I normally don’t like to make fun of announcers and TV analysts – partly because I think I can do their job (when I really would be awful) and partly because it is too easy. But I was watching College Basketball Final on ESPN yesterday and Doug Gottlieb made a series of preposterous arguments on why Texas should be a #1 seed over BYU. I’m not saying that Texas shouldn’t be a #1 seed over BYU; I’m only saying that Gottlieb wasn’t even in the ballpark of anything close to a rational argument.
Unfortunately, I could not find the original video on ESPN.com. He made a refined version of the same argument today in a panel discussion with Joe Lunardi, which is at this link. I highly recommend watching it. It is marginally better than his original argument, but he makes the same terrible points. For your convenience, I’ve broken down these arguments:
1. The #1 seed is a reward for what you do on the road.
Gottlieb immediately rebuts his own argument, saying that Lunardi will come back with “BYU’s road numbers.” Oh those pesky stats. I hate when they get in the way of a perfectly fine argument. By the way, BYU’s road record is 10-2 and neutral court record is 2-0. Texas’s road record is 7-3 and netural record is 1-1.
2. The #1 seed is a reward for what you do in your non-conference schedule.
I have never heard this argument before. Maybe the #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is in fact a reward for a strong non-conference schedule…but it’s definitely the first time I have ever heard anyone advance this argument.
Let’s just say for the sake of argument that a #1 seed is a reward for a strong non-conference schedule. Texas played five teams in their non-conference schedule that are currently in Lunardi’s field of 68 – Illinois, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, UConn, and Michigan State. They went 3-2 in those games. BYU played four teams currently in Lunardi’s field – Arizona, UCLA, Utah State, and St. Mary’s. They went 3-1 in those games. Apparently that extra loss is worth a reward in Gottlieb’s mind.
Then there is this little tidbit that Lunardi rebuts Gottlieb with: BYU’s non-conference schedule is ranked 14th in the nation; Texas’s non-conference schedule is ranked 73rd. BYU went 14-1 in those 15 games; Texas went 12-3. Oh those pesky numbers again.
3. Even if the numbers don’t work in Texas’s favor, the Longhorns “schedule up” and challenge themselves.
Gottlieb admits that BYU had a decent non-conference schedule, but he isn’t quite done with this point yet. Texas deserves credit for constantly challenging themselves in their non-conference schedule. In order, he cites the following games:
A 2-point loss to Pittsburgh at the Madison Square Garden in November. I’ll grant Gottlieb that playing a team as good as Pittsburgh to a two-point loss at a neutral site is a plus. But Texas didn’t schedule Pitt – they met in the final of the 16-team 2K Sports Classic. I’m guessing they got a pretty good sum of money just for appearing in the tournament. I’m also guessing that BYU would gladly have played in the tournament if they were invited.
A 2-point win over North Carolina in December at a “neutral” site location in Greensboro. Nothing wrong here – that’s a very good win, even if the Tar Heels were only 7-3 at the time.
A 12-point win at Michigan State. Now Gottlieb is stretching because the Spartans kinda suck. He argues that the Spartans were a preseason Top Ten team, which would be fine except that Texas played them on December 22, after the Spartans had already started to fall apart. Since then, Sparty has continued their nosedive and are barely hanging on to a NCAA Tournament spot.
A 17-point loss on the road at USC. Whoa. The Trojans currently sit at 17-12. They are not a good team. I have absolutely no idea how this could in any way be considered a plus on an NCAA Tournament resume. As best as I can tell, Gottlieb’s only argument is that “the same thing would have happened to BYU.” Well then.
4. Texas’s conference schedule is better because they had to go to Lawrence to play Kansas
I am not sure what Gottlieb is going for here. He says that Texas doesn’t get the benefit of having Kansas coming to Austin to play. Instead, the Longhorns had to go to Lawrence and picked up a monster win over Kansas. I agree with the second sentence, but I’m not sure what the first sentence has to do with anything. That’s just the way the Big 12 conference schedule is set up. Next season they will in fact have the “luxury” of having Kansas come to Austin. Will that make Kansas a #1 seed if the Jayhawks win? My head is spinning.
