Code Orange

Things fell out pretty much as expected:

National Championship: Ohio State vs. LSU
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Hawaii
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kansas
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
Rose Bowl: Illinois vs. Southern Cal

I guess I’m a little surprised that the Orange went with Kansas instead of West Virginia, but perhaps the Fiesta didn’t want an all-Big 12 matchup.

I think this season has shown more than any other that a playoff is needed. Sports Illustrated Online had a headline up earlier today which read “Give LSU a shot.” Well what happens if LSU takes that shot and misses? Well, sorry Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, and Georgia, LSU is the only team who is able to take that shot. Even if you ended up being the better team, tough. And of course, if LSU wins the championship, those teams won’t get their own shot at LSU.

The BCS doesn’t help itself by posting news stories which are written by people who sound like whiny children trying to defend something which they know is broken:

Now that the most compelling, entertaining and dramatic college football season in recent memory is drawing to a close, sportswriters and broadcasters are doing what they always do at this time of the year.

They’re crafting lies to convince you that major-college football is in disarray and in dire need of a playoff system to save itself.

Of course, it is ironic that this article was written before this weekend, and uses the basis that Missouri and West Virginia appeared to be a clear #1 and #2 to “prove” that the BCS works:

Right now the system has settled on MU and West Virginia. Those names are allegedly not big enough for some writers and broadcasters.

Oops. And of course, there is the usual “with a playoff, no one would care about the regular season!”:

Critics of college football won’t do that. The current, no-playoff system gives us great September and October story lines.

Of course, the problem with this is three-fold. The first is that in every sport with a playoff (i.e. every sport other than Division I-A college football), people still enjoy the regular season. Why? Because it still matters. You’re still playing to see who gets in the playoffs.

The argument for maximizing the meaning of the regular season, which is used to justify selecting two and only two teams to play for a championship, could just as easily be used to justify a system where no championship game is played at all. Heck, that’s the way to maximize the meaning of the season, isn’t it? Don’t even have a post season. Ohio State wins the title. Tough luck, LSU.

The second problem is that, ironically, in college football more than just about any other sport, the regular season gives you the least clear, most muddied picture of the landscape possible. In the NFL, for example, any given team plays 37.5% of the teams in the league. Not perfect, but at least it’s a third. Yet the NFL still puts 37.5% of the league into the playoffs, largely because, even with playing over a third of the league, you can’t necessarily declare the team with the best record champion, because they haven’t necessarily played everyone.

In college football it’s even worse. Any given team plays, at most, 10.8% of the teams, and that’s if you play a 12 game schedule, and a conference championship game, against 13 different I-A teams. No re-matches (as Missouri/Oklahoma and Virginia Tech/Boston College were) and no I-AA games (Appalachian State vs. Michigan anyone?). Most teams will play only 10% of I-A teams, and a good portion will play even a lower percentage than that.

Yet, we’re willing to select two - and only two - teams to play the championship. Teams who have played a combined 20% of Division I-A college football teams…maybe. In other words, 80% of all the teams in football have no direct say in who the national champion will be. So what’s this about the regular season being meaningful? In the current system, it is anything but meaningful. All 6 BCS Conference champions could go undefeated, and you’d still only have 2 teams who have played only 20% of all teams playing for the title. How is that even remotely fair or meaningful?

What if Division I-AA has this system? You’d probably have seen Northern Iowa vs. Montana in the championship game. It’s now the semifinals and both of those teams have been eliminated, and a third previously undefeated team, McNeese State, has lost as well. Tell Delaware, Southern Illinois, Appalachian State, and Richmond that they can’t have a chance at the national title because a team in another conference who they never even got a chance to play went undefeated against the few teams in the division that they actually play.

Third, having a playoff would eliminate the need for poll “corrections” like the ones we saw today - where all three polls felt compelled to “correct’ their rankings to make sure LSU got into the title.

What? Are you telling me that LSU really WASN’T the #7 team going into this past weekend? If not, why did you rank them there? If you never intended to put Georgia into the title game, why did you put them in a position where, if the impossible happened like it did on Saturday, they would be in line to play for the championship? If LSU was better than Georgia because they merely played in the conference title, why was LSU ranked below Georgia to start with? Or Why was Oklahoma ranked below them? Or Virginia Tech?

This is a matter of consistency for the polls, and to have the first 13 polls of the season be based on the previous poll with rewards and punishments for winning and losing, and then using the final poll as a do-over is dangerously close to scandalous in my opinion.

Do you really think that a 7-point win over a 4-loss Tennessee team who lead most of the game justifies jumping LSU 5 spots up? At least Oklahoma could theoretically argue for such a move since they convincingly defeated the #1 ranked team in the nation.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech, who hasn’t lost to an unranked team all year and who avenged one of their losses convincingly Saturday, goes nowhere in the polls. How does this make sense other than people “deciding” that LSU was going to be #2 and that they were just going to “make it happen,” no matter how little sense it made given the current rankings.

Week after week, year after year, we hear people complaining how people vote in the polls, saying that you should vote for who you think the best team is, and not necessarily punish a team who loses but who clearly seems like the better team. Week after week, year after year, the voters ignore their own complaining and vote as they always have. That is until voting as they always have suddenly becomes inconvenient when they have a certain matchup for the championship in mind.

It would kind of like being an umpire in a baseball game who is calling balls and strikes a certain way and has called them in a consistent manner through a game. Then suddenly in the 9th inning they decide they want one of the two teams to win, but that team is trailing.  As a result they decide to change how they’re calling balls and strikes to try to ensure the team they want to win will win.

Sorry, if this is how you’ve been doing your rankings all season, it is disingenuous to suddenly decide to do a “do-over” because you put yourself into a position which would end with an undesirable result if you did your rankings like you always do.  Unfortunately there is little that anyone can do about it.

About the only things we know at this point are that Ohio State will play in the BCS title and Hawaii will be in the Sugar Bowl. Past that, it’s about anyone’s guess.

This is how I think things will break down: despite the calls by TV people to jump LSU up from 7th to 2nd in the BCS (which would mean jumping both the teams who lost today, but also Georgia and 1-loss Kansas, who didn’t play, as well as Virginia Tech who won the ACC Championship game), I think Georgia will slip into the #2 slot in the BCS title game.

I think there is just too much of a hill to climb for LSU, and especially since they didn’t look all that great against Tennessee, I don’t see why pollsters would intentionally move them higher than normal in order to influence the BCS. If they did that for anyone, I would think they could do it for Oklahoma, who just beat a good Missouri team for the 2nd time this season. In any case, I think it will be Ohio State vs. Georgia, though even if it is LSU, I don’t think it will affect the BCS Bowl matchups much at all.

