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Independents roundup
Independents Game of the Week
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No. 25 Boston College 31, Notre Dame 29 |
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Tim Hasselbeck threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as Boston College beat Notre Dame, dashing Irish hopes for a bowl game, and enhancing the Eagles' own postseason plans. Trailing 31-17, Notre Dame (5-6) rallied in the final six minutes with two touchdowns. But the Irish missed a tying, two-point conversion pass with 3:27 left.
The 8-2 Eagles visit second-ranked Virginia Tech on Saturday, while Syracuse visits Miami. If BC pulls the big upset, or Syracuse knocks off Miami, the Eagles could get the nod onto New Year's Day in the Gator Bowl. Otherwise, they're pretty well set for the Insight.com Bowl in Tucson on Dec. 31. Hasselbeck's 34-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Burke with 12:39 left put the Eagles (8-2) up 31-17 and assured Notre Dame of being bowl ineligible for the first time in 13 seasons.
Notre Dame was forced to go for two following the last touchdown since after they pulled to within 31-23, Jim Sanson's extra-point was tipped. |
Other Independents action
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Bowling Green 33, Central Florida 30, OT |
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Down 17-6 at halftime, Bowling Green (5-6, 3-5) set its year-long struggles aside and rallied to force overtime on a one-yard TD plunge by Andy Sahm late in the fourth quarter. Once there, the Falcons' defense stiffened up and held the Golden Knights to a 28-yard Javier Beorlegui field goal. With an opportunity to end an otherwise forgettable season on a high note, Joe Alls found the end zone from eight yards out, sending the Falcons to victory and the stunned UCF crowd home in silence.
For Central Florida (4-7), the loss was just the second it had suffered at the hands of a team not in a BCS conference -- Louisiana Tech being the only other. |
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Louisiana-Lafayette 37, Wofford 34 |
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After holding a 20-10 lead at halftime, Louisiana-Lafayette had to rally to force overtime and then beat Division I-AA Wofford on a 32-yard field goal by Brent Bergeron in OT. The Cajuns forced the extra period on a 24-yard run by John Bernard. The victory broke a six-game losing streak for Lafayette and allowed Jerry Baldwin to finish his first season with the program at 2-9. The Cajuns only other victory of the year came over Middle Tennessee State, a fledgling Division I-A team.
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Middle Tennessee State 24, East Tennessee State 7 |
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The Blue Raiders (3-8) closed out their first season in Division I-A with a victory over the Division I-AA Buccaneers. The victory was the third of the year for the Blue Raiders, who have picked up all of their wins against Division I-AA competition.
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Navy (4-6) at Hawaii (7-3), 11:05 p.m. ET |
Amazingly, Hawaii has at least a share of the WAC title and will be a part of the postseason parade, and now will try to go into a bowl game next month on a high note. Getting victory No. 8 won't be easy against a Midshipmen team that has won two in a row and scared Notre Dame. Hawaii still has a game with Washington State left, as well as that bowl game, so a 10-win season is not out of the question. That would be quite an accomplishment after the team didn't win a game last season.
Matchup Breakdown
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