College Football, Week 13 Results

There weren’t many surprises at the top, but from the midpoint on down…oh my!

(This week’s rankings from the AP, Coaches’, Harris Interactive, BCS Standings. Rankings given last week appear in parentheses. NR = Not Rated. Numbers in parentheses after the team’s name are the records.)

1/1/1/1 (3/3/3/3) Notre Dame (12-0) The Fighting Irish defeated the Southern California Trojans (7-5) 22-13. This is their first undefeated season since 1988 and they will likely play for the National Championship for the first time in 24 years. Theo Riddick rushed 20 times for 146 yards and the only Irish TD. Kyle Brindza connected on field goals of 27, 29, 52 (a career long), 33 and 19 yards.

2/2/2/2 (4/5/4/4) Alabama (11-1) The Tide shutout the Auburn Tigers (3-9) 49-0. AJ McCarron completed 15 of 21 for 216 yards and four TDs. The Tide clinched the West Division of the SEC and will now play Georgia for the conference title.

3/3/3/3 (5/4/5/5) Georgia (11-1) The Bulldogs wrecked the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-6) 42-10. Todd Gurley scored twice on the ground and Aaron Murray tossed two TD passes for the Bulldogs. Georgia plays Alabama for the SEC title next weekend. Tech will be playing Florida State for the ACC title.

4/NR/NR/NR (6/NR/NR/NR) Ohio State (12-0) The Buckeyes beat the #20 Michigan Wolverines (8-4) 26-21. Carlos Hyde had 146 yards and one TD on 26 carries for the Buckeyes while place kicker Drew Basil connected on field goals from 41, 52, 28 and 25 yards. Denard Robinson, played as a running back for the Wolverines and had 122 yards and a TD on 10 carries.

5/4/4/5 (1/1/1/2) Oregon (11-1) The Ducks trounced the #16 Oregon State Beavers (8-3) in The Civil War 48-24. The Ducks’ Kenjon Barner rushed for 198 yards and two TDs on 28 carries while teammate De’Anthony Thomas scored three TDs on 17 carries for 122 yards.

6/6/5/4 (7/7/7/6) Florida (11-1) The Gators came from behind to defeat the #10 Florida State Seminoles (10-2) 37-26. After a see-saw first half in which Florida jumped out to a 13-0 lead only to have Florida State come roaring back with 20 unanswered points, the Seminoles seemed poised to pull off the upset as they headed into the fourth quarter leading 20-13, but the Gators reeled off 24 unanswered points to surge to a 37-23 lead that left the Seminoles stunned. Mike Gillislee carried the ball 24 times for 140 yards and two TDs for the Gators.

7/8/7/6 (2/2/2/1) Kansas State (10-1) Had the weekend off.

8/7/8/7 (8/8/8/7) LSU (10-2) The Tigers beat the Arkansas Razorbacks (4-8) 20-13. Tigers gave up 462 net yards while gaining only 306 of their own and Arkansas got 24 first downs to LSU’s 16, but it’s points on the board that count and the Tigers got more of them.

9/10/20/10 (9/10/10/8) Texas A&M (10-2) The Aggies smashed the Missouri Tigers (5-7) 59-29. Johnny Football (aka Johnny Manziel) completed 32 of 44 attempts for 372 yards and three TDs. Oh, and he ran for two TDs as well. And he played most of the game with a knee brace he acquired in the first quarter after getting hit hard. At this rate, freshman or no, he should also be called Heisman Winner.

10/5/6/9 (10/6/6/10) Florida State (10-2) The Seminoles lost to the #6 Florida Gators (11-1) 37-26. See above for more.

11/11/11/8 (14/13/13/13) Stanford (10-2) The Cardinal defeated the #15 UCLA Bruins (9-3) 35-17. Stepfan Taylor rushed for 142 yards and two TDs on 20 carries and Usua Amanam returned a fumble 11 yards for a score for the Cardinal. These two teams meet again on Friday night for the PAC12 Championship.

12/9/9/12 (11/9/9/11) Clemson (10-2) The Tigers ran into a buzzsaw named Jadeveon Clowney and ended up losing to the #13 South Carolina Gamecocks (10-2) 27-17. Mr. Clowney, a sophomore who plays defensive end for the Gamecocks, got to Tajh Boyd often (he was credited with 4 ½ sacks. South Carolina’s starting QB Connor Shaw was out with an ankle sprain he suffered last week. Didn’t matter, backup quarterback Dylan Thompson threw for 310 yards and three TDs.

13/12/12/11 (12/11/11/9) South Carolina (10-2) The Gamecocks beat the #12 Clemson Tigers (10-2) 27-17. More above.

14/13/13/13 (13/12/12/12) Oklahoma (9-2) The Sooners outlasted the #22 Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-4) 51-48 in overtime. The Sooners never led in regulation…or in OT until the final TD scored. Landry Jones completed 46 of 71 passing attempts for 500 yards and three TDs. This ain’t the Oklahoma Sooners of the ‘60s. Joseph Randle ran for 113 yards and four TDs on 21 carries for the Cowboys. Jalen Saunders had an 81-yard punt return for a TD for the Sooners.

