Season 3 Team Schedules and Preseason Polls

(Click image to enlarge schedules)

Season 3 Preseason Poll

#1 Florida State
#2 Oklahoma
#3 Oregon
#5 Michigan
#6 LSU
#7 Alabama
#8 USC
#9 Texas
#13 Miami
#25 Washington

Game Recap/Photos: Seminoles beat USC 48-20 to claim season 2 BCS title

FSU WR Willie Haulstead hauls in a pass and eludes USC defenders.

USC's Brice Butler returns a kickoff back inside the FSU 10 before K/P Shawn Powell drags him down by the nuts!

One of 6 sacks on the night for All-American DT Everett Dawkins. The Seminoles finished with 9 total sacks.

Senior QB EJ Manuel throws a 58 yard bomb to a wide open WR.

I told you he was wide open!

One of four TDs on the night for senior tailback Chris Thompson.

Thompson finished with 240 rushing yards on the night, a season high.

Thompson had TD runs of 61, 74, 13, and 14 yards.

Corso Predicts BCS Title Game Winner

Hours before BCS title game, Corso disses No-Name USC QB

Clay runs away with Heisman win; Bowl Games Announced

The season 2 Heisman winner, in a runaway vote, is Oklahoma RB Brennan Clay. Clay gives the Sooners back-to-back Heisman winning RBs, and dating back to Season 5 of RUTS3, it's Coach Gump's third consecutive Heisman winning player.

On the season, Clay rushed for an astounding 3, 884 yards and 84 total TDs.

Last season, Sooner RB Roy Finch won the Heisman Trophy, only to transfer to UCF, where he sat on the bench this season.


Bowl Game Lineup

BCS National Championship Game
#1 Florida State vs. #2 USC

Rose Bowl
#3 Michigan vs. #6 Alabama

Capital One Bowl
#7 LSU vs. #18 Michigan State

Outback Bowl
#14 Miami vs. Iowa

Alamo Bowl
#4 Oklahoma vs. #16 Baylor

Holiday Bowl
#5 Texas vs. Texas Tech

Sun Bowl
#9 Oregon vs. South Carolina

Las Vegas Bowl
Washington vs. Air Force

Ducks can't slip past Trojans...USC advances to BCS title game

USC led 17-7 early in the 4th quarter when the game kept disconnecting. Bummer, but both coaches agreed to give the Trojans the win!

USC moves on to face #1 Florida State in the season 2 BCS National Championship Game.

Seminoles Blank Alabama 41-0, Await Opponent in BCS title game

The #1 Florida State Seminoles defeated #2 Alabama 41-0 in the season 2 SEC Championship Game last night. The victory, FSU's and Coach UTVOL54's 27th consecutive in RUTS4, earns the Seminoles a return trip to the BCS National Championship Game in Miami. They will face the winner of tonight's Pac 12 title game between #3 USC and #4 Oregon.

Backup tailback Jermaine Thomas hauls in an 18 yard TD pass 

The Seminoles took control of the game early, building a 7-0 lead after their first drive. But, it was the FSU defense that took a close game in the first half and created separation.

The Noles defense (which is giving up an average of 9.2 points-per-game this season) had 9 sacks on the night and forced 4 turnovers, holding Alabama to 87 yards of total offense and -11 yards rushing. Heisman candidate Trent Richardson was held in check and the Tide only stepped foot on FSU's side of the 50 yard line once all night.

One of 9 sacks by FSU's defense.

"I was really pleased with how our defense stepped up tonight," said a Gatorade-soaked Coach UTVOL54. "We've got a good offense, but as a team, we understand that it's our defense that can make this a special season."

The versatile Noles offense put up reasonable numbers, but Alabama's stout defense was able to hold FSU RB Chris Thompson (14 car, 57 yds) in check for the most part. But, the Noles were able to make big plays, build a lead, and force Alabama into a passing game.

The loss will likely send Alabama to the Capital One Bowl, and send LSU to the Sugar Bowl.

"We had a great season," said Tide Coach zeejaydee. "It's not over yet, and we want to go out with a bowl win! A 12-win season, for this team, would be something special. We're disappointed we came up short tonight though."