Five other Big 12 teams besides Texas are projected to make the tournament field. The Big 12 schedule gave Texas a home-and-home with Texas A&M and Baylor, sent the Longhorns to Kansas, and sent Missouri and Kansas State to Austin for one game. So this “luxury” that apparently hurts Texas has actually helped them.
In his original appearance, Gottlieb hammered home that Texas’s best win was over Kansas and BYU’s was over San Diego State. His exact words were: “Where is it harder to win? At Kansas or at San Diego State? I arrest my case.” Stunning logic. I like Lunardi’s response: “If it was close, I would absolutely take Texas and their win at Kansas, putting Texas to the top line, but it’s really not close.”
The interesting part is that Gottlieb is almost certainly right: Texas’s conference schedule is more difficult than BYU’s conference schedule. But if we only used the logic that he took to get there, we could actually make a better argument for BYU than Texas.
5. They have a chance to win versus Kansas State and at Baylor.
At first I wasn’t sure that this was an actual point that Gottlieb used to support his case. After watching it a second time, it is clear that he is actually using wins that haven’t happened yet to support his argument. In his words, “I still think Texas is the #1 seed, especially since they have a chance to win at Baylor, Kansas State at home tonight.” How does one even argue with that?
6. Texas has more pure wins than BYU does.
Again, I might argue this, but I have no idea what a pure win is. Either Gottlieb is thinking on another level than the rest of us mere mortals, or he just made up an NCAA tournament qualification on the spot.
7. Texas’s recent 1-2 stretch is okay because of their far more difficult schedule.
Lunardi points out that those that draw up the NCAA Tournament field like the “what have you done for me lately factor.” Texas hasn’t delivered, losing to Nebraska and Colorado and beating last place Iowa State. Gottlieb thinks this is justified because Nebraska and Colorado are on the bubble…never mind that neither team was actually on the bubble until they beat Texas.
For the Cougars’ part, they are 7-0 in their last seven games, with a home win over tournament bound UNLV, a road win over potential #2 seed San Diego State, and a home win over bubble team Colorado State. And Texas’s schedule was better how?
8. Eight of BYU’s ten road wins came over a team with an RPI higher than 100.
Gottlieb is a total failure. BYU has actually beaten four top 100 teams on the road – San Diego State (#4), UNLV (#26), Colorado State (#47), and Air Force (#96). Then he goes on to dismiss the UNLV and Colorado State WINS because they are bubble teams…never mind that not more than ten seconds previously he justified Texas’s LOSSES over bubble teams Nebraska and Colorado.
Now I am rooting for BYU to get a #1 seed, if for no other reason that we can all laugh at Doug Gottlieb’s shaky logic in a few weeks.
With the 2011 BCS National Championship a potential instant classic between Oregon and Auburn ahead next week, I figured now’s the time to do the list of the top 12 BCS bowl games of all-time. Hopefully next week’s matchup cracks this list. Odds are in its favor: although only four of the twelve championship games make the list, three of the five total championship matchups between two undefeated teams make the list.
I started this list before the Arkansas/Ohio State Sugar Bowl game last night. For parts of the game, I thought I’d have to adjust my list. Had Arkansas scored on their last drive, I would have, but this game just didn’t do it for me. Because the game was between two good but not great teams that were never serious contenders for the national title, the bar was set pretty high. Aside from Terrelle Pryor’s great first half, neither team played particularly well. Although the finish was briefly exciting after Arkansas’ blocked punt, Mallett’s interception keeps that game from cracking the list.
#12. 1999 Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin 38, #5 UCLA 31
The first ever BCS game begins the list of the top 12 BCS games of all-time. Both teams entered this game at 10-1 but took very different paths to get there. UCLA was ranked #2 for most of the season and looked primed to face undefeated Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl for the National Championship. Instead, the Miami Hurricanes beat the Bruins 49-45 in a wild shootout on the last day of the season in a game that was postponed from September because of Hurricane Georges. Meanwhile, thanks to the Big Ten’s unbalanced schedule, Wisconsin avoided Ohio State completely and lost by 17 on the road to Michigan. The Badgers beat only three teams all season with a winning record – 9-4 Purdue, 9-3 Penn State, and 7-5 San Diego State – causing ESPN’s Craig James to call the Badgers “the worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl.”
