LSU Tramples Arkansas; 41-17

Jordan Jefferson passed for 208 yards and rushed for 53 more as his two touchdowns helped lift LSU to a 41-17 decimation of the Arkansas Razorbacks, Friday night. Kenny Hilliard rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Michael Ford added in another 96, as No. 1 LSU (12-0, 8-0 SEC) further solidified their standing as the most dominant team in college football.

The Razorbacks (10-2, 6-2 SEC) took an early 14-point lead, taking a recovered fumble to the house early in the first quarter. But that resilient, grind-it-out LSU offense never cracked, sticking to the running game and pounding Arkansas’ defense into the dirt. The Tigers scored three touchdowns, gave up an Arkansas field goal, and then capped the game off scoring three more unanswered touchdowns.

LSU looks towards facing No. 14 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game next Saturday, and will likely be voted into the BCS Championship Game regardless of the outcome.

Oregon Routs Oregon State, Clinches Pac-12 Championship Game

After a relatively slow start, the Oregon Ducks picked up steam, putting up big numbers in their routing of state, Pac-12 rival Oregon State Beavers on Saturday.

Darron Thomas ran the show, passing for 305 yards and four touchdowns. Electrifying freshman, De’Anthony Thomas, also kept the Oregon offense rolling, hauling in 10 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown, and adding in 71 yards on the ground, as the No. 9 Ducks (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12) rolled over division rival Oregon State to solidify home field advantage in the Pac-12 Championship Game vs. UCLA next Saturday.

LaMichael James rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown through three quarters, but left the game early with what looked like a hyper-extended left elbow.

Alabama Cruises Past Auburn

Auburn didn’t even stand a chance. Trent Richardson destroyed the Tigers’ defense, stomping all over them for 203 yards on the ground, and the Alabama Crimson Tide sailed over rival Auburn in a 42-14 smack down in this year’s Iron Bowl.

A.J. McCarron picked up 184 passing yards and three touchdowns, but kudos went to Alabama’s stingy SEC defense. The No. 2 Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 SEC) held Auburn (7-5, 4-4 SEC) to 140 yards of total offense, limiting their electrifying running back, Michael Dyer, to a menial 48 yards through four quarters.

Houston Dismantles Tulsa, Remains Undefeated

Case Keenum continued to plead his case for Heisman candidacy, picking apart the Tulsa secondary for 457 yards (33-47) and five touchdowns in Houston’s 48-16 rout of the Golden Hurricane, Friday afternoon.

Keenum hit eight different receivers, including Patrick Edwards, who was on the receiving end of four touchdown passes and 187 yards worth of receptions and yards after the catch.

No. 6 Houston (12-0, 8-0 C-USA) will take on No. 24 Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA Championship Game next week, where the Cougars will look to expand on what has already been a golden season.

Wisconsin Smashes Penn State, Clinches Big Ten Championship Game

Montee Ball further padded his Heisman resume, adding in 156 yards and four touchdowns as the Wisconsin Badgers burrowed through Big Ten rival Penn State, 45-7 blowout. Russell Wilson picked up 186 passing yards and two touchdowns, and No. 15 Wisconsin (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) solidified their position in the Big Ten Championship Game next week against No. 13 Michigan State.

Justin Tucker Saves the Day, Texas Squeezes Out Over Texas A&M.

Justin Tucker knocked down a clutch 40-yard field goal with time expiring, and the Texas Longhorns barely came out victorious over state, Big-12 rival, Texas A&M, squeezing out a 27-25 road win for all of the chips.

Led by QB Ryan Tannehill, A&M had marched down the field and scored on the Longhorn secondary, leaving just under two minutes for Texas to mount a game-winning drive. But Case McCoy would not be denied, scrambling to the A&M 23-yard line for a 25-yard pickup that would move Tucker into field goal position and seal the deal for the Longhorns.

Georgia Coasts Past Rival Georgia Tech, Clinches SEC Championship Game

Aaron Murray was the crutch for Georgia, passing for 252 yards and all four of his team’s touchdowns, and the No. 14 Bulldogs (10-2, 7-1 SEC) got the win over rival Georgia Tech in the “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” game on Saturday.

