riding high ever since a blowout victory over BYU a few weeks back. In fact, TCU came into this game as a 2 point favorite despite being on the road, and the Frogs basically controlled the game throughout. They put up 416 yards of offense on the Utes and out gained them by 141 yards, but in the end it was Utah escaping with a 13-10 victory to remain unbeaten on the season. The Frogs stopped the Utes for 3 and outs on their first two possessions, while TCU scored on each of their first 2 possessions to take a 10-0 1st quarter lead. Utah got on the board with a field goal late in the 1st and TCU drove back into Utah territory early in the 2nd. But on 3rd and 7 from the 21, TCU’s Andy Dalton was sacked for a 13 yard loss taking the Frogs out of FG range and they had to punt. Late in the half, TCU stopped Utah’s Brian Johnson on a QB run on 4th and 2 from the TCU 36 to stop the Utes on downs and keep the score 10-3. The Frogs moved to midfield and called a timeout with 47 seconds on the clock in an attempt to get another score before halftime, but then Dalton made a huge mistake, getting picked off at the Utah 20, and it was returned 37 yards to the TCU 43. The Utes were able to get in position for a 37 yard field goal by Louie Sakoda to cut the deficit to 10-6 going to halftime.
TCU was in control but only leading by 4 as they took the ball first in the second half and marched into Utah territory again. But then on 3rd and 9 from the Utah 23, Dalton made another big mistake, and this time it was the Utes’ Paul Kruger that was there to capitalize, sacking Dalton for a loss of 12 to take the Frogs out of FG range again. TCU punted and the Utes marched to midfield but their drive ended when Johnson threw incomplete on 3rd and 1 from the TCU 49. The Frogs got the ball back deep in their own end and moved into Utah territory at the 48 but then Dalton made another big mistake. On 1st down, Dalton was flagged for intentional grounding, resulting in a loss of downs and a 16 yard loss. That killed the drive and Utah got the ball back and moved into TCU territory as the 4th quarter began. The Utes had a 1st down at the 15 but a penalty and a loss of 6 moved them out of field goal range and they had to punt. The two offenses sputtered back and forth at that point until TCU got a couple of first downs and looked to be going in for a game clinching score as the clock ticked under 7 minutes to play. On 3rd and 2 from the Utah 9, TCU gave the ball to Aaron Brown and the Utes stuffed him for no gain to bring up 4th down. Still, TCU’s defense had been stout so far, and they now had a short field goal try to go up by 7 with less than 6 minutes to play. But Ross Evans somehow missed the 26 yarder to leave the score 10-6 give Utah the ball at the 20 with 5:49 remaining. No matter, the Utes threw 3 straight incompletions and TCU got the ball right back at the Utah 48. TCU drove inside the 20 but on 3rd and 5 from the 18 Dalton threw incomplete and Evans came out to attempt a 35 yard field goal. He missed again and the Utes were still down only 4 points 2:48 on the clock.
That second Evans miss seemed to convince the Utes that they had to take advantage of this opportunity. Johnson completed 3 straight passes netting 34 yards and then a pass interference call on the Frogs moved the ball to the 31. But Utah had to have 6, a field goal would do no good, and they found themselves facing a 4th and 5 from the 26. On 4th down, Johnson threw complete to Freddie Brown for a gain of 11 and a first down at the 15. That’s when you figured they would win. Two plays later, Johnson hit Brown again, this time from 9 yards out for Utah’s first and only touchdown of the game, to give the Utes their first lead of the game. TCU was now trailing by 3 and had only 47 seconds to work with. Dalton passed them quickly into Utah territory at the 48, but then threw incomplete on 3 straight plays, and then on 4th and 10 his pass up the left sideline was picked off and Utah survived with another thrilling victory, 13-10.
The big game in the southeast in week 11 was the much anticipated battle between the undefeated #1 Alabama Crimson Tide and the defending National Champion LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. Much of the talk during the week leading up to the game was of course surrounded around Nick Saban’s return, but for Alabama the SEC West title, the SEC Championship, and the National Championship were all at stake in some way or another. Saban was spared having to come back to Baton Rouge under the lights, and the Tide was a 3.5 point favorite on the road over an LSU team that had been a bit of a disappointment so far this year, having been blown out in their two previous big games. I wasn’t expecting much out of LSU going into this game but they seemed to be looking at this one as their last chance to make a statement this year, and the fans were really fired up. The LSU defense played much better than it had in their other big games so far and even Jarrett Lee did some good things as LSU stayed in it the whole way. But eventually Lee kept the Tigers from pulling off the upset, as they fell in overtime, 27-21. Bama has blown everyone back and quieted the crowd in the 1st quarter all year long and they looked to do that in this game as well, taking the opening kickoff and marching into LSU territory. On 3rd and 6 from the 26, John Parker Wilson found Earl Alexander open for a first down and much more, but Alexander was unnecessarily risky in trying to stretch for the goal line and he fumbled. Bama could have had a 1st and goal at the 1 but instead LSU recovered in the end zone for a touchback. That was the bullet LSU needed to dodge but they quickly shot themselves anyway, as Lee was picked off at his own 25 by Rashad Johnson on the 3rd play of LSU’s first possession, and Johnson returned it to the 15. 4 plays later, Wilson scored on a 1 yard run to make it 7-0 Bama. Wilson was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for making the universal sign for talking on the phone (a reference to the well-known habit Tiger fans have of getting the cell phone numbers of opposing players and calling them in the week before the LSU game), despite the fact that both Tim Tebow and Knowshon Moreno, among others, have made this exact same gesture when playing LSU on several occasions and were not flagged. Anyway, the penalty allowed LSU to have good field position on their next drive and Lee threw a 30 yard TD pass to Demetrius Byrd to tie the game up at 7-7. Then Javier Arenas fumbled the ensuing kickoff and LSU recovered at the Bama 30. Two plays later, Charles Scott busted free and took it all the way for the score to make it 14-7 and send Tiger Stadium into a frenzy. On the first play of the 2nd quarter, Wilson threw deep and was intercepted at the LSU 14. It was starting to look like the previous year’s game but in reverse, as a year before LSU had gone to Alabama with the NC on the line and the Tide had taken control in the middle portion of the game behind a rowdy crowd which helped force LSU’s veteran QB into mistakes. LSU had to give the ball right back to Bama on a punt and the Tide moved into Tiger territory but LSU’s D held and Leigh Tiffin missed a 42 yard field goal to keep Alabama behind by 7. LSU’s next possession took them to the Bama 39 but on 3rd and 1 the Tigers could not get a first down and had to punt. This was okay, as LSU’s defense was handling Bama at the moment and got the ball back. As the clock ticked under 6 minutes left in the half, LSU had the ball at their 36, facing a 3rd and 8. The Tigers had not only withstood Bama’s 1st quarter assault, they had wrestled control and the lead away from the Tide. LSU could be conservative and rely on their defense to take the game to half with a 7 point lead, but in reality, 14 points was probably not going to be enough to win this game, and thus the Tigers gave Lee a chance to try and move the team into scoring position again late in the half. But on 3rd down, Lee made another mistake and Johnson intercepted him at the Bama 46. Johnson brought the ball back and could not be brought down, as he returned it 54 yards for a score to tie it up at 14 with 4:33 to go in the half. There were a lot of big plays in the game but this may have been the biggest. LSU moved into Bama territory very late in the half, attempting to at least take the lead into halftime, but after reaching the 24, Lee fired 3 straight incomplete passes, and then Colt David could not hit from 41 yards out and the game went to intermission tied at 14.
