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.

Update 3:17 AM

Hawaii wins 35-28 and almost certainly earns a bid to the Sugar Bowl.

Update 3:08 AM

Aloha New Orleans? Hawaii takes a 35-28 lead on Washington with 44 seconds to go.

Update 2:49 AM

Reports of Hawaii’s death have been greatly exaggerated. They just tied Washington at 28 with 8:05 to go in the game.

Update 12:53 AM

It doesn’t look like the BCS is going to have to worry about where to put Hawaii. Washington will take care of the problem for them. The Huskies lead the Warriors 21-7 in the middle of the 2nd quarter.

Update 11:45 PM

Oklahoma wins the Big 12 Championship over #1 Missouri 38-17.

Update 11:38 PM

Oklahoma just put a cherry on top of the cake, going up 38-17 after kicking a field goal with only 3:42 to go.

Update 11:17 PM

Just do it. Seriously. Put Hawaii in the title game. If you can’t decide on which 2-loss team should play Ohio State, then either put Kansas, who is the only other 1-loss team, or stick in Hawaii, the only remaining undefeated team. Will anyone dare rank Hawaii #1 tomorrow if they win tonight?

Update 11:15 PM

Barring an amazing comeback by the Tigers, Oklahoma is going to cap the third top-two-double of the season as they go up on Missouri 35-17.

Update 11:10 PM

If you can believe it, before this weekend, the last time the #1 and #2 teams lost on the same day (and presumably the same weekend) was back on September 21, 1996. If the Oklahoma score holds up, #1 and #2 will have lost on the same day twice this season, and on the same weekend 3 times this season. The only good thing about the BCS title game is that both the #1 and #2 teams can’t lose - unless they aren’t actually playing (can anyone say LSU/USC?).

Update 11:01 PM

Missouri has to kick yet another field goal and it’s 28-17 Oklahoma with 14:51 to go.

Update 10:58 PM

Ohio State is going to the national title game. Pittsburgh defeats West Virginia 13-9. This is #13. The 13th top-5 teams who has lost to an unranked opponent this year.

Update 10:50 PM

West Virginia is able to get down to the Pitt 21, but is forced into a 4th and 17 and cannot convert. Pitt takes over with under two minutes to go.

Update 10:47 PM

Missouri is in deep trouble now as Oklahoma takes a two touchdown lead on them 28-14.

Update 10:40 PM

Oklahoma retakes the lead in the Big 12 Championship over Missouri 21-14.

Update 10:34 PM

Stanford defeats California 20-13.

Update 10:31 PM

Pittsburgh adds a field goal to take a 13-7 lead on West Virginia with only 6:17 to go.

Finals:

Florida International 38, North Texas 19

Update 10:11 PM

Richmond defeats Wofford 21-10 and they’ll play at Appalachian State in the I-AA semifinals next week.

Also, Brigham Young defeats San Diego State 48-27.

Update 9:51 PM

Missouri finally gets into the endzone with 14 seconds to go in the 1st half. It’s now 14-14 after Missouri converts a 2-point conversion..

Update 9:47 PM

Richmond is now up on Wofford 21-10 with 8:40 to go.

Update 9:43 PM

We may definitely be heading towards and Ohio State vs. Georgia championship game. Pittsburgh takes a 10-7 lead on West Virginia.

Update 9:37 PM

Oklahoma scores another touchdown as they go up on #1 Missouri 14-6.

Meanwhile, Richmond retakes the lead on Wofford 14-10 with 11:55 to go.

Update 9:17 PM

Wofford goes up on Richmond 10-7 in the 3rd quarter.

Update 9:15 PM

Pittsburgh gets on the board, and is now down West Virginia 7-3. Missouri is forced to kick a 2nd field goal, but it’s still 7-6 Oklahoma.

Update 9:02 PM

West Virginia finally gets on the board to go ahead of Pittsburgh 7-0 late in the 1st half.

Update 9:01 PM

Oklahoma goes ahead of Missouri with a touchdown. They’re now up 7-3 in the Big 12 Championship game.

Update 8:51 PM

Missouri strikes first as they kick a field goal to go up 3-0 on Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Arizona is up on Arizona State 7-0.

