Smooth Pancakes' Coaching Carousel Career

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, for the second week in a row, #1 Georgia barely pulls a win out of their ass, edging out Florida 31-30. #2 Penn State barely escapes Illinois, a 9 yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds to play giving the Nittany Lions a 35-31 win over the Illini. #3 Oklahoma gets an easy 35-7 win over Iowa State. #4 Marshall rolls with a 35-10 win over Central Florida. #5 Texas has little trouble on their way to a 49-14 rout of Kansas State.

#6 Ohio State recovers from last week's loss by absolutely destroying Indiana 61-10. #18 Auburn knocks off #7 LSU 38-34, Auburn scoring the game-winner with 2:17 to play. #9 Iowa holds on to beat Northwestern 28-21. #10 Clemson walks away with a 34-6 win over Syracuse. #11 Miami downs #21 Pittsburgh 38-31. This game actually wasn't even close, Miami led 38-10 before Pitt scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. #12 Michigan State rolls to a 35-3 win over Minnesota. #13 Nebraska edges out Michigan 31-28. #15 Arkansas demolishes Ole Miss 56-3.

In an insane finish in game that saw #16 Air Force leading 28-10 at halftime, Nevada scores 19 fourth quarter points, including two touchdowns in the final 2:50 of the game, the game-winner with 1:43 left to play after a successful onside kick, putting Nevada ahead for the 29-28 upset of the Falcons. #17 NC State rolls to an easy 42-14 win over rival North Carolina. #19 Arkansas State gets back on the winning track with a 42-7 win over Massachusetts. #20 Notre Dame fights off Kentucky to win 35-30. South Carolina scores a 34-24 upset of #22 Tennessee. #23 Oklahoma State takes down Kansas 21-3. #24 Arizona beats Washington 31-21 and #25 Oregon defeats Texas A&M 45-14.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 4-4 (4-0 C-USA) with a 38-19 win over MTSU. Jaymo, Arizona State has been eliminated from bowl contention, falling to 1-7 (0-5 Pac-12) with a 35-16 loss to West Virginia. Mors, West Virginia improves to 6-2 (4-1 Big 12) with a 35-16 win over Arizona State. Jeff, #6 Ohio State improves to 8-1 (5-1 Big Ten) with a 61-10 domination of Illinois. Other teams of interest, #19 Arkansas State improves to 5-2 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 42-7 win over Massachusetts.

In Big East action, Tulsa beats Memphis 63-35, Temple beats Navy 37-21, East Carolina tops South Florida 21-18, Cincinnati rolls 48-22 over Connecticut, SMU whoops Tulane 45-17 and #4 Marshall beats Central Florida 35-10 in non-conference action.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no one lost this week, keeping our number of undefeated teams at 4. #1 Georgia (8-0), #2 Penn State (8-0), #4 Marshall (8-0) and Toledo (8-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 5 teams still looking for their first win: Bowling Green (0-8), Louisiana-Monroe (0-7), Minnesota (0-8), San Jose State (0-7) and Utah State (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Georgia (32 first place votes) remains #1, Penn State (28 votes) remains #2, Marshall (1 vote) climbs one to #3, Oklahoma falls one to #4 and Texas remains #5. Ohio State remains #6, Virginia climbs one to #7, Iowa jumps one to #8, Clemson moves up on to #9 and Miami jumps one to #10. Michigan State climbs one to #11, Nebraska jumps one to #12, LSU drops six to #13, Virginia Tech remains #14 and Arkansas remains #15. Auburn jumps two to #16, NC State remains #17, Arkansas State climbs one to #18, Notre Dame moves up one to #19 and Oklahoma State climbs three to #20. Arizona jumps three to #21, Air Force falls six to #22, Oregon jumps two to #23, Pittsburgh falls three to #24 and Nevada (290 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Tennessee (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Boise State (254 points) is #26, followed by USC (215), Alabama (151), BYU (64) and Utah (39) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes include Toledo (12) and Cincinnati (7).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Penn State (40 first place votes) remains #1, Georgia (24 votes) remains #2, Marshall (1 vote) jumps two to #3, Oklahoma drops one to #4 and Texas falls one to #5. Ohio State climbs one to #6, Virginia falls one to #7, Clemson jumps one to #8, Iowa climbs one to #9 and Michigan State jumps two to #10. Miami climbs two to #11, NC State falls one to #12, Auburn leaps six to #13, Nebraska remains #14 and LSU drops seven to #15. Virginia Tech drops one to #16, Arkansas remains #17, Notre Dame climbs two to #18, Arkansas State jumps two to #19 and Air Force drops four to #20. Oregon jumps two to #21, Pittsburgh falls four to #22, Oklahoma State climbs two to #23, Arizona enters the poll at #24 and Nevada (308 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Tennessee (from #22) and Georgia Tech (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Boise State (281 points) is #26, followed by USC (240), Alabama (96), Cincinnati (53) and Texas Tech (41) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week includde Toledo (30), Utah (29) and BYU (8).

Looking at the new BCS rankings, #1 Georgia (0.997), #2 Penn State (0.997), #3 Marshall (0.989), #4 Oklahoma (0.984), #5 Texas (0.977), #6 Virginia (0.967), #7 Ohio State (0.967), #8 Clemson (0.959), #9 Iowa (0.951) and #10 Michigan State (0.947).

Looking at the latest Heisman Watch list, Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser is #1 (LW: #1), Texas HB Robert Young is #2 (LW: #3), Georgia HB Justin Jones is #3 (LW: #2), UAB QB Adama Gardner is #4 (LW: NR) and Arkansas HB Matt Miller is #5 (LW: #4). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Navy QB Sterling Reid (LW: #5).

Thank you baby Jesus! I finally break that damn godforsaken 5 game losing streak!

It wasn't easy though. When Memphis tied me up, pulled to within 21-14 and then pull again to within 35-28, I thought for sure we were going to find a way to fuck it up. I swear to god, if I had lost to freaking 8-84 over 7 3/4 years MEMPHIS, I was going to resign as OC of Tulsa the moment I returned to the dynasty menus. :fp:

Even then, while we still won, Jesus Christ is my defense just a heaping pile of crap. Against freaking 8-84 over 7 3/4 years MEMPHIS, you give up 35 points and 418 yards of offense. Just pathetic. :smh:

Oh well. Memphis is in the past, they've been beaten, my losing streak is over, I can now focus on Tulane, with my 11 recruits coming to visit.

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Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes

Jaymo, Arizona State has been eliminated from bowl contention, falling to 1-7 (0-5 Pac-12) with a 35-16 loss to West Virginia. Mors, West Virginia improves to 6-2 (4-1 Big 12) with a 35-16 win over Arizona State.

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:popcorn:

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Originally Posted by souljahbill

Who in the hell made our schedule this season? Athletic department must be broke because every game is a "money game." When the fuck does conference start?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes

It might not get much prettier in conference. Marshall's currently undefeated, FIU was undefeated until blowing it against, I think, North Texas. Hell, even UAB has come out of nowhere they year. Blazers are currently 5-1 and just whooped someone something along the lines of 49-7 or 49-14. The score was just ugly. UAB is no longer a pushover this year.

So the C-USA East has at least three legit teams in Marshall, FIU and UAB. Southern Miss is going to have their work cut out for them.

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.....and now we're at .500. #ThankYouCUSA

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Originally Posted by souljahbill

.....and now we're at .500. #ThankYouCUSA

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With the three toughest teams in your C-USA schedule still to come in #3 Marshall (8-0), UAB (6-2) and Florida International (5-3), .500 may not last for long.

The remaining schedule for Southern Miss is: at Florida Atlantic (1-7), vs. Florida International (5-3), at UAB (6-2) and vs. #3 Marshall (8-0). So other than FAU, Southern Miss has got a long road ahead of them.

Your 4-0 C-USA record has come against 1-8 UTSA, 3-4 Western Kentucky, 2-6 Louisiana Tech, and 3-6 MTSU. Not exactly stellar competition. :eyeroll: :whistle:

Also your previous statement was incorrect. Not every game was a money game. Arkansas and #20 Alabama qualified as money games, but while BYU was ranked #16 at the time, BYU and Troy don't really qualify as money games. Southern Miss just ended up with a tough (and ranked) opponent in BYU and then seriously sucked it up against Troy the next week.

Game Nine

:Tulane: :@: :Tulsa:



Game Notes

--- At long last, we were returning home the first time in over a month, renewing an old C-USA battle with Tulane. With it being homecoming, we also had plenty of festivities going on and 11 recruits coming to visit this weekend and watch the game. Entering with an equal 3-5 record, the Green Wave were looking to break their own losing streak. Luckily Tulane was much worse statistically than Memphis, ranking among the bottom of the entire nation in virtually every category, managing to claw out of the triple digits on only rush offense (#72, 169.1 yards/game) and pass defense (#65, 220.1 yards/game). With a #121 ranked rushing defense, giving up 235.5 yards/game, our running backs looked to possibly be in for a career day. With the special occasion of homecoming, making our first home appearance since October 1st, plus the visiting recruits, we ditched our usual blue and gold threads and wore our all yellow alternates. Tulane won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 17 yard kickoff return by P.J. Stephens got the game opened up, starting us from our 19 yard line. Will Oliver took the ball on first down, but found nowhere to go as he was quickly brought down for a single yard gain. Another rush by Oliver again gained only a single yard, and this was suddenly looking like it would be a difficult game. Going into the air on third down, Brad Stephens dropped back and tried to throw to Robert Harper, the ball falling incomplete to bring out the punt team on fourth and 8. A 9 yard return on the 47 yard punt got Tulane lined up at their 41 yard line.

Chad McDaniel dropped back to pass on first down, but his pass intended for Wayne Temple was batted incomplete, our defense winning an early, albeit minor, victory. Victor Jackson took over on second down, rushing for 6 yards, leaving Tulane with third and four. McDaniel would complete his pass this time, as he threw deep to Brad Williams for a 28 yard strike, giving Tulane a first down at our 25 yard line. After an incomplete pass, a 15 yard facemask penalty at the end of a 9 yard run by Jackson put Tulane right on our doorstep with first and goal from the one yard line. Leon Pearson would finish the drive off with a one yard touchdown run, giving Tulane an early 7-0 lead with 6:39 left in the first quarter.

A 16 yard kickoff return by Jason Johnson got us back on the field from our 14 yard line. Going straight to the pass this time around, Stephens threw deep to Joe Vaughn, but he was unable to come down with the pass, bringing up second down. The cornerback was able to get his hands on the second down ball intended for Vaughn, and we again found ourselves facing third and long. The punt team would trot right back out on the field after Stephens was hit while trying to release the ball, the incomplete pass bringing up fourth down. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt gave Tulane back possession at their 42 yard line.

We would catch a break this time, as two incomplete passes and a dropped ball by Jackson left Tulane punting the ball right back to us without a yard gained. A fair catch by Johnson on the 44 yard punt set us up at our 13 yard line.

Trying to go over the middle on first down, the ball intended for Johnson was broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing up second down. After six attempts, Stephens would finally complete his first pass, and we’d finally get our initial first down, as Vaughn hauled in a pass for a 16 yard completion, moving the chains to the 29 yard line. Carl Barnes kept us moving with an 11 yard catch and a first down at the 39. Handing off to Oliver on first down, he was able to rush for a 10 yard gain, but it was quickly erased with a holding penalty, leaving us facing first and 20. Vaughn was able to make up most of the yards with a 17 yard reception, leaving second and three. Another throw to Vaughn, this time over the middle went for a gain of 9 yards, picking up the first down at the Tulane 44 yard line. Throwing it up on first down, the pass intended for Barnes was broken up by the cornerback, leaving second down. P.J. Stephens was able to get us a new set of downs, hauling in a pass for an 11 yard gain to the 33 yard line. Stephens tried to connect with Vaughn on first down, but was hit from behind as he threw, resulting in an incomplete pass. Vaughn would get us into the end zone, as he was able to get behind the cornerback and haul in the ball from Stephens, racing the final 10 yards to the end zone for the 33 yard touchdown, tying the game up 7-7 with 4:07 left in the quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return got Tulane in action at their 18 yard line. McDaniel dropped back on first down and had a great pass to a wide open Joel Newell, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, the dropped pass bringing up second down. McDaniel was forced to scramble on the second down play, only able to gain one yard before being brought down, leaving Tulane facing third and 9. Our defense would again come through in the clutch, finding a way to blow it, as McDaniel connected with Tyler Scott over the middle for a 36 yard bomb and a first down at our 45 yard line. After an incomplete pass intended for Jackson, Newell was able to hold onto the pass this time around, a 13 yard reception giving Tulane a fresh set of downs at the 32. One play after making a great catch, Newell again became a goat, dropping his second pass of the game. Pearson took the ball on the ground on second down, but was only able to pick up three yards on the play, leaving the Green Wave looking at third and 7. Our defense would once again find a way to blow it, as McDaniel was able to complete a pass to Newell for a 21 yard gain, setting up first and goal at our 9 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Pearson rushed for a 6 yard gain, leaving third and goal from the three yard line. Our defense would finally not screw us over on third down, tackling McDaniel for a two yard loss, leaving fourth and goal from the 5 yard line. The 22 yard field goal by Anthony Robinson split the uprights, giving Tulane a 10-7 lead with 1:46 to go in the first quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return by P.J. Stephens got us lined up at our 21 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Barnes was able to pick up 11 yards on the reception, giving us a quick first down at the 32. Trying to hit Vaughn over the middle, the middle linebacker was able to get a hand on the ball and knock it incomplete. A pass intended for a Eric Silva was likewise broken up, and we faced third and long. P.J. Stephens was able to get the third down pass into his hands, but a quick hit by the cornerback jarred the ball loose and incomplete, as our offensive woes continued. An 8 yard return on the 49 yard punt left Tulane starting at their 27 yard line.

Pearson got the drive started for the Green Wave with a four yard rush, before an incomplete pass from McDaniel brought up third and 6. Pearson would try to get the first down on the ground, nearly succeeding with a 5 yard rush, but Tulane was forced to punt the ball back on fourth and inches. We would catch our first huge break of the game, as our punt return team was able to break through the line and blocked the punt, outside linebacker Graham Minor recovering the fumble to give us first and goal at the Tulane 8 yard line.

Handing the ball off on first down, Oliver fought his way forward for a 6 yard gain, leaving second and goal at the two yard line. Oliver would punch it in on the next play, driving right through a defender and into the end zone for the two yard touchdown, giving us a 14-10 lead with 7 seconds left in the quarter.

No return on the following kickoff left Tulane starting at their 25 yard line for their next drive, and that would bring the first quarter to an end as the clock ran out on the kickoff, holding a 14-10 lead in what was shaping up to be a back and forth duel.

Opening up the second quarter from their 25 yard line, Tulane got their drive started with a one yard scramble from McDaniel, followed by an 11 yard pass to Jackson to pick up a quick first down at the 37. Adam Jefferson came into the game to rush the ball on first down, but was quickly wrapped up in the backfield, tackled for a loss of three yards. Newell was able to recover those lost yards with a 9 yard reception, leaving Tulane facing third and four. Instead of blowing it, our defense came through when needed this time, sacking McDaniel for a 7 yard loss to leave the punt team coming out on fourth and 11. A fair catch by Johnson on the 48 yard punt gave us the ball to start at our 15 yard line.

Coming out passing on first down, we would make our own mistake, as the pass intended for Vaughn was intercepted by outside linebacker Ryan Mirvil, returned down the sideline 24 yards before finally being pushed out at our 6 yard line, giving Tulane first and goal. A four yard rush by Pearson got the Green Wave to our two yard line, before Pearson finished it off with a two yard touchdown, Tulane retaking the lead 17-14 with 7:23 to play in the half.

A 19 yard kickoff return by P.J. Stephens set us up at our 26 yard line for the next drive. An 8 yard pass to Barnes got us back moving forward, before an incomplete pass to Vaughn left third and two. Oliver would keep us alive, rushing for 9 yards and a first down at the 43 yard line. An 11 yard pass to Kevin Jackson gave us another first down at the Tulane 46 yard line as we picked up momentum. Johnson kept us moving, hauling in a pass for a 24 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 22 yard line. Throwing up a rainbow into the end zone, Vaughn came down with the pass in the back corner of the end zone for a 22 yard touchdown, going back on top 21-17 with 5:39 left before halftime.

No return on the kickoff gave Tulane the ball at their 25 yard line. McDaniel came out firing on first down, connecting with Jefferson for a 13 yard gain and a quick first down at the 38. After an incomplete pass intended for Newell, Pearson hauled in a reception for 5 yards to leave third and 5. We would catch another break, as Pearson dropped the sure first down pass, leaving the drive stalled out on fourth and 5 from the 43. An 8 yard return by Johnson on the 40 yard punt gave us back possession at our 24 yard line.

Trying to find Vaughn on first down, it nearly ended in disaster as Stephens was almost intercepted a second time. Lining up on second down, P.J. Stephens hauled in a pass for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 39, the ball just getting passed the outstretched arm of the cornerback. A pass to Vaughn gained 13 yards, followed by a 12 yard reception by Vaughn to get another first down at the Tulane 35. Stretching the field, Barnes was able to get behind the safety and haul in a pass for a 28 yard completion, setting up first and goal at the 7 yard line. Barnes would finish the drive off for us with a 7 yard touchdown reception, extending our lead to 28-17 with 3:38 left before halftime.

A 17 yard kickoff return left Tulane starting from their 20 yard line. McDaniel kept the ball on first down, rushing for a 6 yard gain, but the defense would only erase that gain on the next play, sacking McDaniel for an 11 yard loss, leaving Tulane facing third and 15. A three yard rush by Pearson would bring the drive to an end, the punt team coming out on fourth and 13 from the 18 yard line. A huge 15 yard return by Johnson on the 42 yard punt gave us our best field position all game, lining up at the Tulane 45 yard line.

The field position would disappear in one play, as Stephens tried to connect with Vaughn, but instead was intercepted for the second time today by Mirvil, returned two yards to the 37 yard line. To add insult to injury, Vaughn dragged Mirvil down by his facemask during the tackle, the 15 yard facemask penalty giving Tulane a first down at our 49 yard line.

