In a great example of too little too late, there were 4 upsets of AP Top 25 teams in college football's 12th week and none of them had any real impact. On the other hand, two favorites won big time road games with big implications as Ohio State buried Michigan 21-10, and Oregon held off a very pesky Arizona team, 44-41.
Last week the 9th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) beat Iowa to earn their first trip to the Rose Bowl in 13 years. By beating Michigan (5-7 and not bowl eligible), Ohio State won the Big Ten title outright with a 7-1 mark, losing only at Purdue. The Buckeyes led Michigan 21-10 after three quarters and both teams played a scoreless 4th quarter.
The 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks (9-2) were in trouble mid-way through the last quarter when Arizona took a 31-24 lead on a 71-yard screen pass from Nick Foles to Juron Criner, and then the Wildcats had possession and could have won the game by running out the clock.
But a long pass into the end zone was intercepted by Oregon's Talmadge Jackson III (dude, it's a name), and that opened the door for Duck quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to tie it up at 31-apiece with an 8-yard pass to Ed Dickson with only 6 seconds remaining.
In the first overtime, Masoli hit Jeff Maehl for a 4-yard score, and Foles hit Juron Criner with a 3-yard strike to send the game into a second overtime. The Duck defense held and Arizona had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Alex Zendejas. Oregon then proved why it is the better team—Masoli found Dickson for a 22-yard completion and then three plays later, Masoli bulled it in from a yard out and Oregon won, 44-41.
The Ducks' Masoli accounted for 6 touchdowns in the game—3 passing and 3 running. He went 26-for-47 for 284 yards and picked up another 61 yards on 16 carries.
By winning, the Ducks set themselves up to earn a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth against Ohio State if—and it is a big if—they beat the visiting 20th-ranked Oregon State Beavers (8-3) in a winner-take-all Civil War showdown next Saturday in Eugene.
The Beavers, one of the dirtiest teams in college football (they like to legally hurt opposing players with little things like helmet-to-helmet hits), will invade Oregon's Autzen Stadium, home of some of the nation's most raucous, unkempt, nose-picking fans who like to throw unopened cans of pop at opposing players. The Ducks have also been known for throwing sucker punches at opposing players.
They call the annual Oregon-Oregon State rivalry the Civil War for a reason. Both of these teams like to punish each other, so expect it to be a very physical game, especially with a Pac-10 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line.
The four upsets this week that added little to the season included Mississippi (8-3) at home 25-23 over 10th-ranked LSU (8-3), Northwestern (8-4) at home 33-31 over 17th- ranked Wisconsin (8-3), Syracuse (4-7) at home 31-13 over 25th-ranked Rutgers (7-3), and California (8-3) on-the-road 34-28 over 14th-ranked Stanford (7-4).
Stanford did not lose because its battering ram Toby Gerhart did not perform. Gerhart did his part and more, picking up 136 yards on 20 carries (6.8 yards per carry), scoring 4 touchdowns, and carrying defenders on a 29-yard reception that set up Stanford at California's 13-yard-line with less than 2 minutes left. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, Andrew Luck threw an interception to kill the drive that could have put Stanford ahead and won the game.
In truth, Stanford's defense simply could not contain the Bears' Shane Vereen, who rushed for a career-high 193 yards on 42 carries (4.6 yards per carry) and scored 3 touchdowns. It's tough to win a game when you give up 34 points.
Eleven top-25 teams won home games this week, and the three top-rated unbeaten teams—Florida, Alabama and Texas—all won with authority to keep their image and rep in order.
The No. 1-ranked Florida Gators (11-0) gave the in-state rival Florida International Golden Panthers a lesson they will not soon forget, 62-3. No. 2-ranked Alabama (11-0) shut out 1-AA Chattanooga 45-0. No. 3-ranked Texas (11-0) put a whipping on Kansas 51-20.
Other home victories included 12th-ranked Oklahoma State (9-2) over Colorado 31-28, 15th-ranked Iowa (10-2) shut out Minnesota 12-0, 16-ranked Virginia Tech (8-3) over North Carolina State 38-10, 18th-ranked Clemson (8-3) over Virginia 34-21, 19th-ranked Brigham Young (9-2) over Air Force 38-21, 21st-ranked Miami of Florida (8-3) over Duke 34-16, 23rd-ranked Utah (9-2) over San Diego State 38-7, and 24th-ranked Houston (9-2) over Memphis 55-14.
Four other top-25 teams scored away victories this week. No. 14-ranked Texas Christian (11-0) remained unbeaten by smacking Wyoming 45-10, 6th-ranked Boise State (11-0) kept its slate perfect with a 52-21 clubbing of Utah State, 13th-ranked Penn State (10-2) made it look easy against Michigan State 42-14, and 20th-ranked Oregon State (8-3) slammed Washington State 42-10.
Three top-25 teams were idle—5th-ranked Cincinnati, 7th-ranked Georgia Tech and 8th-ranked Pittsburgh.
Six teams won and became bowl eligible. They included Bowling Green (6-5) over Akron 36-20, Florida State (6-5) over Maryland 29-26, Texas A&M (6-5) over Baylor 38-3, UCLA (6-5) over Arizona State 23-13, Tennessee (6-5) over Vanderbilt 31-16, and Louisiana Lafayette (6-5) over in-state rival Louisiana Monroe 21-17.
Four other games were noteworthy. Temple (9-2) won its 9th straight game 47-13 over Kent State, Central Michigan (9-2) won its 9th game 35-3 over Ball State, hapless Notre Dame (6-5) was upset by Connecticut 33-30 in a second overtime period, and New Mexico (1-10) finally won a game this year by beating red-faced Colorado State 29-27.
Author Resource:
Check out "Ed Bagley's Top 25 Poll" for Week 12 and find out why honesty and a little humor makes reading Top 25 polls so much more enjoyable. "College Football Wrap-Up – Week 11 – Southern Cal's 7-Year Record of Excellence Ends, Stanford Body Slams the Trojans, 55-21" http://www.edbagleyblog.com http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html
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