One Word to Describe Every Bowl Program's Postseason Performance

The 2011 college football season in finally over, and all the postseason hoopla is beginning to die down.

That provides us with the perfect opportunity to look back at every program that earned a bowl berth and dispense some final thoughts.

Some teams achieved success above and beyond what anyone thought possible, and some came up woefully short in the respective postseason games.

With all 35 bowl games completed, we've come up with one word to describe the performance in the postseason of the 70 programs participating.

Remember, our words were chosen based on the program's performance in the bowl game, not as a description for the season as a whole.

Temple (Won New Mexico Bowl)

"Continuation"

When the season began, Temple was starting with a new head coach, Steve Addazio, who replaced Al Golden, who had left for Miami.

There was some trepidation about how the season would turn out of the Owls, as even the strongest programs sometimes struggle under new leadership.

Rather than fall back, Temple continued its climb upwards in the MAC, finishing the season with a strong win over Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl, going 9-4—actually a game better than the 2010 season under Golden.

Wyoming (Lost New Mexico Bowl)

"Distant"

Wyoming's loss to Temple showed just how far the Cowboys are from being considered an up-and-comer.

While eight wins is certainly a fine accomplishment of which the program should continue to build upon, fairly lopsided losses to the MWC's top teams and a blowout defeat at the hands of Utah State show just how far the program has yet to go.

Ohio (Won Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)

"Solid"

When most people think of Ohio football, they're not thinking Bobcats. But just a bit south and east of Columbus lies Athens, Ohio, where one of the state's fine football programs resides.

There were actually two Ohio programs with 10 wins this season, and neither of them were based in Columbus. The Bobcats finished off a solid MAC-East title with a Potato Bowl win over Utah State, a team that had its own solid performance this season.

Is the Ohio football team ready to claim a spot atop the state in college football? Probably not, but the win over Utah State in a bowl game shows that the Bobcats have what it takes to compete at the highest level in the MAC for the foreseeable future.

Utah State (Lost Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)

"Almost"

After a one-point loss to Ohio in the Potato Bowl, the 2011 season for the Aggies was capped off by another “almost.”

Utah State started 2011 by almost beating defending BCS Champion Auburn, and almost beat Colorado State in overtime two weeks later.

The Aggies then fell to BYU by three points the following week before two more losses of 10 points or less the rest of the way.

There's certainly a lot to be proud of, but almost beating Ohio in a bowl game won't be remembered as much as the loss itself.

If Utah State can turn a few of those almosts around...

Louisiana-Lafayette (Won New Orleans Bowl)

"Triumphant"

Of the three programs from the state of Louisiana that actually made a bowl game this season, it's rather shocking to think that the Ragin' Cajuns are the only ones who emerged victorious.

Louisiana-Lafayette managed to take down a tough San Diego State team in the New Orleans Bowl, 32-30, capping off the program's first nine-win season since 1970 (9-3).

Louisiana's triumph is even more amazing considering the Cajuns were just 3-9 last season.

San Diego State (Lost New Orleans Bowl)

"Disappointing"

On the flip side, San Diego State has to be bitterly disappointed with its performance in New Orleans.

Sure, the Aztecs were facing a Louisiana-Lafayette team that was a lot better than many gave credit for, and the crowd was definitely pro-Louisiana, but that doesn't mean the 8-5 Aztecs didn't stand much of a chance.

Losing to Louisiana had to be a bitter pill for first-year head coach Rocky Long to swallow.

Marshall (Won St. Petersburg Bowl)

"Simple"

There's probably nothing simple about a team struggling to a 7-6 finish on the season, needing to win a bowl game to post a winning record.

But Marshall drew a fairly easy opponent in the St. Petersburg Bowl this season: Florida International.

While FIU posted a decent record this season in the Sun Belt (8-5, 5-3 Sun Belt) and even flirted with the top 25 at one point early on, it's clear that the Panthers were completely incapable of stopping even the most basic offensive schemes run by Marshall.

Florida International (Lost St. Petersburg Bowl)

"Overwhelmed"

Perhaps all of that modest success at FIU got the better of the Panthers.

Scoring 10 points won't win you many games in college football, and the FIU players and staff seemed quite incapable of responding to even slight pressure from Marshall's defense in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Texas Christian (Won Poinsettia Bowl)

"Resilient"

Even after an early setback to Baylor, TCU managed to build themselves back up to a MWC championship, and so earned a trip to the Poinsettia Bowl to face off with WAC Champion Louisiana Tech.

