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Villanova returns to playoffs

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKEND National: Jordan Williamson made a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give Stanford a 17-14 win at unbeaten Oregon.

Villanova football coach Andy Talley. (Michael Bryant/Staff file photo)
Villanova football coach Andy Talley. (Michael Bryant/Staff file photo)Read more

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKEND

National: Jordan Williamson made a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give Stanford a 17-14 win at unbeaten Oregon.

Local: Montel Harris, who rushed for a Temple and Big East record 351 yards on 36 carries and scored seven touchdowns, one short of an NCAA record, in a 63-32 win at Army.

AROUND TOWN

Villanova 41, Delaware 10: One year after going 2-9, the Wildcats (8-3, 6-2 Colonial Athletic Association) are headed back to the FCS playoffs after being picked to finish eighth. And they're going with an automatic bid as champions. Four things had to happen. They all did.

Old Dominion (10-1, 7-1) finished first, but is ineligible for the title because it's moving up to FBS next year. So the Wildcats then won a tiebreaker with New Hampshire, Richmond and Towson. They probably wouldn't have received an at-large berth. Only ODU and New Hampshire also made it, even though Towson won on the Main Line by 14 earlier this month and just beat New Hampshire by 29 on the road, and two of its four losses were to LSU and Kent State. Anyway . . .

The Wildcats, who beat Delaware (5-6, 2-6) for the sixth time in 7 years, will open Saturday at Stony Brook (9-2), which is joining the CAA next year. The Seawolves, who beat Army, won a first-round game at home last season. They got an at-large after tying for the Big South title. The teams have never met.

The winner goes to third-seeded Montana State (10-1). The Wildcats have won at least once in each of their last five postseason appearances going back to 1997.

Delaware, which started 4-0 and had a rash of injuries, dropped its fourth straight for the first time since 1967. And it closed with four losses for the first time in 77 years.

All of Villanova's CAA wins were by at least 15 points.

The Wildcats were supposed to be a year away. They figure to start next season in the top 10. But this year isn't over yet. Two years ago, as the defending national champs, they won twice on the road.

Temple 63, Army 32: One week after he left with a knee injury, senior Montel Harris - who transferred this year from Boston College - had a lifetime performance as the Owls (4-6) ended a four-game losing streak.

He didn't practice all week. But after Matt Brown went down in the second period with a hamstring injury, it became his game.

What record didn't Temple break?

Two years ago Brown rushed for a career-high 226 yards at Michie Stadium subbing for an injured Bernard Pierce. This time he carried four times for 71 yards and two TDs before getting hurt on a punt return.

The Owls rushed for 534. Their record was 477, set in 1977. Their nine TDs, all on the ground, broke a record of eight that had stood since 1980. The 63 points tied their FBS record from 1973. They set records for fewest passes (four) and completions (two).

Senior kicker Brandon McManus surpassed Pierce as the all-time scorer, and now has 330 points.

Harris broke Tony Dorsett's record (268, in 1975) for rushing total by an opponent at Michie.

Harris scored on runs of 60, 1, 1, 37, 2, 37 and 1. The last one came with 10 1/2 minutes to go.

Heisman Trophy runner-up Paul Palmer had owned the Temple record, with 349 in 1986. The Big East high of 337 had belonged to West Virginia's Kay-Jay Harris since 2004.

Juice Granger got his first start at quarterback and rushed for 85 yards on nine attempts.

The Owls had scored 54 points in their previous four starts.

On Friday morning they'll host Syracuse (6-5), which has won four of its last five. Temple coach Steve Addazio's son Louie is a sophomore tight end for the Orange.

The Owls, who are not playing 12 games because of their move from the MAC in March, are hoping that a 5-6 record can still get them a bowl bid if there aren't enough eligible teams to fill the 70 slots. Right now there are 64, with 15 more that have a chance to make it.

DIVISION III PLAYOFFS

Widener (11-0), in its first postseason appearance since 2007, beat Bridgewater State (9-2), 44-14. The Pride advanced past the first game for the first time since 2001. The Pride has won 13 straight at home, one shy of a school record. Now they'll host Salisbury (9-2), which beat Rowan (7-3) at home, 17-9.

