dalton look to run. cut down at the 5-yard line by ray lewis. they are go to need the field goal at some point. and marvin lewis deciding he will kick the field goal here. dan: fans disagreeing with this. but they are not doing the math that you just pointed out. ian: the formula obviously if you are this deep you feel we are so close i would like to get that out of the way. but because of the time restraints they have to take the field goal. 23-yard chip shot. nugent converts. it is an eight-point game with 2:39 to play. cincinnati has two time-outs remaining. for those expect to see 60 minutes you are watching the

nfl on cbs. dan: two time-outs for the bengals. they don't have to onside kick here. they can stop the clock as long as they keep baltimore from picking up first downs. ian: the game has gotten a little closer between san diego and oakland. 31-25 now the chargers in front. cincinnati is not thinking about backing into the playoffs. the goal all week, this was a confident group that really believed they could go toe-to-toe with the baltimore ravens and win their way into the postseason. dan: i think that is the remarkable thing about this team. they are a young team. but they are a confident team.

you talked about all of the comebacks they had this year. that helps to build your confidence. ravens have 10 men within 10 yards of the ball. ian: a cincinnati team that was 4-12 in 2010. carson palmer threatened to retire. they ended up dealing him to oakland. nugent kicks it off and over the head of webb. baltimore has it at the 20-yard line. 2:39 left in the fourth quarter. marvin lewis trusting his defense to go out to stop baltimore here with two time-outs remaining and an eight-point differential. if they stopped them on a three-and-out, they can get it

with just under two minutes to play, if baltimore ran three straight running plays. we will see how the ravens approach it. dan: they bring in their diesel package. offside. crucial mistake by marshall yanda. >> false start, offense, number 73. this almost guarantees they will have to throw a pass in this series. ian: that is yanda's first penalty of the season. dan: remember, he did not practice a lot this week because of injury. when that happens, this happens sometimes. ian: injured ribs and a thigh bruise for yanda. it is first and 15 for baltimore. rice in the backfield. leach in front of him. if smith is the motion man. handoff to ray rice. rice turns it upfield.

rice is brought down across the 30-yard line. dan: phenomenal job by rice, not only getting to the outside but staying inbounds, picking up the first down and causing the bengals to burn a time-out. ian: complete team effort for baltimore. dan: could have easily stepped out of bounds and saved himself a bruise or two. he knew the most important thing is to take time off the clock. ian: 185 yards for ray rice rushing, two touchdowns. so effective out in space bobby: and that big play threat that we have seen on display for those two long touchdown runs. now, the best that cincinnati can do is to get the ball back with 1:10 left. again, that is if baltimores

that three runs and don't get the first down. give is to rice. brought down dan: ray rice, 70 yards on this run. bernard scott gets them back in the game with this touchdown. forced fumble by gresham. ray rice with a long touchdown run. and now rice, you can add that last 16-yard they're he had. averaged almost nine yards per carry. such an intelligent player. ian: will andy dalton get another chance? since nat seout of time-outs.

2:26 to play in the fourth. baltimore win and they are the two-seed in the a.f.c. cincinnati wins, they get a wild card spot. this will take us to the two-minute warning here in two-minute warning here in cincinnati.

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ian: the wind wins today. it is reeking havoc here. the bengals 16. a third and 8 for the ravens. you would think they have to go run here just to use up the clock, and they do. ray rice. bengals make the play defensively and now baltimore will punt it.

dan: baltimore can afford to let the clock go down to zero and take a delay of game penlt penalty. they will have the wind behind them. bengals have done a good job with their return game. there is nobody covering this man up here. what does the wind do with this punt? dan: you can just throw the ball out here. there is nobody here. time-out baltimore. this is their second. dan: they don't trust the punter. ian: that is the tough spot. you see the wind. if it does not work out -- dan: and it is windy, too. let's just punt it. ian: that is what i would say coach. dan: you got the coach.

