The week that was: Week 14 Top 25 Results
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
December 3, 2007
And it had to happen...the 2007-08 regular season ended the same way it began 14 weeks ago, with an upset of a ranked team. Two teams with a foot inside the BCS national title game will have to take a backseat to a team who sat out the last two weeks...what a year! And it's not yet over...
No.9 Oklahoma def. No.1 Missouri, 38-17
The Oklahoma Sooners' defense contained Missouri's high octane offense while pounding in on the Tigers' defense to put up a 38-17 upset win and claim the Big 12 Championship for the fifth time since 2000. The battle of two of the most prolific quarterbacks in the nation was won by Sam Bradford, who completed 18-of-26 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, outplaying Heisman candidate Chase Daniel who for his part was 23-of-39 for 219 yards and no touchdowns. The Tigers, who were averaging approximately five touchdowns this season was held to one, a Chase Daniel 4-yard scoring run in the second quarter, and scored under 30 for the first time this year. Oklahoma on the other hand weren't short of scores as Allen Patrick had one TD (4-yard run) while Chris Brown had two in the second quarter. Curtis Lofton anchored the OU defense with 9 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception.
Pittsburgh def. No.2 West Virginia, 13-9
West Virginia, national title hopefuls, fell prey to unranked Pittsburgh and the curse of the number two, 13-9 at home. Pitt freshman LeSean McCoy carried the football 38 times for 148 yards for the Panthers who were able to hold off the Mountaineers' offense to 183 yards, 127 short of their game average. Heisman contender and WVU's offensive anchor Pat White dislocated his thumb in the second quarter but made a valiant effort in the final canto to try and reverse the outcome of the game but to no avail. He finished the game with 41 rushing yards and went 5-for-10 for 50 yards. WVU's other offensive option, Steve Slaton, was silenced and limited to 11 yards on 9 carries. With the loss, the Mountaineers have now claimed the dubious distinction of becoming the sixth 2nd ranked team to fall this season.
No.5 LSU def. No.14 Tennessee, 21-14
A week after suffering from a triple overtime loss that may have dashed their hopes from playing in the national title game, the LSU Tigers may have just put themselves back in serious title contention, thanks to OU, Pitt, and to themselves for winning over Tennessee for the SEC league title. Colt David scored on two field goals, Demetrius Byrd caught a 27-yard touchdown, and Jonathan Zenon returned an interception for the decisive score. LSU's defense, which has been heralded as one of the best this season, stuck through the end with Darry Beckwith picking off an Erik Ainge pass to seal the victory. Ryan Perrilloux, stepping in for the hurting Matt Flynn, went 20-of-30 for 243 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT, Jacob Hester rushed 23 times for 120 yards while Early Doucet caught 5 passes for 29 yards. Ainge was 20-of-40 for 249 yards and 2 TDs but had two of his passes picked-off.
No.6 Virginia Tech def. No.12 Boston College, 30-16
Virginia Tech emerged as the Atlantic Coast Conference champions with two crucial pick-offs in the fourth quarter to preserve a 30-16 victory over Boston College, 30-16. With the score knotted at 16 halfway through the final quarter, the Hokies drove 84 yards into the endzone and scored via an Eddie Royal 24-yard TD reception to put Tech on top for good. The Eagles, who beat VT in their previous meeting via a late game rally, couldn't duplicate the feat as Matt Ryan's final heave was intercepted by Xavier Adibi who took the football 40 yards all the way into the endzone to seal the win. Glennon went 18-of-27 for 174 yards and three touchdowns with an interception while his counterpart Ryan was 33-of-52 for 305 yards with two pick-offs.
No.8 USC def. UCLA, 24-7
With a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line, the Trojans were all business and took care of UCLA in its season finale, shutting the Bruins out in the second half. USC scored on touchdowns from Joe McKnight (13 carries for 89 yards and 1 TD), Chauncey Washington, and Fred Davis (6 catches for 41 yards and 1 TD) while limiting the Bruins to 168 yards of total offense with no third down conversions. John David Booty was 21-of-36 for 206 yds with 1 TD and 1 INT while his counterpart Patrick Cowan, who made a return after suffering an injury a month ago, completed 13-of-24 passes for 156 yards and 1 TD with 1 INT. The victory avenge last year's 9-13 loss to UCLA and gave the Trojans their sixth consecutive conference championship.
No. 11 Hawaii def. Washington, 35-28
The Hawai'i Warriors preserved their unbeaten record this season and in the process have earned a ticket at a BCS game, doing it from 21-points behind to rally past Washington, 35-28. Heisman candidate Colt Brennan connected on 42-of-50 passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns, the last one, a 5-yarder to Ryan Grice-Mullen, turning out to be the game-winner with 44 ticks left. The Huskies tried a last minute TD attempt but Jake Locker was intercepted in the dying seconds that sealed the win for the Warriors. Jason Rivers caught 14 passes for 167 yards and four TDs for Hawai'i who is the only team left with an unscathed record at 12-0. Locker was 9-of-17 for 142 yards while Louis Rankin had 21 carries for 145 yards for Washington.
No. 13 Arizona State def. Arizona, 20-17
Arizona looked good at the start of the game as they aim for another upset in the "upset-filled" season. Rob Gronkowski put the Wildcats on the board first on a 1-yard touchdown catch but the defense could not hold off Arizona State who scored on two touchdown passes from Rudy Carpenter (20-of-37 for 247 yards) and two short Thomas Weber field goals. The Wildcats scored another TD but by then the game was already won by the Sun Devils. Carpenter was 20-of-37 for 247 yards and two touchdowns, Dimitri Nance rushed 22 times for 58 yards, and Chris McGaha caught 6 passes for 83 yards for ASU who have beaten Arizona for the third straight time and are poised to appear in their first BCS game.
Oregon State def. No.18 Oregon, 38-31 2OT
After the first overtime period ended with both teams sinking field goals, Oregon State freshman wide receiver James Rodgers ran for a 25-yard touchdown for the go-ahead score in the second overtime but it was the Beaver defense that preserved the win as Oregon rusher Jonathan Stewart was stopped at 4th and one from the 16, giving OSU its third straight win and their eighth overall in 12 outings. Lyle Moevao completed 20-of-37 passes for 245 yards with 1 INT for Oregon State, who also got 14.5 tackles and one interception return from linebacker Derrick Doggett.
No. 21 BYU def. San Diego State, 48-27
Freshman Harvey Unga ran 12 times for 161 yards and three touchdowns (1, 7, and 3 yards), and caught three passes for 29 yards including an 8-yard score to lift BYU to its ninth straight win, 48-27, at the expense of San Diego State. The Aztecs were able to keep the game close with Kevin O'Connell, who threw for 288 yards on 33-of-55 completion, running for a couple of touchdowns and throwing a three-yarder to Lynell Hamilton to the endzone. But the Cougars pulled away after the break, scoring 28 second half points to seal the victory. BYU quarterback Max Hall was 19-of-26 for 227 yards and three touchdowns with 1 INT.
Sources
- CFN Staff "Week 14 Scoreboard and Game Recaps". CollegeFootballNews.com, December 1, 2007
- Associated Press "Who's No. 1? Top NCAA Teams Fall Saturday". wsoctv.com, December 2, 2007
