No. 3 Arizona rallies to top No. 17 San Diego St.

No. 3 Arizona is off to its best start in 25 years, thanks to a defensive play that no one saw coming - except for Nick Johnson.

San Diego State guard Chase Tapley curled around a screen and burst down the left side of the lane in the closing seconds for what looked to be an uncontested layup. Johnson raced across and swatted the ball away, preserving the Wildcats' 68-67 win over the 17th-ranked Aztecs in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic on Tuesday night.

``He made one hell of a play,'' Tapley said. ``I just have to tip my hat off to him. I didn't even know he was around. He just came out of nowhere. I'm thinking the game is over. The next thing you know, the ball is going off the backboard.''

Mark Lyons drove to the basket on Arizona's final possession and was fouled, making two free throws with 13 seconds left for the final points of the game. Arizona (12-0) goes into Pac-12 Conference play with its best start since the 1987-88 season, and with its first win over a ranked team away from home in four years.

``It took two great plays on both offense and defense to secure the win,'' Arizona coach Sean Miller said. ``And we made both of them.''

Solomon Hill, voted the tournament MVP, kept Arizona in the game with 21 points and a stellar defensive effort on Jamaal Franklin, who scored only nine points to end his streak of 32 straight games in double figures. With the game tied at 66, Franklin was fouled driving to the basket with 31 seconds left, but missed one of two free throws.

That turned out to be the difference.

Tapley led the Aztecs (11-2) with 19 points.

``It hurts,'' San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. ``It's hard when you have a chance to win a championship, have a shot to beat an undefeated team, and you don't quite get it done, and you think you're going to do it right until the very last play of the game. It hurts badly.''

Neither team led by more than two points over the final 10 minutes, which featured several big shots by both teams. But it came down to a defensive play that left the Wildcats celebrating at midcourt and the Aztecs - Tapley in particular - not sure what hit them.

``My instincts took over,'' Johnson said.

The buzzer sounded during a scramble for the loose ball by the sideline.

Arizona won despite shooting only 37 percent from the field, including 5-of-20 on 3-pointers, though Miller was more impressed that except for an early spell of turnovers to start the second half that put his team in a hole, they didn't make careless mistakes and gave themselves plenty of looks.

``I don't think we had a bad shooting night,'' Miller said. ``I think we played a great defense.''

After turning the ball over just three times in the first half, Arizona had two turnovers that helped the Aztecs go on an 8-0 run to start the second period for a 35-29 lead. Franklin got his first points of the game on a pair of free throws, Xavier Thames made a 3-pointer, and Tapley converted a three-point play off yet another Arizona turnover.

After a sluggish, defensive battle, the pace and quality of the game picked up the rest of the way.

The Wildcats called a timeout trailing 41-33, and then went on an 18-9 run over the next six minutes to regain the lead. Hill was always in the picture, with some great hustle by Brandon Ashley, who scored inside and converted a three-point play on quick ball movement. Arizona regained the lead on Hill's two free throws, and he made two more with just under six minutes remaining for a 60-58 Arizona lead.

The game was tied six more times the rest of the way.

Kevin Parrom scored 17 points for the Wildcats, including a 3-pointer from deep on the baseline with 2:16 remaining that answered a 3 by Tapley. Johnson finished with 11 points for Arizona.

Arizona never trailed in the opening half, but after building a 16-9 lead on Johnson's 3-pointer, it never had control. That was to be expected from two defensive-minded teams, which have held their opponents to 38 percent shooting this season, and made each other work for every shot.

The Wildcats shot 29 percent in the opening half. The Aztecs missed their first seven shots, finally getting on track behind Tapley, whose 10 points came from inside and outside.

It was spirited, and it was sloppy. There were three missed dunks and badly missed layups in transition as both teams looked out of control at times. Franklin, coming off his fifth double-double of the season in a semifinal win over Indiana State, was shut out in the opening half and attempted only two shots.

Fittingly, the game was decided by a defensive play.

``It was very intense,'' Johnson said. ``They're the No. 17 team in the country. We knew they were a good team coming in. We knew we would have to give it our all and stay in the game plan and in the end, it came up big.'' At NCAA.com.

SEC adds two teams, changes format for postseason conference tournament

The Southeastern Conference has altered the format and expanded the field for its annual baseball tournament, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive announced.

The 2013 SEC Baseball Tournament, which will be held in Hoover, Ala., at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium for the 16th consecutive year, will increase from 10 to 12 teams and will begin on Tuesday, May 21. Seeds 5-12 will meet in a single elimination format on the opening day of the tournament, followed by traditional double-elimination play Wednesday-Friday. The tournament will return to single elimination play on Saturday. The total number of games played will not change, remaining at 17.

The 12 teams are seeded 1-12 with the two divisional champions and top four seeds guaranteed opening-round byes, with the possibility of earning another bye later in the bracket. The tournament field will include the top teams from the SEC’s Eastern and Western Divisions plus 10 at-large bids seeded 3-12 based on conference winning percentage.

A team from the SEC Tournament has advanced to five consecutive National Championship Series in Omaha, winning three NCAA titles during that span (LSU 2009; South Carolina 2010 and 2011). Over 100 first-round picks in the Major League Baseball Draft have played in SEC Tournament since 1991.

Tickets for the 2013 SEC Baseball Tournament will go on sale in February.

The 2012 SEC Baseball Tournament drew 129,112 fans to The Hoover Met, a new record-high for the event. Seven times in the last 10 years the tournament has surpassed the six-digit mark in total attendance. The SEC is scheduled to keep its baseball tournament in Hoover through 2016. At NCAA.com. 

The Big 12 vs. Pac-12 debate

The Big 12 and Pac-12 are feeling a lot like kindred spirits these days. Complaints about the effects of a nine-game conference schedule fell on mostly deaf ears, but after two years through the wringer, the Big 12 can suddenly relate.

The true effects of the schedule are debatable. What's not is that it drops a bushelful of losses in both leagues' tanks that aren't there while the Big Ten beats up on (or, in this year's case, loses to) some MAC teams or the SEC runs up the score on the Sun Belt.

Geno Smith and WVU didn't finish strong, but they add to the Big 12's depth.

Half of the Big 12 (five teams) is exactly 7-5, including hyped preseason contender West Virginia, which loves to chuck it around with one-time Heisman front-runner Geno Smith.

The Pac-12 had four teams finish 7-5 in the regular season, including hyped preseason favorite USC, which loves to chuck it around with one-time Heisman front-runner Matt Barkley.

But which league is better? The Big 12 and Pac-12 have battled for the No. 2 spot behind the (*cough* …top-heavy) SEC all season.

Our ESPN Stats & Information team says the Pac-12 has the edge on the Big 12 for now, but the Big 12 was No. 1 early in the season and No. 2 until late November.

