2007 NCAA College Football Bowl Games Results, Commentary & Recap

By Ed Bagley

Coming into the 2007 college football 32-bowl game extravaganza that men love and women generally hate, here are some interesting facts to impress your friends:

Which team playing this year has made the most bowl game appearances? Here are the Top 10:
1) Alabama with 54,
2) Texas and Tennessee, both 46,
4) Southern California 45,
5) Georgia 42,
6) Oklahoma 40,
7) Penn State 39, and
8) Louisiana State, Michigan and Ohio State, all three at 38.

Which team playing this year has the most bowl game victories? Here are the Top 8:
1) Alabama with 30,
2) Southern California 29,
3) Penn State 25,
4) Oklahoma and Tennessee, both 24,
6) Georgia and Texas, both 23, and
8) Georgia Tech, 22.

Which team playing this year has the best bowl game won-loss percentage? Here are the Top 7:
1) Utah 9-3 at 75%,
2) Boise State and Hawaii, both 5-2 at 71%,
4) Penn State 25-12-2 at 67%,
5) Boston College 12-6 at 66%, and
6) Oklahoma State 11-6 and Southern California 29-16, both at 64%.

Poinsettia Bowl
Utah Beats Navy by a Field Goal, 35-32

Navy led Utah 10-7 at the half, fell behind 35-24 in the 4th quarter, and then roared back to score on a 58-yard touchdown pass and 2-point conversion, making it 35-32. Navy even recovered the expected onside kick, but Utah's Joe Dale intercepted a pass on the ensuing drive to seal the victory.

Utah's win should have come as no surprise because among the 64 teams that competed in 32 bowl games, Utah came into the game with the best bowl game winning percentage-75-with a 9-3 record that is now 10-3 (77% rounded). Utah finishes its season at 9-4; Navy drops to 8-5.

New Orleans Bowl
Florida Atlantic Beats Memphis Easily, 44-27

Florida Atlantic University, its 73-year-old coach Howard Schnellenberger, and the Owls' players have officially and emphatically answered the question, "F-A-who?" by whipping Memphis 44-27. The New Orleans Bowl victory was the first bowl game for Florida Atlantic, which has only had a football team for 7 years and did not become a Division 1A team until 2005.

None of this was new to Howard Schnellenberger, who build the Florida Atlantic program from scratch. Schnellenberger's New Orleans Bowl victory was his 5th straight. He remains a perfect 100% (5-0) in bowl games during his 23 years as a head coach. It would be difficult to fault Schnellenberger on this bowl game preparation.

Schnellenberger led Miami (FL) to the 1983 national championship with an Orange Bowl triumph over Nebraska. He also won the 1980 Peach Bowl with Miami, and another two bowl games with Louisville, the 1990 Fiesta Bowl and the 1993 Liberty Bowl. Schnellenberger may be the only college coach in history with a 5-0 record when playing in only 5 bowl games.

Rusty Smith threw for 336 yards and a New Orleans Bowl-record 5 touchdowns to lead the Owls to victory. That was excellent news for the Owls, but even better news for Florida Atlantic was this: Smith finished the season with 3,688 yards passing and 32 touchdowns, and he is a sophomore. Florida Atlantic finished the year at 8-5 while Memphis dropped to 7-6.

Pappajohns.com Bowl
Cincinnati Beats Southern Mississippi 31-21

Shifty Ben Mauk passed for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns, and DeAngelo Smith intercepted 3 passes to lead the Bearcats to a 31-21 win against Southern Mississippi. The victory gave Cincinnati its second 10-win season at 10-3, its first 10-win season since 1951, and virtually assured the Bearcats of a spot in the final rankings for the first time.

Outgoing Golden Eagles coach Jeff Bower, who has coached Southern Mississippi for 17 seasons, had to endure a last-game loss after being pushed out the door after a disappointing season. The Golden Eagles were 7-6, hardly golden but all eagles.

"We played extremely hard," said Bower after the loss, "but obviously we didn't make enough plays to win the game." Bower and his Golden Eagles were done in by first-year coach Brian Kelly and his spread offense.

It has been all offense this year with a lot of teams. Some college football fans mistakenly thought that defense had been cut out of the game by the NCAA. Actually, defense was allowed this year, but most teams did not play defense all season. That includes Southern Mississippi that was 1 of 93 among 119 Division 1A teams (78%) which gave up at least 3 touchdowns a game (21 points).

Cincinnati gave up an average of 18 a game to rank 11th nationally in scoring defense.

New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico Shuts Out Nevada 23-0

Paul Baker ran for 167 yards in his first start, Donovan Porterie threw for a career-high 354 yards, and the New Mexico Lobos defeated Nevada 23-0 for their first postseason victory since 1961.

