2009-2010 Bowl Wrap Up

The 2009-10 College Football Season has come to a close. Over the past month, college football fans were treated to thirty-four bowl games. The bowl season is often the most exciting time of the year as it provides one last opportunity for us to watch our favorite teams. For those of you who may have missed a bowl, or just want to relive it, the summaries of all thirty-four bowl games are here:

New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. Wyoming

            Fresno State was supposed to win this game behind the rushing attack led by Ryan Matthews. However, Wyoming stole the show by containing Matthews and winning 35-28 in double overtime. The turning point of this game came in the first overtime when the Bulldogs had first and goal at the 1 and were turned away on four straight run plays, two to Matthews, by the Wyoming defensive line.

St. Petersburg Bowl: UCF vs. Rutgers

            Mahamed Sanu dominated this game as he ran for two touchdowns and caught a third. The versatile wide receiver helped Rutgers earn a fourth straight bowl victory, a school record. Game ball can also be awarded to the Rutgers run defense which limited UCF to 32 yards on 30 carries.

R+L Carriers New Orleans: Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee

            You can’t say enough about MTSU quarterback Dwight Dasher. He accounted for 366 total yards of offense and four touchdowns. The Blue Raiders fell behind 14-0 but railed to a 42-32 victory.

Las Vegas Bowl: Oregon State vs. BYU

            The wind, great defense, and lack of offensive execution defined this game. BYU cruised to an easy 44-20 victory over the Beavers. Oregon State never found the rhythm offensively and they were absolutely dominated start to finish. The Beavers scored on their opening possession and didn’t score again until late in the fourth quarter. The wind had an impact on the game, but BYU would have won this game regardless. The Cougar defense came out prepared and rattled quarterback Sean Canfield throughout the game.

Poinsettia Bowl: Utah vs. Cal

            After falling behind 14-0, Utah rallied back to win 37-27. Shane Vereen filled in nicely for the injured Jahvid Best as he rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns. The star of the night was Utah’s freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn who threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns. The Utes extended their bowl winning streak to nine.     

Hawaii Bowl: Nevada vs. SMU.

            SMU had not been to a bowl game since 1984. They truly understand how special it is to go to a bowl game, so they made sure to enjoy every minute of this one. June Jones led his team to a stunning 45-10 victory over the heavily favored Nevada Wolfpack. Nevada came into the game leading the country in rushing at over 350 yards per game, but the SMU defense was able to hold Nevada to only 265 yards on the ground.

Little Caesars Bowl: Marshall vs. Ohio

            Ohio fell behind early, but stormed back late. A late missed field goal and a interception in the last four minutes of the game cost the Bobcats the bowl victory. Marshall executed in the final minutes and held on for a 21-17 victory.

Meineke Car Care Bowl: Pitt vs. North Carolina

            With 52 seconds remaining Pittsburgh kicker Dan Hutchins made a 33 yard field goal to give the Panthers the 19-17 victory. This game was virtually even as the teams finished within 30 yards of total offense of each other. The time of possession differed by just 50 seconds. The big difference was the turnovers. North Carolina committed two, while Pittsburgh only limited themselves to one.

Emerald Bowl: Boston College vs. USC

            After an 0-2 start, USC got the Pac-10 in the win column with a 24-13 victory over Boston College. This game was full of ups and downs. Both teams had moments of brilliance and moments that made you scratch your head. In the end, it was the Trojan defense that made the difference as they dominated Boston College all night.

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl: Kentucky vs. Clemson

            In his final game as a Clemson Tiger C.J. Spiller did not disappoint. The running back had 176 total yards and scored a touchdown to help lead Clemson to a 21-13 victory. Clemson earned its first bowl win since the 2005 Champs Sports Bowl.

Independence Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Georgia

            Once again the team that won the turnover battle won the game. Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson threw two third quarter interceptions that helped propel Georgia to a 44-20 victory. Georgia also blocked two kicks to seal the fourth straight postseason loss for the Aggies.

EagleBank Bowl: UCLA vs. Temple

            Because it was their first bowl appearance in thirty years, the Temple Owls got off to a fast start as they lead 21-7 late in the second quarter. At halftime UCLA closed the gap to 21-10. The Bruins were able to shut out the Owls for the entire second half and rally to a thrilling 30-21 victory. Temple was in the game until late in the 4^th quarter, but they continued to fall short in crucial situations, costing them the game.         

