With only five weeks remaining in the college football season, many teams hoped to impress the polls. And while some teams managed to secure their postseason berths, others were left hanging on for dear life.
The biggest games of the weekend were in the Big 12. The marquee match up pitted the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners against the No. 22 Texas A&M Aggies. After having defeated the Aggies by a count of 77-0 last year, the Sooners knew that things might be different this year, as the Aggies are now one of the top teams in the Big 12 and would be playing at home.
A&M exploded out of the locker room, holding a solid 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter: Texas A&M QB Reggie McNeal threw for one of the TDs and rushed for the other.
But the Sooners and their Heisman Trophy winning QB Jason White held tough, answering the Aggie TDs and eventually pulling to within seven points with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Aggies would have to pull off some amazing plays to keep hold of their lead against one of the top teams in the nation, and they did. With ten minutes left in the first half, Aggies coach Dennis Franchione had his punter, Jacob Young, fake a punt and throw a pass at their own 29 yard line. Young pulled it off, finding Earvin Taylor for a 71 yard TD. Texas A&M went up 28-14.
The Sooners stopped the bleeding by scoring a touchdown with 90 seconds remaining in the half, going into the locker room down 28-21. Oklahoma continued the run in the second half, capitalizing on Aggie blunders and giving themselves a 35-28 lead.
But the Aggies had another trick up their sleeves. With 13:30 left in the game, holder Chad Schroeder took a field goal snap, rolled to the left, and threw a short TD pass to A&M wide out Joey Thomas to knot the score at 35 apiece.
Less than five minutes later, White proved why he's the defending Heisman Trophy winner, engineering a touchdown drive to give his team a 42-35 lead. The Aggies got the ball back and, without McNeal, who left the game with an injury, were led down the field by back-up QB Ty Branyon.
Branyon brought his team to the Sooners' 33 yard line with nine seconds left. His first Hail Mary attempt was overthrown and his second, as time expired, was tipped and fell just out of the reach of Schroeder. The Sooners remained unbeaten with a 42-35 win.
Heisman hopeful and true freshman Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma picked up 101 yards and a TD on 29 carries. But the real star of the game was the former Heisman winner himself. Jason White completed 19 of 35 passes for 292 yards and five TDs.
Elsewhere across the country, No. 7 Texas pulled off what may prove to be the most impressive comeback of the year against No. 19 Oklahoma State. Down 35-7 at halftime, Texas scored 42 unanswered points in one of the most one-sided second halves of football history. Texas would win 56-35. No. 4 unbeaten Wisconsin pummeled Minnesota 38-14, while sixth-ranked California squeaked by Oregon 28-27. The big upset of the week goes to the unranked Clemson Tigers who sent 10th ranked Miami packing with a 24-17 overtime win.
Georgia Tech beat N.C. State 24-14, but the biggest story of the game may have been wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who made the most remarkable grab of the year this weekend. After having been sent on his slant route, Johnson came through the middle, only to have his QB throw the ball behind him. Johnson had to put on the brakes abruptly and reach behind himself to make the grab. What makes it so remarkable? The fact that he caught the ball with one hand, just before being hammered by an N.C. State defender.
PLATINUM PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: This week, the offensive platinum ball goes to Cincinnati wide receiver Hannibal Thomas. Not only did he make seven catches for 168 yards and three TDs, but his first name is Hannibal.
The defensive platinum ball goes to the defense of No. 13 Virginia. After manhandling the potent Florida State Seminoles last weekend, Maryland was held scoreless by the Cavalier defense.
