More Week 13 News & Notes
Boston College got a 3rd & 17, 66 yard TD pass but also settled for an 18 yard field goal in the 1Q. BC led 16-10 at the half with a 246-127 yard edge. BC went on an 11 play drive to open the 3Q and settled for a 31 yard field goal which they missed. Each team was SOD in the other’s territory early in the 4Q but Maryland, on 4th & 1 was SOD at its own 29 with 4:18 left and BC got the clinching 42 yard field goal with 3:59 left. Maryland converted on 4th & 4 and 4th & 10 and two plays later got a 28 yard TD pass to only trail 19-17 with 1:34 left but BC recovered the onside kick.

BYU was up 20-6 over Utah in the 4Q but gave up a 31 yard field goal with 14:49 left and after a 40 yard PR by Smithson, Utah converted on 4th & 4 to the BYU20 and would get a TD with 7:16 left. Utah also got a 40 yard field goal with :29 left to force OT but BYU’s 25 yard TD pass after a Utah field goal gave them the win in OT.

Washington got its first shutout in the Apple Cup in 45 years. Three times Washington St QB’s were knocked out of the game with injury and they were already without starting QB Jeff Tuel who missed the game. At the end of the 1H, 5th string QB and backup punter Dan Wagner took the final 4 snaps at the half. He did not pass but they picked up 2 FD’s on four running plays. Washington had 23-11 FD and 461-163 yard edges.

Kansas led almost the entire game against Missouri but came up short. The Jayhawks led 14-3 and 21-10 and it was 21-13 at the half. Kansas, leading 28-26, fumbled at the Missouri 27 and then on 3rd & 5 Gabbert threw a short pass to Alexander which he turned into a 68 yard TD, 33-28. Trailing 36-28 early 4Q, Kansas got a 74 yard TD pass on 3rd & 11 and the 2 pt conversion to tie it. Kansas had a 1st & goal at the 6 threatening to take a 7 point lead but after intentional grounding settled for a 39 yard field goal with 5:10 left. MU opted to punt on 4th & 4 with just 2:59 left and got a 58 yd punt pinning KU at the 3 which was huge in terms of field position. After 2 long passes fell incomplete, Reesing was tackled for a safety on a QB draw and Missouri, after the free kick, drove 43 yards getting a 27 yard field goal on the game’s final play for the win.

Troy jumped out to a 24-0 lead vs Louisiana but UL got a 72 yard, 12 play drive for a TD then a one play, 57 yard TD pass. Troy had a 4th & 1 at the UL4 stopped with :55 left in the half and only led 24-13. UL went 78 yards in 15 plays for a TD then on 3rd & 5 got a 91 yard TD pass and shockingly led 25-24. Troy battled back to lead 41-25 after a 26 yard TD pass with 4:47 left. UL, behind QB Gautier, drove 80 yards in 7 plays for a TD with 2:16 left but Troy returned the onside kick 38 yards for a TD. UL got to the Troy 26 but their final 3 passes were incomplete.

It was Dick Tomey’s final home game and San Jose St jumped out to a 10-0 lead. They got a TD and a field goal on their first 2 drives. QB Reed dislocated his finger and had to leave the game twice. Backup QB La Secla’s first play was a 4th & goal, 7 yard TD pass and his 2nd was a 3rd & 7, 7 yard FD pass to key both drives. San Jose St was at the NMSt10 when they were SOD on 4th & 5 and also had a 45 yard field goal blocked and led just 10-7 at the half. The game was tied at 10 when San Jose St got a 57 yard pass to Beauchman down to the 14 and they got the game winning 19 yard field goal with :34 left.

TCU was dominant early against New Mexico and their 20 yard TD pass with 11:05 left in the 2Q made it 30-0. At this point, NM had run 22 offensive plays and had -18 yards to show for it. Amazingly, NM went 79 yards in 13 plays for a TD and then after a fumble on a KO, got a 31 yard field goal and they even fumbled the TCU30 at the end of a 9 play drive on their next 3 possessions and at the half TCU only had a 234-129 yard edge. TCU only led 30-10 after 3Q’s. TCU got a TD with 14:52 left and then got 20 and 47 yard IR TD’s within a span of 2:20 to blow it open, 51-10.

It was a tough loss for San Diego St. San Diego St led 21-7 at the half and opened the 3Q with a 63 yard, 12 play drive to lead 24-7. UNLV answered with a 69 yard, 6pl drive to make it 24-14 (6:48 3Q). San Diego St missed a 34 yard field goal then was intercepted and returned 40 yards for a TD with 13:35 left, 24-21. UNLV missed a game tying 37 yard field goal with 3:29 left but San Diego St punted with 1:58 left and UNLV went 54/3pl for a TD with 1:24 left. SDSt got to the UNLV30 but their final pass was incomplete.