Coach UTVOL54 will be anxiously waiting to see who his team will play in Miami.

Conference Championship Week is Here

It's conference title week, and four RUTS teams are left standing with a chance to win their conference championship and earn a spot in the season 2 BCS National Championship Game.

The SEC Championship Game is played tonight in Atlanta's Georgia Dome as the #1 Florida State Seminoles face the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide. This game is being dubbed "The Game of the Century Part II," as #1 and #2 will clash on the gridiron for the second time this season (#1 FSU defeated #2 LSU 27-21 earlier this season).

The Seminoles were pegged for this game for a while. The defending national champions started the season #2 but quickly rose to #1 and have stayed there all season. Dating back to the beginning of RUTS4,  Coach UTVOL54 and the Seminoles are 26-0. The 26-game winning streak is the longest in RUTS history.

To reach 27 wins in a row, the Noles will have to face off against a fierce Crimson Tide team and a surging Coach zeejaydee, who has had a career season. After losing 28-16 to Miami in Week 4, the 11-1 Tide have reeled off 9 straight wins and leaped to #2 in all polls. Alabama has used workhorse RB Trent Richardson to pound opponents with 1,978 rushing yards.  Then, in week 12, the Tide upset LSU to earn the right to play in the SEC Championship, Coach zeejaydee's first trip to a conference title game.

The game tonight in the GA Dome will be huge, with the winner advancing to the BCS National title game in Miami. And, although the Seminoles enter the game as a 9 point favorite, many experts are predicting this game will be very close throughout.

"Alabama has everything to play for, but nothing to lose," said Kirk Herbstreit. "No one's expecting them to win, but they have, on paper, quite possibly more talent on that field than Florida State. If they can keep their heads early, get some momentum, and hold on to the football, this game could be a classic."

The Seminole fans will be loud and ready, but expect Alabama to have a slight home field advantage tonight in the Dome. That said, the Sunshine Schooner, Lee Corso is picking.........
CLICK HERE TO SEE CORSO'S PICK!

The Pac 12 Championship Game is being played once again in sunny, warm Hawaii. After both of these teams failed to finish 1st in their division in season 1, these legendary coaches were able to return to prominence this season, despite suffering setbacks earlier this season. The victor in this game will be in the BCS title game with a shot to bring home the crystal ball once again!

The Trojans beat Oregon 35-17 in week 7, as the Ducks were unable to contain USC's balanced attack on offense. USC RB Dillon Baxter rushed for 152 yards, and QB Matt Barkley passed for nearly 250 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs.

The Ducks will need to force some turnovers in this game for the outcome to be different.

Oregon has a speedy RB in Kenjon Barner, and one area we look for the Ducks to exploit is the Trojan secondary. In the first meeting, Ducks WR had 181 receiving yards, including a 100 yard TD reception late in the game. 


Coach Stu, who was on the hot seat in Eugene earlier this season, has rallied the troops and provided a spark in his team with his new "Ducks Fly Together" slogan. The team's resilience has won over even the most negative and grumpy Duck fans, including Emilio Estevez.The Ducks are also finding success despite an injury to QB Darren Thomas. Backup QB Bryan "With a Y" Bennett has been playing well.

These coaches were dominant in RUTS3, and the winner of this game takes the next step in reclaiming the crown of "best coach of RUTS."

Look for USC to continue to maintain balance on offense, but the question will be can the Ducks new Flying V-for-Viagra Offense mystify the Trojans as it did against #5 Michigan a few weeks ago. The winner will be excited to fly back across Pacific and head all the way down to South Beach for the next big game, while the loser will suffer a long flight home.

The nerdy, hippy Oregon Duck fans will be flying to Hawaii in droves, so look for a lot of green and gold in Aloha Stadium.

ESPN's Kirk Herbstriet says: "This game is very intriguing. USC dominated Oregon in week 7 frankly, and at that point, the Ducks program was going through a lot of turmoil. The Ducks administration flew a rival coach to Eugene while the team was away in LA playing USC to visit the campus! That is crazy! But, even after that loss and speculation, Coach Stu has quietly rallied his team and they've climbed back up in the polls and somehow find themselves in the mix to play for a national championship. That said, the Ducks are going to have to do a lot of different things to beat USC. The Trojans have struggled at times this year, but are a 4 point favorite in this game. I think this game will be a high scoring affair.

