USC
Dodges Fresno St. Bullet;
Georgia Tech Upsets Miami
by Mike Mitchell
Updated
11/20/05 2:26 am est
Fresno
State was up to the task and took USC to the wire before a fourth
costly interception sealed a 50-42 Trojan victory.
Fresno State held a 21-13 halftime lead but, as you would expect,
USC scored the first 21 points of the second half to go out in
front 34-21. Unlike past opponents that USC has trailed at halftime,
the Bulldogs refused to lie down and stop barking.
Instead, Fresno State rallied to take a 42-41 lead in the fourth
quarter. USC responded and went ahead 50-42 but the Bulldogs
still had some fight left. They marched from their own 10-yard
line to the USC 25 with 1:37 still left in the game. But from
there, Fresno State was picked-off for the fourth time in the
second half to seal the USC victory.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over 5 times. USC had one solitary
fumble which was coughed up by Reggie Bush on a kick-off return
that helped Fresno State retake the lead at 42-41. Bush more
than redeemed himself by racking up 513 all-purpose yards to
keep USC in the game.
The win preserves a potential matchup of the nation's only two
remaining undefeated teams in the BCS title game between USC
and Texas. Both of those teams have challenges ahead as Texas
travels to Texas A&M next week and USC faces UCLA on December
3rd. Texas also has to win the Big 12 championship game against
the winner of the Iowa State-Colorado game next week.
While USC managed to dodge the bullet, Miami stared prosperity
in the face and promptly shot it. After clobbering Virginia Tech
in Blacksburg two weeks ago, the Hurricanes simply needed to
finish the season with home victories over Georgia Tech and Virginia
to win the ACC's Coastal division. They were even next in line
for a shot at the national championship if Texas or USC should
falter down the stretch.
Instead, Georgia Tech beat Miami 14-10 and blew the Hurricanes
back out of the ACC title game. The Yellow Jackets intercepted
a Miami pass deep in their own territory with 1:40 left to play,
then ran out the clock to preserve the upset. The Miami loss
puts Virginia Tech back in control of its own destiny to win
the coastal division title with a home victory over North Carolina
next week.
Virginia Tech, which had not played since the loss to Miami,
delivered a merciless pounding to traditional rival Virginia.
Little did they know at the time that their 52-14 romp over the
Cavaliers would have them back at the top of their division by
the end of the day. The Hokies' win over the Cavaliers was their
sixth in the last seven games of the series and their biggest
margin of victory over UVa since a 48-0 rout in 1983.
North Carolina needs a win over Virginia Tech to become bowl
eligible. The Tar Heels kept their postseason hopes alive with
a 24-21 comeback victory over Duke that left the Blue Devils
winless in the conference for the fourth time in the last six
seasons. Duke has won a total of 3 ACC games from 2000-2005.
In other action, Ohio State rallied from a 21-12 fourth quarter
deficit to beat Michigan 25-21 on a 3-yard TD run with 24 seconds
left in the game. Later in the day, Penn State's 31-22 win over
Michigan State eliminated the Spartans from postseason contention
and left the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions tied atop the Big 10
standings at 7-1. Penn State, however, earned the conference's
top bowl spot by virtue of its win over the Buckeyes on October
8th. The Nittany Lions' only loss came at Michigan on the last
play of the game. Ohio State also lost, at home, to Texas in
a non-conference game earlier in the year.
For Penn State, it's their first conference title since the 1994
team went unbeaten and won the Congrove Computer Rankings' national
championship. That team, however, went uncrowned by the two top
polls of the time - the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls.
Georgia clinched the SEC east as the Bulldogs chomped on Kentucky
45-13 for their ninth straight win over the Wildcats. The west
division titlist is yet to be decided.
Alabama lost for the second straight week and has no chance of
winning the division after falling 28-18 to state rival Auburn
in the Iron Bowl. LSU controls their fate in the west with victories
in-hand over both Auburn and Alabama. The Bayou Bengals beat
Mississippi handily on Saturday, 40-7. LSU hosts Arkansas in
their season finale next weekend.
