Ed Bagley's Blog

2014 National Championship Game on Jan. 12:
Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX

#4 Ohio State (14-1) upsets #2 Oregon (13-2), 42-20
Key to the Game: Oregon suffered through way too much Ezekiel Elliott and Cardale Jones. The Ducks couldn’t stop Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State’s 6-foot, 225-pound sophomore running back, who used speed and evasiveness to rush for 246 yards on 36 attempts for 6.8 yards per carry and scored 4 touchdowns. Oregon defenders did an amazing job of throwing themselves at Elliott rather than risk tackling him.

And the Ducks did little to slow down Cardale Jones, Ohio State’s 6-foot-5, 250-pound sophomore quarterback, who knocked Ducks down when he ran and went 16-for-23 for 242 yards and a touchdown in the air. Not too shabby for a third-string signal-caller making only his 3rd start after Buckeye QBs J. T. Barrett and Braxton Miller were injured and unable to play.

All Ezekiel Elliott and Cardale Jones did was lead the Buckeyes to victories over Wisconsin for the Big Ten Title and then eliminate Alabama on the way to the National Championship and literally crush Oregon and its Heisman Trophy-winning QB Marcus Mariota, a junior probably on his way to the NFL. Elliott had a combined 696 yards rushing against Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon.

So Coach Urban Meyer wins his 3rd national championship in his 3rd year at Ohio State after collecting 2 national championships while coaching the Florida Gators. Meyer joins Nick Saban as the only two coaches in major college football history to win national titles at two different schools (Saban won 1 title at LSU and 3 at Alabama).

This year’s 4-team National Playoff Format was the first after 16 years of the BCS Format that generated a complicated, mixed mess from several sources to determine 2 teams for the national title.

Oregon’s legendary speed looked lame next to Ohio State’s speed, size, power and plain nastiness. The Duke defenders were one step slower in the defensive secondary, couldn’t tackle worth a snap, and they might as well have been running into each in some sort of weird football dance gone wrong.

It was a good national championship football game for the Ohio State Buckeyes, for the Oregon Ducks, not so much.

National Semifinal Games on New Year’s Day:

Sugar Bowl
#4 Ohio State (13-1) upsets mighty #1 Alabama (12-2), 42-35
Key to the Game: A two-time national champion coach beats a four-time national champion coach with better coaching, better playing and better results. When Urban Meyer won 2 national titles at Florida in the SEC and then became the new coach at Ohio State, every coach in the Big Ten (which has 14 teams) swallowed twice. Nick Saban coached against Urban Meyer in the SEC.

Meyer won 2 national titles at Florida in 2006 and 2008. He is 8-2 lifetime in bowl games, and has a 37-3 (92%) record at Ohio State in 3 seasons. Saban won 4 national titles, at LSU in 2003 and at Alabama in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Saban is 8-8 lifetime in bowl games, and has an 86-17 (83%) record at Alabama.

When push came to shove in the Sugar Bowl, Alabama’s rushing defense collapsed, giving up a Sugar-Bowl record 230 yards on 20 carries for 11.5 yards per carry to Ezekiel Elliott, who scored twice.

Buckeye quarterback Cardale (sic) Jones was also a big story. He was making only his second start at quarterback after both Braxton Miller and J. T. Barrett went down with injuries. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound sophomore is a nasty tackle in open field, like hitting a runaway locomotive head on. Jones threw for 243 yards and a 47-yard TD strike to Devin Smith that put the Buckeyes ahead for good in the 3rd quarter. Ohio State had 4 unanswered touchdowns in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

Jones also converted a crucial third-down play with a spinning, 1-yard dive and Ohio State clinging to a 34-28 lead. On the next play, Ezekiel Elliott turned on his jets after breaking a feeble Alabama tackle attempt and sprinted for an 85-yard touchdown that essentially clinched the victory with 3:24 left on the game clock.

In the end, the Crimson Tide players thought it was just Ohio State, and forgot that Urban Meyer came with the package. Now the Ohio State Buckeyes will take on Oregon for the national title after the Ducks dispatched wannabe Florida State 59-20 in the other national semifinal contest.

Rose Bowl
#2 Oregon (13-1) routs #3 Florida State (13-1), 59-20
Key to the Game: Speed kills, and hang on to the ball. In less than 13 minutes with the score 25-20 in favor of Oregon, no less than 4 Florida State turnovers led to 4 Oregon touchdowns. It was legendary Coach Don James from Washington who said “Speed kills”. Oregon scored 6 straight times when they touched the ball in the 2nd half, with 5 of their touchdowns covering at least 21 yards and last 4 scores coming after turnovers by the Seminoles.

The Duck offense rolled up 639 yards, 301 rushing and 338 passing led by quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. By winning, Oregon now faces Ohio State in the National Title Game. The Buckeyes upset Alabama 42-35 in the other National Semifinal Game to get the nod. Oregon means to win their first national title, and they could do it.

The Seminoles did not do a good job of protecting the ball this season (they ranked 84th nationally with a minus 3 turnover margin), and were behind in 6 games, winning 5 in comebacks before they ran out of gas racing against the Ducks. As a result, Florida State’s national winning streak came to a screeching halt at 29 after an unbeaten season and NCAA national title last year. Seminole quarterback Jameis Winston suffered his first loss as a college starter, and will probably be headed to the NFL.

Other Major Bowl Games on New Year’s Day:

Cotton Bowl
#8 Michigan State (11-2) outlasts #5 Baylor (11-2), 42-41
Key to the Game: Michigan State was down 41-21 going into the 4th quarter and rallied to score 21 points to zero, zip, nada, nothing for Baylor, nipping the Bears, who were obviously asleep in a cave somewhere.

This is what you call a huge comeback for the Spartans, who count as their only two losses this season Oregon and Ohio State, both of whom won National Semifinal Games New Year’s Day to qualify for the National Championship Game (Oregon beat Florida State and Ohio State upset Alabama). If these results do not throw Michigan State into talk as a Final 4 candidate next year, then we are living on the wrong planet.

Michigan State, which won the Rose Bowl as Big Ten champions last year, has now won 4 consecutive bowl games after trailing in each of them at halftime. Did we mention that Oregon was the Pac-12 champion this year, and Ohio State was the Big Ten champion? Some credit should go to Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who after 11 seasons and two schools with Coach Mark Dantonio, is leaving the Spartans to take over as Head Coach at Pittsburgh.