Champs Sports Bowl: Miami vs. Wisconsin

            Wisconsin outplayed Miami for most of the night. The 20-14 game should not have been as close as the score indicated. Miami had a chance to win the game late as they recovered an onside kick, but they were unable to score. Big-10 Offensive player of the year John Clay came up huge for Wisconsin and led the Badgers to victory.

Humanitarian Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Idaho

            Bowling Green’s 5^th year senior wide receiver Freddie Barnes set the NCAA record for career receptions, unfortunately his 17 catches 200+ yards and three touchdowns were not enough as Idaho stole the win 43-42. Bowling Green scored with just 16 seconds remaining, but Idaho completed a long pass and then scored a touchdown with just four seconds left on the clock. Rather than kicking the PAT to tie the game, Idaho went for two and came away with a thrilling one point victory.

Holiday Bowl: Arizona vs. Nebraska

            This game was over from the time it started. The Cornhuskers dominated in all phases of the game. The 33-0 Nebraska win was the first shutout in the history of the Holiday Bowl. Arizona had just 33 yards of total offense at halftime as the Nebraska defense harassed Nick Foles and the Wildcat offense foe the entire 60 minutes of play.           

Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Air Force

Sun Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Stanford

            It was evident from the very beginning that Stanford missed their redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Luck. The Cardinal stayed in the game, but without their starting quarterback the offense was one dimensional. Oklahoma knew that Stanford would have to rely heavily on Toby Gerhart. The Sooners stuffed the box, and held on for the win.

Texas Bowl: Navy vs. Missouri

            Navy limited Missouri’s passing attack and used the triple option offense to keep Missouri off the field. The Midshipmen were impressive in their victory. The offense controlled the clock. Missouri had no answer and was unable to get their defense off the field and their offense on to it.

Insight Bowl: Minnesota vs. Iowa State

            Iowa State holds on to a 14-13 victory to seal their first winning season since 2005. Minnesota put themselves in position to win, but fumbled the ball at Iowa State’s 15 yard line late in the 4^th quarter.

Chick-fil-A: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

            Virginia Tech was only up three at half, but outscored Tennessee 20-0 in the second half to roll to a 37-14 victory. This marks Virginia Techs sixth straight ten win season, second only to Texas. It also marks the first time in school history that Virginia Tech has won back to back bowl games.

Outback Bowl: Northwestern vs. Auburn

            Auburn tried to lose this game, but Northwestern wouldn’t let them. The Tigers won 38-35 in overtime. Northwestern missed three field goals and had an extra point attempt blocked. After Auburn scored first in overtime, Northwestern decided to go for a fake field goal and the win, rather than kick and send the game to a second overtime. Northwestern was stopped on the fake and the Tigers stole a win.

Capital One Bowl: Penn State vs. LSU

            Penn State scored on a late field goal to come away with a 19-17 win. This game was close the entire way and was severely impacted by the absolutely horrible field conditions.

Gator Bowl: West Virginia vs. Florida State

Florida State 33 West Virginia 21. The Seminoles sent Bobby Bowden riding off into the sunset with an upset victory over the 16^th ranked Mountaineers. E.J Manuel was the star of the game as he threw for 189 yards and ran for 70 yards and a touchdown. He was named game MVP.

Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Oregon

            Defense wins championships. The 5^th ranked Ohio State defense proved to much for the high-powered Oregon offensive attack. The Ducks never got going offensively as Ohio State was able to control the clock and the tempo. Ohio State’s 26-17 victory snaps their BCS losing streak and helps regain some much needed credibility for the Big 10.     

Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Cincinnati

            The story going into this game was all about Tebow’s last game as a collegiate player. The former Heisman winning quarterback did not disappoint. Tebow had 533 yards of total offense, setting a BCS bowl game record for an individual player. Tebow was pulled late in the fourth quarter to chants of “Thank You Tim.” Tebow was also named the MVP of the 2010 Sugar Bowl. Florida won 51-24. The Gators now have back to back 13 win seasons which is something that had never been done in Division 1 football.

