GAMES OF THE DECADE

July 27, 2010

The 2010 college football season will be here in a few weeks. Before it arrives, let’s take one final look back on the previous decade.

Program of the Decade – USC Trojans – Say what you will about free condos for mom and dad. No program in college football was as feared as the Trojans. I dubbed them the “Red Light” Trojans for a reason. When the red light came on for a big game, they always brought it. No program was as consist or dominant from 2002-2008, as they compiled seven Pac 10 crowns and two national titles. Name a section of the country. USC went there and won… and usually won big.

Team of the Decade – 2001 Miami Hurricanes – This may have been the most talented Miami team ever, and that is saying something. The ’01 squad outscored opponents by an average of 32.9 points per game. Only two teams came close to knocking them off (BC 18-7 and Va Tech 26-24). They claimed the national title by hammering Nebraska in the Rose Bowl 37-14. The roster included Ken Dorsey, Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Frank Gore, Andre Johnson, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow Jr., Bryant McKinnie, Jerome McDougle, William Joseph, Vince Wilfork, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Williams, Phillip Buchanon, Ed Reed and Sean Taylor.

Coach of the Decade – Urban Meyer – Nick Saban got some consideration here, but I have to give Meyer the nod. Meyer’s first head coaching job was in 2001 at Bowling Green. In two seasons at BG, Meyer went 17-6. He then moved onto Utah, leading the Utes to an undefeated 2004 season with a Fiesta Bowl victory. From there, it was on to Gainesville. At Florida, Meyer has won two national championships in five years. He has won everywhere this decade while only coaching at one BCS school. One can argue it was his unbeaten season at Utah that took that program to a new level, eventually leading to its invitation to join the Pac 10 conference.

Player of the Decade – Tim Tebow – QB – Florida – Matt Leinart of USC was a close 2^nd. The differences for me were the leagues they played in, and the way Tebow forced defenses to respect his running ability. In 2007, he became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. That year he scored a total of 55 touchdowns, 29 through the air and 22 on the ground. The following year, he led the Gators to the BCS championship. He was 3^rd in the Heisman voting in 2008 despite receiving the most first place votes. He accomplished all of this playing in a conference known for defense.

Now on to my ten most memorable games of the decade. Enjoy.

#10 – Wide Right III – Miami 27 Florida State 24 – October 7, 2000

Florida State had finally overtaken Miami as the best program in college football. From 1993-1999, the Noles had claimed two national championships while the U had fallen on hard times. Miami Coach Butch Davis had put some swagger back in the Canes, but he was 0-5 against FSU.

In this game, 8^th ranked Miami trailed 24-20 late in the 4^th quarter when QB Ken Dorsey led a do or die drive ending with a 13-yard TD pass to TE Jeremy Shockey. Florida State would then drive to the Miami 32. There freshman kicker Matt Munyon pushed a 49-yard tying FG attempt… you guessed it… wide right. FSU would go on to play for the national title any way, but the Canes had regained supremacy in the Sunshine State.

#9 – Welcome to Paternoville – Penn State 17 Ohio State 10 – October 8, 2005

After going 3-9 in 2003 and 4-7 in 2004, the 2005 Nittany Lions were off to a 5-0 start. A prime time, national TV audience tuned in to see if the Lions were for real as they hosted the 6^th ranked Buckeyes. The PSU student body dressed in all white with some camping out all week to claim front row seats… giving birth to Paternoville.

The game itself was a defensive affair. Late in the 4^th quarter, the Lions clung to a seven point lead. The Bucks faced a 2^nd and 7 at the PSU 45. OSU QB Troy Smith rolled to his left and looked downfield. He had no idea PSU DE Tamba Hali was closing in on him. Hali crashed into Smith, jarring the ball loose and turning the future Heisman winner on his head. PSU would recover and run out the clock. Penn State announced its return to college football’s elite with this 17-10 victory.

#8 – The Bush Push – USC 34 Notre Dame 31 – October 15, 2005

Charlie Weis woke up the echoes. The Fighting Irish were relevant and star laden when USC came calling in 2005. The 4-1 Irish even broke out their green jerseys for this midseason showdown with the nation’s number one team. Irish safety Tom Zbikowski had given ND a 21-14 halftime lead with a 60-yard punt return for a score. After two Reggie Bush TD runs had the Trojans back on top, ND QB Brady Quinn scored with 2:04 to play to give the home team a 31-28 advantage.

On their final drive, the Trojans faced a 4^th and nine on their own 26, when Heisman Trophy winning QB Matt Leinart floated a perfect pass to Dwayne Jarrett for a 61-yard gain. Four plays later, USC had time for one more play from the ND 1. Leinart took the snap and tried to sneak in for a score. As the Irish defense stood him up, Bush barreled into Leinart from behind and shoved him across the goal line for the game winner.

#7 – The Mountaineers Silence the Big House – Appalachian State 34 Michigan 32 – September 1, 2007

There were so many upsets in the wild 2007 college football season. The largest, according to point spreads, was Stanford’s victory at USC. However, that was a conference game. One side may have been more talented, but they were both competing on the same level. When reigning FCS (formerly 1-AA) champ Appalachian State visited Ann Arbor to start the year, the Mountaineers collected more than just a hefty paycheck.

The Wolverines were a pre-season top 5 team. They had Chad Henne at QB, Mike Hart at TB and Mario Manningham at WR. The question wasn’t “who will win.” It was “how much rest will those three get” in this laugher. Someone forgot to tell ASU.

The Mountaineers led almost the entire game behind the stellar QB play of Armanti Edwards who would finish with 289 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. After, Michigan took a 32-31 lead with 4:36 to play, ASU drove down and kicked a 24-yard FG to go back on top. Moments later, the fans of the Maize and Blue breathed a huge sigh of relief when Henne and Manningham connected for a 46-yard pick-up to the ASU 20. With six seconds left, Michigan attempted a 37-yard game winning FG. Corey Lynch broke through the line and blocked the kick, giving ASU one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

#6 – Crabtree Changes Everything – Texas Tech 39 Texas 33 – November 1, 2008

The Longhorns entered this road game ranked #1 in the nation and quickly fell behind. Twenty minutes into the game, the Horns trailed 19-0. Behind the play of Heisman candidate Colt McCoy, Texas rallied to take their first lead 33-32 with 1:29 left.

Red Raiders QB Graham Harrell led his team down field and into field goal range. With the ball on the Longhorn 28, a tipped ball appeared to be intercepted by Texas safety Blake Gideon, but the ball went through Gideon’s arms for an incomplete pass. Given another chance, Harrell threw to WR Michael Crabtree at the sideline amidst double coverage. Crabtree made the catch at the five, broke a tackle and ran in for the game winning TD with one second left on the clock. Had he been tackled in bounds, Texas wins the Big 12 south. They play Florida for the BCS title, and Colt McCoy wins the Heisman Trophy. All that changed with one catch.

#5 – Promise Fulfilled – Florida 31 Alabama 20 – December 6, 2008

"To the fans and everybody in Gator nation: I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida has never done here. But I promise you one thing: a lot of good will come out of this. You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season. You'll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season, and you'll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless"

Those were the words of Florida QB Tim Tebow following a 31-30 home loss to Mississippi. In their remaining eight regular season games, the Gators won by an average margin of 39.6 points. In the SEC championship game against #1 Alabama, Florida trailed 20-17 after three quarters. With the SEC crown on the line as well as a spot in the BCS Championship Game, Tebow led two fourth quarter TD drives. He finished the day with 273 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. More importantly, he delivered on his promise en route to another national title.

#4 – Bo Looks Down… and Frowns – Ohio State 42 Michigan 39 – November 18, 2006

The 103^rd meeting of Ohio State and Michigan was the pinnacle of this historic rivalry. Both teams were 11-0. The Buckeyes were ranked #1. The Wolverines were #2. Much like the #5 game on this list, it was a de facto semifinal game. The winner would be the Big Ten champion and play for the BCS Title in January. As if there weren’t enough storylines for this epic clash, legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler passed away the day before the game.

A road win in Columbus with all that was at stake would have been a fitting tribute to their fallen icon. However, Troy Smith had other ideas. The Buckeyes took the lead early in the 2^nd quarter and held on late for a high scoring 42-39 victory. Smith would throw for 316 yards and four touchdowns in locking up the Heisman Trophy.

#3 – America Falls in Love with Boise – Boise State 43 Oklahoma 42 – January 1, 2007

Entering the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State was known simply as the team that played on the blue turf. That changed in a flurry of trick plays on New Year’s night. The Broncos had let a 28-10 lead slip away. Thanks to an interception return for a touchdown, the mighty Sooners had a 7-point lead with a minute to play.

With 19 seconds remaining, BSU faced a 4^th and 19 at midfield. QB Jared Zabransky hit Drisan James short of the marker. James then lateraled to Jerard Rabb. Rabb streaked down the sideline and dove in for the score.

In overtime, OU didn’t mess around. RB Adrian Peterson scored on the first play for a 42-35 lead. Boise State would drive to the OU 6. There on 4^th and two, WR Vinny Perretta took a handoff from Zabransky, ran right and lofted a perfect pass to TE Derek Schouman for six.

Rather than continue to match the Sooners, Bronco coach Chris Petersen decided to go for two points and the win. Zabransky bluffed a quick throw to his right and with his left hand, put the ball behind his back to RB Ian Johnson on a perfectly executed Statue of Liberty play. Johnson ran in untouched for the win. For good measure, Johnson proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on the sidelines after the big win.

#2 – Pass Interference on the Defense – Ohio State 31 Miami 24 – January 3, 2003

This one wasn’t supposed to be close. The Hurricanes were the defending national champions. They had a 34-game winning streak and were 11 ½ point favorites. The Buckeyes were excellent defensively. Offensively, they boasted freshman RB Maurice Clarett and not much else. They lived dangerously all season, winning six games by seven points or less.

The Buckeyes controlled most of the game with their defense. In fact, the Canes needed a 40-yard field goal as time expired just to force overtime. In the extra session, Miami scored first. On OSU’s first possession, they faced 4^th and three on the Miami five. QB Craig Krenzel threw to Chris Gamble. Miami’s Glenn Sharpe arrived just as the ball did to break up the pass. Miami rejoiced as the players ran out onto the field. However, field judge Terry Porter had flagged Sharpe for pass interference. OSU would score to force a second overtime and eventually win the game 31-24.

#1 – Mister Rose Bowl Does it Again – Texas 41 USC 38 – January 4, 2008

If Reggie Jackson is “Mr. October,” then we should call Vince Young “Mr. Rose Bowl.” One year after he totaled 372 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a last second 38-37 win over Michigan, Young was at it again in Pasadena. This time it was the national championship game. It was supposed to be the coronation of the USC Trojans as one of the greatest teams in college football history. The Trojans had a 34-game winning streak and two Heisman winners in their backfield.

With 6:42 to play, USC scored to go up by 12, the largest lead of the night for either team. Young led the Horns down for a score to cut the lead to 38-33. With a little over two minutes remaining, USC faced a 4^th and two at the Texas 45. Trojan Head Coach Pete Carroll decided he’d rather keep his offense on the field and Young on the sideline. Strangely, he also kept the best player in the country, Reggie Bush, on the sidelines too. The Texas defense stuffed RB LenDale White a yard shy of the marker giving the Longhorns one last chance.

On the final drive, Young used his arm and his legs to move the Horns to the USC eight yard line. On fourth down, with the title hanging in the balance, Young took the snap, looked left, then tucked the ball and ran to his right. There was no dramatic dive for the pylon, no tackle to break at the goal line. Mr. Rose Bowl saw enough space and had enough speed to outrun everyone to the corner.

USC’s last gasp drive ended in an incompletion. The greatest team ever had been upset in one of the greatest games ever thanks to one of the greatest individual performances ever. Mr. Rose Bowl rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for another 267 yards. For his career, Vince Young was 2-0 in Pasadena with 839 yards of total offense, eight touchdowns and one crystal football.