Last Week's Game of the Week: In a game it had to win in order to qualify for a BCS birth, No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish came from behind late to edge Stanford 38-31 in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Cardinal, a heavy underdog, put up quite a fight and even took the lead 31-30 with about a minute and a half to play in the fourth quarter. Stanford backup quarterback T.C. Ostrander found receiver Mark Bradford for a 76-yard completion to set up Matt Traverso's go-ahead score.
But Notre Dame was not finished. The Irish got the ball back on their own 20-yard line, and quarterback Brady Quinn hit Jeff Samardzija on the first play for a hefty 30-yard completion. Notre Dame proceeded to march down the field as the Stanford defense hardly put up a fight. Tailback Darius Walker waltzed into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with just under a minute to play.
The Cardinal got the ball back with 41 seconds to play but were unable to mount any sort of rally, and Notre Dame escaped with the victory.
Quinn finished the day 25-for-38 for 432 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The junior, despite the gaudy yardage numbers, seemed to be a little bit off his game, as he was repeatedly rushed and made some poor decisions. It is a good thing he had two 6'5" receivers to rely on, as Samardzija and Maurice Stovall came down with jump balls all night. Samardzija finished with nine catches for 216 yards and two touchdowns, and Stovall had seven catches for 136 yards and a score as well.
Finishing with a 9-2 record, the Irish qualified for a BCS bowl for the first time since the 2000 season, when they were shellacked by Oregon State 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl.
More Week 12: No. 2 Texas moved one step closer to its quest to play for the national title with a 40-29 victory over Texas A&M at College Station. The game was back-and-forth, and despite the fact that the Aggies were missing their starting quarterback, they held a 22-21 lead early in the third quarter.
The Longhorns proved their No. 2 ranking, however, quickly retaliating with a touchdown on the ensuing possession and then blocking a punt and returning it for a score.
The game was an opportunity for Texas quarterback Vince Young to strengthen his status as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner, but the junior could not find much of a rhythm against the A&M defense. He finished with only 162 yards passing and two turnovers that led to Aggie touchdowns.
In the Big East, No. 11 West Virginia defeated disappointing Pittsburgh at home 45-13. The Mountaineers threw the ball only ten times all game, but this was more than enough, as Pat White, Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt combined for 451 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
The victory, coupled with South Florida's loss at Connecticut, clinched a BCS birth for the West Virginia, as the Mountaineers will likely play in the Sugar Bowl.
No. 4 LSU received a scare from Arkansas on Saturday, but came away with a close 19-17 victory. The Razorbacks had a chance to tie it when they scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but failed to complete the two point conversion and LSU escaped safely.
The Tigers head into the SEC Championship this Saturday against No. 13 Georgia, a winner over No. 24 Georgia Tech 14-7 in a hard-fought game. The winner of that game will also receive a bid to a BCS game.
There will be a deserving team left out of the BCS bowl games this year. Notre Dame will more than likely receive an at-large bid because of its popularity, despite its two losses and only three victories over teams with winning records. No. 6 Ohio State will probably receive the other spot with a 9-2 record. This leaves No. 7 Oregon, 10-1 on the season with its only loss coming to No. 1 USC, likely left out of the equation, which is an absolute travesty.
Going into the final weekend of the regular season, the stage is set for four very important games, including the SEC title game. In the Big 12 Championship, Colorado will look to ruin the Longhorns' perfect season with an upset, and in the inaugural ACC Championship, No. 5 Virginia Tech should be able to defeat a Florida State team that is in a complete tailspin. The last game with sizeable implications is...
Upcoming Game of the Week: No. 12 UCLA at USC. This game will be full of firepower. The Trojans feature last year's Heisman winner Matt Leinart at quarterback, the upcoming Heisman winner at tailback, Reggie Bush, and the Pac-10 leader in rushing touchdowns, LenDale White. The Bruins feature a powerful tandem: the Pac-10 leader in passing touchdowns in quarterback Drew Olson and running back Maurice Drew. Look for USC to be too much for the Bruin defense, as the Trojans set their sights on the national championship.
