Former Foes: Championship Week

It's the final week of Former Foes as three teams were in action, including a game that would decide the final team in the inaugural playoff.  With just the 3 games, we saw a team clinch a conference championship, a team win the conference and a spot in the playoffs, and a team clinch bowl eligibility.  Not too shabby.

UCF (9-3)

Beat East Carolina (8-4), 32-30

Justin Holman threw for 274 yards, 1 touchdown, and no interceptions and William Stanback carried the ball 24 times for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns as UCF screamed out to a 26-9, 4th-quarter lead.  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough at that point, as ECU QB Shane Carden, who'd fired 2 interceptions up to then, waited until the 4th to work his magic.  Carden threw three 4th-quarter touchdowns as the Pirates scored 21 unanswered to take a 26-30 lead with 2:17 to play in the game.  UCF got the ball back, but were unable to convert on 4th down, giving the ball back to ECU with 1:47 at the Knights 18 yard line; three runs later, and ECU was facing a 4th down and 19 at the UCF 24.  Instead of kicking a field goal or even running the ball, they attempted to pass and QB Carden was sacked at the 35.  UCF had the ball, but only 10 seconds remained.  They tossed a short pass to midfield, giving them one more play, which set up this...

This play made George O'Leary smile.  George. Fucking. O'Leary.  The man never smiles--that's how awesome of a play it was. That put the finishing touches on a pretty good season for UCF as they clinched a share of their conference title.  Without a doubt, UCF was one of Penn State's better wins this season.

Up Next: Bowl

#6 Ohio State (12-1)

Beat Wisconsin (10-3), 59-0

Ohio State absolutely destroyed Wisconsin, holding star running back Melvin Gordon to 76 yards on 26 carries, causing 4 turnovers, and shutting the Badgers out. The Buckeyes, starting their 3rd quarterback of the season, got an MVP performance from Cardale Jones, who threw for 257 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.  Running back Ezekiel Elliott exploded for 220 yards on just 20 carries, rushing for 2 touchdowns as OSU outgained Wisconsin 558 to 258.  Everyone was in on the fun; Joey Bosa scooped up a Gordon fumble and returned it to the house to make the score 38-0.  Since I've watched Wisconsin lose a big lead to LSU in the first game of the season, it was apparent that if you stop Gordon you beat the Badgers and that's what OSU did.  The Buckeyes stuffed the line to make Wisconsin beat them through the air and they couldn't.  The win was so impressive for the Buckeyes that it jumped them into the 4th spot in the championship playoff where they'll most likely get their asses handed to them by Alabama.

Up Next: National Championship Playoffs

Temple (6-6)

Beat Tulane (3-9), 10-3

With 8:39 to play and Temple's bowl eligibility on the line, QB P.J. Walker hit Romond Deloath for an 8-yard touchdown to break a 3-all tie and lift Temple to its 6th win.  Walker was most of Temple's offense, throwing for 255 yards with a pick and a touchdown and leading the game in rushing, going for 76 on 16 carries.  There were a lot of turnovers called off by penalties, including a defensive touchdown by each team.  Temple was able to slowly win the field position battle in the second half, including a good punt that pinned the Green Wave at their own 1, which would set up the winning drive.

Up Next: Bowl