Everyone knew that LSU had missed an opportunity. They got the ball first in the second half but could do nothing. Bama went on a TD drive to take the lead, 21-14, midway through the 3rd, and it looked like LSU’s upset bid was over. The Tigers drove into Bama territory but Lee was picked off on 3rd and 9 from the 29, his 3rd INT of the game. Then the defenses took over and the score remained unchanged into the 4th quarter. Just when it looked like LSU’s offense was hopelessly off track, Lee led the Tigers on a 74 yard touchdown drive midway through the final period to tie the game at 21. Bama played the field position game and had the ball inside LSU territory with less than 2 minutes to play, looking to setup a late field goal. On 3rd and 1 from the 32, Glen Coffee managed to get enough on the ground for a first down and eventually the Tide were able to set things up perfectly, in the center of the field, for Tiffin from 29 yards out with seconds remaining. It looked like LSU’s spirited effort had come up short, but Tiffin kicked a low liner and Ricky Jean-Francois got a paw up and blocked it. LSU’s Darry Beckwith recovered in the LSU secondary but he couldn’t get much of a return going and the game headed to OT tied at 21 all.
LSU had to go on offense first in overtime and Bama’s defense forced a 3rd and 6 from the 21. This was big, as it made the Tigers put it in the hands of Lee. Lee dropped back on 3rd down and went for it all but Rashad Johnson made a brilliant play at the back of the end zone, making the catch and staying in bounds for his 3rd interception of the day to turn the Tigers away with no points. The OT pick is usually the kiss of death and the Tide didn’t want to put things in Tiffin’s hands again. Wilson fired down the left sideline on Bama’s first play and Julio Jones made a tremendous catch and drug his defender all the way to the 2 before going out of bounds. Two plays later, Wilson went in from 1 yard out on a sneak to give the Tide a 27-21 win.
Not all of the games between ranked opponents in week 11 were that close. #11 Ohio State played on the road against #24 Northwestern in week 11 and that one predictably turned one-sided. The Buckeyes put up 441 yards of offense on the Wildcats, converting on 8 of 13 third downs and going 1 for 1 on 4th down. They out gained the Cats by 147 yards and never turned the ball over while turning NW over 3 times. NW tied the score at 7 late in the 1st quarter but Ohio State scored 17 unanswered in quarter number two to take a 24-7 lead into halftime. NW scored a field goal on their opening possession of the second half but the Buckeyes scored late in the 3rd to put the game away and went on to win it 45-10.
The ACC has been an enigma wrapped inside a question this season, with each week being as hard to predict as the one before. In week 11, #20 Georgia Tech went on the road to face #19 UNC in a battle for position in the ACC’s Costal Division. It would have been a key battle if not for the sense that regardless of what happened here it would probably be negated by the events of next week, and the same for the week after and the week after that. The Yellow Jackets hadn’t played a bad game yet in Paul Johnson’s first season and they really didn’t play badly here but at the end of the day the score said 28-7 in favor of UNC. Tech’s players may eventually get to where they don’t turn the ball over anymore than a normal offense would but for now it would seem that turnovers are going to occur in their offense, they just have to hope that they aren’t killers. And on this day, Tech’s turnovers were killers, and they missed on a number of opportunities to score. The Jackets out gained UNC by 91 yards and racked up 423 yards offense, recording 20 first downs while holding the Tar Heels to just 13 first downs. But Tech lost 2 fumbles, threw a pick, and went 0 for 2 on 4th down. UNC scored on their opening possession and each team got stopped on downs late in the 1st quarter to leave the score 7-0. The Jackets were stopped short on 4th down early in the 2nd quarter and then missed a 40 yard field goal on their next drive. They missed a 52 yarder right before the half and went to the locker room down 7-0 despite a clear edge in yards gained. The defenses controlled the 3rd quarter and in the last few minutes Tech muffed a punt inside their own territory and the Heels fell on it. UNC scored on the 3rd play of the 4th quarter to make it 14-0. It seemed just about over at that point and it was definitely over when the Jackets fumbled in their own territory on their next possession and UNC scored again to make it 21-0. They cut it to 21-7 with 6 minutes left but the Heels scored a touchdown to ice it and went on to win 28-7.
Over on the west coast, #7 USC was not expected to have too much trouble at home against #21 Cal in week 11, but the Trojans actually didn’t put things away as neatly as many expected. Led by their dominant defense, USC held Cal to just 165 yards of offense and 13 first downs and won 17-3, out gaining the Bears by 246 yards. USC achieved 22 first downs and gained 411 yards but it was just a 7 point game until late in the 4th quarter and it could easily have been tied. USC scored midway through the 2nd to go up 10-3 and the score remained the same into halftime. Early in the 3rd quarter, Cal appeared to have scored on a 27 yard touchdown pass to tie the game but the play came back as a result of an illegal man down field penalty. A few plays later, Cal had a 2nd and 5 from the 10 when Kevin Riley’s pass was tipped and intercepted in the end zone, keeping the score 10-3 in favor of the Trojans. Cal moved inside the USC 40 on a couple more occasions but never scored and the Trojans finally put the game away with a touchdown with 2:59 left in the 4th, as they went on to win 17-3.
The main event in primetime in week 11 was the showdown between #2 Texas Tech and #9 Oklahoma State in Lubbock. Tech was undefeated and coming off their biggest win in school history, while the Cowboys were looking to upset the Red Raiders and force a 4 way tie in the Big XII South. After Tech’s thrilling game with Texas the week before, everybody was hoping for more of same on this night, expecting a shootout and maybe another fantastic finish. Unfortunately, this one went the way of most of the primetime matchups this year and ended up looking more like a 1980’s Super Bowl than a battle of top ten teams. Whatever doubts still remained that Texas Tech was truly among the best few teams in the country surely dissolved by the time this one was over, as the Red Raiders ran over a well respected team only a week after unseating the #1 team in the country. Imagine putting up 368 yards of offense and being out gained by 261 yards. That’s what Mike Gundy and Okie State had to ponder after Texas Tech totaled 629 yards of offense and doubled them in first downs, 38-19, on their way to a 56-20 win. Tech went 7 for 9 on 3rd down and 1 for 1 on 4th down as they made it look easy against an Oklahoma State squad that came in 8-1 with a road win over Missouri and a 4 point loss at Texas on its resume. Everyone was looking to see if Texas Tech would have trouble getting up enough for this tough game a week after their gynormous win over Texas. Early on one wondered if they weren’t in for a dog fight, as Graham Harrell mishandled a shotgun snap on the 3rd play of the game, Oklahoma State recovered at the Tech 32, and 3 plays later Kendall Hunter scored to put the Boys up 7-0. But the Red Raiders responded by going 80 yards in 5 plays in just over 2 minutes to tie it and they never stopped rolling from there. They went 70 yards for a TD to take the lead on their next drive and then went 97 yards for a score early in the 2nd to make it 21-7. Oklahoma State managed to go on an 80 yard TD drive to make it 21-14 to get back in the game for the moment but they couldn’t stop Tech, and the Red Raiders went 72 yards for a score to go back up by 2 TD’s. Okie State nearly pulled off a Hail Mary at the buzzer to end the first half but they ended up going to the half down 14. The Cowboys got the ball first in the 2nd half but they fumbled on their first possession and Tech turned it into 7 points to go out in front by 21 and it was never in doubt again. Eventually Texas Tech had scored touchdowns on 7 consecutive possessions before Harrell lost another fumble midway through the 4th. Tech went on to win 56-20 to remain undefeated.
