Nevada stuns Boise State in OT
RENO, Nev. — Two missed kicks and Boise State went from being the darling of BCS busters everywhere to just another team looking for a bowl game.
After winning 24 straight games, maybe it was just not meant to be.
Nevada roared back from a 17-point halftime deficit Friday night, beating No. 3 Boise State 34-31 in overtime in a wild game for the Wolf Pack's biggest win ever. It snapped Boise State's winning streak and ended any hopes the Broncos would play in the BCS title game.
A game that the Broncos seemingly had in hand slipped away when normally efficient kicker Kyle Brotzman missed a 26-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in regulation and another from 29 yards in overtime. Nevada's redshirt freshman kicker Anthony Martinez didn't miss his chance in overtime, hitting a 34-yarder that touched off a jubilant celebration from a soldout crowd on the Nevada campus.
“We had a chance to win it,” Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. “You play two evenly matched teams it usually comes down to a couple of plays. It's tough, it probably shouldn't have come down to that.”
In the space of one bad half, the Broncos (10-1, 6-1 Western Athletic Conference) most likely lost out on playing in any BCS bowl. On the verge of playing in a big game with a win, they will likely be relegated to the Humanitarian Bowl, played on their own blue field in Boise, or the Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco.
“It is the greatest victory this university has ever had, I can tell you that,” Nevada coach Chris Ault said.
At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Cam Newton threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, leading Tigers back from a 24-point deficit Friday for a stunning victory over the Crimson Tide that kept the Tigers on course for a shot at the national championship.Auburn (12-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed 21-0 before it even picked up a first down, and Alabama (9-3, 5-3) had a 314-2 lead in total yards at one point in the first half.But Newton, with the signature performance in what has become a season of controversy, rallied the Tigers for a victory that left the crowd of more than 101,000 in stunned disbelief when it was over. He threw scoring passes of 36 yards to Emory Blake, 70 yards to Terrell Zachery and, finally, a 7-yarder to Philip Lutzenkirchen with 11:55 remaining that gave Auburn its first lead of the day.It held up, keeping the Tigers perfect heading to next week's SEC championship game against South Carolina. If Auburn wins that one, the reward will certainly be a spot in the national title game.
At Eugene, Ore., Darron Thomas passed for three touchdowns and ran for another and Oregon earned at least a share of a second consecutive Pac-10 title.LaMichael James shrugged off talk of an injury to run for 126 yards and two scores for the Ducks (11-0, 8-0), who trailed 19-14 at halftime but surged in the second half to stay on course for a trip to the BCS national title game.The Ducks can lock up an outright conference title and a spot in the national championship game in Glendale, Ariz., next week with a victory at Oregon State.It was the third straight loss for Arizona (7-4, 4-4), which ultimately couldn't keep up with the Ducks' speedy spread-option.
At Lincoln, Neb., Running back Rex Burkhead passed for two touchdowns and ran for 101 yards and another score, and the Cornhuskers clinched the Big 12 North in the final meeting between Nebraska and Colorado before they head to different conferences.Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was on his best behavior after his sideline berating of officials and quarterback Taylor Martinez last week earned him a public admonishment from the Nebraska chancellor.Nebraska (10-2, 6-2) will go to Arlington, Texas, next Saturday hoping to win its third Big 12 title, and first since 1999, before going to the Big Ten next year.Colorado (5-7, 2-6), which played its third game under interim coach Brian Cabral, failed to become bowl eligible in its last season before joining the Pacific-12.
