A Closer Look

#2 Finally Gets Even

By Mike Meyers

In what was possibly the most unstable, unpredictable season in college football history, no one seemed safe from an upset-especially for the #2 team in the country. Week after week, the nation's second-best squad seemed to fall victim to lesser-ranked teams. But on the final game of the season, #2 LSU proved it was in fact the best in the country, beating #1 Ohio St. handily by a count of 38-24. It was a painful reminder of last year for the Buckeyes, who were blown out 41-14 by Florida in the 2007 BCS Championship Game. Despite the final score, things were looking good for OSU early. Less than a minute and a half into the game, Chris Wells broke off a 65-yard touchdown run to put his team up 7-0. Ryan Pretorius added to that count with a 25-yard field goal minutes later, stunning the LSU-favored crowd in New Orleans. But then it was all Tigers. LSU rattled off 24 unanswered points before the half with QB Matt Flynn connecting on two TD passes. He was far from done. With 9:04 to play in the third quarter, Flynn hit Early Doucet with a 4-yard touchdown strike to put the Tigers up by a commanding 31-10 lead. Flynn would finish the day 19-27 for 174 yards and four touchdowns. The Buckeyes pulled to within 14 after a 5-yard touchdown pass from Todd Boeckman to Brian Robiskie near the end of the third. But Flynn's final TD strike to Richard Dickson with 1:50 to play in the game would ice it for the Tigers.

Big 10 rival #13 Illinois also had a poor showing in their bowl appearance, falling to #7 USC in blowout fashion, 49-17. The Rose Bowl has not been kind to the Illini. Their last appearance in Pasadena was an embarrassment-a 45-9 shellacking at the hands of UCLA in 1984. This year's performance was not much better. The Trojans struck early and never let up, posting the game's first points on an 8-yard touchdown pass from John David Booty to Chauncey Washington just over four minutes into the contest. The Illini offense, on the other hand, struggled mightily, mustering just a field goal in the final seconds of the first half to make it 21-3 going into the locker room. Rashard Mendenhall posted Illinois' first touchdown of the game on a 79-yard run that pulled his team to within 11. Mendenhall was one of the few bright spots for the Illini, racking up 155 yards on 17 carries. But his efforts would not be nearly enough to keep up with the Trojan's high-octane offense. After the Mendenhall touchdown, USC piled on 28 unanswered points to make it 49-10. Illinois simply had no answer for the Trojans, who set a Rose Bowl record with 633 yards of total offense. While USC would have much rather been playing for a National Championship, they did their best to show the country just how dominant of a team they are.

Also losing in blowout fashion was #10 Hawaii, who was destroyed 41-10 by #5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Warriors were the only undefeated team to make an appearance in a major bowl, but it became painfully obvious that Hawaii had no business being in the same stadium with the Bulldogs. Georgia got on the board first on a 17-yard touchdown run from Knowshon Moreno with 9:42 to play in the first. The Warriors countered with a 41-yard Daniel Kelly field goal to make it 7-3, but the remainder of the game belonged to Georgia. The Bulldogs score six consecutive times, piling on the points to take a 41-3 lead just seconds into the fourth quarter. The Warriors looked nothing like the highest scoring team in the country against the staunch Bulldog defense. Heisman candidate Colt Brennan was taken completely out of the game, finishing 22-38 for 169 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions. Brennan was hounded by the Georgia D all night, who sacked him eight times and forced two fumbles-one of which Georgia recovered in the end zone. Without Brennan, the Warriors were crippled, and the Bulldogs took full advantage. Hawaii managed a touchdown with 10:32 to play, but it was too little too late for the Warriors.

Things didn't look much better for #4 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. #9 West Virginia simply ran away from the Sooners in a 48-28 rout. Despite the better ranking, Oklahoma was clearly outmatched by the speedy Mountaineers. It seemed like things might go poorly for WVU after star tailback Steve Slaton was forced to leave the game in the first quarter due to a leg injury. But his replacement, freshman Noel Devine, gave the Sooner defense fits. The speedy Devine raced for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, showcasing just how valuable West Virginia's speed can be. The true hero of the game, however, was WVU quarterback Pat White. The junior was just as dangerous through the air as he was on the ground. White threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns, and added another 150 yards rushing on 20 carries. The dual-threat QB was too much for the Sooner D to handle, and he took full advantage. White connected with Darius Reynaud on a 21-yard touchdown toss late in the second quarter to take a 20-6 lead going into the half. Oklahoma got back into the game with a 42-yard Garrett Hartley field goal and a 1-yard Chris Brown touchdown run. With the 2-point conversion making it 20-15 West Virginia, it seemed the momentum had turned. The Mountaineers quickly turned it in their favor, however, on consecutive touchdown runs by Devine and Reynaud, and kept pouring it on. In the end, the Mountaineers were just too fast for the 'Dawgs to keep up.

The Orange Bowl, on the other hand, was a far more evenly matched contest. It took all four quarters to decide, but #8 Kansas got the better of #3 Virginia Tech 24-21. It was a shocking season for Kansas, who no one expected to be in contention for a National Championship at the start of the season. But the Jayhawks proved they had the talent to be one of the highest ranked teams in the country-on both sides of the ball. Kansas' high-powered offense did its best to fortify their reputation, but it was the Jayhawk defense that won the game. Aqib Talib posted the first points of the game on a 60-yard interception return for touchdown with 5:15 to play in the first quarter. After a 32-yard Scott Webb field goal and a 13 yard touchdown pass from Todd Reesing to Marcus Henry, Kansas had compiled a 17-0 lead and shocked the Virginia Tech bench. The Hokies responded with a Branden Ore touchdown run before the half, but the first two quarters belonged to Kansas. Tech got some help from special teams just minutes into the second half. Justin Harper broke free for an 84-yard punt return for touchdown and put the Hokies right back into the game. But the Kansas defense countered, picking off Hokie QB Sean Glennon and returning it 30 yards to the Tech 2-yard line. Reesing would finish off the effort with a touchdown run on the next play. Tech would make one final push, scoring on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Glennon to Justin Harper to pull within three, but Kansas would drive all the way to the VT 1-yard line and take a knee as time ran out.

It was a strange year for college football, starting with the biggest upset in history and ending with the first two-loss team to ever wear the National Championship crown. We may never see another season like it, and for any team but LSU, they would probably never want to.

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