BCS Shaken Up After Upsets of #1 and #2

College Football always finds a way to amaze me!  Upsets and record-breaking performances were on tap for Week 12, especially in the Big 12 and Pac-12 today.  The day began with Los Angeles' exciting in-city rivalry between #17 UCLA and #18 USC.  The Bruins entered the game ranked ahead of the Trojans for the first time since 2001 and they stormed to an early 24-0 lead.  UCLA looked great midway through the second quarter, but last season's 50-0 loss to USC remained on the players' minds.  USC's Matt Barkley threw two touchdown passes before halftime and led his Trojans to within four early in the third.  USC was surging, but Barkley left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury.  The UCLA defense ultimately decided the game, as 14 points were scored off three Trojan turnovers in the game.  The 38-28 victory was significant for the Bruins because they knocked off the Trojans for the first time since 2006 and clinched their second consecutive Pac-12 South title.

Many expected the #2 Oregon Ducks to win their fourth consecutive Pac-12 Conference Championship because opponents had struggled with their high-powered offense all season.  That was before they faced #13 Stanford, who upset them in overtime tonight.  Marcus Mariota and the Duck offense were held forty points under their season average and were scoreless in their final five possessions, including a missed field goal in overtime.  The nagging Cardinal prevailed in the waning moments of regulation and overtime.  Stanford overcame a 14-7 fourth quarter deficit and knocked off #2 Oregon with a 37 yard field goal by Jordan Williamson in overtime.

The Big 12 Conference entered the day with the nation's best team and a tight race for the conference championship.  #1 Kansas State had a lot on the line entering this Saturday, including its first Big 12 Championship, an appearance in the BCS National Championship and a perfect season, but Heisman hopeful Collin Klein and the Wildcats struggled against Baylor's high-powered offense.  The Bears stormed to an impressive 28-7 lead in the second quarter and never looked back.  Baylor became the first sub-.500 team to beat a BCS #1 team with its 52-24 victory over Kansas State at Floyd Casey Stadium tonight.

The #12 Oklahoma Sooners also faced a tough road test in Morgantown with their season goals on the line.  Oklahoma would not play for the National Championship this season, but a BCS berth and Big 12 Championship remained in sight.  The Sooners took the early lead and were up 31-17 at halftime.  The second half began with the Mountaineers down, but not out.  Quarterback Geno Smith and Wide Receiver Tavon Austin led West Virginia's charge in the second half, scoring on 5/7 possessions.  Smith and Austin combined for 664 yards and 6 touchdowns in the game, but the Mountaineer defense couldn't hold.  Senior Quarterback Landry Jones led the Sooners on a game-winning drive, converting a pivotal 4th and 3 with a touchdown pass to Kenny Stills.  The Sooners prevailed 50-49 and the Mountaineers lost their fifth consecutive game.

The BCS is now in shambles after today's results and conference championships are tightening with two weeks remaining in the regular season.  #3 Notre Dame and #4 Alabama are expected to become the nation's top two teams when the next BCS poll is released Sunday evening, but as we saw today, "Every Week Matters!"

Kansas State Can Not Cruise to Big 12 Crown

The Big 12 Conference is stronger than ever and there's no surprise that the conference championship is coming down to the final weeks of the season. There is no easy week in the conference anymore and the competition level has improved with the additions of TCU and West Virginia. The conference currently holds five spots in this week's BCS rankings, and three of these teams remain in contention for the conference title (#1 Kansas State, #12 Oklahoma and #15 Texas).

Of course, Kansas State controls its own destiny with two games remaining on their conference schedule, but an upset or two may be on the horizon for them. The Wildcats avoided a potential upset in Fort Worth on Saturday and eliminated the Horned Frogs and Cowboys from contention, but they cannot overlook their final two opponents. Texas looks to be finding its stride with four straight victories and Baylor has an explosive offense. A lot is on the line for the Wildcats with two games remaining in their season. The Wildcats are chasing their first National Championship in program history and first Big 12 championship since 2003, but they cannot cruise to the crown with the Longhorns and Sooners in contention.

Still in Race   Record Yesterday's result, Remaining Schedule
Kansas State    7-0    at TCU (W), at BU, vs Texas

Oklahoma        5-1   vs BU (W), at WVU, vs OSU, at TCU

Texas                 5-2   vs ISU (W), vs TCU, at KSU

Eliminated:
Oklahoma State 4-2 vs WVU (W), vs TTU, at OU, at BU

Texas Tech        4-3  vs KU (W), at OSU, vs BU (Arlington)