Update 8:31 PM

I’m sure this isn’t how West Vision envisioned their last game of the season - after the 1st quarter they’re scoreless with Pittsburgh.

Update 8:28 PM

Oregon State finishes off Oregon 38-31 in overtime.

Update 8:24 PM

Oregon/Oregon State doesn’t want to end. They went into overtime tied at 28. They now head into double-overtime tied at 31.

Update 8:11 PM

Southern California defeats UCLA 24-7, and wins the Pac 10. USC is going to the Rose Bowl against Ohio State or Illinios.

Meanwhile, Richmond goes ahead of Wofford 7-3.

Update 8:01 PM

Wofford goes up on Richmond 3-0 in the 2nd quarter.

Update 7:43 PM

Tennessee (specifically Ainge) made too many mistakes down the stretch as LSU wins the SEC Championship 21-14.

Update 7:37 PM

Tennessee tries to come back and gets down to the LSU 15, but Ainge throws an interceptions with only 2:42 to go.

7:19 PM

Tennessee turns the ball over for the first time in the game, and it’s a costly one as LSU returns it for a touchdown to take a 21-14 lead on the Volunteers with 9:54 to go in the SEC Championship Game.

Also, Nevada defeats Louisiana Tech 49-10.

Update 6:44 PM

Southern Illinois defeats Massachusetts 34-27 and will get Delaware at home next week in the I-AA semifinals.

Update 6:39 PM

Tennessee recovers only the 3rd lost fumble all year by LSU and then drives down the field to score a touchdown and retakes the lead 14-13 nearing the end of the 3rd quarter.

Update 6:35 PM

UMass is trying to come back, cutting Southern Illinois’ lead to 34-27, but there’s only 2:20 to go in that game. The winner will play Delaware in the semifinals.

Update 6:22 PM

Tennessee is able to finally put a drive together, but misses the field goal, so it’s still 13-7 LSU in the SEC Championship.

Update 6:11 PM

Tennessee leaves their defense in the locker room during halftime apparently as LSU flies down the field to score a touchdown and goes up 13-7.

Update 6:02 PM

Also, Florida Atlantic defeats Troy 38-32 as the owls pull off the upset to win the Sun Belt conference and earns a bid to the New Orleans Bowl.

Update 5:51 PM

We have our final Division II and III finals today:

In the Division II quarterfinals, Northwest Missouri State defeats Chadron State 26-13, while in the Division III quarterfinals, Bethel (MN) defeats Central College 27-13.

The Division II semifinals are now set as two-time defending champion Grand Valley State vs. Northwest Missouri State, whom GVSU has defeated in each of the last two national championship games, and Valdosta State vs. California (PA)

The Division III semifinals are set as Mt. Union vs. Bethel (MN) and Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Update 5:43 PM

Delaware defeats Northern Iowa 39-27.

Update 5:38 PM

LSU ends a rather sloppily played half offensively for both teams so far by missing a field goal, and Tennessee goes into halftime ahead 7-6.

Meanwhile, Delaware probably just put away Northern Iowa, scoring another touchdown and going up 39-27 with just 41 seconds to go.

Update 5:27 PM

Northern Iowa says not so fast. They cut their lead against Delaware to 32-27 with 4:30 to go.

Update 5:24 PM

We had 3 undefeated I-AA teams going into the playoffs. It looks like none of them will make the semifinals as Delaware is now up on Northern Iowa 32-20 with only 5:40 to go.

Update 5:17 PM

Tennessee finally forces LSU to punt.

Update 5:09 PM

Tennessee once again has to punt. Their 3rd punt of the game. LSU has not punted yet. Yet Tennessee still leads 7-6.

Update 5:03 PM

LSU drives down the field again, but this time they go for it on 4th down and fail to pick it up for only the 3rd time this year.

Update 5:02 PM

Delaware is now up on Northern Iowa 29-20 heading into the 4th quarter. Meanwhile, Southern Illinois extends their lead on Massachusetts 27- 13

Update 5:01 PM

Southern Cal strikes first and they lead UCLA 7-0.