Assuming this, this is where teams would go based on conference championship tie-ins:

Rose: Southern Cal vs. BCS
Orange: Virginia Tech vs. BCS
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. BCS
Sugar: LSU vs. BCS

*West Virginia has no automatic bowl tie-in

Kansas should almost certainly either be #3 in the BCS, or #4 with a BCS champion in the #3 slot. That will give Kansas an automatic berth into the BCS. Hawaii winning in conjuction with Boston College and Tennessee losing should guarantee them a spot in the top 12 and in a BCS Bowl.

After that, the remaining at-large spot can be filled by any team with 9 wins and in the top 14. My best guess is that the teams to choose from will be the following:

Arizona State, Illinois, and probably Clemson.

*Missouri and Florida are ineligible due to the 2-team per conference limit

Now, the selection process will go as thus:

Since the Rose Bowl will lose their Big 10 representative to the BCS title game, and that team will be the #1 team in the nation, the Rose Bowl will get the first pick. There was been speculation that the Rose Bowl will pick Georgia if LSU goes to the title game. Since I think Georgia will be in the title game, that scenario would go out of play, but lets say LSU is chosen instead, there are two reasons why I don’t think the Rose will pick Georgia:

1) Illinios should be eligible for the BCS, and given that the Rose Bowl gets irked whenever they can’t get their Pac 10/Big 10 matchup, I don’t see why they would pass on the opportunity to have it, and

2) This is a rather complex sounding rule so hang with me: If two bowls lose the teams with automatic conference tie-ins, which would be the case for the Rose and Sugar Bowls if the BCS title is Ohio State vs. LSU - then the first bowl can choose any team out of the at-large pool (and the at-large pool only - no other automatic tie-in teams) EXCEPT a team from the same conference as the other team in the title game without that Bowl with that conference tie-in’s permission. That means that if the Rose Bowl wanted Georgia for some reason, they would have to get the Sugar Bowl’s permission to release Georgia. I see absolutely no reason for the Sugar Bowl to do this.

So, I’m saying that regardless of how things shake out in the BCS title, the Rose Bowl will pick Illinois to face USC.

If LSU plays in the title game, the Sugar Bowl picks 2nd, and they’ll pick Georgia. If it’s Georgia in the title game, then the Orange Bowl picks 2nd, and most people seem to think that they’ll pick West Virginia to face Virginia Tech.

The next pick goes to the Fiesta Bowl. They’ll have a choice between Kansas and Hawaii - two teams who get automatic berths into the BCS. Most people believe that they’ll chose Kansas, because it creates an interesting intra-Big 12 game and they don’t want Hawaii.

The final pick would then go to the Sugar Bowl, who would be left with Hawaii.

That means here is how I project the BCS Bowls:

BCS Championship: Ohio State vs. Georgia
Rose Bowl: Illinois vs. Southern California
Fiesta Bowl: Kansas vs. Oklahoma
Sugar Bowl: Hawaii vs. LSU
Orange Bowl: West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech

If Hawaii for some reason doesn’t make the top 12 of the BCS, the Fiesta Bowl could go with Arizona State. If they stick with Kansas, the Sugar could go with Arizona State or possibly Clemson if they’re in the top 14.

Well, so much for the anticipated Big 12 playoff.  We’ll still get part of it next week when Missouri and Kansas face off, but now a Big 12 team in the title game is no longer assured.  Even more, it may not even be Oklahoma who represents the southern division in the Big 12 title game.  Oklahoma’s loss gives them 2 conference losses and ties them with Texas.  If Texas defeats Texas A&M and Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma, it will be Texas who plays in the Big 12 title game.

Speaking of title games, Boston College played their way into the ACC title game with a 20-17 come-from-behind victory at Clemson.  They’ll face the winner of Virginia Tech/Virginia, who play next weekend.

Meanwhile, in the SEC, LSU had already clenched the SEC West title, but the SEC East race got a tad bit clearer as Georgia’s win over Kentucky boots Florida from the race.  Georgia almost clenched the East title, but Tennessee was able to come back and beat Vanderbilt.  If Tennessee defeats Kentucky next weekend, Tennessee will play in the SEC title game.  If they lose, Georgia will play LSU.  Georgia is finished with their SEC schedule.

In the BCS conferences without a formal title game, Ohio State clenched the Big 10 title by defeating Michigan 14-3 in a sloppy game, both in the weather, as well as with Michigan’s offense, who couldn’t get anything going on the ground or in the air.

In the Big East, West Virginia’s win over  Cincinnati set up a de facto Big East championship game next week with Connecticut.

In the Pac 10, Arizona State controls their own destiny now, but plays USC next Thursday, and then Arizona after that.  If they were to lose, Oregon would be next in line,  If Oregon loses, then it falls into USC’s hands.  However, if all hell breaks loose, you could end up seeing a 4-way tie for 1st place in the Pac 10 between Arizona State, USC, and 2 out of Oregon, Oregon State, and UCLA.  That could happen if Arizona State loses to both USC and Arizona, USC loses to UCLA, and Oregon loses to Oregon State, UCLA, or both.

In non-BCS conferences, the Conference USA Eastern title will be determined next week. UCF has a one game lead on East Carolina, but East Carolina owns the head-to-head tie-breaker.  That means if UCF were to lose to UTEP and East Carolina defeats Tulane next weekend, East Carolina would win the division.

The Western Division is in a similar situation where Tulsa and Houston are tied for the division lead with 2 losses, but Tulsa defeated Houston earlier.  It all comes down to Tulsa, as Houston is finished with their conference slate.  If Tulsa defeats Rice, they win the division.  If they lose, Houston wins the division.

In the MAC, the conference title game is now set: Miami vs. Central Michigan.

In the Mountain-West, Brigham Young all but has the conference title, but Utah could still feasibly pull out the come-from-behind upset in the conference race. However, Utah will have to beat BYU next week to keep their hopes alive, and then hope BYU gets upset by San Diego State in the final game of the season.  That was the game delayed by the California fires earlier in the season.

In the Sun Belt, it is essentially a two team race between Troy and Florida Atlantic.  FAU is 1 game behind Troy, but they get to play the Trojans in the last game of the season.   Depending on how tie-breakers work, MTSU could still have a shot, but Troy would have to lose to FAU as well as MTSU, while Florida Atlantic would have to lose to Florida International.