15/16/16/17 (17/16/19/17) UCLA (9-3) The Bruins lost to the #11 Stanford Cardinal (10-2) 35-17. More above.

16/17/15/15 (15/17/16/16) Oregon State (8-3) The Beavers fell to the #5 Oregon Ducks (11-1) 48-24. The Ducks rebound nicely from their loss to Stanford. More above.

17/14/14/14 (16/14/14/14) Nebraska (9-3) Cornhuskers came from behind to edge the Iowa Hawkeyes (4-8) 13-7on Friday afternoon. Trailing 7-3 in the second half, the Huskers got a 52-yard field goal from Brett Maher and a 3-yard TD run from Rex Burkhead making his first appearance since October 20th to take the lead. Staunch defense that yielded just 200 net yards kept the Hawkeyes off the board after the first quarter. Nebraska and Wisconsin square off for the B1G title on Saturday.

18/15/17/16 (18/15/15/15) Texas (8-3) The Longhorns fell to the TCU Horned Frogs (7-4) Thursday night by a score of 20-13. Matt Tucker scored twice on short runs and Jaden Oberkrom connected on two field goals while the Horned Frogs defense stifled the Longhorns all night creating four turnovers.

19/18/18/18 (20/18/17/18) Louisville (9-2) The Cardinals lost to the Connecticut Huskies (5-6) 23-20 in triple overtime. Lyle McCombs carried 29 times for 133 yards for the Huskies. Teddy Bridgewater completed 30 of 57 passes for 331 yards, two TDs and one INT…a very BIG INT. DeVante Parker scored two TDs for the Cardinals, one in regulation and one in OT. But, after an interception by Blidi Wreh-Wilson—his first of the year—ended Louisville’s chances in the third OT, Chad Christen kicked his third field goal of the day (second in OT) for the UConn win. UConn plays Cincinnati next weekend for chance to become bowl eligible. The Cardinals will play at Rutgers Thursday night and the winner will earn the Big East's BCS bid.

20/20/20/19 (23T/23/24/23) Michigan (8-4) The Wolverines were defeated by the Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0) 26-21. More above.

21/19/19/20 (22/20/21/22) Rutgers (9-2) The Scarlet Knights lost to the Pittsburgh Panthers (5-6) 27-6. Pitt was playing for bowl eligibility (they still need one more win next week in South Florida), Rutgers could have clinched the Big East Championship. Pitt played with passion. Rutgers? Not so much. Tino Sunseri lead the Pitt offense completing 21 of 39 passes for 227 yards and two TDs. Pitt defense held Rutgers to 207 yards net offense; just 50 yards on the ground. Rutgers got a share of the BE Championship thanks to Louisville’s loss. RU hosts Louisville next Thursday with an opportunity to be outright Big East Champs, but they better play better than this.

22/21/22/21 (NR/24/NR/24) Oklahoma State (7-4) The Cowboys gave the #14 Oklahoma Sooners (9-2) all they could handle but ultimately fell 51-48 in overtime. More above.

23/25/25/24 (25/NR/NR/NR) Kent State (11-1) The Golden Flashes beat the Ohio Bobcats (8-4) on Friday 28-7. Kent State jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to two defensive scores. Luke Wollet returned a Bobcat fumble 50 yards to open the scoring and C.J. Malauulu returned an interception 33 yards for the third score of the period. Kent State, 8-0 in the MAC East now plays Northern Illinois, also 11-1 and 8-0 in the MAC West, for the MAC Championship.

24/23/24/NR (NR/NR/NR/NR) Northern Illinois (11-1) The Huskies routed the Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-9) 49-7. Akeem Daniels rushed for 112 yards and four TDs on 12 carries and Jordan Lynch rushed for 107 yards on 20 carries for the Huskies. Northern Illinois, 11-1 and 8-00 in the MAC now faces Kent State (11-1, 8-0) for the MAC Championship.

25T/NR/NR/NR (NR/NR/NR/NR) Utah State (10-2) The Aggies routed the Idaho Vandals (1-11) 45-9. This is the Aggies first 10 win season in 114 years of playing football. The win also gave the Aggies their first Western Athletic Conference championship in eight years. Just in time too, as the Aggies are headed to the Mountain West Conference next season. Chuckie Keeton threw two TD passes and ran for two more. Trey Farquahar scored all of Idaho’s points with three field goals from 38, 46 and 52 yards.

25T/24/23/25 (NR/NR/25/NR) Mississippi State (8-4) The Bulldogs got beat by the Mississippi Rebels (6-6) 41-24. Bo Wallace completed 15 of 22 passes for 294 yards and five TDs—three of them to Donte Moncrief. Chad Bumphis had six catches for 146 yards and two TDs for the Bulldogs. Jameon Lewis had a 100-yard kick return for a Bulldog TD.