Me? I don't buy it. Part of the issue for the Big 12 is that surplus of 7-5 teams. You won't be in the polls if you're 7-5, but you'll be mighty, mighty close. None of the Big 12's five 7-5 teams were ranked, though four received a total of 75 votes, which combined still wouldn't have been enough to grab the No. 25 spot in the media poll.

But the computers? They factor in every team in the league, and there's no debate there. The Big 12 is the No. 1 league in college football according to the computers, and the Pac-12 is all the way back at No. 3.

There's not a league that can compete with the Big 12's depth, and at the top of the two conferences, there's plenty of debate.

Both Oregon and Stanford won 11 games, but Stanford won only 11 games because it got to beat UCLA in consecutive weekends, counting the Pac-12 championship. Kansas State won 11, but Oklahoma won 10 games with losses to K-State and national title participant Notre Dame.

The top of the two conferences might offer a slight edge to the Pac-12, but it's certainly close to a push at the top. There's no debate at the bottom, though.

The Pac-12 is partly to thank for that. You'll have to excuse the Big 12 if it's not missing Colorado very much these days. The Big 12 has clearly proved itself as the deepest league in college football, even if it can't match what the Pac-12 boasts in the top 15 of the polls.

Want to make a statement, Big 12? Shut down Marcus Mariota in the Fiesta Bowl.

Neither league has a BCS title participant thanks to a painful Nov. 17 night when Oregon dropped an overtime game against Stanford and Kansas State dropped the ball in a blowout road loss to Baylor, one of the five 7-5 teams in the Big 12.

Both leagues, though, have two very good teams, though the Pac-12 will send two teams to the BCS. K-State and Oregon will meet in the Fiesta Bowl, and Stanford will represent the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl against five-loss Wisconsin.

Oklahoma would be in the BCS if the Big Ten or Big East were any good (or eligible, but that's another discussion), but Northern Illinois pushed the Sooners out of the BCS, even though Oklahoma's Cotton Bowl opponent (Texas A&M) will offer twice the challenge of the Badgers in Pasadena.

The Big 12 has the edge on the Pac-12, but there's good news in a sport in which far too much is decided on hard drives and on voters' ballots. The two leagues will play each other in three bowl games. Baylor and UCLA will meet in the Holiday Bowl. Texas and Oregon State will be a matchup of two Top 25 teams in the Alamo Bowl, and as we mentioned before, K-State and Oregon will play the biggest bowl game of the year between two Top 25 teams outside of the title game.

Debate the merits of both leagues now, but those three games will help settle the debate on the field.

Until then, this is the truth: The Big 12 is No. 2. At ESPN.com.

‘Playing for so much more than myself’

Generations of warriors — the ones who fell on muddy foreign soil, the ones who have felt the searing sting of shrapnel and lead, the ones who, at this very moment, linger on distant shores in defense of the United States — will gather Saturday on a football field.
You’ll see flashes of them, symbols of their service and sacrifice, amid the maelstrom of limbs and mud and sweat on every play of the Army-Navy game.
As they’ve done for decades in this annual clash, each player who takes the field will wear a patch stitched to the upper-right corner of their jersey. Those patches are the same symbols donned by those who have served, who still serve today or who have sacrificed their lives so that their country may thrive, so that a football game can be played on a Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. Many of the patches represent the unit of a family member or friend.

ARMY, NAVY IN 2012

	W-L	PF	PA	STREAK
Army	2-9	278	407	Lost 2
Navy	7-4	280	259	Won 1
• TV: 3 p.m. ET Saturday on CBS

Others embody complete strangers — to whom the players nevertheless feel a sense of kinship and gratitude — who are stationed in different corners of the world. These players will soon join their ranks, but before they do, they have a chance to pay homage to those who came first.
“The opportunity to show pride and respect for my grandfather on a national stage against a great opponent, it’s just tremendous,” said Army running back Jon Crucitti, who will wear the 45th Infantry Division patch once sewn onto his grandfather’s uniform.
Martin Crucitti earned a Bronze Star, Silver Star and Purple Heart in World War II after his involvement in the Battle of Anzio in early 1944. There, 4,500 miles from the easternmost shore of his home country, Crucitti and his platoon were the victims of a surprise bombing of a nearby church as they advanced through the city. They were scattered like leaves in the wind, blown asunder by the force of the blast. Crucitti was hurled hundreds of feet, but survived. His hand and teeth were shattered and his body was covered in bruises and lacerations; others in his platoon weren’t as lucky. Despite his injuries, Crucitti turned back for his countrymen and pulled two officers from the rubble.
In October, Crucitti turned 95. Though age will prevent him from attending his grandson’s game, he did get to see him play once during his first season. And the grandfather proudly bequeathed his patch to Jon when he was a freshman; the grandson has just as proudly worn it in every Army-Navy game since.
Though the patches oftentimes carry a great deal of emotional weight, they’re no burden, many Army and Navy players said. Crucitti insists that he feels no extra pressure to perform when he sees that patch on his shoulder. Instead, he draws inspiration from it and is unafraid of failure.
“I know my grandpa’s going to love me at the end of the day either way,” Crucitti said. “But it just gives you that little extra motivation to try to perform at a higher level. He’s going to be my grandpa no matter what, but you always want to make him proud.”

Nine of the past 24 meetings between Army and Navy have been decided by five points or less. Six of the past 23 pairings have been decided by two points or less. Eight of the past 22 have been decided in the game’s final minute.

Not all of the patches carry such a level of emotional attachment, but they matter a great deal to the players.
In previous years, Navy senior safety Tra’ves Bush had worn a patch representing the USS Carl Vinson as a show of gratitude to his uncle, who served on the ship. But this season, a letter persuaded Bush to break that tradition and honor a complete stranger.
Lt. Charles Silva survived his time serving in Vietnam, but was attacked by young trespassers on his Virginia property in September. After a month-long struggle, he succumbed the injuries at the age of 77. Silva had befriended Chris Reaghard, who was a former Navy defensive lineman and a 1995 graduate of the academy. After Silva’s tragic death, Reaghard reached out to his alma mater, penning a letter detailing Silva’s service and his untimely death. He hoped that one of Navy’s players would take it upon himself to don an F-8 Crusaders flight group patch bearing Silva’s name.
Once Bush finished the letter, he knew that he’d step onto the field against Army wearing that patch.

