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Week of Woe

© Grimace Boyer

Was it ever a hard week to be a Top 25 team late in the season? December is upon us, and with it came some of the season's biggest upsets and near upsets. And not only the Top 25 was susceptible, but especially the Top 5.

It started early in the week. The MAC Championship game, where the Toledo Rockets travelled to West Virginia and slapped the Marshall Thundering Herd - ranked the 18th best team in the country - with their first ever Mid American Conference loss, 41-36. And it didn't stop there. In the Big 12 Championship down in Dallas, #10 Colorado followed their drubbing of then #1 Nebraska with a 39-37 win over #3 Texas. Colorado likely won't get to the National Championship game this year, but they're going to make sure it's through no fault of their own.

The Top 5 teams (1. Miami, 2. Florida, 3. Texas, 4. Tennessee, and 5. Oregon) between them went 3-2. And the three wins were by a combined 7 points. One touchdown and an extra point all together. Miami secured a spot in the Rose Bowl with a 26-24 win over #13 Virginia Tech. Florida lost their Rose Bowl hopes and their chances at an SEC Championship by losing to Tennessee, 34-32. Texas, as mentioned above, couldn't win their conference, and Oregon edged out their in-state rivals, Oregon State, 17-14 in the Civil War.

Also upset this week was upstart #22 Auburn, who fell to #24 LSU. The SEC Championship game will now feature Tennessee versus LSU. Should Tennessee win, they are likely to play Miami for the National Championship. Should they lose, it's anyone's guess. Colorado, BYU, Oregon, Maryland, Illinois, and Nebraska all stand realistic shots at playing in the Rose Bowl for the National Championship. #7 BYU, however, didn't help its chances any by squeaking by Mississippi State, 41-38, on a last-minute field goal.

Three teams in the Top 25 lended some credence to their own rankings. #12 Stanford demolished San Jose State 41-14. #19 Georgia laid a 35-7 beating on Houston, and #21 Fresno State showed why they were the only team to beat upstart Colorado with a 70-21 drumming of Utah State.

As the season draws to a close, it's still very much uncertain who will be walking away with the National Championship. Miami has proven itself worthy of playing for it. After a suspicious 18-7 win over William Green-less Boston College, they came back and destroyed Washington. The small win over Virginia Tech was still what BCS fans call a "quality win," and they now stand with BYU as the only undefeated teams in the land.