In the first game the Auburn Tigers needed every ounce of luck and strength to hold off the South Carolina Gamecocks 24-17. The Tigers showed flashes of brilliance on both sides of the ball and their RB Kenny Irons made Gamecock fans wonder what could’ve been with him. Irons ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.

The second half was a tale of two totally opposite quarters. After the first play of the 4th quarter the Tigers had not allowed the Gamecocks to register a yard on offense in the entire second half and had the lead at 24-10 which looked safe for Tigers’ fans. But the Cocks rallied back scoring a touchdown as Syvelle Newton’s hooked up with TE Jared Cook with 8:25 to go to bring it within 7. Cook had another chance to catch a TD as time was winding down but dropped a perfectly thrown Newton pass that would have easily been 6 and sent the game into overtime. Newton’s pass failed to Rice on 4th down with under a minute to go in the game to seal the loss for the Cocks.

Auburn QB Brandon Cox completed 9 of 13 passes for 125 yards. Even with the loss Syvelle Newton solidified his grasp on the #1 QB at South Carolina going 21 of 35 for 240 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He also ran 20 times for 44 yards.

BYU all but ended TCU’s chances to crash the BCS party by beating the Horned Frogs 31-17. The Cougars QB John Beck was the star of the game by completing 23 of 37 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. BYU used a balanced attack to keep the Frogs on their toes and converted on numerous third downs to keep drives alive and their defense off the field.

BYU beat a top 25 team for the first time since 1999 and TCU lost for the first time since the second game last season.