College Football Bowl Season

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JohnBM01

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GTPlanet, while rivalry games make the most of what college football is about, much less college sports, it's also all about the Bowl Games. People like college football, but some (maybe even many people) here in America don't like how deciding a national champion is like. Some hated that USC and LSU wouldn't be able to settle their differences for a national title last season. But since I've made a habit of talking about the general rundown of as many games as possible, I figured I'd open this thread to discuss this year's Bowl Games. Every Bowl from New Orleans to the Orange are going to be covered here.


BOWL SUMMARY: (More info: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1790325)
New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA, USA; 11/14/2004)
Southern Miss vs. North Texas

Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL, USA; 12/21/2004)
Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech

GMAC Bowl (12/22/2004)
Memphis vs. Bowling Green

Fort Worth Bowl (Fort Worth, TX, USA; 12/23/2004)
Cincinatti vs. Marshall

Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV, USA; 12/23/2004)
UCLA vs. Wyoming

Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu, HI, USA; 12/24/2004)
Hawaii vs. UAB

MPC Computers Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, ID, USA; 12/27/2004)
Fresno State vs. Virginia

Motor City Bowl (Detroit, MI, USA; ??/??/2004)
Connecticut vs. Toledo

Independence Bowl (Shrevport, LA, USA; 12/28/2004)
Miami University - Iowa State

Insight Bowl (Phoenix, AZ, USA; 12/28/2004)
Notre Dame vs. Oregon State

Houston Bowl (Houston, TX, USA; 12/29/2004)
UTEP (Texas-El Paso) vs. Colorado

Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX, USA; 12/29/2004)
Oklahoma State vs. Ohio State

Continental Tire Bowl (Charlotte, NC, USA; )
Boston College vs. North Carolina

Emerald Bowl (San Francisco, CA, USA; 12/30/2004)
New Mexico vs. Navy

Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA, USA; 12/30/2004)
Texas Tech vs. #5 California

Silicon Valley Football Classic (San Jose, CA, USA; 12/30/2004)
Northern Illinois vs. Troy

Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN, USA; 12/31/2004)
Alabama vs. Minnesota

Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX, USA; 12/31/2004)
Arizona State vs. Purdue

Liberty Bowl
Boise State vs. Louisville

Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA, USA; 12/31/2004)
Florida vs. Miami

///// HAPPY NEW YEAR! /////

Outback Bowl (Orlando, FL, USA; 1/1/2005)
Georgia vs. Wisconsin

Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX, USA; 1/1/2005)
Tennessee vs Texas A&M

Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL, USA; ??/??/200?)
Florida State vs West Virginia

Capital One Bowl
Iowa vs. LSU


BCS BOWL GAMES
*+x Rose Bowl x+*
Michigan vs. #4 Texas
January 1, 2005; Pasadena, CA, USA

*+x Fiesta Bowl x+*
#6 Utah vs. Pittsburgh
January 1, 2005; Tempe, AZ, USA

*+x Sugar Bowl x+*
#3 Auburn vs. Virginia Tech
January 3, 2005

*+x+x+x+* Orange Bowl *+x+x+x+*
#1 USC vs. #2 Oklahoma
January 4, 2005
 
So, see any games you like? Come back to this thread regularly (starting with December 14th) to view my Bowl Game reports. By the way, the big shocker for many people is that Auburn plays in the Sugar Bowl and not against USC. So, I already know PhatFat is going to be p*ssed about it.
 
(Virginia Tech is #9)
 
JohnBM01
. By the way, the big shocker for many people is that Auburn plays in the Sugar Bowl and not against USC. So, I already know PhatFat is going to be p*ssed about it.
Click to expand...

Right you are.
 
NOTE: WINNERS OF BOWL GAMES WILL BE LISTED IN BOLD. If the Bowl is held on home field or in the same hometown, the team will be listed in bold and italics.


"The Big Uneasy" New Orleans, LA, USA December 14, 2004
Southern Miss (C-USA) vs. North Texas (Sun Belt)

Time to take a trip down Bourbon Street, GTPlanet. The next stop? Saints country. This game was pretty good as Southern Miss scored 14 points in the first quarter and add a field goal in the next. In fact, North Texas would also share a field goal during the second quarter. The third quarter was scoreless. The final quarter was basically curtains for UNT. Michael Boley was voted as one of the 2004 All-Americans for Southern Miss and picked off UNT for a 62 yard touchdown on defense. UNT was able to never say die and pull off a touchdown in the end, but it was all Southern Miss as both teams finish 7 and 5.