But....not so fast my friend!........

CLICK HERE TO SEE LEE CORSO'S PICK!

Breaking News: USC wins Pac 12 South tiebreaker, advances to Conference Title Game

As predicted, the #3 USC Trojans won the 3-way tiebreaker over Oklahoma and Texas in the Pac 12 South today. The Trojans won the tiebreaker based on them being the highest ranked BCS team of the three.

The Trojans, and their flamboyant Coach utvol27 will head out to Hawaii to face off against the #4 Oregon Ducks and their (even more) flamboyant head coach StuBucksman. Both teams were surprisingly shut out of this game last year, so both coaches are chomping at the bit to visit the sunny islands of Hawaii, learn to Hula dance, and play a little football.

The Trojans defeated the Ducks in week 7, 35-17, but Coach StuBucksman has since exorcised the dreaded "Curse of the Duck" and has his team playing its best football of the season.

The rivalry between these two coaches was the best of RUTS3, and they'll take to gridiron again this week to determine who will represent the Pac 12 in the BCS title game!

Alabama Upsets LSU, takes lead in SEC West

Coach zeejaydee was left speechless. His #6 Alabama team had just defeated the #3 ranked LSU Tigers 12-7, in a very familiar looking SEC defensive slugfest. With the win, Alabama vaults to #3 in the latest BCS rankings and are in the driver's seat to win the SEC West, making this the first time Coach zeejaydee to appear in a conference title game.

"This is a huge win for this team," said Coach zeejaydee, soaked with Gatorade. "We gave up a ton of sacks, but our defense held tight all game. They were the difference."

Another key was that LSU Coach cjohnchavis was forced to call the game without his offensive coordinator, who was left stranded in a west Texas airport after his Delta flight was delayed 16 times before being cancelled.

"That was a huge misfortune," said cjohnchavis. "He has the only copy of the playbook, so we had to adjust on the fly. Our players executed well, but in the end it wasn't our offense and Alabama did just enough to win. Congratulations to them, but we'll be back."

The two coaches had to separate their teams after the game, after LSU Punter and native Australian Brad Wing questioned the manhood and age of Alabama senior RB Trent Richardson, who has seemingly been in school for the past 13 seasons. Wing attempted a leg sweep and karate kick before teammates and coaches intervened.

"That was really weird," said Coach zeejaydee, "but his leg flexibility was amazing."

Heading into week 12, RUTS teams occupy the top 9 spots in the BCS poll, and 10 of the top 14. Experts predict that, barring any big upsets, Florida State, USC, Alabama, and Oregon are the four teams who remain alive to appear in the BCS title game. Another team to watch out for is Baylor, who is 9-0 and the only other unbeaten team other than the Seminoles.

BCS Standings - Week 12
#1 Florida State
#2 USC
#3 Alabama
#4 Oregon
#5 Oklahoma
#6 Texas
#7 Michigan
#8 LSU
#9 Miami
#14 Washington

Curse of the Duck Lifted? Ducks, Mellow Yellow Uniforms, Upset Michigan 21-20

After four grueling quarters of Pac 12 football, the Oregon Ducks and their coach StuBucksman celebrated in the locker room. The Ducks, despite being ranked #8 in the BCS entering the game, had been struggling all season and their Coach was on the hot-seat. But, it's amazing what a victory can do.

With the win, Oregon moves into first place in the Pac 12 North, and barring any upsets in its final four games, the Ducks should be set to rematch USC in Hawaii for the Pac 12 title. Surprisingly, after the game, Oregon announced it had offered Coach Stu a 1 year contract extension and praised the coach for sticking with his team in the face of adversity and the dreaded "curse of the duck."

"This team fought hard tonight," said a weeping Coach Stu after the game. "We were down at halftime and even into the 4th quarter, but we pushed through, took a 1 point lead and held on for a huge win. Ducks Fly Together!"