The two teams broke several Rose Bowl offensive records in a shootout. The Bruins were unable to slow down Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne, as the running back rolled up 247 yards rushing and tied a Rose Bowl record with four touchdowns. Wisconsin had even less luck stopping the Cade McCown-led UCLA aerial attack. The Bruins chalked up a then-Rose Bowl record 538 total yards, 418 of which came through the air. A back-and-forth first half ended on a Matt Davenport field goal that gave the Badgers a 24-21 halftime lead. Ironically, it was a defensive play that proved to be the biggest moment of the game: Jamar Fletcher’s 46-yard interception return that put the Badgers up 38-28 with 14:08 left. The Bruins pulled within a touchdown on a Chris Sailer field goal but could come no closer. Cade McCown was sacked on fourth-and-3 on the Wisconsin 47 with less than two minutes left to preserve the first big upset in BCS history.
#11. 2006 Orange Bowl: #3 Penn State 26, #22 Florida State 23 (3ot)
You’d think a three-overtime game between the two winningest coaches in college football history would rank higher than this, but the game itself was actually pretty poorly played. Penn State finished the season at 10-1 and entered the game as 10-point favorites over #22 Florida State. The Seminoles lost their last three regular season games to finish 5-3 in the ACC and 7-4 overall; this was still good enough to win their division and they went on to upset 10-1 Virginia Tech in the conference championship game to qualify for the Orange Bowl.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the game as the Florida State offense struggled. The Seminoles finally entered Penn State territory midway through the second quarter but a Drew Weatherford interception ended the drive. After the Seminoles stuffed Penn State’s offense on the ensuing possession, Willie Reid returned a Jeremy Kapinos punt 89 yards to tie the game with 4:09 left in the first half. The Seminoles forced the Nittany Lions to go three-and-out on the next drive; on the first play of the next possession, Weatherford hit running back Lorenzo Booker on a 57-yard touchdown pass for a 13-7 lead. In a sign of things to come, Gary Cismesia missed the extra point. With six seconds left in the half, Penn State’s Ethan Kilmer made a fantastic 25-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Michael Robinson to give the Nittany Lions the 14-13 lead heading into the half. Both offenses were even more inept in the second half. Penn State’s only scoring play came on an intentional grounding in the end zone by Weatherford for a 16-13 lead. Florida State finally tied the game at 16 with 4:08 left on a 48-yard Cismesia field goal. Amazingly, the Seminoles did not take a snap inside Penn State’s 25 for the entire game.
The final few minutes of regulation saw the game descend from poorly played to downright bizarre. After Cismesia’s field goal, Penn State drove all the way to the Seminole 12 in the closing seconds only to have kicker Kevin Kelly miss a 29-yard field goal to win the game. On the first possession of overtime, the Seminoles moved backwards two yards and Cismesia missed a 48-yard field goal wide right. Kevin Kelly returned the favor with a wide left miss on a 38-yard field goal attempt. After both teams scored on 1-yard touchdown runs in double overtime, Cismesia bounced a 38-yard attempt off the right upright in the third overtime. On the Nittany Lions, Kelly mercifully made a 29-yard field goal to finally end the awkwardness.
Ranked #1 for most of the season, Tee Martin’s Tennessee Volunteers seemed to be on a collision course with the national title game all season; eventually they would finish with a 12-0 record as the only undefeated team in the country. The 1-loss Seminoles snuck into the championship game after previously undefeated Kansas State lost in double overtime to Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship game – the first of many, many, many controversies for the BCS in its history.
The Volunteers dominated for large portions of this game but could never seem to put the Seminoles away. The game looked to be a snoozer early after Tennessee jumped out to a 14-0 second quarter lead over a sloppy Seminole team. Florida State crawled back to within 14-9 at halftime before a fourth quarter 79-yard touchdown pass to Peerless Price and a Jeff Hall field goal put the Volunteers up 23-9 midway through the fourth quarter. Quarterback Marcus Outzen (who?!?) scrambled for a seven yard touchdown to bring the Seminoles back within 23-16 and a Travis Henry fumble gave Florida State the ball back down seven with less than two minutes to go. However, cornerback Steve Johnson intercepted a Outzen pass on the last-minute drive to seal the Volunteers’ first National Championship since 1967 in the inaugural BCS Championship Game.