In the WAC, the title will be determined by the Hawaii/Boise State game next weekend.

Update 3:38 PM

It’s now 17-9 Vanderbilt over Tennessee at halftime.   Also, Duke and Notre Dame are scoreless after the 1st quarter.

Division III playoffs:

North Central 44, Franklin 42

Finals:

Florida State 24, Maryland 16
Georgia Tech 27, North Carolina 25
Florida 59, Florida Atlantic 20
Tulsa 49, Army 39
Update 3:30 PM

Nevermind about Pittsburgh. They get called for a 15 yard penalty, then throw a pick, and Pitt’s outside chance of winning the Big East is over as Rutgers wins 20-16.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt retakes the lead over Tennessee 14-9.

Update 3:28 PM

Pittsburgh has the ball within the Rutgers 10 with less than a minute to go, down by 4…

Update 3:25 PM

Tennessee goes back up on Vanderbilt 9-7.

I-AA finals:

Harvard ends Yale’s perfect season 37-6.

Division II playoff scores:

Indiana (PA) 45, West Chester 35 (Indiana will play Shepherd next weekend)

Finals:

Connecticut 30, Syracuse 7

Update 3:20 PM

Ohio State defeats Michigan 14-3. Ohio State has now won 4 in a row against the Wolverines.

Division III playoff scores:

Curry 42, Hartwick 21 (Curry will play St. John Fisher)

More Finals:

Illinois 41, Northwestern 22

Update 3:17 PM

Richmond just defeated William & Mary 31-20. That means they and Massachusetts tie for the CAA title. The automatic bid into the I-AA tournament will now be determined by a majority vote of the conference’s athletic directors. Who will they choose? If they want the better team, they’ll probably pick Massachusetts. If they’re nervous at all about Richmond getting a bid as an at-large, however, they may give the auto-bid to the Spiders.

Update 3:14 PM

Michigan just failed on a 4th conversion, which pretty much seals Ohio State’s victory. There is only 3:44 left between Ohio State and a Rose Bowl berth.

Division I-AA finals:

Delaware State 29, Howard 13
Massachusetts 27, Hofstra 5 (UMass clenches a share of the CAA title)

More Division III finals:

Wabash 31, Mount St. Joseph 21 (Wabash will play Case Western)
St. John Fisher 24, Hobart 7
Wesley 45, Hampden-Sydney 17 (Wesley will play Muhlenberg)

Update 3:07 PM

Michigan is running out of time, punting the ball back to Ohio State with less than 7 minutes to go, still 14-3 Buckeyes. Meanwhile, Kentucky is back to within a score of Georgia, 21-13.

Division III finals:

Muhlenberg 31, Salisbury State 21
Case Western 21, Widener 20

Update 3:03 PM

Vanderbilt takes a 7-6 lead on Tennessee.

Meanwhile, in an upset possibility in the Division III playoffs, North Carolina Wesleyan and Washington & Jefferson head into overtime tied at 14.

Finals:

Temple 24, Kent State 14

Update 3:00 PM

Georgia has now widened their lead on Kentucky to 21-13 in the 3rd quarter. Meanwhile, Missouri leads Kansas State 28-18, also in the 3rd quarter.

In another Division III playoff final, College of New Jersey defeats Rensselaer 17-14. College of New Jersey will get the unenviable job of facing Mount Union next weekend.

Update 2:57 PM

New Hampshire trying to worm their way into a I-AA playoff at-large bid, but probably needs help. They made their final case today, defeating Maine 39-14.

Update 2:55 PM

Division II Playoff finals:

Southern Connecticut State 45, Bryant 28. SCSU will play at 11-0 California (PA) next week.

Division III playoff finals:

Mount Union 42, Ithaca 18

Update 2:45 PM

ESPN can’t seem to decide what the score in the Mount Union game is. They had Mount Union with 70 points for a while. Now it’s back to 42. Either way, they’re way ahead.

By the way, Henne is back in the game for Michigan.

Update 2:36 PM

Georgia finally takes the lead on Kentucky 14-10. Meanwhile, Ohio State/Michigan goes into the 4th quarter 14-3.

Update 2:31 PM

BYU can clench the Mountain-West title today with a win over Wyoming and a Utah loss. The Cougars currently lead 7-0.

Update 2:25 PM

It looks like Henne will be coming out when Michigan gets the ball back, but it looks like injuries just attacked Ohio State as well, with Wells appearing to hurt his hamstring.

Update 2:24 PM

Mount Union is showing just why they’re the #1 team in Division III, leading Ithaca 70-18 in their playoff game today in the 4th quarter.

Update 2:19 PM

Michigan finally stops Ohio State in the 2nd half, but Henne stays in the game, despite his poor performance so far.

Update 2:17 PM

Tennessee strikes early against Vanderbilt, going up 6-0 in the first of their last 2 remaining mine fields on their way to the SEC title game.

Update 2:05 PM

Ohio State didn’t wait long. On their first play after the touchdown being called back, Wells runs for a long touchdown anyway, and they go up 14-3 on Michigan.

Update 2:04 PM

Michigan gets the ball to start the 2nd half and promptly goes 3-and-out. Ohio State returns the punt for a touchdown, but it’s brought back due to a blocking in the back penalty.

Update 2:01 PM

Georgia finally gets on the board, but the Bulldogs still trail Kentucky 10-7.

Update 1:45 PM

Missouri and Florida put up more scores as Missouri retakes the lead 21-15 and Florida expands their lead to 35-20 at halftime.

Update 1:38 PM

Michigan misses a 48-yard field goal short to end the first half, and Ohio State leads 7-3 at halftime.

Update 1:37 PM

Perhaps Missouri is looking ahead. Kansas State now takes the lead on the Tigers 15-14. The Wildcat kicker has now missed 2 extra points (it was only 15-9 before, not 15-10 apparently).

Update 1:35 PM

Ohio State’s attempt to go down the field to score suddenly went horribly wrong as Michigan intercepts the ball and returns it inside the Ohio State 40. Michigan has no time outs, however, with only about 20 seconds to go.

Update 1:33 PM

Rutgers takes the lead on Pittsburgh 17-10. Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic scores again, and once again puts themselves within one score of Florida, as the score in that game is now Florida 28, Florida Atlantic 20 near halftime.

Also, Ohio State is driving, trying to score before halftime.

Update 1:29 PM

Michigan can’t do anything with their good field position as the two teams are now a combined 6 for 17 on 3rd down today.

