College Football Week 13 Recap

1. USC upsets UCLA

Brett Hundley's strong QB play for UCLA was too much for USC, as the Bruins beat their cross-town rivals 38-20.  UCLA will claim the PAC-12 South title if they can get past Stanford this week.  Then, with a win over Oregon in the PAC-12 championship, the Bruins would have an outside shot at sneaking into the playoffs, but would need a good deal of help to get there.

2. Iowa throws Big Ten West into chaos with win over Wisconsin

The Hawkeyes gave it their best shot, but ultimately came up short against the Badgers, 26 - 24.  Melvin Gordon had another big day as he eclipsed 2,000 rushing yards for the season and is on the verge of setting a new Big Ten record.  Not only that, but he reached that number faster than anyone has before, and has an opportunity in the next few games to climb even higher in the record books.  This week, Wisconsin faces Minnesota in what is essentially a division championship game.  Winner will play the Buckeyes for the Big Ten Championship.

3. Ohio State's defense holds Indiana to 75 passing yards or less

The Buckeyes had another too-close-for-comfort showing on Saturday, trailing until late in the third quarter against the Hoosiers.  Eventually, Ohio State surged ahead with the help of four touchdowns by Jalin Marshall, winning 42 - 27.  In general, they were able to limit Indiana's passing game, which has been in shambles since injuries forced third-string quarterback Zander Diamont into the starting role.  But a 49-yard pass in the second quarter was enough to ruin this prediction, and Diamont eventually finished with 114 yards passing.  Concerns about stopping big running plays are more troubling for the Buckeyes, though, as they gave up 281 on the ground in Columbus.  That, and continuing issues with turnovers, should be points of focus as they head into the all-important match-up with that school up north and then either Wisconsin or Minnesota in the Big Ten Championship.

4. Maryland hurts Michigan's bowl chances with upset in Ann Arbor

Michigan led 16 - 9 at the start of the fourth quarter, but were unable to hold off Maryland's late rally as they fell 23 - 16 to the Terrapins.  The Wolverines travel to Columbus next in what could be Brady Hoke's last game as Michigan's coach.  A third-straight loss to the Buckeyes to cap off a disappointing season will likely mean the end for Hoke's tenure.  But the Wolverines would love nothing more than to knock Ohio State out of the playoff race, regardless of what the future holds for their head coach.

5. Florida players make it through game against Eastern Kentucky without blocking each other

It's been a rough time for Gator fans with Will Muschamp at the helm.  Last year, two Florida players were caught blocking each other in an embarrassing loss to Georgia Southern.  Then, in last week's loss to South Carolina, it happened again.  It's no wonder Florida's been having so much trouble winning games, when they can't seem to distinguish opponents from teammates.  I couldn't find any evidence of it happening again against Eastern Kentucky, so I'm making this one green.  Good job, Gators.

Week 13 record: 2 - 3
Overall record: 26 - 39

Other headlines from week 13:

Melvin who?

Last week, Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon broke the single-game rushing record, which had previously stood for 15 years.  One week later, and it had fallen again.  But this time it was Oklahoma's freshman running back Samaje Perine, who went off for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns against Kansas.  Perine graciously asked to be taken out of the game when he learned he was close to the record, but was overruled by his offensive line.  Gordon later showed real class as well as he reached out to Perine to congratulate the young back and give him some advice on handling the added media attention.  Kudos to both for great football and sportsmanship.

Move ref, get out the way

Jameis Winston lead the Seminoles to another close victory, this time over Boston College.  But the win was not without controversy, as Winston intentionally shoved a referee when trying to line up for a play.  The ref was trying to hold the offense as they had just substituted (and rules state the defense must also be allowed to substitute in this case).  Many experts have come out afterwards and said the contact should have resulted in a 15-yard penalty and ejection of Winston from the game.  The ref kept the flag in his pocket, though, and Florida State's QB went on to lead his team to victory.

Harvard beats Yale, takes Ivy League title

While most FBS teams are gearing up to take on their rivals this week, Harvard is celebrating winning an eighth straight win over rival Yale to end the season with an undefeated record.  The latest edition of college football's oldest rivalry was a good one, as Yale rallied to tie it with 3:44 to play after being down by 17 points.  But Harvard had the last say, as they scored a touchdown with less than a minute to play to win 31 - 24.