2012 Army-Navy uniforms

Nike

 

“Anyone that read that letter would’ve chosen to wear the patch,” Bush said. “Everyone knows that anybody on the team would’ve done this for the family.”
Navy linebacker Brye French understands that sentiment. He, too, is wearing a patch in honor of a man he never met. But there was no letter that convinced him to do it, rather, a legacy. Brendan Looney’s name echoed throughout the grounds at Annapolis since his 2004 graduation, particularly among members of the school’s lacrosse team. Looney was a standout in the sport and helped guide Navy to a berth in the national championship game as a senior. The Midshipmen fell one point shy against Syracuse, but his legend had been cemented.
Former Navy lacrosse coach Richie Meade spoke to subsequent teams of Looney’s unrelenting work ethic and positive attitude. French, playing lacrosse along with football, came to know of Looney through Meade and looked up to the former star despite never crossing his path. The two, however, were brought together by tragic circumstance.
After his time at the Naval Academy, Looney endured what’s considered by many to be the military’s most brutal training regimen and earned the right to call himself a Navy SEAL. However, he perished along with eight other troops in a Sept. 21, 2010, helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Looney died at the beginning of French’s sophomore year, and Meade took French and his teammates to Looney’s funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. Under the saddest of circumstances, he’d finally gotten to be in the presence of a man he’d quietly idolized.
French didn’t forget that day in Arlington; last season, he wore Looney’s SEAL Team 3 patch against Army and it will be back on his uniform Saturday. Once the first ball is snapped, French said his focus will be solely on football, but in the few quiet moments when he’s alone with his thoughts amid thousands of his fellow servicemen, he’ll feel the significance of what is affixed to his chest.
“It’s a special moment, a special event, because everyone wears a patch representing those overseas or those who have lost their life, gave the ultimate sacrifice, so the opportunity to represent Brendan Looney really is an honor,” French said. “In the back of my mind, maybe not during the game, but before, or whenever there’s a little break in the game, I’ll think about his example.”

Saturday will mark the 113th meeting between Army and Navy. The game features two of the top six rushing offenses in the nation; the Black Knights are No. 1 with 369.82 rushing yards per game; the Midshipmen are sixth at 285.45.

Getty Images

Even for players who’ll be on the sideline on Saturday, the game is momentous and affords them a public opportunity to say thank you.
Army offensive lineman Michael Kime suffered a knee injury against Temple two weeks ago and will be unable to play against Navy. Still, like all other Army players, he’ll be wearing a uniform that pays tribute to the Battle of the Bulge — a map of the battle will be imprinted on the uniforms’ numbers — and will also wear an 82nd Airborne patch to honor his paternal grandfather, Richard Owen Kime, who was a combatant in the very battle depicted on those uniforms.
Nearly 70 years ago, Kime was shot through the lung in Bastogne, Belgium, in one of the Battle of the Bulge’s most important conflicts. As he was losing blood and clinging to life while being driven by ambulance to safety, his driver had to maneuver through Gen. George S. Patton’s oncoming tanks, who were rushing forward to offer support to the Ally-controlled city that had been encircled by Nazi forces. Kime remembers his grandfather telling him that the ambulance driver, weaving through those friendly charging tanks, may have been as frightened as he was.
Kime was only 11 when his grandfather died in 2003, so while they were close, they never had the chance to know each other as men. But Kime takes solace knowing that he has the opportunity to represent his grandfather on Saturday. He plans to do the same next season when, hopefully, he’s able to take the field.
“By the time I really understood what he really went through and I got to really appreciate what the Greatest Generation did, unfortunately it was too late,” Kime said. “One of my bigger regrets is that my grandfather never got to see me play in an Army uniform. So I have it in the back of my head all of the time that I’m playing for so much more than myself.”

This year’s game will serve as the deciding contest for the 2012 Commander In Chief’s Trophy. For the first time since 2005 both Army and Navy enter the game with victories against Air Force. The Midshipmen have captured 13 of the past 15 meetings, including a series-record 10 in a row, to take a 56-49-7 advantage in the rivalry. For more information go to NCAA.com.

Three wins in a row help West Virginia claim No. 25 spot in latest AP Poll

West Virginia cracked the top 25 in the Associated Press Poll this week after recording three consecutive wins.

ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
Check out the full rankings.

The Mountaineers claimed the No. 25 spot.
West Virginia captured a 54-47 road victory against Virginia on Dec. 2 and followed it by going 2-0 last week with a 64-48 win versus Marshall on Tuesday and a 67-47 defeat of St. Bonaventure on Saturday.
WVU was preseason ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll, reaching as high as No. 12 in Week 3. Last week, the Mountaineers dropped out of the top 25. At NCAA.com.

Men`s Basketball Rankings

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Record	Points	Previous
1	Indiana (44)	9-0	1580	1
2	Duke (20)	9-0	1551	2
3	Michigan	9-0	1444	3
4	Syracuse	8-0	1378	4
5	Florida	7-0	1319	6
6	Louisville	8-1	1303	5
7	Ohio State	6-1	1211	7
8	Arizona	7-0	1178	8
9	Kansas	7-1	1087	9
10	Illinois	10-0	991	13
11	Cincinnati	9-0	944	11
12	Missouri	8-1	877	12
13	Minnesota	10-1	714	14
14	Gonzaga	9-1	699	10
15	Georgetown	7-1	577	15
16	Creighton	9-1	525	16
17	New Mexico	10-0	512	18
18	San Diego State	7-1	491	17
19	Michigan State	8-2	328	19
20	UNLV	7-1	305	21
21	North Carolina	7-2	298	20
22	Notre Dame	8-1	283	22
23	Wichita State	9-0	280	24
24	Oklahoma State	7-1	251	23
25	North Carolina State	6-2	213	25

Texas A&M QB Manziel becomes first freshman to win Heisman Trophy

 
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, taking college football’s top individual prize Saturday after a record-breaking debut season.
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o finished a distant second and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein was third in the voting. In a unique Heisman race, with two nontraditional candidates, Manziel broke through the class barrier and kept Te’o from becoming the first purely defensive player to win the award.
Manziel drew 474 first-place votes and 2,029 points from the panel of media members and former winners.
”I have been dreaming about this since I was a kid,” Manziel said during his acceptance speech.
Manziel seemed incredibly calm after his name was announced, hardly resembling the guy who dashes around the football field on Saturdays.
Te’o had 321 first-place votes and 1,706 points and Klein received 60 firsts and 894 points.
Just a few days after turning 20, Manziel proved times have truly changed in college football, and that experience can be overrated.
For years, seniors dominated the award named after John Heisman, the pioneering Georgia Tech coach from the early 1900s. In the 1980s, juniors started becoming common winners. Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win it in 2007, and two more won it in the next two seasons.
Adrian Peterson had come closest as a freshman, finishing second to Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart in 2004. It took 78 years for a freshman to take home the big bronze statue.
Peterson was a true freshman for Oklahoma. As a redshirt freshmen, Manziel attended school and practiced with the team last year, but did not play in any games.
He’s the second player from Texas A&M to win the Heisman — John David Crow took it home in 1957 — and did so without the slightest hint of preseason hype. Manziel didn’t even win the starting job until two weeks before the season.
Manziel broke 2010 Heisman winner Cam Netwon’s Southeastern Conference record with 4,600 total yards, led the Aggies to a 10-2 in their first season in the SEC and orchestrated an upset at then-No. 1 Alabama in November that stamped him as legitimate contender for the award.
He has thrown for 3,419 yards and 24 touchdowns and run for 1,181 yards and 19 more scores to become the first freshman, first SEC player and fifth player overall to throw for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 in a season.
Manziel will cap his freshman campaign against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 4. At NCAA.com.

