Listed in the combined poll results below are polls from HeismanPundit/CBSSports.com, ESPN, and USA Today combined together. There are 928 official voters for the Heisman Trophy.  

Georgia State head coach Bill Curry coached his last game on November 10, 2012 in a drubbing 51-7 loss to Maine. The final score of his final game does not necessarily represent the final impact of Curry's coaching and football career. 

Curry took the job at Georgia State 12 years after his last time as a head coach at Kentucky in 1996. He was also previously the head coach at Georgia Tech and Alabama. Curry was named both ACC and SEC coach of the year during his tenures with the Ramblin' Wreck and Crimson Tide. 

This preseason when Curry announced he was to retire this year, Georgia State running back Parris Lee said on Twitter, "this man has changed my life forever it will be hard to see him go. ill do wherever i can to help him leave."

I had the opportunity to have a brief discussion with Curry this summer at the Sun Belt Media Day. He was politely accommodating during the interview, but I could see in his eyes that he was very tired. Curry told me, "It is tough to compete and win in today's world of football... Our guys have to work out year round now. I was not aware that it was this demanding on this generation, but it is so we are demanding more and more to show and have a quantum improvement."

His 10-23 record with the Panthers may not show what he really accomplished. He did a lot when taking on the challenge of helping build a program from scratch. Curry is a class act and I give a good farewell to his head coaching career.

Even though there is now more certainty about the BCS Championship, there are still plenty of BCS Bowl berths up for grabs. After Louisiana Tech lost to Utah State in week 12, the hope of a BCS Buster looked to be over, but then Kent State snuck up on the BCS. 

If the Golden Flashes win on Friday, the BCS Bowls could look a little awkward. Florida could end up playing Rutgers or Louisville instead of Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl and Florida State could end up playing Kent State instead of Rutgers or Louisville in the Orange Bowl. Kent State will receive an automatic bid if they finish in the top 16 and above another BCS automatic qualifier conference champion. There are no Big East teams ranked in the BCS Standings. The winner of Louisville at Rutgers will be the Big East automatic qualifier.

Other than losing, the only other thing that may keep Kent State out of the top 16 is if UCLA pulls off the upset against Stanford. If the Bruins beat the Cardinal, they would both most likely remain in the top 16 which would keep the Golden Flashes, currently at 17, out unless other upsets occur. 

Remember all the huffing and puffing about the rivalry game between Texas and Texas A&M being knocked off the schedule? They may play again sooner than expected since they are projected to play each other in the Cotton Bowl. There are still other scenarios. LSU could make it to the Cotton Bowl as well or Alabama if they lose in the SEC Championship. The Aggies could also play in the Capital One Bowl, but I am still projecting them to be in the Cotton Bowl. 

For the full bowl schedule and BCS selection procedures, there are links posted after the projections. All BCS Bowls are projected along with three non-BCS Bowls.

Championships and other important games this week with BCS ranking and USA Today point spread: 

Thursday: 
Louisville at Rutgers, Scarlet Knights by 2

Friday: 
MAC Championship, 21 Northern Illinois vs 17 Kent State, Huskies by 6.5
Pac-12 Championship, 16 UCLA at 8 Stanford, Cardinal by 10

Saturday:
11 Oklahoma at TCU, Sooners by 8
18 Texas at 6 Kansas State, Wildcats by 11
SEC Championship, 2 Alabama vs 3 Georgia, Crimson Tide by 8.5
ACC Championship, 13 Florida State vs Georgia Tech, Seminoles by 13
Big Ten Championship, 12 Nebraska vs Wisconsin, Cornhuskers by 2.5

Projection if favorites win: 1 Notre Dame vs 2 Alabama
Projection if Georgia and other favorites win: 1 Notre Dame vs 3 Georgia
Bowl tie-in: BCS number one vs BCS number two

Projection if favorites win: 5 Oregon vs 6 Kansas State
Bowl tie-in: Big 12 Champion vs at-large team

