College Football's Week: Regional Recaps of Week Eleven Action

      Football's Week is a weekly series prepared by veteran observer Baby Tate.

THE WEST

The Best: 1) Southern California 8–1, 2) Boise State 9–0, 3) Utah 10–0

Oregon State Coach Mike Riley's teams are known for starting slow, building up steam as the season goes along, and becoming a handful by November. This year is no exception.

Buoyed by the idea that they control their own destiny for the Rose Bowl, the Beavers slugged UCLA, 34–6 to improve to 6–3 on the season.

Cross-state rival Oregon continued to prep for the annual "Civil War" game with the Beavers. Taking a look at the scoreboard, the Ducks found themselves down 28–27 to Stanford with 2:18 remaining.

Putting together a game-winning drive led by running back Toby Gerhart, Mike Bellotti's Ducks survived, 35–28. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry," lamented Belotti.

A positive note is Gerhart, who will soon become Stanford's first 1,000-yard rusher since Touchdown Tommy Vardell in 1991.

Unbeaten Boise State took on the Utah State Utags in a game that was nearly over when it began. The Broncos rolled, 49–14. Poor Utags. Brigham Young drilled San Diego State 41–12, Utah escaped TCU 13–10 while The Air Force trimmed Colorado State, 38–17.

The Arizona schools took on the Washington schools with great success. The Wildcats took out Washington State 59–28 and Arizona State dominated Washington, 39–19.

The Desert Report: Hawaii journeyed into Las Cruces to take on the Aggies of Hal Mumme. When the smoke cleared, the Warriors rolled, 42–30.

THE EAST

The Best: 1) Penn State 9–1, 2) Pittsburgh 7–2, 3) The Navy 6–3

West Virginia was looking to solidify its place as the premier team of the Big East when they took on the Cincinnati Bearcats. Trouble was, nobody told Brian Kelly's men from the Queen City. In an overtime thriller, the Mountaineers fell, 26–23.

Pittsburgh looked as tough as ever in disposing of Louisville, 41–7. While the Cardinal administration has patience for Steve Kragthorpe, it could become student demonstration time due to an impatient fan base.

In other Big East action, Rutgers clobbered Syracuse, 35–17, but it was Boston College of the ACC who made the big news by pounding Notre Dame, 17–0.

THE SOUTH

The Best: 1) Alabama 10–0, 2) Florida 8–1, 3) Georgia 8–2.

Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer believed he had seen it all. But Saturday's losing effort versus the Wyoming Cowboys was a new low. The four-touchdown underdog Cowboys turned the tables on the Volunteers and left town with a 13–7 win.

Georgia used extraordinary athletic ability to defeat the well-planned scheme of Kentucky, 42–38, and Florida did likewise to bash Bobby Johnson's Vanderbilt Commodores, 42–14.

South Carolina tuned up for their big game next week with the Gators by handling Arkansas, 34–21.

Alabama went into Baton Rouge for a meeting of last year's National Champion and this year's No. 1 ranked squad. The Crimson Tide was taken into overtime but defeated Les Miles' Tigers, 27–21.

In ACC action, Clemson lost to Florida State 41–27, NC State upset Duke, 27–17, Georgia Tech lost to UNC after Yellow Jacket quarterback Josh Nesbitt left a tie game due to an injury, and Wake Forest throttled Virginia 28–17.

THE MIDWEST

The Best: 1) Texas Tech 10–0, 2) Texas 9–1, 3) Oklahoma 9–1

Oklahoma State thought they had the answer for Texas Tech's juggernaut offense. Boy, were they ever mistaken as the Red Raiders destroyed the Pokes, 56–20.

Texas and Oklahoma kept pace by defeating Texas A&M and Baylor. Nebraska handled Kansas 45–35. 

The Black Knights of the Hudson ventured into the Lone Star State to do battle with the Rice Owls. Army challenged at the end and played well, but fell 38–31.

The big news out of Big 10 country was the falling of a titan. Penn State succumbed to the Iowa Hawkeyes with one second left, 24–23. An obviously disappointed Coach Paterno said the loss was tough, but the Lions have to get ready for the rest of the schedule.

Minnesota, fighting injuries as well as the Michigan Wolverine defense, bowed in the Battle For The Little Brown Jug, 29–6.

Ohio State demonstrated it is ready for BCS action by clubbing  Northwestern, 45–10.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Texas Tech's sensational quarterback Graham Harrell is turning this year's Heisman Trophy race into a rout.

Leading the Red Raiders to a destruction of Oklahoma State by completing 40 of 50 passes for 456 yards and six touchdowns, Harrell is putting up numbers as gaudy as the wins of Mike Leach's powerhouse.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Alabama's Rashad Johnson tied a school record with three interceptions in the LSU game. The heroic Johnson personally put the clamp on the Tigers' high powered offense and led his Crimson Tide to an overtime victory.