NEWS AND NOTES - Rutgers scored TD’s on their first 4 poss vs Louisville and led 28-7 at the half with a 284-159 yd edge. UL did pull to within 28-14 but after punting from the RU46 and punting on their next drive, they fmbl’d at their own 44. RU drove 65/7pl for a TD with 3:52 left to ice it 34-14...

Colt McCoy probably became the leader for the Heisman Trophy on Thanksgiving night when he rushed for 175 yards and a TD and hit 24-40 for 302 yards and 4 more TD’s. In the 1H Texas had a 298-244 yd edge and only led 28-21. They were stopped on a fake punt from the Aggie 35 and had a punt bounce off a blocker setting up an A&M 36 yd TD drive. A&M QB Johnson was just as effective throwing for 342 yds and rushing for an additional 97. In the 2H UT was SOD on 4th & 1 at the Aggie 43 but A&M was also int’d in the EZ. UT only led 42-39 after an Aggie TD but got a 95 yd KR TD. A&M then went 45/10pl but missed a 23 yd FG with 3:05 left killing their chances...

Akron did get a big play just before the half with a 62 yd IR TD which gave them a 21-14 lead and EM missed a 41 yd FG. At the half EM had a 198-183 yd edge and a TOP edge of 20:04 to 9:56. UA drove for a TD on their opening drive of the 3Q and led 28-14 the rest of the game until EM got a TD with 1:58 left. UA ret’d the onside kick to the EM21 and took a knee at the 17...

Wyoming became eligible for a bowl for the first time since 2006 but they did not receive an invitation that year so their last bowl was in 2004. Colorado St was playing without starting QB Stucker and backup Eastman made his first start. CSU lost their last 9 games of the year. In the 1H CSU had a 156-92 yd edge but trailed 7-6. WY’s TD “drive” was 19 yards and was set up by a 53 yd PR. CSU had an 85/11pl drive for a TD but missed the xp. CSU led 13-7 when WY, one play after converting on 3rd & 13, got a 49 yd TD run for the lead and CSU went on a 74/14pl drive but settled for a 23 yd FG with 6:57 left. WY went for it on 4th & 6 at their own 47 and converted and 6pl later got a 33 yd FG with 1:27 left to take the lead. CSU got to midfield but was int’d at the WY39 with :31 left. CSU finished with 20-14 FD and 352-233 yd edges but lost...

Alabama had the SEC Title game on deck and was nearly upset by Auburn. Aub went 80/4pl for a TD on their first drive then after a surprise onside kick the Tigers went 80/12pl and on 3rd & gl at the 1 got another TD and led 14-0. Bama did tie it at 14 at the half but Aub got a 72 yd TD pass to lead 21-14 with 11:05 left in the 3Q. Bama was SOD at the Aub45, settled for 27 and 31 yd FG’s and then punted with 10:37 left trailing by 1. Aub punted with 8:27 left and the Tide went on a 15pl drive (longest of season) going 80 yds and got a TD with 1:24 left. The 2 pt failed. Aub got 2 FD’s to the Bama37 but their Hail Mary pass was broken up in the EZ. AU had a 333-291 yd edge...

Nebraska/Colorado was a strange game. CU could have easily won as they had a 403-217 yd edge. In fact, at the half, CU had a 148-89 yd edge but trailed by 14 as NU got a 59 yd PR TD and 20 yd IR TD. CU trailing by 7 missed 52 and 36 yd FG’s. The first FG was 52 yds after a 3rd & 2 at the NU17 when Hansen was called for intentional grounding and the Buffs lost 17 yds on the penalty. NU did take a 20-14 lead but CU had a FD at the NU15 with 4:52 left. Two pen’s forced a 4th & 20 and they were int’d. CU got it back with 1:30 left at their own 30 and converted on 3rd & 8 and 3rd & 10 then on 2nd & 10 with :02 left, a deep pass down the sideline was hauled in by McKnight as the DB went for the int and he walked into the EZ for the late TD which made many CU backers very happy in a 28-20 game. The xp was not attempted...

