Top 5 BCS Games in Recent Memory

Vince Young scores the game winning touchdown in the 2006 National Title

Ahh, the greatest time of the year. Christmas is coming, and college football will be on almost every single day of the week. Couldn't ask for anything better. With Bowl Season right around the corner, I thought I would recap some of my favorite, and what I believe to be the Top 5 BCS Bowl Games in recent memory.

#5 2010 National Title (1) Auburn 22, (2) Oregon 19

This was a great game played by two great teams.Oregon got out to an early 11-7 lead after Oregon converted the two point conversion with a fake extra point that was an option play to the Kicker Rob Beard,(which is an awesome name by the way). Auburn's defense held Oregon's explosive rushing offense to only 81 yards. Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, and running back Michael Dyer had amazing performances. Dyer ran for 143 yards on 22 carries, including a pivotal 37 yard rush late in the game when Dyer stayed up, avoiding being down which set up the game winning 19 yard field goal by Wes Byrum. Cam Newton threw for 265 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the National Championship victory.




#4 2012 Fiesta Bowl (3) Oklahoma State 41, (4) Stanford 38, Overtime

This game was nuts. It was a match up of two of the best of offenses in the nation, featuring number one overall draft pick Andrew Luck of Stanford, and first round quarterback selection Brandon Weeden, and wide receiver Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State won the game on a 22 yard field goal in overtime. Both teams scored back and forth in this game, and Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle scored with 1:51 left in the game to send it to overtime. Brandon Weeden threw for 399 yards for three scores, and Andrew Luck threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns. Justin Blackmon of the Oklahoma State Cowboys racked up all kinds of numbers as he caught eight passes for 186 yards, and three touchdowns. He was named the offensive player of the game.






#3 2006 Orange Bowl (3) Penn State 26, (22) Florida State 23, Triple Overtime

As a Penn State fan, I had to get this game in here somewhere. I just had to. This game was a triple overtime thriller, and Penn State finally won it on a field goal from kicker Kevin Kelly.








#2 2007 Fiesta Bowl Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42 Overtime

The trick plays from the underdog Boise State team still give me chills every time I watch this. All hope was lost as Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky threw a pick six late. Then the miracles started happening. It was fourth down with just seconds left in the game. Boise State coach Chris Petersen called a  Hook N' Ladder play, where one wide receiver comes on a crossing route, and after catching the ball laterals to another player running a shorter crossing route across the field. Boise State executed it to perfection and tied the game with virtually no time left. Then after scoring Chris Petersen faced a huge decision. He could either go for it, to try to win the game in overtime, or just kick the extra point. He had guts and decided to go for it all. He called for a Statue of Liberty play, where the quarterback pump fakes with his throwing hand, while placing the ball behind his back for the running back to take. They executed it brilliantly as Boise State got the two point conversion and won the game 43-42.



#1 (2) Texas 41, (1) USC 38

Vince Young running the ball into the end zone on this play to win the National Title is one of the most memorable moments in all of College Football. This is one of the greatest games of all time, if not the greatest. Watch as Vince Young carries his team to the title by scoring with only seconds left.

Credits:

Vince Young picture:
http://www.bloguin.com/crystalballrun/2011-articles/august/my-favorite-game-texas-41-usc-38-2006-rose-bowl.html


videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8zZRBTOcnY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iwoJ6m9E80
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DQdlJ9qxL4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhuHuFbIFy4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_wU3JQZ2i8


Information:
http://www.fiestabowl.org/tostitos-fiesta-bowl/tostitos-fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/36th-annual-fiesta-bowl.php

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=310102483

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=320020197

http://www.fiestabowl.org/tostitos-fiesta-bowl/tostitos-fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/41st-annual-fiesta-bowl.php

Chaos in The BCS: A New Number One

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are the new number 1

Last Saturday the college football world was turned completely upside down as the number one and two teams in the nation suffered their first losses. Kansas State was completely embarrassed by Baylor, losing to the Bears 52-24. Oregon fell to Stanford, 17-14 in overtime. This catapulted the third ranked Irish to the top in this weeks rankings. Notre Dame has never been ranked first in the BCS standings, and hasn't been number one since it was ranked first in the AP Poll in 1993. The top 10 looks like this:

1. Notre Dame

2. Alabama

3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Oregon
6. Kansas State
7. LSU
8. Stanford
9. Texas A&M
10. Florida State

The major issues with this poll is how far Oregon and Kansas State fell. Kansas State is better than Florida. Florida will have its hands full with Florida State this weekend. Florida will have to shut down the high powered offense of Senior quarterback EJ Manuel. Manuel has completed 68.8% of his passes, while also throwing for 21 touchdowns. The Seminoles have averaged 42.9 points per game while giving up just 13.1. The Gators average 25.8 points per game, while giving up 11.7. This game will probably be a low twenties to mid thirties game. Look for The Seminoles to have to find a running game to open up passing lanes. The Gators are 3-1 against the Top 25 this season.

Oregon lost to a tough Stanford team to get their first loss. Oregon fell much further than necessary as well, as they should be sitting at number four instead of the Gators. Notre Dame has gotten very lucky in two games this season that it should have lost. The Fighting Irish were a blown call away from a loss to Stanford, and the luck of the Irish continued against Pittsburgh as they pulled out a 29-26 victory in triple overtime.USC is looking less likely to upset the Irish this weekend without quarterback Matt Barkley who suffered an injury last weekend against UCLA, but with the receivers that the Trojans have I can see them giving Notre Dame a run for their money. The Top 10 in the polls should be like this:

1. Notre Dame
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Oregon
5. Kansas State
6. Florida
7. Stanford
8. LSU
9. Texas A&M
10. Florida State

Games of the Week:

(1) Notre Dame vs USC

(4) Florida vs (10) Florida State

Teams On Upset Alert:

(4) Florida vs (10) Florida State

(1) Notre Dame vs USC

(18) Rutgers vs Pittsburgh






Credits:

Everett Golson Photo:
http://news.yahoo.com/golson-leads-no-4-nd-29-26-3ot-000453374--spt.html

Information and Stats from:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/



 

BCS Week 12 Rankings: The New Number One

Kansas State is the new # 1 in the BCS

Thanks to Texas A&M, there was some madness in the new BCS Standings. Texas A&M pulled out a huge upset over the number one Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. Johnny Manziel played a great game, and shocked the Crimson Tide. With the loss, Alabama fell in the polls, and shook things up a bit, opening the door for controversy. This week's top 10 looks like this:

1. Kansas State
2. Oregon
3. Notre Dame
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Florida
7. LSU
8. Texas A&M
9. South Carolina
10. Florida State

There are a couple controversial things about these rankings. First, Oregon should be number one, not Kansas State. The next problem is Texas A&M jumping from 15 to number eight in just one week. Sure they upset the number one team in the nation, but they just jumped too many teams in one week. Don't get me wrong, they were very impressive against Alabama, but they still have two losses, and a few teams they jumped would be very competitive with the Aggies.

Oregon should be the top team in the BCS Poll. They continue to impress by putting up points and rolling over teams. Though they will face another tough test on their schedule as they finish up the year with Stanford and will play their rivalry game known as the Civil War, against in state opponent Oregon State. If Oregon can finish the year undefeated they should be playing for the championship, which they will do if they manage to stay unbeaten. Kansas State has a rougher schedule, but they don't dominate the game like Oregon does. I really want to see Kansas State matched up with Oregon. Either team could really come out on top. Both teams have great offenses; Oregon's being the more explosive offense. Oregon's defense scares me though, as they have given up 51 points to USC, 34 points to Arkansas State, 25 to Fresno State, and 26 to Washington State. Kansas State on the other hand is a very solid defensive team and wouldn't allow Oregon to put up the 54.8 points that they average per game.

