[molson]

GROUP H

Week 3:
Illinois 17, #8 Kansas St 6
Central Florida 38, #25 Auburn 13
Oregon St. 38, San Jose St. 27

#8 Kansas St. slips up again and can now start sweating about advancement. The Wildcats couldn't score a TD. Their passing game was again non-existent, they attempted only 8 passes, but were sacked 5 times. So Illinois sacked Kansas St. QB Collin Klein almost 40% of the times he dropped back to pass. Other than the Wildcats' two FGs, they didn't get further than the Illinois 39-yard line the entire game. Illinois couldn't do much on offense either, they only got 13 first downs, and were just 1 out of 12 on third down conversions. Still, their 17 points were more than enough.....Central Florida with a stunning blowout of #25 Auburn, who falls to 0-3. The Knights really pulled away in the 4th quarter, when they got 3 unanswered TDs. The Knights held Auburn to just 33 yards rushing on 27 carries....With the disappointing play of the group's two ranked teams, San Jose St. had a real chance to pull away from the pack and move to 3-0, but they lose to Oregon St. The Beavers had a 28-point 2nd quarter, capped off by a 74-yard punt return just before halftime, that put them up 28-13. San Jose chipped away at the lead in the 2nd half, and got within 7 points late, but then Oregon St. scored on their next possession and that was the game.

Week 4:
Oregon St. 24, #8 Kansas St. 7
#25 Auburn 35, Illinois 13
San Jose St. 38, Central Florida 24

Ouch, the #8 Wildcats drop their third straight in the group with another weak offensive outing. The Wildcats only got the ball past midfield twice the entire game, once on their lone TD drive, and once just to the Oregon St. 44 before they punted. The Beavers missed 4 FGs, but Kansas couldn't do enough on offense to make it matter....Auburn finally gets their first win, and with the parity in this group, they might still have a chance to advance. The teams were scoreless until halfway through the 2nd quarter when Illinois got a FG to go up 3-0. But then Auburn scored the next 28 points to take control of the game. Auburn again couldn't run the ball, they got only 16 yards rushing on 30 carries, but they did torch Illinois through the air - 446 yards passing and 5 passing TDs for Barrett Trotter....In a critical matchup of 2-1 teams, San Jose St. beats Central Florida. The San Jose St. Spartans led 24-3 early in the 2nd half. UCF did make it closer with three passing TDs (one a 91-yard passing TD), but they couldn't stop San Jose St from from responding with TDs of their own.

....

Standings after four weeks, with point differential in parenthesis:

Oregon St. 3-1 (+42)
San Jose St. 3-1 (+19)
Central Florida 2-2 (+10)
Illinois 2-2 (-7)
Kansas St. 1-3 (-16)
Auburn 1-3 (-48)

....

Week 5 matchups:
#8 Kansas St. v. Central Florida
#25 Auburn v. San Jose St.
Illinois v. Oregon St.

This is the first group to feature 2 ranked teams, and in this wacky group, both of those teams are already eliminated from top-3 placement. Even if either team wins, and Central Florida and Illinois both lose, either team would lose a multi-team tiebreaker against Illinois. In fact, it appears both teams are eliminated from even wild card consideration. If Kansas St. wins, they do lock down the #4 spot, but their "best win" wouldn't be very good, they will have only beaten Central Florida and Auburn, two teams that aren't advancing either. Oregon St., surprisingly, controls their own destiny, if they beat Illinois week 5, they win the group. If the Beavers lose, that opens the door for San Jose St, who would then win the group if they can beat Auburn. If they both lose, then one of them will still end up winning the group - Oregon Stlikely wins any Oregon St/San Jose St./Illinois tiebreaker thanks to point differential, and San Jose St probably wins an Oregon St/San Jose St/Illinois/Central Florida tiebreaker. As far as cracking the top 3 and advancing, there are too many scenarios to list here, but for everyone besides Auburn and Kansas St, it's win, and they're in.