In a battle of 3 vs. 4, Florida State clobbered rival Florida 30-7 on Saturday, likely propelling the 'Noles ahead of No. 2 Miami in the BCS rankings. This despite losing to Miami earlier in the season.
The Hurricanes, for their part, shut out Syracuse 26-0, but it still might not be enough to counter the torrid Seminoles.
Elsewhere on a busy week of rivalry showdowns, Oregon State handled Oregon to capture the Civil War, though Washington will capture the Rose Bowl bid after dismantling Washington State. The Huskies' Pasadena opponent will be Purdue, which emerges from a three-way tie for the Big Ten title after topping Indiana.
Michigan continued its recent dominance of rival Ohio State to earn its share of the prize, along with Northwestern, which defeated Illinois. Clemson topped South Carolina on a last-second field goal, Auburn blanked Alabama in the Iron Bowl and Arkansas stunned Mississippi State in overtime.
| Week 13 Recaps |
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| (1) Oklahoma 27, Texas Tech 13 |
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17.7: Points under their season average for the Sooners.
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| Player of the Game |
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Josh Heupel, QB, Oklahoma. Hard to believe a 24 of 38 day with 248 yards and a TD is considered his worst game of the year. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Texas Tech did as expected, running an exact duplicate of the Sooners' offense with some success. In fact, Kliff Kingsbury (41 of 61, 295 yards) and the Raiders controlled the ball and rolled up some nice yardage -- they just couldn't get the ball in the end zone enough. In the meantime, Oklahoma got sloppy with two Heupel interceptions, a key fumble and 11 penalties and almost gave this one away. It wasn't over until Heupel led a clock-chewing TD drive late in the fourth quarter.
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| (2) Miami 26, Syracuse 0 |
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1 of 13: Syracuse's third-down conversion rate.
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James Jackson, RB, Miami. Went over 100 yards rushing and scored a pair of touchdowns. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Miami might have wanted to put a few more points on the board for BCS purposes, but it's hard to argue with the efficiency of a victory like this. The Hurricanes' offense was balanced as usual, with Ken Dorsey moving the ball well through the air and Jackson on the ground. Meanwhile, the 'Canes didn't allow the Orangemen any breathing room on offense, picking off two passes and holding Syracuse under 200 total yards.
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| (3) Florida State 30, (4) Florida 7 |
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0-5-1: Steve Spurrier's record against Florida State in Tallahassee.
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Chris Weinke, QB, Florida State. Shook off the flu to torch the Gators for 353 yards and three touchdowns.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Forget the pregame hype about this rivalry. The Seminoles are just too good. The outcome never seemed in doubt, despite an uncharacteristic two interceptions from Weinke. Those mistakes were forgivable because of what Weinke did when he hit his own guys -- mostly Snoop Minnis, who was dazzling with eight catches for 189 yards and two TDs. The Gators stuck with one quarterback most of the time, but Jesse Palmer was ineffective. Rex Grossman came in late, but he too was stymied by the Seminole defense. And the Gators never found anything resembling a running game. The Seminoles needed to make a statement, and they did.
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| (8) Oregon State 23, (5) Oregon 13 |
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10: Victories this season for the Beavers, the most in the program's history. |
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Jake Cookus, DB, Oregon State. Made three of the Beavers' five interceptions. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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The Beavers simply took this one away from the Ducks. They harassed Oregon QB Joey Harrington into a horrific five-interception, one-fumble game, and that was enough for the Beavers even though they scored fewer than 30 points in a Pac-10 game for the first time this year. On the other side, Jonathan Smith was steady and collected, and Ken Simonton shook off a bad first half to make an impact in the second. It was the sweetest Civil War win yet for the Beavers, without a doubt.
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| (6) Washington 51, Washington State 3 |
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15: Penalties called on Washington State, for 113 yards.
