It was an interesting game between Akron and Kent on Thanksgiving Day as the wind and snow had a major effect. UA had the wind at their back in the 1 & 3Q¡¯s and RB Biggs rushed for 149 yds which was huge as it allowed them to control the clock when going into the wind. UA finished with just an 11-8 FD edge in their 35-3 win as they rec¡¯d a fumble for a TD, blk¡¯d a punt for a TD (both with wind at their back) and had a pair of 30 yd drives for TD¡¯s and led 28-3 after 3Q¡¯s. Biggs carried 72 yds in 12 plays eating up almost 8:00 off the clock in the 4Q for the TD that ¡°iced¡± it...

Rutgers needed a win to ensure a bowl and had a dominating 574-146 yd edge vs UC...

UTEP needed to win just 1 game to get the CUSA West Title but turned it over 7 times vs SMU and dropped their 2nd in a row. SMU actually led 40-20 scoring with 1:15 left before UTEP went 66 yds in 10 plays getting a 12 yd TD pass with no time left...

Georgia Tech had a 20-13 FD edge vs Georgia but were done in by 3 costly TO¡¯s. GT QB Ball, after having a great game vs Miami (FL) the previous week, was int¡¯d at the 7 with :14 left in the 1H stopping 1 TD drive and then with 1:11 left in the game and a FD at the UGA 15, he was int¡¯d at the 5 yd line again as UGA prevailed 14-7 in the defensive struggle despite having the SEC Title game on deck...

Notre Dame wrapped up a BCS berth but needed a TD with :55 left to get past Stanford, who was playing with their backup QB the entire 2H. The Irish actually trailed 31-30 with 1:46 left. Brady Quinn overcame a poor 1H where he hit just 9 of 19 with 2 int¡¯s and hit 16 of 19 in the 2H. ND had commanding 30-14 FD and 663-336 yd edges but a banged up K Fitzpatrick missed 1 xp and 2 FG¡¯s and the Irish also allowed an 87 yd KO return for a TD...

While Toledo/Bowling Green had a combined 85 pts, amazingly this game was 7-7 at the half and they combined for 23 pts in OT. In the 1H BG¡¯s TD came when QB Jacobs fmbl¡¯d and the ball never got near the goal line but amazingly they did not replay it. Toledo was SOD at the BG 16 and fmbl¡¯d at the BG 3 in a 7-7 1H. UT led 24-17 after 3Q¡¯s but needed a TD with 1:43 left to force OT and their game winning TD came on 3rd & 7 from 22 yds out...

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Florida Intl, which had been turnover prone during the season, benefitted from TO¡¯s vs Fla Atl with a school record 5 int¡¯s and tying an NCAA single game mark with 4 TD¡¯s on int returns of 36, 51, 34 and 82 yds. They destroyed FAU 52‑6 despite only having 380 yds offense...

Arkansas St/N Texas were tied at 24 when ASU got a 3rd & 8, 48 yd pass to keep a drive alive and scored a TD with 1:53 left. ASU ended up winning the SBC when ULM was knocked off by Louisiana-Lft...

UL Monroe had control of their own destiny in the SBC, were completely dominated at home as Louisiana-Lft had 343 yds rushing while ULM had just 202 yds offense as Steven Jyles hit just 17 of 32 for 136 yds in a pathetic showing...

Miss St had not won the Egg Bowl in four years but simply dominated their rival outrushing the Rebels 304-31 led by Jerious Norwood¡¯s 204 yds. MSU had a 409-189 yd edge in their most productive offensive game of the year...

The Maryland/NC State game, a battle for a bowl bid showed that when you have a team down you need to put them away. MD simply dominated the 1H vs NCSt with 12-1 FD and 146-38 yd edges. NCSt¡¯s only score was set up by a fmbl¡¯d punt and they got a 38 yd FG. MD, however, blew too many opportunities. They missed a 45 yd FG, punted after reaching the NCSt 32 and after a FD at the 22, missed a 44 yd FG and led just 7-3 at the half. In the 2H the Terps gave up a 28 yd int return for a TD and by shooting themselves in the foot, will sit at home for the post season as they lost 20-14...