Three Ranked Teams Fall to Unranked OpponentsThere were two other ranked teams that went down against unranked opponents in week 11 aside from #3 Penn State, which lost at unranked Iowa, 24-23. #23 Maryland faced off against Virginia Tech on the road in Blacksburg on Thursday night in week 11 and the Hokies defended their turf with a 23-13 win. Tech pounded on the Terps for most of the game until Maryland came back and made it interesting for a while late, but eventually the Hokies grounded Maryland into submission, rushing 51 times for 273 yards and hogging the ball for 37 minutes and 34 seconds. The VT defense stuffed Maryland for minus 12 rushing yards on 18 attempts. The Hokies led 17-3 at the half and built a seemingly insurmountable 20-3 lead but Maryland got back in it on one play, as Darrius Heyward-Bey scored on a 63 yard TD pass to cut the lead in half midway through the 3rd. Maryland got within 7 points at 20-13 before the quarter was over but the Hokies kicked a field goal with 7 and a half minutes to play in the 4th to make it a two score game again and then ran the clock out, winning it 23-13.
The other ranked team to fall to an unranked team in week 11 was #23 West Virginia, who fell to Cincinnati at home on Saturday night in game that had one of the most insane finishes of the season. The story about this one for most of the night had been how a crippled Bearcats team had come to Morgantown and stopped a Mountaineer team that had been rolling and had finally begun to have something close to the kind of success most expected them to have this year. Cinci ran the opening kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown, led 20-7 at half, and took that lead into the 4th quarter. Pat White was stopped at the Cinci 3 yard line on 4th and 5 from the Bearcat 6 to turn the ball over on downs with 11:28 remaining. It looked like Cincinnati was headed for a big road victory. They were able to eat up 5 minutes of clock before punting. West Virginia moved back into Cinci territory and had a first and goal at the 2 but again the Bearcat defense stiffened. When White’s pass on 4th down was intercepted at the goal line with 3:22 to play, the crowd began filing out of Mountaineer Field. They had good reason to go. The Mountaineer’s were down 13 with less than 3 and a half minutes to play and no timeouts. The Bearcats ran 3 times for 8 yards bringing up 4th down with less than a minute and a half to play. Rather than punting from their own end zone and risking a blocked punt or return for a touchdown, Cinci chose to take a safety intentionally to make the score 20-9 with 1:11 left. The intentional safety has been used somewhat frequently by teams in both the college and pro ranks over the years and this was the first time I can remember seeing it back fire on a team. West Virginia took over at their own 39 following the free kick and on 2nd down White threw a 14 yards completion for a first down at the Cinci 47, and then on the next play he threw a 23 yard completion for a first down at the 24. A 15 yard personal foul penalty gave the Mountaineers the ball at the 9. Once again Cincinnati’s defense made the Mountaineers earn it but finally on 4th and goal from the 3, White threw a touchdown to make it 20-15 with 18 seconds on the clock. Too little, too late, it seemed. WV had to go for 2 of course, and White ran it in for the conversion to cut the score to 20-17. That was huge, because now we were talking long field goal to tie it and not Hail Mary. Of course the game would be over if WV didn’t recover the onsides kick. But they did. As West Virginia’s offense came back out on the field to start a final drive at their own 44, the flow of fans back into the stadium picked up significantly. White threw for 21 yards and a first down at the Cinci 35 on the first play. The Mountaineers spiked the ball with time enough left on the clock for a 52 yard field goal try by Pat McAfee. He nailed it to send the game into overtime tied up at 20. This was the type of game where if you are a Mountaineer fan you’re thinking “after all this we have to win this game.” In baseball it seems like late game rallies to tie the game end up being all for naught about as much as they end up leading to a win, but it doesn’t seem like that’s true in football. In this case, however, West Virginia’s miraculous comeback was ultimately fruitless, and Cincinnati was spared a lifetime of regret. Some Mountaineer fans would be headed back out of the gates just moments after coming back inside. WV had to go on offense first in OT and they picked up 1 first down but then things got tough down by the goal line just as they had all game long. On 3rd and 3 from the 7, White was sacked and the Mountaineers had to settle for a field goal to make it 23-20, leaving the door open for the Bearcats. Cinci needed just 3 plays to get in the end zone, scoring on a 2 yard TD pass on 2nd and goal to win it 26-23 and break Mountaineer hearts everywhere.
Eight Significant UpsetsThere were 8 upsets of varying degree in week 11, as 8 teams favored by 6 points or more went down. Iowa was a 7.5 point home underdog going into their game against Penn State which they won 24-23. Cincinnati was a 7 point road dog going into their game at West Virginia which they wound up winning in overtime, 26-23. UNLV was a 6 point underdog at home facing New Mexico in week 11, but the Rebels won 27-20. NM led 14-3 early in the 2nd quarter but the Rebels fought back to cut the lead to 1 going into halftime. The score was 17-13 in favor of the Lobos until UNLV scored with 5 minutes to play in the 3rd to take a 20-17 lead. They scored again on a blocked punt early in the 4th quarter to take a 10 point lead and hung on to win 27-20.
Louisiana Tech was a 7 point underdog on the road at San Jose State in week 11 but the Bulldogs came into town and shutout the Spartans, 21-0. LT held SJS to just 6 first downs and 148 yards of offense. A 50 yard INT return for a TD put the Bulldogs up 14-0 early in the 2nd quarter, they put the game away with a 35 yard TD pass early in the 4th, and went on to win 21-0.
Illinois was favored by 7.5 points against Western Michigan of the MAC in week 11 in a game that was played at Ford Field in Detroit. The Lion vibe must have done something to Illinois, as the Broncos snuck up and stunned the Illini, 23-17. Illinois scored late in the 1st to go ahead 7-3 but WM scored 17 unanswered points in the 2nd to take a 20-7 lead into halftime. The Broncos never surrendered the lead, as Illinois went 1 for 13 on 3rd down conversions. Illinois scored early in the 4th to cut the lead to 6 and drove to the WM 18 yard line with 2 minutes to play. But the Broncos broke up 4 straight passes by Juice Williams to hold on for the win, 23-17.
There was another upset involving Big Ten teams in week 11, as Michigan went to Minnesota as a 7.5 point underdog and ended up pounding the Gophers, 29-6. Michigan held Minnesota to just 8 first downs and 188 yards of offense. Michigan scored the first 19 points of the game and led 22-3 going to the 4th. Minnesota got the deficit to 16 with a field goal early in the 4th but it was never really close and Michigan went on to win 29-6 for just their 3rd victory of the season.
Occasionally, decent sized upsets occur when Vegas seems to give too much credit to a mediocre or below mediocre team. In week 11, Louisiana-Lafayette was favored by 13.5 points at home against UTEP. ULL came into the game riding a 4 game win streak, but all 4 wins had come against fellow Sun Belt Conference teams. Against the Conference USA team, the 13.5 point favorite Ragin’ Cajuns got beaten by 13 points instead, as UTEP won 37-24. The Cajuns got things started right with a 55 yard INT return for a TD to go up 7-0 and they led 10-7 early in the 2nd, but the Miners scored the next 23 points in the game to take a 30-10 lead. The lead was down to 13 going to the 4th quarter but UTEP scored again early in the final period to put the game away and went on to win 37-24.
