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Top-ranked Missouri and West Virginia lose; BCS thrown open
Missouri fell to No. 9 Oklahoma 38-17 in the Big 12 title game, the fourth time a top-ranked team has lost in a season, the most since 1990. The bigger upset was West Virginia's 13-9 loss to Pittsburgh in the 100th playing of the Backyard Brawl. The Mountaineers were 28-point favorites, but led only briefly. The Mountaineers became the sixth second-ranked team to lose since Oct. 6. It's the third time in two months that Nos. 1 and 2 have lost on the same weekend. That opened the door for Ohio State, the clear No. 3, to play in the Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans. The BCS selections are scheduled for Sunday. No. 9 Oklahoma 38, No. 1 Missouri 17 The Sooners rushed for three touchdowns, quarterback Sam Bradford threw for two more and Oklahoma coolly captured its fifth Big 12 title since 2000 by upending upstart Missouri. The Sooners contained Tigers' quarterback Chase Daniel and three times forced one of the nation's best offenses to settle for short field goals instead of touchdowns. It was the first time this season Missouri was held under 30 points. The Sooners pounded the Tigers with short-yardage rushing TDs. Chris Brown scored twice and Allen Patrick added another. The Sooners pulled away from a 14-14 halftime tie and wrapped up a berth in the Fiesta Bowl for the second straight year. Pittsburgh 13, No. 2 West Virginia 9 At Morgantown, West Virginia, the Mountaineers were strong favorites to roll over rival Pittsburgh but lost Heisman Trophy contender Pat White to a dislocated thumb in the second quarter. White tried to play in the fourth quarter, but he couldn't conjure a comeback. Their offense struggled even before White went out. They squandered two scoring opportunities in the first quarter, missing short field goals and finished with a season-low 183 yards and only nine first downs. LeSean McCoy starred for Pitt by running for 148 yards on a tough 38 carries.No. 5 LSU 21, No. 14 Tennessee 14 At Atlanta, Les Miles assured LSU he would remain as coach and the fifth-ranked Tigers overcame Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference final. Jonathan Zenon scored on an 18-yard interception return with 9:54 left to put LSU ahead, then Darry Beckwith picked off another pass by Erik Ainge deep in Tigers territory to seal it. Tigers quarterback Ryan Perrilloux was the MVP of the game. No. 6 Virginia Tech 30, No. 12 Boston College 16 At Jacksonville, Florida, Sean Glennon threw three touchdown passes and the Hokies took the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Glennon capped an 84-yard drive with a 24-yard strike to Eddie Royal with 7:12 remaining. No. 8 USC 24, UCLA 7 At Los Angeles, John David Booty passed for 206 yards and a touchdown, USC rushed for another 231 yards, and the Trojans won a fourth straight regular-season game to earn an unprecedented sixth consecutive Pac-10 championship. USC has a 25-1 record in regular-season games played in November and December since coach Pete Carroll was hired in 2001. No. Hawaii 35, Washington 28 At Honolulu, Colt Brennan threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grice-Mullen with 44 seconds left and Hawaii overcame a 21-point deficit to finish the regular season 12-0. Brennan was near perfect, throwing two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. He was 42-of-50, including 6-of-6 on the winning 76-yard drive. He threw for 442 yards and five TDs with no interceptions. No. 13 Arizona State 20, Arizona 17 At Tempe, Arizona, Arizona State kept its Fiesta Bowl hopes alive with victory over the Wildcats, their third straight Territorial Cup victory. Rudy Carpenter threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns for ASU, which has never played in a BCS game. Oregon State 38, No. 18 Oregon 31, 2OT At Eugene, Oregon, first-year wide receiver James Rodgers ran 25 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, and the Oregon State defense stuffed No. 18 Oregon on fourth down. The two teams matched field goals in the first extra session before Rodgers broke free on the first play of the second overtime. Oregon was faced with fourth-and-1 from the 16 when it got a chance to answer, but tailback Jonathan Stewart was stopped for a loss on a run up the middle. The Beavers became the first road team to win this rivalry game for 11 years. No. 21 Brigham Young 48, San Diego St. 27 At San Diego, Harvey Unga ran for 161 yards and scored four touchdowns for Brigham Young. The Cougars completed the regular season with their ninth straight win. |
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