Projection if favorites win: 4 Florida vs 11 Oklahoma
Projection if Kent State and other favorites win: 4 Florida vs Rutgers
Bowl tie-in: SEC Champion vs at-large team 

Projection if favorites win: 8 Stanford vs 12 Nebraska
Bowl tie-in: Pac-12 Champion vs Big Ten Champion

Projection if favorites win: 13 Florida State vs Rutgers
Projection if Kent State and other favorites win: 13 Florida State vs 17 Kent State
Bowl tie-in: ACC Champion vs at-large team

Projection if favorites win: 9 Texas A&M vs 18 Texas
Projection if Georgia and other favorites win: 2 Alabama vs 18 Texas
Bowl tie-in: Big 12 team vs SEC team

Projection if favorites win: 3 Georgia vs 19 Michigan
Bowl tie-in: SEC team vs Big Ten team 

Projection if favorites win: 7 LSU vs 14 Clemson
Bowl tie-in: ACC team vs SEC team

It is firing season in college football when head coaches with too many losses get the boot out the door. Many of the terminations were expected. Auburn coach Gene Chizik became the first major college football coach to be fired within two seasons of winning a national title. Chizik actually has the best winning percentage (last school at) of coaches out this season. Thirteen coaches have either been terminated or retired this season, just over 10 percent of FBS coaches. I included Georgia State, a program in transition to the FBS.

Announced Sunday November 25:
Gene Chizik, Auburn (33-19)
Frank Spaziani, Boston College (22-29)
Jon Embree, Colorado (4-21)
Tom O'Brien, NC State (40-35)
Danny Hope, Purdue (22-27)

Announced earlier in the season:
John L. Smith, Arkansas (4-8)
Jed Tedford, California (82-57)
Bill Curry, Georgia State (10-23) retired
Robb Akey, Idaho (20-50)
Joker Phillips, Kentucky (13-24)
Derek Dooley, Tennessee (15-21)
Mike Price, UTEP (48-61) retired
Bill Cubit, Western Michigan (51-47)

*Listed in parentheses are the coaches' records while at the school. 

With last weekend's wild results in college football, many are left wondering how various scenarios could play out for the BCS Championship. It is certain that Notre Dame and Alabama will make it to the national championship if they both win out, but if one loses, BCS chaos could erupt again. 

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said, "Now we don't have to answer questions about style points or politics or anything like that. We get a chance to play for the national championship- provided we win this week." (USA Today)

Georgia also controls their own destiny; win out and they are in the big game. Trying to not look too far ahead, Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said, "We're just focusing on today really, and then we'll focus on tomorrow. It's one day at a time."

There are still others looming that have a good shot if one of the top teams slip up. Florida and Oregon are the next two most likely to move up if a falter happens. Kansas State and LSU are distant longshots, but only if there is BCS armageddon with all sorts of crazy upsets.   

Ohio State has been steadily creeping up the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and are on the bubble to break the AP top three for week 14. If Ohio State blows out Michigan by 10 points or more and Georgia only defeats Georgia Tech by single digits, the Buckeyes will move up to three; Only 24 points separated the two teams in the AP Top 25 for week 13. Ohio State would move to three by default if Georgia loses or after the SEC Championship game when either the Tide or Bulldogs lose. Of course, Michigan has a chance to halt Ohio State's rise in the top 25 if they pull off the upset.  

When Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was asked about the pressure of the Michigan rivalry game and a possible AP national championship, he said, "I'm concerned, but the good thing is I've been coaching for a while now, and nothing you can control other than getting ready to go play the game. So I think you learn that along the journey. I think, if it was the first rodeo and all that, I'd be worried about this, worried about that...So I am concerned, but you've got to move forward and do the best you can."

Depending on weekend results, I may post updates of projections before the official BCS Standings come out and sometime after the Coaches Poll noon release time. Updates will be listed below in this post or you can bookmark the Projections page.

