Saturday in Review: Week 12

Poor play by the offense and special teams nearly doomed
Florida against Florida Atlantic. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Well, you can't say anyone expected last Saturday to go quite the way it did. Three unbeatens were defeated, leaving just two in the country. The first upset came on Friday, when South Florida crushed Cincinnati in Tampa. The Bulls must defeat UCF on Thanksgiving and see Temple fall to UConn next Saturday to clinch their American East division. Later that night, two-touchdown underdog Air Force upended Boise State 37-30 on the road. Falcon quarterback Karson Roberts passed for 279 yards in the victory, the most of any Air Force player since 1989. Famous for their home-field-advantage, Boise State dropped their second-straight for the first time since 1997. Air Force clinched a Mountain West title game appearance against San Diego State (who clinched their division on Saturday) with the win and New Mexico's loss to Colorado State the following day.

Despite being favored by 31 points going into the game, Florida needed overtime to escape the FAU Owls. The Gator offense struggled all day, accumulating only 253 yards, and the place-kicking team didn't help. Austin Hardin missed both field goals from within the 20-yard-line and had a PAT blocked in overtime. The Owl offense was just as inneffective against the Gator defense, and the game entered halftime with no score.

Florida was first on the scoreboard after the Gators returned a fumble 48 yards from midfield. The Gators punched in the touchdown after two plays. Later in the third quarter, Antonio Callaway caught a 53-yard bomb from Treon Harris to bump up the lead 14-0. However, FAU responded with a long touchdown drive, cutting the Gator lead in half. Florida missed two more opportunities to score with an interception and a missed field goal. After an Owl punt pinned the Gators deep, disaster struck, with Harris fumbling the ball into the endzone and the Owls recovering. Neither team could move the ball in the remaining eight minutes, and the game entered overtime. The Gators got the first turn on offense and almost made the most of it; Jake McGee caught the ball on the third play, juked two defenders and walked into the endzone. A blocked PAT meant all FAU had to do was get the ball in the endzone and kick the winning point. So the Owls got the ball and FAU quarterback Quez Johnson led his team down to a first-and-goal from the nine. The Gator defense held on from there, forcing a sack and three incompletions to seal the 20-14 victory. The tenth win was the most by any Florida football team under a first-year head coach.

To many's surprise, Ole Miss had little trouble with LSU. The Tigers could move the ball, but could not overcome their three turnovers and 13 penalties. Three straight losses (all by 14 points or more) have reduced LSU from playoff contender to likely unranked.

The Citadel ended a 28-game losing streak against FBS
teams with their win over South Carolina. AP Photo/Richard Shiro

The misery extends in Columbia, South Carolina, where the Gamecocks lost 23-22 to The Citadel. The one-point loss was South Carolina's first to an FCS team since 1990 (a 38-35 defeat to, again, The Citadel). The Gamecock's inability to run the ball and defend the Bulldogs' triple-option rushing attack proved to be their downfall.

In one of the most exciting games of the season, Mississippi State topped Arkansas in a barn burner. Both quarterbacks were nigh unstoppable, with Mississippi State's Dak Prescott throwing for 508 yards (five aerial touchdowns, plus two on the ground) and Arkansas's Brandon Allen tossing for 406 yards (seven touchdowns, plus a two-point conversion reception). A late Arkansas field goal was blocked, ending their chances to win.

Like their rivals across the state border, Georgia could not put away their in-state opponent until overtime. The Bulldogs beat Georgia Southern 23-17, overcoming two deficits in the second half. The Eagles could not convert a first down in extra time, and Georgia ended the game with a touchdown run on their first play in overtime.

Tennessee beat Missouri in a defensive struggle while Texas A&M blanked the Commodores in Nashville.

Stanford improved to 9-2 with their win over California and UCLA upset Utah in a low-scoring game. Oregon made short work of USC, so the winner of the upcoming UCLA-USC game will clinch the Pac-12 South and play Stanford in the conference championship game.

Michigan State snapped Division I's longest winning streak with a 17-14 triumph over Ohio State. The Spartan defense stifled the Buckeyes, holding OSU to only 132 total offensive yards. Ohio State's two touchdowns came after fumbles granted them favorable field position. Michigan State drilled a field goal as time expired to come out on top.