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Rich Alexis, RB, Washington. Freshman continued to impress with 11 carries for 138 yards and a TD. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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The Huskies knew early in this one that they controlled their own Rose Bowl destiny, and they didn't leave much question what the outcome would be. Washington State has had some good performances this year, but the Cougars never got out of the blocks in this one. Marques Tuiasosopo distributed the ball to all of the Huskies' many weapons, as six different players reached the end zone for Washington.
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| (9) Kansas State 28, Missouri 24 |
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25: Points for Kansas State in the second quarter, rallying from a 14-0 deficit early.
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Josh Scobey, RB, Kansas State. Didn't have huge yardage numbers, but pounded in two TDs when the Wildcats needed them in the first half. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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If this was Larry Smith's last stand with Mizzou, he went out with a bang. Darius Outlaw and Co. came out hot, but simply couldn't sustain the momentum for the rest of the game. The Tigers limited the effectiveness of Jonathan Beasley on the ground and through the air, but the Wildcats had too many weapons and were able to put enough points on the board to win. Games like this illustrate how valuable Jamie Rheem is to K-State.
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| (11) Notre Dame 45, Rutgers 17 |
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5: Turnovers for Rutgers. |
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Matt LoVecchio, QB, Notre Dame. New Jersey native completed 13 of 19 passes for 161 yards and 2 TDs. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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The Scarlet Knights managed to keep it close temporarily for lame-duck coach Terry Shea, but the Irish eventually poured it on. LoVecchio enjoyed a productive return to the Garden State, where Notre Dame is now 12-0 all-time. The big news for the Irish, of course, is that they are a win away from being able to qualify for a BCS slot. They can get it next week against USC.
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| (19) Michigan 38, (12) Ohio State 26 |
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2-10-1: John Cooper's record against Michigan at OSU.
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Drew Henson, QB, Michigan. Directed the offense well, completing 14 of 25 passes for 303 yards and 3 TDs, then ran for the clinching score. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Michigan's defense was the big concern coming into the game, but the Wolverines came through on that front -- even scoring a TD on an interception return in the third quarter. Despite an off day on the ground from Anthony Thomas, the Wolverines got enough from Henson and David Terrell to keep the Buckeyes playing catch-up all day. The final blow, Henson's naked bootleg on fourth-and-1, was a brilliant call by Lloyd Carr that was perfectly executed ... just the kind of play that Ohio State never can seem to make against the Wolverines.
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| Arkansas 17, (13) Mississippi State 10 (OT) |
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33.3: Completion percentage for Arkansas' two QBs, Robby Hampton and Zak Clark.
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Brandon Holmes, RB, Arkansas. Came on strong in the second half to score the tying and winning TDs.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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This wasn't supposed to happen. Arkansas has been feeble offensively since Cedric Cobbs was hurt, and its two QBs were horrible in this one, but somehow the Hogs did just enough to stun the Bulldogs in Starkville. Give credit to Holmes, who got the yards Arkansas needed after Fred Talley went down with an injury. This result will take some air out of next week's Egg Bowl showdown with Ole Miss, but it will also help clear up the messy SEC West race.
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| (15) TCU 47, UTEP 14 |
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44: Unanswered points by TCU after watching UTEP score the first TD of the game.
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LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, TCU. An emphatic 34 carries for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Perhaps the Miners can take solace in the fact that they held Tomlinson to about 100 fewer yards than he tallied against them last season. Or, maybe not. This was UTEP's game to prove it was for real, but it turned into a nightmare in Fort Worth. UTEP simply could not stop Tomlinson, and the Miners got absolutely nothing from their own ground game, leaving it all to QB Rocky Perez, who couldn't pass his team out of trouble.
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| (16) Clemson 16, (25) South Carolina 13 |
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3: Interceptions in the third quarter for South Carolina QB Phil Petty.
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Rod Gardner, WR, Clemson. Partially for his 4-catch, 107-yard day; partially for pushing off so effectively on the key catch. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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This one really, really hurt for the Gamecocks. They thought they had their miracle when Thomas Hill fell on Derek Watson's fumble in the end zone to take the lead with a minute left, but then they watched their defense surrender a big play at the end. Woodrow Dantzler wasn't nearly as sharp as he can be, but he made a heck of a throw to Gardner to set up the game-winning field goal by Aaron Hunt.