Pearson took the ball on first down, but found nowhere to run as he was quickly overwhelmed for a two yard loss. McDaniel tried to get the first down through the air, but the ball sailed long and out of bounds, bringing up third and 12. Another incomplete pass by McDaniel would save us from any further damage as the punt team came back out. A fair catch by Johnson on the 39 yard punt left us with decidedly worse field position, starting at our 12 yard line with just 2:06 left before halftime.

Stephens was able to get the ball to Vaughn on first down, but the pass was dropped, leaving us facing second down. Stephens was blasted from the behind while throwing on second down, the ball falling incomplete to leave third and long. Lining up on third down, the pass to P.J. Stephens was way wide and off the mark, sailing incomplete to leave us punting on fourth and long, our offense once again turning inept. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt gave Tulane the ball at their 42 yard line with 1:51 to go.

The Green Wave were looking at an equally inept offense, as incomplete passes to Temple and Williams left Tulane facing third and long. They would finally get the ball moving, as a 16 yard pass to Williams picked up the first down at our 42. After another incomplete pass on first down, McDaniel found Jackson for a 12 yard gain, moving the chains to our 30 yard line. Another pass to Jackson went for 13 yards and a first down at our 18 yard line, Tulane’s first timeout stopping the clock with 1:14 to go. A 5 yard rush by Pearson was followed with a one yard pass to Pearson, leaving third and four from our 12 yard line, Tulane’s second timeout stopping the clock with 1:03 left. Our defense would keep the Green Wave out of the end zone, as the third down pass intended for Jackson was batted incomplete, bringing up fourth and four. That fourth and four would turn into fourth and 9, as an attempt to get us to jump offside backfired on the offense with a false start penalty. The 34 yard field goal by Robinson was good, cutting our lead to 28-20 with 53 seconds left until halftime.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Johnson gave us the ball at our 28 yard line, just 42 seconds left to go and a lot of yards to cover. Stephens was still proving worthless, as his first down pass to P.J. Stephens was way off target, leaving second down. Throwing up a bomb down the right sideline, Vaughn was able to get the jump on the cornerback and go up high for the pass, hauling it in for a huge 45 yard gain and a first down at the Tulane 27 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 33 seconds to go. Johnson would finish off the drive on the next play, getting behind the cornerback and catching a perfect pass in the back corner of the end zone for a 27 yard touchdown and a 35-20 lead with 27 seconds left to in the second quarter.

No return on the kickoff left Tulane lining up at their 25 yard line. Pearson took the ball on first down, tackled for a loss of three yards, as the Green Wave were content to just let the clock run out. With that, we headed into halftime, holding a 35-20 lead.

The second half got opened up with a 22 yard kickoff return, starting Tulane from their 22 yard line to begin the third quarter. The drive got off to a poor start, as McDaniel tried to take the ball on first down, but was quickly driven back and tackled for a four yard loss, leaving second and 14. After an incomplete pass to Jackson brought up third and 14, it would only get worse, as McDaniel was sacked for a 5 yard loss, leaving the Tulane punt team coming out on fourth and 19 from the 13 yard line. A fair catch by Johnson on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 39 yard line.

Lining up on first down, Johnson got us started with a 12 yard reception and a first down at the Tulane 49 yard line. We caught a break on first down, as the pass intended for Vaughn was short after Stephens got hit as he threw, but Johnson was thankfully running by at the time and in position to grab the ball, picking up 8 yards on the play to leave second and two. There was bad news after the play as Johnson was helped to the sideline, benched for the rest of the game with a mild concussion, costing us our #2 receiver for the rest of the game. The second down pass intended for P.J. Stephens was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, leaving third and two. Going for the first down on the ground, Oliver took the ball up the middle on third down, fighting his way to a 5 yard gain and a first down at the 36 yard line. Keeping it going on the ground, Oliver was quickly brought down for a three yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush to leave third and two. Keeping the drive in Oliver’s hands, he was able to drive through the middle linebacker and fall forward for a four yard gain, moving the chains to the 24 yard line. Returning to the air, P.J. Stephens got us into the end zone, a sudden cut inside leaving the cornerback out of position, hauling in the pass around the 5 yard line and diving into the end zone for a 24 yard touchdown and a 42-20 lead with 5:45 left in the third quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return got Tulane lined up at their 23 yard line for their next drive. The Green Wave picked up right where they left off the previous drive, as McDaniel was sacked for a 10 yard loss, leaving second and 20 from the 13 yard line. Tulane was able to recover most of those lost yards with a 9 yard pass from McDaniel to Pearson, leaving third and 11. Our defense would fail to take advantage of the situation, as McDaniel was able to complete a 13 yard pass to Williams to set up a first down at the 36. The drive would come to an end there, as three straight incomplete passes brought out the punt team on fourth and long. A fair catch by P.J. Stephens on the 45 yard punt gave us back the ball at our 18 yard line.

Opening the drive on the ground, Oliver pounded his way to a 7 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush to pick up the first down at the 30 yard line. An option play to the right side resulted in a 9 yard gain for Oliver after the pitch to set up second and one. Oliver would get the first down on the next play with a four yard gain to the 43 yard line. Coming out in play action pass on first down, the pass to Vaughn went for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the Tulane 39. Keeping with the passing attack, the pass intended for P.J. Stephens was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving second down. A quick pass to Barnes gained four yards, setting up third and 6. Dropping back on third down, Stephens was able to get the ball off to Lucas Gates, who thanks to a block from P.J. Stephens, was able to race up the left sideline for a 19 yard gain to give us a first down at the 16 yard line. Marcus Mullins would put us back into the end zone, hauling in a pass over the head of the outside linebacker for a 16 yard touchdown, giving us a 49-20 lead with 1:52 left in the third quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return set Tulane up at their 24 yard line as their game slipped further and further out of reach. McDaniel got the drive moving quickly with an 18 yard pass to Pearson and an immediate first down at their 42. A two yard pass to Williams was followed up with a 29 yard bomb to Newell, as Tulane had a first down at our 28 yard line, the Green Wave refusing to go quietly. McDaniel kept the drive moving with a 15 yard strike to Williams for a new set of downs at our 13 yard line. McDaniel would finish off the 5 play, 76 yard drive with a 13 yard touchdown pass to Williams, cutting our lead to 49-27 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return by P.J. Stephens got us lined up at our 20 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Oliver was only able to gain one yard on the play, leaving second and 9. That would bring about the end of the third quarter, our lead sitting at 49-27.

Opening up the fourth quarter, a diving catch by Vaughn gave us a big 24 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line, getting our offense back towards full speed. Keeping the air attack going, Vaughn was able to get the first down pass into his hands, but a hit by the cornerback knocked the ball loose and incomplete. A second down pass to Barnes went for 20 yards and a first down at the Tulane 36 yard line. Taking a shot deep at the end zone, the pass intended for Barnes sailed just a little too long and out of reach, falling incomplete to bring up second down. The pass intended for P.J. Stephens was broken up by the safety, leaving third and long. A heavy blitz by the defense would end up biting them in the ass, as Oliver was left uncovered coming out of the backfield, the pass completed for a 32 yard gain to set up first and goal at the three yard line. A two yard rush by Silva left us with second and goal from the one yard line. Oliver would finish off the drive on the next play, running into the end zone untouched for the one yard touchdown to increase our lead to 56-27 with 7:33 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff left Tulane beginning their next drive from their 25 yard line. The defense continued to make McDaniel a piñata, sacking him for a 9 yard loss to leave second and 19. Two incomplete passes later, and the drive was at its end, the punt team coming onto the field on fourth and 19. A fair catch by P.J. Stephens on the 40 yard punt gave us the ball at our 43 yard line to start our drive.

Starting the drive on the ground with our second team offense, Silva was quickly brought down for a one yard game, leaving us returning to the air. A pass from Freddie Woods to P.J. Stephens picked up 11 yards and a first down at the Tulane 44 yard line, our offense moving in for the kill. A first down pass to Kyle Jones went for a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches. Silva took the ball on first down, managing to get two yards on the carries to move the chains to the 33 yard line. Going back to the air, Silva pulled down a pass for an 8 yard gain, before a pass intended for Jones was batted incomplete by the outside linebacker to leave third and two. Woods dropped back on third down, completing a pass over the middle to Jones for a 15 yard gain to set up first and goal at the 9 yard line. Continuing through the air, a pass to P.J. Stephens gained 6 yards, leaving second and goal from the three. Jones would finish off the drive with a catch for a three yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 63-27 with 4:12 left in the game.

A 13 yard kickoff return left Tulane in horrible position, starting on their 10 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, McDaniel scrambled for a three yard gain, leaving third and 7 from the 13. The drive would end on the next play as cornerback J.R. Miller intercepted McDaniel out near the 37 yard line, returning it 17 yards before being tackled at the Tulane 20 yard line.

Handing the ball off to Silva on first down, he took it up the gut and broke free into the secondary for a 12 yard gain to give us first and goal at the 8 yard line. Another rush by Silva gained four yards, leaving second and goal from the four. Silva followed that up with a three yard rush, leaving third and goal at the one yard line. A third try would be the charm, as Silva punched it in for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 70-27 lead with 1:50 left in the game.

A 16 yard kickoff return left Tulane starting at their 18 yard line. Ernest James dropped back to pass on first down, but the ball was dropped by Scott to leave second down. Mike Campbell took a handoff on second down, picking up 7 yards on the play, before an incomplete pass by Campbell on a trick play left the punt team coming out on fourth and three. A fair catch by P.J. Stephens on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 34 yard line, 1:11 away from victory.

Not even bothering to run a play this series, Woods took to a knee twice to run out the clock and seal our 70-27 victory.

With the win, we improve to 4-5, 3-2 in Big East action. With the loss, Tulane drops to 3-6, 1-4 in Big East play. Up next, we hit the home stretch of the season with a home game against rival Houston. The Cougars enter at 6-3, 3-2 in Big East action. Houston got their year started with a 22-16 overtime win against Western Michigna, before losing 49-24 to then-#20 Boise State. Houston recovered the next week by shocking then-#14 Oregon, but then blew it against Central Florida 38-17. They got a 37-32 win over East Carolina, before continuing their win-loss trading with a 45-31 defeat to Connecticut. Houston finally broke out of their win-lose cycle by beating Idaho 31-14 and then getting a 26-24 win over SMU, before escaping with a 41-35 overtime win over Memphis.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 70, :Tulane: 27



Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – Despite the extremely slow, headache inducing start to the game, it was another career day for Stephens, who ended 28-51 for 496 yards and 6 touchdowns, two interceptions slightly souring the day. Woods was incredible in his limited time, going 6-7 for 53 yards and one touchdown. Rushing, Oliver led the way with 62 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Silva had 27 yards and one touchdown on 8 carries. Receiving, it was another career day for Vaughn, as he ended the game with 209 yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions. Spreading the ball around today, 10 different receivers caught at least one pass, 9 receivers ending with double digit yards, 6 different receivers scoring a touchdown.

- Tulsa Defense – A very poor first half by the defense, as Tulane was battling for the lead nearly the entire half. The defense finally settled down after halftime allowed just one touchdown the rest of the way. The defense did have two highlights by way of a blocked punt and an interception.

- Tulsa Kicking – Pratt ends perfect on the day once again, but that's because he never attempted a single field goal. He did however go 10-10 on PATs.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
:Tulane:	10	10	7	0	27
:Tulsa:	14	21	14	21	70

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
6:39	:Tulane:	Touchdown	L. Pearson, 1 yard run (A. Robinson kick)	:Tulane: 7-0
4:07	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Vaughn, 33 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	TIED 7-7
1:46	:Tulane:	Field Goal	A. Robinson, 21 yard field goal	:Tulane: 10-7
0:07	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	W. Oliver, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 14-10
Second Quarter
7:23	:Tulane:	Touchdown	L. Pearson, 2 yard run (A. Robinson kick)	:Tulane: 17-14
5:39	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Vaughn, 22 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 21-17
3:38	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	C. Barnes, 7 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 28-17
0:53	:Tulane:	Field Goal	A. Robinson, 33 yard field goal	:Tulsa: 28-20
0:27	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Johnson, 27 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 35-20
Third Quarter
5:45	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	P. Stephens, 24 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 42-20
1:52	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	M. Mullins, 16 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 49-20
0:34	:Tulane:	Touchdown	B. Williams, 12 yard pass from C. McDaniel (A. Robinson kick)	:Tulsa: 49-27
Fourth Quarter
7:33	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	W. Oliver, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 56-27
4:12	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	K. Jones, 3 yard pass from F. Woods (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 63-27
1:50	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	E. Silva, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 70-27

Game Stats

Tulane	Stat	Tulsa
27	Score	70
14	First Downs	27
329	Total Offense	634
20 - 43 - 2	Rushes - Yards - TD	25 - 85 - 3
20 - 48 - 1	Comp - Att - TD	34 - 58 - 7
286	Passing Yards	549
5	Times Sacked	0
5 - 18 (27%)	3rd Down Conversion	6 - 11 (54%)
0 - 0 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
9 - 3 - 2 (55%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	9 - 6 - 0 (66%)
2	Turnovers	2
1	Fumbles Lost	0
1	Intercepted	2
17	Punt Return Yards	23
129	Kick Return Yards	113
475	Total Yards	770
9 – 43.6	Punts - Average	4 - 47.0
1 - 5	Penalties	3 - 40
13:09	Time of Possession	22:51

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
:6redarrow:	21+ points per game in each season	39	:6greenarrow:
	Win 10 games in one season	4	:6greenarrow:
	3300+ passing yards each season	:red-x:	:5greenarrow:
:6redarrow:	65% pass completions over the entire contract	59%	:5greenarrow:
:5redarrow:	Win 6 games in one season	:check:	:5greenarrow:
:6redarrow:	15+ rushing TD in each season	3/4 Completed	:5greenarrow:
:4redarrow:	3200+ total offensive yards each season	3/4 Completed	:3greenarrow:
:5redarrow:	3400+ total offensive yards each season	3/4 Completed	:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

35%

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Georgia sees their perfect year come to a crashing end, as South Carolina invades the hedges and upsets the Bulldogs 31-28. South Carolina led 24-7 going into the fourth quarter, and 31-21 with only a few minutes left. Georgia scored a touchdown with 22 seconds left to get within three, but couldn't complete the comeback. #2 Penn State stakes their claim at the top spot as they beat Rutgers 49-28. #3 Marshall remains perfect with a 31-17 win over Florida International.

West Virginia goes on the road and shocks #4 Oklahoma 31-28. Baylor likewise scores a top 5 upset, beating #5 Texas 29-27. #6 Ohio State edges out Purdue 28-21. #24 Pittsburgh knocks off #7 Virginia 38-31. #8 Iowa keeps winning with a 34-20 victory over Minnesota. #9 Clemson rolls to a 56-7 win over Boston College. #14 Virginia Tech knocks off #10 Miami 38-28. #11 Michigan State pulls out a 29-24 win over Maryland, scoring the game winning touchdown on a 10 yard pass with 59 seconds to play. #12 Nebraska thumps Northwestern 47-17.

Alabama scores an upset over rival #13 LSU, 31-14. #15 Arkansas rolls to a 41-7 thrashing of Stanford. #16 Auburn tops Texas A&M 34-20. Florida State scores a big 23-17 upset over #17 NC State. #18 Arkansas State doubles up BYU 28-14. #19 Notre Dame wins a 52-40 shootout over Ole Miss, outscoring the Rebels 35-9 in the second half to make the comeback. #20 Oklahoma State kicks a 41 field goal as time expires to escape Kansas State 26-24. #21 Arizona wallops UCLA 44-17. #22 Air Force gets a 24-16 win over Army. #23 Oregon whoops Utah 45-10 and #25 Nevada fights to a 42-30 win over Fresno State.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 5-4 (5-0 C-USA) with a 38-24 win over Florida Atlantic. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 2-7 (1-5 Pac-12) with a 41-17 thumping of Washington. Mors, West Virginia improves to 7-2 (5-1 Big 12) with a 31-28 upset of #4 Oklahoma. Jeff, #6 Ohio State improves to 9-1 (6-1 Big Ten) with a 28-21 win over Purdue. Other teams of interest, #18 Arkansas State improves to 6-2 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 28-14 win over BYU.

In Big East action, Tulsa thrashes Tulane 70-27, Houston escapes Memphis 41-35 in overtime, Cincinnati holds on for a 35-28 win over SMU and East Carolina knocks off Temple 26-14.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #1 Georgia lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 3. #2 Penn State (9-0), #3 Marshall (9-0) and Toledo (9-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 3 teams still looking for their first win: Minnesota (0-9), San Jose State (0-8) and Utah State (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Bowling Green (34-13 over 4-5 Miami University) and Louisiana-Monroe (38-35 over 3-5 Texas State).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Penn State (39 first place votes) jumps one to #1, Marshall (22 votes) climbs one to #2, Ohio State moves up three to #3, Iowa leaps four to #4 and Clemson jumps four to #5. Georgia drops five to #6, Michigan State jumps four to #7, Virginia Tech leaps six to #8, Nebraska climbs three to #9 and Virginia falls three to #10. Arkansas climbs four to #11, Auburn jumps four to #12, Oklahoma drops nine to #13, Arkansas State climbs four to #14 and Miami falls five to #15. Notre Dame jumps three to #16, Oklahoma State climbs three to #17, Texas plummets thirteen to #18, Arizona moves up two to #19 and Pittsburgh jumps four to #20. Air Force moves up one to #21, Alabama enters the poll at #22, Oregon remains #23, LSU falls eleven to #24 and Nevada (357 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was NC State (from #17). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Boise State (306 points) is #26, followed by USC (241), South Carolina (24), Toledo (157) and NC State (48) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week includes Cincinnati (46).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Penn State (38 first place votes) remains #1, Marshall (27 votes) climbs one to #2, Ohio State jumps three to #3, Clemson moves up four to #4, and Iowa climbs four to #5. Michigan State jumps four to #6, Georgia drops five to #7, Virginia Tech leaps eight to #8, Auburn climbs four to #9 and Nebraska jumps four to #10. Virginia falls four to #11, Pittsburgh leaps ten to #12, Oklahoma falls nine to #13, Arkansas jumps three to #14 and Notre Dame climbs three to #15. Arkansas State jumps three to #16, Miami drops six to #17, Texas plummets thirteen to #18, Air Force moves up one to #19 and Oregon climbs one to #20. Oklahoma State jumps one to #21, Arizona climbs two to #22, Alabama enters the poll at #23, Nevada climbs one to #24 and LSU (365 points) drops ten to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was NC State (from #17). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Boise State (334 points) is #26, followed by USC (281), NC State (234), South Carolina (198) and Toledo (183) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week includes Cincinnati (159) and Texas Tech (112).