The Spartans 4th quarter run started with an 8-yard scoring pass from Connor Cook to Josiah Price, followed by a 1-yard run by Jeremy Langford and then a 10-yard pass from Connor Cook to Keith Mumphrey after Marcus Rush (a great name for a defensive end) blocked Chris Callahan’s 43-yard field goal attempt with 1:05 left in the game. Langford ran for 162 yards on 27 carries for 6.0 yards per carry and scored 3 touchdowns.

Outback Bowl
#18 Wisconsin (11-3) triumphs over #19 Auburn (8-5), 34-31
Key to the Game: For the second time in three years, Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez led his Badgers to a bowl game victory. Alvarez coached Wisconsin for 16 seasons before retiring in 2005. Now he has twice led his team to bowl wins after losing two coaches—first Bret Bielema to Arkansas and then Gary Anderson this year to Oregon State. Anderson should love Oregon State, especially when it comes to recruiting against Oregon, Southern California, UCLA, California, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State and Washington. Yeah, that should be a quick walk in the park.

Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (call him Flash) ran for an Outback Bowl-record 251 yards and 3 touchdowns. Rafael Gaglianone kicked the winning field goal on the opening possession of overtime. End of game story. Gordon joined Central Florida’s Kevin Smith as the only major NCAA players to rush for at least 2,000 yards and also score 30 touchdowns in the same season.

Citrus Bowl
#16 Missouri (11-3) stops #25 Minnesota (8-5), 33-17
Key to the Game: Run the ball and stop the run. Missouri’s Marcus Murphy ran for 159 yards and Russell Hansbrough added another 114 yards and a touchdown. Minnesota’s offense came in averaging nearly 225 yards per game on the ground, and Missouri’s defense grounded the Golden Gophers to 106 yards. Result: Victory for the Tigers.

Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel operates under the national media radar, yet he has led the Tigers to 23 wins in 2 years, and won 3 straight bowl games while reaching 11 victories for the 4th time in school history. Pinkel should now get a little more media ink for the job he has done at Missouri, which plays in the SEC, and we know how easy it is to rack up a lot of victories in the SEC.

And the Rest of the Bowl Game Lineup:

Orange Bowl
#12 Georgia Tech (11-3) upsets #7 Mississippi State (10-3), 49-34
Key to the Game: Mississippi State was overrated as a No. 1 team for 5 consecutive weeks, and now you know why: They simply aren’t that good. The Bulldogs pranced and danced their way through 9 games to start their season at 9-0 and then promptly lost 3 of their last 4 games to Alabama, Ole Miss and now Georgia Tech.

“We missed some big opportunities,” Coach Dan Mullen said after the game. “We just didn’t score enough points.” Dan, dude, get with it. What you really missed was a defense when you needed it most. Like Baylor, the plan all season was to put up points and outscore the opposition.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets rushed for 452 yards on 61 carries for a 7.4 yard average per carry. Quarterback Justin Thomas ran for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns, and threw for another 125 yards and another touchdown. Synjyn Days ran for 171 yards and 3 more scores. It was Georgia Tech’s first Orange Bowl victory in 63 years. Now that’s what you call finishing the season right.

Fiesta Bowl
#20 Boise State (12-2) stares down and upsets #10 Arizona (10-4), 38-30
Key to the Game: Just when you think a mid-major team has learned some manners, you meet Boise State, who doesn’t give a crap who you are. That includes the Arizona Wildcats from the Pac-12. Take the Broncos Jay Ajayi, who ran for 134 yards and 3 touchdowns. Bronco Grant Hedrick threw for 309 yards and a touchdown.

It was a successful first season for Coach Bryan Harsin (12-2, not too shabby), and the Broncos won their 3rd Fiesta Bowl. You remember Boise State and its trick play that upset mighty Oklahoma in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, and then knocked off previously unbeaten TCU to finish at 14-0 in 2009. Harsin replaced Chris Petersen went he left for Washington. Thank Petersen for those first two Fiesta Bowl wins. Petersen’s record at Boise State was 92-12 (88%) and he won 5 of 7 bowl games in 8 years. Petersen’s winning legacy lives on at Boise State, and now he coaches the Washington Huskies.

Peach Bowl
#6 TCU (12-1) just crushes #9 Ole Miss (9-4), 42-3
Key to the Game: Texas Christian’s defense held Mississippi to 9 yards total rushing and 129 total yards in the game. In the first half, Ole Miss had exactly 4 first downs and 59 total yards. TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin went 22-of-31 for 187 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Josh Doctson had 2 touchdown catches and Aaron Green added a running score.

The Horned Frogs, who were not selected for the NCAA’s first 4-team national playoff (that honor went to #1 Alabama, #2 Oregon, #3 Florida State and #4 Ohio State), certainly made a big-time statement—they led Ole Miss 42-to-nada after three quarters. The Horned Frogs spent the 4th quarter drinking Gatorade and playing bingo.

Foster Farms Bowl
Stanford (8-5) slams Maryland (7-6), 45-21
Key to the Game: Stanford got better as the year progressed. In this bowl game, Kevin Hogan threw for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Ramound (sic) Wright ran for 2 short scores as Maryland pretty much watched. Stanford’s 45 points was the most it has ever scored in a bowl game.

Belk Bowl
#13 Georgia (10-3) steamrolls over #21 Louisville (9-4), 37-14
Key to the Game: When Georgia’s quarterback Hutson Mason went down in the 2nd quarter, Coach Mark Richt said “just give it to Nick.” Nick being freshman Nick Chubb. And Nick? Well, he rushed for 266 yards and 2 touchdowns, the 2nd highest single-game rushing total in Bulldog history, exceeded only by Herschel Walker’s 283 yards against Vanderbilt in 1980, 34 years ago.

Chubb rushed 33 times for an 8.1 average per carry. He finished his first season at Georgia by running for 1,323 yards and 12 touchdowns in his last 8 games after taking over when Todd Gurley was suspended by the NCAA for taking $3,000 for autographed memorabilia and other items.

