The Week in Review

Here's a brief look at the highlights of the 11th week of the college football season, the least tumultuous week of the year as only three teams were upset. The week was also key in the SEC as both the East and West Division titles were clinched, setting up an Auburn-South Carolina championship game on Dec. 4 in Atlanta. The rankings used in this recap are the BCS Standings from prior to the games.

CLINCHERS
#2 Auburn 49, Georgia 31: The Tigers clinch the SEC West title as they come back from a 21-7 deficit to run away from the Bulldogs behind another big game from Cam Newton.

#23 South Carolina 36, #22 Florida 14: Steve Spurrier clinches the SEC East and knocks his alma mater out of the SEC race with smash mouth football - the opposite of what he did in his many successful years as the Gator coach - behind freshman running back Marcus Lattimore's career-best 212 yards.

CLOSE CALLS
#1 Oregon 15, Cal 13: Cal becomes the first team all year to slow down Oregon's high-octane offense, holding the Ducks to just 317 yards and one offensive touchdown, but it's not enough as a missed fourth-quarter field goal ends the Bears upset bid.

#3 TCU 40, San Diego State 35: The Horned Frogs need to rally from an early two-touchdown deficit and they also need to stave off a late Aztec rally as they give up 12 more points than they had in their first six MWC games combined.

#6 Stanford 17, Arizona State 13: The Cardinal's potent offense was slowed down by a strong effort from the Sun Devils, but the Stanford defense turns out a great performance of its own and Andrew Luck leads his team to the winning TD midway through the fourth quarter.

#21 Nevada 35, Fresno State 34: Vai Tua ran for a 24-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to help the Wolf Pack avoid Fresno's upset bid.

UPSETS
Northwestern 21, #13 Iowa 17: Dan Persa throws a 20-yard TD pass with 1:22 to go to lift the Wildcats to a victory - though it's a bittersweet win as Persa then ruptures his Achilles tendon and is out for the year

Notre Dame 28, #14 Utah 3: The Utes can't recover from last week's crushing defeat to TCU as they come out flat against the Irish and can't even find the end zone.

USC 24, #18 Arizona 21: Trojan running back Marc Tyler carried 31 times for 160 yards as USC offset a big game from Wildcat quarterback Nick Foles (353 yards, 3 TDs).

KEY CONFERENCE WINS
#9 Ohio State 38, Penn State 14: The Lions jump out to a 14-3 halftime advantage but Ohio State takes charge behind 190 rushing yards from Dan Herron.

#17 Missouri 38, #24 Kansas State 24: The Tigers take advantage of four Wildcat turnovers to keep themselves in the running for the Big 12 North title.

#20 Virginia Tech 26, North Carolina 10: Trailing 10-6 early in the second quarter, the Hokies settle down and close the day with 20 unanswered points to remain perfect in ACC play.

#25 Texas A&M 42, Baylor 30: Trailing 30-14 in the second quarter, the Aggie defense tightens up and the offense rattles off 28 unanswered points to send the Bears to their second straight loss.

OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOR
#4 Boise State 52, Idaho 14: The Broncos extend the nation's longest winning streak to 23 games as they register their sixth game this year with 48 or more points in a blowout win over their in-state rival.

#7 Wisconsin 83, Indiana 20: Playing without star running back John Clay, Wisconsin still turns out its best offensive performance in 95 years. The 83 points is the most by a Big Ten team since 1950.

#15 Arkansas 58, UTEP 21: The Razorbacks trail 14-7 early in this one, but Ryan Mallett leads them to another offensive outburst in a non-conference blowout.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
#5 LSU 51, UL-Monroe 0: The LSU defense gets a fumble recovery touchdown and an interception return TD while Patrick Peterson adds an 85-yard interception return which leads to another score.

#8 Nebraska 20, Kansas 3: The Huskers hold the Jayhawks to just 87 total yards and five first downs, while tallying six sacks in a blowout Big 12 victory.

#10 Oklahoma State 33, Texas 16: The Cowboys end a 12-year losing streak to the Longhorns and while their potent offense continues to shine, it's a strong defensive effort which held Texas without a first half touchdown - Texas must win its last two games to avoid its first losing season since 1997.