Notre Dame is really favored by the computers and with that help if they can go 12-0 they may be able to jump Kansas State to play Oregon in the Title, assuming that all three teams go 12-0. Notre Dame isn't as good as Kansas State or Oregon but may be able to get a good push from the computers to get them there. That is the problem with the BCS. Ever since its installment issues like that have come up many times. The four team playoff next season can't get here soon enough. Though to put that in perspective, if there was a playoff, the 1 and 2 seeds would host the 3 and 4 seeds. So Kansas State would play Alabama at home, and Oregon would get Notre Dame at home. The problem? Alabama is MUCH better than Notre Dame. How things will come into shape will be interesting to say the least. Until then, enjoy college football, and get ready for what is hopefully a great bowl season.

Games of The Week:

(18) USC vs (17) UCLA

(2) Oregon vs (14) Stanford

Upset Alert:

(2) Oregon vs (14) Stanford

(3) Notre Dame vs Wake Forest







Credits:


Photo From:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/13/kansas-state-football-collin-klein-iowa-state_n_1963938.html

Information from:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/

BCS Week 11 Rankings, Week 10 Wrap Up

Oregon running back Kenjon Barner makes a statement for the Heisman

A few close games nearly shook up the BCS this week, but Alabama and Notre Dame were able to recover late to avoid losing their first game of the season. The Top 10 looks like this:

1. Alabama
2. Kansas State
3. Oregon
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Florida
7. LSU
8. South Carolina
9. Louisville
10. Florida State

The only real change here is Notre Dame. Notre Dame really struggled this week and nearly stumbled against an awful Pittsburgh football team. The Panthers showed up ready to play against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, as Pitt running back Ray Graham ran for 172 yards and a touchdown. Notre Dame entered the fourth trailing 20-6 but rallied to force overtime. In triple overtime, Pitt had to settle to a field goal, and that doomed the Panthers chances for a huge upset as Everett Golson led the Irish down the field and scored on a one yard rushing touchdown to win the game. 

Golson made some big plays down the stretch in this game to keep Notre Dame's title hopes alive. Golson went 23/42 for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Pitt was one big play from defeating the Irish and that is a big reason why Oregon finally gained a little bit more respect and jumped them in the polls. 

Alabama is again the number one team in the country. The Crimson Tide fell behind LSU and trailed 17-14 in the 4th quarter of the game. LSU came out ready to play, even though they didn't play the greatest, they rallied and held a late lead. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron refused to lose. McCarron drove the team down the field with just under a minute left, throwing a wide receiver screen pass to T.J. Yeldon who scored from 28 yards out to give the Crimson Tide the lead for good. Alabama continues to win games, and the defense continues to be lights out. The defense is only allowing opponents to score an average of 9.1 points per game. They are playing lights out, and with a defense like that this team doesn't need that many points to win. I'm interested to see how Alabama responds after a close game like that to LSU. They face a very good Texas A&M team this week. Johnny Manziel is having a great Freshman year for the Aggies, and he will be a huge offensive threat that Alabama will have to keep in check to win the game.

Kansas State continues to win, and they played very well in their match up against Oklahoma State this week, beating the Cowboys 44-30. Collin Klein got hurt in this game, but he should play in their week 10 match up against TCU. Kansas State continues to impress, as they now have quality wins over Miami, Oklahoma, Iowa State, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and if they beat TCU that will also be a big win for the Wildcats. This team's rushing attack is a main strength, while they get the job done throwing the ball when they have to. The Wildcats are a great overall team, and deserve to be a top three team but personally Oregon is just better. Kansas State holds an edge over Oregon mainly due to their better strength of schedule.

Oregon should be the number two team in the nation, by far right now. Oregon is just putting up so points and got a huge win over USC this weekend, defeating the Trojans 62-51. Oregon running back Kenjon Barner made a strong statement about who should be hoisting the Heisman Trophy as he rushed for 321 yards and five touchdowns, which is just unreal. The Ducks offense tore USC apart and the defense held its ground when it needed a stop to keep them undefeated. Oregon will play Stanford and Oregon State yet this year to wrap up their season. Oregon will have to hope that either Alabama or Kansas State loses because without a loss by either of those teams they may get snubbed from the National Title Game, and end up playing in the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl is still a great BCS Bowl, but Oregon would have to feel snubbed being undefeated and sitting out the Title game.