After a long 46-year wait, Lobo fans saw their team win another bowl game and hold the vaunted Wolf Pack-which averaged nearly 500 yards a game and 36+ points-to zero, zip, nada. New Mexico sprinted to a 20-0 halftime lead and never looked back. New Mexico finished the year at 9-4 while Nevada dropped to 6-7, a losing season.

Las Vegas Bowl
Brigham Young Nips UCLA 17-16 on a Blocked Field Goal

Brigham Young, which led UCLA 17-13 at the half and went scoreless in the second half, barely managed to hang on to win 17-16 against UCLA in a game the Cougars should have lost.

After allowing the Bruins a 4th quarter field goal to make it 17-16, BYU's defense went into the dumper behind K-Mart by allowing UCLA to drive 87 yards in the last 2 minutes to give the Bruins a chip-shot field goal on the final play of the game.

Unfortunately for UCLA and fortunately for Brigham Young, a 280-pound Cougar lineman-Eathyn Manumaleuna (I think his last name is Hawaiian and 6 syllables)-who could not jump out of paper sack, got his right mitt up and became an instant hero. He will go into the BYU folklore history if he is not already there.

The win was the 10th straight for the Cougars who finished the season at 11-2, not too shabby by any standard. BYU dodged a bullet earlier this season against Utah, converting on a 4th-and-18 play in their winning drive to seal a 17-10 victory.

The Bruins only lost 2 games in their first 7, one to Utah 44-6 on the road (gag, gag and gag) and the other to Notre Dame 20-6 at home in the Rose Bowl (good grief). UCLA then lost 4 of its last 5 games plus the Las Vegas Bowl to end at 6-7, a losing season. No wonder UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was pushed out the door before the Las Vegas Bowl even started.

Hawaii Bowl
East Carolina Beats Boise State by a Field Goal, 41-38

Speed killed Boise State's magic this year as East Carolina, which motored to a 38-14 lead early in the 3rd quarter, darn near sent the game into overtime when their star and the game's Most Valuable Player-Chris Johnson-fumbled while the Pirates were ready to ice the contest.

Johnson's fumble was picked up and returned for a 47-yard touchdown to tie the game at 38 with 1:25 left to play. East Carolina managed to drive to the Broncos' 17 yard line and a last play field goal by Ben Hartman sealed the deal.

All Chris Johnson had done up to his inadvertent fumble was set a NCAA bowl record with 408 all-purpose yards for the Pirates. He rushed for 223 yards, caught 3 passes for 32 yards and returned 6 kickoffs for 153 yards. Boise State, a 10.5-point favorite, managed just 3 yards in the 1st quarter while East Carolina racked up 181 yards behind Johnson's 106 rushing yards.

If you saw this match-up, Chris Johnson ran by Boise State Broncos as if they were standing still. The Broncos looked like they had lost a saddle and were watching their horse run away. It was Don James, the Dawgfather, who said "speed kills" while he built the University of Washington into a powerhouse in the 1980s and early 1990s as the Huskies' most successful coach.

Boise State had cruised to a 13-0 mark last year and stunned Oklahoma with a miracle 43-42 overtime victory in the Fiesta Bowl. This year was the 6th straight bowl appearance for the Broncos, who dropped to 10-3 while East Carolina rose to 8-5. If Hawaii wins its bowl game against the SEC's Georgia Bulldogs, Bronco mania could be in trouble. I hear it is cold in the winter in Idaho.

Did I mention that Boise State was ranked 24th in the final AP Top 25 Poll, 24th in the final BCS Standings, and rated 28th by Sagarin? Sagarin rated East Carolina 75th in its final poll; this is why Boise State was a 10.5-point favorite.

Motor City Bowl
Purdue Beats Central Michigan by a Field Goal, 51-48

Purdue was lucky to get out of Dodge a winner when the Boilermakers traveled to Detroit to face the Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan Chippewas in the Motor City Bowl. Thankfully, the Boilermakers' Chris Summers put his foot to the pedal to kick a 40-yard, last play field goal as Purdue drove out of town on top, 51-48.

This was an exciting game for fans to watch unless you care about defense. The combined 99 points tied the second-highest total ever for a bowl game in regulation play, topped only by California's 52-49 victory over Virginia Tech in the 2003 Insight Bowl.

The game showcased the quarterbacks. Purdue's Curtis Painter set a school-record 546 yards passing on a 35-for-54 effort (65%) with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, both of which went off of receiver Dorien Bryant's hands. Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour completed 17 of 34 (50%) for 292 yards and 4 touchdowns, and picked up another 114 yards on 33 carries.

LeFevour's 19-yard scoring pass to Bryan Anderson with 1:09 remaining tied the game at 48. LeFevour, a sophomore, finished the year with 27 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns, almost matching Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida as the only major college player to have 20 each in a season.

Purdue, which has risen folding in important games to an art form, blew no less than three 21-point leads before Summers decided to win one for a change. The Boilermakers were favored to win by 9 points. Purdue finishes the year at 8-5 and Central Michigan dropped to 8-6.