While TCU was expected to win easily, the Bulldogs gave the Horned Frogs everything the Texans could handle, and then some. Louisiana Tech actually led for much of the game, but true to form, TCU was able to mount a late comeback, edging out La Tech, 31-24.

Louisiana Tech (Lost Poinsettia Bowl)

"Again"

Narrow losses have become a theme for Louisiana Tech.

The Bulldogs narrowly lost to Southern Mississippi to open the season, before dropping a one-point decision to Houston two weeks later. La Tech followed that loss up with an overtime loss at Mississippi State before finally losing a game by more than a handful of points to Hawai'i the following week.

The Bulldogs then won seven straight games to become bowl-eligible and capture the 2011 WAC Championship.

But the curse of the close loss again struck at the Poinsettia Bowl.

Boise State (Won MAACO Bowl Las Vegas)

"Lopsided"

Boise State did to Arizona State what Boise State does best: score a ton of points and completely blow out the competition.

While the season didn't end with the hoped-for BCS berth, the 12-1 Broncos made the best of a bad situation by completely destroying the Arizona State Sun Devils in Las Vegas.

Arizona State (Lost MAACO Bowl Las Vegas)

"Demoralizing"

As if losing your head coach wasn't enough, Arizona State found itself facing the unenviable task of facing perennial powerhouse Boise State in a bowl game this season.

Is it any surprise that the disappointing Sun Devils were completely blown out by the Broncos?

Southern Mississippi (Won Hawai'i Bowl)

"Fitting"

After an epic upset win over Houston in the Conference USA Championship Game, the season just had to end with a bowl victory, right?

Nevada (Lost Hawai'i Bowl)

"Worthy"

While this season wasn't quite the unqualified success that 2010 was, Nevada was still rewarded with a nice trip to Hawai'i to face Southern Mississippi in a bowl game. And while the Wolf Pack fell a bit short, 24-17, there's still reason to believe that Nevada will be providing worthy opposition moving forward.

Missouri (Won Independence Bowl)

"SEC-ready"

There's been a lot of talk about whether or not Missouri will be able to hold its own in the SEC come next season.

While there's still some legitimate doubt about the Tigers chances to actually come anywhere close to a divisional title in the near future in their new conference home, Missouri certainly showed that it was capable of handling other BCS-AQ conference opponents, dispatching North Carolina fairly easily, 41-24.

North Carolina (Lost Independence Bowl)

"Recovering"

It wasn't all that long ago that we were talking about North Carolina as a top-25 team, and a season-opening matchup with LSU was shaping up to be quite the battle.

Then, a scandal gutted the Tar Heels program, and the pieces are still being picked up in Chapel Hill.

Purdue (Won Pizza Bowl)

"Narrow"

A narrow win against Western Michigan in the Pizza Bowl in Detroit is still a win.

While defeating the Broncos probably isn't a sign that the Boilermakers are ready to start competing again for Big Ten titles, bowl wins are an important first step to rebuilding a once-proud program.

Western Michigan (Lost Pizza Bowl)

"Nearly"

If we can say Purdue narrowly beat Western Michigan, it's equally fair to say that Western Michigan nearly defeated Purdue.

The problem with that is that nearly doesn't count for anything more than getting blown out when all is said and done.

It remains to be seen if Western Michigan can bring a MAC Championship-caliber team to Kalamazoo, but it's clear that the Broncos are in good shape to be competitive, at the very least.

NC State (Won Belk Bowl)

"Building"

Losing Russell Wilson to Wisconsin was clearly a blow for the Wolfpack, but NC State seems to be taking the loss in stride.

After all, one player a program does not make, and NC State seems to have laid the foundation for a solid ACC football program in the seasons to come.

Louisville (Lost Belk Bowl)

"Let-down"

Shockingly enough, the 7-6 Louisville Cardinals actually captured a share of the Big East championship this season (along with two other teams).

But when it came to the 2011 Belk Bowl, Louisville certainly didn't play like a BCS-AQ conference champion.

Toledo (Won Military Bowl)

"Lucky"

Yes, the Toledo Rockets were, in the end, lucky to defeat Air Force in the 2011 Military Bowl.

That's not to say that Toledo couldn't have beaten the Falcons without luck on their side, and Toledo has certainly proven that it can put up a ton of points on any given day.