Southern Miss 31
North Texas 10

The next Bowl Game is the Champs Sports Bowl coming out of Orlando, Florida, USA. Syracuse and Georgia Tech will go at it. It all happens December 21st.
 
"Orange Juice, Anyone?" Champs Sports Bowl - Orlando, FL, USA
Syracuse Orange (Big East) vs. Georgia Tech (Atlantic Coast Conference)

Apparentely, no one ever known that Mickey Mouse must be a college football fan. From Walt Disney Land, Minnie Mouse probably told Mickey that Syracuse and Georgia Tech were going to battle at the Champs Sports Bowl (formerly known as the Citrus Bowl). Mickey Mouse was pretty impressed to see two 7-5 schools go at it as Syracuse, NY, USA's Syracuse Orange take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from Falcon country, Atlanta, GA, USA. The first pass play turned out to be a 20-something yard pick by GT for a touchdown. They would later block a punt, get good field position, and further took down Syracuse. The game was basically Georgia Tech taking the Syracuse Orange and making orange juice out of them. GT was intercepted three times, but you may look to see Georgia Tech take a bigger stand against the competition next season.

Syracuse - 14 (?)
Georgia Tech - 54 (?)

Next: Memphis vs. Bowling Green
 
Well, I live in Northwest MS, so Memphis is just right down the road. I'm looking forward to Louisville vs. Boise State. The two highest scoring offenses in the NCAA are playing in the Liberty Bowl. Should be a good game. There's also a lot of hype about Bowling Green vs. Memphis in the GMAC Bowl. Neither have great defenses, so it should be a high scoring game.

Funny thing, as I was typing that about BG vs. M a commercial for the game came on sportscenter on espn.
 
"GMAC Daddies"

GMAC Bowl: Mobile, AL, USA; December 22nd, 2004

Bowling Green Falcons (Mid-American Conference) vs. Memphis Tigers (Conference USA)

Both teams are 8-5 as Mobile, AL, USA opens its doors to two more proven institutions. Told to be the real home of the Mardi Gras parade, it was a great house party on the gridiron as the Falcons and Tigers went at it on a rainy and windy night in Mobile. It was told that this game was going to be an offensive shootout. If a game turns out to be a no-defense game, you know it's going to be a shootout. BGSU put up 35 points over Memphis's 28 in the first half. In the second half, however, one would ask "what the hell happened to the Memphis offense?" You know what? Good question as Bowling Green went to a bowl and bowled over Memphis.

Bowling Green = 52
Memphis = 35

Two Bowl Games, two seperate posts. Marshall and Cincinatti will hit it off in the Fort Worth Bowl in my home state of Texas. Then later 12/23/2004, it's the Las Vegas Bowl between the Pac-10's UCLA Bruins and the Wyoming Cowboys of the Mountain West Conference.
 
"Ohio Players"
Fort Worth Bowl; Fort Worth, TX, USA; December 23, 2004

Marshall Thundering Herd (Mid-American Conference) vs. Cincinatti Bearcats (Conference USA)

Two Ohio schools stand at 8-5 go to different conferences. Cincinatti's going to the Big East as Marshall joins Conference USA. As one minute passed, a punt by Marshall was botched as Cincinatti took the ball to the house for six. Later on in the First Quarter, Cincinatti threw one up for grabs as Marshall was able to pick the ball off for a Thundering Herd touchdown. As the game went on, the Bearcats would continually gain momentum and warm up a very cold night of action in Fort Worth. That momentum was just enough to make ends meet as the Herd got branded by the Cincinatti Bearcats. This will give them good momentum heading into the Big East. For Marshall, however, don't give up on them. The school is still a cradle for great QBs, one of which plays this Sunday in the NFL against the Houston Texans, Byron Leftwich (Jacksonville Jaguars). Special teams play was pretty special in this game.