NR/22/21/22 (NR/22/23/NR) Boise State (9-2) The Broncos had the weekend off.

Evening Grosbeaks at the Aerie

Yesterday, for the first time in three years, we had a group of Evening Grosbeaks appear at the feeders. Bright sunlight, deep shade and general skitishness around the aggressive--and numerous--squirrels, made for some difficult photographic conditions and I wasn't happy with the shots I did get. In addition, all the birds that showed up yesterday were the more drab females.

Not today. The girls brought a few guys along with them today. And the slightly overcast skies meant that the deck wasn't in deep shadow but lit by a diffuse light. The birds were still a bit skitish and the squirrels a pain in the a$$ but I did manage to get a few good shots.

Evening Grosbeaks on the tray.

Female Evening Grosbeak

Male Evening Grosbeak

With seed conditions further north reported to be pretty bleak, I expect we'll be seeing these guys and gals along with other more northerly species quite often this winter. Especially so once there's some snow cover.

College Football, Week 13 Polls and Match-ups

[UPDATE: Editted to reflect the changes made in the lower part of the BCS standings not reported until late Sunday night. Those corrections put my Rutgers in the 18th slot of the BCS ahead of Louisville which dropped to #20. RU! RAH! RAH!]

There are a ton of changes in the polls this week starting right at the top. These are, of course, due to the upset of last week’s #1 and #2 teams. The new # 1 team is the undefeated Notre Dame.  The only other undefeated team remaining is Ohio State at 11-0 but they are ineligible for post season play and, as a result, only appear in the AP poll at #4.

This week’s schedule is peppered with matches pitting ranked teams against one another and these are usually huge rivalry games as well. There are too many to list in this intro, but you spot them in the list below. Many of these games are the last of the regular season with some of these teams going into Conference Championships next week or the week after. Only one team is idle this week and that’s the #7 Kansas State Wildcats (10-1) who were knocked from their lofty #1 slot this past weekend. 

(This week’s rankings from the AP, Coaches’, Harris Interactive, BCS Standings. Rankings given last week appear in parentheses.  NR = Not Rated. Numbers in parentheses after the team’s name are the records.)

1/1/1/1 (3/3/3/3) Notre Dame (11-0) The Fighting Irish head west to play the Southern California Trojans (7-4). They started their season in Ireland and now they end the regular season in Hollywood. Can you say “destiny”?

2/2/2/2 (4/5/4/4) Alabama (10-1) The Tide host the Auburn Tigers (3-8). Roll Tide!

3/3/3/3 (5/4/5/5) Georgia (10-1) The Bulldogs play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-5). Dogs wreck Tech.

4/NR/NR/NR (6/NR/NR/NR) Ohio State (11-0) The Buckeyes host the #20 Michigan Wolverines (8-3). Good chance for an upset in this one as OSU hasn’t exactly been lighting it up lately. 

5/4/4/5 (1/1/1/2) Oregon (10-1) The Ducks host the #16 Oregon State Beavers (8-2) in The Civil War. A lot will depend upon whether the Ducks can rebound from last week’s loss and their dreams of a National Championship. I can’t see them sinking two weeks in a row.

6/6/5/4 (7/7/7/6) Florida (10-1) The Gators play the #10 Florida State Seminoles (10-1) in another major intrastate rivalry. The Gators offense has been…well…offensive lately. They are going against the nation’s best defense so don’t expect them to get well this week. State will “upset” the Gators.

7/8/7/6 (2/2/2/1) Kansas State (10-1) Have the weekend off.

8/7/8/7 (8/8/8/7) LSU (9-2) The Tigers will hit the road to play the Arkansas Razorbacks (4-7). Tigers will eat pork this weekend.

9/10/20/9 (9/10/10/8) Texas A&M (9-2) The Aggies host the Missouri Tigers (5-6). Johnny Football will have the Aggies plowing up the field…again.

10/5/6/10 (10/6/6/10) Florida State (10-1) The Seminoles host the #6 Florida Gators (10-1). Seminoles stifle the Gators in this “upset.”

11/11/11/8 (14/13/13/13) Stanford (9-2) The Cardinal play at the home of the #15 UCLA Bruins (9-2). This will be one interesting game. Each team is coming off a big win--Stanford over Oregon, UCLA over USC.  One used defense (Stanford) the other both offense AND defense (UCLA) in their wins. Pick UCLA to win this one.

12/9/9/11 (11/9/9/11) Clemson (10-1) The Tigers host the #13 South Carolina Gamecocks (9-2). Tigers eat birds, don’t they? Clemson and Tajh win this one.

13/12/12/12 (12/11/11/9) South Carolina (9-2) The Gamecocks head to the home of the #12 Clemson Tigers (10-1) where they will get plucked.