SEC finishes regular season atop rankings

At the end of the regular season, it should be no surprise that the SEC leads the ESPN Stats and Info Conference Power Rankings by a wide margin.

Six of the top 11 teams in the AP Poll reside in the SEC, including No. 2 Alabama, which will be playing for the conference's seventh straight national championship.

Nine of the SEC's 14 teams are bowl eligible, including six teams with at least 10 wins this season.

Like the SEC, the Big 12 has nine bowl-eligible teams. That is impressive considering that the conference has only 10 teams. Yet the Big 12 remains behind the SEC and the Pac-12 in the conference rankings because it lacks multiple “elite” teams.

The Big 12 has two teams currently ranked in the AP Poll, its fewest of any week this season. To put that in perspective, both the WAC and MAC have two teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

Speaking of the WAC, the conference finished the regular season as the sixth-best conference in the country according the power rankings.

Considering that the conference is in its final season of existence in football, the WAC had an impressive year. Four of its eight teams finished with at least eight wins, which is more eight-win teams than the Big 12, ACC or Big East.

The WAC finished the year ranked ahead of both the Big East and the MAC. Although the top of the MAC is strong -- as indicated by Northern Illinois’ berth in a BCS bowl game and the thrilling MAC championship game -- the bottom of the conference struggled. Six of its 13 teams did not win more than four games, which brought down its overall ranking as a conference.

All of the conferences will have the chance to prove their relative strength during bowl season. The ACC will try to improve upon its abysmal 2-6 bowl record last season, and the Big Ten will look to play better in its January bowl games than its 3-9 record over the last two seasons.At ESPN.com.

College Football Power Rankings - Week 14

RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	PTS	COMMENT
1	Notre Dame 12-0	-- Last Week: 1	499	It's pretty easy to figure out how the Irish punched their ticket to Miami. They're first in the nation in points allowed (10.3), fourth in run defense (92.4) and sixth in total defense (286.8 ypg).
2	Alabama 12-1	-- Last Week: 2	479	After escaping Georgia in the SEC title game, the Tide get some time off before looking ahead to the BCS Championship Game. Alabama hopes to finish off its season with a third national title in four years.
3	Ohio State 12-0	-- Last Week: 3	433	Despite a bowl ban, Urban Meyer's debut season couldn't have gone much better for the Buckeyes, as they finished undefeated for the sixth time in school history.
4	Florida 11-1	2 Last Week: 6	429	The Gators will face former defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and Louisville in the Sugar Bowl. Florida is 3-5 all-time in the Sugar, including a 51-24 victory over Cincinnati after the 2009 season.
5	Oregon 11-1	-- Last Week: 5	421	Points shouldn't be hard to come by when the Ducks face Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. Oregon ranks second in the nation in scoring (50.8 ppg), while the Wildcats are 10th (40.7).
6	Georgia 11-2	2 Last Week: 4	407	Georgia is heading to Florida, but it's not the bowl game the Dawgs were hoping for. They'll face Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl, marking the first time the two teams will meet since the 1969 Sun Bowl.
7	Kansas State 11-1	2 Last Week: 9	366	Kansas State clinched the Big 12 crown Saturday by claiming its fifth straight victory over Texas. The Wildcats also tied their team record for victories in a season with 11.
8	Stanford 11-2	2 Last Week: 10	362	The Cardinal earned their first conference title since 1999 and reached at least 10 wins for only the fourth time in school history. They'll take a seven-game winning streak to the Rose Bowl.
9	LSU 10-2	2 Last Week: 7	351	The Tigers' two losses were by a combined 12 points to Alabama and Florida. They'll face Clemson and its high-scoring offense in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Year's Eve.
10	Texas A&M 10-2	2 Last Week: 8	349	One of the bowl season's best matchups will be at the Cotton Bowl when the Aggies and potential Heisman-winner Johnny Manziel face Oklahoma. It marks A&M's 13th trip to the Cotton Bowl.
11	South Carolina 10-2	-- Last Week: 11	302	After another double-digit win season, the Gamecocks head to the Outback Bowl to face Michigan. The two teams have met twice, with the last matchup occurring in 1985.
12	Oklahoma 10-2	-- Last Week: 12	278	The Sooners won a share of their eighth Big 12 title with a victory at TCU. Their reward? A date with Johnny Football at the Cotton Bowl.
13	Florida State 11-2	-- Last Week: 13	260	The Seminoles earned their 13th ACC title with a win over Georgia Tech in the league title game. Next up: They'll face BCS party crasher Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl.
14	Clemson 10-2	1 Last Week: 15	231	Call it the Redemption Bowl for Clemson, which was embarrassed by West Virginia 70-33 in the Orange Bowl in 2011. The Tigers hope history doesn't repeat itself in Atlanta.
15	Oregon State 9-3	1 Last Week: 16	219	From 3-9 to 9-3, it's been a remarkable turnaround for the Beavers, who will play in a bowl game for the first time since 2009 when they face Texas in the Alamo Bowl.
16	UCLA 9-4	1 Last Week: 17	171	The Bruins meet Baylor for the first time ever in the Holiday Bowl. UCLA faces a Baylor offense which ranks No. 1 in the nation (578.8 ypg) and a defense which is No. 119 (513.9 ypg).
17	Northern Illinois 12-1	2 Last Week: 19	166	QB Jordan Lynch takes his multitalented game to the national stage against Florida State in the Orange Bowl. But the Huskies will do it without coach Dave Doeren, who bolted for NC State.
18	Utah State 10-2	3 Last Week: 21	122	The Aggies make their second straight appearance in the Idaho Potato Bowl after losing to Ohio in 2011. Utah State will bring a six-game winning streak into its game vs. Toledo.
19	Northwestern 9-3	1 Last Week: 20	115	The Wildcats reached nine victories for the first time since 2008. Nine is also the number of bowl games they've lost in a row. Can they break the streak against Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl?
20	Michigan 8-4	2 Last Week: 22	103	You'd expect a low-scoring game when the Wolverines play South Carolina, as both teams are in the nation's top 20 in scoring defense. Michigan looks to win its second straight bowl game after beating Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl last season.
21	Louisville 10-2	5 Last Week: NR	88	QB Teddy Bridgewater will get some much-needed rest before the Cards play in the Sugar Bowl vs. Florida. Louisville has faced the Gators twice, losing both games in 1980 and 1992.
22	Boise State 10-2	2 Last Week: 24	76	The Broncos won a share of the MWC title after beating Nevada. Even more impressive? Boise earned its seventh consecutive 10-win season, currently the best streak in the nation.
23	Penn State 8-4	3 Last Week: NR	60	The Nittany Lions won't go bowling, but it was a remarkable season nevertheless. Players and coaches deserve plenty of credit for an 8-4 record, including a 6-2 mark in the Leaders Division.
24	Nebraska 10-3	10 Last Week: 14	57	How will Nebraska respond against Georgia after a humiliating showing in the Big Ten title game? The Huskers played in the Capital One Bowl game last season -- and lost to South Carolina 30-13.
25	San Jose State 10-2	1 Last Week: NR	43	The Spartans bring a six-game winning streak into their Military Bowl matchup with Bowling Green. It marks San Jose State's first bowl appearance in six years.
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin (36), Kent State (26), Vanderbilt (26), San Diego State (14), Texas (6), Tulsa (4), Baylor (1)
Biggest Jump: 5 Biggest Drop: 10