Holiday Bowl
Texas Beats Arizona State 53-34 for 4th Straight Bowl Victory

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy fumbled 4 times but it was still not enough to slow down his Longhorn teammates as they outlasted Arizona State 53-34 to win the Holiday Bowl. McCoy was helped by the Sun Devils committing 5 turnovers.

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter had a horrible night, going 18-of-32 for 187 yards and being sacked 4 times. McCoy threw for one score, ran for another and fumbled into the end zone and his teammate Jermichal Finley recovered for another score. McCoy was 21-of-31 (67%) for 174 yards and ran for 84 yards on 16 carries.

A stupid mistake by Texas coach Mark Brown's stepson, Chris Jessie, marred the game but did not affect the outcome. Jessie touched an errant fumble by Arizona State that was a live ball and the Sun Devils capitalized on the error to score a touchdown. "That's the most unusual play I've ever seen in college football," ASU coach Dennis Erickson said.

Texas led 28-10 at the half and was not about to be denied a victory. The win by Texas was its 4th straight in bowl competition and lifted its final record to 10-3 as Arizona State dropped to 10-3.

Champs Sports Bowl
Boston College Beats Michigan State by a Field Goal, 24-21,
to Win Its 8th Consecutive Bowl Victory

Senior quarterback Matt Ryan went 22-of-47 for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Boston College past Michigan State, giving the Eagles their 8th consecutive bowl victory and an 11-3 record for first-year coach Jeff Jagodzinski. It was the first 11-win season for Boston College since 1940, 67 years ago.

The Eagles started their season 8-0 and rose to No. 2 in the polls before dropping 3 of the their last 5 games, including a loss to Virginia Tech which cost Boston College the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

The Eagles' All American safety Jamie Silva had two interceptions, one in the end zone, and was named the Most Valuable Player. Boston College played 17 fifth-year players and will have some rebuilding to do to match this year's success.

Michigan State, which amazingly made the game close, made no excuses. The Spartans, who finished at 7-6, lost their 6 games by a combined 31 points under first-year coach Mark Dantonio.

The bowl game was Michigan State's first in 4 years. The Spartans played without 4 players who were academically ineligible and another who was suspended for breaking an unspecified team rule. They included their best pass rusher and a linebacker. Spartan quarterback Brian Hoyer had a long night with 4 interceptions and a fumble.

Texas Bowl
Texas Christian Beats Houston 20-13

Texas Christian took its first lead early in the last quarter to move by Houston 20-13 in the Texas Bowl. Justin Watts got the go-ahead score. The win gave the Horned Frogs their 3rd consecutive bowl victory in 3 years. The fans were not exhausted from excitement watching this hum-drum match-up. Both teams finished the year at 8-5.

Emerald Bowl
Oregon State Runs Past Maryland 21-14

Oregon State senior Yvenson Bernard rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown, and freshman James Rodgers rushed for a career-best 115 yards, caught an early touchdown pass and recovered Bernard's fumble for the second half's only score to lead the Beavers past Maryland 21-14.

Oregon State's crack rushing defense (rated No. 2 nationally) gave up exactly 2 yards to Maryland for 3 quarters and 19 total yards for the game to seal the victory. The win by Oregon State (now 9-4) extended the Pac 10's longest bowl winning streak to 4 and snapped Ralph Friedgen's 3-game postseason winning streak at Maryland, dropping the Terrapins to 6-7, a losing season.

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Wake Forest Beats Connecticut 24-10

Connecticut scored all of its 10 points in the first half, and Wake Forest scored all of its 24 unanswered points in the second half as the Demon Deacons proved that Connecticut was not that big and that bad, winning 24-10. Wake Forest did it with defense and its speedy receiver Kenneth Moore, who caught 11 passes for 112 yards.

Wake Forest has for years endured the moniker "Weak Forest" for its ineptitude, but that nickname may go away as the Demon Deacons rolled up their second most wins ever, topped only by last year's 11-3 mark. Both Connecticut and Wake Forest finished at 9-4 this year.

Liberty Bowl
Mississippi State Slips by Central Florida, 10-3

In what may turn out to be the lowest scoring bowl game this year, Mississippi State's Anthony Dixon broke up a 3-3 tie by scoring the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:54 remaining in the game to beat Central Florida 10-3.

The Bulldogs held Central Florida's Kevin Smith to only 119 yards rushing, stopping Smith only 61 yards short of Barry Sanders' single-season rushing record of 2,628 yards for Oklahoma State in 1988. The bad news for Central Florida's opponents next year is that Kevin Smith is a junior and will get another shot at Sanders' record. Mississippi State finished the season at 8-5 while Central Florida fell to 10-4.