14/13/13/13 (13/12/12/12) Oklahoma (8-2) The Sooners host the #22 Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-3). Sooners will outscore this team too.

15/16/16/17 (17/16/19/17) UCLA (9-2) The Bruins host the #11 Stanford Cardinal (9-2). Bruins win.

16/17/15/15 (15/17/16/16) Oregon State (8-2) The Beavers host the #5 Oregon Ducks (10-1). The Ducks rebound from their loss.

17/14/14/14 (16/14/14/14) Nebraska (9-2) Cornhuskers hit the road to play the Iowa Hawkeyes (4-7) on Friday afternoon. Huskers win.

18/15/17/16 (18/15/15/15) Texas (8-2) The Longhorns host the TCU Horned Frogs (6-4) on Thursday night. The Longhorns leave the Frogs in ashes.

19/18/18/20 (20/18/17/18) Louisville (9-1) The Cardinals host the Connecticut Huskies (4-6). Cardinals will win this one with Bridgewater at the helm.

20/20/20/19 (23T/23/24/23) Michigan (8-3) The Wolverines go to Columbus to play the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0). It will be close and the Wolverines may pull off the upset.

21/19/19/18 (22/20/21/22) Rutgers (9-1) The Scarlet Knights head west to play the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-6). Rutgers’ defense has been playing lights out. The offense has been so-so but they’ve done enough. Pitt has been inconsistent all year. Big day for RU’s D. RU hasn’t lost a game on the road all year. They won’t lose this one either.

22/21/22/21 (NR/24/NR/24) Oklahoma State (7-3) The Cowboys are on the road to play the #14 Oklahoma Sooners (8-2). Should be a high scoring affair with the Sooners on top.

23/25/25/23 (25/NR/NR/NR) Kent State (10-1) The Golden Flashes host the Ohio Bobcats (8-3) on Friday. Anything could happen, but the Golden Flashes should persevere.

24/23/24/NR (NR/NR/NR/NR) Northern Illinois (10-1) The Huskies are on the road to play the Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-9). Huskies will win.

25T/NR/NR/NR (NR/NR/NR/NR) Utah State (9-2) The Aggies host the Idaho Vandals (1-10). Aggies by a lot.

25T/24/23/NR (NR/NR/25/NR) Mississippi State (8-3) The Bulldogs play on the road against the Mississippi Rebels (5-6) in another intrastate rivalry. The Bulldogs will win big.

NR/22/21/22 (NR/22/23/NR) Boise State (9-2) The Broncos hit the road to play the Nevada Wolf Pack (7-4).  This one could be a close game with Nevada’s offense butting heads with Boise’s defense. The Broncos have the better team overall, however, and should win this one. 

NR/NR/NR/24 Arizona (7-4) The Wildcats will be hosting the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-5) Friday night. Could be a good game between two pretty evenly matched clubs. Throw in the intrastate thingy and the home field advantage may play a key role. Go with the 'Cats.

NR/NR/NR/25 Washington (7-4) The Huskies take to the road to face the Washington State Cougars (2-7) in yet another intrastate game. Something's wrong in the Palouse (just ask Idaho who is situated a stones throw across the boarder) so don't expect anything less than a rout by the Huskies. 

College Football, Week 12 Results

Oh boy! What a weekend for the football enthusiast. The top two teams in the polls lost. One went to overtime (Oregon vs. Stanford) and one was completely dominated by an unranked team (Kansas State vs. Baylor). In addition several ranked teams found themselves in wild games that they either pulled out in the closing seconds (Oklahoma vs. West Virginia) or went into overtime (Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, Louisiana Tech vs. Utah State)

(This week’s rankings from the AP, Coaches’, Harris Interactive, BCS Standings. Rankings given last week appear in parentheses.  NR = Not Rated. Numbers in parentheses after the team’s name are the records.)

1/1/1/2 (2/2/2/3) Oregon (10-1) The Ducks will lost to the #14 Stanford Cardinal (9-2) 17-14 in overtime. Who would have predicted that this one would be decided by a field goal in OT? Or that there would be a total of just 31 points scored? Stepfan Taylor gained 161 yards on 33 carries for the Cardinal to lead all rushers.

2/2/2/1 (3/3/3/2) Kansas State (10-1) The Wildcats went to Waco to play the Baylor Bears (5-5) and found things a little more than difficult. The Bears scored early and often and their defense swarmed all over the Wildcats as unranked Baylor posted a 52-24 upset. Collen Klein completed 27 of 50 pass attempts for 286 yards and two TDs and scored another on the ground, but he also threw three interceptions matching his total in the prior 10 games. Nick Florence was 20 of 32 for 238 yards and two TDs while rushing for a third. He also had tossed two INTs. The big difference—besides the Bears’ defense—was the rushing of Lache Seastrunk (19 carries for 185 yards) and Glasco Martin (19 carries for 113 yards and three TDs). Baylor posted 342 yards rushing compared to K-State’s 76.

