Oregon and Boise State have plowed through their schedules undefeated except for #2 Boise State's 37-34 loss to #1 Oregon as a field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired to give the Ducks the win on their home field. That instant classic is what a football aficionado would expect in a battle between the nation's top two teams. But the battle for #2 tightened this week with Texas's win over Georgia, avenging a loss earlier in the season to the Bulldogs.
There were some exciting games in the conference championships, with Boise State's defense putting on its best show of the year in stopping a potent UNLV offense, 21-7. Oregon had a solid 28-10 lead in the second quarter and double-digit leads several times in the second half only to see Penn State storm back to make it interesting before the Ducks took it, 45-37.
Georgia's starting quarterback suffered a bad injury to his elbow when he was sacked and had to go to the sidelines in the second half as his relatively inexperienced backup sparked his team to a comeback. Texas was able to tie the game 16-16 on a field goal in the final seconds, sending it into overtime, and took a 19-16 lead on another field goal in the extra period. On the ensuing possession, the substitute Bulldog quarterback had to leave the field for one play when his helmet came off, and who should enter the game but the banged-up starter. He approached the line of scrimmage with a noticeably-limp left arm and even when handing it off, had to do it ever so slowly because of the injury. But his running back grabbed the ball and went into the end zone for the win.
But the most exciting of the championship games was in the ACC, as Clemson controlled the first half and owned a 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter only to see SMU storm back to tie it at 31 with just 16 seconds left. But Clemson got an excellent kickoff return and then hit a pass over the middle to the SMU 38 with 3 seconds left. Their best chance was to let their kicker try a 55-yard field goal, and he nailed it with room to spare for the dramatic win.
Here is the Blue Football Through and Through Top 25 heading into the playoffs!
1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1. Oregon 13-0, prevailed over #6 Penn State 45-37, (Impressive Wins: Beat #2 Boise State, #6 Penn State, #7 Ohio State and #25 Illinois, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
7-7-7-7-4-4-3-2-2. Boise State 12-1, throttled #14 UNLV 21-7, (Impressive Wins: Beat #14 UNLV (2), Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses: None)
23-12-11-11-20-15-7-6-3. Georgia 10-2, defeated #4 Texas 22-19 in overtime, (Impressive Wins: Beat #4 Texas (2), #11 Tennessee and #19 Clemson, Lost to #16 Alabama and #17 Mississippi, Bad Losses: None)
6-18-17-14-10-8-6-3-4. Texas 11-2, lost to #3 Georgia 22-19 in overtime, (Impressive Wins: Beat #23 Texas A&M 17-7, Lost to #3 Georgia (2), Bad Losses: None)
4-5-4-4-5-3-5-5-5. Indiana 11-1, did not play (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat Nebraska, Lost to #7 Ohio State, Bad Losses: None)
3-3-3-9-7-5-4-4-6. Penn State 11-2, lost to #1 Oregon 45-37, (Impressive Wins: #25 Illinois, Lost to #1 Oregon and #7 Ohio State, Bad Losses: None)
10-13-9-6-3-2-2-8-7. Ohio State 10-2, did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #3 Penn State and #5 Indiana, Lost to #1 Oregon and Michigan, Bad Losses: Michigan)
32-25-19-16-14-12-10-9-8. Notre Dame 11-1, was idle, (Impressive Wins: Beat #9 Army, #23 Texas A&M, #28 Louisville and #30 Navy, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses: Lost to Northern Illinois)
17-19-16-13-8-6-11-10-9. Army 11-1, annihilated #26 Tulane 35-14, (Impressive Wins: Beat #26 Tulane, Lost to #8 Notre Dame, Bad Losses: None)
11-14-12-5-6-10-8-7-10. SMU 11-2, lost a heartbreaker to #19 Clemson 34-31 on a 55-yard field goal as time expired, (Impressive Wins: Beat #28 Louisville, Lost to #13 BYU and #19 Clemson, Bad Losses: None)