Music City Bowl
Notre Dame (8-5) upsets #23 LSU (8-5), 31-28
Key to the Game: A 32-yard field goal by Notre Dame’s Kyle Brindza as time expired. The Fighting Irish were ranked as high as 5th before dropping 4 straight and 5 of their final 6 games, struggling in the 4th quarter against Florida State, Northwestern, Arizona State and Louisville. Not his time as they win in Nashville, deep in the south against an SEC team. Louisiana Coach Les Miles was ticked when the Tigers attempted to score on a fake field goal from the 1-yard line, but officials ruled holder Brad Kragthorpe short, and the call wasn’t reversed.

Texas Bowl
Arkansas (7-6) rips Texas (6-7) a new one, 31-7
Key to the Game: Arkansas Razorback Brandon Allen threw for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Jonathan Williams ran for 105 yards and a score as Arkansas easily beat Texas, 31-7. Texas had only 29 yards of total offense entering the 4th quarter.

Texas and Oklahoma, just beaten 40-6 by Clemson, used to have powerhouse programs. Now both teams look like they have been coached by an inept rock band. Texas and Oklahoma used to be relevant, now they have become irrelevant, just like an inept rock band.

Russell Athletic Bowl
#17 Clemson (10-3) just routs Oklahoma (8-5), 40-6
Key to the Game: Cole Stoudt was 26-of-36 for a season-high 319 yards on his way to throwing for 3 touchdowns and running for another as Clemson rolled over Oklahoma. The Sooners came in averaging nearly 40 points but were behind 40-zip after 3 quarters. The Tigers (10-3) reached double-digit victories for the 4th consecutive season. Clemson was 10-4 in 2011, 11-2 in 2012 and 11-2 in 2013. Clemson Coach Dabo (sic) Swinney is doing just find. He was a wide receiver for Alabama in college.

Liberty Bowl
Texas A&M (8-5) beats West Virginia (7-6), 45-37
Key to the Game: Freshmen, freshmen and freshmen. The Aggies had them, and West Virginia did not. True Freshman Kyle Allen went 22-of-35 for 294 yards and 4 touchdowns and ran for another touchdown. The Aggies season leaders in sacks (true freshman Myles Garrett), all-purpose yards (true freshman Speedy Noll), and interceptions (true freshman Armani Watts) were too much in the end. Texas A&M has won bowl games in 4 straight seasons for the first time in school history. The Aggies won the Chick-fil-a Bowl last year, the Cotton Bowl two seasons ago, and the Texas Bowl in 2011. You might say the future is bright for the Aggies.

Holiday Bowl
#24 USC (9-4) hangs on to win over Nebraska (9-4), 45-42
Key to the Game: Adoree (sic) Jackson scored on a 98-yard kickoff return and a 71-yard pass from Cody Kessler as Southern California blew most of an 18-point, third-quarter lead before getting by the Cornhuskers. Kessler went 23-for-39 with 321 yards plus 3 touchdowns. USC logged 515 yards of total offense and Nebraska had 525, and no, it was not a defensive struggle—there was no defense worth talking about.

Barney Cotton coached Nebraska, which finally fired firebrand coach Bo Pelini on Nov. 30. Pelini was infamous for screaming, badgering and belittling officials, and his own coaches, players and fans. New coach Mike Riley (formerly from Oregon State) watched from a skybox. Nebraska has a real chance to get farther ahead without Bo Pelini.

Pinstripe Bowl
Penn State (7-6) beats Boston College (7-6), 31-30 in Overtime
Key to the Game: Nittany Lion Christian Hackenberg hit Kyle Carter for a 10-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Penn State kicked the extra point that Boston College could not. Penn State’s Sam Ficken sent the game into overtime with a 45-yard field goal with 20 seconds left, and then won the game with his extra point that Eagle Mike Knoll shanked in overtime. This was not an unusual occurrence. Boston College blew a 14-point lead, and the Eagles have missed 8 extra point attempts this season. Clearly, Boston College needs a better extra point kicker. Apply in the fall of 2015.

Independence Bowl
South Carolina (7-6) nips Miami of Florida (6-7), 24-21
Key to the Game: Dylan Thompson threw for 294 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for another score for the Gamecocks, completing 22 of 34 passes. His favorite target, Pharoh (sic) Cooper, caught 9 passes for 170 yards, including a spectacular 25-yard grab on what proved to be the decisive drive late in the 4th quarter.

The win marked a school-record 4 straight bowl game wins for South Carolina. In contrast, Miami (6-7) ended the season on a 4-game losing streak, and the Hurricanes have not won in the postseason since 2006, 8 years ago. Miami used to be a powerhouse, and now the Hurricanes pretty much suck Louisiana pond water.

Sun Bowl
#15 Arizona State (10-3) got by unranked Duke (9-4), 36-31
Key to the Game: The Sun Devils Kalen Ballage returned a kickoff 95 yards to set up the winning score on a 4-yard shovel pass from Taylor Kelly to Demario Richard on the next play with 4:45 remaining. Richard gained 41 yards on 7 carries and scored 2 rushing touchdowns and 2 receiving touchdowns. Kelly went 24-for-34 for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Military Bowl
Virginia Tech (7-6) beat Cincinnati (9-4), 33-17
Key to the Game: A spectacular play in the 3rd quarter by the Hokies knocked Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel out of the game. Linebacker Deon Clarke sacked Kiel on a clean hit, causing Kiel to fumble at Cincy’s 43-yard line, where teammate Greg Stroman scooped it up and took it into the end zone for a 27-10 lead. Without Kiel, Cincinnati was dead in the water.

The victory was a huge deal for the Virginia Tech Hokies for two reasons: It marked the 22nd consecutive winning season for Coach Frank Beamer, and also marked the Hokies 22nd consecutive bowl appearance under Beamer, who watched the game from an upstairs coaching box to avoid the risk of infection during his recovery from throat surgery.

Bitcoin Bowl
North Carolina State (8-5) upended Central Florida (9-4), 34-27
Key to the Game: The Wolfpack, on the prowl, exploded on Central Florida, which came into the Bitcoin Bowl ranked in the Top 10 nationally in fewest yards allowed per game, as well as pass efficiency, rushing defense and scoring defense. North Carolina State rolled up 488 yards in total offense. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw for 262 yards and a touchdown to lead the way. North Carolina State went 0-8 in ACC play and 3-9 overall a year ago. Now Coach Dave Doeren has them at 8-5; the 4-game improvement in their regular season record this year matched Mississippi State for the second-biggest jump among the 5 NCAA power conferences.

