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Keeping track of how the 10 programs vying for this year's Lambert-Meadowlands trophy fared last week, and a look ahead to next weekend's action.
Standings
| Team | Overall | Conf | Next |
| 1t. Boston College Eagles | 7-5 | 4-4 | vs. Penn State |
| 1t. Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 7-5 | 3-5 | vs. North Carolina |
| 3t. Penn State Nittany Lions | 6-6 | 2-6 | vs. Boston College |
| 3t. Pittsburgh Panthers | 6-6 | 4-4 | vs. Houston |
| 3t. Temple Owls | 6-6 | 4-4 | -- |
| 6. Buffalo Bulls | 5-6 | 3-4 | -- |
| 7. Army Black Knights | 4-7 | -- | vs. Navy |
| 8t. Syracuse Orange | 3-9 | 1-7 | -- |
| 8t. Massachusetts Minutemen | 3-9 | 3-5 | -- |
| 10. Connecticut Huskies | 2-10 | 1-7 | -- |
Week 15 Results
SMU 27, Connecticut 20
Temple 10, Tulane 3
Only two games this week and boy were they special.
SMU QB Matt Davis ran for 191 yards and a TD and threw for another 145 yards to lead previously winless SMU to a 27-20 victory over UConn in front of hundreds of rain-soaked fans at the Rent. Up seven and with the ball on the UConn 1, SMU took two penalties on their victory formation before the clock hit 0:00. Clearly they didn't have much practice with that particular offensive play call.
Interim coach Tom Mason was ecstatic.
"That locker room, it was like winning the damn national championship," said interim coach Tom Mason, who was coaching his final game at the school after spending seven years as defensive coordinator.
Temple needed a late TD to slide past Tulane 10-3 to finish the year at 6-6. The two teams combined for 613 total yards, but just 3-of-30 on third down conversions (Temple finished 1-of-13). Unfortunately, Temple was one of five bowl-eligible teams that did not receive a berth, joining Middle Tennessee, Ohio, Texas State and UAB.
For the second time in four years, Temple is bowl-eligible but won't appear in a bowl game. Sad.
Week 16 / Postseason Schedule
Army vs. Navy
Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College vs. Penn State
Quick Lane Bowl: Rutgers vs. North Carolina
Armed Forces Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Houston
Army-Navy this weekend, but with the Black Knights just 4-7 on the year (including a loss to Yale), Army won't be a factor in this year's Lambert Meadowlands.
On to the bowls...only four of 10 Lambert Meadowlands-eligible teams are bowling, and BC and Penn State will face one another in the bowl game. A win over Penn State in the Pinstripe would almost certainly give the Eagles this year's trophy. BC may even be able to weather a loss in the Pinstripe assuming things break the right way in the rest of the bowls.
Here are the resumes of the four bowl-bound teams:
Boston College Eagles (7-5, 4-4 ACC)
Sagarin: 42
SOS (Sagarin): 57
Key Wins: #9 USC (37-31)
Bad Losses: None
Head-to-Head: Lost to Pittsburgh, 30-20
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten)
Sagarin: 70
SOS (Sagarin): 46
Key Wins: None
Bad Losses: None
Head-to-Head: Lost to Penn State, 13-10
Penn State Nittany Lions (6-6, 2-6 Big Ten)
Sagarin: 55
SOS (Sagarin): 62
Key Wins: None
Bad Losses: @ Illinois (16-14)
Head-to-Head: Defeated Rutgers, 13-10, Pinstripe Bowl vs. Boston College TBD
Pittsburgh Panthers (6-6, 4-4 ACC)
Sagarin: 53
SOS (Sagarin): 63
Key Wins: None
Bad Losses: Akron (21-10)
Head-to-Head: Defeated Boston College, 30-20
Obviously the easiest path to BC's first Lambert Meadowlands Trophy since 2004 would be to beat Penn State. However, even with a loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe, I'm not sure the other three teams have that much more of a compelling resume with a lack of signature wins and a few bad losses. We'll find out shortly.