Morgantown, W.Va. ? Pat White has No. 4 West Virginia on the brink of playing for a national championship.
White rushed for 186 yards and accounted for three touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers to a 66-21 victory over No. 20 Connecticut on Saturday night, clinching the Big East championship and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.
With one more victory next week against Pittsburgh, the Mountaineers might be headed to the biggest BCS game of all – the championship game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans.
West Virginia will move up at least one spot to second in the BCS standings today following top-ranked LSU’s loss to Arkansas on Friday.
West Virginia has won six straight since losing to South Florida on Sept. 28 and has made a steady climb in the BCS standings after starting ninth in mid-October.
Connecticut’s dreams of a BCS berth in only its fourth season in the conference were dashed in a big way.
No. 6 Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 17
Atlanta – Matthew Stafford ran for one touchdown and threw for another, Thomas Brown rushed for 130 yards, and Georgia won its seventh in a row over Georgia Tech.
Late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs (10-2) learned their hopes of winning the SEC East ended when Tennessee defeated Kentucky.
Georgia closed the regular season winning six straight and could earn an at-large BCS bid.
No. 8 Virginia Tech 33, Virginia 21
Charlottesville, Va. – Sean Glennon threw for 260 yards, and the other half of Virginia Tech’s quarterback rotation, Tyrod Taylor, ran for two touchdowns, as the Hokies earned a spot in the ACC championship game.
The Hokies also got a season-high 147 yards rushing from Branden Ore and six catches for 147 yards and a touchdown from Eddie Royal. They won their fourth straight in the series and earned a rematch with No. 15 Boston College in next Saturday’s conference title game in Jacksonville, Fla.
UCLA 16, No. 9 Oregon 0
Pasadena, Calif. – Freshman Kai Forbath kicked three field goals, including a career-long 54-yarder, and the Bruins took advantage of No. 9 Oregon’s injuries to hand the Ducks their first shutout loss in more than 22 years.
Oregon had been bounced out of the national championship picture Nov. 15, when Heisman Trophy candidate Dennis Dixon injured his knee.
The Ducks lost backup quarterback Brady Leaf late in the first quarter of this game, and young signal-callers Cody Kempt and Justin Roper were unable to generate any offense.
The result left No. 11 Southern California in a position to win its sixth straight Pac-10 championship and play in the Rose Bowl if it beats the Bruins next Saturday.
No. 12 Florida 45, Florida State 12
Gainesville, Fla. – Tim Tebow threw three touchdown passes, ran for two scores and carried Florida to its fourth straight victory over the Seminoles.
Tebow led the Gators to touchdowns on four of their first five possessions.
Percy Harvin did his part, too. After missing the last two games because of migraine headaches, Harvin returned and ran 16 times for 157 yards. He scored on a 24-yard run with 3 minutes to play.
The Gators’ streak is their longest since winning six straight in the mid-1980s.
Tebow, who could become the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, finished 19-of-28 for 262 yards. He also carried 13 times for 89 yards.
No. 15 Boston College 28, Miami 14
Boston – Boston College ended a 15-game losing streak against Miami – and didn’t even need Doug Flutie to do it.
Matt Ryan threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns to send the Eagles into the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with their first victory over Miami since the 1984 “Hail Flutie” pass.
BC will play in the conference title game Dec. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla., against Virginia Tech.
The Hurricanes failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in 10 years.
No. 19 Tennessee 52, Kentucky 50, 4OT
Lexington, Ky. – Resilient Tennessee is back on top in the SEC East.
The Volunteers stuffed a scrambling Andre Woodson on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth overtime to secure their 23rd straight victory over the Wildcats.
The Volunteers clinched the division title and a shot at LSU in next week’s SEC title game.
Tennessee and Georgia finished tied atop the East, but the Volunteers earned the title thanks to their 35-14 victory over the Bulldogs on Oct. 6.
Erik Ainge threw for a career-high 397 yards and seven touchdowns.
No. 21 Clemson 23, South Carolina 21
Columbia, S.C. – Mark Buchholz hit a 35-yard field as time expired to give Clemson a victory and leave Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier with the longest losing streak of his college career.
No. 23 BYU 17, Utah 10
Provo, Utah – Harvey Unga ran 11 yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds left as Brigham Young rallied to clinch a second consecutive Mountain West title.
The Cougars converted on fourth-and-18 with 1:05 remaining on a 49-yard pass from Max Hall to Austin Collie to keep the final drive going.
Unga, who ran for 141 yards, scored on a run up the middle, and Hall threw to Austin Collie for the two-point conversion, which put BYU up by a touchdown 56 seconds after Darrell Mack had given Utah its first lead with a 1-yard TD run.
No. 24 Cincinnati 52, Syrcause 31
Syracuse, N.Y. – Ben Mauk threw for a career-high 431 yards and four touchdowns, three to Marcus Barnett, and Cincinnati earned its first nine-win season since 1953.
The loss gave Syracuse its second 10-loss season in Greg Robinson’s three years as head coach. They are the only two double-digit loss seasons in school history.
Mauk was 29-for-42 and capped a memorable night with a 13-yard scoring run with just over a minute to play.
No. 25 Auburn 17, Alabama 10
Auburn, Ala. – Nick Saban couldn’t figure out how to beat Auburn, either.
Brandon Cox scored on a one-yard sneak with 3:58 left, and the 25th-ranked Tigers played stingy defense in a 17-10 victory over Alabama that extended Auburn’s winning streak in the bitter rivalry to a school-record six games.
Alabama hired Saban to coach the Crimson Tide after last season, giving him $4 million a year, in part to come up with a way to beat the Tigers. Not only was he unable to do that, but the Tide is no lock to even reach the postseason.
Alabama lost its final four games and is one of 10 SEC teams vying for a bowl spot. The Tide was stung badly a week earlier by an upset loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
After Alabama’s Leigh Tiffin kicked a 49-yard field goal with 2:11 left, Auburn recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.