Alamo Bowl
Joe Pa and Penn State Down Texas A&M, 24-17

Evan Royster broke a 17-17 tie with a 38-yard touchdown run and Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions overcame an early 14-point deficit to beat Texas A&M 24-17 in the Alamo Bowl. Penn State finished its season at 9-4 while Texas A&M dropped to 7-6.

"Joe Pa", college football's leader in bowl appearances with 34, led his Nittany Lions in a thriller that gave him his record 23rd postseason win. Penn State's victory over Texas A&M was its 3rd straight bowl victory and 9th in its last 11 appearances.

Paterno, the 81-year-old Happy Valley icon, now has 372 career victories, exactly one win behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden for the most wins in major college football.

Bowden, who is 78 years old, lost his bowl game this year 35-28 to Kentucky. Like Paterno, Bowden is no slouch. He has won 2 national championships, 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles and is the only coach to have his Florida State Seminoles finish among the top 5 teams nationally for 14 consecutive seasons in the AP Top 25 Poll. Florida State has also played in a bowl game for the last 26 consecutive seasons.

It will be interesting to see whether Joe Pa or Bobby Bowden will be fired or retire first. Both coaches are obviously two of the most competitive people on planet Earth.

Independence Bowl
Alabama Hangs on to Outlast Colorado, 30-24

First-year coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide jumped to a 27-0 lead against Colorado and then let the Buffaloes back into the game before winning, 30-24. John Parker Wilson was 13-of-15 for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns in the early going, and Alabama piled up 285 yards of offense in the first half.

Both teams made enough mistakes to lose, but Colorado was able to make a game of it when the Buffaloes figured out that they could not beat Alabama's linebackers to the corner. Once Colorado spread out the Tide's defense they were able to run the ball.

Alabama started the season at 6-2 before dropping its last 4 games-including a horrific home loss to Louisiana-Monroe-and ending the season at 7-6 to avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first time in 50 years. Colorado dropped to 6-7, a losing season.

Armed Forces Bowl
California Rallies to Overcome Air Force, 42-36

After spotting Air Force a 21-point lead, coach Jeff Tedford let his California Bears loose and they responded with a 42-36 victory over the Falcons in the Armed Forces Bowl. Tedford held 3 of his starters out of the game for disciplinary reasons as Air Force ran up its lead, then he let them play and they responded big time to bring the Bears back.

California was ranked as high as No. 2 this season before losing 6 of its next 7 games. The win gave the Bears their 6th straight winning season as they finished 7-6 while Air Force dropped to 9-4.

Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney, who picked up 108 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown, seriously injured his right knee in the second half, probably suffering both an ACL and an MCL. That did not help the Falcons a bit.

Sun Bowl
Oregon and Jonathan Stewart Run Over South Florida, 56-21

Oregon's junior Jonathan Stewart set a Sun Bowl record with a career-high 253 yards rushing, and redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Roper threw 4 touchdown passes as the Ducks crushed the South Florida Bulls, 56-21.

Things really exploded for Oregon in the 3rd quarter as the Ducks extended an 18-14 halftime lead by scoring 4 touchdowns to take control of the game. Roper completed 17-of-30 passes for 180 yards and had no interceptions.

Oregon had lost 3 straight games after losing Heisman Trophy candidate Dennis Dixon to a knee injury that ended his season. With Dixon, the Ducks were in the hunt for the national championship. Both teams ended the year at 9-4. Stewart has not decided if he will return for this senior year, but Oregon has to be excited about its redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Roper.

Humanitarian Bowl
Fresno State Beats Georgia Tech 40-28

Clifton Smith rushed for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Tom Brandstater threw for a score and ran for another as the Fresno State Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech 40-28 in the Humanitarian Bowl,

The bowl victory capped a turnaround year for Fresno State. The Bulldogs were 4-8 last season and watching bowl games rather than playing in one. Coach Pat Hill guided his Bulldogs back from obscurity this season and ended up with a 9-4 record and real hope for next year.

Georgia Tech jumped to 7-0 lead but Fresno State score 27 unanswered points and rolled up 571 total yards, the most allowed by the Yellow Jackets all season. Georgia Tech also led the nation in sacks with 47 but never got a single one against Fresno State.

Music City Bowl
Kentucky Wins 35-28 Over Player-Depleted Florida State

After years of success, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden suffered through a tough day against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. Florida State suspended 36 players in an academic cheating scandal prior to the bowl game and it showed as Kentucky won 35-28 behind senior quarterback Andre Woodson, who lit up the scoreboard with 4 touchdown passes. Woodson was named Most Valuable Player.

The loss was the first ever December bowl loss for Bowden, dropping his December bowl record to 7-1-1. Bowden's has taken his Seminoles to 26 consecutive bowl appearances on the way to 2 national championships and 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles.

Kentucky ended the year at 8-5 and Florida State dropped to 7-6.

