• Four plays, 59 yards (1:36)
• Three plays, 78 yards (0:55)
• One play, 25 yards (0:08)
• Three plays, 55 yards (1:03)
• Two plays, 74 yards (0:27)
• Two plays, 11 yards (0:11)
• Seven plays, 65 yards (3:07)

Interestingly, the Broncos' offense seemed to fare worse the more time it spent on the field. Its two longest drives (14 and eight plays) resulted in zero points.

More interestingly: Boise's ascension to No. 5 in the AP and coaches polls this week is the highest for any non-BCS team since the BCS' 1998 inception. In fact, no such team has finished higher than sixth in the final BCS standings. As I wrote in last week's Mailbag, it will be interesting to see if and when the Broncos hit a ceiling, seeing as they now stand only three spots from No. 2 with 10 more weeks of polls remaining.

Danny Hope: Don't trust him with your watch

If Notre Dame, now 3-1, winds up reaching the BCS promised land, affording Charlie Weis many more years of his $4 million salary, he should personally cut a check to his Purdue counterpart, who committed one of the all-time clock management blunders Saturday night.

With the Boilers leading 21-17, 37 seconds remaining and Notre Dame out of timeouts, Irish running back Robert Hughes was stopped at the Purdue two-yard line on second-and-goal. Weis was fully planning to have quarterback Jimmy Clausen spike the ball to stop the clock -- but Hope did it for them. He called time out, preserving third down for the Irish.

"That helped us out a little bit right there," Weis said.

You think? Following an incompletion, Clausen hit tight end Kyle Rudolph on fourth-and-goal for the game-winning score. Season saved, crisis averted.

"I just wanted to have enough time to run a couple of plays [after Notre Dame scored]," said Hope, apparently not a huge believer in his defense. "If I looked at the situation again maybe it wasn't a great idea."

Bill Lynch: This gum was stale, anyway

You could watch the replay of Michigan's controversial, game-saving interception against Indiana a million times and still not be certain whether officials made the right call. But at least if you do that, you'd get to watch Indiana's steamed coach abruptly hurl the nearest object he could find: the chewing gum in his mouth. (Fast forward to 1:36.)

One man's not-so lofty opinion of Miami

Generally speaking, you should probably wait until a week after your team's game to mock the opponent. This Oklahoma fan, however, was all too eager to offer his thoughts about the Hurricanes' 31-7 loss at Virginia Tech.

Scenes from a sports bar

About once or twice a season, I like to go mingle with my fellow Northwestern alumni at Blondie's, the fabled Upper West Side establishment where New York City Wildcats fans (yes, they exist) gather on Saturdays. Sadly, the faithful went home disappointed following a 35-24 loss to Minnesota, but not before engaging in an appropriately nerdy, yet brilliant ritual.

In past years, the Blondie's contingent celebrated touchdowns by singing the school's fight song, downing purple shots and lifting someone in the air (in past years, a girl; this year, a baby) for each point on the scoreboard. They're still doing all those things -- but with an added twist. Whenever the score comes on a touchdown pass by quarterback Mike Kafka, one of the ringleaders at the bar ... reads a passage from Kafka.

There were several Florida State fans present at the same time watching their game. The only thing I saw them reading was the beer list.

Looking ahead

Mini-previews for three of this week's big games:

• Oklahoma at Miami, Saturday (8 p.m. ET): Oh, how big this game would have been had the 'Canes not gone belly up in Blacksburg. Still, this one will spark much national curiosity -- particularly if a certain decorated quarterback's shoulder heals in time -- and the winner could launch itself back into BCS consideration.

• USC at Cal, Saturday (8 p.m. ET): Oh, how big this game would have been had both teams not gone belly up the past two weeks. Still, nobody in the Pac-10 is foolish enough to write off the Trojans' eight-peat chances, which means a win here will be critical for them. A Bears win, meanwhile, would erase that Oregon memory real quick.

• LSU at Georgia, Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET): How many more nerve-wracking finishes can the Dawgs take? All four of their games have been decided in the final minutes, if not the final second. LSU, meanwhile, is coming off its own heart-stopping ending in Starkville. One of you, please, win 45-14, for your fans' sakes.