Looking at the new BCS rankings, #1 Penn State (1.000), #2 Marshall (0.995), #3 Ohio State (0.989), #4 Clemson (0.981), #5 Iowa (0.979), #6 Georgia (0.970), #7 Michigan State (0.970), #8 Virginia Tech (0.962), #9 Nebraska (0.952), #10 Auburn (0.949).

Looking at the latest Heisman Watch list, Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser is #1 (LW: #1), UAB QB Adam Gardner is #2 (LW: #4), Texas HB Robert Young is #3 (LW: #2), Georgia HB Justin Jones is #4 (LW: #3) and Arkansas HB Matt Miller is #5 (LW: #5). No one fell off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Holy crap, where the hell was West Virginia all these years? And how the hell is West Virginia 7-2 (5-1 Big 12), just knocked off the #4 team in the nation, and can't even get a single damn vote in either Top 25 poll. What the hell?

According to the Championship Contenders rankings, West Virginia is currently ranked 36th nationally. Maybe a a couple more wins will allow them to get into the Top 25 before season's end. It won't be easy though as West Virginia still plays TCU (6-3), Texas Tech (6-2) and #18 Texas (6-2).

Game Ten

:Houston: :@: :Tulsa:



Game Notes

--- Continuing down the homestretch of the 2018 season, now on a two game winning streak, our next game brought about our rivals, the Houston Cougars. This would be the first time coaching against Houston, so the fog of war was present. While the Cougars entered the game 6-3, their stats and rankings painted a different picture. While they were ranked #57 nationally in rushing offense with 183.9 yards/game, every other category had them ranking anywhere between #74 and #95 in the nation. One thing was for certain, sitting at 4-5 on the year, we wanted that win to keep our bowl hopes alive, and playing on national TV, we had no desires or plans of laying an egg in front of the entire country. Houston won the coin toss and elected to kick. A stiff 12 MPH crosswind was going to make any potential field goal kicking a challenge today.

A touchback on the kickoff got the game underway, as we started at our 25 yard line. Will Oliver took the ball on first down, establishing our running game early with an 8 yard gain. Another rush by Oliver went for 11 yards and a first down at the 44 yard line. Oliver kept the attack going with a 7 yard rush, followed by a three yard gain to leave third and inches at the Houston 46. A one yard gain by Oliver was enough to move the chains at the 45 yard line. Coming out in play action pass on first down, Joe Vaughn pulling the pass for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 27 yard line. Returning the run game, Oliver took the ball straight up the gut for a 9 yard pickup, then fought his way forward for a 13 yard rush to set up first and goal at the 5 yard line. Coming in to give Oliver a breather, Eric Silva would finish off the drive with a 5 yard touchdown rush to give us a 7-0 lead with 5:39 left in the first quarter.

No return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line. Lawrence Bryan started the drive with a pair of rushes for gains of 6 and 8 yards, giving Houston an early first down at their 39 yard line. Going into the air on first down, two incomplete passes from Bo Penn left Houston facing third and long, before Penn was able to connect with Chris Washington for a 12 yard gain and a first down at midfield. Our defense would waste little time shooting itself in the foot, like it does every game, as a 15 yard facemask penalty tacked onto the end of a 21 yard pass to Washington left Houston sitting pretty with a first down at our 14 yard line. The Cougars would go backwards on first down, as a false start left them with first and 15, but it was a temporary setback, as Penn found Washington again for a 19 yard touchdown to tie the game up 7-7 with 4:22 to go in the quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Jason Johnson got us lined up at our 21 yard line for the next drive. Coming out on the ground, Oliver followed a hole around the right tackle and was able to pick up 7 yards on the first down play. Another rush by Oliver went for a gain of 5 yards and a first down at the 33 as the rushing attack was firing on all cylinders. Oliver had a hole at the beginning of the first down play, but a desperation tackle by the middle linebacker limited what would have been a large gain to just three yards, leaving second and 7. While he was limited to a small gain the previous play, Oliver was able to run free on second down, picking up 7 yards on the play and a first down at the 43 yard line. Receiving a pitch to the right, Oliver nearly broke free on the play, brought down by the safety after a 17 yard rush to give us a new set of downs at the Houston 40 yard line. Taking over for Oliver on first down, Silva was brought down for a one yard gain, Houston starting to cheat to the run. Trying to catch Houston sleeping, we would do exactly that as the Cougars brought the house, allowing Vaughn to get open down the right sideline, bowling over the safety and falling into the end zone for a 39 yard touchdown to retake the lead, 14-7 with 1:46 left in the quarter.

No return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line as both offenses dueled it out. Penn dropped back to pass on first down, but the ball intended for Corey Gibson never found its target, falling incomplete. Penn would hook up with Will Jude on the next play, the pass going for 9 yards, leaving Houston facing third and one, before a 5 yard pass to Washington would get the first down and move the sticks to the 39 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Bryan was followed with an incomplete pass, leaving Houston again facing third down and 5. This time Penn wouldn’t be able to work his magic, his pass intended for Gibson falling incomplete to bring out the punt team, Houston’s offense the first one to blink. While they didn’t put points on the board, Houston still ended up with a victory, as no return on the 49 yard punt left us starting our next series from our 6 yard line.

Oliver took the ball on first down, just barely able to pick up two yards before being swarmed. With Houston still keying to our run game, it was into the air on second down, as Vaughn hauled in a pass for a gain of 16 yards and a first down at the 24. Another pass to Vaughn would picked up 8 yards, leaving second and two at the 32 yard line. That would be the final play as the first quarter came to an end, leading 14-7.

Opening up the second quarter with second and two, despite shredding them the last few plays through the air, Houston was still ready to stuff our run game, Oliver just managing to pick up three yards and the first down at the 35. With the run game still being targeted, it was back to the aerial attack, the pass intended for Carl Barnes, sailing high and incomplete. Vaughn continued to be the man of the hour, Stephens just barely avoiding a sack and getting the ball off for an 18 yard completion and a first down at the Houston 47. A first down rush by Oliver went for a gain of four yards, following by a loss of two yards to leave third and 8. The third down pass intended for Barnes was knocked incomplete, leaving us punting away. That punt wouldn’t come however, as an encroachment penalty gave us 5 free yards, leaving fourth and three from the 40 yard line. Lining up for a long field goal attempt with a 13 MPH crosswind, Alphonso Pratt nailed the longest field goal of his career, curving the kick off to the right, letting the wind push it back inside the right upright and through for a 57 yard field goal, giving us a 17-7 lead with 7:14 left before halftime. With the amount of distance Pratt had on that kick, he easily could have made it from 60+.

A touchback on the ensuing kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line. Washington started the drive with a two yard rush, before an incomplete pass left the Cougars facing third and 8. Bryan would be the hero of the moment, pulling down a 19 yard pass from Penn to pick up the first down at the 46 yard line. A two yard rush by Penn was followed with a three yard rush by Bryan, leaving third and 5 at our 49. The defense would put up a brick wall on third down, breaking through the line and sacking Penn for a 7 yard loss, forcing Houston to punt on fourth and 12. Once again, despite the defense getting the stop, Houston would still walk away with a victory, as no return on the 51 yard punt left us starting from our 5 yard line for the next series.

Opening up our drive, Oliver took the handoff on first down, rushing for a 5 yard gain, followed by a huge 12 yard rush to get the first down at the 22 yard line. Keeping it on the ground, Silva came in for a 5 yard gain, before a blown up option play resulted in Stephens getting instantly tackled by the defensive end for a two yard loss, leaving third and 7. The third down pass intended for Vaughn was broken up by the cornerback, forcing us to punt the ball. We would see the first error of the game happen as Houston broke through and blocked the punt, Christian Johnson managing to recover the ball to save the touchdown, but quickly tackled to force the turnover on downs, giving Houston first and goal at our three yard line. Houston would need only one play to punch it in, as Bryan ran in standing up for the three yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 17-14 with 4:03 left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff left us starting at our 25 yard line. Johnson was able to get the first down pass into his hands, on what would have been at least a 20 yard gain, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, dropping it incomplete. A quick pass to Silva picked up 5 yards, leaving third and 5. Despite not running the ball, Oliver was still able to make the defense pay, taking advantage of a two on one situation to pull down a pass for a 28 yard gain and a first down at the Houston 42 yard line. A first down pass to P.J. Stephens went for a 17 yard gain, moving the chains to the 25 yard line. Vaughn was able to snag down the ball on first down while coming across the middle, but a lockup with the middle linebacker was enough to jar the ball loose and incomplete. A pass to Barnes picked up 5 yards, followed by a second reception by Barnes for a gain of 10 yards to leave first and 10 at the 10 yard line. Still firing away, Stephens was able to chuck up a pass to avoid a sack, needling it between the cornerback and safety and into the hands of Vaughn for a 10 yard touchdown and a 24-14 lead with 2:03 left in the half.

A touchback on the kickoff got Houston lined up from their 25 yard line. It was a very short drive as three straight incomplete passes left the punt team coming out, the Cougars starting to fall apart a bit on offense. A fair catch by Johnson on the 52 yard punt gave us the ball at our 22 yard line with 1:35 remaining and all three timeouts. After an incomplete pass on first down, it would be Johnson to strike at the heart of the defense. Isolated out to the left with only the cornerback over top, Johnson was able to get a great start at the snap and beat the cornerback off the line and racing downfield. Stephens chucked up a rainbow pass, hitting Johnson perfectly in stride, who then raced nearly 40 yards towards the end zone before being tripped up from behind at the one yard line, the entire play resulting in a gain of 76 yards, leaving first and goal at the one yard line. Rushing the ball on first down, Oliver impaled the dagger in the heart, rushing it in for the one yard touchdown to give us a 31-14 lead with 53 seconds remaining.

An 18 yard return on the kickoff gave Houston back the ball at their 22 yard line and the game starting to slip away. The Cougars would end up going backwards on first down as Penn was sacked for a three yard loss. It would get even worse as a holding penalty on second down resulted in Houston facing second and 23 from their 9 yard line, with 19 seconds left on the clock. A second down rush by Bryan picked up 8 yards, but left Houston still with third and 15, our defense calling a timeout with 12 seconds left. Another rush by Bryan went for three yards, leaving Houston punting away on fourth and 12 after a second timeout by the defense stopped play with 9 seconds to go.

A fair catch on the 35 yard punt left us lining up at our 45 yard line with just two seconds on the clock. Our attempt at a hail mary would go nowhere, as, despite a wide open receiver, Stephens was hit as he threw the ball, the pass landing incomplete just a couple yards away, ending the second quarter and taking us into halftime with a 31-14 lead.

Opening up the second half, no return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line to start the third quarter. The drive started off with more of the same for the Cougars, as an incomplete pass and a dropped ball by Jude left Houston facing third and long, before Bryan came through with a 14 yard reception and a first down at the 39 yard line to save the drive. Bryan would go from savior to goat in one play, dropping a pass on first down, followed by another incomplete pass to bring up third and long yet again. It would be Chad Mack coming through in the clutch this time with a 26 yard reception to move the chains to our 35 yard line. Another incomplete pass and a dropped ball by Gibson gave Houston a third down and long for the third time this drive. It apparently was a system that was working for the Cougars though, as Penn dropped back and threw a bomb to Washington for a 35 yard touchdown, immediately cutting our lead down to 31-21 with 7:47 left in the quarter.

That 10 point gap lasted all of one play, as Johnson received the kickoff at our three yard line, got a pair of blocks to spring him outside and up the left sideline, before cutting in around midfield, getting one more block to peel off a defender, and racing all the way to the end zone for a 97 yard kickoff return, instantly increasing our lead to 38-21 with 7:21 left.

A touchback on the kickoff brought the Houston offense right back on the field, starting from their 25 yard line. Despite being absolutely asinine, Houston had found a system, as two incomplete passes were followed with a 10 yard completion to Bryan, converting third and long at the 35 yard line. Another incomplete pass on first down was followed by a sack for a four yard loss this time, leaving Houston facing third and 14. That finally proved to be enough to put an end up the streak of third down conversions, as Gibson dropped the pass from Penn, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 14. A fair catch by Johnson on the 48 yard punt gave us the ball at our 21 yard line.

We got our next drive underway with a carry by Oliver, the rush only gaining two yards as Houston refused to give up anything on the ground. Going back into the air, the second down pass intended for Harper was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving third and 8. Oliver came through in the clutch on third down, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a gain of 20 yards, until he fumbled the ball on the tackle, P.J. Stephens and Barnes both trying to recover the fumble, but unable to before outside linebacker Jamel Hawkins came in an swooped it up for Houston, Hawkins promptly tacked at our 49 yard line. Just when it look like disaster had struck, we got saved from above, as the fumble was challenge, the replay booth signaling that Oliver’s knee was down before the fumble, saving us from a turnover and giving us a first down at the 43 yard line. Miraculously back on the field after the reversed turnover, Stephens threw across the middle to Vaughn on first down, complete for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the Houston 44. A quick pass to Harper went for a gain of 5 yards, followed by a 12 yard pass to Barnes for a first down at the 26. Dropping back into the shotgun on first down, Stephens rifled a ball just out of reach of the middle linebacker and into the hands of Johnson, who turned up the field and took it into the end zone for a 26 yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 45-21 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.

No return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line. Penn got the drive started with a three yard completion to Bryan, before a dropped pass and a one yard dump pass to Bryan would bring the drive crashing to an end on fourth and 6, Houston beginning to look listless on offense. A fair catch by Johnson on the 52 yard punt got us lined up at our 18 yard line, looking to put this one away.

Starting off the drive on the ground, Oliver was quickly brought down for only a two yard gain on the first down play, before being tackled for a two yard loss to leave us facing third and 10. Dropping back on third down, Stephens was able to hook up with Oliver for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the 40 yard line to keep our drive alive. Returning to the ground, Oliver pounded it up the middle for a 9 yard play, leaving second and inches. Silva would pick up the first down and then some, breaking loose into the secondary and rushing for a 23 yard gain, moving the chains to the Houston 28 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Oliver would bring the third quarter to an end, our lead standing at 45-21.

Opening up the fourth quarter, facing second and 5 at the Houston 23 yard line, Oliver was able to shake off an initial tackle, picking up three yards to leave third and two. Oliver would convert the third down, rushing through a huge hole and picking up 11 yards on the play to set up first and goal at the 9 yard line. Keeping it going on the ground, Silva was able to pound his way through a pair of defenders for a 7 yard gain, before a one yard rush by Oliver left us looking at third and goal from the one yard line. Oliver would hammer the final nail in the coffin as he ran it in for the one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 52-21 with 6:29 left in the game.

An 18 yard kickoff return gave Houston back the ball at their 17 yard line, all hopes of a comeback long since shattered. Starting off the drive with a pass, the throw intended for Jude was batted away and incomplete, followed by a 5 yard scramble by Penn to leave Houston facing third and 5. Trying to pick up the first down, Penn dropped back to pass, but was forced to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, the punt team coming out on fourth and 5 as another Houston drive came to a fruitless conclusion. A fair catch by Johnson on the 42 yard punt got our offense lined up at our 35 yard line, just 5:49 away from victory as the second team offense came in to kill the clock.

Silva took the ball up the middle on first down, picking up 6 yards on the play. Silva made sure to get the first down, and extra, on the next play, rushing for a 14 yard gain to move the chains to the Houston 45 yard line. Another rush by Silva went for four yards, followed by a 7 yard gain to pick up a first down at the 34. Keeping the clock moving, Silva was only able to manage one yard on the first down carry, before racing up the middle for a 15 yard gain. That gain however ended up erased as we were called for holding, left with second and 18 from the 42. Kyle Jones was able to recover the lost yards with a 9 yard rush, putting us right back where we were on third and 9. Passing the ball on third down, Freddie Woods was able to get the ball off to Jones for a 15 yard gain. We would then get a helping hand from cornerback James Lacey, who was flagged for a facemask penalty, setting us up with first and goal at the 9 yard line. Putting the ball back into the hands of Silva, he took it up the middle for a 6 yard gain, leaving second and goal from the three yard line. Silva would end up inadvertently punching it into the end zone, tackled forward for the three yard touchdown, giving us a 59-21 lead with 50 seconds left that would be sure to enrage sports fans and fill up the headlines.

No return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line, just 42 seconds left to go. The Cougars, despite being long since beaten, refused to leave their gameplan, coming out passing on first down. The first down pass intended for Washington was batted incomplete, before Penn was able to connect with Cedric Mueller for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 37. Bruce Porter took the ball on first down, rushing for a one yard gain as Houston seemingly raised the white flag, only to run a play action pass on second down, the ball intended for Washington nearly intercepted by our secondary to leave Houston facing third and 9, just 6 seconds left on the clock. Still airing it out to the very end, the pass from Penn was dropped by Darren Parker, the clock finally running out and sealing our 59-21 win.

With our third straight win, we improve to 5-5, 4-2 in Big East action. With the loss, Houston drops to 6-4, 3-3 in Big East play. Up next, it’s senior night as we close out our home schedule, facing off against another former C-USA foe in East Carolina. The Pirates enter the game at 4-6, 2-4 in Big East play. East Carolina opened their year with a 38-14 win over Utah State, before losing 24-10 at Illinois and 55-21 to Marshall. They got back in the win column with a 27-21 win over Buffalo, but then went on a four game losing streak, losing 37-32 to Houston, 13-10 at SMU, 38-10 at Central Florida and 49-31 to Connecticut. The Pirates finally broke the losing streak with back to back victories, 21-18 at South Florida and 26-14 over Temple heading into our game.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 59, :Houston: 21



Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A pretty much perfect day for Stephens for a change, ending 18-26 for 348 yard and three touchdowns, most importantly no interceptions. Woods, in limited action, was 1-1 for 15 yards. Rushing, Oliver led the way with 150 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, Silva ended with 81 yards and two touchdowns on 12 rushes. Receiving, Vaughn had another big day, ending with 122 yards and two touchdown on seven receptions. Right behind him was Johnson with 102 yards and one touchdown on two receptions (to go along with a 97 yard kickoff return for a touchdown). In all, eight receivers caught a pass, six receivers ended with double digit yards, Vaughn and Johnson were the only receivers to hit triple digits, as well as score a touchdown.

