Alabama, Kansas State, Oregon & Notre Dame still hold on the top 4 spots in the BCS rankings despite some close calls on college gridirons this past Saturday.
The fifth ranked LSU Tigers came as close as any team this year to beating the Alabama Crimson Tide in Baton Rouge before a capacity crowd on Saturday night. With only one minute left to play the Tigers were winning the game by a score of 17 to 14. It took a spectacular Dan Marino style drive in the final seconds that resulted in T.J Yeldon and A.J. McCarron teaming up for a 28 yard touchdown with only 51 seconds left on the clock to win the game 21-17 and hold on to the number one spot in the nation.
The number 3 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame were down 20 to 6 to a pesky Pitt team who came to South Bend to play ball. The Irish came back to tie the game at the end of regulation but it took 3 overtime periods before Quarterback Everett Golson scored on a quarterback sneak to take the contest 29 – 26.
SEC newcomer Missouri went down to the swamp in Gainesville and scared the hell out of a stadium full of die hard Gator fans by going into halftime with a 7 -0 lead over the #7 ranked Florida Gators. Mike Gillislee took a screen pass and went 45 yards for a touchdown, and the No. 8 Gators used stifling defense to stave off the Tigers 14-7 on Saturday. The Gators capitalized on turnovers by Missouri and scored two short field touchdowns to win the game. Florida (8-1, 7-1 SEC) now needs the Georgia Bulldogs to lose one of their remaining games, against Mississippi on Saturday or Auburn next week, to clinch a spot in the league title game.
While the majority of the games came out pretty much as predicted by the handicappers, there were some notable upsets. Number 18 Texas Tech was a 6.5 point favorites when they hosted the University of Texas but the Longhorns prevailed and upset the Red Raiders 31-22. David Ash threw for three touchdowns and 264 yards to lead Texas to its fourth road win of the season.
The Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University traveled to Morgantown West Virginia to take on Geno Smith and the West Virginia Mountaineers. They were 4 point dogs going in but after 2 exiting overtime periods TCU emerged victorious by a score of 39 to 38 over WVU. As the season winds down the competition gets tougher as rival schools make their bids for the top post season bowl berths.
