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The No. 20 Fresno State Bulldogs and the No. 25 USC Trojans are slated to face off on Saturday, Dec. 21 in the Las Vegas Bowl. For Fresno State, it will try and prove that it can take down a talented team from a bigger conference following a relatively easy schedule.
Its kind of nice that these two service academies get this game on a Saturday where there is no other FBS football to compete with.
The Week 16 AP top 25 college football rankings were released on Sunday. Plenty of movement after a week with multiple top matchups spread out across the title games.
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Auburn was the big winner this week, moving up a spot to No. 2 and earning themselves a spot in the title game against Florida State. Michigan State also moved up from No. 10 to No. 4 and into the Rose Bowl with their big win.
Ohio State’s 24-0 run under head coach Urban Meyer came to an end and at the worst possible time, as the team was dropped from the No. 2 spot in the final week of play before the title game. However, the team did remain in the BCS picture and will get to play in a good bowl game.
Oklahoma State dropped out of the top 10 with a loss to instate rival Oklahoma, and the loss knocked them out of the BCS picture as well.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 teams and take an early look at their chances in their next games.
1. Florida State Seminoles (13-0, previous: 1)
Florida State continued their demolition of all comers, beating up on a good Duke team 45-7 to win the ACC title game. Next up is the national championship game where they’ll be charged with stopping Auburn’s stellar rushing offense. The Seminoles ranked second in the nation in scoring offense and first in scoring defense this season and are installed as 9.5-point favorites in the title game.
2. Auburn Tigers (12-1, previous: 3)
Auburn ran right over Missouri to the tune of an SEC title game record 545 rushing yards in a 59-42 win to claim the SEC title. Some voters were so impressed with the Tigers’ performance that they put Auburn atop their ballots, with the team earning four first place votes.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1, previous: 4)
Alabama had a week to stew over their loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, and moving up a spot in the AP poll will certainly not serve as consolation. The team surely has some frustration to get out and they’ll get a chance to do it in the Sugar Bowl when they take on Oklahoma as 15-point favorites.
4. Michigan State (12-1, previous: 10)
Michigan State’s defense looked as impressive as ever with the exception of a stumble in the middle of their game with Ohio State, but they did enough to come away with a 34-24 win and the Big Ten title. They’ll take on Stanford as 4-point underdogs in the Rose Bowl.
5. Stanford Cardinal (11-2, previous: 7)
Stanford is the highest ranked of the two-loss teams, moving up two spots to No. 5 after winning the Pac-12 title with a 38-14 win over Arizona State. They’ll face off with one of the few defenses that can match their own in the Rose Bowl.
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6. Baylor Bears (11-1, previous: 9)
Baylor beat Texas to win the Big 12 on Saturday but drew probably the weakest opponent of the BCS field, but Central Florida is better than many give them credit for. The Bears are installed as 16.5-point favorites in the game.
7. Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1, previous: 2)
The Buckeyes couldn’t make it 25 in a row in the Big Ten title game and so they’ll be relegated to the Orange Bowl where they’ll play Clemson, but don’t sleep on a good Tigers team against a Buckeyes squad in for a letdown after tasting a spot in the national title game. Ohio State is a 2.5-point favorite in the game.
8. South Carolina Gamecocks (10-2, previous: 8)
South Carolina quietly had a very impressive season, but two road losses knocked them out of national title contention. They’ll play Wisconsin as 2.5-point underdogs in their bowl game.
9. Missouri Tigers (11-2, previous: 5)
Missouri couldn’t close the deal in the SEC title game and so they’ll be forced to face off with another team that dropped on Championship Weekend, facing Oklahoma State as 1.5-point favorites in their bowl game.
10. Oregon Ducks (10-2, previous: 12)
Oregon had national title aspirations at the start of the year, but a two-loss season put an end to those dreams, and now the Ducks will take on the Texas Longhorns as 13-point favorites.
The UCF Knights have their eyes on winning the American Conference and heading to a BCS Bowl game. The SMU Mustangs want to spoil that and become bowl eligible.
There are some unlikely teams playing in conference championship games this weekend but I think the least likely of them all has to be Duke. Now nobody is giving them much of a chance to beat the top ranked Florida Seminoles but you can not say that the Blue Devils didn’t earn this spot.