But when your opponent opts for a two-point conversion with under a minute to go to take a one-point lead and fails because of an unforced fumble, you have to admit luck had a little to do with the win.

Air Force (Lost Military Bowl)

"Gutsy"

We won't fault Troy Calhoun's decision to go for a two-point conversion with less than one minutes remaining in the Military Bowl.

It was a gutsy call, and he deserves credit. If the play had succeeded, he would have been hailed as a hero. Just because the conversion failed doesn't take away from the bold decision made Calhoun and company.

Texas (Won Holiday Bowl)

"Back?"

We'll have to wait and see, but the early signs look promising for the Longhorns.

Beating a good Cal team in the Holiday Bowl is a great first step, considering Texas didn't even make a bowl game last season. Add in what looks to be a top-five recruiting class for 2012, and the Longhorns are definitely on the right track.

California (Lost Holiday Bowl)

"Blah"

Just when it looks like the Golden Bears might be able to rebuild the program into something of which Cal alum can once again be proud, Cal goes ahead and puts up a mediocre performance against a quality program like Texas in a bowl game.

If the Bears are looking to instill confidence, the 2011 Holiday Bowl didn't do a whole lot to move towards that end.

Florida State (Won Champs Sports Bowl)

"Late"

Better late than never.

Florida State needed all four quarters to pull out the win against Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl, scoring all 18 points in the fourth quarter.

It was also a late victory in a season woefully short of victories compared to preseason expectations.

Notre Dame (Lost Champs Sports Bowl)

"Early"

Notre Dame, conversely, was a little too early on the scoring and couldn't put up any late points to stem the tide of a Seminoles comeback.

It's too early in the Notre Dame coaching career of Brian Kelly to pass any judgments, but heading into year three, the pressure will soon be mounting on BK to produce some major victories.

Baylor (Won Alamo Bowl)

"Heisman"

If there were any doubts about Robert Griffin III and his Heisman Trophy selection, there were effectively put to rest in the 2011 Alamo Bowl.

Almost single-handedly, RG3 took over the game and guided the Bears to touchdown after touchdown when they needed it the most.

Washington (Lost Alamo Bowl)

"Decent"

Jake Locker was a good quarterback on a decent team, and when Locker graduated and made his way to the NFL, most expected Washington to be somewhat less than decent in 2011.

But the Huskies proved those predictions wrong as they continue to defy expectations. While there were no huge upsets or amazing victories this season, Washington proved it is still a decent Pac-12 program, and taking RG3 and the Baylor Bears to the wire didn't change that.

Brigham Young (Won Armed Forces Bowl)

"Independent"

Yes, BYU is now an independent, and yes, their bowl selection was free of any conference entanglements.

But BYU also proved that independence isn't such a bad thing after all, as the Cougars won their 10th game of the season against Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Tulsa (Lost Armed Forces Bowl)

"Waiting"

We are still waiting for that promised Tulsa team that will break out of the mold it has cast for itself as the third-best of three Oklahoma teams.

Tulsa actually had several opportunities to impress this season, including against both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, and finally against BYU.

We're still waiting.

Rutgers (Won Pinstripe Bowl)

"Home"

There's something to be said about playing a bowl game scant miles from your own home.

That's exactly what Rutgers had this season, with an invite to the Pinstripe Bowl in New York City, just up the road from Piscataway, New Jersey, where the State University of New Jersey plays its home games.

The Scarlet Knights took full advantage of the “home-field” advantage, beating the Iowa State Cyclones, 27-13.

Iowa State (Lost Pinstripe Bowl)

"Away"

The 2011 season may be remembered for a few great moments, such as defeating in-state rival Iowa in overtime and pulling a shocking upset of then-No. 2 Oklahoma State at home, but the 2011 Pinstripe Bowl probably won't be a high point in the memories of Cyclones fans.

Iowa State traveled out of the Central Time Zone for just the second time all season for the bowl game, and the travel must have gotten to the Cyclones, who could only manage 13 points against Rutgers in New York City.

Mississippi State (Won Music City Bowl)

"Over"

The season is finally over for Mississippi State, and not a moment too soon.

The Bulldogs were actually a top-25 team to begin the year, but that all came crashing down after starting 2-3. By the time bowl bids were handed out, Mississippi State had fallen to 6-6 and was in fifth place in the SEC-West.