Insight Bowl
Oklahoma State Beats Indiana 49-33

The Oklahoma State Cowboys built a 35-10 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a 49-33 victory over Indiana. The Cowboys' Zac Robinson was 24-of-34 for 302 yards and 2 interceptions but also threw 3 touchdown passes and ran for 2 more.

The loss was bittersweet for Indiana, whose coach Terry Hoeppner died of complications of a brain tumor in June. Current coach Bill Lynch led the Hoosiers to a 7-5 record and bowl appearance only to run smack into Oklahoma State's unstoppable offense.

The Cowboys scored on their first 5 possessions, mounting drives of 67, 53, 54, 57 and 63 yards. The longest of these drives lasted 3:07. Yikes! It had been Hoeppner's goal to lead Indiana to a bowl appearance; in the end, the players and Lynch made it happen. Despite the loss, it was a great year for Indiana football.

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Auburn Tops Clemson 23-20 in Overtime

Freshman quarterback Kodi Burns made the most of his expanded role in Auburn's new spread offense, scoring on a 7-yard run in overtime to give the Auburn Tigers a 23-20 overtime victory over the Clemson Tigers. The game ended at 17 up and Clemson kicking a successful field goal on its first OT drive and taking a 20-17 lead before Burns became an instant hero.

Burns, who shared QB duties with senior starter Brandon Cox, also threw a 22-yard TD pass and led Auburn with 69 yards rushing on 13 carriers (a 5.3 yard average). Guess who's going to be Auburn's starting quarterback next season? The spread offense produced for Auburn as the Tigers gained 423 yards on 90 plays.

If you are wondering, Chick-fil-A is apparently the second largest fast-food chicken restaurant chain in the United States with 1,340 locations in 37 states doing $2+ billion in business a year. Near as I can tell, there is not a single location in the Pacific Northwest.

Outback Bowl
Tennessee Outlasts Wisconsin, 21-17

Phillip Fulmer's Tennessee Volunteers overcame injuries, academic suspensions and the impending departure of two key assistant coaches to beat Wisconsin, 21-17, in the Outback Bowl, giving Tennessee its first 10-win season since 2004.

The Volunteers' quarterback Erik Ainge was 25-of-43 for 365 yards and two touchdowns in his final game to win MVP honors. Tennessee's defense stepped up when it had to, stopping Wisconsin on downs when the Badgers were10 yards from scoring in the last quarter. Tennessee ended the season at 10-4 and Wisconsin dropped to 9-4.

Fulmer and Tennessee fans were happy enough, but Fulmer will have to find replacements for offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, who will be Duke's next head coach, and receivers coach Trooper Taylor, who will become co-offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

Cotton Bowl
Missouri Routs Arkansas, 38-7, Behind Tony Temple

Tony Temple rushed for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns as Missouri routed Arkansas 38-7 in the Cotton Bowl. Coach Gary Pinkel's crew finished at 12-2 and the Razorbacks dropped to 8-5. Missouri should have won this game and did. Temple's 281 yards and 4 touchdowns were the best performance in the 72-year history of the Cotton Bowl.

Mizzou was ranked No. 1 after beating Kansas in their regular-season finale, but they lost badly to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, so badly that the Jayhawks ended up with an at-large berth in the BCS Orange Bowl game against Virginia Tech.

Missouri's Heisman Trophy-finalist quarterback Chase Daniel went 12-for 29 and a season-low 136 yards passing with an interception, but thankfully Tony Temple had a career night on cue.

Temple's final run of the night broke the Cotton Bowl rushing record of 265 yards by Rice's Dicky Maegle in 1954 (now there is a name from the past that I remember!). Maegle had 3 touchdowns in that game as did Texas' Bobby Layne in 1946 and Syracuse's Jim Brown in 1957.

Layne would go on to quarterback the Detroit Lions and Jim Brown would be the unstoppable running for the Cleveland Browns. Many believe Jim Brown was the greatest running back in the history of football. In 2002 The Sporting News named Brown as the greatest professional football player ever, regardless of position.

Gator Bowl
Texas Tech Rallies to Beat Virginia by a Field Goal, 31-28

Texas Tech, the nation's top passing offense, took its sweet time overcoming a 14-point deficit but hung in there to stun Virginia, 31-28, on a late, 41-yard field goal by senior Alex Trlica with 2 seconds remaining. It was Trlica's third game-winner of his career.

Red Raider quarterback Graham Harrell went 44-of-69 for 407 yards and 3 TDs while setting Gator Bowl records for yards, completions and attempts.

Virginia's tailback Mikell Simpson ran for 170 yards on 20 carries, including a NCAA bowl-record 96-yard TD dash, and caught a touchdown pass, but Virginia could not recover after losing its quarterback Jameel Sewell at the start of the 4th quarter. Both teams finished the year at 9-4.