#12 Alabama 30, #19 Mississippi State 10: Alabama uses big scoring plays of 45, 78 and 56 yards while the defense holds the Bulldogs to just 300 total yards to snap State's six-game win streak.

#16 Oklahoma 45, Texas Tech 7: Ryan Broyles catches three TD passes to break the Oklahoma record for TD grabs and the Sooner defense holds the Red Raiders to just 325 yards.

Fresno State at #4 Boise State (Fri.): Fresno State gave Nevada a good test last week and will be looking to pull off the upset in Boise on Friday.

#9 Ohio State at #20 Iowa: Iowa suffered a crippling loss to Northwestern last week and are likely reduced to playing spoiler the rest of the way and the Hawkeyes can definitely spoil Ohio State's season with a win on Saturday.

#7 Wisconsin at Michigan: The Badgers are eyeing the Big Ten title and after scoring 83 points last week, they should be salivating at the sight of the porous Michigan defense.

#8 Nebraska at Texas A&M: Texas A&M has been red-hot of late, but it will have its hands full with the tough Nebraska defense and rising star Taylor Martinez.

#14 Oklahoma at Baylor: The Sooners are still in the hunt for the Big 12 South title, but Baylor is no longer a gimme as the Bears have their best team in years despite losing their last two games.

#13 Arkansas at #21 Mississippi State: While the SEC races have been settled, this should be an exciting game between the potent offense of Arkansas and Ryan Mallett and the tenacious defense of Mississippi State.

#16 Virginia Tech at #24 Miami: Virginia Tech, which is trying to become the first team to go undefeated in ACC play since 2000, can clinch the Coastal Division with a win over the second-place Hurricanes.

#25 Florida State at Maryland: A key game in the ACC Atlantic Division as these two teams are in a three-team battle with N.C. State for the title.

From the players currently on the Watch List for the Manning Award, here are some of the standout stars from week 11:

Landry Jones, Oklahoma
(22-of-29, 319 yards, 5 TDS, 0 INT)
Jones tallied his seventh 300-yard game of the season as he leads the Sooners to a 45-7 victory over Texas Tech.

Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
(19-of-26, 215 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT)
Mallett leads the Razorbacks to their fourth straight win with a school record five TD passes while also running for a score.

Cameron Newton, Auburn
(12-of-15, 148 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)
Newton shrugs off any distractions as he adds 151 rushing yards and two scores in a comeback victory over Georgia which clinched the SEC West title.

Dan Persa, Northwestern
(32-of-43, 318 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)
Persa also runs for 50 yards and a touchdown and throws for the game-winning TD with 1:22 to go in a 21-17 upset of No. 17 Iowa.

Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin
(15-of-18, 181 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
Tolzien sets the tone early for the Badgers who go on to post an amazing 83 points in a blowout victory over Indiana.

While the final additions have been made to the Manning Award Watch, all quarterbacks remain eligible to win the award. Here's a look at this week's top performances from quarterbacks who are not on the Watch List:

Alex Carder, Western Michigan
(16-of-20, 345 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT)
Carder turns in an outstanding and efficient performance in leading the Eagles to a 45-30 victory over Eastern Michigan.

Austin Davis, Southern Miss
(21-of-34, 265 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT)
Davis matches his career-high for TD passes as he leads the Golden Eagles back from a two-touchdown deficit to defeat nationally-ranked UCF, 31-21.

Dominique Davis, East Carolina
(26-of-41, 331 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT)
Davis, a transfer from Boston College, continues to put up huge numbers as he leads the Pirates to a 54-42 victory over UAB.

Ryan Griffin, Tulane
(21-of-35, 315 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
Griffin leads the Green Wave to an offensive explosion, including tossing a 74-yard TD strike with 1:57 to go to erase his team's only deficit of the day.

Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois
(11-of-16, 162 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)
Harnish also rushes for 149 yards and a touchdown as his Huskies crush Toledo, 65-30, in a key game that likely decided the MAC West championship.

Sugar Bowl Bowl Projections