International Bowl: South Florida vs. Northern Illinois

            South Florida ran away with an easy 27-3 victory in the International Bowl. After an uneventful first half that ended tied at 3, South Florida opened up the half with 10 points on its first two possessions. USF put on 14 points in the fourth and ran away with the win in Toronto.

Papa Johns Bowl: South Carolina vs. UConn

            Andre Dixon ran for 126 yards and a touchdown and the UConn defense limited South Carolina to only 205 total yards of offense. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier described the game as a “sad, sad effort.” UConn won 20-7.

AT&T Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss

Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. East Carolina

            Dexter McCluster rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-7 Cotton Bowl victory for the Runnin Rebels. Ole Miss was able to limit Zac Robinson to just 119 yards passing. The real story of this game was the turnovers, Oklahoma State had seven, six in the fourth quarter alone.         

Alamo Bowl: Michigan State vs. Texas Tech

            Taylor Potts was having a great game at quarterback, but the Red Raider offense needed a spark so interim head coach Ruffin McNeal decided to put in Steven Sheffield. The backup quarterback converted two huge first downs and completed 9 of 11 passes to lead Texas Tech to a 41-31 Alamo Bowl victory.

Fiesta Bowl: TCU vs. Boise State

            It was the TCU defense that everyone was talking about, but the Boise State defense was the one that showed up and made the critical plays necessary to win the game. As the Horned Frogs were driving late in the game, Boise State intercepted a tipped ball with 36 seconds left in the game to seal the 17-10 victory. The turning point in the game occurred while the game was still tied at 10. There were about nine minutes left and Boise State was faced with a fourth and nine. Everyone expects trick plays from the Broncos and they could not have chosen a better time to run a fake punt. They executed it perfectly and gained 27 yards, setting up the game-winning touchdown run.

Orange Bowl: Iowa vs. Georgia Tech

            Georgia Tech had possibly the worst half that it could have had in the first half. The Yellow Jacket offense managed to gain just 32 total yards over the first 30 minutes of football. Luckily, their defense kept them in the game by only allowing 14 points and scoring a touchdown on an interception. Georgia Tech started to move the ball in the second half, but a late interception and a three and out deep in their own territory ultimately proved too much to overcome. Iowa played great defense all night and made just enough plays on offense to come away with a 24-14 victory.

GMAC Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Troy

            In the last bowl game prior to the National Championship, Central Michigan and Troy treated us to a double overtime thriller. Ultimately quarterback Dan LeFevour and Central Michigan came away with a 44-41 victory. LeFevour led a late touchdown drive to put the Chippewas ahead with 1:17 remaining. However, the defense could not hold off the Trojans and allowed a field goal that sent the game into overtime. Both teams got into the end-zone during the first overtime. In the second overtime Troy had a field goal attempt blocked meaning that all Central Michigan had to do was put points on the board. The Chippewas ran three straight plays and Andrew Aguila hit a 37 yard field goal to give his team the victory.

BCS National Championship: Texas vs. Alabama

            After being stopped on the first drive of the game, Alabama decided to go with a fake punt. The pass was intercepted and set up Texas with great field position. The Longhorns were able to capitalize and get a field goal, but they lost quarterback Colt McCoy who suffered a right shoulder surgery and sat out the remainder of the game. With their backup quarterback in the game Texas was unable to do anything offensively for the rest of the first half. Just when it seemed as if it couldn’t get any worse, Texas got intercepted on a shovel pass that Alabama returned for a touchdown with just three seconds remaining in the half. The Crimson Tide led 24-6 at the break. The game remained scoreless for most of the third, but with just under two minutes remaining Garrett Gilbert hit Jordan Shipley for a 44 yard touchdown pass. Texas kicked and recovered an onside kick following the touchdown, but went three and out. The Texas defense played great all night and kept Texas in the game. With six and a half minutes to go, Gilbert hit Shipley for their second touchdown connection of the night. Texas went for two and pulled to within three points. The Longhorns got the ball back, but fumbled the ball at their own three yard line. Mark Ingram rushed for his second touchdown of the game giving Alabama a ten point lead with two minutes to go. Alabama held on and won 37-21.

Congratulations to the 2009-10 NCAA Champion Alabama Crimson Tide.