The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns finish off the regular season at the South Alabama Jaguars on Saturday under the lights at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, in hopes of maintain their spot atop the Sun Belt conference.
The Memphis Tigers travel to Rentschler Field in East Hartford to play the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday, in a game that has no implications other than bragging rights.
The Bowling Green Falcons and No. 14 Northern Illinois square off at Ford Field for the MAC title on Friday night with the Huskies seeking to claim their third straight title and shot at a second after qualifying for the BCS for the second straight year.
The Baylor Bears saw their season drastically shift a few weeks back when they were dominated by the then-ranked No. 10 Oklahoma State Cowboys. They started a new winning streak last week against TCU, but it didn’t come easy in a 41-38 victory.
It’s championship week in college football, and in the Pac-12, that means the Stanford Cardinal and Arizona State Sun Devils are slated to face off at 7:45 PM ET Saturday night.
The Fresno State Bulldogs may not be playing for a BCS bowl bid at this point in the season, but their year has been far from a waste, as they have a chance to complete a one-loss campaign with a win this weekend. Fresno State is set to take on the Utah State Aggies.
The Marshall Thundering Herd are no surprise to be in the Conference USA Championship this season. They outdueled East Carolina to get here but find a surprising opponent in Rice.
Both the South Florida Bulls and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights come into this game in rough shape. USF come into this game losing 5 straight while Rutgers come into this game losing 3 games in a row.
The explosive offense of Ohio State will face off against the tenacious defense of the Michigan State Spartans. Somethings got to give in this match up where both teams have their eyes set on Pasadena, California.
The sixth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys will host the 17th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday in a pivotal Big 12 showdown. Both teams enter playing strong football, and the winner could be in for a heck of a bowl game.
The third-ranked Auburn Tigers will do battle with the fifth-ranked Missouri Tigers in the SEC championship game on Saturday.
5 Missouri Tigers (11-1) at 3 Auburn Tigers (11-1)
Date: Saturday, December 7, 2013
Time: 4:00 pm ET
Venue: Georgia Dome
City: Atlanta, Georgia
O/U Odds: 58
Spread: Auburn -2
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Missouri is coming off of one of the most impressive regular seasons in the history of the program, while Auburn claimed one of the best victories in one the program’s most important rivalry. The next win could be the biggest yet for both sides, with a trip to the national title game possibly in the cards.
Auburn faced tremendous odds last weekend in the Iron Bowl, but emerged with a spectacular win on the final play of the game, 34-28.
It was the second time in as many weeks that Auburn needed a huge play late in the fourth quarter to sneak past an SEC opponents. This time around, it was Chris Davis’s returning the length of the field to the house for the walk-off win.
That score supplemented a strong effort by the team against a dominant Alabama defense. Quarterback Nick Marshall completed 11 of 16 passes for 97 yards and two scores but did most of his damage with his feet, rushing for 99 yards on a score on 17 attempts.
Running back Tre Mason didn’t get the start officially, but that was a smoke screen as he led the team in offensive touches, carrying the ball 29 times for 164 yards and a score. In total, the team racked up 296 yards on the ground.
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The team’s defense bent but didn’t break, surrendering 495 yards to the Tide, but stopping them on nine of 13 third down attempts, and one of two fourth down attempts. They did have a ton of trouble with the Alabama rushing game, surrendering an average of 6.2 yards per carry.
Missouri beat Texas A&M in their last contest. 28-21, defeating Johnny Manziel in what was likely his final regular season game with the Aggies.
The team’s defense limited Manziel to just 216 total yards in the game, and forcing the game’s only turnover. In total, they limited The Aggies’ high-powered offense to just 379 total yards of offense.
On the flip side, the Missouri offense didn’t have those kinds of problems. Quarterback James Franklin completed 18 of 28 passes for 233 yards and two scores, adding 80 rushing yards, and not turning the ball over. His top two receiving option each had big games, as L’Damian Washington brought in six balls for 97 yards and a score, while Dorial Green-Beckham had seven receptions for 93 yards and a score.
Running back Henry Josey led the team’s backfield attack, rushing 13 times for 96 yards, including the game-winning 57-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Auburn has used a lot of smoke and mirrors to get where they are, while an injury cost Missouri a shot at a perfect season. Last weekend’s win has bettors wanting to get behind Auburn, while the reality is the team is due for a major letdown.
The play: Missouri +2