Update 1:27 PM

Michigan pins Ohio State inside the 5 with punt, and Ohio State can’t get out of the shadow of their own end zone, returning the ball to Michigan at mid-field.

Update 1:26 PM

Florida adds some padding to their lead over Florida Atlantic, going up 28-13. Tebow becomes the first player in I-A history to score 20 rushing and 20 passing touchdowns in one season.

Meanwhile, Missouri just can’t shake Kansas State, leading only 14-10. In that game, Jeremy Maclin has set a record for most all-purpose yards by a freshman in Division I-A.

Update 1:15 PM

All of a sudden Florida Atlantic is within a score of Florida after kicking another field goal and closing the score to 21-13.

Update 1:08 PM

Michigan picks up a big 3rd down to keep their drive alive.

Meanwhile, Florida State is destroying Maryland 21-3 in the 2nd quarter. Also, the Florida/Florida Atlantic game, which is supposed to be a blowout, is looking vaguely like a game now, with the Owls now back to within 21-10 of the Gators.

Meanwhile, even if Yale could go to the I-AA playoffs, they might have blown their chance today, as Harvard is now routing them 27-0.

Update 12:59 PM

Ohio State moves down the field and responds to Michigan and goes up 7-3.

Meanwhile, perhaps it was too early to call the Southern Connecticut State game, as Bryant suddenly closes the score back down to 21-20.

Update 12:56 PM

Kentucky is trying to spoil Georgia’s hopes for an SEC East title, and they go up 7-0 on the Bulldogs.

Update 12:51 PM

Missouri making sure they aren’t looking ahead toward their big game with Kansas, goes up on the other Kansas team 7-0.

Update 12:48 PM

I actually just realized this - before I said Illinois was trying to clench 3rd in the Big Ten by beating Northwestern. Actually, if they win and Michigan beats Ohio State, Illinois would actually finish 2nd in the conference. But I wouldn’t expect the Illini to get a bid to the Capital One Bowl ahead of Ohio State in that case, though.

Update 12:44 PM

Pittsburgh takes a 10-3 lead on Rutgers to try to keep their outside shot at the Big East title alive.

Update 12:40 PM

Michigan is able to drive down the field on their 2nd drive, but stalls before the endzone, and the Wolverines kicks a field goal to take a 3-0 on Ohio State.

Update 12:37 PM

It looks like some Division III playoff games are going to be decided rather early. Curry now leads Hartwick 28-0 in the 1st quarter while Southern Connecticut State leads Bryant 21-7, nearing the 2nd of the 1st quarter.

Update 12:30 PM

After getting an initial first down, a fumbled snap and falling down while backing up to pass quickly ends Ohio State’s drive.

Also in score update, Richmond leads William & Mary 7-0.

In the Division II Playoffs, Southern Connecticut State leads Bryant 14-7 and West Chester leads Indiana (PA) 7-0.

Meanwhile, in the Division III playoffs, Curry leads Hartwick 14-0, Mount St. Joseph and Wabash are tied at 7, North Central leads Franklin 14-7, and Muhlenberg leads Salisbury State 7-0.

Update 12:23 PM

Michigan gets the ball, then goes 3 and out, so Ohio State wins the field position battle in the first pair of drives.

Update 12:21 PM

A questionable non-interference call leads to an Ohio State punt on their opening drive.

Update 12: 19 PM

Here are some score update, all in the 1st Quarter:

Illinois 7, Northwestern 0
Connecticut 7, Syracuse 0
Massachusetts 7, Hofstra 0
Harvard 7, Yale 0

12:06 PM

Obviously the big game early is Ohio State vs. Michigan, but there is also Pittsburgh vs. Rutgers (which still has Big East championship implications), Illinois vs. Northwestern, where the Illini are hoping to clench 3rd in the conference, Kentucky at Georgia, and Missouri at Kansas State.

We also get some I-AA matchups and some Division II and III playoff games starting.

Update

Here are some of the big games coming up at 8, to round out the afternoon thread:  Kansas get into great position to sneak into the title game with Ohio State’s loss, but they have to get by Oklahoma State, which has shown streaks of greatness at times this season.

Boston College would like to rebound before their game with Clemson, and they’ll get a chance to do so against Maryland.

LSU should have it easy against Louisiana Tech.

Finally, in the lost game of the day, we have California vs. USC.  At the start of the season, people thought that this would be for a berth into the title game.  Now it’s for 3rd in the Pac 10.

Finals:

San Jose State 51, New Mexico State 17 (New Mexico State now bowl ineligible)
Florida Atlantic 34, Arkansas State 31
Marshall 26, East Carolina 7
Memphis 29, Southern Miss 26

Update 7:24 PM

It’s over:

Navy 74, North Texas 62. Navy had over 570 yards rushing.

Also, Virginia Tech defeats Florida State 40-21.

Update 7:20 PM

Navy and North Texas tie the record. It’s now 74-62 (I’m not sure where the extra point for Navy came from). Since this game isn’t updating live, I’m kind of considering this an unofficial score, but it’s still amazing. 1:43 to go.

Finals:

Georgia 45, Auburn 20
Texas 59, Texas Tech 43

Update 7:06 PM

It’s now 73-56 Navy over Troy State. Can they beat the 136 total points put up by Boise State and Nevada earlier this year, which is a modern day NCAA record? They have 129 so far with still 8:06 to go. By the way, that Boise State/Nevada game was in 4 overtimes too. They had only scored 88 points in regulation.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech has pretty much put Florida State away as they take a 38-21 lead with just over 5 minutes to go.

Finals:

Utah 50, Wyoming 0

Update 6:55 PM

Arizona State survives UCLA 24-20.

Update 6:48 PM

Virginia Tech retakes the lead on Florida State 28-21.

Finals:

Rice 43, Southern Methodist 42

Update 6:46 PM

Cincinnati ends Connecticut’s Cinderella season 27-3.

Finals:

Louisiana Lafayette 34, Middle Tennessee State 24

Update 6:38 PM

By the way, Navy and North Texas scored 63 points in the 2nd half - an NCAA Division I-A record for most points scored in a quarter. They also scored 94 points in the first half, also an NCAA record.

Finals:

Tulsa 56, Houston 7

Update 6:29 PM

No one can say Navy can’t put up the points if they need too. Navy 58, North Texas 49, middle of the 3rd quarter.

