College Football Top 25 review - Week 11

Top 25 recap

#1 Alabama 27 - #16 LSU 21
It took a little overtime magic, but Alabama coach Nick Saban went home a winner in his return to LSU. The Tigers scored late in the fourth quarter to pull even and send the game into overtime. Charles Scott, who compiled 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns for LSU punched it in to complete the comeback. Alabama drove down the field for a winning field goal, only to have it blocked and the game remain deadlocked. But senior quarterback John Parker Wilson who led Alabama down the field and scored to end the game on a one yard touchdown and allow the Crimson Tide to retain their #1 ranking.

#2 Texas Tech 56 - #9 Oklahoma State 20
Michael Crabtree continues to look like a man amongst boys and drive his draft value up for when he likely decides to go in 2010. Crabtree’s three touchdowns and 89 yards displayed his immense talent once again as the Red Raiders destroyed Oklahoma State. For a time, Oklahoma State looked to be making a game of it, but Texas tech just had too many weapons. Along with Crabtree’s game, quarterback Graham Harrell threw for 456 yards and six touchdowns and receiver Shannon Woods caught two touchdowns. In the end, the Red Raiders pulled away and never looked back, securing their #2 ranking with a colossal win.

#3 Penn State 23 – Iowa 24
The Nittany Lions showed up in the National Championship conversation for a cup of coffee, but were sent packing by the Hawkeyes with a crushing last second field goal. Penn State fans were already complaining about being left out of the National Title game, but they won’t have to worry about that now. The Nittany Lions struggled to move the ball in the air, barely topping 100 yards total. Iowa was led by Shonn Greene’s 117 yards and two touchdowns.

#4 Texas 45 – Baylor 21
The Longhorns rebounded from their disappointing loss to Texas tech in a big way, annihilating overmatched Baylor in ever aspect of the game. Longhorn QB Colt McCoy threw for 300 yards and five touchdowns, two of which went to receiver Quan Cosby. Not only did the Longhorns stamp 494 total yards on Baylor, they stomped on the pass game, limiting the Bears to a woeful 71 yards. Texas slipped up into Penn State’s spot and remains part of the National Title conversation.

#5 Florida 42 – Vanderbilt 14
The Gators locked down a spot in the SEC championship game with a drubbing of Vanderbilt and clinching the SEC East title. Florida quarterback and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner led his team with 171 yards and a trio of touchdowns through the air, adding 88 yards and another pair of touchdowns on the ground. Florida moved up one spot to 4 with the win.

The rest of the 25 –
#6 Oklahoma beat unranked Texas A&M 66-28, as quarterback Sam Bradford compiled 320 yuards and four TDs, jumping to a rank of 5 in the Sunday polls…. #7 USC overmatched #21 California 17-3, but made little ground , moving up just one spot to 6… #8 Utah met #12 TCU and won with a late touchdown pass from QB Brian Johnson…. #10 Boise State hammered Utah State 49-14, piling 563 total yards on the hapless Aggies….

#11 Ohio State took down #24 Northwestern 45-10 with freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s three touchdown passes and Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells’ 140 yards and two touchdowns on the ground…. #13 Georgia continued to struggle in it’s win over unranked Kentucky, though Matt Stafford had another good game, throwing for 376 yards and three touchdowns and running back Knowshon Moreno compiled 123 yards and three touchdowns himself in the 42-38 shootout…. #14 Missouri beat Kansas State 41-24 led by sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin’s 278 all purpose yards and three touchdowns. Though a sophomore, Maclin is three years removed from high school and is expected to enter the NFL draft…. San Diego State found itself outclassed by #15 BYU, which beat them 41-12 behind Max Hall’s 317 passing yards and three touchdowns…..

Senior Javon Ringer scored two touchdowns and ran for 121 yards as #18 Michigan State beat Purdue 21-7… #19 North Carolina scored 21 points in the final quarter as they beat #20 Georgia Tech, 28-7… #22 Florida State beat Clemson 41-27 to celebrate Bobby Bowden’s 79th birthday with his 380th career win… #23 Maryland was stunned by Virginia Tech in a 23-13 loss despite quarterback Chris Turner’s 240 yards and touchdown…. West Virginia and Pittsburgh shared the #25 ranking, but the Mountaineers lost to Cincinnati 26-23 while Pitt wiped the field with Louisville, 41-7 and actually moved up in the polls to #21….

Another exciting college football weekend as the BCS continues to keep us hopping, even if I think it needs a playoff....