Week 15 represented the online college football regular-season finale. It was a great campaign capped off with a stellar weekend that featured nine Top 25 BCS ranked teams in action, as champions were crowned and a BCS picture was completed. Let's look back at all the games that included ranked teams and talk bowling.
The ranked action began on Friday and resulted in arguably the largest stunner of the week, as Buffalo upset No. 22 Ball State to claim their first MAC championship, while spoiling the Cardinals' perfection with 48-24 win as 15-point underdogs. The Bulls earned its first bowl-eligible season with an 8-5 (8-4 ATS) record since joining the FBS in 1999 and will play in Toronto’s International Bowl. Buffalo was 0-8 SU against ranked teams and had scored just 70 points in those losses before handing Ball State its first loss on the year. The Cardinals finished the regular season undefeated at 12-0 (NCAA second-best 9-3 ATS) for the first time since 1949. Their overall season 12-1 record will probably have them playing in the GMAC Bowl. The online NCAA football betting resumed on Saturday with a slate stuffed with games towing heavy stakes and BCS implications. The first game of the day pitted No. 20 Pittsburgh against Connecticut. Panthers' Bill Stull threw for two touchdowns and LeSean McCoy ran for another to help give a Pitt 34-10 victory and their first nine-win regular season since 1982. The Panthers' 9-3 (6-6 ATS) record puts them in the Sun Bowl. The win assures Pitt of a share of second-place in the Big East. The Huskies finish the regular season 7-5 (5-6 ATS) and will play in International Bowl. With the ACC championship on the line, No. 19 Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor scored two first-half touchdowns and Darren Evans ran for 114 yards and one TD, helping the Hokies become the first back-to-back conference champs with a 30-12 victory over No. 24 Boston College. It was the fourth meeting in the past 14 months between the Big East rivals. The Eagles won during the regular season this year and last, but the Hokies prevailed for the second straight time with league’s BCS spot on the line. Virginia Tech has won three ACC titles in the five years they’ve been in the conference. They finished 8-4 during the regular season and went 9-3 (5-7 ATS), including Saturday's conference championship outcome, both will go bowling at 9-4. Tech claimed an Orange Bowl berth and the Eagles (6-5 ATS) will appear in the Motor City Bowl. Up next was the much anticipated SEC championship matchup between No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Florida, which resulted in a Gators 31-20 victory over the Crimson Tide to end the season 12-1 (10-2 ATS). The Gators had to play without one of its biggest play makers Percy Harvin (sprained right ankle), so Tim Tebow nearly single handily led his club to the win that gives Florida a shot at its second national title in three years and handed Alabama its first loss of the season to finish 12-1 (9-4 ATS). Tebow made a strong case for another Heisman Trophy, finishing 14-of-22 for 216 yards and three touchdowns while leading the team in rushing with 57 yards. The Crimson Tide will settle for a spot in the Sugar Bowl, ruining any chance of adding another national championship to its glorious history. No. 5 USC beat UCLA 28-7 to win the Pac-10 championship and to earn a trip to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl for the fourth straight year. USC racked up 33 first downs and 478 yards of total offense while the Bruins had just seven first downs and gained only 157 yards. Trojans' Mark Sanchez passed for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and USC’s top-ranked defense that's allowed a microscopic 7.8 points per game won their ninth meeting in the last ten versus their cross-town rivals. USC's 11-1 (6-6 ATS) season made for their seventh consecutive eleven-win campaign, leading to an unprecedented seventh straight BCS bid and conference championship. The Bruins lost eight games for the first time since 1963, closing the season at 4-8 (7-5 ATS). Primetime delivered college football wagering fans the Big 12 title game featuring No. 21 Missouri and No. 1 Oklahoma, which was dominated by the Sooners from start to finish and ended in a 62-21 spanking of the Tigers. The highest-scoring team in major college football history romped to a third straight conference crown and became the first to reach 60 points in five consecutive games in 89 years en route to its 11-1 (10-2 ATS) season. The win puts Oklahoma and coach Bob Stoops in their fourth BCS national title game. The Sooners won the first appearance in 2001 against Florida State, but have lost back-to-back national championships versus LSU in 2003 and USC in 2004. Oklahoma has won seven straight games by a combined score of 419-205, as they surpassed Hawaii’s NCAA record 656 points set in 2006 and tallied an eye-popping 627 yards of total offense against Missouri. The Tigers' 9-4 (5-7 ATS) campaign places them in the Alamo Bowl. No. 12 Cincinnati brought an exciting end to a fabulous regular-season, as Bearcats' Dustin Grutza threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Mardy Gilyard with 4:42 to play to score 19 straight points in a wild final quarter rally to beat Hawaii 29-24. It was the 11-2 (6-6 ATS) BCS-bound Bearcats sixth straight win, setting a school record for most single-season victories. The Big East champs will play their BCS game in the Orange Bowl, meanwhile, the 7-6 (7-5 ATS) Warriors will play an at-large team in the Hawaii Bowl. BCS Bowl Games: ROSE BOWL: No. 5 USC vs. No. 8 Penn State (Jan. 1, 4:30pm, ABC) ORANGE BOWL: No. 19 Virginia Tech vs. No. 12 Cincinnati (Jan. 1, 8:30pm, FOX) SUGAR BOWL: No. 6 Utah vs. No. 4 Alabama (Jan. 2, 8pm, FOX) FIESTA BOWL: No. 10 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Texas (Jan. 5, 8 pm, FOX) BCS TITLE GAME BOWL: No. 2 Florida vs. No. 1 Oklahoma (Jan. 8, 8pm, FOX) If you bet on college football, BetPhoenix.com invites you to join us for the entire bowl season. 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