Update 6:26 PM

Illinois 28
Ohio State 21

Final

Update 6:24 PM

The question now becomes, where will all of Ohio State’s #1 votes go? Illinois picks up another 3rd down. It’s now 1st and 10 on the Ohio State 27 with only 2:09 to go. This drive is now 50 yards long, with 12 rushes and 1 pass.

Update 6:19 PM

Notre Dame once again loses, this time to Air Force 41-24.

Update 6:18 PM

Illinois picks up a huge 3rd and 7 to keep their drive alive. They have the ball at midfield with only 4:20 to go.

Finals:

New Mexico 26, Colorado State 23

Update 6:14 PM

Florida State comes back and takes the lead against Virginia Tech 21-20

Meanwhile, Illinois goes for it on 4th down on their own 32 yard line and gets it. 6:50 to go in that game.

Finals:

Boise State 52, Utah State 0

Update 6:08 PM

Illinois intercepts Ohio State with 8:09 to go in the game. Illinois gets it on their own 23.

Update 6:04 PM

The Seminoles aren’t finished as they’ve pulled to within 20-15 of Virginia Tech.

Update 5:51 PM

Ohio State says “not so fast” as they fly down the field and close their gap against Illinois to 28-21. But they still have to stop the Illini offense.

Update 5:45 PM

In another interesting game this afternoon, Auburn ties up Georgia in Athens at 17 in the 3rd quarter.

Update 5:43 PM

Ohio State’s #1 ranking is now in grave danger as Illinois drives down the field and goes up 28-14 on the Buckeyes.

Update 5:41 PM

4th time wasn’t the charm for Vanderbilt as they can’t pick up a 4th 4th-down conversion of the drive, and Kentucky wins 27-20.

Meanwhile, Arizona State takes the lead on UCLA 17-13.

Update 5:37 PM

Ohio State has it 1st and goal, and ends up turning the ball over, and it’s still 21-14 Illinois.

Kentucky adds another touchdown on Vanderbilt to go up 27-20. However, Vanderbilt is driving, having converted 3 4th downs on their drive to try to tie the game.

Update 5:15 PM

Kentucky is trying to fend off an upset of their own. Vanderbilt has now tied the Wildcats at 20 with 7:31 to go.

Update 4:59 PM

Will this be the upset of the day? Illinois takes a 21-14 lead on Ohio State just before halftime.

Update 4:26 PM

Florida State ties up Virginia Tech 6-6. Kentucky also goes up 20-13 on Vanderbilt.

Finals:

Nebraska 73, Kansas State 31
Georgia Tech 41, Duke 24 (Georgia Tech bowl eligible)

Update 4:13 PM

Missouri puts away Texas A&M 40-26. Missouri has Kansas State next week, then their big matchup with Kansas in the last regular season game of the season.

Update 4:10 PM

Illinois responds to Ohio State’s 2nd score with one of their own, and it’s 14-14 in Columbus.

Finals

Iowa State 31, Colorado 28

Update 4:02 PM

Is this Arizona State being revealed, or the good side of UCLA coming out? UCLA now has a 10-0 on the Sun Devils.

Also, Virginia Tech takes a 6-3 on Florida State after missing the PAT.

Update 3:57 PM

It’s starting to look like it could be a shootout in Columbus as Ohio State strikes again, and its 14-7 Buckeyes only 5 1/2 minutes into the game.

Update 3:55 PM

Illinois strikes right back to tie their game with Ohio State at 7. Cincinnati also goes up on Connecticut 7-0.

Update 3:45 PM

Mississippi upsets Alabama today 19-12. This makes Mississippi State bowl eligible.

Update 3:43 PM

Tennessee gets rid of Arkansas 34-13, leaving only Kentucky and Vanderbilt between them and an SEC Championship game appearance. And speaking of Kentucky and Vanderbilt, the Commodores currently lead the Wildcats 13-10 near halftime.

3:38 PM

Ohio State doesn’t waste any time trying to show that Illinois won’t be a threat to them, going up 7-0 after 2 offensive plays.

Update 3:36 PM

It’s finally over: Wisconsin defeats Michigan 37-21.  Luckily for Michigan, they can still win the Big Ten with a victory over Ohio State next week.

Finals:

North Carolina State 31, North Carolina 27 (UNC now bowl ineligible)
South Florida 41, Syracuse 10
Michigan State 48, Purdue 31 (Michigan State bowl eligible)

Update 3:28 PM

I think we can pretty much put the curtain down in Madison as Wisconsin stops Michigan on 4th down on their own 2 yard line.

Finals:

Clemson 44, Wake Forest 10

Update 3:22 PM

Wisconsin intercepts Michigan and goes down and starts putting nails in the coffin by scoring a touchdown. The Badgers now lead 30-21 with 3:35 to go.

Finals:

Iowa 21, Minnesota 16 (Iowa now bowl eligible)
Northwestern 31, Indiana 28 (Northwestern bowl eligible)

Update 3:15 PM

Michigan stops Wisconsin on 3rd and 13 on the Michigan 48 yard line with 5:52 to go. The Wolverines will try to come back and have a game-winning drive. They only need a field goal to take the lead.
Update 3:07 PM

Michigan is making a comeback now in Madison, as they now close to within 23-21 of Wisconsin with 7:43 to go in the game.

Also, Mississippi State leads Alabama 17-9 early in the 4th quarter.

Finals:

Penn State 31, Temple 0 (Temple now bowl ineligible)

Update 2:51 PM

It’s gotten ugly down in Clemson where the Tigers now lead Wake Forest 37-10 early in the 4th. Meanwhile, Michigan is desperately trying to stay in their game, down 23-14 to Wisconsin, also early in the 4th quarter.

Elsewhere, Nebraska is handing out the blowout this week against Kansas State as they lead 38-10.

Update 1:29 PM

South Florida appears to be making short work of Syracuse, now up 17-0. Michigan State/Purdue is also turning into a shootout, with those two tied at 21 with still 3 minutes to go until halftime.

Meanwhile, Michigan is having problems with Wisconsin, now down to the Badgers 17-7.

Clemson is also telling everyone that they’re not done in the ACC yet either, beating up Wake Forest 24-7.

12:54 PM

No, I’m not dead - just got busy for a week or two, but now I’m back. In any case, let’s start blogging this weekend’s games.

Amazingly, given how good South Florida has been, today’s South Florida/Syracuse game is a game between the Big East’s two bottom teams (this is the 2nd straight week Syracuse has played in such a game) with both teams having only 1 conference win. South Florida is out of the Big East title race, but they can at least start making their way back up the standings with a win. They currently lead Syracuse 7-0.