Wake Forest (Lost Music City Bowl)

"Over" (its head)

There were many fine moments for the Demon Deacons this season, and finishing the year tied for second place in the ACC-Atlantic is nothing to hang one's head about.

But when it came time for Wake Forest to step out of its comfort zone and face an SEC opponent in a bowl game, it was clear that the Deacons were far from being ready to be seriously considered as a contender.

While there are worse things than a six-point loss, the fact is the second-place team in an ACC division was beaten by a fifth-place team from an SEC division.

Not a good sign.

Oklahoma (Won Insight Bowl)

"Regrouping"

If you compare where the Oklahoma Sooners ended the season based on the preseason expectations, there's no way to honestly argue that 2011 was a successful year.

With losses to Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma State, the preseason No. 1 team in the nation fell well short of the goal of a BCS National Championship.

Still, Oklahoma was able to regroup and dispatch Iowa in the Insight Bowl—a game in which some may have been concerned about Oklahoma's motivation level.

Iowa (Lost Insight Bowl)

"Rebuilding"

The dreaded “R” word was mentioned even before the season began.

While Iowa wasn't bolting to the top of the Big Ten late in the season, the Hawkeyes did achieve a greater level of success than a lot of people thought possible, including an upset win over Michigan.

But Iowa's current weaknesses were fatally exposed in its 31-14 Insight Bowl loss to Oklahoma.

Texas A&M (Won Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas)

"Okay"

Another team that didn't live up to the preseason hype was Texas A&M.

Far from great, A&M had shown itself to be an “okay” team throughout 2011. The Aggies' bowl win over Northwestern didn't do anything to disprove the growing reputation as simply an “okay” team.

Northwestern (Lost Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas)

"Understandable"

Let's face facts. Northwestern is nowhere near close to a Big Ten power program.

The Wildcats haven't won a bowl game in over a half-century, and with the way things are going, that's probably not going to be changing anytime soon.

But aren't the 'Cats improving? Why won't the program be hoisting any bowl trophies if it's improving?

The fact of the matter is Northwestern is decent enough to find its way into the middle of the Big Ten pack every season. That's good enough to earn some decent bowl bids, but that also means the Wildcats will be facing some stiff opposition from the other power conferences.

Therein lies the problem.

So it's understandable that Northwestern added yet another bowl loss to its record book.

Utah (Won Sun Bowl)

"Prepared"

Just when it appeared that Utah may have been completely unprepared for the rigors of a BCS-AQ conference schedule, the Utes went ahead and proved that they can still play with the big boys, defeating Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl, 30-27 in overtime.

Georgia Tech (Lost Sun Bowl)

"Stumble"

It's safe to say that the second half of the 2011 season was one big stumble for the Yellow Jackets.

No one was paying attention to Georgia Tech when the season began, but by mid-October, the Jackets were working their way up most top-25 ballots.

But a loss here and a loss there ended the dream season in relatively short order. The final stumble came in a hard-fought loss to Utah in the Sun Bowl.

Cincinnati (Won Liberty Bowl)

"Worthy"

Just when people were discussing how deserving the Big East was of its status as a BCS-AQ conference, co-champion Cincinnati showed that they still have some game, defeating the SEC's Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl.

Sure, it was just Vanderbilt, but it's an SEC team none the less, and an SEC team that came within a hair of knocking off top-10 Arkansas.

Vanderbilt (Lost Liberty Bowl)

"Decent"

Much-maligned Vanderbilt has been steadily building itself up towards respectability over the past few seasons.

It has to be tough playing in the SEC as a small, private institution without much football tradition to fall back upon, but Vanderbilt is starting to find its way in the cutthroat conference.

In reality, Vanderbilt is a perfectly decent program that would find more success in almost any other conference in the nation. It just so happens that Vandy's lot in life is to play the best of the best every week.

Illinois (Won Fight Hunger Bowl)

"Finally"

After starting the season 6-0, Illinois inexplicably posted six straight losses, setting a modern-era record for worst finish after a 6-0 start.

Illinois had finally had enough of the under-performing Ron Zook, who was promptly fired after the Illini's sixth loss of the season, and the skid finally came to an end in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against UCLA.

UCLA (Lost Fight Hunger Bowl)

"Typical"

It may be difficult to pin the blame on one person, but UCLA's loss to Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl has become typical for the Bruins program.