ian: rucker was hurt on that last play for cincinnati on defense. people in baltimore on edge knowing what is at stake for the ravens. cincinnati can still get in with a loss. denver and kansas city, it is close to the chiefs knocking off the broncos here in week 17. brandon tate at the 18-yard line of cincinnati. booming kick. this one goes right into the end zone. back out to the 20-yard line. 6 -yard punt, net of 43 and

andy dalton, it comes down to 1:05 of his rookie season with his team down by 8 and he has to go 80 yards. 24-16, baltimore in front. first and 10 for the bengals. dalton from the gun. dalton throws it over the middle in stride to jermaine gresham. spilled out across midfield. a 31-yard pick up. dan: great cover 2 beater by gresham against ray lewis and a beautiful throw by dalton. ian: denver has lost to kansas

city. now the question is baltimore going to be in the number two seed? dan: if he can grab this pass, he is gone. ball thrown late to the outside by dalton. look at the break by carr. ian: 40 seconds to play. second and 10 for cincinnati. dalton offline on that pass for andrew hawkins. third down and long for the bengals. dan: obviously they have two downs to pick up this 10 yards and keep the drive going. 36 seconds now. there is the word. the fans just heard about that denver loss. ian: rousing reaction from the fans here at paul brown

stadium. they just showed the oakland-san diego score. everything is breaking cincinnati's way. he has leonard for a first down. no time-outs though. 27 seconds left. dan: get up to the line and clock it. kill the ball quickly. dalton, knocked down. haloti ngata. 11 seconds remaining. dan: they waisted a lot of time by not getting to the line of scrimmage and killing the ball, regrouping in the huddle. remember, they have a guy that can jump out of the stadium in jerome simpson and jermaine gresham can get up there too. they may be saving all of their bullet it is for the last hail

mary. ian: toss a.j. green into that equation as well. dan: absolutely. ian: they have to look sideline or just go hail mary now. float its upstairs, knocked away. two seconds remaining. a.j. green was in the end zone. dan: the fans can't believe they are not calling pass interference. right side of the screen. good move by dalton here to buy extra time. he had his left hand on the shoulder of a.j. green. the official right there won't throw the flag. ian: so, this is it. two seconds to play.

cincinnati down by 8. dalton thrown it is incomplete. the baltimore ravens have secured the number two seed in the a.f.c.. a first round bye. and they will have home field in the divisional round as they capture the a.f.c. north. they sweep the division to finish 12-4. the bengals with the loss are still going to the playoffs. they will finish up at 9-7. tonight on cbs -- james: we will take you out to the san diego-oakland contest.

>> we welcome those of you who have just joined us, as carson palmer connects with darrius heyward-bey, who spun around a couple of times with the corner, antwan jason. raiders are on the move as we come up on five minutes to play here in the fourth quarter. san diego with a 38-26 lead. raiders need a win to make it to the playoffs. and the only way to make it is by winning the afc west. with denver losing earlier at home. here's palmer throwing deep. had it broken up. pass intended for heyward-bey, covered by antwan cason. >> cason is really playing off. in this particular situation, it worked out pretty good. they try and run the little double move, the little out and up for darrius heyward-bey.

doesn't do a goodough job selling it by getting his head around. cason then doesn't fall for it. i think if they can complete the route underneath. cason, he's playing very far off. >> palmer, now 26-40, 398 yards, two touchdowns. he has bush and reese in the backfield as he works out of the shotgun. palmer to the sideline. it's intercepted! it is picked off by antwan cas cason. so the chargers take over on the interception by cason with 4:36 remaining in this fourth quarter. the pass intended for jacoby ford. >> and keep in mind, jacoby ford has been out of the lineup the last couple of weeks. if you notice, carson palmer doesn't have a lot of rest. it looks like he stumbles coming out of the break and that's all

it takes. cason right there to make this easy interception on the boundary. >> meanwhile, in denver, they are rooting ferociously for the san diego chargers, despite that bronco loss if the raiders lose, denver wins the afc west on the third tiebreaker, which is record against common opponents. the handoff to tolbert. picked up two on the play. time for an nfl today update. let's go to j.b. and boomer. >> and denver was trying to win it on its own, boom. >> missed opportunities for the oakland raiders if they lose. tim tebow, 4th and 2. he's going to throw an interception to brandon carr. kansas city is going to win. 7-3. baltimore beats cincinnati. they go to the 2 seed. pittsburgh's the 5 seed. cincinnati's the 6 seed. and all we have to do is wait and see if oakland can win the

football game to get the 4 seed. >> precisely what's happening now. back to marv and rich. >> all right, guys. 2nd down and 7 for the chargers. the toss to tolbert and he is batted off. if the chargers hold on and win this game, and when raider fans look back -- and a time-out now has been called by oakland. it's their last time-out -- one of the major points of discussion will deal with clock management. in particular, rich gannon, at the end of the first half, they were not able to get the punter on the field for the field goal and there have been other instances where mistakes have really hurt them here this afternoon. and as you see the playoff picture, everything locked in and set except for the number 4 spot, which is the winner of the afc west. and oakland, as i mentioned, must pull out a come-from-behind win right here.