Michigan's defense was also dominant in their 28-16 win over Penn State. Even less offense was featured in Madison, where Northwestern and Wisconsin combined for just 20 points and 412 offensive yards in the Wildcats' 13-7 win.

Baylor outscored Oklahoma State, knocking off the Big 12's final unbeaten team. The Bear offense was unrelenting, putting up 700 total yards on the Cowboys. OK State was held to just 8 rushing yards and could not capitalize on most of Baylor's giveaways.

Despite being outgained 536-390 in total offense and giving
away four turnovers, the Horned Frogs were nearly victorious
in Norman. Mark D. Smith, USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma held off TCU's comeback, deflecting a late two-point conversion to preserve their lead. The Sooners had a 30-13 lead going into the final quarter, but the Horned Frogs refused to give up, even without their star quarterback (who was injured last week). The Sooners struggled after losing their starting quarterback to a head injury. With less than a minute left, TCU scored a touchdown and brought Oklahoma's lead down to just one point. Rather than play for overtime, the Frogs went for two and failed, keeping Oklahoma's championship hopes intact.

Houston was the other unbeaten team to go down on Saturday. The Cougars dropped a shocker against UConn in East Hartford, granting the Huskies bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010. Four turnovers doomed the Cougars against the Husky defense.

Temple earned a ninth win on the season for the first time since 1979. The Owls had no problems with the ranked Memphis Tigers, defeating them 31-12 at the Linc.

Turnovers plagued the Irish at Fenway Park, but Notre Dame ended up with a 19-16 win over Boston College. The Irish escaped after recovering a late onside kick.

Florida State cruised past Chattanooga, but North Carolina needed overtime to beat Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels clinched their division, and will play Clemson in the ACC title game.

State of Florida:

• East Carolina (5-6) over UCF (0-11), 38-17 44-7
• South Florida (7-4) over Cincinnati (6-5), 28-24 65-27
• 8 Florida (10-1) over Florida Atlantic (2-9), 35-6 20-14 (OT)
• Georgia Tech (3-8) over Miami (7-4), 30-24 38-21
• Western Kentucky (9-2) over FIU (5-7), 45-24 63-7
• 14 Florida State (9-2) over Chattanooga (8-3), 45-14 52-13

Southeastern Conference:

• South Carolina (3-8) over The Citadel (8-3), 31-21 23-22
• 22 Mississippi (8-3) over 15 LSU (7-3), 24-21 38-17
• 2 Alabama (10-1) over Charleston Southern (9-2), 49-17 56-6
• Auburn (6-5) over Idaho (3-8), 42-10 56-34
• Arkansas (6-5) over Mississippi State (8-3), 35-28 51-50
• Georgia (8-3) over Georgia Southern (7-3), 38-21 23-17 (OT)
• Tennessee (7-4) over Missouri (5-6), 21-16 19-8
• Vanderbilt (4-7) over Texas A&M (8-3), 20-17 25-0
• Kentucky (5-6) over Charlotte (2-9), 35-14 58-10

Top 25:

• 1 Clemson (11-0) over Wake Forest (3-8), 38-10 33-13
• 3 Ohio State (10-1) over 9 Michigan State (10-1), 38-31 17-14
• 4 Notre Dame (10-1) over Boston College (3-8), 24-7 19-16
• 5 Iowa (11-0) over Purdue (2-9), 42-21 40-20
• 10 Baylor (9-1) over 6 Oklahoma State (10-1), 35-31 45-35
• 7 Oklahoma (10-1) over 18 TCU (9-2), 49-21 30-29
• 11 Stanford (9-2) over California (6-5), 31-28 35-22
• 12 Michigan (9-2) over Penn State (7-4), 27-24 28-16
• 13 Utah (8-3) over UCLA (8-3), 30-27 17-9
• 16 Navy (9-1) over Tulsa (5-6), 41-28 44-21
• 17 North Carolina (10-1) over Virginia Tech (5-6), 31-17 30-27 (OT)
• 19 Houston (10-1) over Connecticut (6-5), 38-20 20-17
• 25 Wisconsin (8-3) over 20 Northwestern (9-2), 28-21 13-7
• 21 Memphis (8-3) over Temple (9-2), 30-24 31-12
• 23 Oregon (8-3) over 24 USC (7-4), 37-31 48-28

Week 12 Record: 21-9 (70%)

Season Record: 258-69 (79%)