21-17-14-12-11-17-13-11-11. Tennessee 10-2, did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #16 Alabama, Lost to #3 Georgia and Arkansas, Bad Losses: Arkansas)
19-35-32-27-32-24-16-13-12. Arizona State 11-2, clipped #22 Iowa State 35-19, (Impressive Wins: Beat #14 BYU, #22 Iowa State and #27 Kansas State, Lost to Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Bad Losses: Cincinnati and Texas Tech)
2-2-2-2-2-9-17-14-13. BYU 10-2, was idle this week, (Impressive Wins: Beat #6 SMU and #27 Kansas State, Lost to #12 Arizona State and Kansas, Bad Losses: Kansas)
31-28-30-26-18-19-14-12-14. UNLV 10-3, fell to #2 Boise State 21-7 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: San Jose State, Lost to #2 Boise State (2) and Syracuse, Bad Losses: Syracuse)
14-6-6-3-13-11-9-15-15. Miami of Florida 10-2, did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #28 Louisville, Losses: Lost to Syracuse and Georgia Tech, Bad Losses: Syracuse and Georgia Tech)
22-32-21-17-12-7-19-17-16. Alabama 9-3, did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #3 Georgia, #18 South Carolina, #19 Missouri and #29 LSU, Lost to #11 Tennessee, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, Bad Losses: Oklahoma and Vanderbilt)
37-36-33-28-19-14-18-18-17. Mississippi 8-3, was idle, (Impressive Wins: Beat #3 Georgia 28-10 and #18 South Carolina, Lost to #29 LSU, Florida and Kentucky, Bad Losses: Florida and Kentucky)
_-37-34-29-29-18-20-19-18. South Carolina 9-3, did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #19 Missouri, #19 Clemson and #23 Texas A&M, Lost to #16 Alabama, #17 Mississippi and #29 LSU, Bad Losses: None)
24-21-18-19-21-16-12-21-19. Clemson 10-3, Stole a 34-31 win from #11 SMU in the final seconds, (Impressive Wins: Beat #11 SMU, Lost to #3 Georgia, #18 South Carolina and #28 Louisville, Bad Losses: None)
34-29-26-21-26-25-22-20-19. Missouri 9-3, did not play, (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat Arkansas, Lost to #16 Alabama, #18 South Carolina and #23 Texas A&M, Bad Losses: None)
24-28-_-_-_-_-24-22-21. Duke (8-3) was idle, (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Connecticut, Lost to #6 SMU, #15 Miami of Florida and Georgia Tech, Bad Losses: Georgia Tech)
11-8-15-_-_-_-27-16-22. Iowa State (10-3), lost to #12 Arizona State 45-19, (Impressive Wins: Beat #27 Kansas State, Lost to #12 Arizona State, Texas Tech and Kansas, Bad Losses: Texas Tech and Kansas)
33-26-20-18-16-13-21-23-23. Texas A&M 8-4, did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #19 Missouri and #29 LSU, Lost to #4 Texas, #9 Notre Dame, #18 South Carolina and Auburn, Bad Losses: Auburn)
_-16-23-_-31-_-24-24. Memphis (10-2), was idle, (Impressive Wins: Beat #26 Tulane, Lost to #30 Navy and Texas-San Antonio, Bad Losses: Texas-San Antonio)
12-8-15-34-30-27-25-26-25. Illinois 9-3, did not play, (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Wins: Beat Nebraska, Lost to #1 Oregon, #3 Penn State and Minnesota, Bad Losses: Minnesota)
Dropped Out of Top 25:
Louisiana
Also Considered:
_-_-_-32-26-20-15-27-26. Tulane (9-3), lost to #10 Army, (Impressive Wins: Beat #30 Navy, Lost to #10 Army, #24 Memphis, #27 Kansas State and Oklahoma, Bad Losses: Oklahoma
18-15-13-23-24-28-28-27. Kansas State 8-4, did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #26 Tulane, Lost to #12 Arizona State, #13 BYU, #22 Iowa State and Houston, Bad Losses: Houston)
35-38-31-22-22-_-29-28. Louisville (8-4), was idle, (Impressive Wins: Beat #19 Clemson, Lost to #6 SMU, #9 Notre Dame, #15 Miami of Florida and Stanford, Bad Losses: Stanford)
25-22-24-20-28-_-_-30-29. LSU (8-4), did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #17 Mississippi and #18 South Carolina, Lost to #16 Alabama, #23 Texas A&M, USC and Florida, Bad Losses: USC and Florida)
13-4-22-30-27-_-31-30. Navy (9-3), was idle, (Impressive Wins: Beat #24 Memphis, Lost to #9 Notre Dame, #27 Tulane and Rice, Bad Losses: Rice)
Dropped Out of Consideration:
Louisiana
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