Capital One Bowl
Michigan Outlasts Florida, 41-35, as Lloyd Carr Wins His Last Game

If the Michigan Wolverines had wrapped it up and put it under the tree, outgoing coach Lloyd Carr could not have received a better Christmas gift from his players as they overcame 4 turnovers to turn back No. 9 Florida, 41-35, in the Capital One Bowl.

The longtime, popular Michigan coach announced his retirement after another loss to Ohio State in November. Had he not retired, he would probably have been asked to leave. Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez who bolted from his head coaching job at West Virginia to take over Michigan's storied football program.

The win was huge for Michigan's seniors as they won their first bowl game in 4 tries. Chad Henne threw for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns and Mike Hart pounded out 129 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Gators kept the game close thanks to Michigan's 4 turnovers and plenty of big plays by sophomore Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his speedy teammate Percy Harvin. Tebow was playing with a broken bone in his non-throwing hand and was under constant blitz pressure yet was still 17-of-33 for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 57 yards and another score.

Harvin picked up 165 yards on 13 carries (12.6 yards per carry), scored once, and also caught 9 passes for another 77 yards and a second touchdown. In the end, it was not enough as Michigan won one for Carr.

The Gators failed to convert a 4th-down play at its 25-yard line and K. C. Lopata's 41-yard field goal put Michigan ahead 41-35 with only 2:21 remaining. Florida got another shot but Tebow threw 4 straight air balls. Both Michigan and Florida finished the season with 9-4 marks.

International Bowl
Rutgers and Ray Rice Run by Ball State in 52-30 Route

Ray Rice created some history for an historic school by running for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns in leading Rutgers-which played the first college football game-past Ball State 52-30.

Rutgers, in Toronto, Canada for the International Bowl, marked its second postseason win in the school's 138-year history, and second consecutive win in two years with their 37-10 blowout victory over Kansas State in last year's Texas Bowl.

Rice, whose 25 TDs this season and 2,012 rushing yards are both school records, also became the first Big East player to crack the 2,000-yard season rushing barrier. He is in some pretty good company as former Big East players with an NFL impact include Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee, all graduates of Miami (FL). Quarterback Mike Teel helped Rutgers along by going 16-of-25 for 303 yards and 3 TD passes.

Among Rice's runs was a career-long 90-yard TD scamper. Rice, a junior, must now decide to go NFL early or return to Rutgers for a senior season. He must announce his plans for the NFL draft by Jan. 15.

While Rice's performance was great the Ball State rushing defense was not. Ball State was ranked 99th nationally in rushing defense. Ball State is not a real killer in bowl games either, having played in 6 and won none. Such is the state of college football today when 32 bowl games are played involving 64 teams and there are only 119 to pick from. Rutgers finished its season at 8-5 (not THAT big of a deal) and Ball State dropped to 7-6 (at least it was not a losing season).

GMAC Bowl
Tulsa Capitalizes on Stupid Bowling Green Mistakes, 63-7

Give Bowling Green some props for making it to the GMAC Bowl. They did not destroy the vehicle they used to get to the stadium. They managed to get dressed by themselves. But that was about it. When it came time to show up, the Falcons managed to fumble 4 times in the first half and their opponent, Tulsa, quickly scored 4 touchdowns to take a 35-0 halftime lead.

The rest was all downhill for Bowling Green as they lost 63-7 to finish the year at 8-5 (at least it was a winning record, that is more than some bowl losers can say). The result was the most lopsided (56 points) in this year's 32-game bowl schedule. Before the GMAC Bowl, Bowling Green had won its last 4 consecutive bowl outings.

"We were out of it before we were in it," said Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon.

Tulsa brought 3 things to the GMAC Bowl: the nation's 10th best scoring offense, the nation's 3rd best passing offense and the nation's No. 1 total offense. They showed why the Golden Hurricane can score 63 points in a game.

Quarterback Paul Smith passed for 312 yards and 5 touchdowns while rolling up his 14th consecutive 300-yard passing game, breaking Ty Detmer's record for Brigham Young. En route to the blowout win, Tulsa became the first team in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and 3 (count 'em) 1,000-yard receivers. Tulsa only racked up 562 yards of offense in the game.

First-year Tulsa coach Todd Graham led the Golden Hurricane to a 10-4 record, the first 10-win season for Tulsa since 1991, 18 years ago.

BCS Rose Bowl
Southern California Crushes Illinois, 49-17, to Make a Statement

Pete Carroll and his Southern Cal players still are thinking BCS national championship game, but the Trojans are going to have to wait another year for that to happen. They might have finished at 11-2, the same as Louisiana State that will play in the title game, but the Trojans lost at the wrong time to the wrong team-Stanford at home.

In a display of frustration and unrest, Southern Cal literally stomped Illinois 49-17 in the BCS Rose Bowl game to make a statement. Freshman tailback Joe "Where Do They Find These Guys?" McKnight ripped through the Illini defense for 170 yards (125 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving). McKnight's output was part of the Trojans' 633 yards of offense.