Quick Lane Bowl
Rutgers (8-5) beat North Carolina (6-7), 40-21
Key to the Game: The Scarlet Knights opened holes for, and held the line in front of three players: Freshman running back Josh Hicks rushed for 202 yards and a touchdown, freshman Robert Martin ran for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, and senior quarterback Gary Nova threw for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns. In other words, the Rutgers offense was really good. The Scarlet Knights are now in the Big Ten. Owned and operated by the NFL’s Detroit Lions, the Quick Lane Bowl replaced the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl, which had been played in Detroit under various names since 1997.

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Louisiana Tech (9-5) dusted Illinois (6-7), 35-18
Key to the Game: Bulldog Kenneth Dixon scored 1 of his 2 touchdowns on an 80-yard reception and teammate Xavier Woods scored on a 69-yard interception return to lead Louisiana Tech. Dixon became the only FBS player with both a run and a reception of at least 80 yards this season (there are many bowl games yet to be played). Illinois was 3-5 in Big Ten play this year, and looked like it in this bowl game.

Hawaii Bowl
Rice (8-5) over Fresno State (6-8), 30-6
Key to the Game: Driphus (sic) Jackson passed for 318 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Rice. The Owls started the season with 3 losses and then went 8-2 to finish the year at 8-5.

Bahamas Bowl
Western Kentucky (8-5) nixes Central Michigan (7-6), 49-48
Key to the Game: Sloppy defensive play by the Hilltoppers that nearly cost them the game. Western Kentucky was up 49-14 after 3 quarters when their defense stopped playing, allowing Central to outscore Western Kentucky 34-zip in the 4th quarter. Five touchdowns is a lot to give up in the last quarter when you are leading by 35 points. The last TD was a doozy and came on the final play of the game with 1 second remaining.

Imagine a 3-lateral, 75-yarder that involved 6 Chippewas touching the ball: the center, quarterback and 4 receivers. QB Cooper Rush threw deep to Jesse Kroll, who was sandwiched between 3 defenders at the 29 yard line. Kroll lateraled to Deon Butler, who lateraled to Courtney Williams, who got the ball back to Titus Davis, who caught it at the 15 and outran three defenders to the end zone. So the play went down as a pass from QB Cooper Rush to Titus Davis, the last player to touch the ball and score.

Now get this: Chippewa Coach Jeff Brohm went for the 2-point conversion and win, and the Western Kentucky Hilltopper defense finally got a life and stopped the attempt to win the game, 49-48, when Wonderful (sic) Terry broke up the pass.

Very interesting sidelight: The Hilltopper Defensive Coordinator was none other than Nick Holt, the former Defensive Coordinator for the Washington Huskies under Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian fired him—now you know why. Holt may be the original architect of the porous defense when it you need it the most. The football gods should have given Central Michigan the win, unfortunately, in this case, it was more guts than glory for the Chippewas.

Central Michigan’s Cooper Rush threw for 485 yards and 7 touchdowns, one more than any quarterback had ever thrown in any bowl game ever. The teams finished with 1,254 yards of offense, with 647 by Western Kentucky.

Additional note of interest: The inaugural Bahamas Bowl was the first bowl game played outside the United States and Canada since 1937, 77 years ago.

Poinsettia Bowl
Navy (8-5) slips by San Diego State (7-6), 17-16
Key to the Game: A 24-yard field goal by Navy’s Austin Grebe with 87 seconds left in the contest. Both teams came in with a 7-5 record.

Boca Raton Bowl
Marshall (13-1) sprints past Northern Illinois (11-3), 52-23
Key to the Game: Thundering Herd Quarterback Rakeem Cato threw for 3 touchdowns, extending his streak of throwing at least one touchdown pass in 46 consecutive games, tying the NCAA all-division record. Tommy Shuler caught 18 passes in the game for 185 yards (10.2 yards per reception) and a touchdown.

Miami Beach Bowl
Memphis (10-3) finally outscores Brigham Young (8-5), 55-48
Key to the Game: Scoring, scoring and more scoring by both Memphis and Brigham Young. It took 60 minutes, two overtimes and the final play for Memphis to accomplish something it had not done in 76 years. Paxton Lynch threw an 11-yard pass to Roderick Proctor to seal the deal at 55-48. Lynch would throw 4 touchdown passes and run for 3 more, and the victory left Memphis with a 10-win season, something the Tigers had not accomplished since 1938.

Unfortunately, immediately following this tense, hard-fought game, a street fight broke out between players, coaches and fans on both sides, proving that, in the south, football is not a game, but a war. This was the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl, and, while very exciting, it didn’t go quite the way bowl officials had planned.

Camellia Bowl
Bowling Green (8-6) outlasted South Alabama (6-7), 33-28
Key to the Game: A 78-yard touchdown pass from James Knapke to Roger Lewis with 64 seconds remaining. The game MVP, Knapke, went 25-for-39; Lewis led all receivers with 137 yards on 4 receptions.

Idaho Potato Bowl
Air Force (10-3) triumphed over Western Michigan (8-5), 38-24
Key to the Game: Winning, winning more winning! With the victory, the Falcons finished at 10-3 after going 2-10 last year, recording one of the best season-to-season turnarounds in college football history. This may give credence to the expression that, if you can get a falcon off the ground, he can fly.

Las Vegas Bowl
#22 Utah (9-4) stormed past Colorado State (10-3), 45-10
Key to the Game: Quarterback Travis Wilson rushed for a season-best 91 yards on 11 carries (8.2 ypc), scored 3 touchdowns and passed for another. The Utes have now won 11 of their past 12 bowl games; Current Coach Kyle Whittingham has won 8 of 9.

New Mexico Bowl
Utah State (10-4) defensed Texas-El Paso (7-6), 21-6
Key to the Game: The Vigil brothers (senior Zach and sophomore Nick) combined for 16 tackles, and Nick, on the other side of the line, ran 3 yards for a touchdown. The win gave Utah State its third straight bowl game victory.

New Orleans Bowl
Louisiana-Lafayette (9-4) beat Nevada (7-6), 16-3
Key to the Game: Quarterback Terrance Broadway set a bowl game record by competing his first 14 passes on his way to 227 yards and touchdown. Nevada players stayed on the bus in the second half, going scoreless.