3/3/3/3 (4/4/4/4) Notre Dame (11-0) The Irish shutout the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-6) 38-0. Everett Golson completed 20 of 30 attempts for 346 yards and three TDs and Cierre Wood had 150 yards and one TD on 11 carries.

4/5/4/4 (1/1/1/1) Alabama (10-1) The Crimson Tide drubbed the Western Carolina Catamounts a 1-10 FCS team, 49-0. The Tide will scored 21 points in each of the first two quarters. Eddie Lacy scored three TDs while rushing for 99 yards on 10 carries.

5/4/5/5 (5T/5/5/5) Georgia (10-1) The Bulldogs rolled over the Georgia Southern Eagles (8-3), an FCS team, 45-14. Aaron Murray was 18 of 28 for 330 yards and four TDs. Jerrick McKinnon carried the ball 19 times for 109 yards and both Georgia Southern TDs.

6/NR/NR/NR (5T/NR/NR/NR) Ohio State (11-0) The Buckeyes edged the Wisconsin Badgers (7-4) 21-14 in OT. OSU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, but Wisconsin fought back and sent the contest into overtime tied 14-14. Monty Ball rushed for 191 yards and a TD for the Badgers but he and they could only manage 6 yards in the extra period after OSU had scored on a Carlos Hyde 2-yard run.

7/7/7/6 (7/7/7/6) Florida (10-1) The Gators shutout the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (6-5), a FCS school, 23-0. Florida’s offense struggled. They got 9 points on Caleb Sturgis field goals and another 6 on a Jonathan Bostic interception return of 7 yards.

8/8/8/7 (9/9/8/7) LSU (9-2) The Tigers came from behind to edge the Ole Miss Rebels (5-5) 41-35. The Tigers needed two touchdowns (13 points) late to overcome a 35-28 deficit. The first was a 89-yard punt return by Odell Beckham. Ole Miss’ Bo Wallace completed 15 of 35 pass attempts for 310 yards and two TDs while rushing for two more scores—including a 58 yard TD to open the scoring. Jeremy Hill scored three times for LSU on 20 carries for 77 yards.

9/10/10/8 (15/14/15/15) Texas A&M (9-2) The Aggies plowed over the Sam Houston State Bearkats (8-3), an FCS school, 47-28. The Aggies Johnny Manziel completed 14 of 20 for 267 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 100 yards and two more scores but he missed the one extra point his coaches asked him to kick. It was 47-0 before Sam Houston State go on the board.

10/6/6/10 (8/6/6/10) Florida State (10-1) The Seminoles routed the Maryland Terrapins (4-7) 41-14. The Seminoles opened a 27-0 lead going into the intermission and coasted from there. Devonta Freeman rushed for 148 yards and two TDs on 16 carries. The Seminoles defense—ranked #1 in the nation—limited the Terrapins to just 34 yards rushing on 34 carries and 136 yards in the air.

11/9/9/11 (10/8/9/13) Clemson (10-1) The Tigers beat the North Carolina State Wolfpack (6-5) 62-48. Tajh Boyd accounted for eight touchdowns—five passing and three rushing—in three quarters. The Tigers jumped out to a 13-0 lead only to see Mike Glennon toss three TDs—two o f them to Tobias Palmer—to take a 21-13 lead—in the first quarter. Boyd would complete 30 of 44 for 426 yards and those five TDs. Those five would include a 62 yarder to DeAndre Hopkins and a 69 yarder to Brandon Ford. Boyd would rush 18 times for 108 yards and the three TDs. Andre Ellington rushed 22 times for 124 yards.  Mike Glennon would be 29 of 53 for 493 yards and five TDs. Shadrach Thornton had 21 carries for 114 yards and a TD for NCState.

12/11/11/9 (12/11/11/8) South Carolina (9-2) The Gamecocks beat the Wofford Terriers (8-3) an FCS school. Wofford made it tough for South Carolina and things were tied 7-7 after three quarters. The Gamecocks posted 17 unanswered points in the final period for the win. Eric Breitenstein carried the ball 28 times for 125 yards and the only Wofford touchdown. Kenny Miles had 127 yards rushing and a TD on 27 carries for South Carolina. Akeem Auguste returned a Wofford fumble 31 yards for a SC score.

13/12/12/12 (14/13/13/12) Oklahoma (8-2) The Sooners traveled to West Virginia to play the Mountaineers (5-5) and got all they could handle. The Sooners came out ahead 50-49 in a wild, wild game. Landry Jones completed 38 of 51 for 554 yards and six TDs, four to Kenny Stills (10 catches for 91 yards). Oklahoma needed every one of those points and yards. Geno Smith was 20 of 35 for 320 yards and four TDs to Stedman Bailey who had 13 catches for 205 yards. Tavon Austin rushed 21 times for 344 yards and two TDs while also making four catches for 82 yards.  

14/13/13/13 (16/15/14/14) Stanford (9-2) The Cardinal headed north to play the #1 Oregon Ducks (10-1) and came away with an overtime victory 17-14. More above.

