Rutgers Makes Mess of BCS

Oh the wacky Big East.

Last week Louisville ended West Virginia's national title hopes with a convincing 44-34 victory and moved up to No. 3 in the BCS standings.

On Thursday night, in front of millions of TV viewers, No. 15 Rutgers returned the favor and smashed the title dreams of the Cardinals (8-1) with a 28-25 come-from-behind victory.

The Scarlet Knights, playing in front of the largest home crowd in school history, rallied from a 25-7 deficit to win on a Jeremy Ito 28-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the game. Heisman candidate Ray Rice finished with 131 yards and two touchdowns.

Rutgers (9-0) has now thrown the BCS into a tailspin. The Scarlet Knights proved they can hang with anyone in the country, but their low BCS ranking (13th) could keep them put of the national championship race even if they go undefeated, which is a strong possibility.

A road game with Cincinnati, a home contest with Syracuse and the finale - on the road against the Mountaineers - are all that stand between Rutgers and an unbeaten season.

The last thing the BCS wants is more controversy and if the Scarlet Knights go undefeated and are left out of the championship game, controversy is exactly what they'll get.

Also on Thursday night, No. 25 BYU got 313 yards passing and two touchdowns from John Beck as the Cougars handed Wyoming a 55-7 beating. Beck has now moved into second place on the all-time BYU passing chart with 9,806 yards. Ty Detmer is first on the list with 15,031 yards.

Two games on tap this Saturday feature ranked teams meeting each other. No. 11 Arkansas (8-1) takes on No. 13 Tennessee (7-2), and No. 7 USC (7-1) hosts No. 21 Oregon (7-2).

Here's the Corners predictions for this weeks Top 25 battles:

Ohio State (1) at Northwestern
The Buckeyes were almost caught falling asleep last week. Don't look for that to happen again. Winner: Ohio State.

Michigan (2) at Indiana
The Hoosiers are hoping the Wolverines are looking ahead to Ohio State. The problem is Michigan did that last week with Ball State. Winner: Michigan.

Texas (4) at Kansas State
The Longhorns have won 17 straight on the road, including 13 consecutive Big 12 road games. Winner: Texas.

Georgia at Auburn (5)
The Tigers are looking for their third straight win over Georgia. Freshman QB Matthew Stafford will have a very long day for the Bulldogs. Winner: Auburn.

South Carolina at Florida (6)
Steve Spurrier returns to the Swamp - the site for most of his victories. Unfortunately for the coach, he'll be on the visitors side. Winner: Florida.

Oregon (21) at USC (7)
The Trojans are 17-0 in November under Pete Carroll. USC also has a 30-game winning streak in the Coliseum. Winner: USC.

California (8) at Arizona
The Bears are 6-0 in the Pac-10 for the first time since 1949. Cal may be looking ahead to the Trojans, but the Wildcat defense still won't be able to contain Marshawn Lynch and company. Winner: California.

Notre Dame (9) at Air Force
The Irish have won 13 consecutive games against the service academies and have won 10 of the last 11 against the Falcons. Winner: Notre Dame.

Cincinnati at West Virginia (10)
The Mountaineers will take out all their anger and frustration against the Bearcats. Winner: West Virginia.

Tennessee (13) at Arkansas (11)
The Hogs can move one step closer to winning the SEC West with a win, but Arkansas is 0-3 as a ranked team against the Vols. Winner: Tennessee.

Alabama at LSU (12)
The Tigers are 6-0 at home this season and their average margin of victory is nearly 40 points. Winner: LSU.

Boise State (14) at San Jose State
The Broncos have never lost to the Spartans (6-0) and aren't about to now. A win gets Boise closer to a BCS game. Winner: Boise State.

Wisconsin (16) at Iowa
The Hawkeyes have been an up-and-down team all season, but their last two wins against a ranked team have come against the Badgers. Wisconsin QB John Stocco is banged up, the Badgers are on the road, and this has all the elements of an upset in the making. Winner: Iowa.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma (17)
The Sooners will be looking for revenge after last years controversial loss in Lubbock. Winner: Oklahoma.

Wake Forest (18) at Florida State
The Seminoles are playing the spoiler's role against the Demon Deacons. However, Wake hasn't won in Tallahassee since 1959. Winner: Florida State.

Georgia Tech (19) at North Carolina
The Yellow Jackets can clinch a berth in the ACC title game with a win over the Tar Heels. Winner: Georgia Tech.

Kent State at Virginia Tech (20)
The Hokies will overpower the Flashes at home, where they have won 24 straight non-conference games. Winner: Virginia Tech.

Duke at Boston College (22)
The Blue Devils have lost 17 straight games, the longest such streak in the nation...make that 18 straight. Winner: Boston College

Miami (Fla) at Maryland (23)
The Hurricanes are thinking about the death of their friend and teammate - not a football game. Winner: Maryland.

Nebraska at Texas A&M (24)
The Aggies are 0-8 against the Huskers, Horns and Sooners under Dennis Franchione. That streak ends on Saturday. Winner: Texas A&M.

The Corner Lowdown:
Last week: 15-3
Overall: 123-25


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