The game was played in front of a capacity crowd in Eugene, and the Ducks wore their Mellow Yellow uniforms for the first time in Stu's tenure. The tacky, yet classy look may have been the winning edge in the game. "We dubbed this the Banana Bowl, with all that yellow on the field, and I'm glad our yellow prevailed today," said Coach Stu.

With the win, Oregon vaulted to #3 in the BCS, and should the Ducks win-out, they will have somehow found themselves in the BCS title game. Oregon still has to play #15 Washington in week 13, and should they win that game, would play #2 USC for the conference title.

The BCS rankings, Coaches poll, and AP Media Poll this week are topsy turvy. The only thing that is consistent between all three polls' Top 6 teams is #1 Florida State (the unanimous #1 in all polls) and #6 Alabama, who still has a chance to get into the BCS title picture if they can upset #4 LSU this week. Based on projections, these 6 teams are still in the national title picture, but you can't count out #7 Texas or #8 Michigan, each with only 1 loss.

Breaking down the BCS and Conference title races

With season 2 more than halfway gone, let's take a look at the BCS and Conference title races as we head toward week 9 of the season.

Here are the first BCS (projected) Rankings. The first rankings will be released week 9:

1. Florida State
2. Michigan
3. USC
4. LSU
5. Oklahoma
6. Alabama
7. Texas
9. Oregon
11. Miami

Looking at these standings, it's clear that both #1 Florida State and #2 Michigan are in the driver's seat to reach the BCS National Championship Game in Miami at the end of the season. Both teams control their own destiny to reach the title game, as they, along with Pitt, are the only 3 unbeaten teams in the nation.

The #3 USC Trojans and #5 LSU Tigers also likely would reach the BCS title game should they win out, as that would mean that both USC and LSU would have knocked off the Wolverines and Seminoles, respectively.

Oklahoma remains ranked high, but with 2 losses and a slim chance at reaching the Pac 12 title game, the Sooners may be on the outside looking in.

Breaking down the SEC race:
In the SEC East, it's Florida State's to lose. The Noles have knocked off Tennessee and Miami, and can wrap up the division, more or less, with victories over Georgia and Auburn in the next two weeks. Miami will likely end up in second place.

The SEC West race is deadlocked in a 3-way tie right now, with Arkansas, LSU, and Alabama each with 1 loss. LSU still has to play both teams, and we expect this division to come down to the big LSU/Alabama game in Tuscaloosa in week 11. LSU will be favored to win this game, but as everyone knows, if Crimson Tide RB Trent Richardson gets going, the Tide can pull the upset at home. COuld be interesting.

Breaking down the PAC 12 race:
The PAC 12 South divsion, considered the toughest division in college football right now, is deadlocked in a 3 way tie between USC, Oklahoma, and Texas...and none of these three teams have any user games remaining. Each team beat one another this season - Oklahoma beat Texas, Texas beat USC, and USC beat Oklahoma - meaning the tiebreaker should be awarded to the team with the highest BCS ranking at season's end. We predict this will be USC, but it will be an extremely tight race.

The PAC 12 North division is also going to come down to the wire. Oregon has 1 conference loss, but if the Ducks can knock off the current division leader, Michigan, in week 10, the Ducks would own the tiebreaker and earn a trip to Hawaii. Oregon has 2 losses this season, and lost an extremely tight game to Michigan last season. But, if Coach StuBucksman can rally his team, and somehow shake the Curse of the Duck, he will give Coach roop1189 a run for his money in week 10.

Heisman Race:
As far as we see it, the Heisman race is Oklahoma RB Brennan Clay's to lose. Clay has led the Heisman polls all season, and if he wins it, Coach Gump will have acheived back-to-back RB Heisman winners, soemthing that hasn't been done since Coach utvol27's days at Clemson in RUTS1.

LSU QB Zac Mettenburger is putting up gaudy stats in the passing game, and may give Clay a late push.

Potential RUTS Bombshell! Coach Gump reportedly meets with Oregon boosters, trustees about head coaching position

In shocking developments this afternoon, Yahoo Sports is reporting that current Oklahoma Head Football Coach Gump, just days removed from his team's victory over #3 Texas, was seen boarding a University of Oregon private jet at the Norman (Okla) Municipal Airport.