otherwise, denver, despite the loss, wins the division. >> how ironic is that? the broncos finish in that locker room pulling for the chargers. >> a reverse for vincent jackson, who finds some running room. gets across midfield. jackson is pulled down from behind by matt giardello. vincent jackson, who made that touchdown catch earlier, goes for 41 yards. >> and philip rivers gets out in front of this. you're going to see vincent jackson, he comes around. philip rivers makes the key block. he kicks him out. now vincent jackson is off and running. big block by the quarterback. >> vincent jackson with the

end-around. he has been one of the nfl's top big play receivers. and this a toss. jacob hester, the fullback, getting the call. stopped by mcclain, middle linebacker. five for hester. the crowd beginning to file out here at the coliseum in oakland. a disappointed crowd. the raiders with every opportunity going up against their archrival, the san diego chargers, a team that with a win will finish at 8-8 but that six-game losing streak dashed their hopes -- and there were so many hopes for this team coming into the season. inside handoff for hester and a flag comes flying. >> that's got to be a false start. maybe a neutral zone infraction.

thought i had oakland there in the neutral zone. marv, you mentioned it, just a -- >> referee: offsides, defense, number 96. [inaudible] >> yeah, that's lamar houston jumping offsides. that adds on to the raiders' record of penalties set this season. they've got 163 penalties. it's been a big story. hard to overcome that. marv, you mentioned the issue before halftime, the mismanagement of the clock, that situation, a couple of unnecessary time-outs in the second half. just a frustrating day for hugh jackson. they just made too many mistakes, too many mistakes to overcome in a game like this against the chargers. >> coming up on two minutes remaining. jacob hester, stopped by lamar houston. no gain on the play. and there is the two-minute warning with san diego in front

warning with san diego in front of oakland 38-26. ♪ [ male announcer ] there are over half a million apps and counting on the iphone. apps that can take you anywhere and do anything. you might say there's no limit to what this amazing device can do. so the question to ask is -- why would anyone want to limit the iphone? [ phone beeping ] we don't. truly unlimited data for your iphone, trouble hearing on the phone?

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subway. eat fresh. >> marv: tonight on cbs, "60 minutes," an investigation into the s.a.t. cheating scandal, followed by "unforgettable," "the good wife" and "cbs: miami." tonight, only cbs. two minutes to play in this fourth quarter. marv albert, rich gannon from oakland. and they take a knee and are looking to run it out. how about without ryan matthews, such an important player for the san diego chargers. averaging just under five yards per carry at running back. the chargers still managed to rush for 156 yards here today. >> rich: yeah, really nice job by brinkley. he comes in and gets 52. tolbert comes in for nine carries and 58 yards. they mixed in some screens. and, of course, philip rivers was very effective throwing the football, spreading it around to floyd and the receivers. gates had a big day. five catches, 106 yards. how about malcolm floyd, seven

catches, 127 yards and a touchdown. >> marv: we welcome those of you who have just joined us. you can hear the boos from the crowd as the chargers are just running it out. what a day for philip rivers. 19-26, 310 yards, three touchdowns, picked off once. and the oakland raiders continue the drought. they have not made the playoffs since back in 2002. denver, despite the loss at home to kansas city, wins the afc west. they do it with the third tiebreaker, record versus common opponents. and as we talked about earlier, the game is significant. looking back, denver beating miami in overtime, the start of the tim tebow comeback trail. and oakland lost to the heat.

and maybe the dolphins too. >> rich: look at that longest active playoff drought. go back to 2002. and it's a frustrating year. kansas city did their part in terms of beating denver today, marv, and all the raiders had to do was take care of business at home against the chargers and they couldn't get it done. >> marv: and detroit, san francisco and houston end their playoff drought. >> rich: the big difference today, they couldn't get to philip rivers. the first game, they got to him. six times today. they just couldn't get him. no sack for the raiders defense. you give a guy like philip rivers time, he's going to hurt you down the field. >> marv: oakland taking over on downs. and the swing pass to murphy. he'll get out of bounds. 21 seconds to play.