UNC vs. North Carolina State has pretty much no impact on the ACC race, but UNC needs a win to prevent itself from becoming bowl ineligible, while North Carolina State wants to win to not put themselves on the same bubble. Currently N. C. State leads that game 10-0.

Clemson and Wake Forest are also battling for sole possession of 2nd place in the ACC Atlantic Division. A Clemson win here would effectively set up an ACC Atlantic championship game between themselves and Boston College on November 17th. Clemson currently leads 10-7.

Iowa can finally get bowl eligible (amazingly enough) with a win over Minnesota. Iowa currently leads 14-0. The same is true if Michigan defeats Purdue. Michigan State currently leads that game 7-6. Ditto for Northwestern defeating Indiana, but the Hoosiers currently lead 14-3.

Of course, one of two game-of-the-weeks are going on in the Big Ten as well, where Wisconsin currently leads Michigan 7-0.

In the SEC, Tennessee tries to clear out their final SEC West opponent in Arkansas in their attempt to win the SEC Eastern division.

In the Big 12, Kansas State can gain bowl eligibility if they defeat Nebraska, while Nebraska needs a win to avoid becoming bowl ineligible. That game is currently scoreless. Missouri needs a win over Texas A&M in order to keep within a game of Kansas in the Northern division. The Tigers currently lead that game 7-0.

Update Late

Hawaii takes care of New Mexico State 50-13.

Update 1:52 AM

Arizona State puts away California, winning 31-20. That sets up a huge game between the Sun Devils and Oregon, who beat USC today, next week.

Update 1:35 AM

It’s been all Arizona State in the 2nd half as they take a 31-20 lead on California with 7:07 to go.

Meanwhile, Hawaii leads New Mexico state 23-3 at halftime.

Finals:

Houston 34, UTEP 31

Update 12:45 AM

Arizona State takes their first lead of the game 21-20 in the 3rd quarter. Meanwhile, Hawaii is now up 13-0 on New Mexico State.

Update 12:13 AM

Hawaii strikes quickly as they go up on New Mexico State 6-0, missing the PAT.

Update 11:37 PM

Arizona State responds to California’s touchdown and now it’s 20-14 California nearing halftime.

Update 11:30 PM

South Carolina misses a field goal in overtime, and Tennessee survives against South Carolina after blowing a 21-0 lead, and go on to win 27-24. Tennessee now controls their own destiny in the SEC East.

Update 11:25 PM

Tennessee can only muster a field goal in the first half of overtime, but they do now lead 27-24. Now it’s South Carolina’s turn.

Finals:

Florida State 25, Duke 6

Update 11:20 PM

California picks up another touchdown and now leads Arizona State 20-7.

Update 11:16 PM

Tennessee drives down the field, but then gets a 9 yard sack, then a false start penalty, turning a 34 yard field goal into a 48 yard field goal, but Tennessee still hits it to make the game 24-24 and going into overtime.

Update 11:07 PM

Ohio State finally finishes off Penn State 37-17.

Meanwhile, Tennessee gets a 37 yard kickoff return to start their drive near mid-field.

Update 11:04 PM

Arizona State finally gets on the board, and California leads 13-7.

Meanwhile, South Carolina hits a 49 yard field goal with 1:24 to go to take a 24-21 lead on Tennessee after Tennessee lead 21-0.

Update 10:38 PM

Tennessee starts to crumble as South Carolina ties the game at 21. South Carolina now has the ball again and is driving with just over 7 minutes to go.

Meanwhile, Ohio State now leads 27-10. Also, Kansas finishes off Texas A&M 19-11. Cal also leads Arizona State 10-0.

Finals:

Troy 27, Arkansas State 0
Middle Tennessee 48, North Texas 28

Update 10:11 PM

Penn State’s supposedly good defense gives up another touchdown and Ohio State goes up 24-7. Every Ohio State drive except one that ended in an interception and one that ended the 1st half have resulted in points.

Meanwhile, the Kansas kicker just missed his third field goal of the night, but the Jayhawks still lead Texas A&M 19-3 late in the 4th quarter.

Finals:

Western Kentucky 50, North Carolina Central 14

Update 10:05 PM

It’s not over yet in Knoxville. Tennessee jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but South Carolina has come back and has made it 21-14 late in the 3rd quarter.

Finals:

Toledo 70, Northern Illinois 21
Washington State 27, UCLA 7

Update 9:46 PM

Kansas continues to run their engines in the 2nd half, now going up 19-0 in the 4th quarter.

Finals:

Oregon State 23, Stanford 6
Ohio 38, Bowling Green 27

Update 9:10 PM

Kansas gets their engine going and now goes up 10-0 on Texas A&M

Final:

Auburn 17, Mississippi 3

Update 8:56 PM

Kansas finally strikes first and leads Texas A&M 3-0 in the 3rd quarter.

Meanwhile, the Penn State’s secondary and linebacker corps appears to have non-existent pass coverage as Ohio State slices down the field again and now lead 17-7.

Update 8:51 PM

The game in Knoxville is turning into a blowout, as Tennessee now goes up 21-0 on South Carolina.

Update 8:37 PM

Tennessee strikes again, going up 14-0 on South Carolina.

Update 8:33 PM

Ohio State moves down the field and retakes the lead themselves 10-7

Update 8:25 PM

Newsflash:

Syracuse doesn’t lose today. Today, they defeated the bye week 1-0.

Update 8:23 PM

Penn State strikes back and takes the lead on the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes 7-3.

Meanwhile, people are wondering where all the points are in College Station as Kansas and Texas A&M go into halftime scoreless.

Finals:

Utah 27, Colorado State 3

Update 8:16 PM

Ohio State kicks a 50 yard field goal and strike first against Penn State 3-0.

Meanwhile, Tennessee also strikes first against South Carolina in a battle to take control of the SEC East, going up 7-0, scoring a touchdown after recovering a fumble on the Gamecocks 2 yard line.

Update 8:11 PM

Virginia can’t pull it out as North Carolina State picks up the upset 29-24.

Update 8:05 PM

Will Virginia survive? They’re trying to drive down the field against N. C. State down 29-24 with a minute to go in the game.

Finals:

Louisiana Monroe 33, Florida Atlantic 30, 3OT
Marshall 34, Rice 21

Update 7:25 PM

Texas pulls it out against Nebraska 28-25.