In the ECAC South Atlantic Bowl, Delaware Valley (8-3) won at Muhlenberg (8-3), 24-21.

BCS MANIA

Two weeks ago, people were worried there might be too many unbeatens. Now they're might not be enough. For the second straight week, No. 1 went down. This time, so did No. 2.

So, for the first time in nearly 2 decades, Notre Dame is atop the polls. You think it was worth the wait?

Don't say you weren't warned. There might not be a playoff, but most years this stuff tends to sort itself out, especially in November. And try to tell Oregon that Saturday didn't feel like one-and-done.

And just when some thought the SEC's bid for a seventh consecutive national title was gone, the defending champs are right back in it, 1 week after getting upset at home.

SOME FUN, EH?

And really, how many gave Baylor a realistic shot against Kansas State?

Guess Notre Dame doesn't care about those computer rankings any more. Sometimes, you just need to stay patient.

So, with 2 weeks to go, it's finally pretty simple. If the Irish win at Southern Cal, they'll be in Miami on Jan. 7. And they'll be joined by either Alabama or Georgia, unless 'Bama loses at home to Auburn or Georgia loses at home to Georgia Tech. If ND loses, then Houston could have a problem again. Even Oregon could be right back in it. But USC, which has lost three of its last four, could be without Matt Barkley, who injured his shoulder late against UCLA.

As always, don't touch that dial.

DID YOU NOTICE?

* For the first time in 16 games, going back to 2007, Oklahoma overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to win.

* Devin Gardner became the first Michigan QB to account for six TDs since Steve Smith in 1983.

* Texas A & M's Johnny Manziel became the first FBS freshman to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a season.

* Harvard has beaten Yale six straight for the first time. They started playing in 1875.

* Trent Steelman broke Army's record for career TDs (44), which Glenn Davis (43) set in the mid-1940s.

* South Carolina completed its first unbeaten season at home (7-0) since 1987.

Mike Kern's Top 10

1. Notre Dame (11-0): Beat Wake Forest, 38-0. Has beaten USC once since 2001. That was 2 years ago in LA. Saturday: at Southern Cal.

2. Alabama (10-1: Beat Western Carolina, 49-0. Lost at home to Cam Newton 2 years ago. Saturday: vs. Auburn.

3. Georgia (10-1): Beat Georgia Southern, 45-14. Has beaten Georgia Tech three straight. Saturday: vs. Georgia Tech.

4. Oregon (10-1): Lost to Stanford in OT, 17-14. Has

beaten Oregon State four straight. Saturday: at Oregon State.

5. Ohio State (11-0): Beat Wisconsin in OT, 21-14. Lost by 6 at Michigan last year for Luke Fickell. Saturday: vs. Michigan.

6. Florida (10-1): Beat Jacksonville State, 23-0. Has scored 7 against Florida State each of last 2 years. Saturday: at Florida State.

7. Kansas State (10-1): Lost at Baylor, 52-24. So much for that dream. Next: Dec. 1 vs. Texas.

8. Louisiana State (9-2): Beat Ole Miss, 41-35. Lost last two trips to Arkansas. Friday: at Arkansas.

9. Texas A & M (9-2): Beat Sam Houston State, 47-28. Maybe Johnny Football can win the Heisman now. Saturday: vs. Missouri.

10. South Carolina (9-2): Beat Wofford, 24-7. Hasn't beaten Clemson four straight since 1951-54. Saturday: at Clemson.

Fraud Five

Kansas State: If you have to ask then you must have been getting ready for Black Friday.

Oregon: It's OK to lose at home to Stanford, in OT, especially when you are banged up, but only scoring 14 points is hard to compute.

The Big Ten: Wisconsin might not be worthy of being in the MAC title game.

Ohio: No sin losing at Ball State. But maybe not by 52-27.

Texas Tech: You can lose at Oklahoma State, even when you're ranked. Yet 59-21 seems a bit much.