The Week in Review

Here's a brief look at the highlights of the 12th week of the college football season, a week which featured just one top 10 team losing, but a number of key conference showdowns. The rankings used in this recap are the BCS Standings from prior to the games.

KEY CONFERENCE WINS
#5 LSU 43, Ole Miss 36: Ole Miss led by one point on three different occasions in the second half, but couldn't make any of them hold up as LSU kept battling back, including scoring the game-winning touchdown with just 50 seconds remaining allowing star cornerback Patrick Peterson to ice the victory with a final-play interception.

#13 Arkansas 38, #21 Mississippi State 31: While Knile Davis' 187 yards establishes the ground game for the Razorbacks, it is Ryan Mallett who makes the big play through the air, connecting with Davis on a seven-yard TD strike in the second overtime to lift Arkansas to the key victory.

#16 Virginia Tech 31, #24 Miami 17: The Hokies clinch the ACC Coastal Division with their ninth straight victory as Ryan Williams runs for 142 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 84-yarder in the fourth quarter.

#25 Florida State 30, Maryland 16: The Seminoles ice the victory with a 90-yard interception return for a score in the final minute of the game as they remain in the hunt for the ACC Atlantic title.

COMEBACKS
#8 Ohio State 20, #20 Iowa 17: After Iowa goes ahead by seven on a fourth quarter touchdown, Ohio State converts a field goal and then turns to Terrelle Pryor, who saves the Buckeyes' hopes for a Big Ten title with a key fourth-down conversion which leads to the winning touchdown with 1:47 left.

#12 Michigan State 35, Purdue 31: The Spartans trail by 15 going into the fourth quarter, but score 22 points, including the go-ahead touchdown with 4:38 to go to wrap up the crucial victory and keep their Rose Bowl hopes alive.

#23 Utah 38, San Diego State 34: Trailing by as many as 17 in the game, Utah finally gets back on track and uses a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs to upend the Aztecs.

OFFENSIVE DISPLAYS
#6 Stanford 48, Cal 14: In one of the longest-running rivalries in the nation, Stanford jumps all over Cal as Andrew Luck led the Cardinal to scores on all eight of the possessions he played as it gets its most lopsided win in the rivalry in 80 years.

#7 Wisconsin 48, Michigan 28: The Badgers run all over Michigan, finishing with 357 yards on the ground, as they defeat Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa in the same season for the first time since 1959.

#10 Oklahoma State 48, Kansas 14: The Jayhawks have little luck slowing down the high-powered Cowboys who get another 300-yard passing day from Brandon Weeden and the 10th straight 100-yard receiving day from Justin Blackmon. This marks Oklahoma State's first 10-win season in history.

#14 Oklahoma 53, Baylor 24: Star receiver Demarco Murray caught a short pass and darted 76 yards untouched to the end zone, then ran 13 yards for another score to set the tone early as Oklahoma remains in the hunt for the Big 12 South title.

#18 Nevada 52, New Mexico State 6: Nevada rolls to its 11th straight victory at home and registers its first 10-win season since 1991 and now prepares to host No. 4 Boise State on Friday night.

DEFENSIVE REPUTATIONS
#4 Boise State 51, Fresno State 0: Boise is known for its second-ranked scoring offense, is also ranked No. 2 in scoring defense, and it posts its third shutout of the year while quarterback Kellen Moore shakes off two first-quarter turnovers to lead the Broncos to their 24th straight win.

#15 Missouri 14, Iowa State 0: Missouri, which has been known for its offensive potency, has established itself as an outstanding defensive team this year as its seventh-ranked defense posts its second shutout of the year in Big 12 play.

#19 Texas A&M 9, #8 Nebraska 6: A&M, which came into the game averaging over 40 points in its four previous games (all wins), has to resort to defense against the stout Cornhuskers - and it works as Randy Bullock kicks the go-ahead field goal with three minutes to go.

MISMATCHED
#11 Alabama 63, Georgia State 7: Greg McElroy connects on 12-of-13 passes as the Crimson Tide cruises in a game that was little more than some guaranteed money for former Tide coach Bill Curry's Georgia State squad.

#17 South Carolina 69, Troy 24: The Gamecocks avoid any letdowns after clinching the Sec East last week; this time they put away Troy by halftime en route to scoring their most points under Steve Spurrier.