TCU                    3-4 vs KSU (L), at UT, vs OU

West Virginia    2-4 at OSU (L), vs OU, at ISU, vs KU

Iowa State         2-5 at UT (L), at KU, vs WVU

Baylor                1-5 at OU (L), vs KSU, vs TTU (Arlington), vs OSU

Kansas                0-7 at TTU (L), vs ISU, at WVU

Championship Scenarios:
Kansas State

1. Beat Baylor and Texas

Oklahoma
1. Beat West Virginia, Oklahoma State and TCU

2. Kansas State loses to Baylor and Texas

Texas

1. Beat TCU and Kansas State

2. Kansas State loses final two games against Baylor and Texas

3. Oklahoma loses 2 of final 3 games  against West Virginia, Oklahoma State and TCU

Longhorns Still Alive in Race For Big 12 Championship

Still in Race         Record    Yesterday's result, Remaining Schedule

Kansas State        6-0          vs OSU(W), at TCU, at BU, vs Texas

Oklahoma            4-1          at ISU (W), vs BU, at WVU, vs OSU, at TCU

Texas                    4-2          at TTU (W), vs ISU, vs TCU, at KSU

Oklahoma State 3-2         at KSU(L), vs WVU, vs TTU, at OU, at BU

TCU                       3-3          at WVU(W), vs KSU, at UT, vs OU

Eliminated:

Texas Tech          3-3          vs UT (L), vs KU, at OSU, vs BU (Arlington)

West Virginia     2-3          vs TCU (L), at OSU, vs OU, at ISU, vs KU

Iowa State          2-4          vs OU(L), at UT, at KU, vs WVU

Baylor                  1-4          vs KU (W), at OU, vs KSU, vs TTU (Arlington), vs OSU

Kansas                 0-6          at BU (L), at TTU, vs ISU, at WVU

After upsetting instate rival Texas Tech in Lubbock yesterday, the Texas Longhorns are back in the saddle and kept their slim Big 12 Championship hopes alive.  For Texas to win the Big 12 Championship (Best-Case Scenario):

1. TCU beats both Oklahoma and Kansas State

2. Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma in Bedlam Series

3. Texas wins out: They beat Iowa State, TCU and Kansas State.

St. Thomas Finally Knocks Off Rival Strake

St. Thomas and Strake Jesuit is a prime example of a great sports rivalry in the city of Houston.  The rivalry between the Eagles and Crusaders is full of history, tradition and athletic greatness across all sports.  The football rivalry began in 1964 when the two all-male high schools met for the first time.  St. Thomas began the rivalry with twelve victories in as many years, but Strake Jesuit has dominated in recent years, with fourteen consecutive victories from 1998-2011.  For about a decade, the Crusaders dominated the Eagles in every area of football possible, but St. Thomas began to find their footing in 2010.  They finished with a better record the past two seasons, with back-to-back playoff appearances and an appearance in last season's TAPPS 5A State Semifinal.  Strake's only stake in the rivalry was their fourteen game win streak against rival St. Thomas.

The fiftieth football meeting between the private school powers took place last night at Strake's Crusader Stadium and it was a defensive battle throughout the game.  St. Thomas entered the game with an impressive 21-20 victory over UIL Class 3A power Rice Consolidated to open the season, while Strake began the season with a blowout loss to Spring Dekaney.  The Eagles were carrying the early-season momentum and looked to their dominant defense to finally end the rivalry losing streak.

The defenses dominated the opening minutes and the game was scoreless after the first quarter, but Strake opened the second quarter with an opening minute touchdown pass from Kyle Campbell to Kyle Santry.  The Crusaders' early lead would not stand, as the Eagles scored fourteen unanswered in the quarter to take the halftime lead.  The Eagles' defense had a great first half and Senior C.J. Seeman forced both an interception and fumble.

Although St. Thomas carried the momentum from their first half success, they would face a tough second half and their hopeful victory was up for grabs.  Strake put pressure on quarterback Michael Reul and the Eagle offense early in the third quarter and forced numerous turnovers throughout the half.  The Eagle defense, who had carried the team all night, even let up a game-tying touchdown late in the quarter.

The storyline of the first three quarters set up a potential storybook ending.  The two football programs were headed in opposite directions and one was trying to break a horrible losing streak to the other.  On this day, the two longtime rivals were equal in both talent and ability and were tied heading to the fourth quarter.  Both teams traded possessions throughout the quarter and the game looked to be headed for overtime.  But once again, the St. Thomas defense, that had played so well through the season's first seven quarters, stepped up and forced a Jesuit punt with less than a minute left in the game.  The punt went haywire and the Eagles began their drive in Crusader territory.  Forty seconds remained when St. Thomas began the game's final drive.  A couple productive plays set up Jack Brady's game-winning 37 yard field goal with four seconds remaining in the game.  With another close victory to start the season, the Eagles took back control of the rivalry and won at Strake for the first time since 1988.  The Eagles will be welcomed at next week's home opener against Santa Fe with their best start in many years.

According to Commish, WAC Lying On Deathbed

Disbanding a fifty year old conference may seem unnecessary when it carries a long line of tradition and history.  When it comes to the Western Athletic Conference, it has been a long time coming.  According to Commissioner Jeff Hurd, the once-sixteen member conference is entering its final season playing football with enrollment hitting an all-time low in 2013, and the other sports are also in jeopardy.  Like many FBS conferences, the WAC was deeply involved in the conference realignment that began in 2010, but it did not work in their favor.