What's even more shocking is this all happened while the #5 Ducks team and their current head Coach StuBucksman are in L.A. preparing to take on the #6 USC Trojans tonight in the LA Coliseum.

Rumors have been flying from coast to coast that Oregon trustees and their notorious booster Phil Knight have been advocating for Coach Stu to be fired because of the damage he's caused the program due to the Curse of the Duck. However, none of those rumors have been substantiated until now.

Reporters have called this week's game a "must-win" for Coach Stu, and even though his Ducks reeled in the nation's #1 ranked recruiting class last season, and sit at #1 in the recruiting rankings through week 6, he's undoubtedly on the hot seat.

The question is, why would Oregon fly Coach Gump into Eugene while the Ducks team and their mustached-coach were away?

Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel says: "This is something, according to my sources, that Phil Knight and the Oregon administration have been planning for a long time. To bring Gump in to tour Eugene, go house hunting, mingle with the co-eds, while Coach Stu and his team were on a road trip. The Ducks just didn;t count on us getting photo evidence of the trip."

Wetzel continues: "Not since the Auburn "Jetgate" scandal with Bobby Petrino has there been this kind of activity to go behind the scenes to interview a coach while another coach has the job. The Curse of the Duck is obviously weighing heavily on this administration. What if Oregon beats USC this week? They could be controlling their own destiny for a BCS title birth...and their administration is working behind the scenes to terminate their coach? Preposterous!"

Who knows how this will shake out. Coach Stu had no comment when confronted at the Ducks team hotel in the citaaay, city of Compton. And, we wonder how this will affect the Sooner team, knowing that their head coach either wants out of Norman or is shopping around for a pay raise.

Stay tuned for up-to-the-minute news!

Coach cjohnchavis inks new endorsement deal with Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport

In a deal that will pay him $134.78 per month for the duration of his tenure at LSU, Head Coach cjohnchavis and the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport announced a partnership. The coach will appear on billboards, park benches, and over-the-urinal advertisements to promote the airports customer friendly and on-time, every-time philosophy.

"Just like with my football team, I want to help take BRMA to the next level," said Coach cjohnchavis. "By year three of this campaign, we fully expect this to be Baton Rouge International Airport."

Seminoles knock off LSU 27-21, remain unbeaten

The top-ranked Florida State Seminoles defeated #2 LSU 27-21 in front of a record crowd at Tiger Stadium. It was a somewhat sloppy game between two great teams, filled with turnovers, penalties, dropped passes, and even a weather delay with 23 seconds left in the3rd quarter.

The Seminoles jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and were poised to extend the lead to 17-0 when RB Chris Thompson fumbled the ball inside the LSU 15 yard line. LSU responded with a TDto cut the lead to 10-7. The Seminole defense who were in the face of LSU QB Zach Mettenburger all game, held for for the remainder of the half, and FSU extended its lead to 20-7 at halftime with two field goals, including an improbable 61 yarder as time expired in the half.

Neither team scored in the 3rd quarter, but after FSU QB E.J.Manuel threw two INTs in the quarter, one to SS Eric Reid,and the other to the Honey Badger, LSU found itself with the ball first and goal at the end of the 3rd quarter. Then, officials delayed the game because of lightning in the area --- aka the game froze and the teams had to restart and run the clock, hence the posted game stats on the EA website being wrong.

When play resumed, LSU RB Spencer Ware scored on a run on 4th and goal from the 1 yard line, cutting the Seminole lead to 20-14. The LSU defense then forced a fumble when WR Christian Green coughed up the ball after making a big first down catch. LSU drove into the red zone, but Mettenburger threw an interception, giving the ball back to Florida State with less than 3 minutes remaining.

A few plays later, Thompson broke free on a 50+ yard TD scamper, and with under 2 minutes left, the Noles led 27-14. LSU fought back however, and after a key screen pass to Ware on third and long, the Tigers had the ball inside the FSU red zone yet again.

LSU hit paydirt with under 1 minute left in the game, cutting the lead to 27-21. With only 1 timeout left for LSU, The onside kick was forthcoming.