Sugar Bowl Bowl Projections

#17 Texas A&M at Texas (Thu.): The Aggies can earn a share of the Big 12 South title while also blocking the Longhorns from bowl eligibility, however, due to tiebreaker scenarios, it's unlikely A&M would advance to the Big 12 title game.

#2 Auburn at #11 Alabama (Fri.): A huge game as far as Sugar Bowl predicting; a win for Auburn will keep it in line for a bid to the BCS Championship game; a win for Alabama likely knocks the Tigers out of the national title picture, but still puts them in line for a Sugar Bowl bid.

#21 Arizona at #1 Oregon (Fri.): Most have the Ducks penciled into the BCS Championship game, but the strong defense of Arizona will prove to be a challenge, followed by a vicious rivalry game at Oregon State.

#4 Boise State at #19 Nevada (Fri.): Boise State has been dominant this year but Nevada has posted 11 straight home victories and has the prototypical pistol offense which could upend the Broncos' national title hopes.

West Virginia at Pittsburgh (Fri.): Somebody has to win the Big East and a Pitt win here coupled with a UConn loss to Cincinnati will wrap up the title and a likely Fiesta Bowl bid for the Panthers.

#5 LSU at #12 Arkansas (Little Rock): A win for LSU in this annual rivalry game will put the Tigers in prime position for a BCS bid, but Arkansas will aim for a win of its own and push for its own BCS bid based on the head-to-head win over the Tigers.

Northwestern at #7 Wisconsin: The Big Ten race comes down to the final weekend as Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State are all tied; the three-way tiebreaker is final BCS Standings, which would likely put the Badgers in the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin also owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with Ohio State, but lost to Michigan State.

Michigan at #8 Ohio State: See above.

#10 Michigan State at Penn State: See above.

#13 Oklahoma at #9 Oklahoma State: The annual Bedlam game will most likely decide who represents the Big 12 South in the league's title game; a win for the Cowboys will mark their first-ever title, while Oklahoma is looking for its seventh Big 12 title in the last 11 years.

Oregon State at #6 Stanford: Stanford can close its season 11-1 with only a loss to the No. 1 team in the nation, which will make the Cardinal very appealing for a potential BCS bid.

#23 North Carolina State at Maryland: A win for the Wolfpack will vault them into the ACC Championship game, while a loss sends Florida State to the title game to face Virginia Tech.

From the players currently on the Watch List for the Manning Award, here are some of the standout stars from week 12:

Kirk Cousins, Michigan State
(28-of-37, 276 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
With the Spartans trailing by 15, Cousins rallied his team to 22 fourth-quarter points, throwing for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion and rushing for another TD.

Ricky Dobbs, Navy
(8-of-9, 164 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)
Dobbs averaged 18.2 yards per attempt and also rushes 31 times for 154 yards and three scores in a 35-19 win over Arkansas State.

Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
(17-of-26, 305 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Mallett posts his eighth 300-yard game of the year, connecting on an 89-yard TD pass and also the seven-yard scoring strike that wins the game in the second overtime.

Bryant Moniz, Hawaii
(32-of-44, 560 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT)
Moniz sets a school record for passing yards and moves into third all-time at Hawaii in the same category as he leads the Warriors to a 41-7 win over San Jose State.

Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
(31-of-43, 389 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
Weeden piles up more impressive numbers as he leads the Cowboys to a 48-14 win over Kansas.

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:

Kolton Browning, UL-Monroe
(18-of-23, 247 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT)
Browning also rushes for 73 yards as the Warhawks overcome a 27-21 halftime deficit to win 49-37 over North Texas.

Austin Davis, Southern Miss
(24-of-31, 293 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT)
Davis also rushes for 111 yards and four TDs as the Golden Eagles crush Houston, 59-41, in an emotional win just six days after three players were shot outside a night club in Hattiesburg.

Tim Jefferson, Air Force
(7-of-9, 111 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)
Jefferson leads Air Force to its eighth win by adding three rushing TDs in a 35-20 win over UNLV.

Taylor McHargue, Rice
(11-of-15, 220 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
McHargue also rushes for 93 yards and a score as Rice upsets East Carolina, 62-38.

Jordan Wynn, Utah
(21-of-33, 362 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT)
Wynn gets the Utes back on track with a big passing day in a come-from-behind 38-34 win over San Diego State.