Also in the SEC, the second-longest futility streak in major
college football came to an end with Vanderbilt's 28-24 win over
Tennessee. Vanderbilt scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:11
left and then saved the win with an endzone interception on the
final play of the game. The loss locks Tennessee out of the bowl
season as they fell to 4-6. Vanderbilt ended a six-game losing
streak that had already knocked them from bowl contention after
they began the season with four straight wins.
The Commodores had lost 22 straight games to the Volunteers since
their last victory over their state rival in 1982. Navy owns
the longest losing streak of one team to another with 42 consecutive
losses to Notre Dame dating back to 1963.
Central Florida shook-off the upset bid by Rice as the Golden
Knights scored the game-winning points on a TD pass with 1:25
left to clinch the CUSA east division title with a 31-28 road
victory. The win was UCF's eighth in its last nine games after
beginning the year with two losses to extend, what was then,
the nation's longest losing streak to 17 games.
UTEP could have clinched a berth in the CUSA championship as
the west division winner with a victory at home over UAB, but
the Blazers prevailed 35-23 to keep their bowl hopes alive. UAB
evened their record at 5-5 while UTEP gets one more shot at clinching
the division when they visit SMU next week. A loss by the Miners
next week puts Tulsa in the league title game.
Tulsa stayed in the CUSA west division title hunt with a 38-14
smackdown of Tulane in a game played at Monroe, Louisiana. The
Golden Hurricane finished the season at 6-2 in conference play,
7-4 over-all.
Marshall, which joined Central Florida in defecting from the
MAC to CUSA this year, was disqualified from the postseason when
the Thundering Herd were upset at home 34-29 by East Carolina.
Marshall has gone to a bowl game in all but one previous year
(2003) since rejoining the 1-A ranks in 1997.
South Florida kept its Big East title hopes alive with a 31-16
home win over Cincinnati. The Bulls became bowl eligible at 6-3
and eliminated the Bearcats from the postseason at 4-6. USF hosts
West Virginia on December 3rd.
Louisiana-Monroe is one win away from snagging the Sun Belt championship
after a 24-19 victory at North Texas. The Indians can win the
conference title outright with a win at home over Louisiana-Lafayette
next week. If the Ragin' Cajuns win and North Texas beats Arkansas
State next week, the Cajuns will represent the league at the
New Orleans Bowl. If Louisiana-Lafayette wins and Arkansas State
wins, ASU gets the New Orleans Bowl invitation. Incidentally,
the New Orleans Bowl has been moved to Cajun Field on the Louisiana-Lafayette
campus this year as a result of the damage inflicted on the Louisiana
Superdome by Hurricane Katrina.
North Texas has fallen on hard times this season after winning
all four previous Sun Belt titles. The Mean Green had a 26-game
conference winning streak snapped on October 4th by Troy. Since
then, North Texas is just 1-5 and on a five-game losing streak.
Oregon avenged last year's loss to Oregon State that prevented
the Ducks from becoming bowl eligible by pelting the Beavers
56-14 in the 109th "Civil War". The loss eliminated
Oregon State from bowl consideration.
California won the 108th "Big Game" 27-3 over Stanford
to drop The Cardinal to 5-5. Stanford is now in the unenviable
position of having to defeat Notre Dame at home next week to
qualify for the postseason.
Notre Dame improved to 8-2 on Saturday with a 34-10 peeling of
the Syracuse Orange.
Washington State ended a 7-game losing streak with its first
PAC-10 victory of the year in the "Apple Cup", 26-22
over Washington. The Huskies still lead the series 63-29-6 and
have a 31-12 advantage in "Apple Cup" games.
In other rivalry games, Purdue routed Indiana 41-14 in the 81st
Battle for the Old Oaken Bucket, and Northwestern dumped Illinois
38-21 to win the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy and reduce the Fighting
Illini's advantage in the series to 51-43-5.