West Virginia had the situational edge vs Pittsburgh as what Pitt did in the game did not matter towards their chances for the Big East Title and a BCS bowl berth. All that matters is what they do next week vs Cincinnati. Still, Pitt led 3-0 in the 1H and had the ball with 1:03 left when they were int’d and WV got a FG to tie. It was tied at 6 when Devine got an 88 yd TD run with 4:34 left in the 3Q and WV made 3 FG’s and each one squeaked just inside the upright. Pitt missed a 53 yd FG and was int’d at the WV39 on their next 2 poss but trailing 16-9 got a 49 yd TD pass with 2:54 left to tie. WV got a favorable spot on 4th & 1 at the Pitt35 and kicked the game winning 45 yd FG 4pl later...

Boise St/Nevada was a game of momentum changes. BSU ret’d the opening KO 95 yds for a TD. BSU’s next 3 poss were 70, 88 and 64 yds for 2 TD’s and a FG and they led 27-3 with 9:59 left in the 2Q. NV went 71/11pl for a TD, 27-9 (3:38) then took over with 1:33 left and went 79/6pl getting a 3 yd TD with :03 left, 27-16. NV pulled back to within 34-26 after 3Q’s but after a fmbl, BSU got a 27 yd FG and then drove 46/7pl for a TD with 5:08 left to get ahead of the spread, 44-26. NV went 71/10pl and converted on 4th & 4 at the BSU14 and then on 3rd & 19 got a 23 yd TD pass with 1:16 left. BSU rec’d the onside kick...

Mississippi St was a much different team once backup QB Relf was inserted in the lineup. The game was 6-3 Ole Miss when he entered with 7:20 left in the half. He led MSU on an 81/9pl TD drive while Ole Miss got a 20 yd TD pass to make it 13-10 at the half, Relf led scoring drives on the next 4 poss as they took a 34-20 lead. MSU fmbl’d on 1st & gl at the 1 but then got a 64 yd IR TD to put it away with 5:17 left, 41-20. After UM got a 52 yd TD pass to McCluster, MSU rec’d the onside kick and was able to run the final 4:56 winning the Egg Bowl...

Wake Forest had a senior laden class while Duke had the fewest amount of seniors in the NCAA. Riley Skinner’s career ended on a high note as he threw for a career high 372 yds and a school record 5 TD’s. Duke actually jumped out to a 14-7 lead and had a 234-221 yd edge at the half but trailed 21-17. The key play came after WF got a 44 yd FG to lead 38-27 with 4:30 left as Duke was int’d on 4th & 2 and ret’d 36 yds for a TD which clinched it for WF...

Take an Oklahoma defense off an embarrassing loss to Texas Tech, in which one of the best D’s in the country allowed 549 yds on the road, put them back at home vs an Oklahoma St team with a QB coming off an inj and as you would expect, OU’s D dominated. OSU managed just 6 FD’s including none in the 2H and QB Robinson hit just 9-21-44 and was pulled with 2 series left in the game. The score could have been much worse than 27-0 as OU had a 1st & gl at the 7 and fmbl’d, settled for a 24 yd FG, went on a 17pl drive and settled for a 19 yd FG, had a 52 yd FG blk’d and fmbl’d at the OSU18 with :54 left but they still rolled to an easy win...

Virginia made a game of it vs Virginia Tech early, in fact led 10-7 after 1Q. VT took their first lead with 9:43 left in the 2Q and after a UVA 41 yd FG was just 14-13 at the half. VT was int’d in the EZ in the 3Q but then UVA fmbl’d and got off 23 and 21 yd punts and VT would go 10/2pl, 62/11pl, 61/1pl, 73/10pl on their next 4 poss all for TD’s to win 42-13...

Florida was even more dominant vs Florida St than the score. It was 24-0 at the half with a 291-55 yd edge and it was 30-0 when FSU opted for a 20 yd FG on the final play of the 3Q to avert the shutout. FSU trailed 37-3 when they drove 74/7pl for a TD vs the UF backups. UF fmbl’d at the FSU25 and FSU actually got to the UF11 when on 2nd & 10 they were int’d in the EZ with :13 left...

Arkansas St dominated N Texas. They scored on 4 of their first 5 poss and led 27-0. In fact, at the half, despite NT getting a 39 yd drive for a TD late in the half after a TO, ASU had 14-2 FD and 286-43 yd edges. ASU had a 2nd & 10 from the NT12 but was int’d at the 9. ASU still led 30-14 after 3Q’s but on 4th & 1 were SOD at the NT32 with 2:48 left. NT went 68/4pl and got a TD on a 19 yd pass with 1:25 left.