***Update Nov 25 Sunday 12:45 AM ET***
Notre Dame defeated USC 22-13. Alabama and Georgia both won today. The BCS National Championship will be Notre Dame vs winner of Alabama and Georgia. Projections remain the same as posted below. Florida won so they will stay at BCS number four. Ohio State is still on the bubble for the AP top three, but I am not projecting them at third since Georgia won handily over Georgia Tech. 

***Update Nov 25 Sunday 2:20 PM ET***
Official AP top five: 1 Notre Dame, 2 Alabama, 3 Georgia, 4 Ohio State, and 5 Florida. Oregon is 20 points behind Florida for the fifth spot in the AP Top 25. Official Coaches Poll top five: 1 Notre Dame, 2 Alabama, 3 Georgia, 4 Oregon, and 5 Florida. The projected BCS top five remain the same. 

***Update Nov 25 Sunday 8:45 PM ET***
Official BCS top five: 1 Notre Dame .998, 2 Alabama .924, 3 Georgia .891, 4 Florida .888, and 5 Oregon .863 .


Follow College Football Universe late Saturday nights and early Sunday mornings for projections before the official polls are released.

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Here are the all-time series records for some of this week's prominent rivalry games. Of the rivalries listed below, Oklahoma has the largest series lead and the Iron Bowl (Alabama vs Auburn) has the most even series record. The series leader for each rivalry is listed first.

Nebraska vs Iowa 27-12-3

LSU vs Arkansas 35-20-2

Colorado vs Utah 31-24-3

Washington vs Washington State 67-31-6

Arizona vs Arizona State 47-37-1

Georgia vs Georgia Tech 62-37-5

Michigan vs Ohio State 53-42-6

Illinois vs Northwestern 54-46-5

Virginia Tech vs Virginia 51-37-5

Oregon vs Oregon State 59-46-10

Alabama vs Auburn 39-34-1 

Florida vs Florida State 33-21-2

Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State 82-17-7

Ole Miss vs Mississippi State 60-42-6

Notre Dame vs USC 43-34-5

Clemson vs South Carolina 65-40-4

The Mid-American Conference equals three BCS conferences- ACC, Big East, and Big Ten - in the number of teams ranked in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll. 

For the first time since 1973, Kent State was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 beginning week 12 of this season. Golden Flashes coach Darrell Hazell said, "We are very excited to be in the Top 25, but there are still many more goals to be accomplished."

This week, Northern Illinois is now ranked along with Kent State at 24th and 23rd respectively in the AP Poll. The Huskies have not been ranked in the Top 25 of a major poll since 2010 which was for just one week that year. Northern Illinois has been strongly promoting their star QB Jordan Lynch and he recently received a few votes on Heisman Polls. 

Kent State and Northern Illinois have each already clinched berths in the MAC Championship on Friday November 30 at Ford Field in Detroit. It will be a Top 25 showdown if both teams win this Friday. 

The Conference USA and Sun Belt conferences are the only two without a team ranked in a major poll. The parity of conference play in the Sun Belt may have held them back from having a team ranked.

According to all major polls, Johnny "Football" Manziel is the current leader in what has been an up and down Heisman race this season. The Texas A&M Aggies sensation has a strong chance to become the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. The university is also campaigning for Manziel as Heisman and has a webpage with a YouTube video dedicated to the effort. Manziel has now climbed to a heavy favorite coming into the closing week of the Aggies' season. 

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o still has a shot to win. If Johnny Football falls apart against Missouri while Te'o pulls off some big plays at USC, then the he could have a chance at a come from behind victory for the Heisman. According to the USA Today Survey, Te'o and Manziel are tied in number one votes. But right now, the Trophy is Johnny Football's to lose. 

Collin Klein's stock dropped drastically after his three interception performance that ended with a 52-24 loss at Baylor. The Kansas State QB went from first last week to currently third while losing 124 total points in the three polls listed below. Klein will probably still go to New York, but his chances of winning the Trophy have grown slim very fast.  

There are a some new additions to the poll, but they will probably not be finalists. Northern Illinois QB Jordan Lynch received votes in both the USA Today and ESPN polls. Last week, I wrote about Lynch and the Heisman campaign that NIU has put out for him. 

