College Football Top 25 Review

SI Staff | Nov 18, 2012

College Football Top 25 Review /

College Football Top 25 Review

The BCS title race is in a state of chaos. Stanford's upset of Oregon capped a night that will go down as one of the wildest in recent college football history. With the Cardinal trailing 14-7 with a little under two minutes remaining, redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan lofted a nine-yard pass to tight end Zach Ertz, who tipped the ball before regaining possession. It was initially ruled incomplete. Upon further review, it was called a touchdown. After Ducks' kicker Alejandro Maldonado missed a field goal in overtime, Stanford's Jordan Williamson converted a 37-yard attempt to seal the win. Hogan finished with 211 passing yards and a touchdown, Ertz tallied 105 receiving yards and a score and running back Stepfan Taylor (pictured) carried 33 times for 157 yards.

Oregon wasn't the only BCS heavyweight to fall on Saturday night. Previously overlooked Baylor stunned Kansas State behind an explosive offensive performance. Quarterback Nick Florence passed for 240 yards and two touchdowns, running back Lache Seastrunk (pictured) galloped for 183 yards and a score and junior back Glasco Martin ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears took down the Wildcats. Baylor, which came into the game ranked 115th in the FBS in scoring defense, allowed a mere seven points in the second half.

Notre Dame will face USC on rivalry weekend with an undefeated regular season and possible national championship game berth on the line. The Fighting Irish took care of business at home on senior day, shutting out visiting Wake Forest. Cierre Wood (pictured) rushed for 150 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown, on 11 carries.

Alabama may be on the outside of the BCS title picture looking in after last week's upset loss to Texas A&M, but the Crimson Tide haven't lost focus. Eddie Lacy (pictured) rushed for three touchdowns on a mere 10 carries and the Alabama defense held Western Carolina to 178 net yards and eight first downs.

Georgia Southern kept it close early, but Georgia eventually ran away with it to improve to 10-1 overall. Five different Bulldogs, including Malcolm Mitchell (pictured), caught touchdown passes. Georgia also recovered two fumbles.

After edging past Wisconsin in Madison, the Buckeyes are just one win away from going undefeated in their first season under Urban Meyer. Though Braxton Miller was held in check, running back Carlos Hyde (pictured) rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score on the third play of overtime. Meanwhile, Badgers back Montee Ball tied the major-college record with his 78th career touchdown in the second quarter. He can take sole possession of first place with one score next week at Penn State.

Florida struggled on offense once again, but managed to avoid the same scare it suffered last week against Louisiana-Lafayette. Mike Gillislee (pictured) scored the Gators' only offensive touchdown of the day, but Florida also scored on a Jonathan Bostic interception return in the third quarter and added three Caleb Sturgis field goals. Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett competed 14-of-22 passes for 154 yards and zero touchdowns in relief of the still-injured Jeff Driskel.

Ole Miss seemed on the verge of pulling off the upset, but LSU came through in the fourth quarter to keep its BCS at-large hopes alive. Zach Mettenberger threw for 282 yards, Spencer Ware ran for 77 yards and three touchdowns and Travis Dickson, James Wright (pictured) and Jarvis Landry all tallied at least 60 receiving yards. The play of the game came on special teams, though. Odell Beckham returned a punt 89 yards to the end zone to spur LSU's comeback.

It may have been against a cupcake team, but in Week 12 Johnny Manziel (pictured) picked up right where he left off after upsetting then No. 1 Alabama last week. Johnny Football threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 100 yards and two more scores. He broke the NCAA records for rushing yards by a freshman quarterback and total yards of offense by a freshman.

Florida State has clinched the ACC Atlantic Division for the second time in three years. Maryland, meanwhile, lost its shot at bowl eligibility. FSU's Devonta Freeman (pictured) rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns as the Seminoles cruised by an injury-depleted Terps squad to improve to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in ACC play.