Vince Young¡¯s Heisman chances suffered a severe blow when on National TV he hit just 13 of 24 for 162 yds with 1 int and fumbling twice. Texas nearly blew its National Title hopes despite facing a Texas A&M team missing its star QB Reggie McNeal. Backup Stephen McGee, despite not having great stats (9 of 23 for 83 yds) rushed for 108 yds and A&M led 22-21 in the 3Q. The Aggies were ultimately done in by a blk¡¯d punt for a TD. They also fmbl¡¯d at the UT 14 with 9:42 left when trailing by 8...

Fresno St accepted a Liberty Bowl bid during the week and were coming off their close, emotional loss to USC. Nevada, who had been pointing to the Fresno game for 2 weeks, took advantage and knocked off the Bulldogs at home, 38-35 clinching at least its share of the WAC Title...

It was a case of blown opportunities for N Carolina vs Virg Tech and they will not be going to a bowl game. In the 1H N Carolina (a 24 pt dog) played VT even up and in fact, held Marcus Vick to just 8 of 15 for 61 yds passing for the game. N Carolina settled for a 33 yd FG at the start of the 2Q and it was blk¡¯d. They trailed 6-0 and had a FD at the VT 8 in the 2Q¡¯s final minute. On 3rd & goal from the 8 NC¡¯s Holley dropped a TD pass so they settled for a 25 yd FG and instead of leading at the half they actually trailed 6-3. VT got 2 TD¡¯s to open the 3Q and then after a short punt & 15 yd personal foul, VT drove 20 yds in 5 plays to lead 27-3. NC threw an int which allowed VT to get ahead of the spread for the first time on a 44 yd FG with 10:49 left, 30-3. NC went 46 yds in 13 plays and had a 1st & goal at the 2 with the TD giving them the cover. Unfortunately, when 4th & 4 rolled around, Baker¡¯s pass fell incomplete with 5:12 left and VT got 3 FD¡¯s and ran out the clock, somehow covering the 24 pt spread...

Kentucky QB Andre Woodson was questionable heading into the game and managed to hit just 4 of 8 with 22 yds before leaving in the 2Q with injury. Backup Pulley hit 23 of 33 but for just 155 yds and had 3 int¡¯s. While Tennessee did have a 7 yd int return for a TD their lead could have been larger as they had 2 TO¡¯s in their own territory and 2 long TD runs by RB Foster (55 yd run, 78 yd rec) called back due to penalties...

Adrian Peterson was a Heisman candidate at the start of the year and suffered through an injury plagued season. He is finally healthy and rushed for 237 yds vs rival Oklahoma St. His 71 yd run at the start of the 4Q put the Sooners ahead of the spread for good in their 42-14 romp. OSU had just 7 FD¡¯s and 139 yds offense...DeAngelo Williams, in his final home game for Memphis, had his 33rd game where he rushed for 100+ yds tying Tony Dorsett (Pitt) and Archie Griffin (Ohio St) for most career 100 yd games in NCAA history. With the bowls now counting in the NCAA stats, he could become the all-time leader in that category as UM qualified for a bowl with their 26-3 pasting of Marshall. UM only passed the ball 8 times completing 1 during the entire game but the defense held Marshall to 154 total yds...

Florida took advantage of a great situation as FSU's only chance at playing in a New Year's Day game was to win NEXT week's ACC Championship game. UF, meanwhile, was trying to finish undefeated at home for the first time since 2000 and knock off their top 3 rivals (Tenn, UGA and FSU) in the same season for the first time since 1996. As expected, the Gators dominated with a 34‑7 win...

UAB was arguably the most talented team in CUSA but amazingly are not even going to a bowl this year. The Blazers, down by 8, had 2 chances to tie it but were SOD at the EC 27 with 3:08 left and int¡¯d at the EC 38 with 1:52 left and ended a very disappointing season.

MISLEADING FINALS, FRONTDOOR AND BACKDOOR COVERS - W Virginia appeared to blow out Pitt 45-13 but the game was just 24-13 with :44 left in the 3Q when Pitt missed a 45 yd FG that would have pulled them within 8. WV went 73 yds in 7 plays for a TD and then Pitt went on a 9 play drive but was SOD at the WV 15 with 7:00 left. WV went 85 yds in 8 plays for a TD and then added a 40 yd int return for a TD with 2:03 left to turn a close game into a blowout...

