A month ago, in the wake of back-to-back home losses, Nebraska's season looked to be going south. Now the Huskers will be happily heading south to the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, after Saturday night's 17-3 victory over Kansas State. The Huskers (8-3, 5-2) clinched the North Division with their fourth straight win and will play South champion Texas on Dec.

Here's a coaching roll call from Saturday — those who helped themselves (and their wallets), and those with a long week ahead:

The Winners

• Chip Kelly, Oregon. Move over, Iron Bowl. The Civil War ranks as this year's coolest rivalry showdown, thanks in large part to Kelly keeping the Ducks afloat after losses at Boise State and Stanford. If UO beats Oregon State on Dec. 3 at Autzen Stadium, Kelly's rookie head coaching season ends in a Rose Bowl.

• Dabo Swinney, Clemson. Published reports indicate the ACC Atlantic Division title the Tigers clinched Saturday will double Swinney's $800,000 salary. Not bad for a guy who was an unknown wide receivers coach 13 months ago. "We're happy today," he told reporters after his team's win over Virginia. "But we're not done yet."

• Bo Pelini, Nebraska. The Big 12 North champ Huskers loom as most likely to shake up the BCS. Nebraska's defense has allowed more than 17 points once this season, and it has the tools to slow No. 3 Texas in the Dec. 5 league title game.

The Losers

• Charlie Weis, Notre Dame. Break out the list of possible replacements — Jim Harbaugh, Brian Kelly and Gary Patterson should get calls to replace Weis. As for a reflection on his 35-26 tenure at ND? Check back later. "I'll worry about me (Sunday)," he told reporters after a double OT loss to Connecticut.

• Rich Rodriguez, Michigan. The Wolverines' 5-7 season, capped by a sixth straight loss to Ohio State on Saturday, shows the continued disconnect between Rodriguez's talent and the system he wants to play. Another of his recruiting classes should help mend that, but Rich Rod needs great quarterback play to win (See: White, Pat). Tate Forcier, it's your move.

• Mark Mangino, Kansas. So much for the "Win One for Coach" angle in Jayhawk-ville. KU's sixth straight loss — a 51-20 beatdown by Texas — will fuel the tide against Mangino, whose focus is on his team, if he makes it to the Mizzou game.

Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com.

Game balls

Stat of the day

Fantastic frosh?

Making history

D-II fireworks

Injury report

Quotes of the day

Making history

• No. 4 TCU routed Wyoming 45-10 to give the Frogs their first 11-0 record since 1938.
• Texas Tech recorded its most lopsided win ever over Oklahoma. Behind 388 passing yards from Taylor Potts, the Red Raiders handed the Sooners a 41-13 defeat.
• Temple, thanks to 156 rushing yards from Matt Brown, won a school-record ninth straight game.

Heading up

Northwestern. The victory over No. 17 Wisconsin was the Wildcats' third straight and their fourth in the last five games. QB Mike Kafka has thrown for more than 300 yards in his last two games, which for a Big Ten QB is equivalent to throwing for about 800 in a game.

Heading down

Oklahoma. The issues in Norman go beyond Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford being sidelined this season. Bradford didn't play defense, did he? A team stacked with NFL talent may very well finish 6-6. Wow.

Numbers of the day

17, 12: Iowa and Minnesota combined for more punts (17) than points (12) in a game that will be replayed at sleep clinics around the world. The teams combined to go 5-of-33 on third-down conversions, and the only touchdown was a 1-yard run (Iowa won 12-0).

Had enough yet? Sorry, there's more. The Hawkeyes managed 1.5 yards per rush; the Gophers responded with 1.3. Minnesota completed 14 of 42 passes for 153 yards; Iowa completed 11 of 24 for 117. Just think, you might get to watch these exhilarating Hawkeyes in a BCS bowl, too!

Unit Watch

• North Carolina defense. Cam Thomas and Kendric Burney had defensive touchdowns, Deunta Williams picked off three passes and the Heels forced six turnovers in the win over Boston College.

• Virginia Tech defensive front seven. The Hokies held N.C. State to 14 rushing yards on 26 carries, and LB Cody Grimm forced two fumbles in his final home game.

Second guess of the day

In a game of coaching blunders, LSU's Les Miles one-upped Ole Miss' Houston Nutt. Nutt's decision to go for two in the second quarter nearly bit him at the end, but LSU's two-point conversion to tie with 1:17 left failed.

The Tigers, however, got the ball back, trailing 25-23, on an onside kick. That's when Miles went into meltdown mode. LSU wasted 17 seconds before calling a timeout after the third-down play. After the timeout, the Tigers completed a 43-yard pass to the 6. But Miles did not send out his field goal team. Time expired before LSU could spike the ball — although spiking it shouldn't have been the play anyway.

One for Jazz

After three tough losses, Connecticut finally won one for slain teammate Jasper Howard. Andre Dixon scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second overtime to give the Huskies a 33-30 victory at Notre Dame, their first win since Howard was stabbed to death. "Jazz, this is for you," coach Randy Edsall said, referring to Howard by his nickname. "Best win we have ever had."

Nice parting gift

Longtime Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who is retiring after this season, was given a new garnet Ford crew cab pickup from his former players. An even better gift: Not being around for the mega mess that will envelope the program even further next year. But on a positive note, Florida State's home escape of blundering Maryland made the Seminoles bowl eligible for a 28th straight season.

Old school

The country's oldest rivalry — Lehigh vs. Lafayette — grew even older than expected. The teams have played 145 times since 1897, and the latest went a little extra. Al Pierce's interception in overtime sealed Lehigh's 27-21 win over Lafayette. It was just the second time the rivalry has gone into OT.

Bama bully

Alabama was expected to embarrass Division I-AA Chattanooga. And it certainly did. Chatty's offensive numbers were comical: Zero points, zero return yards, five first downs, 36 passing yards, 48 rushing yards, seven completions, three interceptions.

"I told the players if we had lost this game today, there would be nothing else that would tarnish what you've accomplished more than that. You would someday be an NFL player in a Mercedes-Benz and roll your window down to talk to a pretty girl and she'd say, 'You lost to Chattanooga when you played at Alabama,' " Tide coach Nick Saban said.

An Orange weekend

Perhaps the Syracuse football team was inspired by the basketball team's victory over defending NCAA champion North Carolina on Friday night. How else do you explain Syracuse 31, No. 25 Rutgers 13?

The Orange held Rutgers to some sorry stats: 104 passing yards, 26 rushing yards, 18 punt return yards. But c'mon, what was Rutgers doing in the Top 25 anyway? At least Syracuse took care of that oversight.

Coaching quote of the day

"Part of me wishes I could've thrown it every down, but that's hard to do." — Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, after his team's 42-21 win over Mississippi State.

This story appears in Nov. 22's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today.

Derek Samson is a senior editor for Sporting News. Email him at dsamson@sportingnews.com.