20 Things We Learned from Week 13 in College Football
The BCS picture got a whole lot clearer in Week 13 in yet another wild weekend of games.
Oklahoma State slaughtered the Baylor Bears to end Baylor's BCS title dreams and to take control of the Big 12 race.
Oregon and Florida took serious hits to their team's reputation, while Arizona State and Missouri inched closer to conference titles.
Check out what we learned from an exciting Week 13 in CFB.
Oklahoma State Is the Best Team in the Big 12, When It's at It's Best
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Saturday night's blowout win over the previously unbeaten Baylor Bears proved that when the Mike Gundy machine is clicking on all cylinders, there is no stopping it.
The Cowboys out-gained the Bears' prolific offense 594-453, held it to 26 points and exposed the Bears as frauds.
But the Cowboys haven't played like this all season. On Sept. 28, Oklahoma State lost to West Virginia, a team that has since lost to Kansas.
The Cowboys were picked to win the Big 12 in the league's preseason poll. And Saturday proved why. But in order to finish out the season strong and make 2013 a memorable one, Oklahoma State has to play the way it did every week.
Will Muschamp's Seat Just Got Hot
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In what was supposed to be a kind of tuneup game for Florida State, the Florida Gators got knocked out of bowl contention on Saturday by Georgia Southern, an FCS team that didn't have a single passing yard in the game.
Florida is now 4-7 on the year after starting out the season ranked and just one year removed from appearing in the Sugar Bowl.
With Saturday's embarrassing loss, though, Will Muschamp's job is starting to make its way to the chopping block. Muschamp's winning percentage at Florida is .594, a far cry from Urban Meyer's .813 percentage.
If the Gators don't put up some sort of fight against the Seminoles in their season finale, Muschamp could be looking for a new place to call home.
Northern Illinois Is Coasting to an Undefeated Regular Season
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Northern Illinois has already locked up a spot in the MAC Championship Game, and Week 13's 35-17 win over Toledo put the Huskies one win over Western Michigan away from a perfect 12-0 regular season.
The Huskies are one of two non-BCS conference teams vying for an automatic berth into a BCS bowl, the other being Fresno State. They've been led by Heisman candidate Jordan Lynch, who's racked up 38 total touchdowns and is seventh in the nation in rushing yards.
Of course, NIU went to the Orange Bowl last year and got lambasted by Florida State. But the Huskies are a better team this year, and it's hard to ignore the success they're having.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Aaron Murray's Amazing College Career Is Sadly over
4 of 20Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray's college career came to an unfortunate end on Saturday as he tore his ACL in the second quarter of the Bulldogs win over Kentucky.
What was shocking, though, is that, per a report by The Telegraph, Murray stayed in the game for 13 more plays after the injury occurred before finally leaving the game.
A true competitor, Murray will leave Georgia as the SEC all-time leader in completions, passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense.
It's a shame to see a man who played so well throughout his entire college career end like this. But there's no doubt that Murray will find a team to suit up with on Sunday's next season.
UCF's BCS Dreams Are Starting to Become a Reality
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With UCF's 41-17 blowout of Rutgers, the Knights are just two wins away from sealing up the AAC title and a berth into the BCS.
The Knights are the proud owners of a six-game winning streak, which includes their upset of Louisville earlier in the season.
UCF has a tiebreaker over Louisville, one of the two teams sitting in second place in the conference standings. The other team, Cincinnati, faces the Cardinals in its season finale. Should Louisville take care of business there, UCF needs just one win against SMU or South Florida to seal up the conference.
Northwestern Is One of the Biggest Disappointments in College Football
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Remember when Northwestern was 4-0 and featured on ESPN College Gameday prior to their huge showdown with Ohio State?
Well, since then, the Wildcats have lost seven straight games and are one more loss away from going winless in the Big Ten. On Saturday, the Wildcats fell to Michigan State, 30-6, allowing the Spartans to secure a berth in the Big Ten Championship game.
Hopes were high to start the season for Pat Fitzgerald and Co. But this seven game slide proves nothing more than that the Wildcats have taken a step back in 2013.
All that's left for Fitzgerald to try and do is salvage the season with a win at Illinois and regroup for 2014.
Bob Stoops Is the Winningest Coach in Oklahoma History
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Saturday's 41-31 win over the Kansas State Wildcats gave Bob Stoops his 158th win at Oklahoma, surpassing Barry Switzer as the all-time wins leader in school history.