You can see by this video of the highlights of the Oregon USC game, just how explosive Oregon is as a team. They are in good shape for a championship, as long as Kansas State or Alabama stumbles. Alabama will face a tough test against Texas A&M so we will see if they can avoid a setback after the hardly fought game against LSU.

What the Top 5 Should Be:

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Kansas State
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia

I agree with the Top 5 for the most part, other than Oregon being number three in the country. They are the second best team. They just are.

The Rest of the Real BCS Top 25 looks like this:

11. Oregon State

12. Oklahoma

13. Clemson

14. Stanford

15. Texas A&M

16. Nebraska

17. Texas

18. UCLA

19. USC

20. Louisiana Tech

21. Mississippi State

22. Texas Tech

23. Rutgers

24. Northwestern

25. Toledo

Games of The Week:

(15) Texas A&M vs (1) Alabama

(21) Mississippi State vs (7) LSU

(11) Oregon State vs (14) Stanford

Teams on Upset Alert:

(17) Texas vs Iowa State

(2) Kansas State vs TCU

(1) Alabama vs (15) Texas A&M

Credits:

Kenjon Barner picture:

http://dialglobalsports.com/

Information:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/


Video From:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgysUVvrHio&feature=player_embedded

BCS Polls Week 8, Florida over Oregon?

The Florida Gators were a surprise in the first release of the BCS Standings 

The time has finally come. This is the first week of the BCS Polls, and man are they controversial. The top 10 looks like this:

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Oregon
4. Kansas State
5. Notre Dame
6. LSU
7. South Carolina
8. Oregon State
9. Oklahoma
10. USC

Now, most people are really up in arms about the fact that the SEC has four of the top ten teams. I don't see this being an issue because these teams are all good enough to be Top 10 teams in my opinion.

I don't agree that Florida is the second best team, even though the computers are in love with the Gators. The Gators aren't a bad team, but I'm not convinced that they are back to being the team they were under Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow. They scare me with their lack of a passing game. Their defense and running game are the heart and soul of their team. Through six games they have thrown only four touchdown passes. Four. That is absolutely horrible. They are completely one-dimensional on offense. Florida also raises some questions with their blocking. They have allowed the second-most sacks in the SEC. They also can't move the chains on third down. This is a huge problem for any team that wants to be great, let alone a Top Five BCS team.

The key to Florida's success is their ball control. They have turned the ball over just four times all season, and they are a good team at forcing turnovers and getting stops on defense when they need them. Senior running back Mike Gillislee is leading this team on offense with his ability to run the ball. He has rushed for 615 yards and seven scores over six games. He has demonstrated why he should be the main runner in the backfield for this team.

Saying all that, I believe that Oregon is the second best team in the country. They just continue to rack up the points, averaging 52.3 points per game. Incredible. Florida had a rough game this season against Bowling Green. Oregon has a couple tough games against Oregon State and USC, and they will be able to make a strong case that they are the better team by going 12-0. Alabama is truly the only powerhouse this season, and because only one SEC team can come out undefeated, whoever that is will be in the National Championship. I don't think any team will knock off the Crimson Tide this year. They are just so much better than everyone else. They allow only 7.5 points per game. Unbelievable.

I agree with the rest of the Top 10 for now, although it will be interesting to see how the rest of this season plays out.

Key Games this week:

(7)South Carolina vs (2)Florida

(4)Kansas State vs (13)West Virginia

Upset Alert:

(15)Rutgers vs Temple

(14)Florida State vs Miami

USF vs (16)Louisville







Credits:
Stats from:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/

Picture taken from:
http://gamedayr.com/wp-content/slideshow/2012/08/the-cold-hard-truth-why-the-gators-will-be-better-in-2012/full/2012-Florida-Gators-Football-Preview-570x379.jpg