TWIF Notes 12/21/2020

Welcome Back!

We had another exciting weekend of College Football!  Conference title games are completed, and bowl games (and the CFP) are set.  We had 19 games, so let's get to the reviews.  Look at the bottom for final conference standings and for my pick for today's bowl game.

Friday, December 18

UAB won the Conference USA Championship Game with a 22-13 victory over Marshall.  The 22 points allowed by the Thundering Herd were the most they had allowed all season, and contributed to their 2nd straight loss to end their regular season at 7-2.  The Blazers finish at 6-3.  Both teams have accepted bowl bids.

Ball State won their 6th straight game and ended a perfect season by Buffalo as they won 38-28 to win the MAC.  In doing so, the Cardinals held the Bulls to their lowest scoring output of the year, 14 points before their previous low, and 24 points below their average.  Ball State ends at 6-1 and Buffalo finishes at 5-1.  Both teams have accepted bowl bids.

Nebraska scored the last 14 points to overcame a go ahead KOR for a TD to defeat Rutgers 28-21.  The Cornhuskers finish at 3-5 and the Scarlet Knights at 3-6.

Oregon upset USC 31-24 to win the PAC 12 Championship game.  The Ducks are 4-2 and will play in the Fiesta Bowl against Iowa State.  The Trojans have opted out of playing in a bowl, and so will finish their season at 5-1.  

Saturday, December 19

Ohio State overcame a rough start and turned to the running game to defeat Northwestern 22-10 and win the Big Ten title game for the 4th year in a row.  The Buckeyes secured the #3 seed in the CFP with their 6-0 record, and will have a rematch of last year's semifinal with Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.  The Wildcats suffered their 2nd loss to drop to 6-2 and will face Auburn in the Citrus Bowl.

Texas A&M blew out Tennessee 34-13, and will end their regular season at 8-1 and the 1st team out of the CFP.  The Aggies will play North Carolina in the Orange Bowl.  Surprisingly, as bad as they are, the Volunteers will also play in a bowl game.

Oklahoma staved off a late comeback to get revenge on Iowa State 27-21, and win the Big 12 title for the 6th year in a row.  The Sooners can blame blowing a 21-point lead against Kansas State for not making the CFP, as they finish 8-2.  Instead, they will play Florida in the Cotton Bowl.  The Cyclones are 8-3 and will play Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.

Utah scored 38 unanswered points to defeat Washington State 45-28, overcoming a 28-7 halftime deficit.  Both the Utes and the Cougars will not be playing in a bowl this year, so Utah ends their season with a 3-2 record and Wazzu finishes at 1-3.

Army scored a late TD to defeat Air Force 10-7.  The Black Knights win the CIC Trophy and end their season at 9-2, as the bowl game they were scheduled to play in, the Independence Bowl, has been canceled.  The Falcons end their season at 3-3.

LSU outlasted Ole Miss to win 53-48.  The Bayou Bengals finish their season at 5-5, and since they opted out of bowls as part of self-imposed sanctions, that means lesser SEC teams, like the Rebels at 4-5, will fill the SEC's bowl slots, which evidently the SEC refused to give up.

Mississippi State routed Missouri 51-32, and the Bulldogs, at 3-7, will play in a bowl game.  The Tigers, 5-5, will also play in one.

Clemson crushed Notre Dame 34-10, and only a late score by the Fighting Irish prevented it from being even more embarrassing.  The Tigers and Irish finish with identical 10-1 records, and thankfully will not play against each other in the CFP, as Clemson is the #2 seed and ND is the #4.  This is the 6th straight year that Clemson has won the ACC Championship Game.

Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 20-17 in OT, as Minnesota missed a FG try to start OT.  This is the 2nd time this year that the Golden Gophers, 3-4, have lost a game in OT due to a missed kick.  The Badgers, 3-3, have accepted a bowl bid.  UM opted not to participate in a bowl.

San Jose State dominated Boise State 34-20, using its defense to stifle the Broncos, who finish 5-2, and opted out of a bowl game, ending their streak of 18 straight bowls.  The Spartans won the MWC Championship, and earned their bid to the Arizona Bowl to face MAC champion Ball State.

Penn State destroyed Illinois 56-21.  The Nittany Lions scored 42 unanswered points, including 28 in a little less than 15 minutes, to overcome a 21-14 deficit late in the 1st quarter.  The Illini end their season at 2-6 while the Lions won their last 4 to finish 4-5.

Stanford defeated UCLA 48-47 in 2 overtimes, as the Bruins failed on a 2-point conversion try in the 2nd OT, allowing the Cardinal to win with a TD and a PAT.  Stanford finishes 4-2 and UCLA 3-4, as the Cardinal won their final 4 games and the Bruins lost their last 2.  Neither team will play in a bowl as Stanford opted out on Dec 13.

