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Sooners complete perfect season; Irish headed to BCS

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Notre Dame's Matt LoVecchio threw for 142 yards and rushed for two touchdowns against USC. AP

By Marc Lancaster, CNNSI.com

Oklahoma wrapped up its perfect regular season on Saturday, but it wasn't easy. The Sooners had to stop in-state rival Oklahoma State on fourth and goal to preserve a 12-7 victory.

Never mind that the Cowboys were 3-7 and playing with a lame-duck coach. Anything can happen when rivals get together.

Just ask Texas and Texas A&M. Longhorns QB Chris Simms, known mostly for throwing costly interceptions in his brief stints this season, threw for nearly 400 yards as the Longhorns rejoiced after whipping the Aggies. Georgia Tech QB George Godsey felt the same way after leading the Yellow Jackets to its first three-game win streak in 27 years over rival Georgia.

Elsewhere, Miami made a last-ditch attempt to impress the BCS computers by clobbering Boston College, Nebraska survived a late Colorado rally for the second consecutive year and Notre Dame likely wrapped up a BCS bid by knocking off USC for its seventh consecutive win.

Week 14 Recaps
(1) Oklahoma 12, Oklahoma State 7
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	154: Passing yards for the Sooners, far and away a season-low.
Player of the Game
Quentin Griffin, RB, Oklahoma. With the passing game a bit off, he helped with clock management by rushing 21 times for 115 yards.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
Looking ahead, were you OU? The Sooners looked nothing like the No. 1 team in the country in nearly losing to the lowly Cowboys, who were trying to send lame-duck coach Bob Simmons out with a vivid memory. The fact that OSU had the chance to take a lead with three minutes left is frightening, but Aso Pogi and the Cowboys couldn't convert. Still, it was a gutty effort on their part and all the wake-up call the Sooners should need heading into the Big 12 title game next week.
(2) Miami 52, Boston College 6
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	178: Total yards for Santana Moss, who had two TD receptions and returned a punt 85 yards for a score.
Player of the Game
Ken Dorsey, QB, Miami. Threw for 252 yards and broke a school record with five touchdown passes.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
What, you expected something different? A blowout was anticipated from the start, and the Hurricanes delivered behind their quick-strike offense. Moss is finally getting back to the form that generated some preseason Heisman chatter, and Dorsey simply looks good. Boston College's offense couldn't do anything against the 'Cane defense -- again, surprising no one -- and that made for a long, long day.
(6) Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 21
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	69.6: Completion percentage for Michael Vick, who isn't always known for his throwing accuracy.
Player of the Game
Lee Suggs, RB, Virginia Tech. Carried for 116 yards while rushing for three TDs and catching a touchdown pass.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
Vick came back, but Suggs certainly stole the show for the Hokies...think of where they'd be without their ever-reliable runner. The Cavs hung around for a while, but as has been the case much of the season, they didn't have the defense to slow an offense like Tech's. Virginia couldn't move the ball after the first quarter, and from there on it was all Vick and Suggs.
(9) Nebraska 34, Colorado 32
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	34:20: Time of possession for Colorado, to Nebraska's 25:40, but it still wasn't enough.
Player of the Game
Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska. Ran for 123 yards and 3 TDs, but more importantly showed poise while passing on the winning drive.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
This one was just as entertaining in the fourth quarter as last year's slugfest, which was decided in overtime. It wouldn't have been close if Colorado's Craig Ochs hadn't pulled himself together in the second half to become a real factor. Cortlen Johnson had a brilliant game for the Buffs, but it was Ochs who led what appeared to be the winning drive, complete with a gutsy two-point conversion call that worked. But wouldn't you know it, shaky passer Crouch actually directed the final drive with his arm, and Josh Brown's kick was enough for the Huskers.
(11) Notre Dame 38, USC 21
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	2: Number of blocked punts and interceptions turned into TDs by Notre Dame.
Player of the Game
Matt LoVecchio, QB, Notre Dame. The Irish have found their quarterback. LoVecchio ran for a pair of TDs and avoided mistakes in this one.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
Notre Dame knew what it had to do going into this one, and the Irish did just that. Their victory should put them in the Fiesta Bowl -- a nice statement by Bob Davie, who entered this season on the hottest seat in the country. Speaking of embattled coaches, this was probably Paul Hackett's last game at the helm of the Trojan program. USC has underachieved all year, and things were typically ugly in this game. They pulled within a TD in the fourth quarter, but couldn't stop the Irish rushing attack.
(12) Texas 43, (22) Texas A&M 17