and words with cason and murphy after that catch. and here is a look at the playoff picture. the division winners settled. new england, baltimore, houston and denver. pittsburgh and cincinnati, the wildcard teams. >> rich: it's ironic cincinnati makes it in without carson palmer, the rookie quarterback. andy dalton had an outstanding season. >> marv: gets across the 40, led by marcus gilchrest. and that will wrap it. he remained inbounds. so the oakland raiders, who have not made the playoffs since back in 2002, are taken out of it by one of their archrivals. the question is the future of

head coach norv turner and general manager a.j. smith. marv albert with rich gannon saying so long from the coliseum in oakland. san diego 38, oakland 26. tonight on cbs, "60 minutes" followed by "unforgettable," "the good wife," and "cbs: miami." as we bid you so long from oakland. you have been watching the nfl on cbs. it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer.

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captioning funded by cbs and ford-- built for the road ahead. >> i'm going to keep on talking to eric cantor. someday, sooner or later, he's going to say, "boy, obama had a good idea." >> stahl: the president is talking about republican house majority leader eric cantor, the person the white house blames more than anybody else for the perpetual gridlock in washington. >> i understand people's frustration, i really do.

i mean, there's a lot of people unemployed. a lot of people who have lost hope right now. >> stahl: but they're as frustrated with the congress, that you're playing games, it feels like. >> there's not... there's no games. what we're trying to do is trying to do what's good for this country. >> stewart: do you think you could pull off this scam today? >> given the same security measures? >> stewart: yeah. >> easily, piece of cake. >> stewart: sam eshaghoff's scam was getting paid thousands of dollars to take the s.a.t. test for other students. he did it at least 16 times, scoring in the 97th percentile of the country. >> i would call him an academic gun for hire. that's what he was. >> stewart: people just needed him to get a job done and he got it done. >> and he was the man. >> right when he pulls into that crack, that's, like, the point of no return. it becomes world class right there. >> logan: i don't even like the sound of that, "the point of no return."

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>> stahl: 2011 will be remembered as a year of perpetual gridlock in washington, and open combat between the president and the republicans in congress. there was a litany of standoffs, from three near government shutdowns to a stalemate over raising the debt ceiling to the latest skirmish over extending the payroll tax cut. there seems to be more finger- pointing than governing, and the public is fed up. president obama's nemesis throughout the year was 48-year- old congressman eric cantor of virginia, the majority leader of the house, who played a major role in the republican strategy. the white house blames eric cantor, more than anyone else, for disrupting the president's first term, especially for scuttling one set of deficit reduction talks after another. we spoke to the majority leader recently, and asked him why everything in washington turns into a fight.

>> cantor: i understand people's frustration, i really do. i mean, there's a lot of people unemployed, a lot of people who've lost hope right now. >> stahl: but they're frustrated with the congress, that you're playing games, it feels like. >> cantor: there's not... there's no games. what we're trying to do is trying to do what's good for this country. >> stahl: why go through this brinksmanship, gamesmanship, one-upsmanship? explain it. maybe there's a real good answer. >> cantor: but ultimately, this is part of the legislative process that... i know it's frustrating. i live it. >> stahl: well, what do you say to the democrats who charge that all you're really trying to do is deprive the president of a win. >> cantor: that, to me, is... that's just political rhetoric and... and i dismiss that. because i really do believe that most, if not all, people who are elected to congress really want to do what's right with this country. >> stahl: you've got a 9%... congress has a 9% approval rating.

what do you think this conveys about confidence in our government? don't you think this is shredding that? >> cantor: well, i think that, ultimately, the confidence comes from good results. and you know, somehow that saying goes, "the harder you work, the sweeter the reward." and we're certainly being put to that test right now. >> president barack obama: i'm going to keep on talking to eric cantor. someday, sooner or later, he's going to say, "boy, obama had a good idea." >> stahl: president obama has made eric cantor the face of what he sees as republican inflexibility. cantor has fought the president's policies at every turn, including using his authority as majority leader to prevent a vote on the president's jobs bill. >> obama: i'd like mr. cantor to come down to dallas and explain what exactly in this jobs bill does he not believe in? >> stahl: cantor would say what he doesn't believe in is spending government money to create jobs. but the president's keying on him has taken its toll.