Heisman Trophy Finalists 2012: Odds on Each Player Winning the Coveted Award

The Heisman Trust released its three finalists Monday with no major surprises.
Johnny Manziel is expected to take home the trophy as the first freshman winner in Heisman history, but Manti Te’o and Collin Klein are seniors that have made a strong case for themselves this season.
The announcement is just days away, with voters having submitted their votes by 4 p.m. ET Monday. This could finish as one of the closest votes in Heisman history—Manziel is the clear frontrunner, but his freshman status may shy away voters.
Here are the odds for each Heisman finalist to walk away with the bronze this Saturday.

Collin Klein: Kansas State, Quarterback

 

Collin Klein has been an intricate part of the resurgence at Kansas State under Bill Snyder. Klein has led the Wildcats' offense for two seasons, with this year being his best in a Kansas State uniform.
Behind Klein, Kansas State had an undefeated record before a major meltdown occurred against Baylor shortly after being named the No. 1 team in the country. That one loss may be enough to curtail his Heisman candidacy.
Without Klein leading the Wildcats' offense, Kansas State would be nowhere near a BCS-bowl berth. If not for the big letdown against Baylor, Klein would be the leading name in this race.

Best Performance: Oct. 20 vs. West Virginia: 19-of-21 for 323 yards, 3 TD; 12 carries for 41 yards, 4 TD

Key Stats: 180-of-272 for 2,490 yards, 15 TD, 7 INT; 194 carries for 890 yards, 22 TDs

Odds of Winning Heisman: 10 to 1

Manti Te’o: Notre Dame, Linebacker

 

Manti Te’o has come on strong in the final weeks of the season as a Heisman frontrunner. His name was missing from almost every preseason watch list, but his rise up the ranks is not surprising.
Te’o has been a major part of the success at Notre Dame this fall, anchoring one of the best defenses in the country and shutting down a number of highly regarded offenses. While it typically is hard to see the impact of a defensive player on an every-down basis, it is tough to find a play in which Te’o is not involved.
The Irish would not be No. 1 in the country without Te’o roaming the field. He has become an intricate part of this team and the face of the undefeated Irish. He has accumulated 95 tackles this season and is tied for second in the country with seven interceptions.

Best Performance: Oct. 27 vs. Oklahoma: 11 tackles, six solo, one sack, one interception

Key Stats: 95 total tackles, 46 solo, 1.5 sacks, seven interceptions, four QB hurries

Odds of Winning Heisman: 6 to 1

Johnny Manziel: Texas A&M, Quarterback

Johnny Manziel has become the most electrifying player in college football in the past year. The freshman burst onto the scene with a 58-10 win over Arkansas, and he hasn’t looked back since.
The SEC has not been short on dynamic quarterbacks, and Manziel is next in a line of amazing playmakers that have graced the conference in the past few seasons.
Manziel has reset offensive records at Texas A&M and in the conference during his first year on the field. He also became the fifth player in college-football history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
His numbers speak for themselves, and despite being an unknown just four short months ago, Manziel is the leading candidate to take home the Heisman on Dec. 8.

Best Performance: Nov. 3 vs. Mississippi State: 30-of-36 for 311 yards; 21 carries for 129 yards, 2 TD

Key Stats: 273-of-400 for 3,419 yards, 24 TD, 8 INT; 184 carries for 1,181 yards, 19 TD

Odds of Winning Heisman: 4 to 1

For more information go to bleachreport.com.

Intangibles define Notre Dame Talent and game plans are good, but the Irish are made of more

Notre Dame's defense has been rated among the best all year but it was the determination and grit it showed Saturday against Southern California that made it look like a champion. 

In a game governed by discipline and strategy and hours of preparation, is there room for such a trivial, incalculable thing as heart?
Can one team possibly “want it more” than another when football is the centerpiece of all of these players’ and coaches’ lives? Or are these just lazy tropes leaned upon by sportswriters and broadcasters who’ve grown too lethargic to analyze what’s actually happening?
Usually, I’d say yes. Usually, I’d say that good plays and good games can’t be the result of a player or team having more heart or wanting it – whatever “it” is – more.
There are exceptions. There are times when preparation and planning and strategy yield to something outside the confines of muscle memory and repetition and memorization. There are plays, moments, where we can measure a team’s “heart”, where the cold calculus of advanced statistics and probabilities are overwhelmed by what we see.
These moments are fleeting. These moments are rare.
But they are also unmistakable.
On Saturday night, those moments came when 11 men in gold helmets dug their heels into the turf in their own end zone on 10 separate occasions in the fourth quarter. And, all 10 times, the Irish defenders kept the Trojans from crossing the white line and from potentially snatching away a national championship in the 11th hour of the 12th game of an undefeated season.

