Georgia Tech — Paul Johnson’s option attack shredded the Georgia defense for 409 yards rushing en route to a thrilling 45–42 win in Athens — the Jackets’ first win over the Dawgs since 2000. The attack was led by redshirt freshman Roddy Jones and sophomore Jonathan Dwyer, who combined to rush for 358 yards on an incredible 10.8-yard average. Jones, who rolled up a career-high 214 yards, now has 311 yards on 20 carries in his last two games. Georgia Tech ended the regular season in a tie for first in the ACC Atlantic with a 5–3 record, but the Jackets lost the tie-breaker to Virginia Tech and will not play in the league title game.

High honorable mention

Kansas — The Jayhawks salvaged a disappointing regular season by rallying to beat rival Missouri 40–37 in the Border War played on a neutral field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The lead changed hands four times in the fourth quarter, with Missouri seemingly taking control on a 6-yard run by Derrick Washington with under three minutes to play. But KU marched 67 yards on nine plays in 1:18 and took the lead for good on Todd Reesing’s 26-yard touchdown toss to Kerry Meier with 27 seconds remaining. The Jayhawks, who had lost four of five entering the game, end the regular season with a 7–5 overall record and a 4–4 mark in the Big 12.

Honorable mention

Boston College — The Eagles secured a spot in the ACC title game by beating Maryland 28–21 in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles and Florida State are both 5–3, but Boston College will move on to play Virginia Tech in the championship game thanks to its 27–17 win in Tallahassee earlier this month. With Matt Ryan gone to the NFL, expectations were low at Boston College, but the Eagles, led by one of the nation’s top defenses, have won nine regular-season games for the third consecutive season.

Disappointments of the Week

Oregon State — There is no shame in losing to Oregon, even at home, but the Beavers let a tremendous opportunity slip away Saturday with a surprisingly lopsided 65–38 loss to the Ducks. A win would have sent OSU to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1965; now the 8–4 Beavers appear headed to the Sun Bowl. The Oregon State defense was ripped apart through the air (309 yards) and on the ground (385, 7.5 per) en route to the school’s first Civil War loss at home since 1996. Prior to Saturday, the Beaver defense had allowed an average of 15.8 points in its previous six games.

Fresno State — Many people, including us — figured Fresno State’s season-ending trip to Boise would settle the WAC title. Not so. Fresno State, the preseason pick to win the game, limped into Boise with a disappointing 4–3 mark and staggered home with a .500 record after a 61–10 beating. Boise State, on the other hand, put the finishing touches on its sixth league title in the past seven seasons. The Broncos have finished the regular season undefeated for the second time in three years but will likely be squeezed out of the BCS bowls despite being ranked No. 9 in the latest BCS poll.

Mississippi State — In what turned out to be the final game of the Sylvester Croom era, the Bulldogs managed only 37 total yards on 56 plays in a humiliating 45–0 loss at Ole Miss. The MSU defense, which had been strong for much of the season, had no answer for the balanced Ole Miss attack that rolled up 241 yards passing and 220 yards rushing on its way to the most decisive Egg Bowl win since the Rebels beat the Dogs 48–0 in 1971. Croom led Mississippi State to a win in the Liberty Bowl last season, but the Bulldogs took several steps back this season, ending with an overall mark of 4–8 and an SEC record of 2–6.

Player of the Week

Andy Schmitt, Eastern Michigan — Led by Schmitt’s tremendous day throwing the football (58-of-80 for 516 yards, five TDs), Eastern Michigan sent coach Jeff Genyk out in style with a 56–52 upset over MAC West power Central Michigan. Schmitt, who completed 50 passes for 484 yards the week before in a loss to Temple, set an NCAA record (all divisions) with his 58 completions, and his 80 attempts and 516 yards passing were also school records.

Freshman of the Week

Roddy Jones, Georgia Tech — Usually, we try to spread the love in this space and not recognize an individual if his team has received praise, but it was too difficult to ignore Jones’ efforts this weekend. The redshirt freshman rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries in the Yellow Jackets’ 45–42 upset over rival Georgia in Athens.

Highs and Lows

• Steve Spurrier has lost his regular-season finale in seven of his last eight seasons as a college coach — three of four at South Carolina and his final four at Florida.

• Texas A&M gave up an average of 52 points in its final three games and allowed 40 points or more seven times this season.

• LSU and Auburn each had streaks of eight straight winning SEC seasons snapped this fall.

• NC State ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak that followed a four-game losing streak. The Pack have had four-game winning streaks in each of Tom O’Brien’s two years despite not going over the .500 mark in either season.

• UAB blanked UCF 15–0 on five Swayze Waters field goals. It was the Blazers first shut out win in 10 seasons in Conference USA.

• Very quietly, Rice enjoyed a 9–3 regular season highlighted by a 7–1 record in Conference USA. The Owls, who lost a tie-breaker with Tulsa in the C-USA West, lost to Vanderbilt and Texas in non-conference action to Tulsa in league play.

• After improving to 4–3 with a 10–7 win at Vanderbilt, Duke lost its final five games to finish the season 4–8 in the first year of the David Cutcliffe era. Duke, which went 1–7 in league play, was the only ACC team that did not win between three and five conference games.

• Florida Atlantic and Florida International combined to score 56 points (28 each) in the fourth quarter of FAU’s 57–50 overtime win.

• Virginia Tech’s 17–14 win over Virginia was its fifth in a row and ninth in the past 10 meetings in the series. 

• Buffalo, which won the MAC East with a 5–3 record, would have finished in a fourth-place tie with Northern Illinois in the MAC East.

• For the first time since 2001, neither West Virginia nor Pittsburgh was ranked heading into the Backyard Brawl.

• Miami (Ohio) lost 10 games for the second time in the past three seasons. The RedHawks’ 27 losses from 2006-08 represent the most in any three-year stretch in school history. Shane Montgomery, who actually led Miami to a share of the MAC East title last season, was relieved of his duties over the weekend.