In week 14 of Season X, Mississippi State locked up its second SEC West title with a victory over the Mississippi Rebels in the Egg Bowl, 27-24. Senior tailback Dontae Walker was named SEC Player of the Week, rushing for a career high 218 yards and three touchdowns. The Bulldog win, coupled with an LSU loss to Arkansas, made the Dawgs the SEC West representative in the SEC Championship Game against the Tennessee Volunteers. MSU beat the Volunteers in the regular season 34-31. In the battle for the Sunshine State, Florida State beat Florida 36-24, securing the SEC East for the Tennessee Volunteers. The Seminoles forced a tie at the top of the ACC, but have lost the conference title for the second straight year, this time to Georgia Tech.
In The Lone Star Showdown, Texas handled the Aggies of A&M 41-17. This game was for the Big 12 South Division title, so the Longhorns of Texas will take on the winner of this week’s Game of the Week.
And the opponent is … Colorado. The Buffalo handled the mighty Huskers of Nebraska 45-17 in Lincoln. The loss drops Nebraska to 10-3, while Colorado is 11-1 and third in the nation. A win over fourth ranked Texas in the Big 12 Title Game might give the Buff’s the edge over the Hurricanes. Of course, the same could be said for Texas as well.
In week 15, the only game of any significance was the Miami vs. Virginia Tech game. A win could have locked up a Fiesta bowl birth for the Hurricanes, but the Hokies had other ideas, beating Miami 26-17 at Miami. The loss opens up the second spot in the BCS title game for either new No. 2 Colorado, or No. 3 Texas who play each other next week.
The National Offensive Player of the Week was Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser. Jason was 29 of 36 passing and threw for 475 yards and six touchdowns.
Ronyell Whitaker, cornerback for Virginia Tech, was the National Defensive Player of the Week. Ronyell had five tackles, three interceptions and two touchdowns.
In championship week, all questions were answered in the national bowl picture. In the SEC Championship, the Mississippi State Bulldogs fell 30-14 to the Tennessee Volunteers. The game was a bit of payback for the Volunteers who lost 31-34 to the Bulldogs during the regular season. The loss gives Mississippi State a 9-4 record, good enough to secure an invitation to the Capital One Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day vs. Illinois. In the Game of the Week, the second-ranked Colorado Buffalo punched their ticket to Tempe with a 24-10 victory over the third ranked Texas Longhorns. This sets up a Big 12 vs. Pac 10 National Championship with the Buffs taking on undefeated Washington for the national crown.
The National Defensive MVP was Derrick Johnson, an outside linebacker from Texas. Derrick had 96 tackles, 10 sacks and three interceptions.
The National Coach of the Year was Gary Barnett. Coach Barnett guided the Buffalo to a 12-1 record, a Big 12 Title and a berth in the National Championship.
The Heisman Memorial Trophy goes to the best college athlete every season. This year the award was given to Kliff Kingsbury. Kliff, quarterback for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, completed 317 passes this season for 4,934 yards. He also threw 41 touchdowns.