Cactus Bowl
Oklahoma State (7-6) hangs on to top Washington (8-6), 30-22
Key to the Game: Oklahoma State won the 1st half 24-0, and Washington won the 2nd half 22-6. Washington bounced back on a 96-yard kickoff return by John Ross and 2 touchdowns by Jaydon Mickens on a 31-yard reverse and a 16-yard catch and run. The Huskies had a chance to win on a last-ditch drive but Cyler Miles threw an interception. Washington’s defense with 3 All-Americans was not a factor, and its defensive secondary was burned twice on long passes in the 1st half.

Cowboy Mason Rudolph, a freshman making his 3rd start at quarterback, overcame 3 turnovers to go 17-of-26 (65%) for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns. James Castleman, a 300-pound defensive tackle, made two significant offensive plays, a 1-yard TD coming out of the shotgun formation, and rumbling 48 yards on a catch out of the backfield. The Husky defense was everywhere except where they needed to be, allowing the Cowboys Desmond Roland to gain an additional123 yards rushing yards.

First-year Husky Coach Chris Petersen (from Boise State) ended the year at 8-6 with a bowl game loss. Cowboy Coach Mike Gundy had his own problems. Oklahoma State opened the season with a loss, then won 5 straight, then lost 5 straight, beat rival Oklahoma in overtime to qualify for a bowl game, and then beat Washington to go 7-6. Talk about topsy-turvy.

Alamo Bowl
#14 UCLA (10-3) holds off #11 Kansas State (9-4), 40-35
Key to the Game: UCLA won the 1st half 31-6, Kansas State won the 2nd half 29-9, it was just enough for the Bruins to hold on and win their 10th game for Coach Jim Mora. Bruin Paul Perkins rushed for 194 yards on 20 carries, averaging 9.7 yards per carry, and scored on runs of 32 and 67 yards. Wildcat Jake Waters was 31-of-48 for 338 yards and 2 touchdowns. UCLA sacked Waters 7 times. Bruin Brett Huntley, who threw for 136 yards and ran for another 96 yards while scoring twice, is probably headed to the NFL.

It’s been a bowl season for comebacks. Michigan State trailed Baylor by 20 in the 4th quarter and won 42-41, and Houston scored 29 points in the 4th quarter to beat Pittsburgh 35-34. Kansas State came up short in its comeback attempt, but at least the Wildcats didn’t quit.

Armed Forces Bowl
Houston (8-5) comeback levels Pittsburgh (6-7), 35-34
Key to the Game: Finish the damn game. Pittsburgh had a 31-6 lead in the 4th quarter before letting Houston back into the game and then winning it with a 2-point conversion on Houston’s 4th last quarter touchdown.

Here is how ridiculous the Panther defense was with a 25-point lead: Cougar Kenneth Farrow scored on an 8-yard run, and Pitt answered with a field goal. Then Houston quarterback Greg Ward had an 8-yard TD pass to Deontay (sic) Greenberry and the Cougars recovered an onside kick, leading to another Greg Ward 29-yard TD pass to Demarcus Ayers with 1;58 left on a 4th-and-13 play, followed by another recovered onside kick (Houston decided that if it worked once, maybe it would work again), followed by another 25-yard Ward to Greenberry TD pass with 59 seconds left on a 3rd-and-13 play. Interim Defensive Coordinator David Gibbs went for the 2-point conversion and victory, and Ward again delivered by finding Greenberry in the back of the end zone with Greenberry making a leaping catch. This is why you watch college football.

The new Houston Cougar coach will be Tom Herman, the Offensive Coordinator for Ohio State, after the firing of Tony Levine. Pittsburgh was coached by Interim Offensive Coordinator Joe Rudolph after Head Coach Paul Chryst left to coach the Wisconsin Badgers. New Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi was at the game, a day after his finale as Michigan State’s Defensive Coordinator. You would think they were playing musical chairs, almost stealing the attention from the players.

Be happy for Houston’s great comeback victory, it proved to be the largest comeback win in an FBS game this season, and the largest ever in a bowl game that didn’t go into overtime. Don’t be too sad for Pittsburgh’s inept defense in the last quarter. The Panthers have an FBS-high 81 returning underclassmen, including All-ACC receiver Tyler Boyd and quarterback Chad Voytik among 28 sophomores.

TaxSlayer Bowl
Tennessee (7-6) overwhelms Iowa (7-6), 45-28
Key to the Game: Butch Jones and some young, hungry players. Tennessee freshman Jalen Hurd ran for 122 yards on 16 carries (7.6 yards per carry) and scored twice, and sophomore Joshua Dobbs, filling in for injured QB Justin Worley, was 16-for-21 for 129 yards and a touchdown, and added 76 rushing yards and two more touchdowns. Second-year Coach Butch Jones delivered Tennessee’s first winning season since 2009. The Volunteers scored on their first 4 possessions to go up 28-zip. The Hawkeyes? Well, they missed tackles, made stupid mistakes and lost the game.

Birmingham Bowl
Florida (7-5) outplays East Carolina (8-5), 28-20
Key to the Game: Big plays by the Florida Gators. Treon (sic) Harris found Ahmad Fulwood deep for an 86-yard scoring pass, Brian Poole scored on a 29-yard pick six, and star cornerback Vernon Hargreaves intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve the victory. Redshirt freshman running back Adam Lane rushed 16 times for 109 yards. The Gators were led by interim Head Coach D. J. Durkin as new Coach Jim McElwain was among the spectators.

Go Daddy Bowl
Toledo (9-4) outscores Arkansas State (7-6), 63-44
Key to the Game: Toledo sophomore Kareem Hunt ran for 271 yards on 32 carries (8.5 average per carry) and scored 5 touchdowns. Instead of taking scalps, the Arkansas State Indians gave up 9 touchdowns. This game was off the charts: There were 6 touchdowns of at least 40 yards, 3 defensive touchdowns, and Arkansas State linebacker Xavier Woodson was kicked out of game for “threatening an official”.

College Football Wrap-Up – Week 15

When it mattered, there was no mystery at the end of season play in major college football’s 15th week: Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State got it done, and will play for the national championship. It was that simple.

For Baylor, TCU, Mississippi State and Michigan State, it wasn’t complicated: They should have known better.

Welcome to the facts of life.

#1 Alabama (12-1) scored three touchdowns in the 4th quarter to crush #16 Missouri (10-3) and win the SEC championship, 42-13.