UCLA even needed an NCAA waiver to play in a bowl game this season, given the fact that the Bruins posted a losing 6-7 record heading into bowl season.

While bowl games are nice and all, a 6-8 record looks pretty bad.

Auburn (Won Chick-fil-A Bowl)

"Quality"

There was a lot of doubt surrounding Auburn this season, and for good reason.

But rather than slipping quietly into the night, the Tigers proved that they aren't about to become an SEC doormat anytime soon.

The Tigers played well enough to earn a quality bowl bid, and Auburn then had its way with Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, winning 43-24.

Virginia (Lost Chick-fil-A Bowl)

"Foreseen"

Not many people saw Virginia's 8-4 (5-3) regular season record coming.

A lot of people saw Virginia's lopsided loss to Auburn in the Chick-fil-A bowl coming.

Houston (Won TicketCity Bowl)

"Important"

After winning its first 12 games, Houston was ranked in the top 10 in every major poll, including the BCS. A simple Conference USA Championship Game win over Southern Mississippi was all that was needed to earn a trip to a BCS bowl in January.

But in Houston's only game against a ranked opponent, the Cougars were thoroughly embarrassed.

So when Houston had a second crack at a ranked opponent in the TicketCity Bowl, it was seen as an important measuring stick of Houston's season.

Case Keenum and the rest of the Cougars poured it on, beating Penn State, 30-14.

Penn State (Lost TicketCity Bowl)

"Exhausting"

It just looked as if Penn State had finally had enough.

We all knew that the Nittany Lions didn't have much of an offense to speak of this season, but the Lions had a particularly effective defense, and many thought Penn State would provide a serious challege to Case Keenum and the Houston Cougars in the TicketCity Bowl.

It didn't turn out that way, as Penn State gave up 30 points in the loss.

The long, emotionally exhausting season is finally over for Penn State. Hopefully we can all move on from a season that many in Happy Valley would rather soon forget.

Michigan State (Won Outback Bowl)

"Redemption"

It has been a long, long time since Michigan State has been able to say it was a bowl champion.

For the first time in a decade, the Spartans not only won a bowl game, but MSU managed to win that bowl game against a tough SEC opponent. For one brief moment, the Spartans not only achieved an important milestone in the modern history of the program and Mark Dantonio's coaching career, but MSU restored the good name of the Big Ten as the Big Ten-Legends champions defeated the SEC-East champions, Georgia, in the Outback Bowl in a triple-overtime thriller.

Georgia (Lost Outback Bowl)

"Redemption"

Yes, even Georgia's loss to MSU came with a certain measure of redemption.

Not only was UGA's SEC-East title an important step after the program's first losing season in nearly two decades, but the successes and valiant bowl game effort likely removed all talk of head coach Mark Richt's ouster.

South Carolina (Won Capital One Bowl)

"Commanding"

If you are a fan of the SEC, this bowl game was particularly sweet.

Not only did South Carolina dispatch Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl, but the Gamecocks simply rolled over the Cornhuskers, winning 30-13.

Nebraska (Lost Capital One Bowl)

"Struggle"

It seems like the entire 2011 season was a struggle for Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers had high hopes of coming into the Big Ten and departing with some great measure of success. Long the darling of the Big 12's North Division, Nebraska found the road in the Big Ten a bit tougher to navigate, with a few embarrassing losses on its record.

Nebraska also found the bowl game draws to be a bit more complicated as well. What success the Huskers did have in 2011 were rewarded with a Capital One Bowl berth, along with its highest non-BCS payout.

But it also came with a date with South Carolina. Nebraska again struggled and came up woefully short, 30-13.

Florida (Won Gator Bowl)

"Relief"

After a long season of achieving far less than Gator fans are used to, a down Florida team managed a 24-17 victory over a similarly down Ohio State team in the 2012 Gator Bowl.

Ohio State (Lost Gator Bowl)

"Expected"

The downturn of the Ohio State program was expected; we just weren't sure how far it would fall.

In the end, Ohio State couldn't even manage a win against a floundering Florida team, losing 24-17 in the 2012 Gator Bowl.

It will certainly be Ohio State's last trip to a bowl game for at least two years, and the Buckeyes will be banned from postseason play for the 2012 season.

Arkansas (Won Cotton Bowl Classic)

"Impressive"

In what was easily the best non-BCS bowl matchup (and arguably better than one or two BCS bowls), Arkansas faced off against Kansas State in a game between two teams that many felt deserved a BCS bid this season.

