Sunday, November 12, 2006

College Football Notes: Week 11

Now this is what Elimination Saturday's are all about.

It started with No. 15 Rutgers stunning No. 3 Louisville on Thursday night in Piscataway, N.J., and spilled into a Saturday that saw unranked Kansas State shock No. 4 Texas, unranked Georgia upend No. 5 Auburn, unranked Arizona upset No. 8 California, unranked South Carolina almost beat No. 6 Florida and undefeated Boise State need a last-second field goal to beat San Jose State.

The BCS picture became even clearer after the shocking results of Saturday's games. One thing is sure - next weeks Ohio State/Michigan battle will be this years game of the century - after both pulled off easy victories yesterday.

The question of who the winner plays in the national title game is a little foggy. Will it be the Gators, who barely won at home or can Rutgers stay unbeaten the rest of the way and play for all the marbles? Maybe another one-loss team such as Louisville, USC, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Arkansas will emerge from the pack and take the two spot?

After 11 weeks, the only thing certain in college football is that nothing is certain.

Josh Freeman threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jayhawks (7-4) to the stunning 45-42 upset over the defending national champion Longhorns (9-2). To make matters worse, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was injured in the first quarter and didn't return.

Georgia (7-4) piled up 446 yards of total offense against Auburn's defense, which came into the game 13th in the country in total defense and DB Tra Battle picked off three passes, returning one for a score to lead the Bulldogs to the 37-15 win over the Tigers (9-2).

Arizona CB Antoine Cason stepped in front of a Nate Longshore pass and returned it 39 yards for the game-winning touchdown as the Wildcats (5-5) stunned the Bears (8-2)for the 24-20 victory.

Florida's Jarvis Moss blocked a 48-yard field goal as time expired in the game as the Gators (9-1) held on for the 17-16 win over South Carolina (5-5). Moss also blocked an extra point.

Darren McFadden ran for 181 yards and two scores on 31 carries as the 11th-ranked Razorbacks (9-1) defeated No. 13 Tennessee (7-3) by a 31-14 score. McFadden, who also threw a TD pass, set a school record by surpassing 180 yards rushing for the fifth time in his career. Arkansas has won nine straight since a season-opening loss to Southern California - its longest streak since 1988.

Anthony Montgomery hit his third field goal of the night, this one a 37-yarder as time expired, to give No. 14 Boise State (10-0) the hard-fought 23-20 victory over San Jose State (6-3). Ian Johnson ran for 150 yards and a TD to lead the Broncos offense.

Tyler Donovan, stepping in for the injured John Stocco, passed for 228 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 16 Wisconsin (10-1) to the 24-21 victory over Iowa (6-5). With the win, Bret Bielema became the first Big Ten coach to win 10 games in his rookie year.

Tashard Choice ran for 119 yards and a touchdown to help the No. 19 Yellow Jackets (8-2) beat North Carolina 7-0, to clinch the Coastal Division championship in the ACC.

The Terps won their fifth straight game thanks to Darrius Heyward-Bey, who caught five passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, including a 96-yard score, to lead No. 23 Maryland (8-2) to the ACC victory over Miami (5-5).

Zac Taylor hit Maurice Purify on a nine-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left in the game to give Nebraska (8-3) the 27-24 victory over No. 24 Texas A&M (8-3). Taylor threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns. He now owns the Huskers record for TD passes in a season (21) and yards for a career (5,193). The win clinched the Cornhuskers a berth in the Big 12 title game.

Other scores from the top 25: No. 1 Ohio State 54, Northwestern 10; No. 2 Michigan 34, Indiana 3; No. 15 Rutgers 28, No. 3 Louisville 25; No. 7 USC 35, No. 21 Oregon 10; No. 9 Notre Dame 39, Air Force 17; No. 10 West Virginia 42, Cincinnati 24; No. 12 LSU 28, Alabama 14; No. 17 Oklahoma 34, Texas Tech 24; No. 18 Wake Forest 30, Florida State 0; No. 20 Virginia Tech 23, Kent State 0; No. 22 Boston College 28, Duke 7; and No. 25 BYU 55, Wyoming 7.

Highlight games for week 12 include: Michigan (11-0) at Ohio State (11-0); South Florida (7-3) at Louisville (8-1); Virginia Tech (8-2) at Wake Forest (9-1); Maryland (8-2) at Boston College (8-2); Auburn (9-2) at Alabama (6-5); Kansas State (7-4) at Kansas (6-5); and California (8-2) at USC (8-1).


Check out the most complete guide to coaching youth football ever created!

Do you love football? Then tune it to the Football Fanatics Show!

No comments: