The 2007 edition of the college football season can be summed up into one word, "Wow!"
Who would have ever thought at the beginning of the year we would have Ohio State and LSU playing for the national title? Ok, may a few people could have predicted that, but not the buckeyes squeaking in because of West Virginia and Missouri choking. And certainly not a Tigers team that had lost two games this year.
But we'll get to the BCS momentarily. I just want to reflect real quick on the strange happenings that went on in college football. A grand total of 14 top five teams lost to unranked opponents this year. Plus we had a "November to Remember", when we saw several teams who looked prime to make a national title run, lose, and those losses were typically at home. We also saw the rise of the Pac 10 and the Big 12 as being conferences contending with the Southeastern (SEC). USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Oregon and Cal headlined the Pac 10 for most of the year. Then teams like Stanford, Washington, Oregon State and Arizona all made their presence felt with big wins. In the Big 12, we saw the rise of the North Division when Kansas and Missouri met in a number two versus number four matchup. Also Oklahoma and Texas were the usual suspects in the South. But Oklahoma State, Colorado and Texas Tech all came up big in big upset wins.
Here is my list of the top five games/upsets from the SEC:
5) Florida @ LSU. Florida led by 10 going into the fourth quarter. LSU gambled, going five-for-five on fourth downs, and came back to beat the Gators 28-24.
4) Georgia @ Alabama. The Crimson Tide stormed back from a 10 point deficit to send this game into overtime. Bama got first on the board with a field goal. But in one play, Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford completed a 25 yard touchdown pass to give Georgia the 26-23 win in overtime.
3) Auburn @ Florida. Heading into the fourth quarter, Auburn had a dominating 17-3 lead on the home Gators. But Florida stormed back with 14 unanswered points to tie the game at 17-17. Then, as time expired, Auburn kicker Wes Byrum booted a 43 yard field goal to give the Tigers a 20-17 upset.
2) Tennessee @ Kentucky. This one had the makings of a complete wipeout. The Vols led 24-7 on the Wildcats heading into halftime. But Kentucky decided they would not lay down. Kentucky stormed back to tie the game at 24-24 as time ran out. In the first overtime, both quarterbacks (Andre Woodson for Kentucky and Erik Ainge for Tennessee) completed successful passes for touchdowns. In the second overtime, Ainge was picked off by Kentucky. When the Wildcats attempted the field goal, their attempt was blocked. In the third overtime, both teams got in the end zone again, but each missed the required two-point conversions. The Vols got an unsportsmanlike penalty that carried over into the next overtime. Thus leaving the Vols to start at the 40 yard line. Ainge completed on the first play to Quintin Hancock for a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion. Kentucky answered with a touchdown of their own. But on the two-point conversion, staring a SEC title birth right in the face, the defense sacked Woodson to give the Vols the 52-50 win in four overtimes.
and 1) LSU @ Kentucky. LSU, the number one team in the nation, threw everything they had at unranked Kentucky. The only problem was that Kentucky answered every time. Each time LSU scored, Kentucky would come right back down the field and answer. In the third overtime, Kentucky scored but failed the two-point conversion. Kentucky's defense stepped up to the plate and stopped the Tigers on the goal line for the 43-37 victory.
Here are my top five games outside of the SEC:
5) Boston College @ Virginia Tech. Boston College was getting beat like a drum by Virginia Tech's defense all game long. The Hokies looked to have a 10-0 game in the bag over the Eagles. But then Heisman hopeful Matt Ryan, BC quarterback, took charge. He drove the Eagles down the field once to make it 10-7. On his next drive, as time was running out, he made one of the most memorable plays of the year. He threw of his back foot and in the opposite direction, a pass to his running back in the end zone. BC won 14-10.
4) Missouri vs. Kansas in Kansas City. This makes the list because of what it was. It was a number two versus number four match up with the winner going to the Big 12 title game against Oklahoma. Each team with a win would be one step closer to a possible national title birth. Missouri led throughout the game. Even a late flourish by Kansas couldn't give them the win. The Tigers beat the Jayhawks 36-28.
3) Stanford @ USC. Big upsets were still dominating the headlines at this time. USC had been able to manhandle their Cardinal friends for the last several years. But Stanford stormed back down the field. With 47 seconds left, Stanford threw a touchdown pass to shock USC and the rest of the nation with a 24-23 win.
2) Pittsburgh @ West Virginia. West Virginia had it all going for them. Number two in the nation. Win their last game and they get a national title birth. They were already Big East Champions. The points spread had West Virginia by 28. But staring across the field at them was their arch rival Pittsburgh. The 4-7 Panthers did what not many others could do, they shut down West Virginia's running game. Pittsburgh took away all hope from the Mountaineers with a 13-9 victory in Morgantown.
and 1) Appalachian State @ Michigan. Michigan will just breeze on by and play Oregon the next week, right? Well Appalachian State, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly 1-AA) team, had a different idea. No one could have predicted what would happen. At halftime, Appalachian State was leading, but honestly, it's Michigan, they'll come back. But State kept hanging around, until Michigan finally grabbed the lead. State would go down and kick a field goal to give them a three point lead. Michigan drove back down the field and set up for a game winning field goal. Once he kicked it, State tore threw the line and block the field goal to give them the 34-32 shocking upset that has still rattled the college football and sports world.
Now that we have covered the games, let me run down my top three finalists of the Heisman Trophy that will be handed out this coming Saturday (12/5/07):
1) Tim Tebow (QB, Fla): Passing: 217/317 (68.5 percent), 3132 yards, 29 TDs, 6 INTs
Rushing: 194 carries, 838 yards (4.3 yards per carry), and 22 TDs
2) Colt Brennan (QB, Hawaii): Passing: 337/472 (71.4 percent), 4, 174 yards, 38 TDs, 14 INTs, 8 rushing TDs
3) Darren McFadden (RB, Ark): Rushing: 304 carries, 1725 yards (5.7 yards per carry), 15 TDs
Receiving: 21 receptions, 164 yards (7.8 yards per catch), 1 TD
Passing: 6/11, 123 yards, 4 TDs
Finally, I want to discuss my biggest surprises and disappointments of the 2007 season.
Surprises:
South Florida. The Bulls jumped all the way to number two in the polls before losing three straight. They would complete the year winning their last three games. They were 4-3 in the Big East conference and 9-3 overall. High points of the year was a 26-23 win at Auburn and a 21-13 win over conference foe West Virginia.
Oregon. Ironically this is South Florida's opponent in the Sun Bowl on December 31. The Ducks slipped up at the end of the year losing three straight. During their 8-4 (5-4 in the PAC 10 conference) campaign, they won at Michigan 39-7 and beat USC and Arizona State in consecutive weeks 24-17 and 35-23 respectively.
Boston College. The Eagles went 10-3 (6-2 in the ACC). Led by senior quarterback Matt Ryan, Boston College jumped all the way to number two in the college polls before losing to Florida St. 27-17. Along the way to a Atlantic division title, the Eagles beat Georgia Tech 24-10 in Atlanta, came back to win at Virginia Tech 14-10, and won at Clemson 20-17. They would end up losing their conference title game to Coastal divisions champs Virginia Tech and get put into a low ranked bowl game, but still had a very good season.
Disappointments:
Notre Dame. The Irish had one of their worst seasons ever. They finished with a 3-9 record, with those wins coming against UCLA, Duke and Stanford (all team at or below .500). In all their losses, they got outscored 320-133. With a few of those losses including thrashings by USC and Michigan 38-0 in both games, and the first win for Navy against the Irish in 44 years (46-44 in three overtimes).
Nebraska. The Huskers faired a little better than the Irish, but their 5-7 (2-6 in the Big 12) record is nothing to look at proudly. The Huskers had to scrap for wins against Ball State and Wake Forest. While in defeat, they looked ugly. Oklahoma State beat them by 31. But the headliner was on homecoming when the 1997 National Championship team was honored. Fans were given a treat when Kansas rolled into Lincoln and dropped 76 points on Nebraska (48-24 at halftime).
So there you have it. The 2007 college football season is done. Now it's time to enjoy the bowl games. If this bowl season in anything like the regular season has been, then it should be enjoyable to watch.