#2 Oregon’s (12-1) early season loss to Arizona (10-3) by a touchdown was avenged by whipping the #7 Wildcats, 51-13, for the Pac-12 championship.

#4 Florida State (12-0) came from behind to nip #11 Georgia Tech (10-3) and claim the ACC championship, 37-35. The Seminoles ended the year as the FBS’s only unbeaten team, but hardly looked dominating, coming from behind more times this season than a delinquent taxpayer trying to catch up. That said, they had enough money in the bank in wins to make the NCAA’s first 4-team playoff.

#5 Ohio State (12-1) came from behind all season, finally crushing #13 Wisconsin (10-3) to win the Big Ten championship, 59-0, literally impressing the 13-member Selection Committee by pushing Baylor and TCU out of the picture.

#6 Baylor (11-1) got by #9 Kansas State (9-3), 38-27, and #3 TCU (11-1) absolutely crushed a lousy 2-10 Iowa State team, 55-3, and few on the national scene even noticed or cared. The Big 12 is so out of it without a conference playoff system and lousy competition that it would have taken an act of the football gods to include them as anything more than an afterthought.

After all, major college football owes its existence in proportion to the amount of money it generates, and they can’t find enough market and fans to follow Baylor or TCU anywhere. Nobody is following a third-rate rock band anywhere. Pride will kill that dog (the Big 12 Conference) in the street.

#4 Mississippi State (10-2) won its first 9 games before losing to Alabama and Ole Miss. Oops! That’s what real competition will do to you, ace you out in a hurry.

#10 Michigan State (10-2) had a shot at a national title this year, but lost early in the year at Oregon and then at home could not beat Ohio State, losing 49-37, because the Buckeyes had a far better quarterback than the Spartans could possibly field when it mattered.

So now 2nd seed Oregon will face 3rd seed Florida State, and 1st seed Alabama faces 4th seed Ohio State in the National Semifinals on New Year’s Day (Thursday), and the winners will settle the matter 11 days later on Jan. 12 (Monday).

In other championship games, Northern Illinois (11-2) beat Bowling Green (7-6) for the Mid-American title, 51-17; Marshall (12-1) nipped Louisiana Tech (8-5) for the Conference USA title, 26-23; and #22 Boise State (11-2) downed Fresno State (6-7) for the Mountain West title, 28-14. So much for the minor leagues.

This year’s first ever 4-team playoff format has produced the most excitement ever in college football. Fans were left hanging until the last day to learn which teams would make basketball’s equivalent of the Final Four. And now the suspense begins again and will only end on January 12 in Arlington, Texas.

College Football Wrap-Up – Week 14

In-state rivalries ruled the day as major college football’s 14th week saw 4 upsets of ranked teams, none worse than Mississippi State’s upset loss to Ole Miss. The loss by the Bulldogs and win by Texas Christian (TCU) vaulted the Horned Frogs into contention for the 4-team playoff for the national title.

The current title contenders include 1) Alabama, 2) Oregon, 3) TCU and 4) Florida State. Here are the details.

Ranked teams that were upset included:

#4 Mississippi State (now 10-2) was embarrassed and upset by Ole Miss (aka Mississippi), 31-17. The much-hyped run of Mississippi State is now over, big time. The Bulldogs will not compete for the SEC title and will not be among the Top 4 teams competing the national championship.

#8 UCLA (9-3) was upset, no trounced, by visiting Stanford, 31-10, taking the luster off of a potentially great season for Jim Mora’s Bruins. Lost now are UCLA’s Pac-10 title hopes and national playoff hopes. Stanford is only 7-5 on the season, but not to be overlooked, as the Bruins sadly found out. UCLA may have more talent, but the talent forgot to show up for the game.

#9 Georgia (9-3) fared no better than UCLA, getting upset by #16 Georgia Tech, 30-24, in overtime. Georgia Tech (10-2) will now face Florida State for the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

#24 Marshall, the second-to-the-last undefeated team this year at 11-0, finally was taken down by Western Kentucky, 67-66 in overtime. This game was a 100-yard dash from goal line to goal line, as a NCAA single-game FBS record was set with a combined 15 touchdown passes. The halftime score was 49-42 in favor of Western Kentucky. Games like this are certainly exciting for the fans, but lousy defensive exhibitions of incompetent defensive backs.

Ranked schools that scored victories over an in-state rival included:

#1 Alabama (11-1) had its hands full dealing with #15 Auburn (8-4), but a strong last quarter put the Crimson Tide on top, 55-44 – Alabama will now face Missouri (10-2) for the SEC title.

#2 Oregon (11-1) made short work of Oregon State, winning 47-19 on its way to the Pac-12 Championship Game against Arizona (10-2).

#3 Florida State, the only unbeaten team left at 12-0, managed to win again by the skin of its teeth, holding off a tough, 6-5 Florida squad, 24-19 – The Seminoles weak, bumbling performance dropped Florida State from 3rd to 4th place in the 4-team national playoff rankings, and will now face Georgia Tech (10-2) for the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

#5 TCU (10-1) over Texas 48-10 – The Texas Longhorns used to be a national contender every year. Last year Mack Brown got pushed out and Charlie Strong was hired as his replacement. Strong has gone 6-6 his first season. Things still look really grim in Texas. Would you believe that it has been 81 years since Texas lost at home to Baylor and TCU in the same season?

#6 Ohio State (11-1) led by a touchdown after three quarters against a mediocre, 5-7 Michigan team, and then managed to win the 4th quarter 14-7, and the game, 42-28. Ohio State was hardly dominating, but will face Wisconsin (10-2) in the Big Ten title game.

#7 Baylor (10-1) barely gets by a 4-8 Texas Tech team, 48-46, after allowing the Red Raiders to win the 4th quarter, 19-3, all of which means that the Baylor Bears talk and whine a lot about how they are overlooked and unappreciated when in fact they may be overlooked and under achieved.

#10 Michigan State (10-2) did some pushups while rolling past Penn State, 34-10.