15/17/16/16 (13/12/12/11) Oregon State (8-2) The Beavers trounced the Golden Bears of California (3-9) 62-14. Sean Mannion completed 24 of 34 attempts for 325 yards and four TDs while Terron Ward rushed for 128 yards and one TD on 14 carries.

16/14/14/14 (18/16/16/16) Nebraska (9-2) The Cornhuskers routed the Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-5) 38-14. The Huskers had a 38-0 lead going into the fourth quarter. Taylor Martinez completed 21 of 29 attempts for 308 yards and two TDs. Imani Cross scored twice and Stanley Jean-Baptiste returned an interception 48 yards for a Husker score.

17/16/19/17 (17/19/21/18) UCLA (9-2) The Bruins dominated the #21 Southern California Trojans (7-4) 38-28. UCLA jumped out to a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back. Brett Hundley passed for 234 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two more scores while Johnathan Franklin rushed 29 times for 171 yards and one touchdown and Eric Kendricks blocked a punt and made a fourth-quarter interception. Curtis McNeal rushed 21 times for 161 yards for USC.

18/15/15/15 (19T/17/17/17) Texas (8-2) The Longhorns had the weekend off.

19/19/20/20 (19T/18/19/20) Louisiana Tech (9-2) The Bulldogs fell to the Utah State Aggies (9-2) 48-41 in overtime. Tech had stormed back from a 24 point deficit to tie the game on a 32-yard field goal as time ran out in regulation. The comeback started with a 98-yard kickoff return my D.J. Banks. Chuckie Keeton scored twice on the ground (17 carries for 121 yards) and threw for two more scores  (20 of 34 for 340 yards) for Utah State including a 86-yard TD pass to Kerwynn Williams (4 catches for 125 yards)  who also scored twice on the ground ( 162 yards on 20 carries) including the winner in OT. Colby Cameron completed 35 of 60 passes for 396 yards and one TD but he also tossed two INTs ending his streak of pass attempts without an INT at 445.

20/18/17/18 (11/10/10/9) Louisville (9-1) The Cardinals had the week off.

21/21/18/19 (21/22/18/19) Southern California (7-4) The Trojans fell to the #17 UCLA Bruins (9-2) 38-28. More above.

22/20/21/22 (24/20/22/23) Rutgers (9-1) The Scarlet Knights went on the road to play in Cincinnati against the Bearcats (7-3). The Knights had not fared well in Cincinnati, but that was then. Riding on the backs of one of the best defenses in the country and the rushing of Savon Huggins (a career high 179 yards on 41 carries), the Knights defeated the Bearcats 14-3. The Scarlet Knights’ defense limited George Winn , the Big East’s leading rusher, to just 35 yards and the Bearcats to just 90 rushing yards. Gary Nova was 11 of 19 for 186 yards and a TD. He did throw two INTs in the red zone, however, and that kept it much too close for comfort. The Cincinnati score came in the final minute of the game. Rutgers remains undefeated in the Big East and in control of their own destiny as the look for a league championship.

23T/23/24/23 (NR/NR/NR/NR) Michigan (8-3) The Wolverines routed the Iowa Hawkeyes (4-7).  Michigan got stellar play from quarterback Devin Gardner who completed 18 of 23 attempts for 314 yards and three TDs while also rushing for 37 yards and three TDs on nine carries. Denard Robinson—playing running back--rushed 13 times for 98 yards.

23T/25/22/21 (25/NR/25/22) Texas Tech (7-4) The Red Raiders got creamed by the Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-3) 38-28. Isaiah Anderson had a career-best 174 yards receiving and caught three long touchdown passes of 60, 33 and 66 yards in the second quarter from Clint Chelf. The Cowboys created three turnovers (two INTs by Seth Doege--who was sacked three times in the first half and hurried numerous times all day--and a fumble) and Zack Craig returned a blocked punt 30 yards for a score. 

25/NR/NR/NR (NR/NR/NR/NR) Kent State (10-1) The Golden Flashes edged the Bowling Green Falcons (7-3) 31-24. The game was loaded with huge plays. And I mean HUGE! Bowling Green’s Chris Gallon and Matt Shilz connected touchdown passes of 72 and 81 yards. Kent State’s Dri Archer had TD runs of 79 and 74 yards. Matt Schilz completed 22 of 44 for 355 yards, three TDs but also three INTs. The Falcons could only manage 83 yards on the ground. The Golden Flashes had 334 yards rushing but just 91 yards in the air on 9 of 17 (one TD and one INT) passing by Spencer Keith.

NR/22/23/NR (NR/24/23/NR) Boise State (9-2) The Broncos routed the Colorado State Rams (3-8) 42-14. It started on the first play from scrimmage for the Borncos when D.J. Harper went untouched on an 80-yard touchdown run. Harper would add a 2-yard TD on the next possession and Joe Southwick would throw two TD passes as Boise State would score on five of their first six possessions.