Surprisingly, a 41-17 final qualifies for this category but Louisville led Syracuse just 27-17 with 4:08 left. UL went 66 yds in 2 plays for a TD with 3:32 left and after an int got an 89 yd TD run by Stripling with 1:38 left to win by 24...

Louisiana Tech led 10-7 at the half vs Boise and went on a 12 play, 49 yd drive to open the 3Q but missed a 48 yd FG. BSU kept it on the ground the entire 2H and went on a 6 play drive for a TD, 14-10. LT then went on a 12 play, 53 yd drive and had a FD at the 16 but settled for a 39 yd FG with 13:07 left and trailed by 1. BSU went 64 yds in 13 plays getting a TD with 6:44 left to get ahead of the spread for the first time when LT only ret'd the ensuing KO to the 8 and Kubik was tkl'd in the EZ for a safety. After the free kick BSU tacked on a 71 yd, 11 play drive for a TD with 2:00 left including a 3rd & 8 conversion and in a game they trailed spread-wise throughout, it looked like a comfortable 30-13 win as LT fmbl'd the KO and BSU ran out the clock...

Houston got a frontdoor cover vs Rice (-15¡¯). They trailed Rice 10-0 after 1Q. Houston only led 28-18 mid-4Q when they got an 80 yd TD pass and they benefitted from 6 Rice TO¡¯s but got the frontdoor cover, 35-18.

INJURIES OF NOTE - There were a couple of key injuries that cost some teams their red-hot QBs and the game and also saw their games go Under. The first was W Michigan/N Illinois. Tim Hiller is one of the hottest QBs in the country and on the first 5 plays for WM he generated two FDs and 37 yds. Hiller, however, was inj¡¯d on that first series and would miss the rest of the game. Backup QB Robbie Haas who was the starter at the beginning of the year, showed why he was benched throwing for just 173 yds with 2 int's and that would doom W Michigan who actually led 7-0 after their first drive. NI had a great performance by Garrett Wolfe who rushed for 277 yds and left the game with 1:26 to play in the 3Q...

Another key QB injury was in the Arizona/Arizona St game. UA's offense was vastly superior with Willie Tuitama in at QB. UA led ASU 20-5 despite missing 2 FG¡¯s. The key play of the game happened when UA was at the ASU 31 with 11:26 left leading 20-12. Tuitama was hit as he threw and the ball was not only int¡¯d at the 27 but he would inj his throwing shoulder and not be available the rest of the game. UA, with backup QB Kovalcheck, managed 1 FD the rest of the game and ASU got a 71 yd PR for a TD and 2 pt conversion to tie it and then went on a 77 yd, 13 play drive and got a 20 yd FG with :09 left to pull out the win.

FROZEN OUT - In November, one key factor even more important than in the NFL is when warm weather teams travel to cold weather sites. In the NFL, many players from warm weather teams played college ball in colder cities and even with that fact, everyone knows Tampa Bay's horrible record in playing in temps under 35 degrees. Most of S Florida¡¯s players where recruited from Florida and had not even seen snow in their lifetimes. They struggled in the 33 degree temps of Connecticut and it cost them a shot at playing for the Big East Title next week vs W Virginia. USF managed just 11 FDs and 251 yds and as you would expect, lost 5 TO¡¯s. They did have their chances to win, but at the end of the game with 6:02 left, went for it on 4th & goal from the 6 and tried a reverse that was stuffed. After taking over at the Conn 44 with 2:46 left, USF went for it all on one play and was int¡¯d in the EZ.

I DON'T WANT TO PLAY TEXAS, YOU PLAY THEM - The question as to who would win the Big 12 North and get to the Big 12 Title game to face Texas next week was controlled by Colorado. All they had to do was beat Nebraska and they were a 15 pt favorite. The Buffaloes went out of their way not to play Texas as NU dominated them in every way, shape and form on Friday. The Huskers had a 303-124 yd edge at the half and led 20-3 and appeared to have time to kick a FG from the CU 5 on the last play of the half but the refs had ruled that time had run out. Their most impressive drive of the game was an 84 yd, 20 play drive that started in the 3Q and finished with 6:48 left but ended in a missed 28 yd FG. The domination was so complete, NU led 30-3 with 2:02 left and CU got 56 of their 212 yds on their final garbage drive before getting to the Husker 24.