*1999 doesn’t seem that long ago until you hear Gloria Estefan playing in the background of a local news’ highlight video. Now I feel old.
#9. 2011 Rose Bowl: #3 TCU 21, #5 Wisconsin 19
Although 12-0 TCU’s appearance in the Rose Bowl was the fifth time a non-BCS team played a BCS conference team in a BCS game, it was arguably the biggest test for a non-BCS team. In 2004, Utah played a terrible Big East team and Boise State in 2007 (Oklahoma), Hawaii in 2008 (Georgia), and Utah in 2009 (Alabama) were all matched against major teams that were all favorites that came into the game somewhat unmotivated by not meeting their national championship expectations. In this game, TCU was actually favored over an 11-1 Wisconsin team that actually surpassed expectations this year and came in motivated after winning seven in a row to win the Big Ten championship. Whereas the previous Little Guy/Big Guy matchups were tests to see if non-BCS schools could compete with the big schools, this matchup was the first test to see if one of these schools could be legitimate national title contenders.
Wisconsin opened the game with a 40-yard run by Montee Ball on the first play from scrimmage as fans quickly began to wonder if the Badgers would turn the game into a rout. Instead, the Horned Frogs held the offense to a field goal and promptly drove down the field for a touchdown of their own. After the two teams traded touchdowns on their next possession, the game had all the makings of a shootout. Wisconsin kicked a late first half field goal to pull back within 14-13 at halftime. Quarterback Andy Dalton took the Horned Frogs down for a touchdown on the first drive of the second half to put TCU up 21-13. Both teams’ defenses then clamped down and the teams exchanged several punts. Finally, running backs John Clay and Montee Ball rushed the ball nine times on a 10-play 77-yard drive that pulled the Badgers to within two with two minutes left.
Down 21-19, the Badgers were forced to go for two to tie the game. TCU’s All-American linebacker Tank Carder batted Scott Tolzien’s two-point conversion pass down at the line of scrimmage and the Horned Frogs recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the biggest victory for a mid-major in BCS history.
#8. 2000 Sugar Bowl (National Championship): #1 Florida State 46, #2 Virginia Tech 29
The first matchup between undefeated teams in the BCS Championship was surrounded by hype that wouldn’t be seen again until the USC/Texas game six years later. The game was an old vs. new matchup – literally and figuratively. Perennial title contender Florida State, led by 27-year old Heisman winner Chris Weinke, was ranked #1 in the preseason and never wavered en route to finishing 11-0. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech under Coach Frank Beamer was the new kid on the block. Led by dynamic freshman quarterback Michael Vick, the Hokies were ranked #14 in the preseason and slowly crept up the polls as they finished with their first undefeated season since 1954.
The Hokies started the game with a promising drive but came up empty on the scoreboard when Michael Vick fumbled in the Seminole end zone. Chris Weinke eventually struck first with 3:22 left in the first quarter on a 64-yard touchdown pass to eventual game MVP Peter Warrick. The Seminole defense then held Vick’s squad to their first three-and-out of the game before blocking the Hokies’ punt and returning it for a touchdown. Although Vick answered with a 49-yard touchdown throw to Andre Davis to cut the lead to seven, things quickly turned ugly for the Hokies. Weinke immediately responded with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Ron Dugans and, after another stop, Warrick returned a punt 59 yards for a touchdown.
The Seminoles drove down the field twice more in the second quarter but couldn’t extend their lead. Despite this, they led 28-7 late in the first half in what looked to be a runaway victory. Then Michael Vick starting doing Michael Vick things, the Hokie defense buckled down, and three touchdowns and a field goal later, the upstart Virginia Tech squad found themselves up 29-28 after an Andre Kendrick touchdown run with 2:13 left in the third quarter. And just like that the young Hokies team crashed and burned. Weinke led the Seminoles on a long touchdown drive to retake the lead 36-28. Vick fumbled on the Hokies’ next possession and the Seminoles added a field goal to push the lead to 11. After another stop, Beamer called for a fake punt that the Seminoles sniffed out and stopped. They quickly punched another touchdown in for the final 46-29 margin.