- Tulsa Defense – A sluggish first half, letting Houston get some drives together and stay in the game, as well as the first drive of the third quarter, but then kept things under control most of the rest of the game. Third downs continued to kill however. One or two drives during the middle of the game, Houston would throw two incomplete passes, just to turn around with a 10+ yard completion on third and long to keep their drive alive. The defense has got to stop that crap. It could have been worse, but Houston shot themselves in the foot plenty of times, the tale of the tape for them being 6 dropped passes, three alone dropped by Gibson.

- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Pratt, going 1-1 in field goals, kicking a career long 57 yard field goal, in a kick that angled like a curve ball wide of the right upright and then back inside due to the angle of the kick and the 13 MPH crosswind at the time. Pratt also ended 8-8 for PATs.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
:Houston:	7	7	7	0	21
:Tulsa:	14	17	14	14	59

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
5:39	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	E. Silva, 5 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 7-0
4:22	:Houston:	Touchdown	C. Washington, 19 yard pass from B. Penn (J. Montgomery kick)	TIED 7-7
1:46	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Vaughn, 39 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 14-7
Second Quarter
7:14	:Tulsa:	Field Goal	A. Pratt, 57 yard field goal	:Tulsa: 17-7
4:03	:Houston:	Touchdown	L. Bryan, 3 yard run (J. Montgomery kick)	:Tulsa: 17-14
2:03	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Vaughn, 10 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 24-14
0:53	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	W. Oliver, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 31-14
Third Quarter
7:47	:Houston:	Touchdown	C. Washington, 35 yard pass from B. Penn (J. Montgomery kick)	:Tulsa: 31-21
7:21	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Johnson, returned kickoff 97 yards (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 38-21
4:15	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Johnson, 26 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 45-21
Fourth Quarter
6:29	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	W. Oliver, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 52-21
0:50	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	E. Silva, 3 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 59-21

Game Stats

Houston	Stat	Tulsa
21	Score	59
8	First Downs	24
230	Total Offense	600
11 - 45 - 1	Rushes - Yards - TD	42 - 237 - 4
13 - 38 - 2	Comp - Att - TD	19 - 27 - 3
185	Passing Yards	363
3	Times Sacked	0
7 - 15 (46%)	3rd Down Conversion	7 - 9 (77%)
0 - 0 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
4 - 1 - 0 (25%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	5 - 5 - 0 (100%)
0	Turnovers	0
0	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	0
0	Punt Return Yards	10
36	Kick Return Yards	116
266	Total Yards	726
7 – 48.9	Punts - Average	0 - 0.0
4 - 29	Penalties	3 - 35
10:46	Time of Possession	25:14

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
:6redarrow:	21+ points per game in each season	41	:6greenarrow:
	Win 10 games in one season	5	:6greenarrow:
	3300+ passing yards each season	:red-x:	:5greenarrow:
:6redarrow:	65% pass completions over the entire contract	60%	:5greenarrow:
:5redarrow:	Win 6 games in one season	:check:	:5greenarrow:
:6redarrow:	15+ rushing TD in each season	3/4 Completed	:5greenarrow:
:4redarrow:	3200+ total offensive yards each season	3/4 Completed	:3greenarrow:
:5redarrow:	3400+ total offensive yards each season	3/4 Completed	:2greenarrow:
Bonus
	Beat a higher ranked team		:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

38%

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Penn State uses a 21-point first quarter to catapult themselves to a 35-18 win over Purdue.

In a nail-bitter, #2 Marshall barely saves their perfect season and national title hopes, scoring a touchdown with 7:11 left in the game to comeback and beat UAB 27-24. This was a game that truly went back and forth. Marshall led 7-3 after the first quarter. Both teams traded touchdowns in the second to give Marshall a 14-10 halftime advantage. UAB racked up two touchdowns while Marshall could only manage two field goals, giving UAB a 24-20 lead, and then Marshall put the only fourth quarter points on the board to win 27-24 and avoid disaster.

After fighting their way back into the top 3, #3 Ohio State turns right around and blows it (and their Big Ten title hopes) with a 38-21 loss to Illinois. #12 Auburn hands #6 Georgia their second straight loss, beating the Bulldogs 24-16. The game of the week goes to #7 Michigan State, who utterly dominated #4 Iowa 34-10. #5 Clemson, despite only winning 24-17 after three quarter, scores three times in the fourth quarter to run away with a 45-24 win over Florida State. #8 Virginia Tech needs a touchdown in overtime to edge out Georgia Tech 41-38. #9 Nebraska picks up a 35-20 win over Wisconsin. Louisville takes a step up in the ACC race with a 31-12 thumping of #10 Virginia.

#13 Oklahoma avoids the landmine that Texas stepped in last week, fighting off Baylor 28-19. #14 Arkansas State scores two field goals in the fourth quarter to fight off Louisiana-Monroe. Miami picks up a 45-21 win over Duke. #16 Notre Dame beats down Boston College 42-17. #17 Oklahoma State rolls 34-3 over Iowa State. #18 Texas gets a 24-6 win over Kansas. #19 Arizona squeaks out a 38-35 win over Stanford. North Carolina embarrasses #20 Pittsburgh 45-14. #21 Air Force thrashes Hawaii 45-7. USC upsets #23 Oregon 45-38. Texas A&M knocks off #24 LSU 31-17 and #25 Nevada takes over the top of the Mountain West totum pole with a 34-10 win over Boise State.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss can kiss their perfect conference record goodbye, as they fall to 5-5 (5-1 C-USA) with a 14-7 loss to Florida International. FIU led 7-0 at halftime, Southern Miss tied it up midway through the fourth, before FIU scored the game winning touchdown with 1:29 left in the game Southern Miss finishes with the gauntlet that is 7-3 UAB and 10-0 #2 Marshall. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 3-7 (2-5 Pac-12) after stringing up a second straight upset, 28-21 over UCLA. Mors, West Virginia remains 7-2 (5-1 Big 12) with their final bye week of the year. Jeff, #3 Ohio State falls to 9-2 (6-2 Big Ten) with a 38-21 loss to Illinois and is eliminated from both national title contention and Big Ten title contention. Other teams of interest, #14 Arkansas State improves to 7-2 (4-0 Sun Belt) with a 20-14 win over Louisiana-Monroe.

In Big East action, Tulsa thumps Houston 59-21, Central Florida trounces Temple 35-10, Cincinnati rolls over Tulane 49-17, Memphis shocks SMU 28-24 and Connecticut beats South Florida 34-17.

With those results, looking at the Big East standings, in the East, it's a three-way tie at the top between Navy, Connecticut and Central Florida (all 4-2). Navy beat UConn and lost to Central Florida. UConn and Central Florida still have yet to play. Temple and East Carolina (2-4) and South Florida (1-5) are all eliminated. In the West, Cincinnati has essentially run away with the division, sitting at 6-0. After that, only Tulsa (4-2) still has any hope. Houston and SMU (3-3), Memphis (2-4) and Tulane (1-5) are all eliminated.

Looking at undefeated teams left, Toledo lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 2. #1 Penn State (10-0) and #2 Marshall (10-0) are all that remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Utah State (0-9).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Minnesota (42-24 over 1-9 Massachusetts) and San Jose State (35-28 over 5-4 UNLV).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Penn State (36 first place votes) remains #1, Marshall (25 votes) remains #2, Michigan State leaps four to #3, Clemson moves up one to #4 and Virginia Tech jumps three to #5. Nebraska jumps three to #6, Auburn climbs five to #7, Iowa falls four to #8, Arkansas moves up two to #9 and Georgia drops four to #6. Oklahoma jumps two to #11, Arkansas State climbs two to #12, Miami moves up two to #13, Notre Dame rises two to #14 and Ohio State plummets twelve to #15. Oklahoma State moves up one to #16, Texas climbs one to #17, Arizona rises one to #18, Air Force jumps two to #19 and Virginia falls ten to #20. Alabama moves up one to #21, Nevada climbs three to #22, USC enters the poll at #23, Louisville enters the poll at #24 and South Carolina (219 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Pittsburgh (from #20), Oregon (from #23) and LSU (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, NC State (155 points) is #26, followed by Cincinnati (113), Oregon (92), Texas Tech (82) and Pittsburgh (63) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include West Virginia (49) and Colorado State (22).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Penn State (37 first place votes) remains #1, Marshall (28 votes) remains #2, Michigan State jumps three to #3, Clemson remains #4 and Auburn jumps four to #5. Virginia Tech climbs two to #6, Nebraska moves up three to #7, Iowa falls three to #8, Georgia drops two to #9 and Arkansas leaps four to #10. Oklahoma climbs two to #11, Notre Dame jumps three to #12, Arkansas State moves up three to #13, Ohio State drops eleven to #14 and Miami climbs two to #15. Texas climbs to to #16, Air Force jumps two to #17, Oklahoma State moves up three to #18, Arizona rises two to #19 and Virginia drops nine to #20. Alabama climbs two to #21, Nevada jumps two to #22, USC enters the poll at #23, Pittsburgh drops twelve to #24 and Louisville (268 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #23) and LSU (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, NC State (236 points) is #26, followed by South Carolina (219), Oregon (197), Cincinnati (157) and Texas Tech (116) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include West Virginia (97), Connecticut (78) and Colorado State (33).

Looking at the new BCS rankings, #1 Penn State (1.000), #2 Marshall (0.995), #3 Michigan State (0.989), #4 Clemson (0.984), #5 Virginia Tech (0.976), #6 Auburn (0.973), #7 Nebraska (0.970), #8 Iowa (0.955), #9 Arkansas (0.954) and #10 Georgia (0.954).

Looking at the latest Heisman Watch list, Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser is #1 (LW: #1), UAB QB Adam Gardner is #2 (LW: #2), Texas HB Robert Young is #3 (LW: #3), Arkansas HB Matt Miller is #4 (LW: #5) and Iowa HB Will Dunn is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Georgia HB Justin Jones (LW: #4)

Looking at the bowl picture, 56 teams have reached the 6 win plateau, 42 teams still have a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 98 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the first bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, it's a trip to the Beef O'Brady's Bowl for Tulsa fans, taking on our old foe and rival UTEP (5-4, 4-2) out of Conference USA. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl would feature Southern Miss (5-5, 5-1 C-USA) matching up with Navy (6-3, 4-2 Big East). #15 Ohio State (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) would head south to the Capital One Bowl and a showdown with #10 Georgia (8-2, 6-2 SEC). The New Orleans Bowl would feature Rice (6-4, 4-3 C-USA) vs. #12 Arkansas State (7-2, 4-0 Sun Belt). And the Cotton Bowl would have Texas A&M (7-4, 5-3 SEC) matching up with West Virginia (7-2, 5-1 Big 12).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #3 Michigan State (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) against #18 Arizona (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12). The Sugar Bowl has #7 Auburn (8-2, 6-2 SEC) matching up with #5 Virginia Tech (7-2, 5-2 ACC). The Orange Bowl has #4 Clemson (9-1, 7-1 ACC) matching up with #11 Oklahoma (7-2, 5-1 Big 12). The Fiesta Bowl features a battle between #16 Oklahoma State (7-2, 6-0 Big 12) and #9 Arkansas (8-2, 5-2 SEC). And in the national championship game, #2 Marshall (10-0, 6-0 C-USA) takes on #1 Penn State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten).

Thank you baby Jesus, I'm gonna get another season at Tulsa! (maybe)

I didn't realize it going into the game, but Houston was ranked (according to the Championship Contenders section) #59 in the nation, while Tulsa (despite a two-game winning streak, granted against two horrendous teams) was ranked #77. So that lovely 3% bonus moves me up to 38% job security and essentially out of danger come the coaching carousel.

The final two games are still landmines however, as Tulsa is now ranked #62, East Carolina is ranked #73, and SMU, who sucks this year, is ranked #105. So a loss to either of those two teams will instantly erase the bonus Houston just gave me.

Woot! Way to go WVU! Finally, the game is being nice to you again.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by morsdraconis

Woot! Way to go WVU! Finally, the game is being nice to you again.

---

:D

It only took, what, 7-8 years? Unfortunately with next season being my last at Tulsa (and on NCAA '13), not sure if they'll be able to repeat this success long term. Only if EA is kind when rating them for NCAA '14.

Good to see West Virginia at least find some success finally. Arizona State and West Virginia have been the only readers teams to not have any seriously good seasons and bowl games. So it's about time WVU got on board. Now just need to see if Arizona State can recover from this crappy season and pull out a winning record next year.

Game Eleven

:East_Carolina: :@: :Tulsa:



Game Notes

--- As another season wound down, senior night had arrived as our non-redshirted seniors took to their home field one last time in their careers. The seniors that were honored this year were RG Will Carter and K Alphonso Pratt. Our opponent for senior night was an old familiar foe from our Conference USA days, the East Carolina Pirates. Continuing the trend of recent opponent, the Pirates rated well among one of the worst teams in the nation. Pass offense was their only good ranking, sitting at #12 in the nation, putting up 298.9 yards/game. However, every other stat found them ranked between #77 and #122 in the nation. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

No return on the opening kickoff got East Carolina started at their 25 yard line to begin the game. Dropping back to pass right out of the gate, Darrick Kirk’s throw over the middle was broken up to bring up a quick second down. Kirk would find his target on the next play, throwing to Eddie Smith for a 9 yard gain to leave third and one, but a dropped pass by Brad Hawkins would bring the drive to a quick end, the punt team headed out on the field. A 7 yard return by Jason Johnson on the 42 yard punt got us lined up at our 31 yard line.

Will Oliver got our drive off to a great start, rushing for 8 yards out of the gate to leave second and two. Another rush by Oliver picked up 6 yards and an early first down at the 45, as our running game set the tempo. Continuing to pound it on the ground, a pair of rushes by Oliver went for gains of three and 7 yards, leaving us facing third and inches at the ECU 45. East Carolina would claim victory on the third down play, as the middle linebacker came through untouched and tackled Oliver for a one yard loss, leaving our punt team coming out on fourth and one. That fourth and one turned into fourth and 6 after a false start penalty on the offensive line. Despite the additional 5 yards on the punt, we still couldn’t down the ball in time as it bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

Lining up at their 20 yard line, East Carolina got a quick start to their new drive, as Kirk dropped back and found Antwaun Brown for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 34. Another pass to Brown went for 7 yards before an incomplete pass brought up third and three. Hawkins would keep the drive moving as he rushed for a 7 yard gain, moving the chains to the 49. After a pair of incomplete passes brought up third and long, Bryant Jennings was able to get his hands on the third down pass from Kirk, but dropped the ball while turning up field, leaving the ECU punt team coming out on fourth down. No return on the 48 yard punt left us buried, starting our drive at our two yard line.

Taking the ball on the ground to start the drive, Oliver was able to get us out of the danger zone, rushing for a 6 yard gain out to the 8 yard line. Another rush by Oliver picked up 8 yards, giving us a first down at the 16. Changing things up with a play action pass on first down, Joe Vaughn hauled in the pass from Brad Stephens for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 35 yard line. Keeping through the air on first down, the pass intended for Carl Barnes was well off-target, falling incomplete to bring up second down. Our drive would come crashing to an end on the next play, as the pass over the middle to Johnson was intercepted by middle linebacker Earl Williams, returned 11 yards before being tackled at our 38 yard line.

Taking over at our 38 after the interception, East Carolina started their drive by going backwards, as Kirk was sacked for a one yard loss to bring up second and 11. That trend would continue, as a rush by Hawkins resulted in a three yard loss, leaving third and 14. An incomplete pass would seal the fate of the drive, leaving fourth and 14 from our 42 yard line. The fourth down punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving is back the ball at our 20 yard line without any damage incurred.

Taking the handoff up the middle on first down, Oliver got our drive started with a big 15 yard run, picking up an instant first down at the 35 yard line. Keeping the ball on first down, Oliver was only able to manage two yards on the heavy blitz. Looking to throw the defense for a loop, an option play on second down resulted in failure as a diving tackle by the outside linebacker tripped Stephens up for a three yard loss, leaving third and 11. Trying to find Johnson on third down, the day would only get worse for Stephens, as he threw is second interception of the game, outside linebacker Jeff Hall picking off the pass and returning it 10 yards to our 35 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, this time East Carolina found forward momentum, as Kirk dropped back and hit Jennings for a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches. A four yard pass to Jennings would pick up the first down, moving the chains to our 21 yard line. The defense refused to go down without a fight, sacking Kirk for an 8 yard loss, pushing ECU back to the 29. That however would be erased as a 10 yard penalty called on the defense the very next play gave the Pirates a first down at our 19 yard line. East Carolina took advantage of the situation, as Kirk threw up a pass into the end zone and into the hands of Smith for a 19 yard touchdown, giving East Carolina a 7-0 lead with one minute left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the following kickoff left us lining up at our 25 yard line. Starting on the ground, Oliver was able to pick up 8 yards on the carry, followed by a 9 yard rush to pick up a first down at the 42 yard line. Eric Silva kept the rushing attack going, picking up 9 yards to leave second and one at midfield. That would be the final play as the clock hit all zeroes, bringing the first quarter to an end, East Carolina leading 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter, it was more of the same as Oliver took the ball up the middle for a three yard gain, moving the chains to the ECU 47. Keeping the ground attack going, Oliver was able to pick up four yards on first down, followed by a two yard gain to leave third and four. Taking a chance in the air, the third down pass intended for Barnes was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving our punt team trotting out. The punt sailed 50 yards into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Pirates the ball at their 20 yard line.

Hawkins got the next drive started for East Carolina with a 5 yard rush, but an incomplete pass intended for Hawkins would leave ECU quickly facing third and 5. A third down pass intended for Smith was batted away, bringing up fourth and 5 and the punt team coming onto the field. A fair catch by Johnson on the 48 yard punt set us up at our 26 yard line for our next drive.