Those moments, those 10 plays, were more a test of a team’s will, of its heart, than of its skill or preparation. It was time to push harder than the man across from you. It was time to hit the ballcarrier hard enough to turn his own momentum against him. It was time to sharpen focus to the point that talented receivers felt like they were running in shackles.
The first three of those plays came in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. Trailing by nine, USC advanced the ball to the Notre Dame 4. A Silas Redd run was stuffed for a gain of only two. Another run was repelled for a loss of two as the Southern California line was swallowed by a swarm of gold and white. Then a pass to Marqise Lee missed its target. Only a few feet from seven points, the Trojans had to settle for three because the Irish defense that had carried a team through 11 games wasn’t willing to break under the pressure inherent in the 12th.
Later in the quarter, and far more memorably, the Irish stopped the Trojans cold seven consecutive times. USC tailback Curtis McNeal got three yards, pushing the ball to the Notre Dame four. Then Irish cornerback KeiVarae Russell hounded and hacked Lee on consecutive fade routes, gladly taking pass interference calls rather than risk six points while simultaneously daring the Trojans to try and beat that defense up the middle. The Trojans tried to impose their will at the line of scrimmage, where strength and effort matter most, and failed. Two quarterback sneaks were easily repelled. A McNeal rush was snuffed out in the backfield by a pair of Irish defenders converging from either side and a feeble fourth-down Max Wittek pass trickled through the hands of intended target Soma Vainuku.
That stand, those seven plays, were a microcosm of the entire Irish season – a little luck on a dropped pass, some smarts and guile on the intentional pass interference calls and a lot of toughness in the trenches on all of those goal line stuffs.
On 10 plays on Saturday night, 11 men in gold helmets lined up, gazed at the 11 men across from them and thought, “I’m better than you.” On each play, each man proved just that. The odds that the Trojans, with all of their weapons, all of their multi-star, multi-100-pound linemen couldn’t muster the few yards they needed to bring a perfect season into question, tells me that Notre Dame has something more than superior talent or superior coaching or superior preparation. They have something intangible. They have something that seems corny and made-up and that normally makes me cringe when I hear it. But I saw it on those 10 plays. You saw it too.
They have heart. They, for lack of a better phrase, want it more.
And that’s the immeasurable difference between measurable results. That’s the difference between 12-0 and 11-1 or 10-2. That’s the difference between sitting at home in the second week of January and playing for a national championship.

Florida-Florida State lived up to the hype – it was terrific to see these teams play in a game of consequence in HD. The last time both of these teams squared off with so much at stake, we were all adjusting the bunny ears on top of our televisions. (For my younger readers, bunny ears were two metal poles that extended from the top of the television and grabbed whatever shoddy television signals and garbled police scanner chatter they could find.) The Gators stormed out 13-0 on the back of a pair of EJ Manuel picks, and it seemed their defense was simply too good for a talented offense from another conference to handle. (SEC fans were collectively saying “Told ya so” in a slow drawl midway through the second quarter.)

FLORIDA at FLORIDA STATE
Rushing	244	112
Passing	150	188
Turnovers	1	5
Box Score

But the third quarter belonged to the Noles. The Florida State defense flipped a turnover into seven points and Manuel found his composure and took to the ground – he entered the game with only 181 rushing yards on the season, but had 54 and a pair of scores against the Gators. By the time players were holding their fists aloft to signal the onset of the fourth quarter, the tomahawk chop was in full-throat and a 13-point deficit had become a seven-point advantage. Doak Campbell stadium roared to life and the crowd – and momentum – seemed like they’d bury the Gators and their not-so-unrealistic national title hopes. But Will Muschamp’s staff made the right adjustments and the Gators answered back with another run of their own – 24 consecutive points took the life out of the crowd. Turnovers were the Seminoles’ ultimate undoing in the 37-26 loss – they had five to the Gators’ one. By the end of the game, with the Notre Dame result pending for several hours, Gainesville united behind Lane Kiffin, who held the Gators’ national title fate in his hands.
Corvallis was unsuccessful in its attempt to secede from the state of Oregon. Its rebellion, which had been gaining steam all season and seemed to pose a legitimate threat to the state capitol at Nike headquarters, was snuffed out with relative ease by the well dressed army from Eugene. Despite an early scare in the first half of this Civil War – Oregon State was down only three midway through the third quarter – the Ducks restored order and rolled off 28 unanswered to take any drama out of what, a month ago, looked like it might be one of the best games of the year. But given Oregon’s defeat at the hands of Stanford and a recent pair of Oregon State losses, Oregon’s 48-24 blowout win was ultimately of little consequence. Beavers’ quarterback Sean Mannion may have put an end to next year’s quarterback controversy before it could even start – he tossed four more picks on Saturday, effectively handing the starting job back to Cody Vaz.
Congrats, Ohio State…I guess? You’re 12-0, now please use the exits in the back – we’ll see you next year. Most teams finish undefeated seasons amid a glorious shower of confetti and Brent Musburger-isms, not after winning a noon game in the season’s penultimate week with fans outside America’s most important swing state offering a resounding “meh.” But that’s precisely what happened on Saturday when the Buckeyes capped their perfect 2012 run with a 26-21 win against Michigan. First, kudos to the Wolverines for leading this one until eight minutes remained in the fourth quarter despite Denard Robinson’s continued physical inability to throw a pass. But his 122 rushing yards, including yet another shoelace-eviscerating 67-yard scamper, certainly didn’t hurt. In the end, though, Ohio State was just too talented, and Urban Meyer had them too focused for this overmatched Michigan team to hold on in the Horseshoe. Brilliant season by Meyer by bringing this team back from seven losses to 12 wins, but, in my mind, it’ll always have a little asterisk next to it. The Buckeyes played in quite a few close games – I don’t think they would’ve triumphed in each one if they’d been playing for a shot at the crystal football, leaving them playing without that pressure can make muscles loosen up and the game slow down. Still, nice job, Urban, I hope you have room in your already well-stocked trophy case (rich mahogany, of course) for about five consecutive Big Ten championships.  
Bedlam is defined as “a scene of uproar and confusion.” Does 51-48 qualify? I’d say yes. Good job, whoever named the game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State; I have no qualms with your rivalry naming decision, carry on. You want confusion? How about Oklahoma State’s third-string QB Clint Chelf leading the Cowboys to a 17-3 lead on the road against the Cowboys’ big brother? You want uproar? How about Oklahoma never holding a lead until Brennan Clay’s 18-yard run in overtime sealed the Sooners win? In the interim – between the 17-3 deficit and the walk off win – the Sooners trailed on four separate occasions and rallied back to tie the contest all four times. Landry Jones didn’t disappoint in his last game in front of the Norman faithful, who have oscillated from frustration to reverence of the formerly mustached signal-caller with seemingly every throw through his four years as the Sooners’ starter. Jones capped his Bedlam-laced home career by throwing for 500 yards on the nose and tossing three scores on 71 (71!) attempts. Plus he led Oklahoma on a 16-play, six-minute drive to send the game to overtime.

Dylan Thompson
South Carolina | QB | So.