Usually a win by a 13.5 point underdog would be the biggest upset of the week or at least close to it. But in week 11 there was an upset nearly twice as big in terms of point spread and many times more meaningful. The struggling Tennessee Volunteers were looking to enjoy a rare day of happiness and success in week 11 as they took a break from SEC play to host Wyoming. Tennessee came into the game just 3-6 but they figured to have an easy time at home against the Cowboys, a MWC team that came in 3-6, 2-6 against FBS teams, and 26.5 point underdogs. With Philip Fulmer’s resignation just days old, the entire Volunteer Nation was hoping that homecoming would be a chance to cheer the team and maybe even show some appreciation for the beleaguered coach. Instead, Rocky Top experienced a new rock bottom in week 11, as they lost 13-7. The Vols amassed just 219 yards of offense and Jonathan Crompton threw a pair of extremely costly picks. UT never led and the Cowboys actually led for the final 57 minutes. On the first possession of the game, Crompton was picked off inside Wyoming territory and it was returned 55 yards to the UT 4. The Cowboys scored on the next play to go ahead 7-0. Then Crompton was picked off again with 9 minutes to play in the 2nd quarter and this one was returned 24 yards for a TD to make it 13-0. Wyoming missed the PAT and Tennessee scored early in the 3rd quarter to cut the deficit to 13-7. The Vols drove to the Wyoming 19 midway through the 4th but Crompton missed on 3 straight pass attempts to turn it over on downs. Late in the game the Vols had a 1st down at the Wyoming 39 but Crompton took an 8 yard sack on 1st down and then fired 3 straight incompletions to give the ball back to Wyoming. The Cowboys ran out the clock to secure the 13-7 win and Fulmer was rushed off the field, escorted by police and his wife and daughter.
Number of Unbeaten Teams Shrinks From Six to FiveThe 6 remaining unbeaten teams in the FBS were all in action in week 11 and every team won to remain perfect except for Penn State. The Nittany Lions lost at Iowa, 24-23, to fall to 9-1 on the season. The other 5 unbeaten teams kept their hopes of a perfect season alive with wins in week 11. Alabama won in overtime on the road at LSU, 27-21, to move to 10-0 on the season. Texas Tech ran over and through Oklahoma State at home in week 11, rolling to a 56-20 win to improve to 10-0 on the year. Utah survived against TCU at home in week 11, eking out a 13-10 come from behind victory to get to 10-0 on the year. Boise State had an easy time at home against an overmatched Utah State team in week 11. The Broncos amassed 26 first downs and 563 yards of offense, and also turned the Aggies over 6 times on their way to a 49-14 win. Boise State scored the first 28 points in the game but Utah State scored late in the first half and early in the second to cut the deficit in half. The Broncos were unfazed, however, as they scored the final 21 points of the game and went on to win 49-14 to go to 9-0 on the season. The most unheralded of the undefeated teams, Ball State, also remained without a loss at week’s end, but they got it out of the way early in the week. On Wednesday night, the Cardinals hosted an NIU team that had been competitive all year and came into the game having won 5 of 6. But BSU had no trouble with Northern Illinois, throttling the Huskies, 45-14. Ball State outgained the Huskies by 254 yards, 529-275, and had over twice as many first downs (25-12). They led 21-0 at the half and led 45-7 until NIU scored a meaningless TD with a minute and a half to play. BSU won it 45-14 to improve to 9-0 on the season.
One Team Remains Winless The Washington Huskies came into week 11 as the only FBS team still winless overall in 2008 and they would finish the week still without a win. The Huskies hosted disappointing Arizona State in week 11 and they actually stayed in the game for a while, but eventually things fell apart and they lost by 20 points, 39-19. Washington scored first with a field goal but ASU tied it late in the 1st quarter. After falling behind 10-3, UW came back to take a 13-10 lead with 10 minutes to go in the 2nd, but ASU kicked a pair of field goals to go to halftime on top 16-13. The Huskies scored the first 6 points of the 2nd half and led 19-16 late in the 3rd until ASU scored a TD with 2 and half to go in the period to go on top 23-19. The Sun Devils scored again early in the 4th and then put the game away with another TD with just under 7 minutes to play, as ASU outscored the Huskies 23-0 over the final 17:33. With the 39-19 loss, the Huskies fell to 0-9 on the year.
Four Teams Still Winless Against the FBSThere were 3 teams other than the Huskies who entered week 11 without a win against an FBS team and all 3 teams would remain winless vs. the FBS, despite being more competitive than expected. SMU hosted Memphis on homecoming in week 11 and they kept it competitive but came up short in their bid for a win vs. an FBS team, falling 31-26. The Tigers got out to a quick 14-0 lead but SMU got on the board with a 53 yard TD pass late in the 1st quarter and by halftime the deficit had been cut to 1. After Memphis scored to go back up by 8 midway through the 3rd, the Mustangs got a TD to make it a 1 point game again heading to the 4th. But Memphis scored early in the 4th to make it 28-20 and then put the game away with a field with 1:31 to play. The Mustangs managed to score a TD to make it a 1 score game with 36 seconds left but Memphis recovered the onsides kick to seal the deal. The 31-26 defeat dropped SMU to 1-9 on the year, 0-9 vs. FBS competition. Western Kentucky was on the road at SBC power Troy in week 11, and they managed to keep the score relatively close, but eventually they fell, 17-7. WK managed just 216 yards of offense, while Troy amassed 24 first downs and 429 yards of offense. Troy scored a TD in each of the first two quarters to take a 14-0 lead into halftime but Western Kentucky scored to cut the lead in half with 9 and a half minutes left in the 3rd. Despite being badly outplayed, the Hilltoppers were within a touchdown until Troy kicked a field goal to make it a 10 point game a few minutes later. WK didn’t allow another point but they couldn’t get any closer. The 17-7 loss dropped WK to 2-8 on the season, 0-8 vs. FBS competition. Washington State was at home against Arizona in week 11 and managed to stay within 31 points, losing 59-28. It was really much worse than the score suggested, as the Wildcats outgained the Cougars by 323 yards (531-208) and had 16 more first downs (28-12). But to be honest, this was still one of Washington State’s best performances of the season. WSU scored early in the 1st to go up 7-0, taking their first lead in a Pac-10 game all season. The Cats came back with a pair of TD’s to lead 14-7 after the 1st but WSU scored on the first play of the 2nd quarter to tie the game at 14. Arizona would score 28 straight points from there, however, taking a 35-14 lead into halftime, and leading 45-21 heading to the 4th. With the 59-28 loss, Washington State fell to 1-9 on the year, 0-9 vs. FBS competition.
Three Games Stay Tied into Overtime 3 games needed overtime to determine a winner in week 11. All three games ended after a single overtime period. Alabama won at LSU, 27-21, in overtime. Cincinnati won on the road at West Virginia, 26-23, in overtime. And East Carolina won 19-16 over Marshall in OT at home. ECU went to OT for the second week in a row and the third time in 9 games this year. ECU led 3-0 after the 1st, 13-3 at halftime, and 16-9 going to the 4th. But with 1:21 left in the game, the Herd scored on a 34 yard TD pass to tie the game at 16. The Pirates got into position for a 42 yard field goal but Ben Hartman missed to send the game into overtime. Marshall had the ball first in OT, and after 3 straight incompletions, Tyler Warner missed a 42 yard field goal try to give ECU a chance to win the game with a FG. The Pirates moved the ball to the 10 and then called Hartman out for a 27 yard attempt and this time he made it to give ECU a 19-16 win.