Marshall - 14
Cincinatti - 32
 
"Crap Shootout"
Las Vegas Bowl; Las Vegas, NV, USA; December 23rd, 2004

Wyoming Cowboys (Mountain West Conference) vs. UCLA Bruins (Pacific-10)

Nothing like Las Vegas. The MGM Grand, the Golden Nugget, a boatload of Show Girls, and all that. Want to go to school in the hometown of 2004 Nextel Cup Champion Kurt Busch? Sure! There's UNLV, home to the UNLV Rebels. After the Rebels' dismal season, Sam Boyd Stadium plays host to a west coast team against a team up in the Rockies. With both teams at 6-5 with potential prospects to the 2005 NFL draft, this game was hard-fought from the get go. The commentators say that Wyoming needs to run the ball against UCLA, while UCLA steps up against the run up front and into the Bruins' secondary. I was hoping UCLA would butcher the scoring on Wyoming, however, the biggest upset so far has occured as the Wyoming Cowboys (who haven't been to a Bowl Game in 11 years) upsetted a pretty good Pac-10 Team.

Wyoming - 24{/I]
UCLA - 21

If you love college football, enjoy your VERY early Christmas gift. That gift? UAB taking on Alabama. UAB is playing in its first ever Bowl Game, I hear. The Christmas Eve matchup between Alabama-Birmingham and Hawaii play in the Hawaii Bowl.
 
"Hawaii Sweet Hawaii"

Hawaii Bowl; Honolulu, HI, USA; December 24th, 2004

Hawaii Warriors (Western Athletic Conference) vs. UAB Blazers (University of Alabama-Birmingham) (Conference USA)

Here in Houston, TX, USA, it was an unbelievable 32 degrees with snow flurries which gave way to pretty big snow. Unbelievable! But it was about 70 or 80 degrees with rather overcast skies for the Hawaii Bowl. Hawaii is the place, so you may know what that means. Beautiful ladies in grass skirts wearing leis, surfing, and the beautiful environment that only Hawaii can provide. This game was all about power and physical college football. It was some dope action as these two teams went at it. UAB drew first blood by a nice pass play to take it to the house for six. It would have been seven if Hawaii didn't block the PAT. The Warriors almost had two points on the board after a rather controversial return in the endzone. Timmy Chang of Hawaii already held way more than 16,000 passing yards in his career as he just wants to be the NFL's first Asian-American quarterback. The game was all about rock-em'-sock-em' football action. But as Hawaii blown away, UAB didn't mount much of a challenge in their first-ever Bowl Game.

Hawaii - 59
UAB - 40

Next up, it's time for some football on a blue football field. Hey, can't say THAT with the NFL! Anyhow, the Fresno State Bulldogs meet against the Virginia Cavaliers. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and take care until next time!
 
MPC Computers Bowl = Boise, ID, USA; December 27, 2004

Virginia Cavaliers (Big East) vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (Western Athletic Conference)

College football has something the NFL doesn't- a blue football field. You college faithful may recall this being the "Humanitarian Bowl." Ranked #18 heading into Potato Country, Virginia seems like they were expecting to perhaps blow out Fresno State. Don't give up on Fresno State, however. Fresno State is a great team. Maybe not on the level of a bigtime California institution, but a team capable of upsetting big names. Now I'll admit something. I DID NOT see the entire game, but from what I seen in highlights, Fresno State upset Virginia. On the other hand, there was some controversial calling. The biggest of which was a touchdown that put the game into overtime by Fresno State. Another questionable call was a touchdown run by Fresno State in which he runner was tackled heading into the End Zone, but it wasn't sure if the Bulldog crossed the plane before his knee hits. And since there is no replay in college football (except the Big Ten), two plays would have been overturned and prevent the upset. But for now, enjoy the victory.

As a bit of trivia, the Houston Texans get their first shutout win in history, doing it at the Jacksonville Jaguars. Texans quarterback David Carr was a bigtime pick from Fresno State.

Virginia - 34
Fresno State - 37 (Overtime)
 
"Motor City Madness"

Motor City Bowl = Detroit, MI, USA; December 27, 2004

Connecticut Huskies (Big East) vs. Toledo Rockets (Mid-American Conference)

Detroit. The hometown of American muscle. You won't impress a muscle car fan with a potent sport compact from Honda or Toyota or whomever, but if you're playing college football, you'll need plenty of muscle to take on whomever is your opposition. Not only is it the automotive capital of America, it's also the land of good old MoTown soul. Some teams would really like that you give them R-E-S-P-E-C-T (as Aretha Franklin would sing), but R-E-S-P-E-C-T has to be earned, not given. Connecticut is building this college football season off of their championship runs in college basketball. Remember that UConn is the first university to win the Men's and Women's Championships in basketball IN THE SAME YEAR. That spunk UConn has has potentially gone into a different sport, college football.