The Sooners were able to run away from the Wildcats in the second half, scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 17-point lead.
Stoops' accomplishments at Oklahoma include a national title in 2000, eight BCS bowl appearances and seven Big 12 titles.
Although Oklahoma is all but out of contention for a Big 12 title this season, Stoops needs just one more win this year to get to 10 victories. That's always something to be proud of.
The Oregon Ducks Are Frauds
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The Oregon Ducks were on the cusp of greatness. A win over Stanford would've likely moved the Ducks into the second spot in the BCS standings.
But after that upset loss, the Ducks were knocked out of national title contention.
However, USC's upset over Stanford put the Ducks back in control of their Pac-12 destiny, and a path to the Rose Bowl had been paved.
Too bad the Arizona Wildcats had other ideas. Arizona upset Oregon, 42-16, on Saturday in a game where the Ducks never seemed to be in it.
Oregon comes into every season with national title dreams. And every season, at some point, those seem to be dashed. And all it takes is to stifle, at least to some ability, the high-octane offense.
Oregon likely won't make a BCS bowl this season, marking another disappointing season for a team that, at this point, should be somewhat used to it.
Ka'Deem Carey Should Be a Heisman Trophy Finalist
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Welcome to the national stage, Ka'Deem Carey.
The Arizona RB racked up four touchdowns and 206 rushing yards in the Wildcats huge upset over the Oregon Ducks.
Carey has never failed to hit the century mark in a game this season. He's fourth in the nation in rushing yards with 1,559 and averages 5.4 yards per carry.
Arizona may be just 7-4 and not making much noise in terms of the Pac-12 title. But Carey is clearly one of the best running backs in the country, and he deserves an invite to NYC.
Arizona State Will Play for a Pac-12 Title
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The Arizona State Sun Devils secured a berth in the Pac-12 title game with their 38-33 victory over the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, marking the first time the team has won the Pac-12 South.
They'll face the Stanford Cardinal, the Sun Devils' lone Pac-12 loss this year, in Pasadena.
The Sun Devils have won six straight games and seven of its last eight, with the lone loss coming to Notre Dame. They're 11th in the country in scoring offense and have a top 30 passing attack behind quarterback Taylor Kelly.
Beating Stanford will be a tall order for the Sun Devils. But nevertheless, the magical season for Arizona State is now just one win away from punctuating itself with a BCS berth.
LSU Knows How to Stop Johnny Manziel
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Johnny Manziel was limited to just 16-of-41 passing and 278 total yards in Texas A&M's 34-10 loss to the LSU Tigers.
Manziel also threw two interceptions and had just one touchdown.
The bad showing, one of Manziel's worst in his illustrious, yet tumultuous, career, is likely the only time he'll visit Death Valley, as he'll likely turn pro at season's end.
It also proves that Les Miles and LSU have the key to stopping Manziel. The Tigers are now 2-0 against the Heisman Trophy winner after holding him to a similarly bad performance in 2012.
In 2012, Manziel threw three picks against the Tigers and completed just 29 of his 56 passing attempts. He also didn't have a single touchdown.
Fresno State Is on Cruise Control
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The Fresno State Bulldogs routed New Mexico on Saturday, 69-28, to move to 10-0 and one win away from a perfect regular season.
Since suffering a near-upset to San Diego State nearly a month ago, the Bulldogs have pushed their performance into high gear and have been leaving their fellow Mountain West teams in the dust. Fresno State has scored at least 41 points and hasn't allowed more than 23 in each of its last three outings.
The Bulldogs have secured a berth in the Mountain West title game, which will be against either Utah State or Boise State. Should the Bulldogs win out, they should be poised to earn an at-large bid to a BCS bowl game.
Jameis Winston Isn't Going to Let His off-Field Drama Affect His on-Field Play
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As Jameis Winston deals with the sexual assault allegations laid against him, one thing is for certain: The Florida State quarterback is still going to be one of the nation's most elite players.
In the Seminoles' 80-14 stomping of the Idaho Vandals, Winston racked up 225 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Per ESPN.com, Winston sees the game and the field as a safe haven, which explains his impressive play despite the gravity of the situation he's dealing with off it.
""The football field is a sanctuary to me," Winston said. "And it's like that for all of our teammates. When all of us are on the field, everything is just zoned out. We focus."
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Florida State finishes its season against a fledging Florida Gators squad at home, which will be followed by a date in the ACC title game.