Clemson beat South Carolina, 13-9, without incident and each
team finished the season 7-4. Clemson has won four straight in
the series but this was the first time the two teams met with
a Bowden (Tommy) facing Steve Spurrier.
Texas Tech beat Oklahoma 23-21 on a 2-yard touchdown run on the
game's final play, a score that went to video review for confirmation,
giving former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mike Leach his first
win over former boss Bob Stoops in six tries. The win helped
the Red Raiders rebound from last week's inexplicable loss at
Oklahoma State.
Maryland is down to one last shot at bowl eligibility when they
visit N.C. State next week. A 31-16 loss to Boston College dropped
the Terrapins to 5-5. The Eagles finished the regular season
8-3 over-all and in a statistical tie with Florida State in the
ACC Atlantic division at 5-3. But FSU had already clinched the
division title by virtue of its win over B.C. earlier in the
year.
Central Michigan gained entry into the pool of eligible bowl
teams with a 31-24 overtime win over Ball State. The Chippewas
had lost their last two games while the Cardinals had won three
in-a-row.
Army won its fourth straight game with a 38-10 destruction of
Arkansas State. The Cadets will face Navy in the season finale
on December 3rd with the winner taking home the Commander-In-Chief
trophy.
Utah became bowl eligible at 6-5 with a 41-34 overtime win at
Brigham Young, their fourth straight victory in the series. BYU
is also 6-5.
In another Mountain West game, Colorado State became qualified
for bowl consideration with a 31-27 win at UNLV.
In games played earlier in the week:
Northern Illinois ended an 11-game losing streak to Toledo, a
streak that began in 1990, with a 35-17 win on a cold and blustery
Wednesday night. It was also the first win for the Huskies in
Toledo since 1972.
Now, Northern Illinois will advance to the MAC championship game
with a win at home over Western Michigan next week. Western Michigan,
which went 0-8 in the MAC last year and 1-10 over-all, can claim
the division title if it beats Northern Illinois AND Toledo loses
at Bowling Green. Toledo can still win the division with a victory
next week IF Northern Illinois loses.
The east division race is just as crazy.
In a game delayed over two-and-a-half hours due to bad weather,
Bowling Green stormed past Miami (Ohio) for a 42-14 win on Tuesday
night. Strong storms and the threat of tornadoes caused officials
to empty the stands and clear the field.
Bowling Green tied an NCAA record by scoring three safeties on
Miami's inability to get a punt off. Two snaps sailed over the
punter's head. When another snap was mishandled, the punter picked
it up and retreated through his own endzone. Another snap was
blown later in the game and the RedHawks added to their woes
by tossing five interceptions.
In another MAC game on Tuesday night, Akron zipped past Ohio
27-3. The Bobcats were held to 11 yards rushing and 110 total
yards as they fell out of east division title contention, and
bowl contention, with a 4-6 record.
The east division title belongs to Bowling Green so long as the
Falcons beat Toledo at home next week. If Bowling Green loses
and Miami wins at Ohio, the RedHawks capture the title. Akron
can claim the division if the Zips defeat Kent State at home
AND both Bowling Green and Miami lose.
Akron has never won a conference, or even division, title. Northern
Illinois captured their only conference championship in 1983.
Still Winning: If USC and Texas do their part,
the BCS officials will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. No
doubt they were hyperventilating late Saturday night when Fresno
State came close to knocking off the vaunted Trojans. USC survived
that scare 50-42 when a late interception thwarted the Bulldogs'
last-second potential game-tying drive, but the Trojans still
have to get past UCLA on December 3rd. Texas visits rival Texas
A&M next week and will play either Colorado or Iowa State
in the Big 12 title game.
In case you were wondering - at this point last season, there
were still five undefeated teams - Auburn, Boise State, Oklahoma,
USC and Utah.
Still Losing: Only two teams remain on the ubiquitous
winless list.