7:22

Virginia finally takes a lead on N. C. State 24-23 early in the 4th quarter.Finals:

Clemson 30, Maryland 17
Kansas State 51, Baylor 13
Nevada 37, Idaho 21

Update 3:31 PM

Iowa pulls out the upset over Michigan State 34-27 in double overtime.  Meanwhile, Texas Tech isn’t done yet, scoring another touchdown with 2:08 to go to creep to within 31-26 against Colorado.

Also, Oregon leads Southern Cal 7-0 in the first quarter.

Update 3:28 PM

West Virginia finally ends Rutger’s misery and wins 31-3.

Also, Delaware is now leading Navy 42-35 (yes, that score is right).

More Finals:

Wisconsin 33, Indiana 3

Update 3:18 PM

Louisville survives against Pitt by recovering a fumble inside their own 5 and win 24-17.

Meanwhile, Michigan State and Iowa exchange touchdowns, so they head to a 2nd overtime tied at 27.

More Finals:

Purdue 35, Northwestern 17

Update 3:09 PM

Michigan State and Iowa move on to overtime tied at 20.

Finals:

West Virginia 37, North Carolina 10
Illinois 28, Ball State 17

Update 2:58 PM

West Virginia puts the final nail of the coffin, putting up another touchdown on Rutgers and now leads 31-3.

Update 2:49 PM

Panthers not done. Pittsburgh comes back to tie Louisville at 17. Texas Tech also scores another touchdown to close to 31-19 against Colorado.

Update 2:33 PM

Colorado says “not so fast” to Texas Tech as they expand the lead back to 18, taking a 31-13 lead.

Update 2:29 PM

Looks like we’re en route to another top-25 upset today: Mississippi State expands their lead over Kentucky to 24-7.

Update 2:21 PM

West Virginia is putting a hurting on Rutgers as they now go up 24-7. Meanwhile, Texas Tech is trying to climb back, putting another touchdown on the board and closing the gap against Colorado to 24-13.

In the meantime, one wouldn’t think that Navy would be a candidate for our loss-to-a-I-AA game of the week, but they’re currently tied with Delaware 21-21.

Update 2:18 PM

We’re looking at a couple of possible mild upsets today. Northwestern currently leads Purdue 17-14 while Iowa has now tied Michigan State at 17. Also, Colorado is starting to run all over Texas Tech 24-6.

Missouri is also up on Iowa State early 7-0.

Update 1:31 PM

West Virginia and Rutgers head towards Halftime with West Virginia leading 17-3. Wake Forest also leads UNC 17-3 at halftime. Also at halftime: Louisville leads Pittsburgh 14-0, Wisconsin leads Indiana 17-3, and Colorado leads Texas Tech 14-3.

Update 1:15 PM

I just saw an ad for the Big East called “someday…” and they went through a “someday” thing for each team, and one of them was “Someday, Syracuse and Pittsburgh will build on their great tradition” and at the end it said “someday is today.”

Um, sure. Syracuse is certainly building on their great tradition this year…

Update 1:03 PM

West Virginia fumbles the ball while going into the end zone, but recovers for the touchdown and now lead 14-0.

Also, Wisconsin leads Indiana 17-0 and Colorado leads Texas Tech 14-0.

12:50 PM

West Virginia strikes first against Rutgers and leads 7-0. Louisville is also deciding that they’ll play football again, jumping on Pittsburgh 14-0.

Kentucky, meanwhile, goes down early to Mississippi State 7-0.

I thought I should post this before some of the biggest games, you know, are played…

Boston College (7-0) at Virginia Tech (6-1) - Thursday, 7:30 PM

This is probably the game of the week as both of these teams are still legitimately in the national title hunt.  The the AP #2 team in the nation has lost 3 weeks in a row (USC, California, South Florida), and that’s a streak that Boston College would like to end.  This is easily the toughest game on BC’s schedule, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things get much easier after this as their other 4 remaining opponents have a combined 18-11 record.

Air Force (6-2) at New Mexico (5-2) - Thursday, 9:00 PM

The winner of this game moves into 2 by themselves in the Mountain-West, and then has to hope that Brigham Young trips up twice in conference.  For Air Force, a win means they move ever close to being ranked.

Boise State (6-1) at Fresno State (5-2) - Friday, 9:00 PM

The first of three games between the big three in the WAC.   The Loser is probably out of contention in the conference unless the three teams all split 1-1.  If Fresno State wins, that sets up a date with Hawaii from the conference title November 10th, while a Boise State win moves that game to Nov. 23.

West Virginia (6-1) at Rutgers (5-2) - 12:00 PM

This is a very important game in the Big East as the loser will pick up their 2nd conference loss, probably eliminating them from the conference title race.  This game is probably more important to West Virginia, however, as they’re still in the national title hunt, plus they need help in the BCS Computers, and a win over Rutgers would help with that

Southern Cal (6-1) at Oregon (6-1) - 3:00 PM

This is the other “game of the week” of the week, and it’s probably lucky that it’s being played in Oregon rather than Los Angeles this week.  This game also features two teams in the national title hunt.  This could basically be considered a playoff game with the winner probably having to play Arizona State for the conference title and a chance to possible play in the title game.

Florida (5-2) at Georgia (5-2) - 3:30 PM

This game suddenly has new importance as Florida once again controls their own destiny in the SEC East.  However, Georgia can perhaps permanently put away Florida’s hopes of playing in the SEC title game with another conference loss.  However, for Georgia to play in that game, they need to win, and they still need help.  A loss all but mathematically eliminates the Bulldogs.

South Florida (6-1) at Connecticut (6-1) - 3:30 PM

Connecticut is the only 1-loss team who is still unranked, and they’re looking for some respect.  They can pick up a lot if they can beat the Bulls.  As I noted, the AP #2 team has lost each of the past 3 weeks, with South Florida being the latest.  However, that team also usually had trouble the following week as well, with USC just edging Arizona, and California losing to UCLA.  South Florida still has marginal national title hopes, and they cannot afford another loss if they want to keep those, or conference title hopes, alive.

Kansas (7-0) at Texas A&M (6-2) - 7:00 PM

One of the biggest disses on Kansas is that they really haven’t played anyone outside of Kansas State (though the computers tend to disagree, ranking Kansas 7th), and Kansas can eliminate that talk with a win over Texas A&M to show just how real they are.  A loss by Kansas also puts the Big 12 North back into play for Kansas State and Colorado.

