College Football – Week 12

This College Football weekend is outstanding. In the Big Ten Conference the most important game pits last year’s college football champion #1 Ohio State (10-0) against #7 Michigan State (9-1).
Over in the Big-12 Conference there are two huge games. Because the Big-12 conference does not have a Championship game (it is the only major conference to not have one) this and next weekend’s games will determine the conference’s champ. Saturday the two Oklahoma schools play Baylor and Texas Christian (TCU). Next weekend they play against each other while TCU and Baylor square off. Most likely the team that wins this weekend and next will be one of the four teams invited to the College Football Championship.
The Pac-12 also has its share of important games. In the Pac-12 North Division #11 Stanford controls its own destiny. If Stanford beats California it will win the North and go on to play in the Conference Championship game. However if Stanford were to lose and #23 Oregon were to defeat #24 USC, Oregon would win the Pac-12 North.
In the Pac-12 South its complicated. Both USC and UCLA control their own destiny. However one of these two teams is sure to lose because they play each other next weekend. And then there is also #13 Utah. If either USC or UCLA were to lose a game, and Utah wins out, Utah will be the South champion. So this weekend’s game between Utah and UCLA will eliminate one team from the division race.
Pac-12 Standings
Last weekend the Ducks upset Stanford 38-36 in a thrilling back and forth nail-biter. With 10 seconds to play Stanford attempted a two-point conversion … and failed.
Here is a short highlight video.

Oregon’s reward for winning is that the Ducks are once again ranked in the top 25. Five weeks ago, with the Ducks record at 3-3, Oregon fans were worried they might not even win six games this season. However the return of QB Vernon Adams has made all the difference and the Ducks are playing their best football of the year. Oregon is 4-0 since Adams has returned to the lineup. Fans are now wondering what could have been if Adams had not broken his finger in the Duck’s season opener.
Here are Oregon highlights from the game. At the 1:49 mark RB/DB Charles Nelson, who plays both offense and defense, takes the hand-off and sweeps right for a 75 yard TD. During the game Oregon averaged 9.1 yards per play. By far the most allowed by the Stanford defense in the past 10 years.

This Saturday USC will be in Autzen Stadium. So for you motivational video fans, here’s one with Southern California style.

Mike Resch reporting from Eugene Oregon where it never rains, it only pours touchdowns.
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Here’s a list of the best college games of the weekend. All times are Central Europe Time
21 November
18:00 #12 Michigan (8-2 Big Ten) vs. Penn State (7-3 Big Ten)
21:30 #9 Michigan State (9-1 Big Ten) vs. #3 Ohio State (10-0 Big Ten)
21:30 #20 Northwestern (8-2 Big Ten) vs. #25 Wisconsin (8-2 Big Ten)
21:30 #24 USC (7-3 Pac-12) vs. #23 Oregon (7-3 Pac-12)
21:30 UCLA (7-3 Pac-12) vs. #13 Utah (8-2 Pac-12)
21:30 #15 LSU (7-2 SEC) vs. #22 Ole Miss (7-3 SEC)
22 November
1:30 #10 Baylor (8-1 Big-12) vs. #6 Oklahoma State (10-0 Big-12)
2:00 #18 TCU (9-1 Big-12) vs. #7 Oklahoma (9-1 Big-12)
4:30 California (6-4 Pac-12) vs. #11 Stanford (8-2 Pac-12)