College Football Top 25 Review

SI Staff | Dec 5, 2010

College Football Top 25 Review /

College Football Top 25 Review

For the first time in school history, Oregon will be playing for the national championship. The Ducks (12-0, 9-0 Pac-10) wrapped up an undefeated season with a win over their in-state rivals, who simply couldn't stop the run. LaMichael James rushed for 134 yards and two scores and Kenjon Barner added 133 and two more touchdowns (one receiving) and the Oregon defense added three interceptions to lock up a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.

Just when Auburn fans thought it couldn't get any better, Cam Newton delivered a career day to lead his team to a victory over South Carolina and an all but certain berth in the BCS National Championship Game. Newton passed for 335 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 73 yards and two additional scores, locking up a 13-0 season and SEC title for Auburn.

Boise State may be out of the national championship picture, but it still ended its WAC tenure in style. Kellen Moore passed for three touchdowns (two to tight end Kyle Efaw) and ran for another as the Broncos (11-1, 7-1 WAC) wrapped up a share of the conference crown before leaving for the Mountain West next season.

This is not the way Nebraska envisioned making its Big 12 exit. The Cornhuskers (10-3) got out to a 17-0 lead, but Taylor Martinez and Co. committed four turnovers and were held scoreless in the second half for the first time all season. Oklahoma (11-2) has won seven Big 12 titles under Bob Stoops.

Make it three ACC titles in four years for Virginia Tech. The surging Hokies (11-2) outlasted Florida State (9-4) thanks to a big night from quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who threw three touchdowns and rushed for another. Ty Jones ran for three scores for the Seminoles, but it wasn't enough to hang with the Hokies, who are Orange Bowl bound after winning their 11th straight.

The Wolf Pack have run their way to a piece of the WAC title. A week after knocking off Boise State, Nevada (12-1, 7-1 WAC) piled up 359 rushing yards on Louisiana Tech (4-7, 4-4). Vai Taua rushed for 162 yards and two scores and Colin Kaepernick scored three times on the ground, tying Nebraska's Eric Crouch for the NCAA record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

West Virginia did its part. Unfortunately for WVU, so did Connecticut. The Mountaineers (9-3, 5-2 Big East) secured a share of the Big East title with a 35-14 win over the struggling Scarlet Knights (4-8, 1-6), who surrendered a career-high 352 passing yards to Geno Smith and three rushing scores to Ryan Clarke. But UConn survived a Saturday night showdown with South Florida, earning the Big East's BCS berth due to its head-to-head win over WVU.

Last season, Miami of Ohio lost 11 games. This season, the RedHawks (9-4) are MAC champions. Northern Illinois (10-3) had won eight games in a row, but Miami of Ohio freshman quarterback Austin Boucher found Armand Robinson with 33 seconds left for the go-ahead score -- and the program's first conference title since 2003.

Hawaii blistered the Runnin' Rebels to finish with 10 wins for the sixth time in school history. Quarterback Bryant Moniz passed for 380 yards and four touchdowns and running back Alex Green added 136 yards on the ground and a touchdown of his own.

Published Dec 5, 2010

SI STAFF