Looking to keep the ground game going, the first down rush by Oliver went for a 7 yard gain, followed by a pickup of 5 yards and a first down at the 39. Continuing with the ground assault, Oliver was able to get four yards on the first down carry, before rumbling his way to a gain of 11 yards and a first down at the ECU 46. Oliver took the ball on first down, but never had a chance as the middle linebacker blew through the line, tackling him for a one yard loss to leave second and 11. Running play action pass on second down, this time Stephens was able to actually complete a pass to Johnson. With the defense blitzing and biting on the play action, Johnson was able to get isolation with the safety, hauling in the pass around the 30 yard line and then outracing the safety to the end zone for a 47 yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 5:04 left before halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff got East Carolina started off from their 25 yard line, looking to recapture the lead. Kirk dropped back to pass on first down, but with a good pass rush was forced to immediately take off scrambling, managing to pick up three yards on the play. That would be all the yards the Pirates would gain and two incomplete passes would bring another drive to an end. A fair catch by Johnson on the 48 yard punt gave us back the ball at our 23 yard line. Taking the ball right at the defense, Oliver was able to fight his way to a 7 yard gain, following that up with a big 11 yard rush and a first down at the 40 yard line. Despite the defense keying on the run, Oliver was still able to pick up four yards on first down. Taking another shot on the ground, the defense was ready and waiting this time, tackling Oliver for only a one yard gain, leaving third and 5 from the 45 yard line. The third down pass intended for Robert Harper fell incomplete, resulting in another failed drive. A fair catch on the 42 yard punt gave East Carolina the ball at their 13 yard line.

The drive started off mighty poorly for the Pirates, as a dropped ball by Smith and an incomplete pass left ECU facing third and long. Hawkins would save the drive however, hauling in a 19 yard reception from Kirk, setting up a first down at the 31 yard line. A pass to Smith on the next play went for a 12 yard gain, and East Carolina had a new set of downs at the 43. Finding a rhythm, Kirk rushed for three yards on first down, before dropping back to pass and finding Shane Weber over the middle, complete for a 19 yard pickup and a first down at our 35 yard line. Our defense was suddenly unable to slow the Pirates down, as Kirk found Jennings for a 9 yards gain, leaving second and one at the 26. We would get lucky as two dropped passes, both by Brown, seemingly halted the drive for us on fourth and one. East Carolina didn’t get that memo however, deciding they wanted a touchdown, not a field goal, Hawkins rushing for a three yard gain on the fourth down attempt, picking up a first down at our 23 yard line. A 5 yard pass to Weber as followed with a two yard pass to Gabriel Sims, leaving ECU facing third and three. Kirk would try to pick up those yards himself, but while he was able to gain three yards, the refs marked him short of the first down, bringing up fourth and inches at the 14 yard line. East Carolina would go for the backbreaker on fourth down, but the pass from Kirk into the end zone was broken up, forcing the turnover on downs at our 14 yard line, just 36 seconds left on the clock.

Taking over after the turnover on downs, we had a lot of yards to cover in very little time. We got a quick bite taken out of those yards, as Stephens was able to connect with Johnson down the left sideline for a 25 yard gain, tackled at the 39 yard line. Rushing to the line, the first down pass intended for Vaughn was off the mark and batted down by the safety, leaving second and long with 27 seconds left. Able to hook up with Vaughn on second down, he was able to break his way out of an ankle tackle attempt by the safety, racing down the field for a 38 yard pickup before being driven out of bounds at the ECU 23 yard line, just 21 seconds left on the clock. Barely avoiding a sack, Stephens was able to get the ball off to Vaughn for a 17 yard gain, setting up first and goal at the ECU 6 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 17 seconds to go. A quick pass to Barnes went for a three yard gain, leaving second and goal at the three yard line, our second timeout taken with 13 seconds left in the half. Harper would finish off the job, pulling in the pass from Stephens for the three yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 10 seconds left before halftime.

A 21 yard kickoff return by East Carolina would run out the remaining seconds and bring the first half to an end, our lead 14-7.

Opening up the second half, a 21 yard kickoff return by P.J. Stephens got us lined up at our 23 yard line to begin the third quarter. Starting the drive on the ground, Oliver was able to pick up 7 yards on the first down play, before being tackled for a one yard gain to leave third and two at the 31. Putting faith in the legs of Oliver, he came through when needed, rushing for 11 yards and a first down at the 42 yard line. Changing things up with a play action pass, a completion to Johnson went for a gain of 15 yards and a new set of downs at the ECU 42. Taking over the rushing duties on first down, Silva plowed ahead for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 32. A first down rush by Oliver went for four yards, followed by a 6 yard gain to leave third and inches. Oliver would convert the third down, fighting his way to a 5 yard pickup to move the chains to the 17 yard line. Continuing with the rushing attack, Silva managed to gain four yards on first down, before a rush by Oliver gained three to leave third and three. Despite being initially stood up at the line of scrimmage, Silva was able to pick up the first down, rushing for four yards to set up first and goal from the 6. Oliver was able to get one yard on the first down carry, followed by a three yard rush to leave third and goal at the two yard line. Silva took the third down handoff, and driving forward through two defenders, letting the momentum of all three carry him forward, he was able to fall forward into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-7 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return got East Carolina lined up at their 21 yard line, the Pirates now very much in need of a score. They would fail to find it this drive, as a three yard rush by Kirk and two incomplete passes would bring out the punt team yet again on fourth and 7. A 7 yard return by Johnson on the 44 yard punt got us started at our 39 yard line.

Oliver picked right up where he left off, rushing for 9 yards on the first down carry, followed by a 7 yard rush to move the chains to the ECU 45 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Oliver was followed with a two yard gain to leave third and three. Dropping back to pass on third down, Stephens was able to connect with Johnson for a 19 yard gain, moving the sticks to the ECU 19 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Oliver was able to break free into the secondary for an 11 yard gain, setting up first and goal at the 8 yard line, looking to put this game away right now. Silva took the handoff on first down, fighting his way down to the three yard line for a 5 yard gain. A three yard rush by Oliver left us just inches outside of the goal line, facing third and goal. That would be the last play as the clock ran out to bring the third quarter to a conclusion, our lead holding at 21-7.

Opening up the fourth quarter knocking on the door, East Carolina was able to start the quarter with a victory, tackling Oliver for a one yard loss, leaving fourth and goal at the one yard line. The 18 yard field goal attempt by Alphonso Pratt was good, increasing our lead to 24-7 with 8:40 left in the game.

No return on the following kickoff got East Carolina back in action at their 25 yard line. It would be another failed drive for the Pirates as two incomplete passes were followed with a completion to Jennings for 7 yards. East Carolina would attempt to go for it on fourth down, but the pass intended for Smith was broken up, turning the ball over on downs at their 32 yard line.

Taking over at the ECU 32 yard line after the turnover on downs, we were more than content to take advantage of our incredible field position and use it to kill some clock. Oliver took the handoff on first down, but was quickly brought down for no gain as the defense brought the house. Another rush by Oliver gained only three yards, leaving us facing third and 7. Throwing up a pass on third down, Stephens was able to land it in between the cornerback and safety, complete to Vaughn, for a 26 yard gain to set up first and goal at the three yard line. Oliver was brought down for no gain by the middle linebacker, bringing up second and goal. A second down rush by Silva picked up one yard, leaving third and goal from the two. Despite his best efforts, Silva was brought down just shy of the goal line for a two yard gain, leaving fourth and goal at the goal line. The 17 yard field goal by Pratt sailed through the uprights, increasing our lead to 27-7 with 4:25 left in the game.

A 20 yard kickoff return gave East Carolina the ball at their 18 yard line to start the next drive. It ended the same as nearly every other drive for the Pirates, as incomplete passes intended for Jennings, Hawkins and Smith quickly left ECU facing fourth and long. This time East Carolina opted to punt the ball, a fair catch by Johnson on the 44 yard punt giving us possession at our 37 yard line, 3:51 away from victory.

Oliver took the ball on first down, fighting forward for a three yard gain. Breaking free up the middle on second down, Oliver was able to rush for a 16 yard gain, moving the chains to the ECU 44 yard line. Continuing on the ground, Oliver rushed for a 6 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard pickup by Silva to get the first down at the 31 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Silva sealed the deal, Stephens dropping to a knee twice to run out the clock, clinching our 27-7 Senior Day victory over East Carolina.

With our fourth straight win, we improve to 6-5, 5-2 in Big East action and make it to bowl eligibility. With the loss, East Carolina drops to 4-7, 2-5 in Big East play, eliminated from bowl contention. Up next, we close out the regular season with a trip to SMU. The Mustangs enter at 5-6, 4-3 in Big East play. SMU opened up their year with a 34-17 loss at Baylor, before beating FCS East 38-17. The Mustangs then fell 31-28 at Rice and 34-17 to TCU. SMU got back in the win column with a 13-10 win over East Caroline and a 35-10 win at Temple, before losing 26-24 at Houston. They recovered with a 45-17 whooping at Tulane, but then lost 35-28 to Cincinnati and 28-24 to Memphis, before making a made comeback to knock off Navy 34-27 heading into our game.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 27, :East_Carolina: 7



Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – After some huge games in recent weeks, today was a let down for Stephens, who threw two interceptions in our first two drives. After a while, he was able to recover and end the game 10-16 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Still a less than stellar day after the numbers he put up the last three weeks. Rushing, it was beastly day for Oliver, ending with 233 yards rushing on 45 attempts. Silva had the only rushing touchdown, to go with 48 yards on 10 carries. Receiving, due to our limited passing today, only four receivers caught a pass. Johnson led the way with 106 yards and one touchdown on four receptions, Vaughn was right behind him with 100 yards on four receptions. Harper added the other receiving touchdown in his only catch of the game on a three yard reception. Johnson and Vaughn were the only receivers to hit double, as well as triple, digits.

- Tulsa Defense – A pretty good day by the defense. Got put into some tough situations early on with the two interceptions by Stephens, but held tough and only allowed a single touchdown in the first quarter, pitching a shutout the rest of the way. A very nice performance by the defense for a change.

- Tulsa Kicking – Another perfect day for Pratt, ending 2-2 in field goals, kicking from 17 and 18 yards out, and going 3-3 in PATs.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
:East_Carolina:	7	0	0	0	7
:Tulsa:	0	14	7	6	27

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
1:00	:East_Carolina:	Touchdown	E. Smith, 18 yard pass from D. Kirk (D. Smith kick)	:East_Carolina: 14-7
Second Quarter
5:04	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Johnson, 47 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	TIED 7-7
0:10	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	R. Harper, 3 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 14-7
Third Quarter
3:37	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	E. Silva, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 21-7
Fourth Quarter
8:40	:Tulsa:	Field Goal	A. Pratt, 18 yard field goal	:Tulsa: 24-7
4:25	:Tulsa:	Field Goal	A. Pratt, 17 yard field goal	:Tulsa: 27-7

Game Stats

East Carolina	Stat	Tulsa
7	Score	27
7	First Downs	23
160	Total Offense	487
8 - 24 - 0	Rushes - Yards - TD	58 - 274 - 1
13 - 37 - 1	Comp - Att - TD	10 - 16 - 2
136	Passing Yards	213
2	Times Sacked	0
2 - 12 (16%)	3rd Down Conversion	6 - 13 (46%)
1 - 3 (33%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
3 - 1 - 0 (33%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	5 - 2 - 2 (80%)
0	Turnovers	2
0	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	2
0	Punt Return Yards	14
61	Kick Return Yards	21
221	Total Yards	522
7 – 45.7	Punts - Average	3 - 44.7
0 - 0	Penalties	2 - 14
12:44	Time of Possession	23:16

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
:6redarrow:	21+ points per game in each season	40	:6greenarrow:
	Win 10 games in one season	6	:6greenarrow:
	3300+ passing yards each season	:red-x:	:5greenarrow:
:6redarrow:	65% pass completions over the entire contract	60%	:5greenarrow:
:5redarrow:	Win 6 games in one season	:check:	:5greenarrow:
:6redarrow:	15+ rushing TD in each season	3/4 Completed	:5greenarrow:
:4redarrow:	3200+ total offensive yards each season	3/4 Completed	:3greenarrow:
:5redarrow:	3400+ total offensive yards each season	3/4 Completed	:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

38%

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the upset of the week, Indiana scores a touchdown with 24 seconds left in the game to shock #1 Penn State 28-21. It was a battle all game, tied 0-0 after the first, 14-14 at halftime and 21-21 at the end of the third quarter and most of the fourth quarter to Indiana put the game away late. That loss ruins any chances of Penn State making it into the national title game.

#2 Marshall submits their claim to the #1 ranking with a 23-7 win over MTSU. #3 Michigan State bushwhacks Northwestern 38-14. #4 Clemson wins 31-10 over Wake Forest. #5 Virginia Tech gets an easy 35-13 win over Boston College. #6 Nebraska thumps Minnesota 56-0. #7 Auburn scores a Top 15 victory over #14 Notre Dame, beating the Irish 38-14. #8 Iowa fights off Michigan 28-23. #9 Arkansas gets a 35-16 win against Mississippi State. #10 Georgia tops Kentucky 30-13.

Texas Tech shocked #11 Oklahoma 34-24, putting up 13 points in the fourth quarter to get the win. #12 Arkansas State used a big second half to fight off Texas State 48-28. #13 Miami scores a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to come back and beat Georgia Tech 38-31. #17 Texas rolls to a 27-7 win over #16 Oklahoma State. #18 Arizona tacks on another win with a 31-14 victory over Washington State. #19 Air Force takes down Fresno State 41-17. #20 Virginia holds on for a 38-21 win over Duke.

Texas A&M gets a 41-31 upset of #21 Alabama. #22 Nevada just barely escapes from winless Utah State, the Aggies scoring a touchdown with 18 seconds left, but failing the two point conversion to lose by two. UCLA stuns rival #23 USC, knocking off the Trojans 31-21. Syracuse scores twice in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner with one minute left, to stun #24 Louisville 25-21 and #25 South Carolina uses a late fourth quarter touchdown to escape Florida 35-31.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss barely improves to 6-5 (6-1 C-USA) with a 28-27 win over UAB. Southern Miss had to score twice in the final 3:11 of the game, including the game-winning touchdown with 55 seconds left. Jaymo, Arizona State falls to 3-8 (2-6 Pac-12) after a 59-14 thrashing from Oregon. Mors, West Virginia improves to 8-2 (6-1 Big 12) with a 23-14 win over TCU. Jeff, #15 Ohio State remains 9-2 (6-2 Big Ten) with a bye week before the showdown with Michigan. Other teams of interest, #12 Arkansas State improves to 8-2 (5-0 Sun Belt) with a 48-28 win over Texas State.

In Big East action, Tulsa beats East Carolina 27-7, SMU puts up 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to stun Navy 34-27, Houston trounces Tulane 56-14, South Florida gets a 45-24 win over rival Central Florida, Temple knocks off Connecticut 34-10 and Cincinnati beats Memphis 45-9.

With those results, looking at the Big East standings, in the East, it's still a three-way tie at the top between Navy, Connecticut and Central Florida (all 4-3). Navy beat UConn and lost to Central Florida. UConn and Central Florida still have yet to play. Temple (3-5) and East Carolina and South Florida (both 2-5) are all eliminated. In the West, Cincinnati (7-0) clinches the division title. Tulsa (5-2), Houston and SMU (both 5-3), Memphis (2-5) and Tulane (1-6) are all eliminated.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #1 Penn State lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 1. #2 Marshall (11-0) is all that remais with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Utah State (0-10).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Marshall (61 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Michigan State jumps one to #2, Clemson moves up one to #3, Virginia Tech climbs one to #4 and Nebraska jumps one to #5. Auburn moves up one to #6, Iowa climbs one to #7, Arkansas jumps one to #8, Georgia rises one to #9 and Penn State drops nine to #10. Arkansas State climbs one to #11, Miami jumps one to #12, Ohio State moves up two to #13, Texas climbs three to #14 and Arizona jumps three to #15. Air Force leaps three to #16, Virginia jumps three to #17, Oklahoma drops seven to #18, Nevada jumps three to #19 and Texas Tech enters the poll at #20. Oklahoma State falls five to #21, South Carolina climbs three to #22, NC State enters the poll at #23, Notre Dame falls ten to #24 and Cincinnati (280 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Alabama (from #21), USC (from #23) and Louisville (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon (228 points) is #26, followed by Texas A&M (168), Pittsburgh (161), West Virginia (157) and Utah (82) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting votes this week was BYU (40).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Marshall (65 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Michigan State moves up one to #2, Clemson jumps one to #3, Auburn rises one to #4 and Virginia Tech moves up one to #5. Nebraska jumps one to #6, Iowa climbs one to #7, Georgia moves up one to #8, Arkansas climbs one to #9 and Penn State drops nine to #10. Arkansas State jumps two to #11, Ohio State climbs two to #12, Miami moves up two to #13, Texas leaps two to #14 and Air Force jumps two to #15. Arizona climbs three to #16, Virginia jumps three to #17, Oklahoma drops seven to #18, Nevada jumps three to #19 and Texas Tech enters the poll at #20. Notre Dame falls nine to #21, NC State enters the poll at #22, Pittsburgh climbs one to #23, Oklahoma State drops six to #24 and South Carolina (274 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Alabama (from #21), USC (from #23) and Louisville (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon (241 points) is #26, followed by Cincinnati (208), Texas A&M (149), West Virginia (128) and BYU (50) to round out the Top 50. One other team getting votes this wee was Boise State (6).

Looking at the new BCS rankings, #1 Marshall (1.000), #2 Michigan State (0.995), #3 Clemson (0.989), #4 Virginia Tech (0.981), #5 Auburn (0.978), #6 Nebraska (0.976), #7 Iowa (0.960), #8 Georgia (0.959), #9 Arkansas (0.959) and #10 Penn State (0.947).

Looking at the latest Heisman Watch list, Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser is #1 (LW: #1), Texas HB Robert Young is #2 (LW: #3), UAB QB Adam Gardner is #3 (LW: #2), Oregon HB Arnold Miss is #4 (LW: NR) and Arkansas HB Matt Miller is #5 (LW: #4). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Iowa HB Will Dunn (LW: #5).

Looking at the bowl picture, 12 teams punched their bowl tickets this week, with 12 teams seeing their bowl hopes evaporate. With two weeks left in the season, we have had 68 teams reach the 6 win plateau, while 18 teams still have a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 86 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots. With 68 bowl eligible teams already, some team will definitely be sitting home this year.

