Associated Press
The Top 25 roundup …
FORT WORTH, Texas ó Andy Dalton matched a career high with four touchdown passes, two to Antoine Hicks in a 12-second span, as TCU wrapped up its first undefeated regular season in 71 years.
That should finally make the Horned Frogs (12-0, 8-0 Mountain West) a BCS buster, though they will have to wait another week to find out for sure whether they will get to go to one of the big-money games. Representatives from the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls attended the game.
Dalton threw three of his TDs over 21/2 minutes early in the second quarter. He also ran for a score.
TCU went up 30-0 after Hicks made a 20-yard TD catch, which came immediately after New Mexico (1-11, 1-7) fumbled the kickoff following his 62-yard score when Dalton hit him in stride near the 30.
No. 17 LSU 33, Arkansas 30, OT
BATON ROUGE, La. ó Josh Jasper hit a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds to go to force overtime, then made a 36-yarder in overtime to lift LSU to a 33-30 victory over Arkansas.No. 18 BYU 26, No. 22 Utah 23, OT
PROVO, Utah ó Max Hall threw a 25-yard touchdown pass in overtime to Andrew George for the Cougars’ third victory in four years in the in-state rivalry.
Hall found George open for a quick dump-off over the middle and George had nobody between him and the goal line, hugging the ball with both hands as he went for the winning score for the Cougars (10-2, 7-1 Mountain West).
The game was decided by a touchdown or less for the 11th time in 13 meetings.
Mississippi State 41, No. 20 Mississippi 27STARKVILLE, Miss. ó Little-used backup quarterback Chris Relf accounted for three touchdowns, Anthony Dixon set the Mississippi State single-season rushing record and the Bulldogs earned an Egg Bowl upset. Jevan Snead passed for 275 yards for the Rebels (8-4, 4-4 SEC).
OTHERS
LEXINGTON, Ky. ó Montario Hardesty ran for three touchdowns, including a 20-yard game winner in overtime, as Tennessee outlasted Kentucky 30-24t, the Volunteers’ 25th straight victory against their border rivals.
Tennessee (7-5, 4-4 SEC) made sure its streak of dominance over Kentucky (7-5, 3-5) didn’t end in coach Lane Kiffin’s first year on the job. The win also likely locked up a New Year’s Day bowl for the Volunteers and clinched second place behind Florida in the SEC East.
BOISE SCHMOOZING
BOISE, Idaho ó A glow streamed from athletic director Gene Bleymaier’s suite high above Boise State’s funky blue turf.
Not because his team was about to win its 24th consecutive regular-season game. He was inside schmoozing BCS bowl executives wearing garish, brightly colored blazers.
It seemed to be working.
“This is a great scene,” Orange Bowl chief executive Eric Poms said at halftime outside the suite, his smile as bright as his orange sport coat.Below him, Boise State’s band spelled out “BCS 2010” on that fake blue grass.
After the No. 6 Broncos (12-0, 7-0 WAC) won at least a share of their seventh conference championship in eight seasons with a 44-33 win over Nevada late Friday night, coach Chris Petersen strayed for his usual, tempered BCS talk of “it will all work out.” He was campaigning.
“We’ve got one more game (against lowly New Mexico State) and if we win, we’ve done everything we can possibly do. And we’ve done it for two years in a row,” Petersen said, hoping the executives from the Sugar and Fiesta bowls also inside Bronco Stadium were listening.
“We have confidence in the system and faith in the system that it should take care of the teams that should be in there.”
BOWDEN MULLING
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Bobby Bowden wants to do some “soul-searching” before deciding if he wants to coach Florida State in 2010.
Bowden and the Seminoles lost Saturday 37-10 to top-ranked Florida, ending the regular season with their sixth consecutive loss in the heated rivalry.
During his postgame news conference, Bowden said he planned to coach the Seminoles next season.
But afterward, he told two reporters, including one from the AP, that he needed some time to think about his future.
“I want to coach next year, but let me say I want to go home and do some soul-searching,” Bowden said. “I’ve got to run this thing through my mind a few times.”
Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher is slated to replace Bowden in January 2011 unless the 80-year-old Bowden decides to retire or university officials don’t renew his rolling one-year contract.
Fisher is guaranteed $5 million if for any reason he’s not the head coach by January 2011.
If Bowden does return for a 35th season, he might have to relinquish some of his power to Fisher. The Seminoles finished an up-and-down regular season 6-6 and are expected to receive a bowl bid.
Bowden’s 388 wins are second only to Penn State’s Joe Paterno among major college coaches.
MANGINO DEFIANT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó A defiant Mark Mangino insisted he plans to be the coach at Kansas next year, but will have no regrets if he’s not.
“I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees,” the embattled coach said after Missouri rallied for a 41-39 victory.
Two weeks after word leaked that athletic director Lew Perkins had launched an investigation into Mangino’s treatment of players, the Jayhawks finally brought an end to a season that began 5-0 but descended into the depths of a bitterly disappointing seven-game losing streak.
The loss means the Jayhawks (6-6, 1-7 Big 12) are not bowl eligible and Mangino is 50-48 in eight years ó two wins shy of the school record for a coach.