Notable Scores from Week 11Ball St. 45, NIU 14 (BSU remains unbeaten at 9-0.)
Utah 13, TCU 10 (Utes win to stay unbeaten at 10-0, dealing TCU their 2nd loss.)
Ohio State 45, NW 10 (Buckeyes go to 5-1 in the Big Ten.)
Michigan St. 21, Pur 7 (Mich St. moves to 6-1 in the Big Ten.)
Mich 29, Minn 6 (Wolverines pull off upset to win Little Brown Jug.)
UNC 28, GT 7 (Heels win big ACC Costal game.)
Pitt 41, Louisville 7 (Pitt goes to 3-1 in the Big East.)
Tex 45, Bay 21 (Horns move to 9-1.)
WM 23, Ill 17 (Big win for the MAC.)
UGA 42, Kentucky 38 (Dawgs win shootout thriller.)
Wyo 13, Tenn 7 (Vols hit rock bottom, fall to 3-7.)
Boise St. 49, Utah St. 14 (Broncos remain unbeaten at 9-0.)
BYU 41, SD St. 12 (Cougars get to 9-1.)
Neb 45, Kan 35 (Both teams now 6-4, 3-3 in Big XII.)
FSU 41, Clem 27 (Poppa Bowden gets win over son’s former team.)
Mem 31, SMU 26 (SMU stays winless vs. FBS.)
Bama 27, LSU 21 (OT) (Saban wins at LSU, Tide stay unbeaten at 10-0.)
ECU 19, Marsh 16 (OT) (ECU gets to 4-1 in C-USA.)
Okla 66, A&M 28 (Sooners move to 9-1.)
Iowa 24, Penn St. 23 (Nittany Lions’ prefect season ends as they lose to fall to 9-1.)
Troy 17, WK 7 (WK still winless vs. FBS.)
Ore St. 34, UCLA 6 (Beavers get to 5-1 in Pac-10.)
Ariz 59, Wash St. 28 (Wash St. remains winless vs. FBS.)
AF 38, CSU 17 (AF moves to 5-1 in MWC.)
Cin 26, WV 23 (OT) (Bearcats survive comeback, both teams now 3-1 in Big East.)
ASU 39, Wash 19 (Washington remains winless, falling to 0-9.)
UTEP 37, ULL 24 (UTEP wins as 13.5 point underdogs.)
USC 17, Cal 3 (USC wins to move to 8-1.)
Fla 42, Vandy 14 (Gators continue to roll, move to 8-1.)
BC 17, ND 0 (Irish fall to 5-4 on the year.)
Tex Tech 56, Ok St. 20 (Tech rolls to stay unbeaten at 10-0, hand Ok St. a second loss.)
Week 12 Recap: Week 12 of the college football season carried with it less hype than any of the previous 11 weeks of the season. And things ended up being as ho-hum and uneventful as one might have expected. In fact, week 12 was easily the weakest week of the year so far. There were a few surprises and good games but nothing too exciting. Week 12 was mostly about the teams at the top holding serve. The most meaningful developments of week 12 were in the middle of the conference races, where teams jockeyed for position in the standings and tried to improve their bowl status.
Gators Embarrass the Ol’ Ball Coach in Week 12’s Only Game Between Ranked TeamsAmazingly, there was just one matchup of ranked teams in week 12. #25 South Carolina visited #4 Florida at the Swamp the week. By default this was the biggest game of week 12. There was some appeal to the game, as Florida was the hottest team in the country coming into the week, and it would be only the second time Steve Spurrier returned to Gainesville since taking over the job at South Carolina. Even though South Carolina came into the game having won 6 of 7 and with the 3rd ranked defense in the Nation, this game was not expected to be close. And it never was close. Florida’s historic hot stretch continued in week 12, as they dealt Spurrier an embarrassing, 56-6 beating. It was the worst loss ever for Spurrier, not just in his coaching career, but in his entire football history. It was his worst loss as a coach since a 45-3 loss to Tennessee as coach of the Gators in 1990. It was SC’s worst loss since a 63-7 defeat at the hands of Spurrier and the Gators back in 1995. The Gamecocks fell to 0-12 in Gainesville and lost to Florida for the 16th time in the last 17 years. For the Gators it was their 6th straight win and they became the first team in history to win 6 straight SEC games by at least 28 points. Florida outgained the Cocks by 346 yards, putting up 519 yards of offense while limiting SC to just 173 yards of offense. South Carolina turned it over 4 times and went just 1 for 15 on 3rd down conversions. Florida rushed for 346 yards against the 11th best rushing defense in the country that had been allowing an average of 101 yards a game on the ground. For the Gators it was their largest rushing total since 1989.
It wasn’t all the defense’s fault. SC’s defense kept them in the game for a little while, recovering a fumble on Florida’s first drive, and forcing the Gators to punt on their second drive. But then on 3rd and 5 from the South Carolina 13, Chris Smelly threw an awful pass that was picked off by Brandon Spikes at the 12 and returned for a TD to put the Gators up 7-0. On the 2nd play of South Carolina’s next drive, Smelly threw an even worse pass and Ahmad Black intercepted at the SC 35 and returned it to the 26. Percy Harvin ran the ball in for a touchdown on the next play to put Florida ahead 14-0. Although Spurrier’s defense was really holding up fine to this point other than that 26 yard run by Harvin, the OBC must have felt that his offense was hopeless because he called for an extremely risky play on the ensuing kickoff. Dion LeCorn received Caleb Sturgis’ kick a foot at the goal line in the far left corner of the end zone and brought it out to the 10. He then turned and threw a backwards pass all the way across the field to a teammate. The Gators weren’t fooled by the play, but making matters worse, the lateral went over the other South Carolina return man’s head and bounced at the 5 yard line. The Gators recovered at the 1 and 3 plays later Tim Tebow went in from 1 yard out to make it 21-0 with 2:22 to play in the 1st quarter. That was the end of the competitive portion of this football game.
The Gamecocks recovered a fumble deep in their own territory early in the 2nd and returned the ball to midfield but the offense could do nothing. Florida got the ball back after a punt and then Tebow threw a 46 yard TD pass to Deonte Thompson to make it 28-0. South Carolina finally got on the board with a field goal late in the 2nd quarter and the score was 28-3 at the half. But on the first play of the 2nd half, the Gators gave the ball to Harvin and he went 80 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-3. SC got another field goal on their first drive of the 2nd half, but the Gators scored again on their next drive, with Jeffery Demps running 38 yards for a TD to make it 42-6. Tebow threw his 2nd touchdown pass of the game on the first play of the 4th quarter to make it 49-6 and the Gators rushed for another score before it was over to win by the final of 56-6.