Though they allowed 243 yards on the ground, the Georgia defense forced two interceptions and held Georgia Tech to 112 passing yards. Georgia can only hope to improve on their rush defense, as they’ll have to take on a run-heavy No. 1 LSU in the SEC Championship Game next week.

Virginia Tech Zips UVA, 38-0

The score tells it all. David Wilson rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Virginia Tech completely dominated rival Virginia, leaving them scoreless through four quarters. Tech’s defense picked off UVA QB Michael Rocco twice, and No. 5 Virginia Tech (11-1, 7-1 ACC) smashed their division rival while advancing to the ACC Championship Game against No. 20 Clemson, next week.

Baylor Outscores Texas Tech, 66-42

Heisman hopeful, Robert Griffin III, looked on from the sidelines after suffering a concussion in the second quarter. But the damage had already been done. RG3 reached the endzone three times in the first half (once in the air, twice on the ground), and second string quarterback Nick Florence added in two more passing touchdowns as No. 17 Baylor advanced to 8-3 (5-3 Big-12)  in their win over rival Texas Tech.

Terrance Ganaway trampled over the Tech defense, rushing for 246 yards and two touchdowns and the Baylor Bears moved on to the Big-12 Championship Game vs. No. 22 Texas next week.

Andrew Luck Picks Apart Notre Dame, Stanford Wins; 28-14

Andrew Luck proved why he’s the best QB in college football, completing 20 of his 30 pass attempts for 233 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Stanford Cardinal to a two-touchdown victory over the Fighting Irish.

Stepfan Taylor rushed for 118 yards on 20 carries, and the No. 4 Cardinal (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) recorded their eleventh win of the season. They won’t, however, play in the Pac-12 Championship game because they lost the tiebreaker to Oregon earlier in the season.

South Carolina State Defeats Clemson

Connor Shaw did it all, passing for 210 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 107 yards and another touchdown, as he led his South Carolina State Gamecocks to their tenth win of the season.

Kenny Miles also added in 71 rushing yards, but it was Shaw’s picture-perfect performance that got South Carolina State (10-2, 6-2 SEC) the win over Clemson, Saturday night.

Oklahoma Comfortably Crushes Iowa State.

After upsetting a perfect Oklahoma State the week before, Iowa State looked to make Oklahoma their next victim. The Sooners were not on board. Though Landry Jones was picked off twice, he still decimated the Iowa State defense for 256 yards. Blake Bell picked up two rushing touchdowns, but the MVP award would go to kicker, Michael Hunnicutt, who knocked down four field goals (20, 28, 37 & 21) and gave the Oklahoma Sooners (9-2, 6-2 Big-12) some desperately needed points.

Boise State Spreads Out Wyoming. Broncos Win; 36-14

At the helm of one of the nation’s most potent offenses, Kellen Moore stood tall, delivering three touchdown strikes and 279 passing yards in Boise State’s tenth win (10-1, 5-1 MWC) of the season.

Doug Martin rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bronco defense picked off Wisconsin QB, Brett Smith twice, as No. 7 Boise State advanced to the Midwest Conference Championship Game vs. New Mexico next week.

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The state of Alabama is easily one of the most passionate in the country about its football. But those that live there must choose a side, as they lack their own NFL team. They will forever love either the Alabama Crimson Tide or the Auburn Tigers, and when the two universities met at Auburn on Saturday for the 76^th Iron Bowl, those who selected Alabama received year-long bragging rights following a 42-14 victory.

But there was far more than just bragging rights at stake for both ends coming into this matchup. For #2 ranked Alabama (11-1) and its fans this game was all about avenging last year’s heartbreaking 28-27 loss to then #1 ranked Auburn after blowing a 24-point lead.

Despite being ranked just 24^th in the BCS this time around, the Tigers (7-5) and their faithful supporters were still basking in the glory of the monumental comeback behind eventual Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton, in what turned out to be an undefeated national championship season.

Alabama, who also won the national title in 2009, aimed to make another bid at the championship game with a win, but defeating them and completely destroying those aspirations would make a challenging 2011 season all worthwhile for Auburn.

Auburn did not appear fazed from the outset, as their stadium erupted after they forced Alabama into a three and out on the game’s opening drive.

But Alabama remained as composed as they have been all year long, as they were able to also get their defense off the field in just three plays on the opposition’s first possession; setting the tone for another dominating performance by their top-ranked defensive unit.