It’s interesting that Miami only led USF 21-3 at the half but the announcer said at halftime it felt like 45-0. They did have a 236-98 yd edge. For the game UM was SOD at the USF19 leading 31-10 with 1:10 left and had 22-11 FD and 401-220 yd edges and despite the margin being 21 pts, they even cut away from the game during the viewing to go to the closer Kansas/Missouri game...

Arizona was in control vs Arizona St leading 14-0 at the half with 8-3 FD and 166-78 yd edges. They led 17-10 when ASU got a 4th & 12, 14 yd TD pass with 2:02 left to tie. UA punted but ASU dropped the punt at their own 22. AU hit a 32 yd FG on the last play to win...

Southern Miss and E Carolina were battling for a trip to the CUSA Title game and the game was worthy of it. SM did blow some opportunities. They had a 1st & gl at the 1 but fmbl’d at the 3 and EC led 17-7 at the half. SM had a 1st & gl at the 7 but settled for a 24 yd FG which was blk’d (8:05 3Q). The Eagles got the apparent tying TD with 7:35 left but their xp was not only blk’d but ret’d for 2 and EC led 22-20. EC added a 27 yd FG to lead 25-20 and SM was SOD at their own 49 with 3:05 left...

Tough loss for Baylor vs Texas Tech. TT was coming off their big win over Oklahoma and BU gave the start to senior QB Szymanski and he hit 22-35-238 yds. The game was played in Cowboy Stadium and while it was technically a BU home game, it was played before a pro-TT crowd. BU settled for a 25 yd FG, was SOD at the TT36 and missed a 40 yd FG 1pl after getting an 8 yd sk. They still led 13-3 in the 3Q. TT had TD drives of 36 (after 64 yd KR) and 32 yds (after int) to take the lead. BU, down by 7, got to the TT 5 yd line but on 4th & gl with 1:10 left fired incomplete...

Washington’s defense knocked out Washington St’s QB three times with Marshall Lobbestael, Kevin Lopina and Jeff Solomon all getting inj’d. They got their first shutout of their rival WSU in 45 years in their 30-0 win...

For the 3rd straight year the Arkansas/LSU game went down to the wire. In 2007 UA won 50-48 in 3OT’s and last year UA scored with :21 left to win 31-20. This time it was LSU that got a 41 yd FG with :40 left to force OT and when UA missed a FG in OT they came away with the win...

Tennessee kept alive the nation’s longest current win streak with their 25th straight win over their rival Kentucky. UT did have 22-13 FD and 446-261 yd edges..

Troy actually trailed Louisiana 25-24 into the 4Q. They would get 17 points to lead 41-24 when ULL got a TD with 2:16 left. Troy ret’d the onside kick for a TD clinching the cover....

Houston dominated the 1H vs Rice leading 59-0 scoring on each of their first 7 poss. They played the backups for most of the 2H. UH had a 465-144 yd edge after 2Q’s...

San Jose St HC Dick Tomey’s FHG ended on a 19 yd FG with :34 left and they escaped to beat New Mexico 13-10...

Toby Gerhart rushed for 205 yds vs Notre Dame in what will be Charlie Weis’ final game as a HC. His 56.5% winning percentage is worse than the 58.3% mark set up his 2 predecessors, Tyrone Willingham and Bob Davie...

San Diego St led UNLV 24-7 but in Mike Sanford’s FHG UNLV rallied getting a TD with 1:24 left to pull out the 28-24 win...

It was a very interesting final in the USC/UCLA game. USC only led 21-7 and they took a knee with under 1:00 left but Rick Neuheisel called timeout so Pete Carroll dialed up a play action pass which went for a 48 yd TD with :44 left and the two almost brawled after the game. Each team had 18 FD’s and USC scored on a 62 yd IR TD and got another short drive after a fmbl.