#7. 2006 Sugar Bowl: #11 West Virginia 38, #7 Georgia 35
Nobody gave Big East champion West Virginia much of a chance against SEC champion in the 2006 Sugar Bowl. Though the Mountaineers finished 10-1, they were viewed as a huge underdog against 10-2 Georgia because of their weak Big East schedule. Additionally, Hurricane Katrina forced this game to be moved from the Superdome to the Georgia Dome, essentially turning the bowl into a home game for the Bulldogs. Oddsmakers made the Mountaineers a two-touchdown underdog heading into the game.
Apparently West Virginia didn’t get the memo. The Mountaineers caused two turnovers in the first quarter and scored touchdowns on their first four possessions to jump out to a stunning 28-0 lead just 16 minutes into the game. From there, the Big East champs hung on for dear life as the Bulldogs began to assert their will. Quarterback D.J. Shockley led Georgia on three second quarter touchdown drives and the Bulldogs cut the deficit to 31-21 by halftime. Shockley hit AJ Bryant on a 34-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to three at the end of the third quarter. Sugar Bowl MVP Steve Slaton (204 rushing yards) answered with a 52-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to extend the lead back to ten. Shockley responded right back with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Bryan McClendon to pull back within three.
The Mountaineers received the ball with five minutes left and drove to the Georgia 48 before facing a 4th and 6 with 1:45 remaining. Coach Rich Rodriguez made the call of the game, sending punter Phil Brady on a ten-yard scramble for a first down to seal one of the biggest upsets in BCS history.
Like West Virginia, #10 Ohio State (10-2) was disrespected by most in the weeks leading up to the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. 11-1 Texas spent much of the season at the top of the polls and narrowly missed out on the national championship game to fellow Big 12 school Oklahoma, despite owning a victory over the Sooners during the season. The Buckeyes were a controversial selection to the BCS – many felt they were selected only because their fan base travels so well. They entered the game as 10 point underdogs to the Longhorns.
Also like the Mountaineers, no one gave the Buckeyes the memo on the underdog business. After Texas turned a 6-3 halftime deficit into a 17-6 halftime lead, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor took over, leading the team on three fourth quarter scoring drives. Daniel Herron rushed for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes a 21-17 lead with 2:05 left in the game.
Of course, that’s not the reason why this game comes in at #6 on this list. That would be Colt McCoy’s perfectly executed two-minute drill. McCoy completed 7 of 10 passes as he led the Longhorns on an 11-play, 78-yard drive capped off by a stunning 26-yard touchdown pass to Quan Cosby with 16 seconds left. Cosby took the short pass and broke a tackle before running untouched into the end zone to give Texas the 24-21 victory.
The 2000 Orange Bowl pitted traditional powerhouses Alabama (10-2 SEC Champion) and Michigan (9-2) – the first-ever BCS matchup between SEC and Big Ten schools, much to the delight of the Orange Bowl committee. Although we didn’t know it at the time, there’s a good chance that the legend of Tom Brady was born in this game as he twice led the Wolverines back from 14-point deficits to win the game in overtime.
Alabama opened the scoring on two second-quarter touchdown runs by Shaun Alexander before Brady hit David Terrell on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 57 seconds left in the half to cut the halftime deficit to 14-7. The Wolverines held Alabama on the first possession of the second half and Brady quickly threw a long bomb to Terrell to tie the game at 14. Alabama again responded – Alexander punched in his third score on the night and Freddie Milons added a 62-yard punt return to put the Crimson Tide up 28-14. Brady responded again, leading the Wolverines on two more touchdown drives to make the score 28-28 at the end of the wild third quarter.
Brady put the Wolverines in position to win the game in regulation, but the Crimson Tide blocked Hayden Epstein’s 36-yard attempt as time expired. In overtime, Brady hit tight end Shawn Thompson on the first play from scrimmage for a 35-28 lead. Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow responded right back with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Carter to pull back within one. But kicker Ryan Pflunger pushed the extra point wide right to give the Wolverines the stunning 35-34 overtime victory. Brady would finish with a Michigan bowl record 369 yards passing and four touchdowns.