The output set a Rose Bowl record and the Trojans' 49 points tied the record. The blowout game gave Southern Cal 11 wins for an unprecedented 6th straight year. Illinois Coach Ron Zook still finished the year at 9-4, an unreal turnaround after a 2-19 record in his first two years at Illinois.

Do not be confused here, Illinois was a 13.5 point underdog going in. Remember that it was Illinois which dealt Ohio State its only loss, 28-21, and the Buckeyes will be facing LSU in the national championship game. Hats off to Zook and his players for an incredible year.

BCS Sugar Bowl
Hawaii's Unbeaten Streak Ends as Georgia Wins Easily, 41-10

Georgia's Bulldogs were hopping mad that they were not invited to play in the BCS national championship game, and Hawaii's Warriors were on the receiving end of their displeasure, losing 41-10 as their dream of a perfect season ended in the BCS Sugar Bowl.

Hawaii came into the game at 12-0, the only undefeated team among the NCAA's 119 Division 1A schools. They did it with coach June Jones' run-and-shoot offense that averaged 46+ points a game, the arm of junior quarterback Colt Brennan and some great receivers.

Brennan is the real deal. He has set more NCAA passing records than Carter has liver pills, but nothing seemed to impress Georgia, and especially Marcus Howard, who became the game's MVP as he had 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a tipped ball that teammate Dannell Ellerbe intercepted.

The truth is Georgia was simply too big, too fast and too strong for the Islanders this time around.

Howard and his defensive mates lived in Hawaii's backfield as Brennan was sacked 8 times, threw 3 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles, one of which Georgia recovered for a touchdown. Georgia's defensive line pushed Hawaii all over the field; Brennan was lucky to get out of New Orleans alive and well enough to be drafted for Sunday duty in the NFL.

"It was the fastest team I've probably ever seen," said Brennan. To be fair, they would not have been so fast in the Warrior offensive line had played better and given Brennan more protection so Hawaii's offense could be effective.

It was a good but difficult game for Hawaii to swallow, but the Warriors will live to fight another day. They had to know that their 12-0 record was against much weaker competition than every other BCS team faced. They had their way in the Western Athletic Conference, even taking down Boise State, which also lost its bowl game to lowly East Carolina 41-38. Even the Washington Huskies, who had a 21-point lead on Hawaii, could not beat the Warriors as their game ended with Hawaii on top.

The citizens of Hawaii fell in love with their Warriors and well they should have. Hawaii had a signature year. Other teams are now trying to steal June Jones away from Hawaii. It was worth the defeat when you know that Hawaii figures to make a $4 million payout for its appearance in the BCS Sugar Bowl. For a team whose recruiting budget was a paltry $50,000 a year, that is a lot of moola. Hawaii can now afford to recruit talent on the mainland.

June Jones has become an opportunity for some other teams. His run-and-shoot offense has resulted in a 76-41 record (64% win percentage) in 9 seasons, including this year's 12-1 mark and BCS bowl appearance. Jones took over a Hawaii team that was winless in 1998 and went 9-4 in his first season. Translation: You do not need to stay awake nights praying for Hawaii's success; the Warriors and doing just fine, thank you.

BCS Fiesta Bowl
West Virginia Stomps a Mud Hole in Oklahoma, 48-28

Anyone who thought that Southern Cal or Georgia was mean-spirited in their resounding bowl victories did not see West Virginia slap around the Oklahoma Sooners 48-28 in the BCS Fiesta Bowl.

The 11th ranked Mountaineers lost their head coach Rich Rodriguez to Michigan before the Fiesta Bowl, lost their star tailback Steve Slaton to a first-quarter leg injury, had to pull together under interim coach Bill Stewart, and managed to do it all and then some.

Quarterback Pat White ran for 150 yards and threw for another 176 yards and 2 touchdowns. Noel Devine stepped in for Slaton and ran for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns, one for 17 yards and another for 65 yards to clinch the game in the 4th quarter.

Oklahoma's powerful offense, which averaged 43+ points per game, was stuck in neutral against West Virginia's 4th ranked defense. The West Virginia offensive players-White, Devine and Darius Reynaud-seemed to run past Sooners who appeared to be watching them rather than tackling them.

Clearly, some of the bloom has come off of Bob Stoops and his Oklahoma players, who now are a lot less impressive with all of their carping. They were embarrassed last year in the same Fiesta Bowl when Boise State made them look silly with trick plays and a stunning upset. The Sooners need to shut up, regroup and start playing football again.

For a team that was ranked 9th in scoring defense and 8th in rushing defense, the Sooners looked slow when it mattered most. They saw the backs of a lot of jerseys. Give the West Virginia Mountaineers credit; they got it together when it mattered.