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	4: Turnovers by Texas A&M, to none by the Longhorns.
Player of the Game
Chris Simms, QB, Texas. The kid threw for 383 yards and three touchdowns in a strong performance.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
Simms finally lived up to his billing on a national stage, slicing apart the A&M defense most of the afternoon to lead his team to a much-needed win. He has had his troubles this year, but those struggles seemed left behind in this one, as he didn't turn the ball over and ran the offense well. Hodges Mitchell added 91 yards on the ground to help out, but it wasn't really needed for once. For A&M, Mark Farris had a nice game (25 of 41), but he was picked off twice and couldn't engineer those long drives. Those turnovers really hurt the Aggies in the end.
(13) TCU 62, SMU 7
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	8: Number of Division I-A running backs to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, with LaDainian Tomlinson joining their ranks early in his 174-yard performance.
Player of the Game
Casey Printers, QB, TCU. The overlooked Horned Frog was 13 of 19 passing for 251 yards and 4 TDs, and carried 7 times for 90 yards and a TD.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
The Horned Frogs had this one in the bag by halftime -- if not at the opening kickoff. SMU's feeble defense stood no chance against Tomlinson and Co., who sliced and diced their way through the Mustangs from the very beginning. Even the special teams got into the act, with LaTarence Dunbar's 100-yard kickoff return TD in the fourth quarter adding insult to the rout. Well, at least the Mustangs eventually got on the board.
(18) Georgia Tech 27, (19) Georgia 15
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	26: Rushing yards for Georgia on 18 carries.
Player of the Game
George Godsey, QB, Georgia Tech. He threw two picks, but his 20 of 35 passing for 222 yards and two TDs, plus a key TD run, made a difference.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
So much for Georgia's recovery -- and its rushing attack. The Bulldogs stormed past Ole Miss last week with a strong ground game, providing some hope that they would be able to move the ball with their running backs against Tech. But it wasn't to be. Georgia ran Musa Smith three straight times in the opening series, then rushed only 15 more times in 78 plays the rest of the game. Cory Phillips was brilliant in the third quarter (15 of 20, 183 yards, 2 TDs) but not so much in the other three. Godsey and the Jackets got everything they needed in the first half, and thus weren't hurt by being shut out after halftime.
Mississippi 45, (23) Mississippi State 30
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	80: Yards out of Ole Miss QB Romaro Miller's 207 on the night that came via rushing or receiving.
Player of the Game
Deuce McAllister, RB, Mississippi. No question. A remarkable final home game, with three rushing TDs and one touchdown pass.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
The Rebels couldn't have scripted this one any better. Coming back from a bitter defeat against their fiercest rivals last year, they shredded Mississippi State's respected defense all night. McAllister finally had the game many expected from him every week entering the season, and it came just in time. The Bulldogs were clearly hurt by the loss of QB Wayne Madkin to a game-time illness, and Ole Miss exploited backup Kevin Fant's inexperience all night. It was wet, and it was wild -- just another in a long line of exciting Egg Bowls.
Arkansas 14, (24) LSU 3
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	0-for-13: LSU quarterback Josh Booty's passing numbers to start the second half.
Player of the Game
Brandon Holmes, RB, Arkansas. They needed him to kill some clock, and he certainly did that with 42 carries for 143 yards and a TD.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
Everything that had gone right for the Tigers over the last four games was washed away by the rain that doused Little Rock for this contest. Booty reverted to the scattershot style that had LSU fans on his back earlier in his career, coming out as cold as a QB can be to start the second half. The Tigers turned the ball over three times, while on the other side Arkansas managed to hang onto the ball. It's amazing what the Hogs have done late in the year, with another tailback falling seemingly every week. Give credit to Houston Nutt for his coaching and Robby Hampton for his leadership. Oh, and their defense isn't bad, either.
(25) Tennessee 28, Vanderbilt 26
Matchup	Key Stat
Game Recap Game Summary	50: Tennessee's school-record season sack total, including four against Vandy.
Player of the Game
Travis Henry, RB, Tennessee. Rushed for 184 yards and two TDs before suffering freak injury in final minute.
CNNSI.com's Analysis
The Commodores appeared poised to break a 17-game skid against the Vols and further scramble the SEC's already complicated bowl picture, but they fell short. Tennessee appeared to have this one in hand with a 21-6 lead in the fourth quarter, but Greg Zolman and M.J. Garrett hooked up for a pair of TDs to bring the Commodores back. It was a nice effort for Vanderbilt, but Woody Widenhofer and his team are tired of moral victories at this point.

 

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