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| (17) Purdue 41, Indiana 13 |
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34: Years since Purdue's last Rose Bowl appearance.
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Montrell Lowe, RB, Purdue. Carried 38 times for a career-high 208 yards and four touchdowns.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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The Boilermakers knew what they had to do going into this one, and they didn't waste any time. Drew Brees and Lowe simply dominated the Hoosiers all day long, and a Rose Bowl berth is Purdue's reward. Antwaan Randle El had his typical game, rushing for 112 yards, but as has been the case most of his career, he had basically no help on offense.
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| (18) Auburn 9, Alabama 0 |
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23: Rushing yards for Alabama.
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Damon Duval, K, Auburn. He monopolized the offense. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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When Auburn did the smart thing -- giving the ball to big Rudi Johnson over and over again -- the Tigers were fine. The ball control he provides (130 yards) makes a big difference for the Tigers, who survived a bad day from Ben Leard. Leard made some questionable decisions that could have cost Auburn dearly, but Alabama was so inept on offense that it didn't really matter. Despite the ugliness, all the Tigers care about is that they were able to clinch a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
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| (20) Georgia Tech 35, Maryland 22 |
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600 All-time wins for Georgia Tech, in 108 years of football.
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George Godsey, QB, Georgia Tech. Merely completed 19 of 26 passes for 354 yards, including two TDs, and ran for another score. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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This one didn't figure to be much of a challenge for the Jackets, who have been as hot as any team in the ACC in recent weeks. Tech shut down Maryland's rushing offense, spoiling LaMont Jordan's final college game by holding him under 50 yards on the ground and keeping him out of the end zone. Meanwhile, Godsey continues to amaze with his efficiency, and the Jackets' offense keeps putting up impressive numbers behind Godsey, RB Joe Burns (109 yards rushing) and receivers Kelly Campbell (two TDs) and Kerry Watkins (5 catches, 147 yards).
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| (22) Georgia 32, Mississippi 14 |
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7: Consecutive games with at least two interceptions for the Georgia defense.
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Musa Smith, RB, Georgia. The true freshman became the first Georgia back this year to break the century mark, finishing with 144 yards. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Early on, it looked as if Georgia's recent tailspin would continue. But after falling into a 14-0 hole, the Bulldogs righted themselves and ripped off 32 unanswered points to put the game away. Georgia did its offensive damage by discovering a running attack in the 10th game of the season, as Smith finally responded when given a chance. Defensively, the Bulldogs rendered Romaro Miller completely ineffective, and a hobbled Deuce McAllister didn't have an impact on the game.
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| (23) Northwestern 61, Illinois 23 |
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56: Years since the Wildcats scored this many points -- back to a 62-0 win over DePauw in 1944.
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Damien Anderson, RB, Northwestern. Bullied his way to 179 yards and four TDs on 39 carries, setting the school single-season rushing record. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Illinois was doomed without QB Kurt Kittner, so the Wildcats spent most of the game either breaking school records or scoreboard-watching. Anderson broke Darnell Autry's marks for yards and touchdowns, while Zak Kustok topped Steve Schnur's records for passing TDs and total offense. The Wildcats did what they had to do, and the outcome certainly wasn't surprising.
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| Cincinnati 27, (24) Southern Miss 24 |
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5: Turnovers for Southern Miss in the second half.
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| Player of the Game |
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Jonathon Ruffin, K, Cincinnati. Mr. Reliable had two fourth-quarter field goals, including the game-winner with 45 seconds left.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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That whooshing sound you hear is Jeff Bower's status as a hot coaching prospect dropping rapidly. The Golden Eagles continued their disappointing campaign with this collapse to the Bearcats, taking a 24-7 lead into the fourth quarter and standing by as Cincy put up 20 unanswered points to win. Deontey Kenner wasn't terribly efficient for the Bearcats, but his two fourth-quarter TD passes showed what he can do under pressure.
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