he's been picketed and heckled. >> ...eric cantor! >> stahl: he has fallen in the polls, and so has his party as, according to a cbs news poll, the public blames them more for the gridlock in washington. >> hi, everybody. >> stahl: driving much of the gridlock is the large republican freshmen class in the house. >> a two-month extension for the payroll tax bill and to unemployment is a non-starter. >> stahl: eric cantor was the one who went out in 2010 and recruited most of the freshmen who are conservative and backed by the tea party. >> cantor: continue to stay focused on economic growth and job creation. >> stahl: he meets with them regularly, and several of them told us cantor is their inspirational leader and father figure. but eric cantor does not want to be seen as unreasonable. to prove that he has been accommodating, cantor told us that, during his budget talks

last spring with vice president biden, he endorsed over $200 billion in revenue increases. so you were in favor of reducing some of the loopholes. >> cantor: absolutely. i said that in the very beginning. >> stahl: like what, like what? he says he was willing to get rid of tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, and corporate jets, and increase the special 15% tax rate on partners in private equity firms and some hedge funds. >> cantor: we have a tax code that is littered with preferences. because people who figure it out come to washington with their influence, and go and get provisions in the tax code that favor their industries. >> stahl: but then, he imposed a condition the democrats would not accept. he wanted every dollar of new revenue offset by equal cuts in tax rates. that is the crux of the stalemate hovering over congress on almost every single fiscal issue. >> cantor: let's just make sure we're revenue neutral at the end, okay? >> stahl: so there'd be no

benefit from revenues toward the deficit? >> cantor: well, if you want to raise taxes somewhere, we want a corresponding offset for the broader goal of lowering rates for everyone. >> stahl: with both sides dug in, five attempts to get a deficit reduction deal failed. cantor then proposed that the two sides put off their major disagreements and just vote on what had been agreed to in previous negotiations, which was roughly $10 in spending cuts for every $1 raised through revenues. that set off a testy exchange between cantor and the president at a white house meeting. didn't the president say repeatedly in the meeting that he wasn't going to agree to it without more revenues? >> cantor: who's not compromising there? who's not compromising there? >> stahl: well, they would say you, because you just wanted spending cuts. and i'm just trying to figure out where's the compromise coming from?

where's the compromise? >> cantor: again, there's plenty of compromise. we all know that there are ways to reduce spending in washington, okay. everybody... >> stahl: okay, but what about revenues? a compromise. you wanted the spending cuts, they wanted revenues. >> cantor: but my assertion at the white house meeting was, "look, take the progress now because look where we are now." we didn't take any of that progress, and we are worse off now than we would've been if we had just said incremental progress is a good thing. so let's go ahead and do that. >> stahl: but the president said ten to one was unfair and too imbalanced. we wondered if cantor would apply his idea of "making incremental progress"-- based on what the two sides could agree to-- to the bush tax cuts that expire end of this year. everybody says they want to preserve the tax cuts for the middle class. the disagreement is over the millionaires. so, why not keep the rates down for the middle class and worry about the millionaires later? you keep saying, "let's pocket what we got."

pocket what you got. >> cantor: if you're operating in an environment, a context of too much spending, everybody knows pocket those wins because the goal... >> stahl: but not pocket the wins on taxes, what? >> cantor: no, listen, listen, listen, listen-- the goal is to reduce the deficit. and so if you've got some cuts that you can agree on to reduce the deficit, take them. >> stahl: but revenues reduces the deficit. >> cantor: you can't tax your way out of that, it's so bad. you can't tax your way out of it. >> stahl: do you see the image of congress being part of your concerns, part of your portfolio? >> cantor: absolutely. absolutely. >> stahl: he's worried about the republicans hard-line image, and also his own, which is why he invited us home to see the other side of eric cantor. >> cantor: so we're counting on you to help us get the reality out to address that. >> stahl: as the only jewish republican in congress, he says if ever there was anyone who knows how to go along to get along, it's eric cantor, a guy who grew up in the heavily

christian south. >> cantor: i'm sure there were times at which i was very aware of not being like others. >> stahl: at home in richmond, virginia, he kept kosher and studied hebrew. but at his elite private school, as one of only a handful of jewish students, he just tried to blend in. >> cantor: every morning, we'd go to chapel at the collegiate school and... >> stahl: oh, my goodness. really? >> cantor: oh, yes. typically, the program wasn't always religious, but there was a prayer involved. >> stahl: well, what about christmas? >> cantor: i was in christmas pageants. i sang, i was in the choir, and i would sing the christmas carols and... and... >> stahl: did it make you uncomfortable? >> cantor: no. you're going to be on the camera. >> stahl: cantor wanted to introduce us to his family-- his wife of 22 years, diana, daughter jenna, son evan, and the only child still at home, michael. he told us something that surprised us-- that his button- down dad likes rap music.