But on to the game. First off, UConn pimp slapped Toledo pretty bad leading 30-10 in the first half. And if I'm not mistaken, Toledo remained scoreless in the second half as the Huskies finish with a hell of a year.

Connecticut - 39
Toledo - 10

The next few bowl games during Bowl Week start tomorrow with a game out of my home state, the Alamo Bowl in lovely San Antonio, Texas, USA. Downtown there is pretty small (to me), but is a very nice, hilly city just 200 or so miles west of Houston.
 
"More Bad Weather!"

Independence Bowl; Shreveport, LA, USA; December 28, 2004; MAC vs. Big XII

Miami (of Ohio) Redhawks (Mid-American Conference) vs. Iowa State Cyclones (Big XII)

As a native Texan, I don't know very much about Louisiana. I know there's The Big Easy, Mardi Gras celebrations, and of course- cajun food. While this game didn't take place in The Big Easy, there was surely a Mardi Gras celebration on the football field at the Independence Bowl. Fresh off the sensation Ben Roethlisberger put on for the Miami-Ohio Redhawks, Miami made their way to the Independence Bowl with a chance at upsetting the Big XII's Iowa State Cyclones. ISU lead early 10-0 in the first half. The second half saw Miami-OH come off with back-to-back touchdowns, only missing one PAT. So the score remained 13-10, Miami-OH leads. But a touchdown surge by ISU meant that the Redhawks had only a slim chance to score a touchdown with less than 1:30 left in the game. A poor decision by the Redhawks sealed the deal by being picked off by a Cyclone. Even after receiving a 15-yard penalty for celebrating too much, the Cyclones couldn't care less. A midwest team beats another midwest team.

Miami (of Ohio) - 13
Iowa State - 17
 
"Insult to Injury"

Insight Bowl; Phoenix, AZ, USA; December 28, 2004

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Oregon State Beavers (Pacific-10)

Las Vegas is surely a jewel in the desert, but this is a jewel as well, Phoenix. Phoenix, AZ, USA gets to be about as hot as 110 during the summer. Pretty hot, I know. Notre Dame is looking for just about ANY good break they can get even after Tyrone Willingham was fired from Notre Dame. Willingham will, of course, coach a great team with a VERY dismal season, the Washington Huskies. Good luck, Willingham. Their record was 1-10 this year. About 13 years ago, the University of Washington was co-national champions in 1991. From a dismal team to a good team with tough breaks, Oregon State. The Beavers endured plenty of hardships, especially from field goal kicker Serna. A bad kick by Serna meant that Oregon State was denied of upsetting defening co-National Champion, LSU.

As the scoring went down, this is a real wooden stake to the heart of Notre Dame this season. With their new head coach coming, "Play like a champion today" should right now be "clean up this mess today" as Notre Dame gets blown out.

Notre Dame - 21
Oregon State - 38
 
"Space City Duel"

Houston Bowl; Houston, TX, USA; December 29, 2004

UTEP Miners (Western Athletic Conference) vs. Colorado Buffaloes (Big XII)

With Bowl Week well underway, the next stop is my hometown of Houston, TX, USA. Houston is the fourth largest city in America, and it is a pretty wonderful city. Care to attend school here? You have a pretty big amount of choices. You can attend lovely Rice University, a school called Le Tourneau, or the school I'm trying to get into, the University of Houston (3-8 record after being into a Bowl Game last year). As you may well know, "everything's bigger in Texas." College football is no different.

This is a game between two schools in the shadow of rocky settings. The crowd favorite in Houston was UTEP (University of Texas-El Paso) of the WAC, and the opposing force was a tough Big XII team, the University of Colorado Buffaloes. UTEP was at a disadvantage against the Buffs, but they have speed on their side, and through the first 30 minutes, they used that speed brilliantly as the Miners led 21-13 at the half. Questionable officiating was all abound in this game with a Mountain West officiating crew. Whatever the case, missed calls and all, Colorado prevented a UTEP upset.