The kick went about 7-8 yards, and an LSU player pounced on the ball. Referees gave the ball to Florida State, but LSU Coach cjohnchavis was emphatic that the ball grazed off of a Seminole player before the Tigers recovered. Video evidence was not available and the booth did not review the play.

The Noles ran the clock out, and escaped with a 27-21 victory. These teams will likely be favored to meet again in the SEC Championship Game at season's end.

"We didn't play our best game and had 4 costly turnovers, but we won a game in a hostile environment against a talented squad," said FSU Coach UTVOL54. "Our defense came up with huge plays when we needed them."

Florida State will hang on to its #1 ranking, with fellow unbeatens Texas and Michigan close behind.

Longhorns Upset USC, Take Lead in Pac 12 South

The #5 Texas Longhorns went into the LA Coliseum and defeated the 3rd-ranked USC Trojans 27-24 in week 5.

Texas kicker Steve Schott drilled a 33 yard field goal as time expired to defeat the Trojans for the second consecutive year. The victory puts Texas back in the driver's seat for the Pac 12 South crown with big games coming up against conference foes Washington and Oklahoma.

On the game's last drive, with the score knotted at 24-24, Texas Coach chrishicks21 gambled and barely converted a 4th and 7 play that kept the Longhorn drive alive near midfield.

USC committed 3 turnovers which led to 10 Texas points. The game was a frustrating one for Trojan Head Coach utvol27, who was witnessed drowning his sorrows with a mega bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the USC locker room after the game.

Texas' success hasn't been limited to the field either. This week, the Longhorns secured 3 big commitments in recruiting, including the nation's top CB and a five star RB. Looks like the talent in Austin is going to be around for years to come.

Looking ahead to Week 5 and this year's "Game of the Century" Part 1

LSU's 42-21 victory over previous #1 Oklahoma has set up an early-season showdown between #1 and #2 in Week 5.

LSU, who moved up to #2 in this week's poll, has a bye week in Week 4, and the new #1 team, Florida State, hosts the Ole Miss Rebels, seemingly an easy victory. This sets up this year's first "Game of the Century" in Baton Rouge in Week 5.

The Tigers and the Seminoles met twice in season 1, with Florida State winning each matchup. However, in their first meeting in season 1, in Baton Rouge as well, the Seminoles won only 14-9 and fought off a late LSU rally, recovering an onside kick with under a minute remaining in the game.


Both teams have shown this season that they can score in bunches on offense and hold teams on defense. Through 3 games, LSU has scored an NCAA high 219 points and given up 65 points, while Florida State has scored 191 points while giving up only 23.

It should be a great game in Baton Rouge.

Another huge SEC matchup takes place in Week 4, as the Coach zeejaydee's 5th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide hosts the 18th ranked Miami Hurricanes. The winner of this matchup takes a huge step in becoming a force in challenging Florida State and LSU in the SEC race. If Alabama can establish the run on offense, Miami will be in trouble. But, this matchup might come down to turnovers. It should also be a tight game down to the wire.

Coach Gump undergoes emergency surgery

Just hours after finally arriving to Baton Rouge, LA, after a 17 hour trek on his Lloyd Christmas scooter, Coach Gump was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

As was reported this morning on the @RUTS4dynasty Twitter account, Gump missed the Sooner team plane to Baton Rouge after his weekly manicure/pedicure appointment ran long. As a result, he had to drive to Louisiana to meet his team on scooter.

After arriving to the team hotel, Gump noticed his fingers and toes were extremely swollen and numb, apparently due to an allergic reaction to the new nail polish color his stylist used.

Gump was rushed to LSU Medical Center so doctors could quickly apply the needed nail polish remover and flush his system of the dreaded polish.

Tonight's huge game between #1 Oklahoma and #3 LSU is still scheduled to be played. However, don't be surprised to see 3-4 fake punts on 2nd downs if Coach Gump is still a little loopy after his medical procedure.

Photo Highlights from Early-Season Games

Season 2 is off to a great start. Seven of the top eight teams in the Coaches Poll are RUTS teams. Here are some photo highlights from the early part of this season.