#11 Arizona (10-2) keeps on winning, beating #13 Arizona State (9-3), 42-35, putting the Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference Championship Game against Oregon (11-1). Arizona Coach Rich Rodriguez had huge success at West Virginia, was recruited at Michigan and bounced out after 3 years, and has now been reborn at Arizona. Rodriguez is a great coach; he was not the problem at Michigan, it was the Wolverine boosters and faithful that could not accept Rodriquez and his spread offense. Rodriguez was a pioneer of a no-huddle, run-oriented spread offense and was also credited with inventing the zone read play run out of the shotgun formation. Michigan is still a stick-in-the-mug offense with 3 yards and a cloud of dust.

#12 Kansas State (9-2) leveled a lousy, 3-9 Kansas team, 51-13.

#14 Wisconsin (10-2) outlasted #18 Minnesota, 34-24, and will face Ohio State (11-1) for the Big Ten title.

#17 Missouri (10-2) needed to score 15 points in the 4th quarter to get past Arkansas, 21-14, and will now face Alabama (11-1) for the SEC title.

#21 Clemson (9-3) beat South Carolina, 35-17 – Steve Spurrier led his Gamecocks to three consecutive 11-2 records in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and added three consecutive bowl wins, but South Carolina in now back in the dumper at 6-6.

#22 Louisville (9-3) had its hands full with Kentucky (5-7) but eventually won, 44-40.

#24 Utah (8-4) outlasted a tough, 2-10 Colorado team, 38-34.

Unranked schools that scored victories over an in-state rival included:

Air Force (9-3) beat Colorado State (10-2) on a 4th quarter field goal.

Central Florida (8-3) blanked South Florida, 16-0.

Houston took care of Southern Methodist 35-9 – SMU is 0-11 this season and, after the loss, fired its head coach and hired Chad Morris to take over the distressed program. Morris, a high school coaching legend in Texas, was serving as the Offensive Coordinator for Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Morris helped Clemson log a 41-11 record in 4 years, win the ACC title in 2011 and earn 4 bowl berths, including 2 BCS Orange Bowl appearances. SMU this year had given credence to the word inept; hopefully, Chad Morris will lead SMU out of the wilderness.

Ohio University over Miami of Ohio – Ohio was down 21-14 but won the last quarter 10-0 and the game, 24-21.

In another Ohio contest, Kent State beat Akron 27-24.

Virginia Tech beat Virginia, 24-20.

Indiana downed Purdue, 23-16 – Few noticed because it was in the Big Ten, which happens to have 14 teams.

Texas San Antonio topped North Texas, 34-27.

North Carolina State put a whipping on North Carolina, 35-7.

San Diego State did the same to San Jose State in California, 38-7.

Tennessee edged Vanderbilt in a SEC contest, 24-17 – Tennessee (6-6), a mediocre team that has fallen out of favor, simply beat a lousy, 3-9 Vanderbilt team.

Duke breezed past Wake Forest in North Carolina, 41-21.

Nevada sucker punched a lowly, 2-11 UNLV team – Perhaps the Runnin’ Rebels will do better in basketball, then again, maybe not.

And, in a bowl eligible contest, Washington used its crushing, swarming Husky defense to stifle Washington State, 31-13 – Coming into the game, the WSU Cougars led the nation in passing offense, averaging 478 yards a game. Washington (8-5) will go bowling; Washington State will be watching the bowl games on the tube, which is not an entirely bad thing, since the Cougars make WSU one of the great drinking schools in the country.

#18 Oklahoma was idle this week.

College Football Wrap-Up – Week 13

After Alabama brought Mississippi State back to reality last week, major college football’s 13th week was the most boring of the season. Only unranked Arkansas’ 30-0 shutout victory over #8 Ole Miss stuck out.

The rest was business as usual, with 9 ranked teams posting unimpressive, marginal victories, and 9 more ranked teams looking much better.

The 9 lesser lights included:

#3 Florida State needed a field goal in the last 3 seconds of the 4th quarter to nip a 6-5 Boston College team, 20-17 – The unbeaten Seminoles (now 11-0) hardly look like a potential national championship team.

#24 Louisville (8-3) hung on to beat unranked Notre Dame (now 7-4) by 3, 31-28; #16 Wisconsin (9-2) needed everything it had to best Iowa (7-4) by 2, 26-24; and #12 Kansas State (8-2) could only win by 6 over unranked, 6-5 West Virginia, 26-20.

#23 Nebraska (8-3) led 21-7 at the half, but #25 Minnesota (8-3) won the second half 21-3, and the game, 28-24. #20 Missouri (8-2) did a tad better, holding off 6-5 Tennessee by 8, 29-21. Even #6 Ohio State (10-1) at home could only beat 3-8 Indiana by 15, 42-27, and needed 21 points in the last quarter to do it.

And then 3 ranked teams racked up some points, but did it against weak AA teams this late in the season. #10 Georgia (9-2) beat unranked, AA Charleston Southern by 46, 55-9; #1 Alabama (10-1) beat up unranked, AA Western Carolina by 34, 48-14; and #14 Auburn could only down unranked, AA Samford by 24, 31-7. Georgia, Alabama and Auburn all deserve demerits this week for taking the easy way out.

The 9 winners with merit included #9 UCLA (9-2) at home winning its 3rd straight against #19 Southern California (7-4), 38-20. It was not that close as UCLA led 38-14 after 3 quarters.

#4 Mississippi State (10-1) bounced back from its loss to Alabama last week by shutting out 3-8 Vanderbilt, 51-0 – The Commodores (now 0-7 in league play) have been a doormat in the SEC for too long. They either need a new ship or a new captain; they would be more competitive in the American Athletic Conference.

#11 Michigan State (9-2) rolled over unranked Rutgers, 45-3; #15 Arizona (9-2) on-the-road beat #17 Utah (7-4) by 32, 42-10 – so much for the Ute uprising; #22 Clemson (8-3) shutout unranked, 1-10 Georgia State, 28-zip; #13 Arizona State (9-2) trashed a game, 3-8 Washington State, 52-31; and wanna-be-noticed #7 Baylor (9-1) thumped unranked, 5-6 Oklahoma State, 49-28.

The final two big winners got noticed for special reasons.

#21 Oklahoma made short work of 3-8 Kansas, 44-7, as true freshman Samaje Perine, a 5-foot-11, 243-pounder, ran his way into Oklahoma Sooner history by rushing for 427 yards on 34 carries (12+ yards per carry) and scoring no less than 5 touchdowns.

Perine broke the major college football rushing record set only 7 days earlier by Wisconsin’s Melvin “Flash” Gordon with 408 yards on 25 carries (16+ yards per carry).

