EAST LANSING, Michigan, 15 November 2004 — Michigan State used a powerful rushing attack, a trick play and a key defensive stand to rout No. 4 Wisconsin 49-14 on Saturday and knock the Badgers out of the national championship race.
The Spartans (5-5, 4-3 Big Ten) handed the Badgers their first loss and knocked Wisconsin (9-1, 6-1) into a second-place tie with Iowa in the Big Ten behind Michigan. The win keeps bowl hopes alive for Michigan State. The Badgers entered the game ranked fifth in the Bowl Championship Series standings, primarily because of a dominating defense that had allowed 9.1 points a game — lowest in the nation. Jehuu Caulcrick had 146 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries for the Spartans. Jason Teague had 112 yards and a TD on 17 carries. He also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass on a trick play in the first half, with the ball thrown by wide receiver Aaron Alexander.
No. 3 Auburn 24 No. 8 Georgia 6: In Auburn, Alabama, Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown and Auburn dominated in a victory that could give the Tigers the boost they need in the BCS standings. Auburn (10-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) was third in both polls and in the BCS standings behind Southern California and Oklahoma this week.
No. 1 Southern California 49 Arizona 9: In Los Angeles, LenDale White ran for 118 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns, and Matt Leinart passed for 280 yards and three TDs to help the Trojans clinch the Pac-10 championship for the second straight year.
No. 2 Oklahoma 30 Nebraska 3: In Norman, Oklahoma, Jason White threw for 383 yards and three touchdowns to help Oklahoma rout Nebraska. With star running back Adrian Peterson seeing little action because of a shoulder injury, White completed 29 of 35 passes. After throwing three incomplete passes on his first eight attempts, the sixth-year senior completed a school-record 18 in a row in his final home game for the Sooners (10-0, 7-0 Big 12).
No. 5 California 42 Washington 12: In Seattle, J.J. Arrington ran for 84 of his 121 yards in the second half and Aaron Rodgers shook off a slow start to throw two touchdown passes. Marshawn Lynch added another 121 yards rushing with TD runs of 32 and 70 yards and a 29-yard scoring reception as the Golden Bears (8-1, 6-1 Pac-10) defeated the Huskies (1-9, 0-7).
No. 6 Texas 27 Kansas 23: In Lawrence, Kansas, Vince Young scored on an 18-yard touchdown run with 4:11 left and threw a 22-yard TD pass to Tony Jeffery with 11 seconds remaining to rally Texas.
No. 7 Utah 45 Wyoming 28: In Laramie, Wyoming, Alex Smith passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a game-high 105 yards and another TD as Utah scored on its first five possessions in the game that start 1 hour, 39 minutes late because of a power outage.
No. 9 Michigan 42 Northwestern 20: In Ann Arbor, Michigan, Michael Hart ran for 151 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, and Michigan scored TDs the first five times it touched the ball in the second half. The Wolverines (9-1, 7-0 Big Ten) led the Wildcats by only one point at half-time before turning the game into a rout with scores on the ground, through the air and on a punt return.
No. 18 Miami 31 No. 10 Virginia 21: In Charlottesville, Virginia, Roscoe Parrish returned a punt for a touchdown and caught a clinching touchdown pass in the final minute as Miami got back into the ACC title race. Frank Gore ran for 195 yards and a touchdown for the Hurricanes. Parrish took a punt at his own 38 with just over 7 minutes left, cut across the field and then down the sideline to make it 24-14. He later grabbed Brock Berlin’s pass in the right corner of the end zone with 51 seconds left to complete the victory.
No. 21 Boston College 36 No. 13 West Virginia 17: In Morgantown, West Virginia, Paul Peterson threw two first-half touchdown passes and Boston College returned two punts for scores. Boston College (7-2, 3-1 Big East) won in Morgantown for the first time since 1990.
No. 14 Boise St. 56 San Jose St. 49 (2OT): In San Jose, California, Jon Helmandollar scored his third touchdown in the second overtime, allowing Boise State to barely extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 20 games. Jared Zabransky passed for 200 yards and scored one of eight rushing touchdowns by the Broncos (9-0, 6-0 WAC), who hung on despite 14 penalties and an inspired effort by the Spartans.
No. 17 LSU 26, Alabama 10: In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, LSU defensive end Marcus Spears and linebacker Cameron Vaughn combined for the go-ahead touchdown for LSU. With the Tigers trailing 10-6 in the third quarter, Spears hit Alabama quarterback Spencer Pennington on the Crimson Tide 8, forcing a fumble. Vaughn picked up the ball and scampered in for the TD to give LSU its first lead.