Established in 1962, the WAC experienced its height as a conference in the 1990s when it reached sixteen full-time members.  The conference's top athletic programs joined its geographic neighbor, the Mountain West Conference, and never reached its potential.  Although Denver, Seattle, Texas State, UT-San Antonio, and UT-Arlington joined the conference in July, three of the schools reached agreements in the spring to join another conference in 2013 (Texas State and UT-Arlington will join the Sun Belt, while UT-San Antonio joins Conference USA).  Some long tenured members will also be lost in 2013, as Louisiana Tech heads to Conference USA, San Jose State and Utah State head to the Mountain West Conference, and Idaho becomes a FBS Independent.  Denver, New Mexico State and Seattle have yet to act on Commissioner Hurd's statement today.  It's going to be an interesting fifty-year anniversary this year as the conference awaits its unwanted death.

Disastrous 2nd Half Ruins Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys entered their second preseason game with a lot to prove.  The team was coming off a victory on Monday Night Football against the Raiders, but it was not an impressive one.  The team remained in California, at their Training Camp site in Oxnard, to prepare for tonight's game in San Diego against the Chargers.  After Monday's lackadaisical performance, the team was expected to burst out of the gate tonight in San Diego, and answered the call with an early 10-0 lead.  Jamize Olawale played the role of Christopher Columbus and helped the team discover the end zone after 81 minutes and 28 seconds of the preseason.  His two yard touchdown ended the treacherous journey with a bang, finishing as the Cowboys' high point of the night.  By halftime, the Cowboys retained their preseason shutout of opponents, but a disastrous second half disrupted a night of partying in San Diego.

The Chargers had been outplayed by the Cowboys in the first half and were plagued by turnovers and inconsistent play, but an impossible comeback became real as they cut the Cowboys' lead to 10-7 with 10:30 to play in the third.  It was the first touchdown allowed by the Cowboys' defense in 94 1/2 minutes this preseason, and the first of many on this Saturday night.  Later in the quarter, Dallas' defense forced their third and final turnover of the game to set up Dan Bailey's 49 yard field goal.  He nailed it and the Cowboys extended their lead to 13-7 with 1:18 remaining in the third, but the tide had already turned in San Diego's favor.

The Chargers were done having miscues and ready to strike when they received the ball early in the fourth quarter.  They scored touchdowns on their next three possessions and forced two Cowboy turnovers en route to a 28-20 victory at Qualcomm tonight.  The Cowboys struggled throughout the second half and could not handle the Chargers' attack in the game's final moments.  The Dallas defense that had been so good in the first three halves of the preseason fell apart in the second half tonight, giving up 28 points (21 unanswered in a span of 16 minutes and 3 seconds).  The Cowboys return home to Dallas later this week and finish the preseason with two home games at Cowboys Stadium.  The Cowboys look to finish the preseason well and jump into the regular season with some momentum after their tests with St. Louis (Saturday at 7pm) and Miami (August 29th at 7:30pm).

Cowboys Shutout Raiders in Preseason Opener

The Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders are two of the most prestigious franchises in the NFL, but tonight's preseason opener was more about the individual players than the franchises.  Positions were up for grabs with the expanded rosters and unlikely prospects were given a moment to shine.  Both teams finished the 2011 season with a late-season collapse, so a fast start to the season was a must.  For the Cowboys and Raiders, their 2012 campaign began with the preseason opener in Oakland tonight.

Neither team performed particularly well in tonight's game, but player mistakes were expected in the first exhibition of the season.  The Raiders received the opening kickoff, but lost the ball to an early turnover-an interception returned for 31 yards by Gerald Sensabaugh.  Oakland struggled to take care of the ball throughout the game and lost the game because of it.  Even with their ball control issues, they were in position to take the lead late.  Terrelle Pryor came alive in the 4th and took the Raiders on two extended drives.  The first ended with an unsuccessful 36 yard field goal by Eddy Carmona.  The Raiders were running out of time after the wide right kick.  The Raider defense stepped up and gave the ball back to the offense.  Pryor was back in the saddle for the game-deciding drive and was in no hurry with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game.  On the drive's eleventh play, Pryor faced a 4th-and-long with 40 seconds remaining in the game.  The Dallas defense stepped up and intercepted their second pass of the game, ending another Oakland scoring opportunity.

The Cowboys also struggled on the offensive side of the ball, but an early second half drive put them over the top.  Kyle Orton signed with Dallas over the offseason and took Cowboys' fans on a joy ride during his debut.  He finished 7/12 for 87 yards and set up the game's lone scoring play with an eleven play drive in the third.  Dan Bailey converted on a 33 yard field goal and the Cowboys hung on for a tight road victory in Oakland tonight.  The Cowboys will face Philip Rivers and the Chargers in another nationally televised preseason game on Saturday Night, so they better come to play!