Update 4:46 PM

Valdosta State defeats North Alabama in the Division II quarterfinals 37-23.

Update 4:44 PM

Tennessee gets stop and has to punt. LSU once again drives down the field, but like in their game against Arkansas, fail to get it into the end zone. They stick another field goal on the board and it’s 7-6 Tennessee.

Update 4:40 PM

Delaware retakes the lead on Northern Iowa with a field goal, going up 22-20. Meanwhile, Massachusetts is trying to crawl back in their game, now only down to Southern Illinois 20-13.

Update 4:38 PM

Virginia Tech is ACC Champions, defeating Boston College 30-16. Meanwhile, Hawaii celebrates as BC should fall below them, assuming Hawaii wins tonight.

Update 4:35 PM

Virginia Tech takes care of business this time, picking off Matt Ryan, and taking it to the endzone to take a 30-16 lead.

Update 4:31 PM

Boston College holds Virginia Tech to a 3-and-out, so they get the ball back on the Boston College 35 yard line with only 34 seconds to go, and no time outs. Will we see another BC comeback?

Meanwhile, Northern Iowa retakes the lead on Delaware 20-19 in the 3rd quarter.

Update 4:28 PM

LSU marches down the field, but then Tennessee’s defense stiffens and holds LSU to only a field goal. It’s 7-3 Tennessee in the SEC Championship game.

Update 4:25 PM

Boston College tries another comeback against Virginia Tech, but this time appears to come back short, failing on a 4th down play inside the Tech 15. Virginia Tech takes over with only 2:25 to go.

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.

Seriously, someone look for Harry Potter or something.  There is a curse on the #2 ranking this year.  In 7 weeks, the AP #2 team has lost 5 times:

Week 6: #2 Southern Cal 23, Stanford 24
Week 7: #2 California 28, Oregon State 31
Week 8: #2 South Florida 27, Rutgers 30
Week 10: #2 Boston College 17, Florida State 27
Week 12: #2 Oregon 24, Arizona 34

In the 7 other weeks, LSU won six times as the #2 team - in two different stints, the first being weeks 1 through 5, then in week 11 as well -  and Boston College won once, in week 9.  That’s right.  Six different teams have been #2 in 12 weeks.  LSU is 6-0 and the other 5 teams are a combined 1-5 as #2.

Assuming Kansas defeats Iowa State this weekend, they’ll take the #2 mantle just in time to roll into Kansas City to play red-hot Missouri.  And if Missouri wins that game, it’s likely they’ll roll into the Big 12 Championship game against….#2 Oklahoma (assuming Missouri doesn’t jump them in the polls).  Missouri may actually like that scenario.

Of course, if that occurs, it seems likely that they’ll play LSU in the national championship game - the only team not to lose as the #2 team this year - as the #2 team.

Oh, and don’t look now but the Oregon loss yesterday suddenly puts Arizona State back in the drivers seat for the Pac 10 title again.  However, if Southern Cal defeats Arizona State on Thanksgiving Day, Oregon, once again, is back in front, assuming they win their games.

Update 11:44 PM

Kansas finishes out Oklahoma State 43-28 and goes to 10-0.

Update 11:41 PM

Boston College has pulled off a South Florida, and loses their 2nd straight game after rising up to #2 in the rankings, losing to Maryland 42-35.

Also, Hawaii is now leading Fresno State 21-0.

Update 11:38 PM

Southern Cal defeats California 24-17.

Finals:

LSU 58, Louisiana Tech 10

Update 11:26 PM

Florida puts away South Carolina 51-31.

Update 11:12 PM

Kansas gives themselves some breathing room with another touchdown. The Jaykawks are now up on Oklahoma State 40-28. Southern Cal is now also up on California 24-17.

Meanwhile, Hawaii strikes quickly against Fresno State, going up 7-0 early.

Update 10:59 PM

Suddenly it’s a game again. Oklahoma State scores again and all of a sudden it’s only 33-28 Kansas.

Finals:

Central Florida 45, UAB 31

Update 10:48 PM

Perhaps it’s not over yet in Stillwater as Oklahoma State tries to come back, but is still down 33-21. Meanwhile, Maryland has pulled away from Boston College, leading 42-21.