It took all of about a day for the West Virginia brain trust to decide that maybe their national search for a new coach should end up in their own locker room as Bill Stewart was named new head coach.

BCS Orange Bowl
Kansas Takes Down the Mighty Virginia Tech Hokies, 24-21

So who was it that said that Kansas was a paper tiger? A 6-6 team last year that had no business in a BCS bowl game. All the Jayhawks did this year was field the 6th best total offense in the nation and the 2nd best scoring offense nationally on their way to a heady 12-1 record after polishing off Virginia Tech 24-21 in the BCS Orange Bowl.

If Kansas coach Mark Mangino was in a crowded subway station in New York City, he would not be the guy complaining and shouting. He would be the guy you would not notice except for his big presence, no where more so than on the sideline when Kansas plays football. People are beginning to learn that Jayhawks can fly, they are not chickens.

So here comes Kansas into their BCS game and how do the Jayhawks win? With their defense. The Jayhawks picked off 3 passes and turned them into 17 points to take down the No. 5-ranked Hokies. It was sweet for Kansas, which won its first BCS game and set a school record with 12 wins. Virginia Tech, which lost its 4th consecutive BCS game, dropped to 11-3.

It was a cold and windy night for both teams and the Hokies stayed in the game, but the Jayhawks jumped out to a 17-0 lead and they finished what they started. They played like their future depended upon it, and because they did, they have a brighter future. It is my understanding that practically every player on the team is returning next year. Like they say in the entertainment business, this could be the start of something big.

January 7

Allstate BCS National Championship Game
LSU Rips Ohio State 38-24 to Become First Two-Time BCS Champion

It speaks volumes about the state of college football in 2007 when a team gets into the BCS national championship game with two losses. Louisiana State University became the first team to make it with two losses. Ohio State made it with 1 loss.

Should the Tigers have been there? Georgia, Southern Cal, Missouri, West Virginia and Kansas all thought they should have been selected over LSU. Every one of them had it wrong in the end. Any one of them should have replaced Ohio State, not LSU.

The LSU Tigers kicked the snot out of Ohio State for the second year in a row. The Buckeyes started quick and could not even begin to finish what they started. It wasn't even a decent street fight. After going up 10 to zip early on, Ohio State's No. 1-ranked defense gave up 31 straight points to lose 38-24.

Early in the second quarter, LSU blocked an Ohio State field goal attempt before marching for a touchdown, and then intercepted a pass to march for another score. Last year Ohio State started with a 7-0 lead against Florida before suffering an even more lopsided 41-14 loss. The legacy for Ohio State in its 9 bowl games against Southeast Conference teams is terrible, the Buckeyes have yet to win a single, stinking victory.

Ohio State's loss to LSU made it the 3rd team to lose 2 BCS title games. Oklahoma and Florida State have also lost 2 BCS title games. It is not that the Jim Tressel-led Buckeyes cannot win a national championship. They beat Miami 31-24 to win the title in 2002. They just cannot seem to get it done against SEC teams, which are 4-0 in BSC title games, making the SEC the ONLY undefeated conference among the 6 major conferences.

To me the game was a huge disappointment in that it was not competitive for a national championship. One snapshot during the game says it all for me. The television crew pans in on a close-up of 3 Ohio State players conferring about their misery.

I look intently at the numerous stars on their helmets and think to myself, geez Louise, between them they must have more than 100 stars on their helmets. These are for individual efforts in logging a 100-yard rushing game, scoring a touchdown, intercepting a pass, recovering a fumble, or whatever. Who really cares? Stars on helmets cannot block and tackle.

I am thinking, "This must be the brain trust for individual glory at Ohio State." Here these guys are big shots with stars all over their helmets getting the snot kicked out of them on national television in the title game. Good grief. Football is a team sport.

Given their sorry performance, I believe Jim Tressel and the Ohio State glory brigade need to give it a rest before even the stars on their helmets get embarrassed. I do not really give a crap how many stars Jim Laurinaitis has on his helmet. As far as I am concerned, LSU knocked them off.

Having spent the entire college football season doing weekly wrap-ups and numerous articles on statistics few want to believe, I would like to note for the record that Ohio State piled up an 11-1 record by playing not a single top 20 team while LSU played 8 game-time top 20 teams and beat 7 of the them, losing only to Kentucky on the road in triple overtime.

Did LSU deserve to be in the national championship game? Absolutely. Are they the real national champions this year? Absolutely. Bring any other argument to the field and settle it there. Ohio State found out who is this year's top team. Who can say with a straight face that if they played LSU next week, they would put a whipping on them like LSU did on Ohio State?

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Ed Bagley's Blog Publishes Original Articles with Analysis and Commentary on 5 Subjects: Sports, Movie Reviews, Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, and Internet Marketing. My intention is to inform, educate, delight and motivate you the reader.

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html

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