C-A-I	YDS	TD
23-41-1	310	3

No Connor Shaw? No Marcus Lattimore? No problem. All South Carolina needed was a visor and a caustic wit. Without their two best offensive players, it seemed the Gamecocks would be doomed against their in-state rival, which had won seven consecutive games by double-digits. Instead, Shaw’s backup, sophomore Dylan Thompson, eclipsed 300 yards through the air and tossed three scores. The Gamecocks were able to piece together a decent rushing attack, but the 10-point win in one of the day’s better matchups belonged to Thompson and the underrated Gamecock defense. Clemson had scored more than 40 points eight times this season, yet the South Carolina defense held the nation’s No. 8 offense to only 17 points, 14 of which came in the first quarter, and pitched a shutout in the fourth. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. That’s typically what happens when an elite offense from another conference runs headlong into 11 men who play defense in the SEC every weekend.
The battle for the golden cactus – pardon me, I meant the Territorial Cup – lived up to the billing on Friday night in Tucson (I have yet to spell that city’s name correctly on my first attempt). The Territorial Cup overflowethed (that’s the past tense, right?) with points in the Sun Devils’ come-from-behind 41-34 win. Though, you didn’t know that because the game was on until about 1 a.m. Eastern on Saturday and you were deep in the midst of a coma triggered by excessive gravy intake and making semi-uncomfortable small talk with the 37 family members you’re contractually obligated to see once a year. Well, too bad, gravy monger, because you missed a good one. Fortunately, I’m contractually obligated to avoid small talk and watch football, so I got to watch the Sun Devils put up 24 unanswered in the fourth to turn a 10-point deficit into their biggest win of the season. Both teams finished the season 7-5, but the loss will leave a bitter taste in the Wildcats’ mouths after a 3-0 start this year. On the bright side, Ka’Deem Carey, only a sophomore, added 172 more yards to his rushing tally and seems to have sealed the regular-season rushing title.

For the love of whatever deity you may or may not believe in, don’t poke the Bears. In Week 12, Baylor had its way with the top team in the nation. This past week, after falling behind 21-7 early, the newly mighty Bears chased the Red Raiders down and proceeded to maul their 24th-ranked defense. Thirty-one second-half Baylor points pushed the contest to overtime. And after an OT touchdown, Baylor cracked the 50-point plateau for the fifth time this season. The win marked Baylor’s third in four tries and garnered the Bears a well-deserved bowl berth. Conversely, the Red Raiders, who ranked among the nation’s top teams in both offense and defense through the first half of the season, have unraveled, dropping four of their final five games, all against conference opponents.

Remember two years ago when the Iron Bowl was the most compelling game of the season – Auburn erased a 24-0 deficit on the road – and essentially decided who was going to win the national championship? A lot can change in two years. By a lot, I mean Cam Newton took his Heisman to the NFL and Auburn’s coordinators subsequently fled. In their wake stands a 3-9 team and a 91-14 Alabama advantage in the previous two Iron Bowls. Saturday’s was the uglier of the two, as Alabama blanked its in-state rivals 49-0. AJ McCarron tossed four more touchdowns, no picks and may have earned himself a trip up to New York next month, even if he’s got no shot at coming home with the trophy. After the loss to Texas A&M, which may have been LSU-fatigue-induced, Alabama looks to be back in form heading into next week’s national semifinal/SEC Championship for all of the sweet tea.
Johnny “Football”, I know college is new to you, you’ve got homework and are likely wrapping up a few of your orientation courses, but you might want to squeeze in some time to write a speech. No, you won’t be graded on this assignment, but a few million people will be watching – the Heisman Trophy ceremony, after all, is not just a freshman speech class. Think I’m jumping the gun? Think a freshman winning the award for the first time is preposterous? Not with what Manziel has done this season. The Aggie quarterback passed Tim Tebow and Cam Newton – both Heisman winners – and now holds the SEC single-season total yardage record. He set the SEC single-game yardage record twice this year. On Saturday, he added 372 passing yards, 67 rushing yards and five touchdowns to his gaudy totals in A&M’s 59-29 win against fellow SEC newcomer Missouri. He’s the first SEC player ever to eclipse 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 on the ground. He’s the quarterback of a 10-win SEC team that gave LSU a scare and knocked off Alabama. I don’t care if he’s a freshman; he’s the best player in the country. Get that speech ready, Johnny.
Somebody please get me Will Smith. Right now! No, I don’t want his autograph and I’m not in the mood to hear any tired catchphrases or bad rap songs. I need him to use the flashy thing from Men in Black that erases your memory on me ASAP. (I’m sure they were contractually obligated to give him a real one, right?) I’d ask him to set it for about three months, so that I could forget the entire 2012 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets season. The school my father attended, and that I would have if an engineering degree was the path to a sports column, fell 42-10 to Georgia on Saturday. The Jackets finish the regular season with six losses, including several blowouts and a loss to Middle Tennessee State, and fired their defensive coordinator midseason, but, somehow, they’ll still have a chance to play for the ACC title next week. “So you’re telling me there’s a chance?” Maybe I’ll hold off on the call to Mr. Smith for another week.

UCLA and Stanford entered Saturday’s contest with identical 9-2 records, identical five-game winning streaks and nearly-identical, impressive wins against USC. So it seemed we were going to get a treat that might be a preview of the Pac-12 title game. Well, it was a preview of the Pac-12 title game – Stanford’s win ensured Oregon would be locked out of the festivities and that the Cardinal would host the Bruins this weekend. But it was no treat. After the teams played to a 7-7 stalemate in the first quarter, Stanford won 35-17 after going on a 28-3 run through much of the second and third quarters. Now, what’s the takeaway here? Is Stanford, which had to travel down to Pasadena for this one, really that much better than UCLA? Perhaps. Or did the Bruins keep their cards close to the vest (or baby-blue windbreaker, in this case)? Maybe so. UCLA came in knowing its spot in the title game was secure and that a win would mean a trip to Eugene. Did the trek to Palo Alto seem like the better option? We won’t know until next week. If Stanford handles its business again, there’s no doubt it’s the better team. But if the game goes down to the wire or the Bruins pull the upset, I’ll have the hunch that UCLA didn’t quite mind losing on Saturday.
Horned Frogs can’t fly. After freshman midseason replacement QB Trevone Boykin went only 2-4 through his first six starts, TCU decided it was time to focus on the ground attack. Against Texas, TCU ran the ball 48 times and three backs eclipsed 50 yards, paced by Boykin’s 77 yards on 10 carries. But the TCU defense, not the offense, was responsible for the 20-13 win on Thursday night that you certainly didn’t see because of the aforementioned gravy, small talk and the fact that as you read this you just thought, “There was a game on Thursday night?” The Horned Frogs’ defense forced four turnovers on the night, including three by Longhorns’ starting QB David Ash, who was once again pulled in favor of Case McCoy. McCoy didn’t fare much better in the second half, tossing a pick of his own and averaging only 6.5 yards on his 17 attempts.
Might it be safe to say that Rutgers was looking ahead to this week’s matchup with Louisville that will decide who takes home the Big East crown? That’s the only explanation for yielding 21 unanswered to a four-win Pitt team to start the game. The Scarlet Knights didn’t even get on the scoreboard until 1:43 remained in the third quarter and mustered only six points through the entire game against a Pitt defense that has been giving up about 23-points-per-contest. Despite the disappointment, it was only Rutgers’ first Big East loss and it’s still in the mix for the Big East title and a trip to a BCS bowl. 
Well, Louisville, at least basketball season has started. You guys are supposed to be pretty good this year, I hear (Note: I’m not a licensed college basketball analyst.) Remember when the Cardinals were undefeated and the Big East title seemed all but assured? Well, Saturday’s loss to UConn was their second consecutive. After struggling all game, Louisville scored in the final moments of regulation to send it to overtime. After getting knocked out with what looked like a nasty knee injury in the first OT, QB Teddy Bridgewater tossed a touchdown on his first attempt of the second extra period. But the hero quickly became the goat. In the third OT he forced a pass to the corner of the end zone that was easily picked off by UConn’s Blidi Wreh-Wilson. After the pick, all the Huskies had to do was hit a chip-shot field goal to seal their biggest win of the season and send everyone in Northern Kentucky straight to Rick Pitino’s waiting, white linen-laden arms.
Speaking of Huskies, Washington had a chance to put the finishing touches on its quietly strong season in the Pac-12. The Huskies had already notched wins against Stanford and Oregon State and were riding a four-game winning streak into Friday’s matchup (another one I know you missed; shame on you) with Washington State for the “Well, it’s raining again, I guess we should sit in the dark and listen to Nirvana” Cup. Yes, I know it’s the Apple Cup, but I’ve long wanted to be in charge of these obscure, regional trophy names and this is my chance. Given Washington State’s 2-9 start and the recent turmoil surrounding the program, it seemed the Huskies would finish their season in style. Instead, Washington State outscored their in-state rival 21-0 in the fourth quarter and overtime and earned, by far, its biggest win of the season along with a cup full of juicy apples and grey iPods filed with Nirvana tracks. Given the recent issues, this one was a pleasant way for Mike Leach and the Cougars to end the season.