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NC State simply had no answer for Clemson's offense -- and quarterback Tajh Boyd, in particular. Boyd accounted for a school-record 531 yards and eight touchdowns, and the Tigers racked up 754 yards of total offense in taking down the Wolfpack. Andre Ellington (pictured) and Sammy Watkins also delivered memorable performances. Ellington carried 22 times for 124 yards, while Watkins made 11 receptions for 110 yards and a score.

South Carolina struggled to separate from Wofford for much of the game, and the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 7-7. But linebacker DeVonte Holloman (pictured) and the rest of the South Carolina defense rallied with star Jadeveon Clowney out injured, limiting Wofford to 71 passing yards.

Quarterback Landry Jones (pictured) turned in another eye-popping performance, and the Sooners used a late touchdown to eke out a win over West Virginia. Jones threw for 554 yards and six scores, and running back Damien Williams added 92 yards and a touchdown on the ground. West Virginia took a fourth-quarter lead behind huge outings from Geno Smith, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, but Oklahoma survived when Jones connected with Kenny Stills in the end zone with just 24 seconds left.

Sean Mannion (No. 4) threw for 325 yards and four touchdowns, including one to Markus Wheaton (No. 2), as the Beavers rolled in what could be Jeff Tedford's final game as the Golden Bears' coach. Wheaton finished with 99 receiving yards for the Beavers (8-2 overall, 6-2 Pac-12), who improved to 5-0 at Reser Stadium and will face the Ducks in the Civil War next weekend.

Nebraska is one win away from a berth in the Big Ten championship game. The Huskers rolled Minnesota right out of the gate, as Taylor Martinez (pictured) threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns and Kenny Bell made nine catches for 136 yards and both receiving scores. Nebraska's defense also dominated. The Gophers didn't score until midway through the fourth quarter, when the game was already well out of reach.

USC's football monopoly really might be over. UCLA beat its archrival for the first time since 2006, securing the Pac-12 South title in the process. The Bruins got a big day from Johnathan Franklin (pictured), who rushed 28 times for 160 yards and two scores. Matt Barkley and Marqise Lee, USC's best offensive players, committed three combined turnovers.

Louisiana Tech's BCS-busting dreams are officially finished. Utah State's Kerwynn Williams (pictured) scored on a four-yard touchdown in overtime, and the Bulldogs couldn't respond as they suffered their second loss of the season. Williams ended the day with 162 rushing yards and two scores, and Aggies quarterback Chuckie Keeton accounted for 502 yards and four touchdowns. Louisiana Tech rattled off 24 unanswered second-half points before ultimately coming up short.

If not for a midseason hiccup against Kent State, Rutgers would be undefeated. The Scarlet Knights impressed again in Week 12, shutting out Cincinnati until the final minute of the game. George Winn (pictured) and his fellow Bearcats couldn't get anything going against Rutgers, managing just 90 net rushing yards as a team.

This was a bitter-sweet win for Michigan. The Wolverines improved to 8-3 overall and 6-1 in Big Ten play thanks to a six-touchdown day from quarterback Devin Gardner, who passed for three scores and rushed for three more. But the Wolverines lost running back Fitzgerald Toussaint to a gruesome leg injury on the opening drive. They got help in the backfield from a surprising source, though. After missing two-plus games with an injury to his throwing elbow, Denard Robinson played -- just not at quarterback. Robinson (pictured) rushed 13 times for 98 yards and caught two passes for 24 yards.

Texas Tech's late-season struggles continue. After racing to a 6-1 start, the Red Raiders have now dropped three of their past four games, contests in which their defense has failed to live up to its billing. Saturday brought more of the same. The Cowboys steamrolled Tommy Tuberville's team behind standout efforts from Clint Chelf and Isaiah Anderson (pictured). Chelf completed 11-of-21 attempts for 229 yards and three touchdowns, and Anderson made four grabs for 174 yards and all three receiving scores.

Kent State is headed to its first MAC title game. The Flashes stopped Bowling Green twice in the final five minutes to secure the win and advance to 10-1 overall and 7-0 in MAC play, but the offense did its part as well. Budding superstar Dri Archer (pictured) had another huge day, rushing for 241 yards and two long touchdown runs.

Published Nov 18, 2012

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