Update 10:22 PM

Kansas starts rolling towards 10-0 and a possible BCS title game berth, going up 33-14 on Oklahoma State.

Finals:

Virginia 48, Miami 0

Update 10:12 PM

Florida goes up 34-17 on South Carolina, Kansas goes up on Oklahoma State 27-14, and Boston College and Maryland are tied at 20.

Finals:

Washington State 33, Stanford 17 (Stanford now bowl ineligible)
Oklahoma 52, Baylor 21
Tulane 34, UTEP 19

Update 9:40 PM

Forget any upset in Baton Rouge. LSU now leads Louisiana Tech 27-7.

Update 9:18 PM

Kansas retakes the lead themselves, going up 17-14 on Oklahoma State. USC also takes the lead on California 14-10.

Update 9:07 PM

Oklahoma State takes the lead on Kansas 14-10. Also, Maryland retakes the lead on Boston College 17-14, Cal retakes the lead on USC 10-7, and Florida extends their lead on South Carolina to 27-14.

Also, LSU tacks on a field goal on Louisiana Tech, but their lead is still only 13-7.

Update 8:52 PM

There isn’t an impossible Bayou upset brewing is there? Louisiana Tech closes to within 10-7 of LSU.

Update 8:50 PM

Maryland retakes the lead on Boston College 14-7 while Florida retakes the lead on South Carolina 20-14.

Update 8:42 PM

Oklahoma State drives down the field and ties Kansas at 7. USC has also come back to tie California at 7 in that game.

After their win over Michigan in week 1, this is the type of game we expected Appalachian State to have all season. They defeated Western Carolina today 79-35. However, it was Wofford who clinched the Southern Conference title today.

Update 8:37 PM

California goes up 7-0 on USC in the 1st quarter. Meanwhile, Virginia is absolutely blowing out Miami 31-0.

Update 8:31 PM

Kansas strikes first and takes a 7-0 lead on Oklahoma State

Update 8:30 PM

All of a sudden, South Carolina takes the lead on Florida 14-13. Also, Boston College ties Maryland at 7.

Update 8:26 PM

Maryland strikes first to take a 7-0 lead on Boston College.

Finals:

Troy 21, Western Kentucky 17

Update 8:18 PM

Well, Oklahoma made sure to get rid of the Baylor threat fast. They scored again before touchdown to make it 28-14. Also, Virginia is starting to rout Miami 24-0 early in the 2nd quarter.

Finals:

Louisiana Monroe 28, Grambling State 14

Update 8:11 PM

Oklahoma better keep their eye out on Baylor. The Bears just closed the gap to 21-14 just before halftime.

8:04 PM

As late games start, Virginia jumps out to a 14-0 lead on Miami in the Hurricane’s last game in the Orange Bowl. Also, Florida takes a 13-0 lead on South Carolina.

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 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 6:58 PM

Georgia finishes off Florida 42-30.  With that, the winner of the South Carolina/Tennessee game tonight will control their own destiny in the SEC East.

Update 6:54 PM

Texas finally takes the lead in Austin 21-15 over Nebraska with 7:23 to go.

Georgia also recovers a Florida fumble, crushing a Florida drive as they were threatening in the red zone.

It’s official: Connecticut 22, South Florida 15.

Update 6:51 PM

It’s all but officially over in Connecticut as UConn holds South Florida on 4th and goal to take over with 54 seconds left ahead 22-15, and South Florida has no time outs.

Finals:

East Carolina 41, UAB 6

Update 6:46 PM

Georgia starts putting nails in the coffin as they go up 42-30 on Florida with 3:54 to go.

Finals:

Arizona 48, Washington 41
Michigan 34, Minnesota 10
Tulsa 29, Southern Methodist 23

Update 6:32

Florida says “not so fast” to Georgia as they make the score 35-30 after missing a point conversion.

More Finals:

Eastern Michigan 19, Western Michigan 2

Update 6:22 PM

Georgia starts putting serious heat on Florida as they go up 35-24 on Florida with 11:03 to go in the game.