MISLEADING FINALS - Tough loss for Toledo. They had 24-17 FD and 485-289 yd edges vs Bowling Green but ended up losing by 14. BG’s first 4 scores came on drives of 26, 7, 1 and 30 yds. They blk’d punts on UT's first 2 drives setting up the 26 and 7 yd drives and UT fmbl’d a punt on their own 1 setting up a 1 yd TD. After another fmbl, BG drove 30 yds for a 22 yd FG and led 24-0. At the half UT trailed 24-14 and from the BG28 were int’d in the EZ with :04 left in the half. The Rockets had a 229-124 yd edge but trailed. In the 2H UT trailed 31-24 when on 4th & 9 they got an 18 yd FD pass to the BG11 with 4:34 left but fmbl’d at the end. BG got a 61 yd run by Geter and would get a TD to get ahead of the spread with 1:27 left, 38-24. UT got to the BG21 but were int’d at the 2 with :06 left...

Syracuse had a 26-18 FD edge vs Connecticut and a 489-377 yd edge plus a TOP edge. Two plays went against them and Conn got a pair of late TD’s when they could have easily run out the clock and won by 11. SU went on a 72/12pl drive and settled for a 26 yd FG and Conn got an 80 yd KR on the next play. SU pulled within 21-17 with 1:08 left 1H but UC went 63/5pl for a TD with :06 left. At the half SU had a 19:05-10:55 TOP edge but trailed 28-17. SU turned down a chop block on 3rd & 6 so instead of 3rd & 16 it was 4th & 6 and Conn went for it and got a 17 yd pass to the 9 and a TD 2pl later. SU went 53/11pl but missed a 48 yd FG. SU was trailing 42-31 and went on an 11pl drive down by 11. They were SOD on 4th & 7 at the UC40 with 4:31 left. UC got 2 FD’s but on 4th & 11 got a 28 yd TD pass with :47 left to get ahead of the spread. SU then tried the hook and ladder and UC picked up a fmbl and ret’d it 24 yds for a TD with :08 left for a very misleading final.

DIVISION TITLE GAMES - There were some actual final game of the season title games which determined div races. Ohio was a home dog vs Temple in the battle for the MAC East. OU was in control most of the game as they led 13-3 but just 13-10 at the half. The Bobcats scored TD’s on their first 2 drives of the 3Q, 26-10 but would have 3 missed xp’s then missed a 30 yd FG and only led 26-17 early 4Q. OU drove 74/4pl for a TD but missed their 3rd xp, 32-17 but then made a 38 yd FG to go up by 3 scores, 35-17. TU was SOD at the OU38 and int’d at the OU24 with 4:38 left. They only got to their own 36 when their final play was int’d at the OU7 with :04 left and the Bobcats had a 494-378 yd edge. OU did suffer some attrition during the game losing their top 2 guards, WR Brazill, their top RB and QB Scott to injuries.

LOOKIN’ AHEAD - Clemson had nothing to play for in the South Carolina game. The week prior they had clinched the ACC Title game and had that game on deck. SC, meanwhile, was fresh off a bye and also had 3 losses so it was SC’s “A” game vs CU's “C” game. CJ Spiller ret’d the opening KO 88 yds for a TD and CU played with some enthusiasm early but SC dominated as expected. At the half they had a 210-101 yd edge and led 17-7. They increased it to 24-7 after 3Q’s. SC finished with a 391-256 yd edge. It should be a different Clemson team on the field this weekend...

Cincinnati was looking ahead to the Big East Title game vs Pitt. Illinois took their opening drive 87/12pl for a TD but UC got a 90 yd KR TD then a 59 yd TD pass to lead 14-7 with 1 FD. QB Pike ret’d from inj and had 6 TD passes and UC abandoned the run, rushing just 4 times in the first 3Q’s. There were a couple of very questionable calls by the refs. IU had a TD pass that was clearly a TD but it was ruled incomplete. Later, UC got a 29 yd TD pass but replay clearly showed that Gilyard stepped on the back line and amazingly the play wasn't reviewed. There was also a very questionable pers foul call when at the end of a 3rd & gl one yd run the IU player just jumped trying to avoid contact and was called for a pers foul and UC got a TD 3pl later. Still, UC only won by 13 and UI had a 24-17 FD edge...

Georgia Tech had the huge ACC Title game on deck and was a rare favorite over their rival Georgia. UGA was coming off a bitter and disappointing misleading final the last week where they outgained Kentucky 487-260 and outFD'd UK but came up short on the scoreboard. Also, UGA last year had a 308-142 yd edge at the half vs GT but were rolled in the 2H. They probably spent a good deal of the offseason preparing for the option. With all the advantages, UGA pulled the outright upset 30-24 in a game they led 30-17 in the 4Q.