Perine scored on his first carry with a 49-yarder, and then added touchdowns on runs of 33, 34, 66 and 27 yards, all of which may have proved his prowess as a runner or spotlighted the lousy, stinking sieve called the Kansas Jayhawk defense.

Perine had a career day that he will not likely repeat again. One thing is for sure: Perine will not be racking up 427 yards on the ground against Alabama, Wisconsin, Penn State or Louisville.

#2 Oregon (10-1) continued to dominate with a 44-10 whipping of 2-9 Colorado. Oregon has become an item, being ranked #2 in the 4-team national playoff standings. After losing 31-24 to Arizona in its 5th game, the Ducks have reeled off 6 straight wins by averaging 47+ points and giving up 24, a 23-point winning margin that feels more dominate than either #1 Alabama, #3 Florida State or #4 Mississippi State.

Know this: If the current #5 playoff team, TCU, #6 Ohio State or #7 Baylor should lose another game, and UCLA should win out (beating Oregon for the Pac-12 title), you will see UCLA among the final 4 teams competing for the national title.

If last week’s competition was lame, wait until this week when in-state rivals abound as #11 Arizona hosts #13 Arizona State, #8 UCLA hosts Stanford, #9 Georgia hosts #16 Georgia Tech, #3 Florida State hosts Florida, #19 Ole Miss hosts #4 Mississippi State, Texas Tech hosts #7 Baylor, #12 Kansas State hosts Kansas, Oregon State hosts #2 Oregon, and, believe it, #1 Alabama hosts #15 Auburn in the Iron Bowl. And you thought Thanksgiving Day would be the best menu!

We end with some odds and ends:

Southern Methodist University is still winless at 0-10 and Marshall is still unbeaten at 11-0 after taking care of UAB, 23-18.

Colorado State is now 10-1 and ranked #21 in the AP Top 25 Poll and the Top 25 Coaches Poll.

In a battle of two teams trying to become bowl eligible, Washington (now 7-5) topped Oregon State (now 5-6), 37-13, and Husky QB Cyler Miles, who got no kind words last week, played much better in leading the Washington to a very important victory.

Only 2 ranked teams were idle this week, #5 TCU and #16 Georgia Tech.

College Football Wrap-Up – Week 12

The former ranked #1 Mississippi State Bulldogs and their coach Dan Mullen were down 19-6 on-the-road after 3 quarters to #5 Alabama in Tuscaloosa when the Crimson Tide unleased probably “one of the greatest drives in Alabama history, according to Coach Nick Saban. The result was a 25-20 Tide victory as unbeaten Mississippi State suffered its first defeat.

The loss by Mississippi State in major college football’s 12th week confirmed what many had expected, that the Bulldogs would not continue to be unbeaten when faced with better competition. After losing to Alabama, Mississippi State’ strength of schedule was 32nd and Alabama’s was the 2nd toughest in the nation.

Mississippi State needs to seriously regroup as the Bulldogs will have to travel to Ole Miss in their season-ending game. If the Bulldogs hope to be 1 of the 4 teams in the playoff for the national championship, they will have to win out or another loss will put them out for good.

A really long list of other ranked teams in this order did not do so hot Saturday:

The 5-5 unranked Oregon State Beavers upset #5 Arizona State, 35-27, leaving Todd Graham’s Sun Devils with an 8-2 mark.

A 3-7 Kansas team gave #4 TCU all it could handle before winning 34-30, and looking really bad in the process.

The 6-5 Washington Huskies fumbled and bumbled their way to an almost victory against #14 Arizona before the Wildcats won 27-26 on a last second field goal. Husky quarterback Cyler Miles looks like a mistake ready to happen, seems brittle and afraid of his own shadow, otherwise, Washington wins this one.

A 4-6 Northwestern team needed overtime but still upset #18 Notre Dame 43-40. The Irish, now 7-3, have been giving up more points this season than layaways at Wal-Mart, and it finally caught up to them, again.

Arkansas, a pesky 5-5 and unpredictable, shut out #17 LSU 17 to zip as Les Miles Tigers just can’t make up their mind whether to win or lose—they are capable and incapable at the same time. Some call this talent not showing up.

An 8-2 Missouri team stung #24 Texas A&M 34-27, giving the Aggies their 4th loss.

Miami at home in Florida led 23-17 after 3 quarters but gave up 13 last quarter points to the #1 Florida State Seminoles and lost 30-26 as the Seminoles remained unbeaten at 10-0.

It took #23 Utah two overtimes to get past a 5-5 Stanford team, 20-17. So, just how good is Utah? Look at the handwriting on the scoreboard.

Another 5-5 team, Virginia Tech, upset #21 Duke 17-16, giving the Blue Devils their 2nd loss at 8-2.

Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes had their hands full in beating #25 Minnesota 31-24, and it looked like a 7-point victory.

So, who actually got something done this week?

Well, unbeaten Marshall (10-0) steamrolled Rice 41-14, and because of its mid-major status, will not even sniff a shot at being in the 4-team national playoffs.

#15 Georgia (8-2) tutored #9 Auburn 34-7, Georgia Tech (9-2) made #19 Clemson a believer 28-6, and #12 Michigan State beat Maryland, 37-15.

The best victory of the weekend belonged to the #20 Wisconsin Badgers and their new NCAA record-setting tailback, Melvin Gordon, soon to be known as Flash Gordon.

Gordon (Melvin, not Flash) fumbled twice and #16 Nebraska led 17-3 in the 2nd quarter before Gordon unleashed a 62-yard touchdown run, and Wisconsin scored 56 straight points as Gordon rushed for 408 total yards on 25 carries, averaging 16+ yards per carry and breaking TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson’s 14-year-old record of 406 yards. Both Wisconsin and Nebraska are now 8-2.

In other games of note, 4 unranked teams now have 8 victories:

Northern Illinois nipped Toledo 27-24 to go to 8-2, Air Force needed overtime to best Nevada 45-38 to go to 8-2, Boise State scored 3 touchdowns in the last quarter to whip San Diego State 38-29 to go to 8-2, and Utah State beat New Mexico 28-21 to go to 8-3.

For the record, #4 Oregon, #6 Baylor, #10 Ole Miss (Mississippi), #13 Kansas State, #15 UCLA and #25 Colorado State were all had a bye week.