Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
ARMY: The Black Knights were idle this week and will remain so until their
Dec. 8 matchup against Navy. At 2-9 on the year, Army would love nothing more
than to end its season with a rare win over the Midshipmen. The winner will
claim the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy as bragging rights among U.S. service
academies.
BYU: The Cougars finished their regular season with a 7-5 mark following
Saturday's 50-14 win at New Mexico State. Cody Hoffman hauled in a school-
record five touchdown passes, finishing with 12 catches for a career-high 182
yards. He now has 1,134 receiving yards and 11 TD grabs on the season to rank
among the national leaders in both categories. Senior James Lark, making his
first career start, completed 34-of-50 passes for 384 yards and six TDs. His
384 yards are the most by a BYU quarterback making his first career start,
while he is the 10th BYU passer to throw at least six TD passes in a game. He
had attempted only 24 passes entering the contest. Jamaal Williams carried the
ball 19 times for 62 yards to improve his season's rushing total to 744 yards
and become the all-time rushing yardage leader for a BYU true freshman. All
told, BYU racked up 520 total yards and held NMSU to 187 yards from scrimmage,
including only 29 yards on the ground.
NAVY: The Midshipmen had the weekend off. They stand at 7-4 entering their
Dec. 8 matchup against Army, in which they'll aim for their 11th straight
victory in the series before taking part in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San
Francisco on Dec. 29 against an opponent from the Pac-12 Conference. It will
be the team's ninth bowl appearance in the last 10 years.
NOTRE DAME: The Fighting Irish wrapped up their perfect regular season with
Saturday's 22-13 win at USC to lock up a spot in the BCS National Championship
Game. The top-ranked Irish will play for their first national crown since 1988
after Kyle Brindza kicked five field goals on Saturday. Thanks to losses by
both Oregon and Kansas State last week, coupled with Notre Dame's shutout of
Wake Forest, Brian Kelly's Irish moved to the head of the Top-25, as well as
the BCS rankings. With Saturday's victory, Notre Dame improved to 12-0 for the
first time since 1988. Lou Holtz guided the '88 team to the national
championship. Everett Golson completed 15-of-26 passes for 217 yards for the
Irish, who will likely face a SEC opponent in Miami. Alabama and Georgia will
play for the SEC title this weekend. Theo Riddick rushed for 146 yards and a
score on 20 carries for Notre Dame against USC. The defense notched two
interceptions off Trojans' freshman quarterback Max Wittek, who was making his
first career start. Notre Dame, which came into the game tied with Alabama for
first nationally in scoring defense (10.1 ppg), used a late goal line stand to
help preserve the victory. The BCS National Championship game will be played
on Jan. 7, 2013 at Sun Life Stadium.
The Sports Network