>> cantor: i do the wiz khalifa stuff and jay-z, li'l wayne. >> stahl: is he cool? >> mikey cantor: he's cool. no one would ever know it, but he's cool. >> stahl: and this is diana's mother. >> cantor: i call her "mumma b." her name is barbara. >> stahl: your mother-in-law lives with you? >> cantor: absolutely. absolutely. we couldn't do it without her. >> stahl: obama, the president has the same thing. >> diana cantor: yeah. ( laughs ) yes. >> stahl: you actually have a connection. >> cantor: right. >> diana cantor: we do. we talk about that a lot, actually. yeah. >> stahl: have you talked with... does the president know? >> cantor: yeah. >> diana cantor: yes, yes. >> cantor: uh-huh. >> stahl: when they met, diana was working at goldman sachs in new york. she still works in finance as a partner at an investment management firm. >> mumma b: when i met eric, i saw that it's good to be republican, too. >> cantor: there you go. >> stahl: both his mother-in-law and his wife were liberal democrats, and while they have converted to the republican party, their beliefs don't always jibe with the congressman's. so you're pro-choice? >> diana cantor: i am. >> stahl: gay marriage?

what does that mean? >> diana cantor: i don't... >> stahl: you disagree with him? >> diana cantor: i do disagree. there's really that respect. if i expect him to respect my views that could be different, i certainly need to respect his. >> stahl: given his upbringing and his marriage, cantor says he's nothing like the intractable obstructionist the democrats say he is. >> cantor: nobody gets everything they want, and so... >> stahl: that's just exactly your image-- that you want only what you want. >> cantor: but it's just i hope i'm not coming across like that now, because it's just not who i am. i mean, it really is. >> stahl: so are you ready to compromise? >> cantor: so i have always been ready to cooperate. i mean, if you go back to the first... >> stahl: what's the difference between compromise and cooperate? >> cantor: well, i... well, i would say cooperate is let's look to where we can move things forward where we agree. comprising principles, you don't want to ask anybody to do that. that's who they are as their core being. >> stahl: but, you know, your idol, as i've read anyway, was ronald reagan. and he compromised. >> cantor: he never compromised

his principles. >> stahl: well, he raised taxes, and it was one of his principles not to raise taxes. >> cantor: well, he... he also cut taxes. >> stahl: but he did compromise... >> cantor: well, i... >> that just isn't true, and i don't want to let that stand. >> stahl: and at that point, cantor's press secretary interrupted, yelling from off camera that what i was saying wasn't true. >> ronald reagan: my fellow americans... >> stahl: there seemed to be some difficulty accepting the fact that, even though ronald reagan cut taxes, he also pushed through several tax increases, including one in 1982 during a recession. >> reagan: make no mistake about it-- this whole package is a compromise. >> cantor: we, as republicans, are not going to support tax increases. >> stahl: so, we've seen the two sides of eric cantor-- the push and pull between his hard- fighting style on legislation that appeals to his party's conservative wing, and his warm, southern gentleman demeanor. this is a nice big office. >> cantor: well, this is it.

>> stahl: in republican circles, he's seen as an ambitious man on the rise whose goal, it seems, is to one day be speaker of the house. for now, he's working on humanizing his image and presenting himself as more reasonable. as an american, are you proud of the president? >> cantor: you know, he is my commander-in-chief, you know? i respect the man. i like the president. you know, the disagreements that we have are policy based. you know, he's got a lot on his plate. i respect that. and i want to continue to try and work with him. >> stahl: so it's not a personal animosity between the two of you. >> cantor: certainly not. certainly not from my perspective. >> cbs money watch update sponsored by sporivea handy hailer. >> good evening, 55 million americans get a new year's raise. social security benefits are going up 3.6% this year.

u.s. savings bonds go paperless as of tomorrow they are sold on-line only. and mission impossible topped the box office at $31 million for its second straight win. i am-- cbs news. 2012 is a big year for athletes everywhere.