NR/24/NR/24 (NR/NR/NR/NR) Oklahoma State (7-3) The Cowboys beat the #23T Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-4) 38-28. More above.

NR/NR/NR/25 (NR/NR/NR/NR) Washington (7-4) The Huskies routed the Colorado Buffalos (1-10) 38-3. Keith Price was 22 of 29 for 248 yards and five TDs for the Huskies. Bishop Sankey carried the ball 23 times for 139 yards.

NR/NR/25/NR (NR/NR/NR/NR) Mississippi State (8-3) The Bulldogs beat the Arkansas Razorbacks (4-7). Tyler Russell completed 19 of 32 for 274 yards and five TDs for the Bulldogs.

New Bird (for this season) at the Aerie

This morning dawned(?) overcast and cold. The temperature was 28 degrees at 7 AM. I put the feeders out and soon had a large number of the regulars coming in to get their morning dose of sunflower seeds. Then around 9:30 AM a new visitor arrived that caused quite a stir. Everyone headed for the cover of the thick brush as the Sharp-shinned Hawk made its first appearance at the buffet. It didn't seem to have been a success, but the hawk will be back as it has now confirmed there be some fine eatin' here 'bouts.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

I managed to snap a few pictures through the glass of the sliding door, but when I went out on the deck, the hawk flew away into the woods beyond. 

Now all we need is a Red-tailed Hawk to take out some of these bloody Gray Squirrels!

Birds of the Aerie

Not much happening here at the Aerie. After having a couple of days of very cold weather with heavy frosts, things warmed up for the weekend. It was highs in the 60s Sunday and again today. Only problem was the wind that started Sunday night. Blowing out of the south in advance of a cold front coming in tonight, it blew steadily all day Monday at about 20-25 mph and gusted into the 30-35 mph range. Not much new in the birds appearing on the home front either with the exception of one old friend. Sunday we had a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers come up close. Unlike in the past, however, they didn't come to the feeders for any sunflower seeds. Instead they visited several trees--paper birch, ash, locust--looking for insects, spiders and their eggs.

Red-bellied Woodpecker 

Saturday I had a chance to see the Pileated Woodpeckers, but they caught me without a camera. It wouldn't have made a difference. The two of them were just a bit too far into the woods and flitting from tree to tree. I'm not sure I could have gotten a clear shot of either of them.

Today I spotted--and positively identified--a House Finch on the tray feeder on the deck and again on the feeders on the side of the house. Again, they were here for just a moment and then disappeared for now and, again, I didn't have the camera ready. Now it's got me thinking about the "Purple Finch" I so casually IDed last week. Other than the those, only the regulars have been here. Often. There are a couple of visitors that dominate the feeders when they arrive. They chase everyone else away and eat their fill.

Blue Jay 

When five or six Jays appear, everyone else goes off to the stick feeders or the brush. They are bullies of the neighborhood but are willing to contribute to the safety of the smaller birds by raising an alarm when a hawk comes in sight.

But these guys....

Gray Squirrel 

...they're not so much bullies as dominating. When the Gray Squirrels hit the feeders they HIT THE FEEDERS! They hang from the pole by their hind legs so as to reach out and feed on the hanging feeder. They sit on the deck rail and hold the stick feeders like submarine periscopes grabbing seed from the portals. One will sit on and empty the tray feeder. Only when they are chased from a feeder by me or another squirrel will they give up their free food--but not for long. Already this week (and the feeders have only been out for one week) there have been as many as 12 squirrels in the yard at one time. And most of them look like the one in the photo--plump! (Oh, if there were just more room in the freezer!)

College Football, Week 12

There’s quite a bit of reshuffling going on at the top of the rankings and several new/revisiting teams at the bottom.

This week there are just a few games that match two ranked teams and quite a few that see SEC teams playing FCS teams—some good some bad.

(This week’s rankings from the AP, Coaches’, Harris Interactive, BCS Standings. Rankings given last week appear in parentheses.  NR = Not Rated. Numbers in parentheses after the team’s name are the records.)

1/1/1/2 (2/2/2/3) Oregon (10-0) The Ducks will host the #14 Stanford Cardinal (8-2). Look for the Ducks to score frequently, the Cardinal not so much.

2/2/2/1 (3/3/3/2) Kansas State (10-0) The Wildcats will be on the road to play the Baylor Bears (4-5). Collin Klein and company take care of business.

3/3/3/3 (4/4/4/4) Notre Dame (10-0) The Irish will host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-5). Exorcism anyone?

4/5/4/4 (1/1/1/1) Alabama (9-1) The Crimson Tide host the Western Carolina Catamounts a 1-9 FCS team. The Tide will roll in this one.

5/4/5/5 (5T/5/5/5) Georgia (9-1) The Bulldogs will host the Southern Georgia Eagles an 8-2 FCS team. Southern Georgia is an FCS power house. This is not the FCS. The Bulldogs will win.

