http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZbQR8j-d2g
Week 13 of the college football season was filled with many intriguing match ups, with births in conference championship games and bowls on the line. On Friday night, in one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, Arkansas travelled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face top ranked LSU in a crucial SEC contest. Saturday afternoon, Alabama visited Auburn a year removed from blowing a 24-0 lead in Tuscaloosa to their archrivals. Wisconsin also hosted Penn State with a birth in the Big Ten Championship game at stake.
Arkansas came out on fire, taking a seemingly commanding 14-0 lead over LSU with just under six minutes left in the first half of their match up. However, following a breathtaking 92-yard punt return touchdown by star cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, LSU was not to be denied as they rolled to a 41-17 victory, all but securing their spot in the BCS National Championship in January.
After losing an overtime heartbreaker to LSU 9-6 earlier in November, Alabama’s national title hopes took a huge hit. Fortunately for the Crimson Tide, they were able to recover and a number of top ranked teams ahead of them blew their opportunities to play for the national title.
Last year, top-ranked Auburn travelled into Tuscaloosa with eventual Heisman winning quarterback Cam Newton leading the way. After storming out to an incredible 24-0 lead, Alabama’s defense collapsed after the break and Auburn was able to pull off the stunning comeback holding on in the 4th quarter 28-27.
This year’s match up was a completely different story. Auburn looked to be completely out of place in this contest as Alabama dominated from the get go, winning 42-14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium behind 203 rushing yards from Heisman favorite Trent Richardson.
With a birth in the inaugural Big Ten Championship against Michigan State on the line, Penn State – in the midst of a high profile scandal – travelled to Madison to face off against Wisconsin. Behind a raucous crowd at Camp Randall, Wisconsin was able to overcome an early 7-0 deficit to defeat Penn State 45-7. Heisman candidate Montee Ball rushed for 156 yards and four scores as he rose his season total to 34 touchdowns, second all time in NCAA history.
My Top 5:
1) LSU (12-0)
2) Alabama (11-1)
3) Oklahoma State (10-1)
4) Stanford (11-1)
5) Virginia Tech (11-1)
Biggest Surprise: My biggest surprise of the week probably isn’t much a surprise, but after there was much discussion by many analysts this past week about Penn State’s defense, it was rather shocking seeing how Wisconsin was able to dominate in all phases of the game on their way to a commanding 45-7 victory.
Biggest Disappointment: After shocking the nation in the manner in which he led Baylor to a victory against Oklahoma, Heisman hopeful Robert Griffin III was well on his way to bringing the trophy to Baylor. Unfortunately RGIII took a hit to the head, and was held out of the game in the second half with a concussion, his Heisman hopes taking a hit as well in the process.
Offensive Player of the Week: Many in the SEC will probably disagree, but Montee Ball is this week’s player of the week on offense. Ball rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns against Penn State on the way to what seems like an appearance in New York City with a Heisman Trophy on the line.
Defensive Player of the Week: Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly, a sure fire first round draft pick if he decides to enter the NFL Draft, ran an interception back for a score and also recorded nine tackles, bringing his season total to a whopping 191.
Play of the Week: Tyrann Mathieu’s 92-yard punt return completely changed momentum in this game, as LSU went from being down a score to eventually blowing out Arkansas 41-17. Mathieu 92-yard punt return