Looking at the first bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, it's a trip to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for Tulsa fans, taking on the one and only Southern Miss (6-5, 6-1) out of Conference USA. #13 Ohio State (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) would head south to the Gator Bowl and a showdown with #22 South Carolina (7-4, 5-4 SEC). The Orange Bowl would feature #3 Clemson (10-1, 8-1 ACC) vs. #11 Arkansas State (8-2, 5-0 Sun Belt). And the Alamo Bowl would have West Virginia (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) matching up with Stanford (6-4, 6-2 Pac-12).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #10 Penn State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) against #15 Arizona (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12). The Sugar Bowl has #9 Georgia (9-2, 7-2 SEC) matching up with #4 Virginia Tech (8-2, 6-2 ACC). The Orange Bowl has #3 Clemson (10-1, 8-1 ACC) matching up with #11 Arkansas State (8-2, 5-0 Sun Belt). The Fiesta Bowl features a battle between #21 Oklahoma State (7-3, 6-1 Big 12) and #6 Auburn (9-2, 6-2 SEC). And in the national championship game, #2 Michigan State (9-2, 7-1 Big Ten) takes on #1 Marshall (11-0, 7-0 C-USA).

Game Twelve

:Tulsa: :@: :SMU:



Game Notes

--- After a long season, the end had arrived. Despite making a great effort down the homestretch, we were eliminated from the division race after Cincinnati won last week to improve to 7-0 in-conference. We at least were able to put ourselves in position to extend our season by becoming bowl eligible. Now all that stood in our way of a bowl game was SMU. While the Mustangs were having an up and down year as well, they were able to keep themselves firmly entrenched in the middle of the national statistical rankings, their worst ranking being #84 for pass offense (only 200.7 yards/game), but that wasn’t too big a problem as they were #29 in the nation in rushing (208.9 yards/game). There were just as decent on defense, better in fact, than us in total defense and passing defense. Every sign pointed to today being a classic slobber knocker, our rushing and passing attack going up against SMU’s rushing attack and their above average defense. SMU won the coin toss and elected to kick.

No return on the opening kickoff got us lined up at our 25 yard line to start the game. Opening up with the running game, Will Oliver was only able to get one yard on the first down carry. Turning to the air on second down, the ball intended for Joe Vaughn was broken up, leaving third and long. The third down pass intended for Jason Johnson got batted down by the middle linebacker, and our first drive of the game ended with little fanfare. SMU wouldn’t even wait for their offense to come on the field to strike first blood, Aaron Palmer receiving the 43 yard punt at the SMU 30 yard line, and proceeded to return it all the way to the house for a 70 yard touchdown, giving SMU a 7-0 lead with 8:01 to go in the first quarter.

Another touchback on the kickoff got our offense back on the field, again from our 25 yard line. Oliver was able to find some better luck this time around, rushing for a four yard gain, followed by a gain of three yards to leave third and three. Dropping back to pass on third down, Stephens was able to get the ball into the hands of Carl Barnes, but a hit by the middle linebacker knocked the ball loose and incomplete, our punt team coming back out. This time we were able to punt without giving up a touchdown, a fair catch on the 46 yard boot giving SMU the ball at their 22 yard line.

Anthony Key got the drive started for SMU with 10 yard rush, leaving second and inches at the 32. Our defense would strike back on second down, sacking Dustin Baker for a 6 yard loss to leave SMU facing third and 7. The Mustangs would manage to keep the drive alive however, as Baker got the pass off on third down and connected with Zach Jones for a 7 yard completion and a first down at the 33. Key took the ground again, this time for a 9 yard gain, followed by a two yard rush by Baker to pick up another first down at the 45. Key continued to shred us on the ground with a 7 yard rush, before Baker dropped back and connected with Alex Noel over the middle for a 17 yard pickup and a new set of downs at our 32 yard line. A pair of rushes by Key for gains of 8 and 5 yards moved the chains to our 19 yard line, where a dropped pass by Brandon Woods left SMU with second down. Baker was able to find Noel on the next play for a 5 yard gain to set up third and 5, before a 9 yard completion to Noel gave SMU first and goal from our 5 yard line. Baker would finish the drive off with a pass into the end zone to Jones for a 5 yard touchdown, SMU jumping out to a 14-0 lead with 4:01 left in the first quarter.

No return on the following kickoff and we were again starting at our 25 yard line. Oliver finally managed to find success on first down, rushing for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard run to get a first down at the 39. Keeping the ground attack going, Eric Silva was able to break free for a 14 yard gain, giving us a first down at the SMU 47. Another rush by Silva resulted in another huge gain, picking up 18 yards to move the chains down to the 30 yard line. Taking advantage of continued great downfield blocking, Oliver was able to gain 12 yards on the first down carry, giving us a first down at the 18 yard line and putting Oliver over 1,500 yards rushing for the season. The defense finally managed to slow us down, as Oliver could only manage three yards on the first down play. That lasted all of one play however, as Oliver took the second down handoff, found a hole and had plenty of grass ahead of him thanks to the linebackers all blitzing, allowing him to rumble his way for a 13 yard gain to set up first and goal at the two yard line. Shaking off two tackles while driving forward, Silva was able to punch it in for a two yard touchdown, cutting SMU’s lead in half to 14-7 with 1:47 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kick gave SMU the ball at their 25 yard line. The Mustangs wasted little time in moving the ball, as Key started the drive with a four yard rush, followed by a 7 yard pass from Baker to Jones, picking up a quick first down at the 37. That would be as far as SMU would get, as three straight incomplete passes to Noel and Jones brought the drive screeching to a halt. A fair catch by Johnson on the 43 yard punt got us lined up at our 19 yard line.

Oliver took the ball on first down, picking up three yards on the play, before a play action pass to Johnson work perfectly, the pass complete for a gain of 22 yards and a first down at the 44 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Oliver ran for 6 yards on first down to get us to midfield. That would be the final play of the quarter as the first quarter came to an end, SMU leading 14-7.

Opening up the second quarter, facing second and four at midfield, Oliver was able to plow his way up the middle for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the SMU 41. Continuing on the ground, Oliver picked up 9 yards around the right tackle, before getting stuffed in the backfield for a loss of two yards. Turning to the air on third down, Stephens was able to get the pass into the hands of Johnson, but the cornerback was able to knock the ball loose while tackling Johnson to force the incomplete pass. The 51 yard field goal attempt by Alphonso Pratt split the uprights, further cutting SMU’s lead down to 14-10 with 7:52 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the following kickoff got SMU started at their 25 yard line for the next drive. Noel got the drive started with a four yard rush, before Baker was able to hook up with Pat Sims over the middle for a 13 yard gain and a quick first down at the 42. Craig Sherman took the ball on first down, picking up three yards on the play, followed by another bomb by Baker, complete to Josh McNeal to set SMU up with a new set of downs at our 34. After a two yard rush on first down, Baker dropped back to pass, but was forced to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, leaving SMU facing third and 8. An 8 yard rush by Key would convert the third down and move the chains to our 24. A two yard rush by Nick Rawlins was followed with an incomplete pass intended for Jones, leaving third and 8. Baker was able to connect with Kurt Stone on third down for a 5 yard gain, but it wouldn’t be enough, leaving fourth and three from the 17 yard line. A 34 yard field goal by Steve Sanders pushed SMU’s lead up to 17-10 with 5:57 left before halftime.

No return on the kickoff gave us back the ball at our 25 yard line. Despite the defense bringing the house, Oliver was able to pick up four yards on the first down carry, followed by a two yard gain to leave third and four. Going to the air on third down, Vaughn would keep our drive alive, pulling in a high pass from Stephens for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 46. Going back to the ground, Oliver was able to fight his way up the field for 8 yards, followed by a 4 yard rush by Silva to pick up the first down at the SMU 41 yard line. Oliver kept pounding away on the ground, tackled for a gain of two yards. Taking a chance through the air on second down, we would end up going backwards, Stephens sacked for a 10 yard loss to leave third and 18. The third down pass intended for P.J. Stephens was broken up, and we were forced to punt on fourth and very long. No return on the 39 yard punt gave SMU the ball at their 10 yard line, 2:30 left before halftime.

It would end up being a short drive for the Mustangs, started with a dropped pass by Jones. Rawlins would take the ball on the next two plays, rushing for gains of three and 6 yards, coming up just short as the punt team came out on fourth and one from the 19 yard line. A 10 yard return by Johnson on the 47 yard punt got us set up at our 44 yard line, just 1:51 left on the clock.

Immediately starting in the air on first down, the pass to Vaughn was completed for a 15 yard gain, Stephens starting to settle down and make good throws now. That play was followed up with a four yard completion to Barnes, followed by a quick pass to P.J. Stephens for a gain of 13 yards and a first down at the SMU 24 yard line, 1:07 left on the clock. Vaughn was able to get the first down pass into his hands, but a hit by both the cornerback and safety were enough to knock the ball loose and incomplete. Lucas Gates was also able to get a pass into his hands, but a quick hit by the cornerback jarred it loose, leaving us looking at third and long. Vaughn would hold onto the ball this time, coming across the middle for an 18 yard completion to give us first and goal at the 6 yard line, our first timeout taken with 47 seconds left in the half. The first down pass intended for Barnes was broken up, leaving second and goal. Johnson would get us into the end zone on the next play, grabbing the pass at the one yard line and backing into the end zone for a 6 yard touchdown, tying the game up at 17-17 with 40 seconds left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff got SMU back in action at their 25 yard line. After a deep pass to Noel was batted away and incomplete, the Mustangs settled for remaining tied, as Baker’s pass to Noel was complete for only a 5 yard gain, running out the clock and sending us into halftime tied at 17-17.

Opening up the second half, no return on the kickoff got SMU lined up at their 25 yard line to begin the third quarter. It was a poor start to the drive for SMU was Rawlins was tackled for a four yard loss, but he would regain those lost yards on second down with an 8 yard rush, leaving SMU facing third and 6. The third down pass intended for Stone was incomplete, and SMU was forced to punt early on. A four yard return by Johnson on the 46 yard punt got us in action at our 29 yard line.

Starting the drive on the ground, Oliver was able to drive his way up the middle to a 12 yard gain and an immediate first down at the 41. Another rush by Oliver gained only two yards to leave second and 8. Heading into the air on second down, the pass intended for Barnes was broken up to leave third and long. Stephens wasn’t able to connect with Vaughn on third down, the outside linebacker making a play on the ball, leaving us punting the ball away on fourth and 8. A fair catch on the 45 yard punt got SMU back on the field at their 12 yard line.

Baker started the drive with a two yard rush, before an incomplete pass and a one yard completion to Rawlins doomed this drive as well, the SMU punt unit coming out on fourth and 7. A fair catch by Johnson on the 50 yard punt gave us back possession at our 34 yard line.

Keeping with the ground game on first down, Oliver was able to break loose into the open, picking up 22 yards before being run down from behind, tackled at the SMU 44 yard line. Another rush by Oliver gained 9 yards, followed by a 5 yard rush by Silva to advance the ball to the 30 yard line. Keeping at it, Oliver continued to punish the defense, picking up 10 yards on first down to leave second and inches, before rushing for a gain of 8 to get the first down at the 12 yard line. Silva would finish off the drive on the next play, taking it around the right tackle and racing into the end zone untouched for a 12 yard touchdown, giving us a 24-17 lead with 4:47 left in the third quarter.

A 14 yard kickoff return got SMU back on the field at their 17 yard line, finding themselves trailing for the first time today. Baker didn’t get the drive off to the greatest of starts, as he was tackled for a three yard loss, but he would recover and throw up a 17 yard pass to Jones to move the chains to the 31. A two yard rush by Rawlins was followed with an incomplete pass to leave third and 8, before Baker was able to connect with Noel for a 9 yard pass and a first down at the 42 yard line. Baker and Rawlins combined on first and second down for rushes of 5 and four yards to set up third and one, where Baker found Sims down the right sideline for a 9 yard gain, moving the chains to our 39 yard line. The drive would start to run out of steam as Noel was tackled for a three yard loss on first down, before an incomplete pass brought up third and 13. A pass to Sims was completed, but only for 7 yards to leave fourth and 6 from the 35. The Mustangs would catch a second wind as our defense gave up an 8 yards pass to Jones on fourth down, giving SMU a first down at our 27 yard line. A one yard rush by Baker was followed with a 7 yard gain by Rawlins, before Baker converted the third and short with a 15 yard strike over the middle to Noel, giving SMU first and goal at our four yard line. Baker tried to get the job done through the air, but McNeal dropped the ball in the end zone, resulting in second and goal. Another incomplete pass, this time intended for Jones, left SMU now with third and goal. Our defense would make its greatest stand of the game, forcing Baker to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, bringing up fourth and goal at the four yard line. After three straight failures from four yards out, Sanders would boot the 21 yard field goal through the uprights, cutting our lead to 24-20 with 1:10 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line for our next series. Oliver got our drive started with a 7 yard rush, followed by a three yard gain to get to the 35. SMU would commit an error on the play however, as outside linebacker Ben Smith was flagged for a facemask penalty during the tackle, giving us 15 free yards and a first down at midfield. Taking the ball up the middle on first down Oliver was able to gain 8 yards on the play to leave fourth and two at the SMU 43 yard line, where the third quarter would come to an end, our lead holding at 24-20.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Oliver was able to pick up 6 yards on the second down play to move the chains to the 37. Silva never had a chance on first down, as the middle linebacker blitzed through the line and tackled him for no gain. Going into the air on second down, Stephens never got the pass off as he was sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving us facing third and 19. The third down pass to P.J. Stephens was initially complete, but the ball got stripped loose and incomplete by the cornerback to leave our punt team coming onto the field. We gained a couple extra yards thanks to an encroachment penalty on the defense, leaving fourth and 14 from the 41. The punt from Christian Johnson sailed into the end zone for a touchback, and SMU took over at their 20 yard line.

McNeal got the drive started for the Mustangs with a 7 yard rush, before Baker threw deep down the right sideline to Reggie Parker for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 45. A two yard rush by Baker was followed with a 6 yard pass to Noel to leave third and four. SMU would end up coming up short, Baker tackled for a two yard loss to leave fourth and 5 at midfield. It would end up getting worse for SMU, as a holding penalty on the punt pushed them back to their 40 yard line, now facing fourth and 15. A fair catch by Johnson on the 44 yard punt gave us back possession at our 16 yard line, 6:05 left on the clock.

Our possession would last a whole one play as Oliver would commit the first turnover of the game, screwing us at the worst possible moment, fumbling the ball in the middle of the pile of linemen, middle linebacker Travis Mackey recovering the fumble for SMU at our 13 yard line. After a dropped pass on first down, McNeal was able to make it up with an 8 yard reception to leave third and two from our 5 yard line. Our defense would thankfully hold for us, tackling Rawlins for a two yard loss to bring up fourth and four at the 7. That hold would last for all of one play, as Baker threw up a pass into the end zone on fourth down, Jones coming down with ball for a 7 yard touchdown. The game would end up left wide open however, as Sanders would shank the extra point, SMU’s lead only 26-24 with 5:26 left to play.

A touchback on the kickoff got us lined up at our 25 yard line, only a field goal needed to win now. With exactly that in mind, we came out rushing the ball, looking to kill off as much of the 5:18 left as possible. That plan last only one play as Oliver was quickly brought down for no gain, leaving us facing second and long. Heading into the air on second down, the pass intended for Vaughn was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, leaving third and long. Dropping back into the shotgun, Stephens was able to just barely avoid a sack and get the ball off to P.J. Stephens for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 40 yard line. Returning to the ground, Silva was able to pick up 5 yards on the play, followed by a 9 yard gain to get the first down at the SMU 45. Working our way closer towards field goal range, Silva was able to get four yards on the first down carry, before Kyle Jones ran for three yards to leave us with third and three from the 39. Coming back in on third down, Silva was able to get the job done, picking up 5 yards and the first down at the 33 yard line. Jones took over on first down, but never had any chance on the play, swarmed for a one yard loss to leave second and 11. Going into the air on second down, Johnson pulled down a pass from Stephens for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and three. Silva tried to pick up the first down on the ground, but was stuffed for no gain, leaving fourth and three at the 26 yard line. Pratt lined up for the potential game-winning field goal, but the 43 yard field goal attempt would end up clanking off the left upright and no good, SMU taking over at their 26 yard line with 1:06 left in the game.

Rawlins started the drive for SMU with a 5 yard rush, our first timeout taken with one minute exact left on the clock. Another 5 yard rush by Rawlins left SMU facing third and short, our second timeout taken with 56 seconds to go. Any hopes of getting the ball back were crushed when Rawlins was able to fight his way to a one yard gain, picking up the first down at the 37 yard line, our final timeout taken with 52 seconds remaining. Baker would drop to a knee twice to run out the clock, clinching the 26-24 win for SMU.

With the loss, our four game winning streak is snapped, falling to 6-6, 5-3 Big East. With the win, SMU improves to 6-6, 5-3 Big East. Up next, it’s the wait to see where we’ll go for a bowl, if we make it in.

Final Score
:SMU: 26, :Tulsa: 24




Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense - A bad day by Stephens, only going 9-21 for 115 yards and one touchdown. Could have passed more, but he was constantly throwing incomplete passes, so stuck with what worked, the run game. Rushing, Oliver led the way with 168 yards on 27 carries, Silva was next in line with 81 yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts. Receiving, Vaughn was the top receiver today, ending with 48 yards on three receptions. Next was Johnson with 36 yards and one touchdown on three receptions. In all, only four receivers caught a ball, three receivers ended with double digit yards. The most telling stat, was five dropped passes between five receivers.

Tulsa Defense – A bad first quarter, much better second and third quarters, but when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, couldn't defend on fourth and four from the seven yards line and gave up the game-winning touchdown.

Tulsa Kicking – Terrible. Yes, Pratt went 1-2 with a 51 yard field goal, and did go 3-3 in PATs. But that one missed field goal, a game-winning attempt from 43 yards out, cost us the win.




Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
:Tulsa:	7	10	7	0	24
:SMU:	14	3	3	6	26

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
8:01	:SMU:	Touchdown	A. Palmer, returned punt 70 yards (S. Sanders kick)	:SMU: 7-0
4:01	:SMU:	Touchdown	Z. Jones, 7 yard pass from D. Baker (S. Sanders kick)	:SMU: 14-0
1:47	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	E. Silva, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:SMU: 14-7
Second Quarter
7:52	:Tulsa:	Field Goal	A. Pratt, 51 yard field goal	:SMU: 14-10
5:57	:SMU:	Field Goal	S. Sanders, 34 yard field goal	:SMU: 17-10
0:40	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Johnson, 6 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)	TIED 17-17
Third Quarter
4:47	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	E. Silva, 12 yard run (A. Pratt kick)	:Tulsa: 24-17
1:10	:SMU:	Field Goal	S. Sanders, 21 yard field goal	:Tulsa: 24-20
Fourth Quarter
5:26	:SMU:	Touchdown	Z. Jones, 7 yard pass from D. Baker (missed kick)	:SMU: 26-24

Game Stats

Tulsa	Stat	SMU
24	Score	26
21	First Downs	15
353	Total Offense	306
44 - 238 - 2	Rushes - Yards - TD	32 - 106 - 0
9 - 21 - 1	Comp - Att - TD	21 - 37 - 2
115	Passing Yards	200
2	Times Sacked	1
4 - 10 (40%)	3rd Down Conversion	6 - 15 (40%)
0 - 0 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	2 - 2 (100%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
5 - 3 - 0 (60%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	6 - 2 - 2 (66%)
1	Turnovers	0
1	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	0
14	Punt Return Yards	70
0	Kick Return Yards	14
367	Total Yards	390
5 – 43.4	Punts - Average	5 - 46.4
2 - 11	Penalties	3 - 30
21:12	Time of Possession	14:48

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
:6redarrow:	21+ points per game in each season	38	:6greenarrow:
	Win 10 games in one season	6	:6greenarrow:
	3300+ passing yards each season	:red-x:	:5greenarrow:
:6redarrow:	65% pass completions over the entire contract	59%	:5greenarrow:
:5redarrow:	Win 6 games in one season	:check:	:5greenarrow:
:6redarrow:	15+ rushing TD in each season	3/4 Completed	:5greenarrow:
:4redarrow:	3200+ total offensive yards each season	3/4 Completed	:3greenarrow:
:5redarrow:	3400+ total offensive yards each season	3/4 Completed	:2greenarrow:
Penalty
:1redarrow:	Lost to a lower ranked team

Job Security Status

36%

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Marshall beats Southern Miss 33-30. Southern Miss drove down the field and scored a touchdown with 3:16 left in the game, a chance to take a one point lead, but the kicker bounced the PAT off the right upright, leaving the game tied at 30-all. Marshall drove down the field and kicked at 25 yard field goal with 24 seconds left to claim the win.

Wisconsin stuns #2 Michigan State 34-17. #3 Clemson fights off South Carolina, scoring 21 straight points to comeback and win 38-31. #4 Virginia Tech destroyed #17 Virginia 51-17. In the game of the week, #5 Nebraska steamrolls #7 Iowa 44-7. Alabama takes down #6 Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Tide winning 37-24. #8 Arkansas walked away with a 30-14 win over LSU. Georgia Tech scores a 38-21 win over rival #9 Georgia, getting the Yellow Jackets to .500. #10 Penn State thrashes Maryland 42-7.

Troy gets their biggest win of the season, as they upset #11 Arkansas State, ruining a perfect conference record and a BCS berth for the Red Wolves. #12 Miami rolls to a 34-17 win over North Carolina. Michigan scores a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to force overtime, then knocks off #13 Ohio State 37-34 win double overtime, the Buckeyes pissing away a 21-0 first quarter advantage. #14 Texas downs TCU 45-28. #15 Arizona barely fights off Arizona State for a 24-17 victory.

#16 Air Force holds off UNLV 24-17. #19 Nevada rolled over San Jose State 41-10. It was bedlam in Bedlam, as #21 Oklahoma State scores 11 points in the fourth quarter (18 straight going back into the third quarter) to stun #18 Oklahoma 38-35, erasing a 28-point second quarter that Oklahoma used to jump out to a big lead. West Virginia scores an upset of #20 Texas Tech, 34-14. Boston College shocks #23 NC State 31-24 in overtime. #24 Notre Dame got a 49-28 win over USC and #25 Cincinnati picks up an easy 49-21 win over Houston.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss can't get the job done, falling to 6-6 (6-2 C-USA) with a 33-30 loss to #1 Marshall. Southern Miss scored with 3:16 left, but missed the go ahead PAT. Marshall would then win on a 25 yard field goal with 24 seconds to go. Jaymo, Arizona State ends their year 3-9 (2-7 Pac-12) with a 24-17 loss to #15 Arizona. Mors, West Virginia keeps racking up wins, improving to 9-2 (7-1 Big 12) with a 34-14 win over #20 Texas Tech. Jeff, #13 Ohio State falls to 9-3 (6-3 Big Ten) with a 37-34 double overtime loss to Michigan. Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but they couldn't close out as Michigan clawed back. Other teams of interest, #11 Arkansas State drops to 8-3 (5-1 Sun Belt), stunned 38-17 by Troy.

In Big East action, SMU knocks off Tulsa 26-24, #25 Cincinnati beats down Houston 49-21, Memphis thumps Tulane 38-10, South Florida beats Temple 31-19, Navy rolls over East Carolina 37-7 and Central Florida knocks off Connecticut 45-42.

With those results, looking at the Big East standings, in the East, Navy and Central Florida finish tied atop the standings (both 5-3). Central Florida should end up in the division winner and in the conference championship game due to a 4-1 division record, compared to Navy's 3-2 division record. Connecticut (4-4), Temple and South Florida (3-5) and East Carolina (2-6) are all eliminated. In the West, Cincinnati (8-0) clinches the division title. Tulsa and SMU (both 5-3), Houston (4-4), Memphis (3-5) and Tulane (1-7) are all eliminated.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, keeping our number of undefeated teams at 1. #1 Marshall (12-0) is all that remains with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Utah State (0-11).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Marshall (61 first place votes) remains #1, Nebraska leaps three to #2, Clemson remains #3, Virginia Tech remains #4 and Arkansas climbs three to #5. Pen State jumps four to #6, Miami leaps five to #7, Michigan State drops six to #8, Texas jumps five to #9 and Arizona moves up five to #10. Iowa falls four to #11, Air Force jumps four to #12, Auburn falls seven to #13, Nevada leaps five to #14 and Oklahoma State jumps six to #15. Wisconsin enters the poll at #16, Notre Dame jumps up seven to #17, Georgia drops nine to #18, Cincinnati climbs six to #19 and West Virginia enters the poll at #20. Oregon enters the poll at #21, Alabama enters the poll at #22, Texas A&M enters the poll at #23, Arkansas State plummets thirteen to #24 and Pittsburgh (301 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Ohio State (from #13), Virginia (from #17), Oklahoma (from #18), Texas Tech (from #20), South Carolina (from #22) and NC State (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Virginia (280 points) is #26, followed by Texas Tech (274), Ohio State (258), Utah (246) and Oklahoma (232) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week includes BYU (202), Boise State (180), Louisville (150) and Illinois (43).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Marshall (65 first place votes) remains #1, Clemson jumps one to #2, Nebraska climbs three to #3, Virginia Tech moves up one to #4 and Arkansas climbs four to #5. Penn State jumps four to #6, Miami leaps six to #7, Texas jumps six to #8, Michigan State drops seven to #9 and Air Force climbs five to #10. Arizona jumps up five to #11, Iowa falls five to #12, Auburn drops nine to #13, Nevada climbs five to #14 and Wisconsin enters the poll at #15. Oklahoma State leaps eight to #16, Notre Dame jumps four to #17, Georgia drops ten to #18, Pittsburgh climbs four to #19 and West Virginia enters the poll at #20. Oregon enters the poll at #21, Alabama enters the poll at #22, Cincinnati enters the poll at #23, Arkansas State drops thirteen spots to #24 and Texas A&M (236 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Ohio State (from #13), Virginia (from #17), Oklahoma (from #18), Texas Tech (from #20), South Carolina (from #22) and NC State (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ohio State (191 points) is #26, followed by Texas Tech (164), Virginia (142), BYU (122) and Oklahoma (69) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting votes this week was Boise State (60).

Looking at the new BCS rankings, #1 Marshall (1.000), #2 Nebraska (0.992), #3 Clemson (0.992), #4 Virginia Tech (0.984), #5 Arkansas (0.978), #6 Penn State (0.973), #7 Miami (0.967), #8 Michigan State (0.959), #9 Texas (0.949) and #10 Air Force (0.946).

Looking at the latest Heisman Watch list, Texas HB Robert Young is #1 (LW: #2), UAB QB Adam Gardner is #2 (LW: #3), Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser is #3 (LW: #1), Arkansas HB Matt Miller is #4 (LW: #5) and Oregon HB Arnold Mills is #5 (LW: #4). No one fell off the Heisman Watch list this week

Looking at the bowl picture, 7 more teams punched their bowl tickets this week, with 5 teams seeing their bowl hopes evaporate. With one week left in the season, we have had 75 teams reach the 6 win plateau, while 5 teams still have a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 80 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots. With 75 bowl eligible teams already, 7 teams for sure will be sitting home this year.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl for Tulsa fans, taking on Kentucky (6-6, 5-4 SEC). Southern Miss (6-6, 6-2 C-USA) would head to the TicketCity Bowl and a match-up with Illinois (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten). Ohio State (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) would head south to the Gator Bowl and a showdown with South Carolina (7-5, 5-4 SEC). The New Orleans Bowl would feature Florida International (8-4, 4-4 C-USA) vs. #24 Arkansas State (8-3, 5-1 Sun Belt). And the AT&T Cotton Bowl would have #20 West Virginia (9-2, 7-1 Big 12) matching up with #23 Texas A&M (8-4, 6-3 SEC).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #6 Penn State (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) against #10 Arizona (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12). The Sugar Bowl has #5 Arkansas (10-2, 7-2 SEC) matching up with #4 Virginia Tech (10-2, 7-2 ACC). The Orange Bowl has #3 Clemson (11-1, 8-1 ACC) matching up with #8 Texas (9-2, 6-2 Big 12). The Fiesta Bowl features a battle between #15 Oklahoma State (8-3, 7-1 Big 12) and #12 Air Force (9-2, 7-1 Mountain West). And in the national championship game, #2 Nebraska (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) takes on #1 Marshall (12-0, 8-0 C-USA).

On a bye week for the final week of the year. Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #20 West Virginia knocks off #9 Texas 47-33. Texas led 33-32 with 6 minutes to play. West Virginia drove down and scored the go-ahead touchdown and two-point conversion with 56 seconds left to take a 40-33 lead, then had a 62 yard interception return for a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining to give West Virginia the 14 point win.

Colorado State shocks #12 Air Force, 31-24, ruining any chances for the Falcons to crash the BCS. #14 Nevada tops Hawaii 28-19. #15 Oklahoma State escapes Texas Tech 34-31, tying the game up with a 16 yard touchdown pass with 2:42 left, then kicking a game-winning 24 yard field goal with three seconds to go and #24 Arkansas State beats Louisiana-Lafayette 28-14.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss sits at 6-6 (6-2 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State ends their year 3-9 (2-7 Pac-12). Mors, #20 West Virginia ends their regular season improving to 10-2 (8-1 Big 12) with a 40-33 win over #9 Texas. Jeff, Ohio State sits at 9-3 (6-3 Big Ten). Other teams of interest, #24 Arkansas State ends their regular season improving to 9-3 (6-1 Sun Belt) with a 28-14 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

In Big East action, Army knocks off Navy 26-14.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, keeping our number of undefeated teams at 1. #1 Marshall (12-0) is all that remains with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 0 teams winless, everyone ends the year with at least one win.

Teams getting their first win this week were: Utah State (35-14 over 1-11 San Jose State).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Marshall (61 first place votes) remains #1, Nebraska remains #2, Clemson remains #3, Virginia Tech remains #4, Arkansas remains #5, Penn State remains #6, Miami remains #7, Michigan State remains #8, Arizona climbs one to #9 and Iowa jumps one to #10. Auburn jumps two to #11, Nevada climbs two to #12, Oklahoma State moves up two to #13, Wisconsin climbs two to #14 and West Virginia leaps five to #15. Notre Dame climbs one to #16, Texas drops eight to #17, Georgia remains #18, Cincinnati remains #19 and Oregon climbs one to #20. Alabama moves up one to #21, Air Force falls ten to #22, Texas A&M remains #23, Arkansas State remains #24 and Pittsburgh (290 points) remains #25. No one dropped out this week. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Virginia (242 points) is #26, followed by Ohio State (172), Utah (133), BYU (67) and Colorado State (26) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Marshall (65 first place votes) remains #1, Clemson remains #2, Nebraska remains #3, Virginia Tech remains 4, Arkansas remains #5, Penn State remains #6, Miami remains #7, Michigan State climbs one to #8, Arizona jumps two to #9 and Iowa jumps two to #10. Auburn climbs two to #11, Nevada jumps two to #12, West Virginia leaps seven to #13, Wisconsin climbs one to #14 and Oklahoma State moves up one to #15. Texas drops eight to #16, Notre Dame remains #17, Georgia remains #18, Pittsburgh remains #19 and Oregon climbs one to #20. Cincinnati jumps two to #21, Air Force drops twelve to #22, Alabama falls one to #23, Arkansas State remains #24 and Texas A&M (309 points) remains #25. No one dropped out this week. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ohio State (235 points) is #26, followed by Virginia (186), Colorado State (137), BYU (116) and Utah (77) to round out the Top 30.

Looking at the new BCS rankings, #1 Marshall (1.000), #2 Clemson (0.992), #3 Nebraska (0.992), #4 Virginia Tech (0.984), #5 Arkansas (0.978), #6 Penn State (0.973), #7 Miami (0.967), #8 Michigan State (0.962), #9 Auburn (0.946) and #10 Arizona (0.940).

Looking at the latest Heisman Watch list, Texas HB Robert Young is #1 (LW: #1), UAB QB Adam Gardner is #2 (LW: #2), Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser is #3 (LW: #3), Arkansas HB Matt Miller is #4 (LW: #4) and Oregon HB Arnold Mills is #5 (LW: #5). No one fell off the Heisman Watch list this week

Looking at the bowl picture, one more team punched their bowl tickets this week, with four teams seeing their bowl hopes evaporate. That leaves 76 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau and will be fighting for 68 bowl slots, resulting in 8 teams for sure sitting home this year.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl for Tulsa fans, taking on LSU (7-5, 4-5 SEC). Southern Miss (6-6, 6-2 C-USA) would head to the TicketCity Bowl and a match-up with Illinois (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten). Ohio State (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) would head south to the Gator Bowl and a showdown with #21 Alabama (7-5, 5-4 SEC). The New Orleans Bowl would feature Florida International (8-4, 4-4 C-USA) vs. #24 Arkansas State (9-3, 6-1 Sun Belt). And the AT&T Cotton Bowl would have #15 West Virginia (10-2, 8-1 Big 12) matching up with #23 Texas A&M (8-4, 6-3 SEC).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #6 Penn State (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) against #10 Arizona (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12). The Sugar Bowl has #5 Arkansas (10-2, 7-2 SEC) matching up with #4 Virginia Tech (10-2, 7-2 ACC). The Orange Bowl has #2 Nebraska (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) matching up with #12 Nevada (11-1, 8-1 Mountain West). The Fiesta Bowl features a battle between #13 Oklahoma State (9-3, 8-1 Big 12) and #11 Auburn (9-3, 6-3 SEC). And in the national championship game, #3 Clemson (11-1, 8-1 ACC) takes on #1 Marshall (12-0, 8-0 C-USA).

Conference Championship Week

Conference	Winning Team	Record	Score	Losing Team	Record
:ACC_Championship:	(3) :Clemson:	12-1 (9-1)	17-14	(4) :Virginia_Tech:	10-3 (7-3)
:Big_East:	(19) :Cincinnati:	11-2 (9-0)	49-6	:Navy:	7-6 (5-4)
:B1G_Championship:	(6) :Penn_State:	12-1 (9-1)	24-21	(8) :Michigan_State:	9-4 (7-3)
:CUSA:	(1) :Marshall:	13-0 (9-0)	28-23	:UTEP:	8-5 (6-3)
:MAC_Championship:	:Ohio:	9-4 (7-3)	34-14	:Toledo:	10-3 (7-3)
:Pac_12:	(9) :Arizona:	12-1 (9-1)	34-17	:Stanford:	8-5 (7-3)
:SEC_Championship:	(18) :Georgia:	10-3 (8-2)	42-17	(5) :Arkansas:	10-3 (7-3)

Pre-Bowl Games Update




Final BCS Standings

Spoiler: show

Rank	LW	Team	Wins	Losses	Points
1	1	Marshall	13	0	1.000
2	2	Clemson	12	1	.995
3	3	Nebraska	10	2	.989
4	6	Penn State	12	1	.984
5	7	Miami (FL)	9	3	.978
6	10	Arizona	12	1	.965
7	11	Iowa	9	3	.963
8	4	Virginia Tech	10	3	.959
9	9	Auburn	9	3	.954
10	16	Georgia	10	3	.943
11	12	Nevada	11	1	.936
12	5	Arkansas	10	3	.935
13	13	Wisconsin	8	4	.920
14	14	Oklahoma State	9	3	.914
15	15	West Virginia	10	2	.910
16	8	Michigan State	9	4	.891
17	18	Texas	9	3	.887
18	17	Notre Dame	8	4	.886
19	19	Cincinnati	11	2	.873
20	20	Alabama	7	5	.863
21	22	Oregon	9	3	.861
22	21	Air Force	9	3	.859
23	23	Pittsburgh	9	3	.832
24	24	Texas A&M	8	4	.831
25	25	Arkansas State	9	3	.822

Conference Standings

Spoiler: show

* - Played in Conference Championship Game


ACC

Spoiler: show

Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against	Division Record
Atlantic Division
#1	(2) Clemson*	12-1	.920	9-1	504	255	5-1
#2	NC State	9-3	.750	6-3	380	241	4-2
#3	Louisville	9-3	.750	6-3	389	270	3-3
#4	Wake Forest	5-7	.410	4-5	272	306	3-3
#5	Florida State	4-8	.330	3-6	302	342	3-3
#6	Boston College	2-10	.160	2-7	272	433	2-4
#7	Syracuse	4-8	.330	2-7	177	320	1-5
Coastal Division
#1	(8) Virginia Tech*	10-3	.760	7-3	425	231	5-1
#2	(5) Miami	9-3	.750	6-3	427	302	4-2
#3	(23) Pittsburgh	9-3	.750	6-3	425	286	4-2
#4	Virginia	7-5	.580	5-4	371	324	4-2
#5	North Carolina	7-5	.580	4-5	372	345	2-4
#6	Georgia Tech	6-6	.500	3-6	367	293	1-5
#7	Duke	2-10	.160	1-8	315	406	1-5