Alabama held on to defeat Florida 52-46 in the SEC Championship Game.  The Crimson Tide are 11-0, and the #1 seed in the CFP, and will face Notre Dame.  The Gators are 8-3 and will face Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.

Cincinnati kicked a late FG to defeat Tulsa and claim the AAC title in bad weather.  The Bearcats end their season at 9-0, and will take on Georgia in the Peach Bowl.  The Golden Hurricane are 6-2, and will face 3-7 Miss St in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Arizona State demolished Oregon State 46-33.  The Sun Devils finish 2-2 and the Beavers end at 2-5.

Conference Standings

Here are the final conference standings (NOTE: ACC and MWC are NOT in divisions, and conference championship games do not count in the standings):

AAC

Cincinnati/Tulsa 6-0
UCF/Memphis 5-3

SMU 4-3

Houston 3-3
Navy 3-4
ECU/Tulane 3-5
Temple 1-6
USF 0-7

ACC

Notre Dame 9-0
Clemson 8-1
Miami 7-2
North Carolina/NC State 7-3
Pitt/Virginia Tech/Virginia 4-5
Wake Forest 3-4

Georgia Tech 3-6

Louisville 3-7
FSU 2-6
Duke/Syracuse  1-9

Big 12

Iowa State 8-1
Oklahoma 6-2
Oklahoma State 6-3
Texas 5-3

TCU 5-4
West Virginia 4-4
Kansas State 4-5
Texas Tech 3-6
Baylor 2-7
Kansas 0-8

Big Ten East

Ohio State 5-0
Indiana 6-1

Penn State 4-5

Maryland 2-3

Rutgers 3-6

Michigan 2-4

Michigan State 2-5

Big Ten West

Northwestern 6-1
Iowa 6-2
Wisconsin 3-3
Minnesota 3-4
Purdue 2-4

Nebraska 3-5

Illinois 2-6

CUSA East

Marshall 4-1

FAU 4-2
WKU 4-3
Charlotte 2-2
Mid Tenn 2-4
FIU 0-3

CUSA West

UAB 3-1

UTSA 5-2
La Tech 4-2
North Texas 3-4
Rice 2-3
Southern Miss 2-4
UTEP 0-4

MAC East

Buffalo 5-0
Kent State 3-1
Miami/Ohio 2-1
Akron 1-5
Bowling Green 0-5

MAC West

Ball St 5-1
W Mich/Toledo 4-2

C Mich 3-3
E Mich 2-4
N Ill 0-6

Mountain West

San Jose State 6-0
Boise State 5-0
Nevada 6-2
San Diego State 4-2
Hawai'i 4-4
Fresno State 3-3
Air Force 2-2
Wyoming 2-4
New Mexico 2-5

Colorado State 1-3
Utah State 1-5
UNLV 0-6

PAC 12 North

Washington 3-1
Stanford 4-2

Oregon 3-2
Oregon St 2-4
Washington State/California  1-3 

PAC 12 South

USC 5-0
Colorado 3-1
Utah 3-2
Arizona St 2-2
UCLA 3-4
Arizona 0-5

SEC East

Florida 8-2 
Georgia 7-2
Missouri 5-5
Kentucky 4-6
Tennessee 3-7
South Carolina 2-8
Vandy 0-9

SEC West

Alabama 10-0
Texas A&M 8-1
Auburn 6-4
LSU 5-5
Ole Miss 4-5
Arkansas/Mississippi State 3-7

SBC East

Coastal Carolina 8-0
Appalachian State 6-2
Georgia State/Georgia Southern 4-4
Troy 3-4

SBC West

Louisiana 7-1

South Alabama 3-5
Arkansas St/Texas State 2-6
ULM 0-7

Myrtle Beach Bowl, Conway, SC

Appalachian State vs North Texas- The Mountaineers are 5-0 all-time in bowl games, and are 2-0 against CUSA teams, defeating MTSU and UAB each of the last 2 years.  The Mean Green is only 2-8 in bowl games, having lost in their last 3 appearances.  However, they did win a bowl in 1946 over Pacific, though it wasn't an NCAA sanctioned event (it was a fundraiser for homeless youths in Houston).  They lost to Troy 50-30 in 2017 in their only bowl against SBC teams.  This is the 1st ever meeting between these 2 teams.  Although  NT won 3 of their last 5 games, including against Rice, App State wins easily.

That's all for today.  Feel free to leave a comment, and come back tomorrow for my updated Power Rankings.

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!