Arkansas, of course, fell victim to the two-team limit per conference the BCS imposes, and the Razorbacks had to settle for a trip to the Cotton Bowl Classic to face off against fellow top-10 team Kansas State.

Arkansas used an impressive 16-point second quarter to outdistance the Wildcats, 29-16.

Kansas State (Lost Cotton Bowl Classic)

"Deflating"

Kansas State probably could have been a legitimate selection for the BCS this season, but instead had to “settle” for a trip to the Cotton Bowl Classic.

While the 2011 season provided some great memories for K-State fans—especially considering no one was paying attention to the Wildcats back in August—the loss to Arkansas in the 2012 Cotton Bowl Classic will certainly leave more than a few KSU fans feeling a little deflated.

Southern Methodist (Won Compass Bowl)

"Deserving"

After so many years of futility, it seems as if the SMU football program is back to being an annual bowl participant, earning its third straight bowl berth after a two-decade absence from the postseason.

The SMU players, coaches, fans and alumni have put in a lot of hard work and suffered through so many fruitless seasons. It's hard to say that the Mustangs win over Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl was anything less than deserving.

Pittsburgh (Lost Compass Bowl)

"Sad"

As deserving as SMU was of its victory over Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl, the 28-6 loss was a sad ending to a sad season for the Panthers.

Northern Illinois (Won GoDaddy.com Bowl)

"Decent"

We can all probably agree that the MAC isn't exactly home to the best college football the FBS has to offer.

That being said, once in a while the conference produces a fairly good team. The 2011 season was one of those years, as we were treated to conference champion Northern Illinois.

While NIU didn't exactly face the toughest of opponents in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl, it was still an impressive 18-point victory over a team with 10 wins on the season.

Arkansas State (Lost GoDaddy.com Bowl)

"Pitiful"

For a team with 10 wins, we certainly expected to see more from Sun Belt champion Arkansas State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.

While the Red Wolves did face off against a fellow conference champion, ASU wasn't facing a team like Wisconsin, LSU, Oklahoma State, or even TCU or Southern Mississippi.

No, the Wolves found themselves facing the mighty Huskies of Northern Illinois.

While it's understandable that these weakest two FBS conferences might not provide the best bowl matchup of the season, we had hoped to see more from Arkansas State.

The Wolves completely faded away after a 13-point first quarter, and left most of the rest of the scoring to NIU.

Oregon (Won Rose Bowl Game)

"Finally"

After two consecutive years of losing in BCS games, the Oregon Ducks finally have their long-awaited BCS trophy to hoist.

And when we say “long-awaited,” we really mean it. The last time the Oregon Ducks were Rose Bowl Champions?

Woodrow Wilson was President.

Oregon won their first, and before this season only Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 1917, defeating Penn, 14-0.

Wisconsin (Lost Rose Bowl Game)

"Valiant"

On the other side of the field at the Rose Bowl, the Wisconsin Badgers gave the Oregon Ducks everything they had, and then some.

In a battle between to prolific offenses, the Badgers and Ducks traded blows for much of the contest before Oregon finally pulled ahead. The final margin—seven points—is testament to how close the game truly was.

The point total—83—was not only the most in Rose Bowl Game history, the offensive output from both teams also provided several other Rose Bowl Game records.

Quite a feat for a game with more than a century's worth of history.

Oklahoma State (Won Fiesta Bowl)

"Deserving"

Were it not for a slip-up earlier in the season against Iowa State, it's very likely that Oklahoma State would have found itself playing for a BCS National Championship.

As it stood, Oklahoma State had finally captured the Big 12 conference title and earned the long-awaited trip to the BCS.

The high-flying Cowboys weren't finished yet, though, as they had to figure out a way to knock off Andrew Luck and the Cardinal of Stanford.

If anyone had thought the Cowboys would have trouble shaking off any disappointment of not being selected to play in the BCS title game, those fears were quickly abated. In a thrilling overtime game, Oklahoma State proved they were every bit a BCS team, knocking off Luck and the Cardinal, 41-38, in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl.

Stanford (Lost Fiesta Bowl)

"Downer"

After last season's Orange Bowl victory, the Stanford Cardinal were in prime position to make a major run at the BCS again this season, perhaps even compete for a spot in the title game.