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>> stahl: now, alison stewart on assignment for "60 minutes". >> stewart: this past september, a 19-year-old college student named sam eshaghoff made national news when he was arrested and charged with fraud and criminal impersonation. his crime was taking the s.a.t. and a.c.t. tests for other people. he was so good at it, other students paid him thousands of

dollars to take the exams for them. the district attorney who charged him says sam eshaghoff was able to take the s.a.t.s at least 16 times, which has raised questions about the integrity and security surrounding one of the most important tests millions of high school students ever take. tonight, for the first time, sam eshaghoff tells us how and why he did it. >> sam eshaghoff: i thought that there was an easy way to make money. and just like any other easy way to make money, it's always too good to be true. >> stewart: who told you you were in trouble? >> eshaghoff: my parents got a phone call saying that there was a warrant for my arrest, which was scary and shameful. i felt like my world was going to come crashing down. >> stewart: until he was arrested in september, sam eshaghoff seemed like the perfect kid. at new york's great neck north

high school, he was a top student, vice president of the business club, and a varsity athlete. but what may have been his greatest talent was the one that got him in trouble-- his ability to ace standardized tests, which was how he began a double life as a con man. >> kathleen rice: i would call him an academic gun for hire. that's what he was. >> stewart: people just needed him to get a job done and he got it done. >> rice: and he was the man. >> stewart: nassau county district attorney kathleen rice filed criminal charges against eshaghoff and the students who hired him. >> rice: this was a huge fraud, from my perspective. this was lots of money changing hands. there were high stakes involved, and there was forgery, there was criminal impersonation. that's a fraud on many different levels, but most importantly, against the kids who play by the rules. >> stewart: during the course of your investigation, what did you discover about the process of

taking the s.a.t. and the security associated with taking the s.a.t. test? >> rice: how incredibly easy it is to cheat the system. there is absolutely no security in place whatsoever to prevent criminal impersonation like we see here from happening. >> stewart: so if i went up to any of those kids and i say, "do you know what this guy did?" they'd all know? >> eshaghoff: every single person would know who i am and what i do. >> stewart: eshaghoff says paid test-takers were an open secret among students at great neck north. he became the best known, but he says he was not the first. >> eshaghoff: i had heard of it happening successfully at my own high school. >> stewart: so tell me about taking the mental leap from "well, i heard other kids doing it" to "i think i'm going to do this." >> eshaghoff: well, it all started with some kid approaching me. he's like "yo, you're good on your s.a.t.s and i'm not, and you know this is possible. so, how much is it going to take?" >> stewart: here's how he did

it-- it was as simple as making a high school i.d., one of six forms of identification accepted at s.a.t. testing centers >> eshaghoff: a school i.d. is what... like, what is that? it's... like, it's some colors with literally a name and picture on it. so what i would do is took the template from my high school i.d., pasted my picture on top of it. and whatever the person's name whose test i was taking, i would have their name and date of birth on it. and it was really as easy as that. >> stewart: no social security number? >> eshaghoff: no. >> stewart: no driver's license, no passport? >> eshaghoff: name and date of birth. >> stewart: on a little piece of plastic >> eshaghoff: on a little piece of plastic that got laminated once. >> stewart: fake i.d. in hand, and with a bad case of nerves, eshaghoff began his lucrative career. >> eshaghoff: as soon as i took that first test-- and i went in and i killed it. like, i got my first time ever taking the test for somebody else, i got a perfect score on the math section. it was like, "whoa, that was easy." and that was great. and i'm good at this. >> stewart: it was clockwork from there.

over the course of nearly three years, he took the s.a.t. over and over again, consistently scoring in the 97% percentile or higher for the students he called his "clients." >> eshaghoff: i mean, my track record speaks for itself. like, if you know somebody's so stellar at doing something so flawlessly without one exception, it goes without saying that's a reliable service. >> stewart: were you invested at all in the score you would get? >> eshaghoff: oh, yeah, absolutely. just like any other business person, you want to have a good track record, right? and essentially, like, my whole clientele were based on word of mouth and, like, a referral system. so as soon as... like, as soon as i saved one kid's life... >> stewart: saving his life? >> eshaghoff: saving his life. >> stewart: what do you mean by "saving his life"? >> eshaghoff: i mean a kid who has a horrible grade point average, who, no matter how much he studies, is going to totally bomb this test. by giving him an ang