6/NR/NR/NR (5T/NR/NR/NR) Ohio State (10-0) The Buckeyes head to Wisconsin to play the Badgers (7-3). Braxton Miller vs Monty Ball. Two strong rushing offenses and two strong rushing defenses. This will be closer than many think. The Badgers may well pull off the upset.

7/7/7/6 (7/7/7/6) Florida (9-1) The Gators will host the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (6-4) a FCS school. Another late season mismatch between BCS and FCS schools. Gators win.

8/8/8/7 (9/9/8/7) LSU (8-2) The Tigers will host the Ole Miss Rebels (5-4). The Tigers should maul the Rebels.

9/10/10/8 (15/14/15/15) Texas A&M (8-2) The Aggies will play host to the Sam Houston State Bearkats (8-2) an FCS school. The Aggies will win this one between BCS and FCS schools.

10/6/6/10 (8/6/6/10) Florida State (9-1) The Seminoles head north to face the Maryland Terrapins (4-6). The Seminoles feast on Terrapins.

11/9/9/11 (10/8/9/13) Clemson (9-1) The Tigers host the North Carolina State Wolfpack (6-4). Tigers win this one.

12/11/11/9 (12/11/11/8) South Carolina (8-2) The Gamecocks will host the 8-2 Wofford Terriers an FCS school. South Carolina wins. Big.

13/12/12/12 (14/13/13/12) Oklahoma (7-2) The Sooners travel to West Virginia to play the Mountaineers (5-4). Tough year for the Mountaineers and it won’t get better in this one.

14/13/13/13 (16/15/14/14) Stanford (8-2) The Cardinal head north to play the #1 Oregon Ducks (10-0). The Ducks are just too talented.

15/17/16/16 (13/12/12/11) Oregon State (7-2) The Beavers will host the Golden Bears of California (3-8). Pick the Beavers to win big.

16/14/14/14 (18/16/16/16) Nebraska (8-2) The Cornhuskers will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-4).  The Huskers should find this one easier that some. Look for them to lead from start to finish.

17/16/19/17 (17/19/21/18) UCLA (8-2) The Bruins will host the #21 Southern California Trojans (7-3). This looks to be a pretty evenly matched pair. Matt Barkley has proven to be more error prone than expected. He and Marqise Lee will have to play mistake-free ball to beat the Bruins.  Pick ‘em.

18/15/15/15 (19T/17/17/17) Texas (8-2) The Longhorns have the weekend off.

19/19/20/20 (19T/18/19/20) Louisiana Tech (9-1) The Bulldogs host the Utah State Aggies (8-2). Go with the home team. Bulldogs have a lot of firepower.

20/18/17/18 (11/10/10/9) Louisville (9-1) The Cardinals have the week off.

21/21/18/19 (21/22/18/19) Southern California (7-3) The Trojans play the #17 UCLA Bruins (8-2). Close game. Flip a coin.

22/20/21/22 (24/20/22/23) Rutgers (8-1) The Scarlet Knights are on the road to play in Cincinnati against the Bearcats (7-2). The Knights will have to play better than they have recently. They have the tools, however—especially on defense. That and the fact that the Bearcats have been inconsistent may be all the Scarlet Knights need to become 5-0 in the Big East.

23T/23/24/23 (NR/NR/NR/NR) Michigan (7-3) The Wolverines will host the Iowa Hawkeyes (4-6).  Michigan has been up and down this year. If they are up for this one, they win by two TDs.

23T/25/22/21 (25/NR/25/22) Texas Tech (7-3) The Red Raiders will be on the road to play the Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-3). This should be a close game that could go either way. OSU has had to go with three different QBS this year when injuries struck that position hard. Doesn’t seem to have hurt them much.  The difference may well be the play of Seth Doege. If he’s hot, the Raiders can’t be outscored.

25/NR/NR/NR (NR/NR/NR/NR) Kent State (9-1) The Golden Flashes head out on the road to play the Bowling Green Falcons (7-3). Kent State has played lights out this year. They are likely to singe the Falcons.

NR/22/23/NR (NR/24/23/NR) Boise State (8-2) The Broncos host the Colorado State Rams (3-7). The Broncos will defeat the Rams easily.

NR/24/NR/24 (NR/NR/NR/NR) Oklahoma State (6-3) The Cowboys host the #23T Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-3). Don’t know who will be the OSU QB but it will be Doege for the Raiders and that should be more than enough. Raiders but it will be a shootout.

NR/NR/NR/25 (NR/NR/NR/NR) Washington (6-4) The Huskies are on the road to play the Colorado Buffaloes (1-9). If the Huskies haven’t given up, they should win this one.

NR/NR/25/NR (NR/NR/NR/NR) Mississippi State (7-3) The Bulldogs will host the Arkansas Razorbacks (4-6). The Dogs continue to make the Razorbacks season far from a dream season.