After all, Andrew Luck was back.

But this season just didn't seem to live up to the preseason hype surrounding Luck and the Cardinal, after less than completely destroying everything in their path.

With a loss to Oregon, any shot at the BCS title went out the window, and it turned out, so went any shot at the Pac-12 title game.

But the Cardinal, with an 11-1 record, still found themselves headed to the BCS to face the dangerous Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Cardinal found out the hard way just how dangerous the Cowboys offense could be, and suffered a demoralizing overtime loss.

Michigan (Won Sugar Bowl)

"Lucky"

You could first count Michigan lucky to even be in the BCS.

Michigan didn't win its own division, and had lost to the team that did win the division (Michigan State). The Wolverines also had the same number of wins (10) as the Spartans, although Sparty added an additional loss, thanks to the Big Ten Championship Game.

In the end, Wisconsin probably turned out to be the best friend of the Maize and Blue, as MSU's drop in the polls was just enough to boost Michigan's stock to BCS-worthy status.

Of course, it probably helps that Michigan fans travel well. But we're sure that didn't have anything to do with the Sugar Bowl's selection, right?

Now if we actually get to the game itself, where Michigan was completely and utterly dominated by Virginia Tech from a statistical standpoint.

Michigan had just 184 offensive yards compared to 377 for Virginia Tech. Michigan was just 4-for-13 on third down and had just 56 rushing yards.

Denard Robinson was held to 13 yards on 13 carries.

So how did Michigan win?

A combination of lucky plays, timely conversions and fortuitous turnovers from the Hokies.

Does a lucky win count any less? No. Should it? You decide.

Virginia Tech (Lost Sugar Bowl)

"Surprising"

It was fairly surprising that twice-beaten Virginia Tech was selected to play in the Sugar Bowl in the first place.

Even more surprising was the performance from the Hokies in the game itself.

First, the Hokies completely dominated Michigan from a statistical standpoint. But shockingly, the cornerstone of Virginia Tech football for so long—Beamerball—seemed to utterly fail the Hokies.

The combination of turnovers, special team miscues and untimely breaks for Michigan eventually turned out to be too much for the Hokies to handle.

Michigan won 23-20 in overtime.

West Virginia (Won Orange Bowl)

"Shocking"

Someone from the Big East had to make the BCS this season.

It turned out to be Big East co-champion West Virginia, a team many believed didn't belong in the same breath as a team like Clemson.

West Virginia not only proved the detractors wrong, it made them look plain silly.

An Orange Bowl that was initially shaping up to be a back-and-forth clash turned into a Mountaineer rout, with West Virginia putting up a shocking 70 points on a Clemson team that soon looked completely shell-shocked and demoralized.

Clemson (Lost Orange Bowl)

"Shocking"

How could the ACC Champions lose to the lowly co-champions of the Big East?

West Virginia was supposed to be the team we were all stuck with, not the team smashing the record for most points scored in a bowl game.

Clemson was supposed to cap off a Cinderella season with a BCS victory. Clemson was the odds-on favorite.

So what happened?

Clemson may still not fully be able to explain it, but the Tigers' epic collapse in the final three quarters of the 2012 Orange Bowl may go down in history as one of the worst defeats in program history.

Alabama (Won BCS National Championship Game)

"Dominant"

There were more than a couple of people who didn't want to see another Alabama-LSU game this season.

The first installment was such a disaster, no one really wanted another four quarters of field goals to suffer through.

Just when it appeared as if that was all we were going to get, Alabama's defense decided that they'd do something no one even fathomed was possible: pitch a shutout against LSU.

Whether or not you believe Alabama belonged in the title game, there's no question that the Crimson Tide were easily the better team on Monday night in New Orleans.

LSU (Lost BCS National Championship Game)

"Frustrating"

If you felt frustrated sitting at home watching Alabama fail to move the ball in the red zone and being forced to punch in field goal after field goal in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, just imagine how Les Miles and his LSU Tigers felt.

LSU was inexplicably unable to move the ball effectively all night long. We all know SEC teams as good as Alabama will field a darn good defense, but failing to gain even 100 yards of total offense over the course of the game is just crazy.

This was supposed to be the LSU team of destiny. This was supposed to be an LSU team we would all be arguing over being “the best ever.” This was supposed to be a coronation of the only undefeated team in the nation, winning the inevitable BCS National Championship.

But that's why they play the game...