It’ll be a short list this week, with just a handful of games on the slate, but those games were well worth recapping.
-“Bedlam” certainly lived up to its name. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State went back and forth all afternoon before the Sooners scored a TD with just 19 seconds left, then scored another one after a Cowboy fumbled a lateral attempt and Eric Striker recovered. That was the end of OSU’s BCS hopes.
-Both OU and OSU struggled on 3rd down, converting just 2 of 15 and 2 of 13.
Oklahoma State’s loss and Baylor’s win over Texas gives the Bears the Big XII title. It was only a few years ago that Baylor was a perennial also-ran in the conference, so good for them. That program has improved mightily.
-Michigan State may have thrown a monkey wrench into the BCS standings by beating #2 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship. Their game was a back-and-forth affair of a different kind, with the Spartans scoring the first 17 points, the Buckeyes scoring the next 24, and the Spartans answering with another 17. I don’t know that many people will put Michigan State at #2, although coach Mark Dantonio told ESPN.com that he would. “We beat the number two team, so why not us?” he asked.
-Missouri struggled all night to stop the run with a three-man front. (Auburn had 451 rushing yards through three quarters). Luckily for them, Auburn’s defense didn’t fare much better, making this a game well into the second half. It came down to offense versus offense, and the combination of Nick Marshall and Tre Mason prevailed.
-Congratulations to Mason, who passed the great Bo Jackson for most all-purpose yards in a single season in Auburn history.
-Congratulations also to Missouri RB Henry Josey, who hit the 1,000-yard mark after missing the end of 2011 and all of 2012 after tearing most of the things that hold one’s knee together. I can’t even imagine what that rehab must have been like.
-Like Michigan State, Stanford’s defense showed yet again why they’re up there with the best in the nation.
-Florida State… well, what can I say? They showed why they’re number one. Duke should feel good, for them to even be in this game was a huge step in the right direction for the program.
Stay tuned over the next few weeks for bowl game previews and a TWLIC season wrap-up!
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