Four Ranked Teams Fall to Unranked OpponentsWith all of the games between ranked and unranked opponents, it was inevitable that some ranked teams would go down to unranked foes, and it ended up happening 4 times in week 12. #24 Wake Forrest played on the road against NC State in week 12 and lost 21-17. The game was back and forth throughout and for a moment it looked like Wake would escape. The Wolfpack scored first in the game, taking a 7-0 lead early in the 1st quarter, but the Demon Deacons tied it up a few minutes later on a gadget play. State scored to take the lead again with just 1:29 left in the 2nd quarter but Wake tied it up again on a 7 yard TD pass with just 5 seconds remaining before halftime. The game remained deadlocked until Wake kicked a short field goal to take a 3 point lead with just 9 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. But NC State scored on an 8 yard TD pass to take a 21-17 lead with 10:17 left in the game and the Wolfpack made the lead stand up. WF drove to the NC State 25 with less than a minute to play but the Wolfpack defense sacked Riley Skinner on 4th and 6 to seal the victory.
#23 Tulsa went on the road to play the Houston Cougars in week 12 in a key C-USA matchup and the Golden Hurricane got bombed, 70-30. Tulsa had begun the year 8-0 before losing to Arkansas on the road in week 10, but they were still undefeated in Conference USA play. Houston entered the game just 5-4 on the year but 4-1 in C-USA. Tulsa had had a week off since their disappointing loss to the Hogs but it didn’t help them at all against the Cougars. The two teams combined for 1142 yards of offense and 59 first downs but the game was over at halftime. Houston scored on a 4 yard TD pass by Case Keenum to take the first lead 5 minutes into the game, and then scored on another 4 yard TD pass by Keenum late in the 1st quarter to go up 14-0. After Tulsa got on the board with a field goal early in the 2nd, the Cougars came back with another TD pass by Keenum to take a 21-3 lead with 9 minutes left in the half. Tulsa scored their first touchdown with 5 minutes left in the 2nd to cut the score to 21-10 but Keenum threw a 66 yard bomb for a TD just 30 seconds later to put the Cougars back up by 18. A few minutes later, Keenum tossed his 5th TD pass of the half to put Houston up 35-10 with 1:21 left in the half. Tulsa raced down the field for a TD in just 59 seconds to get back in the game, cutting the score back to 17 with only 22 seconds left in the half. But when Tyron Carrier took the ensuing kickoff back 93 yards to put Houston on top 42-17, the outcome of the game was decided. Keenum fired his 6th TD pass of the game early in the 3rd to put Houston up by 32 and the Cougars returned a pick 69 yards for a TD later in the quarter to make the score 63-24. Keenum scored on a 6 yard TD run early in the 4th to finish out the scoring, with the Cougars putting up 70 on the Hurricane to win by 40 points, 70-30. Suddenly Houston was in the driver’s seat in the C-USA West.
#19 FSU was at home in week 12 playing against Boston College and the Eagles won by 10 points, 27-17, at Doak Campbell Stadium. Things went south for the Seminoles long before kickoff. Earlier in the week, a brawl had broken out between Florida State players and a fraternity and on Friday the Seminoles announced 1-game suspensions of 5 wide receivers. FSU tried to overcome the off field issues, dressing out in black uniforms and inviting their fans to attend the game decked out in black. But BC put a blackout on FSU’s offense, limiting the Seminoles to 285 yards, holding them to just 2 for 10 on 3rd down and 1 for 3 on 4th down, and intercepting Christian Ponder 3 times. BC rushed for 176 yards and held the ball for over 38 minutes. Chris Crane threw a 14 yard TD pass to put the Eagles up 7-0 early in the 1st and then Marty Bowman returned a pick 87 yards for a TD late in the quarter to make it 14-0. FSU cut the lead to 14-10 at the half but BC got those 10 points back in the 3rd to take a 24-10 lead to the 4th. FSU got within 7 on a 29 yard TD pass to Greg Carr on the first play of the 4th but they got no closer. BC hit a field goal with 20 seconds to play to put the game away, winning it 27-17.
The highest ranked team to lose in week 12 was #16 UNC, who fell on the road at Maryland, 17-15. Maryland held UNC to 285 yards of offense and 11 first downs, as the Tar Heels went just 1 for 11 on 3rd down conversions. Maryland achieved 27 first downs, going 9 for 18 on 3rd down conversions, rushing for 195 yards, and hogging the ball for 40 minutes and 29 seconds. Things started well for UNC, as they got a safety and a field goal to take an early 5-0 lead. Maryland scored to take a 7-5 lead with 6 and a half minutes remaining in the 1st quarter but UNC scored less than a minute later on a 59 yard TD pass by Cameron Sexton to put the Heels back up 12-7. Maryland took the lead back on a TD early in the 2nd but UNC had a 15-14 lead at the half. The offensives struggled mightily in the 2nd half and UNC could never add to their lead, missing a 28 yard field goal attempt late in the 3rd. Finally, Obi Egekeze hit a 26 yard field goal with 1:26 remaining in the game to put Maryland on top, 17-15. The Heels attempted to drive down for a game winning field goal but Sexton was picked off by Jamari McCollough at the Maryland 39 to preserve the win.
Three (Somewhat) Significant UpsetsThere were no major upsets in week 12 but there were 3 wins by teams that were at least 7 point underdogs. Boston College was a 7 point underdog at FSU in week 12 but they won 27-17. For some reason, Central Florida was a 7 point road dog against Marshall in week 12 but they won 30-14. The Golden Knights managed just 242 yards of offense but they kept the ball for 38 minutes and they held the Thundering Herd to just 229 yards of offense. UCF had 17 first downs and turned the Herd over 4 times. UCF held Marshall to just 8 first downs, and the Herd went just 3 for 15 on 3rd down conversions and 0 for 3 on 4th down. The Knights led 10-0 after the 1st, had a 20-7 lead at halftime, and led 23-14 going to the 4th. A 50 yard TD run by Brynn Harvey with 2:40 to go was the final nail in the coffin, as UCF won 30-14.
The biggest upset of week 12 in terms of the spread was Rutgers’ 49-16 win at South Florida as an 8 point dog. South Florida put up 404 yards of offense and achieved 25 first downs but they turned the ball over 6 times and had 100 yards in penalties. Rutgers gained 421 yards of total offense and converted on 10 of 14 third downs. The game remained scoreless into the 2nd quarter until the Scarlet Knights broke out on top on a 3 yard TD run by Mike Teel. Later in the 2nd, a 30 yard INT return for a TD put the Knights up 14-3, and after USF cut the score to 14-10, Rutgers scored on a TD pass by Teel with 29 seconds left in the half to go back up by 11. Rutgers scored early in the 3rd to go up 28-10 on the home team. The Knights scored on a TD pass by Teel with just seconds left in the 3rd to put the game away, up 35-16 with just a quarter to go. Teel threw a 93 yard TD pass early in the 4th and the Knights went on to win by 33 points, 49-16.
Number of Unbeaten Teams Remains at FiveGoing into week 12 there were 5 FBS teams still without a loss and there were still 5 undefeated teams when the week was over. Texas Tech was idle in week 12 and thus remained undefeated at 10-0. The other 4 undefeated teams were in action in week 12. The only other remaining undefeated team from a BCS conference—Alabama—had an easy game at home against Mississippi State in week 12. Miss State had actually beaten Bama the last two years but the Tide got some revenge in week 12, rolling to a 32-7 victory. Bama held Miss State to just 167 yards and the Maroon Dogs were just 2 for 12 on 3rd down. Bama got a safety and a field goal to lead 5-0 after the 1st but then Mississippi State actually took the lead briefly on a 31 yard TD pass by Tyson Lee with 10:19 remaining in the 2nd. Bama retook the lead later in the quarter and led 12-7 at the half. An 80 yard punt return for a TD by Javier Arenas broke the game open early in the 3rd and the Tide led by 15 going to the 4th. A FG early in the 4th put the game away and the #1 ranked Tide went on to win, 32-7, to improve to 11-0 on the season.
