Navy Surprises Army 17-13

The Navy defense rose to the occasion Saturday afternoon, holding Army on 4th down and 4 with 1:27 left in the game to seal the upset win for the Midshipmen. It was Navy's 2nd win in the last 3 meetings. The Commander-in Chief's Trophy will be shared 3 ways by virtue of Army's win over Air Force and Air Force's win over Navy. Army will maintain physical possession of the trophy.  The Bowl participants have all been announced and will commence play this coming Friday, December 17. Billingsley's Projections will be posted early in the week. Happy Holidays and may all your favorite teams win!

Championship Weekend Turns Topsy Turvy As Alabama Downs Dawgs 41-24

Upsets dotted the landscape Saturday as Championship Games unfolded over the course of the day. Baylor started things rolling by holding off a furious comeback bid by Oklahoma State including an amazing goal line defensive stand to end the game. The Bears won the Big 12 Conference  Title with a 21-16 win over the Pokes. In the afternoon SEC Title game Georgia's vaunted defense was no match for Bryce Young and Alabama as the Tide rolled off 41 points on the nation's top defense. Young's performance probably sealed a Heisman Trophy and completely altered the landscape of the CFP as the SEC will now most certainly send two teams to the playoff. Cincinnati, 35-20 winners over Houston, and the Nation's only undefeated team, leaped to #1 in the latest Billingsley Report and will most likely make history by becoming the first Group of Five team to make the playoff. The Bearcats are expected to nab the #4 position behind Alabama, Michigan and Georgia. The official results, along with the 2021 Bowl Pairings will be released on ESPN today beginning at 11AM CT.Around the Nation: Pittsburgh secured their first ACC Championship with a 45-21 win over Wake Forest. Michigan finally grabbed the elusive Big 10 Title that Wolverine fans have longed for with a 42-3 whipping of Iowa. Looks like sticking with Harbaugh through tough times was the right move. Texas-San Antonio finished 12-1 after jumping out to a huge lead then holding off Western Kentucky 49-41 in the C-USA Championship. Northern Illinois surprised slightly favored Kent State in Detroit 41-23 for the MAC Title. In one of the days biggest shockers Utah State won their first MWC Crown with a 46-13 dismantling of heavily favored San Diego State. Utah beat Oregon 38-10 making it two in a row for the Utes over the reeling Ducks. It is the first PAC 12 Title for Utah. And down in the mighty Sun Belt La. Lafayette finished the regular season 12-1 and took the Sun Belt Title over Appalachian State 24-16. The projections for the 2021 Bowl Games will be posted later this week.  

Michigan Blasts Buckeyes 42-27, Enter Playoff Picture

The highly inspired Wolverines finally got over the hump, putting together a stellar game plan that beat Ohio State for the first time since 2011 and the first win in the Jim Harbaugh era. The Buckeye loss eliminated Ohio State from the CFP and will likely elevate Michigan into the Top 4. The next edition of the CFP Rankings will be released Tuesday.  Around the Nation: The 10 conference championship games are now set, with Georgia/Alabama in Atlanta taking top billing. Oklahoma State, 37-33 Bedlam winners over Oklahoma will meet Baylor in a rematch in Arlington, while Pittsburgh will face Wake Forest for the ACC Title and Oregon will face Utah for the PAC 12 crown. In a bit of a surprise Michigan will face Iowa for the Big 10 Title. The Hawkeyes beat Nebraska 28-21 Friday and then saw Minnesota upset Wisconsin 23-13 Saturday giving Iowa the West Division Title. In the American, undefeated Cincinnati, 12-0, will face their greatest challenge of the season since Notre Dame against a very good 11-1 Houston team.  In Conference USA Texas-San Antonio will try to rebound after a stunning 45-23 loss at North Texas when they host Western Kentucky. The MAC will feature Kent State and Northern Illinois while in the MWC San Diego State will host Utah State. In the Sun Belt Appalachian State will travel to La. Lafayette.  Rivalry weekend saw very few surprises. Clemson clobbered South Carolina 30-0, North Carolina State nipped North Carolina 34-30, Purdue pounded Indiana 44-7, Oregon outlasted Oregon State 38-29, Ole Miss beat Mississippi State 31-21, Florida squeaked by Florida State 24-21 and in perhaps the best game of the day Auburn came oh so close but fell to Alabama 24-22 in 4 overtimes.  

Ohio State Makes Playoff Statement With 56-7 Destruction of Michigan State

For weeks the Buckeyes have been playing like National Title contenders and this week they removed all doubts with a completely dominating win over the Spartans 56-7. Only arch rival Michigan stands in the way of a spot in the Big 10 Championship game and we won't have long to wait. The 10-1 Wolverines, 59-18 winners over Maryland Saturday, host the high flying Buckeyes this upcoming Saturday morning at Noon ET.  Around the Nation: Clemson's 48-27 win over Wake Forest significantly tightened the ACC race. The Tigers are battling North Carolina State for the Atlantic Division crown while Pittsburgh is on top of the Coastal Division. Rivalry weekend, my favorite weekend of the year, is upcoming which means Clemson will face South Carolina Saturday. The Gamecocks were 21-17 surprise winners over Auburn this week. Billingsley's All Time Scores are online again so check out all the great series records under the Historical Data link on the CFRC Home page. Cincinnati quieted a few doubters themselves by destroying SMU 48-14. The Bearcats travel to East Carolina for a tricky game before facing a very good Houston team in the AAC Championship. A lethargic Oklahoma offense got a much needed boost from the Sooner defense in a 28-21 win at home over Iowa State. Bedlam is on the horizon and Oklahoma State did their part to make it a huge game in Stillwater between two 10-1 teams. The Cowboys traveled to Lubbock and shut out Texas Tech 23-0. The Longhorn program is reeling with a 6th straight loss after falling to West Virginia 31-23. Texas returns home to face Kansas State in the season finale. UTSA moved to 11-0 on the season with an amazing 34-31 come from behind win at home over UAB. Notre Dame, the seemingly forgotten playoff contender, moved to 10-1 by blasting Georgia Tech 55-0. Oregon saw their playoff hopes dwindle with a 38-7 shellacking at the hands of Utah. Now the Ducks must recover and fight the civil war with arch rival Oregon State, 24-10 winner over Arizona State late Saturday night. UCLA scored the most points ever in their series with cross town rival USC. The Bruins put up a whopping 62 points against the Trojan's 33.  Louisiana-Lafayette completely dominated a very good Liberty team 42-14, moving to 10-1 on the season. The majority of the SEC took a break from conference play this weekend and blasted much lesser competition, but Alabama and Arkansas put on quite a show in Tuscaloosa with the Razorbacks throwing a scare into the Crimson Tide before falling 42-35. Missouri surprised Florida with a two point conversion to nip the Gators 24-23. Watch for Billingsley's Projections to be posted late Tuesday, and don't forget to check out the Billingsley Historical Data Section from the Home Page for a totally new and improved look at Billingsley's Encyclopedia!