BCS, NCAA Football NEWS
Guns Up!, Gators Chomp, Tide Is No. 1
Published by MoonDog on November 3, 2008
Red Raiders Last Second TD Knocks Texas From Top Spot
Texas Tech made a statement Saturday when the Red Raiders came from behind and knocked off No. 1 Texas 39-33.
Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree Scores The Game Winning TD Against Texas
Quarterback Graham Harrell propelled himself into the mix of Heisman Trophy hopefuls with another sterling performance, passing for 474 yards and two touchdowns.
After the Longhorns scored what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown with 1:29 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders drove 62 yards in six plays for the clinching score, capped off by Harrell’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree with 1 second left.
Crabtree turned his last reception into the most thrilling play of the game, snaring the pass on the sideline at the 5 yard line, shook off a defender and dashed into the end zone.
The All-American caught 10 passes for 127 yards while Edward Britton had seven receptions for 139 yards to help Texas Tech pile up 579 yards against Texas.
Texas Tech (9-0, 5-0 Big 12) also took control of the Big 12 South but are far from guaranteed a spot in the conference championship game.
Just like Texas (8-1, 4-1) over the last month, the Red Raiders also face a daunting schedule the next few weeks. Texas Tech hosts No. 9 Oklahoma State next Saturday, then has a bye week before traveling to No. 6 Oklahoma.
The Longhorns will need some help from the Cowboys and Sooners if they’re going to represent the South in the conference title game. Texas has Baylor, a road date against Kansas and closes out their regular season at home against in-state rival Texas A&M.
Florida Routs Georgia
Even though the annual Florida-Georgia game is no longer officially known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” the Gators had a festive time in blowing out the Bulldogs Saturday in Jacksonville.
Florida Gators QB Tim Tebow Scores One of His Three TD
Georgia turned the ball over four times and the Gators made them pay dearly, turning a close 14-3 game at halftime into a 49-10 thrashing that earned Florida a measure of revenge from last year’s loss.
The Bulldogs actually had more yards than Florida, outgaining them 398-373, but Georgia had eight penalties that all seemed to occur at the most inopportune times.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow accounted for five touchdowns, throwing for two and rushing for three more. Tebow finished with 154 yards passing, 39 yards rushing and became the Gators career touchdown scoring leader, surpassing Emmitt Smith with 39 TD’s.
Georgia (7-2, 4-2 SEC) is more than likely eliminated from earning a berth in the SEC championship game. The Bulldogs would need a lot of help from Vanderbilt and South Carolina if they’re going to have a chance of winning the SEC East.
The Gators (7-1, 5-1) have remaining games against the Commodores and Gamecocks in SEC play, and must face the Citadel and No. 22 Florida State in Tallahassee to close out the regular season.
Crimson Tide Has No Trouble With Arkansas State, No. 1 For The First Time Since 1992
Alabama got an easy win Saturday against Arkansas State, shutting out the Indians 35-0 in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama's Glen Coffee Scores Against Arkansas State
With Texas Tech’s win over Texas Saturday night, the Tide jumped to No. 1 in both polls and the latest BCS rankings for the first time since they won the national championship in 1992.
Alabama hasn’t been ranked No. 1 during the regular season since 1980 and will enter Saturday’s game against LSU with more than just the top ranking in the nation on the line.
If the Tide can get past the Tigers, they’ll represent the SEC West in the conference championship game on December 5. Alabama head coach Nick Saban will be in Baton Rouge for the first time since he left the Tigers for the NFL after the 2004 season.
After facing LSU, Alabama has remaining games against Mississippi State, Auburn and more than likely Florida in the SEC title game. If the Tide can remain undefeated, they’ll earn a berth in the BCS national championship game.
Top 7 in AP, Coaches Polls and BCS Gets a Shakeup
Despite getting huge wins Saturday, the Oklahoma Sooners and USC Trojans both fell a few slots in the latest BCS rankings. The Sooners entered Saturday’s game against Nebraska ranked No. 4 and pounded the Cornhuskers 62-28.
But by virtue of Texas Tech’s win over No. 1 Texas, the Sooners dropped to No. 6 in the latest BCS standings. Oklahoma will get their chances to make a move in the polls when they face the Red Raiders November 22 in Norman.
The Sooners close out their regular season against Oklahoma State on November 29 in Stillwater.
USC bombed the hapless Washington Huskies Saturday night 56-0, but like Oklahoma, the Trojans fell two slots to No. 7 in the latest BCS rankings.
USC entered the game against Washington ranked No. 5 in the nation, but they too were adversely effected by Texas Tech’s win over Texas.
The Trojans will need a lot luck if they’re going to leapfrog past the remaining BCS title contenders. USC will get a test next week when they face No. 21 California in Los Angeles.
USC has remaining games against Stanford, Notre Dame and cross-town rival UCLA. Without a conference championship game that could help propel the Trojans into the BCS championship game mix, USC can only hope for Alabama, Penn State, Texas, Texas Tech, Florida and Oklahoma to each lose a game.
The latest polls and BCS rankings can be viewed here.
My Personal Top 5 This Week
1. Penn State
2. Alabama
3. Texas Tech
4. Florida
5. Texas
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GoPurple on Mon, 3rd Nov 2008 19:18
Life is good in the Big 12, home of the best football in America. If you weren’t on the edge of your seat in the final minutes of that game, you need to turn in your man card immediately. Even as an Oklahoma fan, I found the whole thing riveting, and just flipped over to the OU-Nebraska game occasionally to see how bad the blowout was getting. Seriously, that one was over after the first six minutes, but Nebraska fans should have faith that better days are ahead. We’ll know shortly whether Tech can keep this up; Oklahoma State will present a different challenge than did Texas. And then there is the small matter of a road trip to Norman on the 22nd. The BCS needs to repeal its two-team-per-conference limit; it gets ridiculous that the Big 12 has four teams better than anybody currently playing in the Big East, ACC, or Big Ten for that matter; two of them will flat get robbed by the system.
Penn State number one? What have you been smoking? Sure they’ve looked good, against LOUSY opposition. There are at least seven teams in college football that are better, but with the exception of USC they all face real opposition…
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