#4. 2005 Rose Bowl: #4 Texas 38, #13 Michigan 37
In this game, it was the higher seeded team that was selected amid controversy. The Rose Bowl was expected to pick previous #4 Cal (10-1) to fulfill the typical the traditional Big Ten-Pac-10 matchup. Instead, Texas coach Mack Brown publicly campaigned for votes after Cal looked less than impressive in a 26-16 victory over Southern Miss in the last week of the season. Voters eventually gave the Longhorns (also 10-1) enough votes to pass the Golden Bears for the all-important #4 spot and the automatic bid under the Kansas State Rule. #13 Michigan (9-2) was the subject of no such controversy as they won their second consecutive Big Ten title to claim the Rose Bowl berth.
The Longhorns entered the game as heavy favorites but the game turned into an epic back-and-forth affair. In the first half, Texas’s Vince Young had a touchdown run and a touchdown pass and Michigan’s freshman quarterback Chad Henne answered with two touchdown passes of his own (both to Braylon Edwards) to send the game to halftime tied at 14. After the Longhorns received the second half kickoff, Young began to work his magic, taking off on a 60-yard touchdown run on third and 10 from his own 40. Not to be outdone, Henne threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Steve Breaston on third and 10 on the next possession. The Wolverines forced a Texas punt on the next possession and Henne led the Wolverines on another scoring drive, hitting Edwards for a third touchdown pass to put the Wolverines in the lead for the first time. Garrett Rivas added a field goal following a Young interception to put Michigan up 31-21 and set up a wild fourth quarter.
With 9:45 left in the game, facing yet another 3rd and 10, Young scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown run, his third of the game, to bring the Longhorns back within three. Henne embarked on another long drive, but couldn’t put Texas away as the Wolverines had to settle for a Rivas chip shot field goal. Now down 34-28 at his own 31 with six minutes left, Young hit Tony Jeffrey with a 19-yard pass, Dusty Magnum with a 27-yard pass, and took the ball himself for a 23-yard touchdown run to put the Longhorns back on top 35-34 just 1:15 later. Breaston returned the ball all the way to the Texas 43 on the ensuing kickoff, but the Texas defense held Henne’s offense to another field goal. Now down 37-35 with three minutes left, Young worked a little more magic, keeping the ball five times on a 9-play, 45-yard drive to put the Longhorns in field goal range. Dusty Magnum’s 37-yard kick was good as time expired and the Longhorns came away with the dramatic 38-37 victory.
Young was eventually named offensive MVP of the game after rushing for 192 yards and 4 scores and passing for 180 yards and 1 touchdown. For his part, Henne passed for 227 yards and tied a Rose Bowl record with 4 touchdown passes. Breaston set a Rose Bowl record with 315 all-purpose yards – 77 receiving and 238 return yards.
The first true David vs. Goliath matchup in BCS history didn’t disappoint. Undefeated WAC champion Boise State finished in the top 12 to claim the automatic bid for non-BCS conferences. Oklahoma claimed the Big 12 Championship but finished 11-2 in a moderately disappointing season by the Sooners’ own high standards. Still, this game was a huge test for non-BCS schools as it marked the first time a mid-major met a traditional powerhouse in a BCS game (undefeated Utah was unfortunately paired with a pretty awful Pittsburgh team in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl). Although Boise State was two spots higher in the BCS standings, it was clear who the public thought would win – Oklahoma went off as a 7 1/2 point favorite.
Jared Zabransky and the Broncos came out on fire early, stunning the Sooners by jumping out to a 14-0 lead eight minutes into the game. Oklahoma cut the lead to 14-10 just before halftime but Zabransky answered with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Drisan James with 32 seconds left in the second quarter to send the Broncos to the locker room up 21-10. Early in the second half, Boise’s Marty Tadman intercepted a Paul Thompson pass and returned it 27 yards for a score to give Boise its biggest lead of the night. From there, Oklahoma began to slowly chip away at Boise’s lead – an Adrian Peterson touchdown run and a Garrett Hartley field goal cut the lead to 28-20. The Sooners got the ball back on their own 23 with 2:40 left and one last chance to tie the game. Thompson was fantastic on the drive, going 5-for-5 passing and hitting Quentin Chaney for a 5-yard touchdown with 1:16 left to pull the Sooners to within two.* The Sooners actually tried the ensuing two-point conversion three times: an incomplete pass on the first try was negated by a defensive pass interference call and an illegal shift on the second try negated a successful Sooner conversion. Finally, Thompson hit Juaquin Iglesias on the third try to tie the game at 28.