South Carolina (6-2) at Tennessee (4-3) - 7:45 PM

This was supposed to pretty much be THE game to set up who had a leg up in the SEC East title race, until both teams blew their games last week, sending them into a 5-way tie in the division.  Along with the Georgia/Florida game, this one will help un-muddy the mess.  If Florida wins their game, they would prefer a Tennessee win since they’ve already beaten them.  Otherwise, it sets up a showdown with South Carolina on Nov. 10th.  Meanwhile, Tennessee hopes Georgia wins the other game.

Ohio State (8-0) at Penn State (6-2) - 8:00 PM

This will probably be Ohio State’s toughest game before having to play at Michigan in their season finale (though they still have 5-3 Illinois and 6-2 Wisconsin left too).  With Penn State 2 games out of the conference lead, they are probably out of the conference title race, though a win over Ohio State couldn’t hurt.

California (5-2) at Arizona State (7-0) - 10:00 PM 

This is the first of four games in Arizona State’s death stretch (with Oregon, UCLA, and USC all coming up in the next 4 weeks too).  California is going to desperately be looking to avoid 3 straight losses, less they go from in-line-to-be-#1 to out of the rankings in 3 weeks.  In the meantime, we get to see how for real Arizona State really is.

Update 5:53 PM

Return of the Spartans?  Michigan State puts up another touchdown and it’s suddenly 24-14 in Columbus.

Update 5:50 PM

Return of the Wildcats? They score a touchdown and get back to within 28-17.

Michigan State finally gets on the board, but still trails Ohio State 24-7.

Update 5:43 PM

Some halftime stats for you:

Total yards: Syracuse 297, Buffalo 180
Passing: Syracuse is 9 for 16 for 170 yards; Buffalo is 14 for 17 for 128 yards.
Rushing: Syracuse 127 yards, Buffalo 52 yards

Update 5:39 PM

Florida is rolling over Kentucky now as they go up 28-10. Also, UCLA takes the lead on California again 20-14.

Meanwhile, Ohio State piles on another touchdown to lead Michigan State 24-0.

Update 5:35 PM

Syracuse picks up another touchdown on a 11 yard touchdown pass, and suddenly Syracuse is up 17-3 just before halftime.

Ball State defeats Western Michigan 27-23.

Update 5:29 PM

Syracuse picks up a fumble on Buffalo’s kickoff return and get it on the Buffalo 26.

In finals: Air Force defeats Wyoming 20-12 while time finally runs out Nebraska as they fall to Texas A&M 36-14.

Update 5:26 PM

Syracuse completes a 99 yard drive with a touchdown and goes up 10-3 against Buffalo.

Update 5:22 PM

Once I say that, Syracuse gets a huge pass and gets into Buffalo territory for at least the 3rd time today.

Update 5:21 PM

Syracuse gets a nice run to get a first down and get from under the shadow of their own goal posts, but the play comes back for holding. Penalties are killing both of these teams today.

Update 5:17 PM

Buffalo drives into Orange territory, but the drive stalls and they have to punt. However, the Bulls down the punt at the 1.

Texas A&M puts the final nail in the coffin against Nebraska, going up 36-14 with 4 and a half to go.

Arkansas defeats Mississippi 44-8.

Update 5:04 PM

Syracuse marches to inside the Syracuse 20, then throws an interception in the endzone. Neither team wants to score in this game it seems.

Update 5:02 PM

Florida extends their lead on Kentucky to 21-10 just before halftime.

Update 5:01 PM

Just reported that Brinkley will not return in the game after a 6 rushes for 40 yards game.

Elsewhere, USC puts up 7 more against the Irish and now leads Notre Dame 14-0.

Update 4:56 PM

Buffalo gets inside the Syracuse 20, but gets a personal foul penalty and Buffalo has to punt.

Update 4:50 PM

End of the 1st quarter in Syracuse, tied at 3.

UCLA kicks a field goal to pull to 14-13 with Cal. Texas Tech finally gets on the board, but still trails Missouri 10-7.

Another final: Western Kentucky 56, Indiana State 7.

Update 4:46 PM

Kentucky kicks a field goal to pull within 14-10 of Florida with 2:38 left in the 1st half.

Update 4:44 PM

Syracuse finally able to respond as they march down the field and get a field goal to tie the game at 3. Unfortunately, Brinkley injured his ankle on the drive.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M puts up another TD on Nebraska and goes up 30-14.

Update 4:36

Florida State takes the lead over Miami 17-14 in the 2nd quarter. Cal also now leads UCLA 14-10 (it was actually UCLA that was ahead 10-7 before).

Update 4:33 PM

Brinkley gets another good run to give the Orange some breathing room out to the 26.

Update 4:30 PM

Buffalo can’t get out from under their own endzone and has to punt, but, a big punt, a Syracuse fumble on the punt catch, and a penalty pushes Syracuse back to their own 11. From the Buffalo 10 to the Syracuse 11. Syracuse just blew a chance to get great field position.

Update 4:23 PM

Syracuse moves down to the Buffalo 34, but a false start on a would-be 4th and 5 that Syracuse was going to go for forces the Orange to punt. However, Syracuse downs the ball at the 2 yard line.

Update 4:21

Meanwhile, Texas A&M scores again and extends their lead over Nebraska to 23-14. Florida State also draws closer to Miami, pulling to within 14-10. Cal leads UCLA 10-7, USC takes a 7-0 lead over Notre Dame, and Ohio State extends their lead over Michigan State 17-0.

Update 4:16 PM

Miami leads in the battle of Florida over Florida State 14-3. Meanwhile, Missouri leads Texas Tech in a Big 12 tussle 10-0.

Update 4:14 PM

Florida takes their first lead on Kentucky on a 66 yard touchdown pass, going up 14-7.

Update 4:12 PM

Buffalo strikes first, kicking a 31 yard field goal and going up 3-0.

In finals, Wake Forest defeats Navy 44-24.

Update 4:10 PM

Kentucky misses a field goal, and they remain tied with Florida at 7. Meanwhile, Ohio State jumps out to a good start against Michigan State, leading 10-0.

Update 4:08 PM

Texas pulls away from Baylor in the 4th quarter to win 31-10.

Meanwhile, Buffalo is already driving in their first drive against the Orange.

Update 4:04 PM

Buffalo gets the ball first. Syracuse actually wearing blue shirts at home this time.

Update 4:02 PM

Alabama takes over the game in the 2nd half and dumps Tennessee 41-17. This means the winner of the Kentucky/Florida game pretty much controls their own destiny for the SEC East title.

4:01 PM

This thread is going to largely going to be a live thread for the Syracuse vs. Buffalo game, but I’ll also keep updating updates of other games, especially the Florida vs. Kentucky game.