More Finals:

Louisiana Tech 31, Utah State 21

Update 6:08 PM

It’s over in Eugene, and USC can forget any hopes of climbing back into the title game. Oregon intercepts USC in a desperation final drive to end the game and the Ducks win 24-17.

Finals:

Memphis 28, Tulane 27

Update 5:54 PM

The Trojans are trying to come back, scoring a touchdown and closing to 24-17 of Oregon with 4:44 to go.

Update 5:47 pm

All of a sudden South Florida shows up. After the kickoff following the safety, South Florida goes 3 plays and 63 yards to get a touchdown and closes the gap to 16-9.

Meanwhile, Florida answers Georgia’s touchdown and closes their gap to 28-24.

Also, Nebraska takes a 17-3 lead on Texas.

Update 5:43 PM

Correction: It is South Florida who blocks the punt and gets the safety. 16-2 Connecticut

Finals:

Wyoming 29, UNLV 24

Update 5:40 PM

South Florida drives down to the Connecticut 4 hoping to finally get on the board, but UConn intercepts a pass in the endzone, and keeps their 16-0 lead in the middle of the 3rd quarter.

Also, Tebow is already effected with a bruised shoulder for Florida. Now, Harvin looks like he’s injured his arm. That is basically Florida’s entire offense both with injuries now. If Florida loses today, the road is cleared once again for South Carolina to win the SEC East. However, if they lose to Tennessee tonight and with Kentucky losing, Tennessee would once again be in the drivers seat.

Update 5:34 PM

The Gators are getting in trouble. Georgia comes out at halftime and quickly takes a 28-17 lead.

Update 5:29 PM

Duck and cover? Oregon takes a 24-10 lead on Southern Cal in Autzen Stadium in the 4th quarter.

Finals:

Missouri 42, Iowa State 28

Update 5:10 PM

Nebraska takes a 10-3 lead on Texas as they near halftime.

Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan leads Western Michigan 3-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning at halftime.

Mississippi State isn’t the only SEC team on the verge of bowl eligibility. Vanderbilt gets win #5 themselves, beating Miami (OH) 24-13. The SEC could get 11 bowl eligible teams. Of course, since they’ll have to all beat each other to do so, they may all be 6-6 or 7-5…

Other Finals:

Arkansas 58, Florida International 10

Update 5:03 PM

Southern Cal has now tied up Oregon at 10, halfway through the 3rd quarter.

Meanwhile, Michigan has come back to take the lead on Minnesota 13-10 at halftime.

Update 4:56 PM

Georgia goes up again nearing halftime, taking a 21-17 lead on Florida.

Update 4:40 PM

UConn goes up on South Florida 16-0.

Update 4:37 pm

Looking forward maybe? How embarrassing is this for Navy in their final game before they play Notre Dame. The Blue Hens of Delaware come in and defeat the Midshipmen 59-52.

Update 4:30 PM

UConn tries to show that they’re really for real, and they’re off to a good start over South Florida, leading 9-0 in the 2nd quarter.

Update 4:23 PM

Florida strikes back by picking off a Georgia pass for a touchdown to tie that game up at 14. Elsewhere, Oregon leads Southern Cal 10-3 at halftime and Minnesota leads Michigan 10-3 in the 2nd quarter.

Finals:

Central Michigan 41, Kent State 32

Update 4:05 PM

We might get 100 points put up in Jacksonville as Georgia responds quickly themselves, going up 14-7.

Update 3:58 PM

Florida strikes back fast, and ties the game at 7.

Also, Buffalo gets their 4th win of the season by defeating Akron 26-10.

Update 3:57 PM

Navy has now allowed 52 points to Delaware are they trail 52-42 late in the game.

Update 3:55 PM

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team have to kick from the 7 1/2 yard line, like Georgia just had to…

Update 3:51 PM

Georgia strikes first in Jacksonville and goes up 7-0 (after Georgia gets a great double-excessive celebration penalty on Georgia, who sent out the entire bench to celebrate their touchdown).

Update 3:46 PM

Mississippi State gets the first major upset of the day, defeating Kentucky 31-14.

3:42 PM

Colorado recovers the onsides kick and finishes off Texas Tech 31-26.