* Poor Thompson – no one remembers the incredible comeback that Oklahoma made just to take the lead.
Then came the chain of events burned in every college football fan’s memory. On the first play after the kickoff, Zabransky hit a wide-open Marcus Walker for a 34-yard touchdown pass – the only problem, of course, was that Walker played for Oklahoma. The Sooners scored 15 points over 14 seconds of game time to stun the Broncos and take their first lead of the game. Boise got the ball back with 54 seconds left and quickly drove to the Sooner 42-yard line, but a sack and two incomplete passes made it 4th and 18 at midfield with just 18 seconds remaining. Then came possibly the most exciting play in BCS history: Zabransky hit James a few yards short of the first down marker; as four Sooner defenders closed in, James lateraled to Jerard Rabb, who ran untouched before diving into the end zone to pull Boise back within one with seven seconds left.* Anthony Montgomery hit the extra point to send the game into overtime.** Adrian Peterson scored on the first play of overtime to put the Sooners up 42-35 and the Broncos began the most exciting 7-play, 25-yard drive in history. Facing a third and 8 on the 23, Zabransky hit tight end Derek Schouman for a nine-yard gain to the Sooner 14. Two quick rushes gave Boise a 3rd and 1 at the 5-yard line, but Ian Johnson was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage to set up a 4th and 2. Not content to run a standard play, Coach Chris Petersen sent Zabransky in motion and put wide receiver Vinny Perretta in the Wildcat formation. Perretta rolled out and hit Schouman for a six-yard touchdown. Petersen decided now was the time to go for two – Johnson scored untouched on a perfectly run statue of liberty play, threw the ball into the crowd, proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend, and assured that this would be the most memorable non-championship game in BCS history.
* This has to be hands-down the most successful hook and lateral play in football history – off-hand, I can’t even think of one that worked at all, let alone one that worked for a touchdown on 4th and 18 in the closing seconds of the game.
** I always wondered why Boise didn’t just pull out the statue of liberty play here.
The Boise/Oklahoma game might have been better than this game, but I’m a bit biased since I was in attendance for the 2003 championship game. And you can’t really fault me for putting a double overtime championship game at #2 on the list. Although both teams entered the game undefeated, they each took different routes to get there. The defending champion Hurricanes rolled off 34 consecutive victories heading into the game, most of them dominant victories. The Buckeyes were the decidedly less impressive Cardiac Kids of the 2002 season: six of their 13 wins came by a touchdown or less, and they needed overtime to beat a 4-6 Illinois team and a last-minute 34-yard fourth down touchdown pass to beat 4-5 Purdue. Because of this, the Hurricanes entered the game as 12-point favorites.
After exchanging punts in the first quarter, Ken Dorsey led the Hurricanes on a 52-yard scoring drive to give them an early 7-0 lead. The rout looked to be on for much of the first half as the anemic Buckeye offense could only manage one first down on their first four possessions. Then the Buckeyes defense stepped up – safety Mike Doss intercepted a Dorsey pass and returned the ball to the Miami 17 with five minutes left in the first half. Ohio State’s offense still could not muster many yards and took seven plays to move the 17 yards before quarterback Craig Krenzel scored on 4th and goal from inside the 1 to tie the game at 7. On the first play of the next possession, the Buckeye defense sacked Dorsey, causing a fumble that they recovered. Running back Maurice Clarett punched it in two plays later and Ohio State took a stunning 14-7 lead into the half.