The Crimson Tide then proceeded to open up the scoring shortly after with an 81 yard drive that concluded with quarterback A.J. McCarron’s first touchdown pass of three on the night – a 41 yard flea flicker to sophomore receiver Kenny Ball. McCarron was extremely efficient, completing 18 of 23 passes going for 184 yards.

Alabama seemed to be in cruise control after scoring another touchdown on a 35 yard reception by tight end Brad Smelley. They were having their way offensively and allowed only one Auburn first down throughout the entire first half.

But the Tigers managed to get on the board and cut the lead to 14-7 after recovering a fumble by McCarron in the end zone.

However this was only one blip by the Crimson Tide, who didn’t really have any at all. They added on another 10 points and went into halftime leading 24-7.

Auburn needed a major spark to begin the second half and received just that when junior Onterio McCalebb ran back the opening kick 83 yards for a touchdown. They felt hopeful, as they were right back in the game at 24-14.

“We knew we had to execute,” McCalebb said. “Once I saw the hole, I hit it, and after that, I knew nobody could catch me.”

But unfortunately for the Tigers, Alabama’s defense allowed only 140 total yards of offense, gave up just nine first downs, and surrendered zero points on defense. Without any more points off turnovers or special teams, Auburn was unable to score for the remainder of the contest.

The Crimson Tide ran away with the game in the second half, adding a field goal, a 35 yard interception return touchdown from defensive back Dee Milliner, a two point conversion, and a 15 yard touchdown run late by Jalston Fowler.

Senior running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Trent Richardson had a career game, making a five yard touchdown reception, running for 203 yards on 27 carries, also breaking off a 57 yarder in the process. It was also the ninth 100 yard rushing game of the year for him, tying him for the team record with 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram.

“Anytime you got No. 3 (Richardson) in your backfield, a team’s going to challenge you, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen all year,” said McCarron.

The game was clearly controlled by Alabama from start to finish, and now they’ll wait to see if the BCS will give them a birth in the national title game in New Orleans this January. Auburn, who took a step back this year, will still play in a bowl game, although it will not be of the BCS variety.

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A look of anguish and despair was spread across the student section of the Alabama Crimson Tide crowd. The LSU Tigers were in range for an overtime, game-winning field goal, and their kicker was not about to miss the biggest kick of his career.

In a late night showdown with strong BCS implications, defense was prominent and touchdowns were scarce. Actually, there were no touchdowns, only field goal attempts, misses and makes. In the biggest game of each team’s season, the coaches each banked on one player — or in Alabama’s case, two — the kicker, and LSU’s kicker came out victorious last night.

While RB Trent Richardson, a surefire Heisman trophy candidate, came out of the gates with two electrifying plays, LSU’s stingy defense held him to just 89 yards on 23 carries; no touchdowns. And it would be Bama’s defense that held Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson, two established LSU QB’s, to a menial 91 combined passing yards and two interceptions; no touchdowns.

The two offenses struggled all night to put points on the board, but in the end it would be Special Teams that made or broke each team. And LSU’s special teams more than crippled the Crimson Tide.

Alabama failed to capitalize on several opportunities to take the lead by failing to knock down field goals. Their so-called distance kicker, Cade Foster, missed field goals from 52, 50 and 44, and their close-range kicker, Jeremy Shelly, had his low 49-yard attempt blocked. While they weren’t easy kicks, Foster wasn’t even close on any of his attempts, missing wide right almost every time.

That’s where LSU Kicker, David Alleman, reigned supreme. Alleman missed not a single kick, hitting all three of his attempts, including the overtime try that solidified the Tigers as the best team in college football.

When all is said and done, this was a game for the ages, but do we really want a rematch?

With all of the hype that was built up on the No. 1 vs. No. 1 showdown, the offenses definitely failed to excite. While it’s true that defense wins championships, it is offense that gets the crowds riled up and creates undying buzz for the team. Sure, A.J. McCarron threw for 199 yards, and sure LSU had 149 combined rushing yards, but no one got into the endzone.

Do these two teams really deserve to bore the fans again with a rematch at the BCS championship? Leave a comment and sound off, but this writer would rather see a potent Boise State offense take on a dominant LSU defense.

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