New Mexico State (0-11) lost to lost to San Jose State 27-10
to provide the Spartans (2-8) with their only win over a 1-A
team this season.
Temple (0-11) lost at Navy 38-17.
The Aggies and Owls have each lost 12 in-a-row.
At this point last year, UCF was the only winless team.
1-AA Schools Strike Out: Only one 1-A school faced
a lower-division school on Saturday. FIU beat Western Kentucky
38-35. That may not seem like much of a feat but the Golden Panthers
were trounced by the Hilltoppers 35-14 last year in FIU's last
season as a 1-AA team. Earlier this year, Western Kentucky lost
at Auburn 37-14.
Fifty-four games have been played this season between 1-A teams
and lower-division foes. The 1-A teams are 52-2. Since the beginning
of the 2003 season, 1-A teams are 164-18 (.901).
Streaks: USC extended the nation's longest winning
streak to 33 with a 50-42 nail biting win over Fresno State.
The Trojans have now won 44 of their last 45 games. USC also
owns streaks of 26 straight home wins and 22 consecutive PAC-10
victories. The 33-game over-all winning streak is the longest
in PAC-10 history, breaking their own record of 25 games set
in 1931-1933.
Texas has won 17 straight. The Longhorns were idle.
Boise State extended its nation-leading streak of home wins to
31 with a 70-35 victory over state rival Idaho. The Broncos outscored
the Vandals 35-14 in the fourth quarter to pull away.
New Mexico State endured its 12th straight loss, 27-10, at lowly
San Jose State. It was the Spartans first win over a 1-A team
this year and their first victory since defeating 1-AA Eastern
Washington 35-24. in the season opener.
Temple lost its 12th straight game, 38-17, to Navy.
New Coaches: The 2005 season began with 23 coaching changes.
San Jose State beat New Mexico State for its first over a 1-A
team under new head coach Dick Tomey. New Mexico State is still
looking for its first win over anybody under Hal Mumme.
Here is how each has fared for the season, by order of success,
and how they performed this past week:
LSU, 9-1 under Les Miles, won at Mississippi 40-7.
Notre Dame, 8-2 under Charlie Weis, beat Syracuse 34-10.
Florida, 7-3 under Urban Meyer, was idle.
Western Michigan, 7-3 under Bill Cubit, was idle.
South Carolina, 7-4 under Steve Spurrier, lost to Clemson 13-9.
Miami, O., 6-4 under Shane Montgomery, lost to Bowling Gr. 42-14.
BYU, 6-5 under Bronco Mendenhall, lost to Utah 41-34 in OT.
Utah, 6-5 under Kyle Wittingham, beat BYU 41-34 in OT.
Stanford, 5-5 under Walt Harris, lost to California 27-3.
Pittsburgh, 5-5 under Dave Wannstedt, was idle.
East Carolina, 4-6 under Skip Holtz, won at Marshall 34-29.
Marshall, 4-6 under Mark Snyder, lost to East Carolina 34-29.
Ohio, 4-6 under Frank Solich, lost at Akron 27-3.
Oklahoma St, 4-6 under Mike Gundy, lost at Baylor 44-34.
Indiana, 4-7 under Terry Hoeppner, lost at Purdue 41.14.
Mississippi, 3-7 under Ed Orgeron, lost to LSU 40-7.
San Jose St., 2-8 under Dick Tomey, beat New Mexico St. 27-10.
Utah State, 2-8 under Brent Guy, lost to Nevada 30-24.
Illinois, 2-9 under Ron Zook, to Northwestern 38-21.
UNLV, 2-9 under Mike Sanford, lost at Colorado St. 31-27.
Washington, 2-9 under Ty Willingham, lost to Wash. St. 26-22.
Syracuse, 1-9 under Greg Robinson, lost at Notre Dame 34-10.
New Mexico St., 0-11 under Hal Mumme, lost at San Jose St. 27-10. |