Connecticut — Not only did the Huskies break through and finally win a close game (after losing five by five points or less), they did so on a national stage against the most storied program in college football, Notre Dame. It was also the Huskies’ first win since the tragic murder of cornerback Jasper Hayward. An emotional Randy Edsall paid tribute to Hayward’s family in a post-game interview and called the win in South Bend the biggest in the history of the program. UConn, now 5–5, can become bowl eligible for the third straight season with a win over Syracuse in Storrs next weekend.

Kentucky — The Cats have been flying under the radar for most of the season, but Rich Brooks’ team improved to 7–4 overall and 3–4 in the SEC with the school’s first win at Georgia since 1977. Kentucky is 3–1 on the road in the SEC, with wins at Georgia, Vanderbilt and Auburn and a two-point loss at South Carolina. With a win at home vs. Tennessee next week — a tall order, considering UK has lost 24 straight to the Vols — the Wildcats will finish in second place in the tough SEC East.

Oregon — The Ducks set up a Civil War for the ages by outlasting Arizona, 44–41 in overtime, in a nationally televised thriller in Tucson. Now, the winner of the Oregon-Oregon State game (next Thursday night) will decide which team represents the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl. This rivalry has grown in stature over the past decade, but very few natives of the Beaver State could ever have imagined that the stakes would be so high for this intrastate rivalry game.

Disappointments of the Week

Les Miles, LSU — Usually this space is reserved for a team, but Miles deserves special mention for his egregious clock management late in the Tigers’ 25–23 loss to Ole Miss. For him not to call a timeout after the third down play and for his team to be so ill-prepared in the final seconds in inexcusable. He gets paid an inordinate amount of money to put his team in position to succeed when the pressure is at its peak. He failed miserably Saturday afternoon. Miles has recruited a wealth of talent to Baton Rouge, but the product on the field does not match the personnel on the roster.

Oklahoma — The Sooners are closing out the 2000s just like they closed out the 1990s — as a mediocre football team. In 1999, Bob Stoops’ first OU team beat Ole Miss in the Independence Bowl to finish with a 7–5 record. Now, after dominating most of the decade, the Sooners have struggled in 2009 and dropped to an unfathomable 6–5 with a 41–13 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday. The OU defense, which has remained stout for most of the season, was torched for 549 total yards — 388 in the air and 161 on the ground. Oklahoma must beat rival Oklahoma State this weekend to avoid its first non-winning regular season since 1998.

Rutgers — Syracuse deserves its share of credit, but how does a Rutgers team that had won three straight and seven of its last eight lose to the Orange in such convincing fashion, 31–13? The Scarlet Knights’ offense was beyond bad, gaining a total of 130 yards, including a net of 26 on the ground and 104 through the air. True freshman quarterback Tom Savage completed only 7 of 17 passes with two interceptions, and he was sacked an amazing nine times. The Knights, now 7–3, are already bowl-eligible, but the season can take another bad turn unless they find a way to win at Louisville this weekend.

Player of the Week

Shane Vereen, Cal — Better known as Jahvid Best’s backup, Vereen outperformed the more high-profile Bay Area running back (Stanford’s Toby Gerhart), rushing for a career-high 193 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries in the Bears’ 34–28 upset over the Cardinal in the Big Game.

Freshman of the Week

LaMichael James, Oregon — It was another win for Oregon and another 100-yard rushing effort from James. The redshirt freshman gained 117 yards on 19 carries to help the Ducks to a come-from-behind win at Arizona.

Under the Radar Wins

• Rice won its second straight, beating UTEP, 30–29, to move out of the cellar in C-USA West.

• Missouri has recovered from its midseason funk. The Tigers beat Iowa State 34–24 for their second straight win and can get to .500 in league play with a win over Kansas in the finale.

• Northwestern clinched its second straight winning Big Ten season by upsetting Wisconsin, 33–31, in Evanston.

• North Carolina won its fourth straight game, rolling past Boston College in Chestnut Hill, 31–13.

• Florida State is bowl-eligible after its 29–26 win over Maryland in Tallahassee.

Notes

• Not only did Nevada become the first Division I team ever with three 1,000-yard rushers in a single season, but consider the following: The Wolf Pack’s three-headed monster ranks first, second and third in the nation in yards per carry — Colin Kaepernick (1st, 8.55 ypc), Vai Taua (2nd, 8.01 ypc) and Luke Lipincott (3rd, 7.73 ypc).

• Vanderbilt and Washington State are the only two BCS conference teams without a win in league play. The Commodores’ season is over; the Cougars visit Seattle to play Washington in the Apple Cup this weekend.

• Since 2002, a team that defeats USC is 3–8 in its next game (not including Texas’ national championship win in ’05). Stanford, Oregon and Washington each lost the week after beating the Trojans this season.

• Kansas State, which lost its final two games to drop to 6–6 overall and 4–4 in the Big 12, has not scored a touchdown in the last nine quarters.

• Iowa claimed the Floyd of Rosedale trophy for the eighth time in the past nine tries by beating Minnesota, 12–0, in Iowa City.

• Middle Tennessee has won five straight games by an average of 22.6 points.

• LSU must beat Arkansas to avoid back-to-back non-winning SEC seasons for the first time since the late 1990s, when Gerry DiNardo’s final two teams went 2–6 and 0–8.

• Duke’s hopes of playing in its first bowl game since 1994 ended with a 34–16 loss at Miami.