A Mike Nugent field goal and Willis McGahee touchdown run made the score 17-14 Ohio State heading into the fourth quarter. Both teams traded long drives early in the fourth but came up empty when Miami’s Todd Sievers and Nugent each missed a field goal. The Hurricanes advanced the ball to the OSU 31 on the next drive, but the Buckeyes recovered a Roscoe Parrish fumble to get the ball back with five minutes left. The Buckeyes could only manage one first down and punted the ball back to the Hurricanes with 2:30 left. Parrish was able to atone for his fumble, as he returned the ball 50 yards to the Buckeye 25. Miami was unable to move the ball and had to settle for a Sievers 40-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, Miami quickly scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kellen Winslow II. The Buckeyes answered with a dynamic 11-play, 25-yard drive to tie the game. The Hurricanes stormed the field after stopping the Buckeyes on fourth-and-3 from the 5-yard line, but an extremely late, questionable pass interference call gave the Buckeyes new life. Although the drive is most remembered for the controversial call, Krenzel actually saved the Buckeyes earlier in the drive with a 17-yard completion to Michael Jenkins on fourth-and-14 from the 29. After Clarett scored in double overtime, the Hurricanes wasted no time in driving to the Buckeye 2 yard line. Miami was unable to convert on their first three plays – Ohio State stuffed two runs and a Ken Dorsey pass fell incomplete. On fourth and goal from the 1, two Buckeyes came into the backfield untouched and Dorsey’s desperation throw harmlessly hit the ground and the Buckeyes held on for the biggest upset in BCS National Championship Game history.
Even with my own bias towards the Miami/Ohio State championship game, I couldn’t justify putting it above this thriller. This matchup was by far and away the most anticipated game in BCS history. Unlike most heavily hyped games, this one lived up to its billing (and then some). Both teams went wire-to-wire in the top two spots in the BCS rankings, the only time that has happened to date. Two-time defending champions USC came into the game on a 34-game winning streak; Texas had the second-longest winning streak in the nation at 19 games.* The Trojans were led by 2004 Heisman-winning quarterback Matt Leinart and 2005 Heisman-winning running back Reggie Bush. The Longhorns were led by quarterback Vince Young, still steaming from his runner-up finish to Bush for the Heisman Trophy. Prior to this highly anticipated matchup, many commentators speculated that USC would go down as the best team in college football history with a win in this game.
* Texas has been in four BCS games, three of which crack the top six BCS games of all-time. The fourth, the 2010 BCS Championship Game, might have made the list had starting quarterback Colt McCoy not gotten hurt in the first half. The lesson? Apparently the Longhorns should always be in a BCS game.
After a quick three-and-out to begin the game, USC punted the ball to the Longhorns. Aaron Ross fumbled the punt and the Trojans recovered and quickly scored for an early 7-0 lead. From there, the first half was all Texas – the Longhorns scored 16 unanswered points; only a Marco Danelo field goal on the last play of the first half could slow Texas’ momentum as Texas went to the locker room up 16-10.
In the second half, both teams’ offenses took over. The Trojans forced a Longhorn punt and Leinart took the team on a 62-yard drive, capped by LenDale White’s touchdown run to give USC the lead back. Young answered right back with his own long drive, finishing it himself with a 14-yard touchdown run. USC again answered when White rushed for his third touchdown on a fourth-and-one from the 12 yard-line to put the Trojans back on top. After another long drive, the Longhorn offense was the first to crack when David Pino missed a 31-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter. Reggie Bush took over for White on the next drive, taking the ball in from 25 yards out to give the Trojans their biggest lead of the game at 31-23 with 11:19 to go. The Longhorns could only manage a field goal on the next drive, and Leinart made it four-for-four in the second half for the Trojans with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett to give USC a seemingly insurmountable 38-26 lead with 6:42 left.
And then Vince Young started doing Vince Young-like things. Young went 5-for-6 on the next drive and rushed the ball twice for 25 yards and a touchdown to bring the Longhorns back within five. On the ensuing possession, coach Pete Carroll made the most controversial call of the game: needing a first down to secure the victory, Carroll went for it on fourth-and-two from the Texas 45-yard line with 2:20 left. LenDale White was stuffed and the Longhorns took over. Young drove the Longhorns inside the USC red zone before facing a 4th-and-five from the 8 with less than thirty seconds left. Young took the shotgun snap and, finding his receivers covered, took off towards the right side of the end zone. Young won the foot race, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 19-seconds left. Young again ran it in for the two-point conversion and Leinart’s desperation drive came up short to give the Longhorns the dramatic 41-38 victory.
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