Wisconsin Simply Has Minnesota's Number
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Saturday marked the 10th straight time that the Wisconsin Badgers beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
James White racked up 125 yards and a score as the Badgers cruised to a 20-7 win.
Wisconsin has been one of the Big Ten's best teams since losing to Ohio State two months ago. The Badgers have won six straight games and are one win away from a 10-2 finish in the regular season.
At this point, it's almost a shame that the Badgers won't have a rematch with the Buckeyes for the Big Ten title.
Old Dominion Isn't Ready for a Full-Fledged FBS Schedule
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In a game that had to be shortened because of the severity of the blowout, the UNC Tar Heels routed FCS-Old Dominion, 80-20, in a game that saw the fourth quarter shortened to 10 minutes.
The win gave UNC its fifth-straight since starting the season 1-5 and gave the Tar Heels bowl eligibility.
However, the loss for the Monarchs could be an ominous sign for a team that's joining Conference USA in July and can play in bowl games starting in 2015.
ODU clearly has plenty of work left to do before it's ready to be a true competitor at the FBS level.
USC Is Determined to Finish the Season Strong
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The USC Trojans' 47-29 win over Colorado wasn't necessarily the prettiest of the team's five-game winning streak. But it was a win nonetheless, as it moved the Trojans to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the Pac-12.
USC had actually climbed to a 37-7 lead before putting in substitutes, which is when Colorado cut the Trojans' lead.
The new-look Trojans under Ed Orgeron, who is 6-1 as the team's interim head coach, finish the season with a date against the UCLA Bruins.
While USC won't play for a Pac-12 title, Orgeron's performance has put his name into the mix for becoming the full-time head coach, and the Trojans have salvaged what once looked like a dismal season.
Missouri Avoided the Trap Game, Now It Needs Just One More Win to Get to Atlanta
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The Missouri Tigers went into Saturday needing to win its last two games to secure a berth into the SEC title game in Atlanta.
While their last game against Texas A&M is certainly the Tigers' toughest test, their matchup with a dangerous Ole Miss team had all the making of a classic trap game.
The Tigers were having none of the Rebels, though, winning 24-10 to get within one win of heading to Atlanta. Quarterback James Franklin returned from his injury hiatus and threw for 142 yards, but he looked like he was getting his form back.
The Tigers return to Columbia for Senior Night against Johnny Manziel and the Aggies. A win there will cap off an incredible regular season that saw the Tigers go from unranked to one of the SEC's elite teams.
Louisville Has Trouble Finishing Games
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Against Memphis on Saturday, the Louisville Cardinals took a 24-3 lead into the fourth quarter and appeared to be coasting to their fourth straight win.
But two touchdowns by the Tigers in the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter put Memphis within one score of the Cardinals. The rally ended up being just a bit too little, too late for the Tigers. But it was indicative of a much larger problem the Cardinals have faced all year, which is finishing games.
In the Cardinals' only loss of the season, they had a 21-point lead over UCF before letting that game, along with their BCS hopes, slip away.
Louisville's inability to finish games strongly is certainly cause for concern. It's already cost them a chance at a BCS bowl, but it could come back to bite them in their bowl game.
Duke Controls Its Own Destiny in the Wild ACC Coastal Division
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Duke, Virginia Tech, Miami and Georgia Tech are all in the hunt for a berth into the ACC title game as the Coastal Division representative.
But in somewhat of a surprise, the Blue Devils are the only team that controls its own destiny. A win over North Carolina in Week 14 will punctuate Duke's turnaround and set a date with the Seminoles in the conference championship.
Duke ousted Wake Forest on Saturday, 28-21, in a hard-fought game that once again saw Duke pull away in the second half.
Here's what each team in contention in the Coastal Division needs to get into the ACC Championship game:
Duke: Win over North Carolina
Virginia Tech: Win over Virginia, Duke loss to North Carolina
Miami: Win over Pittsburgh, Duke loss to North Carolina, Virginia Tech loss to Virginia
Georgia Tech: Duke loss to North Carolina, Virginia Tech loss to Virginia, Miami loss to Pittsburgh
And Then There Were 3
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Baylor's loss to Oklahoma State knocked the race to the BCS National Championship down from four teams to three.
Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State are the the only BCS teams left with undefeated records. Each team has huge tests remaining. Alabama has the Iron Bowl, Florida State has Florida and Ohio State has Michigan left in the regular season. And each school also has its conference title game.
But with only three teams legitimately left in the hunt for playing on the nation's biggest stage, the picture is a lot clearer as we head into the homestretch of the season.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