By far the least famous undefeated team in the country—Ball State—took care of business early in the week again in week 12, beating Miami (OH), 31-16, on the road on Tuesday night. It wasn’t exactly easy, as the Cardinals turned the ball over twice and the Redhawks amassed 20 first downs. But BSU gained 484 yards of offense and eventually pulled away late. The 1st quarter was scoreless and the Redhawks scored first, kicking a FG to take a 3-0 lead with just under 12 minutes on the clock in the 2nd. Ball State got on the board on a Nate Davis TD pass a few minutes later to go up 7-3, and Davis later scored on a QB sneak to put BSU up 14-6 with just over 2 minutes left in the half. However, Miami (OH) came right back to score on a 49 yard TD bomb to cut the lead to 1 with just 55 seconds left in the half. Ball State managed to get a field goal before halftime to take a 4 point lead to the locker room. Miami (OH) got those 3 points back on a field goal early in the 3rd but a few minutes later the Cardinals scored a touchdown to go up 24-16. It remained a 1 score game, however, until MiQuale Lewis scored his 2nd rushing TD of the game to make it 31-16 with just under 10 minutes to play in the game. Lewis rushed for 165 yards on 26 carries and the Cardinals went on to win, 31-16, to improve to 10-0 on the year.
#9 Boise State had to go on the road to Moscow in week 12 but they didn’t have to travel very far, as they visited their instate rival Idaho. The Vandals have been one of the worst teams in all of college football over the last few years and they came into this game just 2-8, but they did manage to remain competitive against the Broncos for a while. Eventually, however, Boise State pulled away and wound up winning 45-10. The Broncos amassed 525 yards of offense and had almost double the number of 1st downs as the Vandals (29-15). But Boise State didn’t put Idaho away until midway through the 3rd quarter. Idaho scored first in the game on an 81 yard TD pass on the first play from scrimmage. The Vandals held the lead for 9 minutes until Boise State tied it up on a 17 yard run by Jeremy Avery. Kyle Wilson took a punt back 79 yards for a TD a few minutes later to put Boise State up for good. But the Vandals kicked a field goal to make it 14-10 early in the 2nd quarter and Boise State led just 17-10 at the half. The Broncos took over in the 3rd quarter, with Avery going 57 yards on the ground for a score to make it 24-10, and then Ellis Powers returning a fumble 45 yards for a TD to make it 31-10 and put the game away with 8:06 left in the 3rd. The Broncos led 38-10 going to the 4th and went on to win 45-10 to go to 10-0 on the season.
The other undefeated team--#7 Utah—also had a very easy road game in week 12, as the Utes played at San Diego State. The Aztecs came into the game just 1-9 on the season (with their one win coming over Idaho at home) and the Utes pounded them, 63-14, to stay unbeaten. Utah amassed 520 yards of offense and 30 first downs, going 13 for 14 on 3rd down conversions. Brian Johnson threw a pair of touchdown passes in the 1st quarter to put Utah up 14-0 and then threw a 3rd TD pass on the first play of the 2nd quarter to make it 21-0. After SD State scored to make it 21-7, Johnson fired another TD pass to make it a 21 point game again, and then threw a 5th TD pass with just 15 seconds left in the half to make it 35-7. Utah led 35-14 going to the 4th and scored a pair of rushing TD’s early in the 4th to make the score 49-14. Then Deshawn Richard intercepted a pass at the Utah 11 and returned it 89 yards for a TD to make it a 42 point Utah lead with 5:59 left to play. San Diego State got the ball back after the kickoff and on the 3rd play of their next drive Richard picked off another pass and returned it 38 yards for a TD to make it a 49 point Utah lead with 4:49 left to play. Utah went on to win 63-14 to get to 11-0 on the season.
Still One Lone Winless Team Going into week 12 there was only one FBS team that was still winless overall in 2008. At week’s end, the Washington Huskies were still the nation’s only winless team, as they lost at home to UCLA, 27-7. The Bruins had been 0-3 on the road and had been outscored 131-44 in those 3 road games prior to this one but they never trailed at Seattle. Washington committed 5 turnovers, gained just 135 yards of offense, and only had the ball for 23 minutes. UCLA went up 7-0 midway through the 1st quarter but Washington tied it up with just 44 seconds left in the opening period. UCLA outscored Washington 20-0 the rest of the way, however, leading 17-7 at the half and taking that lead into the 4th quarter. The Bruins put the game away with a TD on the first play of the 4th quarter and went on to win 27-7. The loss dropped the Huskies to 0-10 on the season.
Four Teams Still Winless Against the FBSThere were 3 teams other than the Huskies who entered week 12 without a win against an FBS team and all 3 teams would remain winless vs. the FBS. The other FBS team from Washington—the Washington State Cougars—played on the road against disappointing Arizona State in week 12 and got shutout, 31-0. Washington State gained just 130 yards of total offense, gaining just 7 rushing yards on 24 attempts. The game remained scoreless through the 1st quarter until ASU finally went up 3-0 on a FG early in the 2nd quarter. The Sun Devils scored on a 14 yard TD pass with just over 3 minutes left in the half and took a 10-0 lead to the locker room. ASU put the game away in the 3rd on a pair of TD passes from Rudy Carpenter to Kyle Williams and they went on to win 31-0. The loss dropped the Cougars to 1-10 on the season, 0-10 vs. FBS teams. In contrast to Wazu, SMU had come fairly close to getting their first win vs. an FBS team on several occasions in recent weeks, but week 12 was not one of those times. The Mustangs played at UTEP in week 12 and fell 36-10. UTEP outgained SMU by 343 yards (544-201) and won the turnover battle 6-0. The Miners took an early 7-0 lead on an 85 yard TD pass and they led for the final 57 minutes and 48 seconds. UTEP scored the first 10 points of the game before SMU kicked a FG to get on the board late in the 1st quarter. But UTEP outscored SMU 16-0 in the 2nd quarter to take a 26-3 lead into halftime and the Miners scored 26 unanswered points to lead 36-3 heading to the 4th quarter. UTEP went on to win 36-10. The loss dropped SMU to 1-10 on the year, 0-10 vs. FBS teams. The other team without a win vs. the FBS—Western Kentucky—was at home in week 12 but they still lost to Middle Tennessee State, 21-10. MTS led 7-0 after the 1st quarter and 14-3 at halftime. The Blue Raiders still led 14-3 going to the 4th quarter and they put the game away on a 33 yard TD pass early in the final period. MTS went on to win 21-10. With the loss, the Hilltoppers fell to 2-9 on the year, 0-9 vs. the FBS.