Listed in the combined poll results below are polls from HeismanPundit/CBSSports.com, ESPN, and USA Today combined together. There are 928 official voters for the Heisman Trophy. 

The Big 12 outpaced the SEC in average salary pay per coach according to a USA Today report. The SEC still has the top paid coach, Alabama's Nick Saban, and they have eight coaches in the top 25 of the highest paid. The Big Ten has five of the top 25 salaries for coaches and the Big 12 has four. 

The SEC actually saw a decrease in average salary since last season, but that is partially due to new coaches hired for relatively low pay for the conference such as Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze ($1,505,500) and Arkansas coach John L. Smith ($850,000). The SEC average should rise at least some by next season since Arkansas is likely to be shelling out more money for a new coach.

The popularity of college football and the money frenzy dedicated to winning has skyrocketed the pay of coaches in the FBS. There are 66 coaches making at least $1 million, 42 at least $2 million, and 13 at least $3 million. That is up drastically from 2006 when 42 coaches made at least $1 million, only 13 at least $2 million, and just one at least $3 million.

There are many people disgruntled with the pay of corporate executives and how they have increased in relation to other jobs. I wonder if people are just as disgruntled about the large salaries of major college football coaches. Put your vote in about it on the fan poll at the bottom. 

Top Three Average Coaches Pay per Conference in College Football
1. Big 12, $3 million
2. SEC, $2.7 million 
3. Big Ten, $2.3 million
FBS average: $1.64 million
*averages are approximate. 

1. Nick Saban, Alabama, SEC, $5,476,738
2. Mack Brown, Texas, Big 12, $5,353,750
3. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma, Big 12, $4,550,000
4. Urban Meyer, Ohio State, Big Ten, $4,300,000
5. Les Miles, LSU, SEC, $3,856,417
6. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, Big Ten, $3,835,000
7. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina, SEC, $3,585,000
8. Gene Chizik, Auburn, SEC, $3,577,500
9. Chip Kelly, Oregon, Pac-12, $3,500,000
10. Gary Patterson, TCU, Big 12, $3,467,926
11. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State, Big 12, $3,275,000
12. Brady Hoke, Michigan, Big Ten, $3,046,120
13. Todd Graham, Arizona State, Pac-12, $3,000,000
14. Mark Richt, Georgia, SEC, $2,925,340
15. Bo Pelini, Nebraska, Big Ten, $2,875,000
16. Jimbo Fisher, Florida State, ACC, $2,750,000
17. Gary Pinkel, Missouri, SEC, $2,700,000
18. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin, Big Ten, $2,640,140
19. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State, SEC, $2,600,000
19. Jed Tedford, California, Pac-12, $2,600,000
21. Mike London, Virginia, ACC, $2,556,460
22. Charlie Weis, Kansas, Big 12, $2,500,000
23. Will Muschamp, Florida, SEC, $2,474,500
24. Larry Fedora, North Carolina, ACC, $2,448,605
25. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech, ACC, $2,445,700

Next Up: 
Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M, SEC, $2,436,300
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech, ACC, $2,428,000
Steve Sarkisian, Washington, Pac-12, $2,425,000
Brian Kelly, Notre Dame, Ind, $2,424,301
Lane Kiffin, USC, Pac-12, $2,406,505

Source: USA Today

The finalists for the Outland Trophy was announced Monday November 19 by the Football Writers Association of America. 

All three players made the College Football Universe All-America Team and I nominated Barrett Jones for the 2012 Outland Trophy; Jones was the 2011 winner. He was also my top rated college offensive football lineman this preseason and is a definite favorite for the Outland after his performance on the field in 2012.  

Outland Trophy Finalists

C Barrett Jones 6-5 302 Sr, Alabama

OT Luke Joeckel 6-6 310 Jr, Texas A&M

OG Jonathan Cooper  6-3, 305 Sr, North Carolina