Notre Dame lost its 6th game of the season and all six were by 7 points or less. The Irish had leads of 24-13 (2Q), 31-20 (3Q) and 38-30 (4Q). Stanford got a TD and 2 point conversion with 8:59 left to tie it then after an ND punt, Stanford got a TD with :59 left when Weis ordered his defenders to let the Cardinal score which gave them their first lead since late 1Q. Notre Dame got to the Stanford 30 but was SOD.

Georgia had all of the advantages over Georgia Tech. They were off a loss to Kentucky in which they outgained Kentucky by 487-260. Also the previous year Georgia had outgained Georgia Tech 308-142 in the 1H but had an embarrassing 2H where Georgia Tech ran all over them. Georgia Tech also had a much more meaningful game on deck, the ACC Title game vs Clemson which would determine a BCS Title berth. Georgia’s first 10 plays of the game were all runs, right down the throat of Georgia Tech and they went 74/10pl for a TD and Georgia led 17-3 at the half, 27-17 after 3Q’s and 30-17 in the 4Q. Georgia Tech got a TD with 7:31 left and Georgia missed a 55 yard field goal. Georgia Tech had the ball at the UGA46 but after 3 incomplete passes, Demaryius Thomas dropped a 4th down pass with 1:22 left and Georgia took a knee.

Houston did get a KR and IR TD as two of their first 3 TD’s in the 1H but at the half had a 455-139 yd edge and while they had 8 TD’s, they had held Rice to just 5 FD’s and it was 59-0. The 59 points tied a school record for points in a half. Their 73 points was the high for an FBS team this season and the entire 2H was played with Houston’s backups as QB’s Turner and Elrod combined to hit 11 of 16 passes for 140 yards.

The USC/UCLA game was a misleading final. In the 1H UCLA had a 155-114 yard edge but USC got a 62 yard interception return for a TD and it was 7-0 at the half. UCLA also fumbled at the USC31 in the 2Q and was intercepted at their own 32 in the 3Q. USC then got a 29 yard, 7 play drive for a TD so they had 14 points on 29 yards of offense. UCLA was driving but was intercepted at the USC20 with 13:31 left, but the Bruins got a TD after a 13 play drive with 5:41 left to make it 14-7. USC got a couple of FD’s to the 50 and with 2:31 left got a 20 yard pass to the 23 then a 21 yard run to the 2 and punched in a TD with just 1:30 left to get ahead, 21-7. UCLA was SOD on 4th & 10 at their own 47 and USC tried to take a knee but UCLA called time-out with :52 left so Pete Carroll opted for a long pass which went 48 yards for a TD. USC had just 288 yards prior to that pass but the TD made it 28-7. UCLA and USC each had 18 FD’s for the game.

Tennessee had 22-13 FD and 446-261 yard edges against Kentucky. They did allow a 56 yard interception return for a TD and trailed 21-14 at the half. In the 2H Tennessee was stopped on 4th & goal at the 1 on a 72 yard, 10 play drive but with the game tied at 21, UK fumbled a punt at its own 28 and UT got the go-ahead 30 yard field goal with :44 left in the 3Q. The next 5 possessions were punts and UT took over at their own 28 as UK punted with 3:12 left on 4th & 10. On 2nd & 7 UT got a FD but fumbled and UK played it conservatively and settled for a 23 yard field goal with :33 left to force OT. In OT UK missed a 49 yard field goal and on 3rd & 5, UT got a 20 yard TD run by Hardesty.

Les Miles got some good fortune at the end of the Arkansas game, one week after the Tigers blew a last minute scoring opportunity due to clock mismanagement. At the end of the 1H, Arkansas had 142-113 yard and 10-6 FD edges but trailed 17-6. Arkansas cut it to 27-23 and took over with 3:56 left and converted on 3rd & 10 and 3rd & 20 and on 4th & 9 got a 14 yard TD pass to lead 30-27. The key play on LSU’s final drive in regulation happened on a swing pass on FD. The play gained 8 yards and the player’s knee hit the ground but he snuck the ball out of bounds with :09 left to stop the clock. LSU, which had had no time-outs left, then nailed a 41 yard field goal with :04 left to force OT. LSU made a 36 yard field goal and Arkansas missed a 36 yard field goal in the extra period.