A Pair of Games Require OT There were two games that went into overtime in week 12; both games were between teams from the MAC, and both games took place earlier in the week. On Wednesday night, Central Michigan went up against Northern Illinois on the road looking to stay undefeated in conference play. The game ended up going to overtime tied at 30 and in the end CM prevailed, 33-30. The Chippewas achieved 28 first downs and gained 430 yards of offense, while holding NIU to just 3 of 15 on 3rd down conversions and intercepting the Huskies twice. However, NIU went 3 for 3 on 4th down and gained 368 yards of offense as they pushed the Chippewas to the brink. Early on it looked like CM would breeze through the game. They led 3-0 after the 1st and then Dan LeFevour threw a pair of TD’s early in the 2nd quarter to put CM up 17-0. NIU got on the board with a field goal but LeFevour scored on a QB sneak with 40 seconds left in the half to make the score 23-3. CM missed the PAT and NIU kicked a FG early in the 3rd to cut the score to 23-6, but when LeFevour scored on an 8 yard run to put the Chips up 30-6 with 5:36 left in the 3rd, it looked like the outcome was decided. NIU scored with 1:25 left in the 3rd and got a 2-pt conversion but the Huskies still trailed by 16 points heading to the 4th quarter. The Huskies scored early in the 4th and went for 2 again to try and make it a 1 score game but they failed on the 2-pt conversion and the score remained 30-20. Still, they were back in the game. NIU scored again to cut the lead to 30-27 with 7:38 to play. CM took 5 minutes off the clock and moved to the NIU 40 on their next possession but eventually they were stopped and had to punt the ball back to the Huskies with 2 and a half minutes still on the clock. The Huskies got a couple of first downs but then had to burn their 2nd timeout with 48 seconds left as they faced a 4th and 18 from their own 38. On 4th down, QB Chandler Harnish found Matt Simon for a gain of 30 and a first down at the CM 32. Two plays later, Harnish threw complete for 21 yards and a first down at the 11. But CM’s defense held, forcing an incomplete pass on 3rd and 7 from the 8, and NIU decided to try a 25 yard field goal. Mike Salerno kicked up and good to tie the game at 30 and send it into overtime. NIU had scored 24 unanswered points over the final 16 and a half minutes entering overtime, and they went on offense first in OT, but on their 2nd play, Harnish was intercepted at the 23 and CM had a chance to save themselves. LeFevour rushed 3 straight times but could only gain a total of 2 yards and Andrew Aguila had to come out and try a 40 yard FG. Aguila made the kick to win it, as CM survived in OT, 33-30, to remain unbeaten in MAC play.
The following evening, Buffalo played on the road at Akron, with both teams looking to become bowl eligible with a win. This one wound up going to overtime tied at 24, but it would take 4 overtime periods to determine a winner, which eventually turned out to be the Bulls, who won 43-40. Buffalo gained 476 yards of offense, achieved 27 first downs, did not turn the ball over, and held the ball for 38:21. The Zips turned the ball over twice but they gained 474 yards of offense and got a stellar performance out of Dennis Kennedy, who ran 25 times for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns, and caught 5 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. Kennedy had 263 yards of total offense and 4 TD’s by himself. Buffalo scored the game’s first 10 points before Kennedy took a pass and went 57 yards for a score to make it 10-7 with just under 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter. Buffalo went back up by 10 with 4:48 left in the 2nd quarter but the Zips were able to kick a field goal with 8 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit back down to 7. Kennedy scored on a 24 yard TD run early in the 3rd quarter to tie the game at 17 and it stayed tied into the 4th. The Bulls went ahead 24-17 early in the 4th and nearly made that lead stand up until Kennedy scored from 1 yard out to tie the game with 23 seconds to go. The game went to OT tied at 24 a piece. Buffalo had the ball first in OT and score a TD which the Zips then matched to send it to a 2nd OT tied at 31. In the 2nd OT, Akron had to settle for a 42 yard field goal, but they forced Buffalo to settle for a field goal as well. The Bulls hit a 24 yarder to send the game into a 3rd OT tied at 34. This time the Bulls scored a TD and they had to go for 2 and missed. The Zips scored on Kennedy’s 4th TD of the game but they missed the 2-pt try as well to leave the game tied at 40 and send it into a 4th OT. Akron gained 14 yards on 2 plays for a first down at the 11, but on the next play, QB Chris Jacquemain was hit behind the line and he fumbled and the Bulls recovered. The door was now open for Buffalo but they could only gain 2 yards on 3 plays and had to try a 40 yard field goal. AJ Principe hit his 3rd field goal of the night to give Buffalo a 4-OT win, 43-40.
Notable Scores From Week 12Ball St. 31, Mia (OH) 16 (BSU gets to 10-0 on the year.)
CM 33, NIU 30 (OT) (CM goes to 6-0 in MAC play.)
Buf 43, Akron 40 (OT-IV) (Bulls get bowl eligible at 6-4.)
Mia 16, VT 14 (Canes win big ACC Costal game.)
Cin 28, Louisville 20 (Bearcats move to 4-1 in the Big East.)
Rut 49, SF 16 (Rut gets to .500 at 5-5; SF falls to 1-4 in Big East.)
NW 21, Mich 14 (NW gets to 8-3; Mich falls to 3-8, most losses in 129 year history.)
Penn St. 34, Ind 7 (PSU bounces back from loss at Iowa to go to 10-1.)
Ohio St. 30, Ill 20 (Buckeyes move to 6-1 in Big Ten.)
ND 27, Navy 21 (Irish hold off furious late rally by Navy, get bowl eligible at 6-4.)
UGA 17, Aub 13 (Dawgs hang on to beat their oldest rival for the 3rd straight time.)
Tex 35, Kan 7 (Longhorns move to 10-1.)
MTS 21, WK 10 (WK remains winless vs. FBS teams.)
Miss 59, ULM 0 (Rebs get bowl eligible at 6-4 for first time since 2003.)
WM 27, Tol 17 (WM gets to 6-1 in MAC play.)
Fla 56, SC 6 (Gators deal Spurrier worst ever loss, move to 9-1.)
Mary 17, UNC 15 (Terps get to 4-2 in ACC; UNC falls to 3-3 in conference play.)
NC St. 21, WF 17 (Wake falls to 4-3 in ACC.)
Ore St. 34, Cal 21 (Beaves go to 6-1 in Pac-10, remain on track for Rose Bowl.)
Wis 35, Minn 32 (Badgers retain Paul Bunyan’s Axe for 5th straight year.)
BYU 38, AF 24 (BYU pulls away from AF to go to 10-1.)
FAU 40, ULL 29 (Lou-Laf loses first conference game to gall to 4-1 in SBC play.)
Boise St. 45, ID 10 (Broncos remain unbeaten at 10-0.)
ASU 31, Wash St. 0 (Wash St. remains winless vs. FBS.)
Missouri 52, Iowa St. 20 (Mizzu clinches spot in Big XII Championship Game.)
USC 45, Stan 23 (Trojans avoided 2nd straight loss to Cardinal, move to 9-1.)
Bama 37, Miss St. 7 (Tide rolls to 11-0.)
Utah 63, SD St. 14 (Utes remain perfect at 11-0.)
BC 27, FSU 17 (BC takes big Atlantic Division game.)
Vandy 31, Kentucky 24 (Vandy gets bowl eligible at 6-4 for first time since 1982.)
LSU 40, Troy 31 (LSU comes back from 31-3 deficit, scores 30 in the 4th.)
Hou 70, Tulsa 30 (Both teams now 5-1 in C-USA play.)
UTEP 36, SMU 10 (SMU remains winless vs. FBS.)
UCLA 27, Wash 7 (Washington remains only winless team in FBS, falls to 0-10.)