Big 12

Spoiler: show

Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against
#1	(14) Oklahoma State	9-3	.750	8-1	342	270
#2	(15) West Virginia	10-2	.830	8-1	392	234
#3	(17) Texas	9-3	.750	6-3	469	236
#4	Texas Tech	8-4	.660	6-3	386	322
#5	TCU	7-5	.580	5-4	380	278
#6	Oklahoma	7-5	.580	5-4	392	291
#7	Kansas State	4-8	.330	3-6	272	378
#8	Iowa State	3-9	.250	2-7	207	409
#9	Baylor	4-8	.330	2-7	285	300
#10	Kansas	1-11	.080	0-9	155	391

Big East

Spoiler: show

Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against	Division Record
American Division
#1	Central Florida	6-6	.500	5-3	346	311	4-1
#2	Navy*	7-6	.530	5-4	410	375	3-2
#3	Connecticut	7-5	.580	4-4	420	376	2-3
#4	South Florida	6-6	.500	3-5	317	339	2-3
#5	Temple	5-7	.410	3-5	273	263	2-3
#6	East Carolina	4-8	.330	2-6	240	347	2-3
National Division
#1	(19) Cincinnati*	11-2	.840	9-0	494	297	5-0
#2	SMU	6-6	.500	5-3	329	293	2-3
#3	Tulsa	6-6	.500	5-3	465	338	3-2
#4	Houston	7-5	.580	4-4	355	396	3-2
#5	Memphis	4-8	.330	3-5	286	399	2-3
#6	Tulane	3-9	.250	1-7	236	477	0-5

Big Ten

Spoiler: show

Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against	Division Record
Leaders Division
#1	(4) Penn State*	12-1	.920	9-1	468	250	5-1
#2	Ohio State	9-3	.750	6-3	444	245	4-2
#3	Rutgers	7-5	.580	4-5	359	303	3-3
#4	Illinois	7-5	.580	4-5	312	289	2-4
#5	Indiana	6-6	.500	3-6	355	394	3-3
#6	Maryland	4-8	.330	3-6	270	412	2-4
#7	Purdue	3-9	.250	3-6	291	402	2-4
Legends Division
#1	(3) Nebraska	10-2	.830	7-2	477	207	5-1
#2	(16) Michigan State	9-4	.690	7-3	401	282	5-1
#3	(7) Iowa	9-3	.750	6-3	374	284	4-2
#4	(13) Wiscinson	8-4	.660	5-4	334	265	3-3
#5	Michigan	4-8	.330	4-5	342	373	1-5
#6	Northwestern	4-8	.330	3-6	303	368	3-3
#7	Minnesota	1-11	.080	0-9	228	414	0-6

Conference USA

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Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against	Division Record
East Division
#1	(1) Marshall*	13-0	1.000	9-0	427	234	5-0
#2	Southern Miss	6-6	.500	6-2	365	331	3-2
#3	UAB	8-4	.660	5-3	456	288	3-2
#4	Florida International	7-5	.580	4-4	298	258	2-3
#5	Middle Tennessee State	3-9	.250	3-5	240	370	1-4
#6	Florida Atlantic	2-10	.160	2-6	249	421	1-4
West Division
#1	UTEP*	8-5	.610	6-3	318	284	5-0
#2	Louisiana Tech	5-7	.410	4-4	266	376	4-1
#3	Rice	6-6	.500	4-4	290	283	2-3
#4	UTSA	3-9	.250	3-5	228	431	3-2
#5	North Texas	5-7	.410	2-6	289	266	1-4
#6	Western Kentucky	3-9	.250	1-7	269	345	0-5

Independents

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Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against
#1	(18) Notre Dame	8-4	.660	---	420	328

MAC

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Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against	Division Record
East Division
#1	Ohio*	9-4	.690	7-3	425	265	5-0
#2	Kent State	8-4	.660	6-3	429	320	3-2
#3	Miami University	5-7	.410	4-5	226	358	2-3
#4	Bowling Green	3-9	.250	3-6	199	319	3-2
#5	Akron	3-9	.250	2-7	205	408	1-4
#6	Buffalo	2-10	.160	1-8	314	431	1-4
West Division
#1	Toledo*	10-3	.760	7-3	331	239	5-0
#2	Western Michigan	7-5	.580	6-3	337	237	2-3
#3	Northern Illinois	7-5	.580	5-4	317	294	3-2
#4	Eastern Michigan	8-4	.660	5-4	394	291	2-3
#5	Central Michigan	6-6	.500	5-4	394	291	2-3
#6	Ball State	4-8	.330	4-5	248	381	1-4

Mountain West

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Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against
#1	(11) Nevada	11-1	.910	8-1	433	208
#2	(22) Air Force	9-3	.750	7-2	388	237
#3	San Diego State	8-4	.660	6-3	366	318
#4	Boise State	8-4	.660	5-4	347	258
#5	Colorado State	8-4	.660	5-4	380	281
#6	Hawaii	7-5	.580	5-4	341	363
#7	Fresno State	5-7	.410	4-5	302	385
#8	UNLV	6-6	.500	3-6	310	314
#9	Utah State	1-11	.080	1-8	289	407
#10	San Jose State	1-11	.080	1-8	247	427

Pac-12

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Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against	Division Record
North Division
#1	(21) Oregon	9-3	.750	7-2	476	257	4-1
#2	Stanford*	8-5	.610	7-3	354	303	5-0
#3	Cal	5-7	.410	4-5	337	333	3-2
#4	Washington	5-7	.410	4-5	284	268	2-3
#5	Washington State	3-9	.250	2-7	212	377	0-5
#6	Oregon State	3-9	.250	1-8	278	401	1-4
South Division
#1	(6) Arizona*	12-1	.920	9-1	450	273	4-1
#2	Utah	9-3	.750	6-3	421	282	3-2
#3	USC	7-5	.580	6-3	384	349	3-2
#4	UCLA	6-6	.500	5-4	312	387	3-2
#5	Arizona State	3-9	.250	2-7	271	433	1-4
#6	Colorado	2-10	.160	2-7	261	342	1-4

SEC

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Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against	Division Record
East Division
#1	(10) Georgia*	10-3	.760	8-2	394	291	5-1
#2	Tennessee	8-4	.660	6-3	445	315	4-2
#3	South Carolina	7-5	.580	5-4	393	338	5-1
#4	Kentucky	6-6	.500	5-4	285	330	3-3
#5	Florida	6-6	.500	3-6	337	299	2-4
#6	Vanderbilt	5-7	.410	3-6	287	337	1-5
#7	Missouri	5-7	.410	2-7	352	317	1-5
West Division
#1	(12) Arkansas*	10-3	.760	7-3	440	289	6-0
#2	(9) Auburn	9-3	.750	6-3	385	281	4-2
#3	(24) Texas A&M	8-4	.660	6-3	382	348	3-3
#4	(20) Alabama	7-5	.580	5-4	415	316	4-2
#5	LSU	7-5	.580	4-5	334	288	2-4
#6	Mississippi State	5-7	.410	4-5	298	355	2-4
#7	Ole Miss	1-11	.080	0-9	282	464	0-6

Sun Belt

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Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against
#1	(25) Arkansas State	9-3	.750	6-1	378	251
#2	BYU	9-3	.750	5-2	338	258
#3	UL Lafayette	7-5	.580	5-2	361	272
#4	Troy	7-5	.580	5-3	345	255
#5	Army	6-6	.500	4-3	289	292
#6	Texas State	4-8	.330	2-5	389	383
#7	UMass	1-11	.080	1-6	159	461
#8	UL Monroe	1-11	.080	1-6	193	471

WAC

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Rank	Team	Record	Percentage	Conference Record	Points For	Points Against
#1	New Mexico	7-5	.580	2-1	343	216
#2	Wyoming	6-6	.500	2-1	310	266
#3	Idaho	5-7	.410	1-2	188	370
#4	New Mexico State	4-8	.330	1-2	312	306

Heisman Memorial Trophy

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:Heisman_Trophy:

Rank	Player	Position	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
#1	Adam Gardner	QB	UAB	393	254	114	1801
#2	Robert Young	HB	Texas	210	224	260	1338
#3	Ryan Fraser	QB	Ohio State	128	215	267	1081
#4	Matt Miller	HB	Arkansas	39	62	95	336
#5	Arnold Mills	HB	Oregon	15	30	49	154

Award Winners

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Award	Player	Position	Team	Year
:Heisman_Trophy:	Adam Gardner	QB	UAB	Senior (RS)
Maxwell	Adam Gardner	QB	UAB	Senior (RS)
Walter Camp	Adam Gardner	QB	UAB	Senior (RS)
Bednarik	Cortez Brooks	CB	Louisville	Sophomore
Nagurski	Ken Lee	LE	Michigan State	Junior (RS)
O'Brien	Adam Gardner	QB	UAB	Senior (RS)
Walker	Robert Young	HB	Texas	Sophomore
Biletnikoff	Jared Witherspoon	WR	UAB	Junior (RS)
Mackey	Eric Todd	TE	Connecticut	Junior (RS)
Outland	Sean King	C	Clemson	Senior (RS)
Rimington	Sean King	C	Clemson	Senior (RS)
Lombardi	Ken Lee	LE	Michigan State	Junior (RS)
Best LB	Levi Silva	MLB	Notre Dame	Junior
Thorpe	Cortez Brooks	CB	Louisville	Sophomore
Groza	Zach Wright	K	Alabama	Senior
Guy	Pat Dean	P	Virginia Tech	Junior (RS)
Best Returner	Trevor Davis	WR	Michigan State	Senior (RS)

All Americans

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All-NCAA


1st Team

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Position	Player	Team	Year
Offense
QB	Adam Gardner	UAB	Senior (RS)
HB	Robert Young	Texas	Sophomore
HB	Marcus Branch	Georgia	Junior (RS)
WR	Jared Witherspoon	UAB	Junior (RS)
WR	Donald Stewart	Texas Tech	Senior (RS)
TE	Doug Barrow	Arizona	Junior (RS)
LT	Ernest Andrews	Clemson	Junior
LG	Jason Montgomery	Nebraska	Senior (RS)
C	Sean King	Clemson	Senior (RS)
RG	Tyler Davis	Clemson	Senior (RS)
RT	David Lumpkin	Clemson	Senior (RS)
Defense
LE	Ken Lee	Michigan State	Junior (RS)
RE	Emmanuel Brown	Oklahoma State	Senior
DT	Vincent Schroeder	Virginia Tech	Junior
DT	Andrew Burley	Oklahoma	Junior (RS)
MLB	Rich Skinner	Arkansas	Senior
ROLB	Darrell Jones	Penn State	Senior
ROLB	Phil Rhodes	Ohio	Senior
CB	Joe Love	UNLV	Senior
CB	Tony Brigham	San Diego State	Sophomore (RS)
FS	Chad Carr	Marshall	Junior (RS)
SS	Jamar Carter	Nevada	Senior
K	Zach Wright	Alabama	Senior
P	Pat Dean	Virginia Tech	Junior (RS)
Returner	Alex Stuckey	Clemson	Junior (RS)

2nd Team

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Position	Player	Team	Year
Offense
QB	Robbie Allen	Nebraska	Junior (RS)
HB	Jeremy Douglas	San Diego State	Junior (RS)
HB	Brandon Terrell	Georgia Tech	Junior (RS)
WR	Obadiah Strickland	Ohio	Senior
WR	Eric Bright	Nebraska	Junior
TE	Eric Todd	Connecticut	Junior (RS)
LT	Anthony Harrison	Penn State	Junior (RS)
LG	Robbie Spencer	Oregon	Senior (RS)
C	Dustin Price	Texas A&M	Senior (RS)
RG	Dallas Johnson	Arkansas	Senior (RS)
RT	Akeem Pace	Ohio State	Senior
Defense
LE	Josh Hagen	Georgia	Senior (RS)
RE	Will Simpson	Illinois	Junior (RS)
DT	Chris Herring	Clemson	Senior (RS)
DT	Danny Watkins	Oregon	Junior
MLB	Levi Silva	Notre Dame	Junior
ROLB	James Alexander	Virginia Tech	Senior (RS)
ROLB	Bryson Newby	Mississippi State	Junior (RS)
CB	Eddie Bridges	UL Lafayette	Senior (RS)
CB	Patrick White	West Virginia	Senior (RS)
FS	Andrew Keyes	Notre Dame	Senior
SS	Ryan Harris	Clemson	Freshman
K	Sean Brown	Michigan State	Senior
P	Rickey Lewis	Michigan State	Sophomore
Returner	Mike Barrett	Arkansas	Senior (RS)

Freshman Team

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Position	Player	Team	Year
Offense
QB	Eric Thornton	Marshall	Freshman
HB	Joe Williams	Eastern Michigan	Freshman
HB	Jon Smith	Alabama	Freshman (RS)
WR	Joe Vaughn	Tulsa	Freshman
WR	Eric Ratliff	Northern Illinois	Freshman
TE	Donnell Murphy	Miami (FL)	Freshman
LT	Russell Pennington	Clemson	Freshman
C	Jonathon Bean	Penn State	Freshman (RS)
RG	Brandon Holt	Clemson	Freshman
RG	Mike Bryant	Penn State	Freshman
RT	Andre Robinson	Oklahoma State	Freshman
Defense
LE	Drew Howard	Virginia Tech	Freshman
RE	Lester Marshall	Toledo	Freshman
DT	Isaiah Montgomery	Clemson	Freshman
DT	Keith Scales	Cincinnati	Freshman
LOLB	Erik McCutcheon	Michigan State	Freshman (RS)
MLB	Tom Mangum	Oklahoma State	Freshman (RS)
ROLB	Ken Carroll	Marshall	Freshman
CB	Daniel Simpson	Ohio	Freshman
CB	Brent Nelson	Marshall	Freshman (RS)
FS	Rickey Hawkins	Texas Tech	Freshman (RS)
SS	Ryan Harris	Clemson	Freshman
K	Casey Lyles	Nebraska	Freshman
P	Chris Chambers	Illinois	Freshman (RS)
Returner	John Jordan	Eastern Michigan	Freshman

All-Big East


1st Team

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Position	Player	Team	Year
Offense
QB	Matt Harley	Connecticut	Senior (RS)
HB	Lawrence Bryan	Houston	Junior (RS)
HB	Will Oliver	Tulsa	Sophomore (RS)
WR	Zach Daniel	Navy	Junior
WR	Eric Callahan	Cincinnati	Senior (RS)
TE	Eric Todd	Connecticut	Junior (RS)
LT	Todd Mullins	Cincinnati	Senior (RS)
LG	Troy Stephens	Central Florida	Senior (RS)
C	Zach Sims	Cincinnati	Junior (RS)
RG	Vincent Richardson	Cincinnati	Junior
RT	Dustin Fordinal	Connecticut	Junior (RS)
Defense
LE	Terry Harris	Cincinnati	Junior (RS)
RE	Tony Scales	Cincinnati	Junior (RS)
DT	Kris Wilson	Cincinnati	Sophomore (RS)
DT	Keith Scales	Cincinnati	Freshman
MLB	Jeremy Owens	Cincinnati	Junior (RS)
ROLB	Jermaine Brown	Cincinnati	Sophomore (RS)
ROLB	Bryson Pittman	Connecticut	Senior
CB	Brandon Wood	Temple	Senior (RS)
CB	Chris Dunn	Houston	Senior (RS)
FS	Terrence Clay	Cincinnati	Senior
SS	Jacob Morgan	Navy	Junior (RS)
K	Greg Rouse	Cincinnati	Sophomore
P	Martin White	East Carolina	Senior
Returner	Caleb Malone	Houston	Junior (RS)

2nd Team

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Position	Player	Team	Year
Offense
QB	Jack Brown	Cincinnati	Junior
HB	Joe Miller	Cincinnati	Senior (RS)
HB	Anthony Key	SMU	Junior (RS)
WR	Eddie Smith	East Carolina	Junior (RS)
WR	Joe Vaughn	Tulsa	Freshman
TE	Joe Justice	Navy	Senior
LT	Travis Smith	Connecticut	Junior
LT	Dominic Sapp	Connecticut	Senior
LG	Jevon Byrd	Cincinnati	Junior
LG	Matt Smith	Connecticut	Junior (RS)
C	Walter Hayes	Cincinnati	Senior
Defense
LE	T.J. Sparks	Temple	Junior (RS)
RE	Chris Green	South Florida	Senior (RS)
DT	Shaun Jackson	Tulsa	Junior (RS)
DT	Luke Payne	Tulsa	Sophomore
LOLB	Robert White	Cincinnati	Sophomore
LOLB	Scott Berry	Memphis	Senior (RS)
MLB	A.J. Lewis	Temple	Junior
CB	Isaac Burrell	Cincinnati	Senior
CB	Josh Whitehead	Cincinnati	Sophomore (RS)
FS	Willie Childs	Central Florida	Junior (RS)
SS	Mike Johnson	Cincinnati	Senior
K	Ryan McDuffie	Connecticut	Junior
P	Mark Stovall	SMU	Senior (RS)
Returner	Aaron Palmer	SMU	Senior (RS)

2018 Conference Champions

Conference	Team	Record	Conference Record		CCG Loser	Record	Conference Record
:ACC:	:Clemson:	12-1	9-1		:Virginia_Tech:	10-3	7-3
:Big_12:	:Oklahoma_State:	9-3	8-1
:Big_East:	:Cincinnati:	11-2	9-0		:Navy:	7-6	5-4
:Big_Ten:	:Penn_State:	12-1	9-1		:Michigan_State:	9-4	7-3
:CUSA:	:Marshall:	13-0	9-0		:UTEP:	8-5	6-3
:MAC:	:Ohio:	9-4	7-3		:Toledo:	10-3	7-3
:Mountain_West:	:Nevada:	11-1	8-1
:Pac_12:	:Arizona:	12-1	9-1		:Stanford:	8-5	7-3
:SEC:	:Georgia:	10-3	8-2		:Arkansas:	10-3	7-3
:Sun_Belt:	:Arkansas_State:	9-3	6-1
:WAC:	:New_Mexico:	7-5	2-1