U. of Texas-El Paso - 28
Colorado - 33
 
"Will the Real OSU Please Stand Up?"

Alamo Bowl; San Antonio, TX, USA; December 29th, 2004

I've been to San Antonio twice in my lifetime. The first time, I didn't see much of the city. The second time, I seen the hilly and rather scenic city. San Antonio is a wonderful city. Of course, I thought I was in Seattle when I went because I saw a big needle kind of like the Space Needle in Seattle. To be honest, I've never seen the Alamo up close, the same can be said about the Alamo Bowl location. All that's known is that you can call this the Alamo Bowl, but you can also call it the OSU Bowl. The #22 Ohio State Buckeyes kind of stumbled a lot since being upset by the Big Ten's Northwestern Wildcats. Oklahoma State had a great year in the Big XII. Basically, as long as you win at least 6 games and you get selected, you're a good team regardless of your record. To San Antonio we go!

This is a battle between Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State and a pretty good Big XII team, Oklahoma State. With one Big XII school playing earlier today, more Big XII action was to come as they met up against the Big Ten. The Buckeyes picked off OSU within the first two minutes of the game as the first big play. The big plays remained as the Cowboys remained scoreless after three quarters. Their lone touchdown was more of a consolation as THE Ohio State Buckeyes cleaned house in San Antonio.

Trivia: ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit (one of the commentators of this game) was a quarterback for THE Ohio State Buckeyes back in his day.

Oklahoma State - 7
Ohio State - 33
 
"Power is Nothing Without Control... Oh Wait..."

Continental Tire Bowl; Charlotte, NC, USA; December 30th, 2004

We're going into Tobacco Country, GTPlanet! And sadly, NASCAR country as well. North Carolina to stock car racing is like Green Bay to the NFL. Charlotte served as the venue for the funny comedy show movie, the "Kings of Comedy." It's also the place for a wonderful locale for the Carolina Panthers to play at. The 2004 Super Bowl runner-ups would have a 1-7 season but finding any and every attempt to fight back. And they have. But come on now. NFL is all good, bu this is the COLLEGE football thread, so let's do it, players!

Boston College and North Carolina are heading to the ACC next year, leaving behind a wonderful season back in 1984 with Doug Flutie and the infamous Hail Mary pass that upsetted the Miami Hurricanes 20 years ago. North Carolina is better known in basketball, but their football prowess has shown serious promise this year. Their biggest win of the year was the field goal kick that upsetted Miami going on the end of the game. BC and NC went to work, and it was horrible. Horrible for NC, that is. Even with an injury to the BC Eagles, the team still held together like glue. Good luck to both teams in their ACC adventures, and if this fight is any indication, BC drew first blood over NC.

Boston College - 37
North Carolina - 24
 
"San Fransico Adrenaline Rush"

Emerald Bowl; San Francisco, CA, USA; December 30, 2004
Navy Midshipmen vs. New Mexico Lobos (Mountain West Conference(?))

If there's a city in California that I'd love to visit, let it be San Francisco, CA, USA. You have the Golden Gate Bridge, all the trolleys that roll around the streets, Coit Tower, and the Transamerica Pyramid to name a few. You may know quite a bit about San Francisco if you've played "San Francisco Rush," or maybe even "Rise to Honor." San Francisco is hilly, but let's see if this game was also hilly.

The last game the Midshipmen played was the one of the greatest rivalries in the nation, the Army/Navy game. Navy (of course) wiped out Army completely in that game. New Mexico was hoping they didn't get completely wiped out. The power of prayer wasn't strong enough as Navy cleaned up yet another team as Navy was once undefeated.

Navy - 34
New Mexico - 19
 
"Unhappy Holiday"

Holiday Bowl; San Diego, CA, USA; December 30, 2004
#21 Texas Tech Red Raiders (Big XII) vs. #4 California Golden Bears (Pac-10)

You all overworking me, dudes and dudettes! It's the Holiday Bowl in San Diego as Texas Tech and California went at it in this bowl matchup. The Holiday Bowl served as one of the biggest comebacks in college football history as the BYU (Brigham Young) Cougars took on and took out the SMU (Southern Methodist) Mustangs back in 1983 (or was it 1984?). That sort of 4th Quarter surge led the Cougars to beat the Mustangs by one point in a high-scroing game.