1. In my first Breaking the Huddle, way back when I was just seeing some peach fuzz poke through the skin on my upper lip, I noted that I’d developed an affinity for Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell’s bruising style and durability. After all, in a season-opening win against Boise State, he took his 50 touches for 265 yards. He’s had a tremendous season since then, never seeming to wear down despite carrying the ball more than any back in the nation. But he never quite matched that level of output … until Saturday. His 35-carry, 266-yard day propelled the Spartans to a 26-10 win against Minnesota and, more fittingly, completed his set of 250-yard bookends to his tremendous season. Bell wasn’t the best back in the country this season statistically, but he may have been the most dependable given his heavy workload and heavy frame (244 pounds). Only a junior, it’ll be interesting to see if the big back decides to endure more punishment at the collegiate level next year.
2. Did everyone circle Duke-Miami (Fla.) on their calendars? No? Me neither and it pains me to say I missed what may have been the day’s most exciting game. How do I measure exciting? The game featured four touchdowns of 65 yards or more. Yes, four. And, no, Miami didn’t score all of them; Duke mustered a 99-yard catch and run. Three of the long scores – a 65-yard Duke Johnson scamper, a 72-yard Mike James catch and run and the aforementioned 99-yarder by Sean Renfree – came consecutively during only eight minutes of game time. I’m not going to dig up the history books to see how often something like that has happened, but safe to say that such a sequence is as rare as a good song by Taylor Swift. It was a down year in the ACC, but there were a slew of entertaining contests – Miami’s 52-45 win against Duke on Saturday was one of the best.
3. West Virginia’s year was a tad unconventional. Remember when they’d stormed out to a 5-0 start, climbed all the way up to No. 5 in the nation and Geno Smith’s name was already being engraved wherever the college football annals are? No, that wasn’t three years ago; it was October. Then the Big 12 hit the Mountaineers with the subtlety of a guillotine, the Mountaineers suffered five consecutive losses and in-game Heisman graphics no longer featured Mr. Smith’s picture. But, finally, after nearly two months of torment, West Virginia is back in the win column with a 31-24 victory against Iowa State. With Kansas on the schedule this week and a bowl game looming, the Mountaineers could scrape together eight wins and finish in the middle of the Big 12 pack despite their long losing streak. Three consecutive wins to close the season could have the same soothing effects of the Will Smith flashy thing – a short memory will be an asset before the Mountaineers second season in their new conference.

Welcome to championship Saturday. Follow these games this weekend and you’ll be better for it:

  
No. 3 Georgia
vs. No. 2 Alabama
4 p.m. ET

Welcome to your seventh-annual national semifinal, once again held in the beautiful Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. Some would scoff at my characterization of that facility, but I’m admittedly biased. Once again, whoever walks out of the Dome with the SEC title in tow will have earned the right to play for the national championship. The Dogs reached Keanu-Reeves-in-The-Matrix levels of dodging bullets this year by not having to square off against LSU, Alabama, Texas A&M or Mississippi State in the regular season. They haven’t squandered their good fortune, dropping only one game all year. But all UGA fans knew that, come December, facing one SEC West juggernaut would be unavoidable. On Saturday, we’ll find out of Georgia’s high ranking and impressive season are more a result of the lucky schedule or if the Dogs are worthy of competing for a national championship.  

  
No. 17 UCLA
vs. No. 8 Stanford 8 p.m. ET (Friday)

 I certainly hope that Jim Mora was playing as vanilla as possible on Saturday and the second installment of the battle of teams from the West with atypical mascots will be more compelling than the first. The SEC title game is really the only one that matters from a national standpoint, but the Pac-12 championship tilt is the highlight of the undercard. A USC-Oregon title matchup seemed preordained, but the conference has beaten up on itself all season. These two squads survived runs through what may be the nation’s second-best conference.

  
No. 23 Texas
at No. 7 Kansas State
8 p.m. ET

 Yes, Kansas State is still around. It may have been easy to forget about the Wildcats after Baylor tore their hearts out in Waco, Texas, and they spent rivalry week licking that gaping wound. Still, this is one of the best teams in the nation. On Saturday, the Wildcats have a chance to lock down their first conference title since 2003. It’s not the championship they wanted in Manhattan after a 10-0 start, but is a worthy consolation prize for the team that was the biggest surprise in the nation outside of South Bend. 

  
No. 14 Nebraska
vs. Wisconsin
8 p.m. ET

 The inaugural Big Ten title game was a thriller. Wisconsin pulled it out 42-39 after watching its big first-quarter lead slip away against the Spartans. This year, the Badgers, only 4-4 in the Big Ten, have a chance to defend their conference crown in Indianapolis thanks to Ohio State’s postseason ban. Nebraska only has two losses on the season – just one came in conference – and knocked off Wisconsin 30-27 in September. The Huskers should win their first title in their new conference, but if Gus is in the building yet again I wouldn’t rule out five overtimes and Lucas Oil Stadium taking off and flying into space at halftime.

For more information go to NCAA.com.