The problem at hand was that California felt snubbed in the BCS rankings. They were snubbed (in their view) by the Longhorns of Texas. Instead of taking their aggressions out on Texas, they took it out on another Texas team, Texas Tech of Lubbock, TX, USA. The Golden Bear crew from Berkley, CA, USA were in their home state taking on a northwestern Texas school. Texas Tech played good football with their wonderful QB Sonny Cumbie. A late surge in the 4th Quarter was given by California, but couldn't emulate a Cougar Comeback as they lost pretty big to the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech - 45
California - 31
 
"Destiny Awaits"

Silicon Valley Football Classic; San Jose, CA, USA; December 30, 2004
Troy Trojans (Sun Belt) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (Mid-American Conference)

San Jose hosts the Silicon Valley Football Classic. We're back in good ol' California. I don't know much about San Jose, to be honest. Only thing I know about San Jose is the NHL team, the San Jose Sharks. With the NHL lockout, there is a nice alternative- college football. And this would be a battle of two teams who obviously have had wonderful seasons. Of course, if you win six or more games, you have a chance at playing in the post season. If you have an electric performance all year, you can play in the BCS Bowls. While I don't know much about San Jose, I know one thing, the Troy (formerly Troy State) Trojans pulled off one of the biggest upsets early in the season as they knocked off then #17 Missouri. If you're a lesser team from a less-prestigious conference beating a pretty good team from a bigtime conference, you DESERVE some respect. They are matched up against a good MAC team, the Huskies of Northern Illinois University. Okay, so it isn't USC/Oklahoma or Ohio State/Miami. What this game IS, however, is a nice matchup for two teams who clawed their way to the post season. Troy is an amateur to Bowl Games, whereas NIU never been in a bowl since 1983 (my birthyear).

There was a power outage in San Jose, so the game had to be delayed until a generator came in and was operative to make this game possible. Production trucks had some shaky signals, but when power was back underway, the game went on. The power went out again, but this time, it wasn't San Jose, it was the Troy Trojans.

Northern Illinois - 34
Troy - 21
 
"Golden Tide"

Music City Bowl; Nashville, TN, USA; December 31, 2004
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (Southeastern Conference)

Nashville is music city, especially with country music. I don't know country music, but the bands playing Alabama and Minnesota were just tuning up before they have a jam session. Country dance is pretty popular here as well. Of course here in Texas, do you know the Texas Two Step? But in the other state that starts with "T," the Golden Gophers made some sweet music to take down the Crimson Tide. Care for an encore, pardner?

Alabama - 16
Minnesota - 20
 
"The Peaches of Wrath"

Peach Bowl; Atlanta, GA, USA; December 31, 2004
Miami Hurricanes (Atlantic Coast Conference) vs. Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference)

I never had peaches in my life, and I kind of don't want to. So we head to the A.T.L. Care to attend college here? It's home to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. GT is actually in or around Downtown Atlanta. Atlanta is also Falcon country with Michael Vick calling the shots along with a great receiver, Alge Crumpler. Vick's alma mater (Virgina Tech) play against undefeated Auburn in the Sugar Bowl, but this game is a battle between two rivals from Florida.

Miami entered into the ACC apart from being in the Big East. Miami has been upsetted twice against two teams they could have beaten, Clemson and North Carolina. And after losing to Virginia Tech, they had to settle for a Bowl lesser than Rose, Orange, Sugar, or Fiesta. On the other sideline, we have Florida. With their head coach Ron Zook leaving, Urban Meyer will leave Utah and coach the Gators. The Gators were without Meyer in this game, so could they chomp away at the Hurricanes? Didn't work in this one.

Miami - 27
Florida - 10
 
"Futbol Loco en El Paso"

Sun Bowl; El Paso, TX, USA
Purdue Boilermakers (Big Ten) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (Pacific-10)

I know I often bash on Arizona as not being a football state, but if I had to make an exclusion, the Arizona State Sun Devils would be the best team out of the state of Arizona. The penultimate bowl game played in Texas (Cotton Bowl on 1/1/2005) was played in western Texas in the small town of El Paso. El Paso is home to wrestlers Eddie and Chavo Guerrero as is the city near Texas's highest mountain, Mt. Guadelupe. The game was played on the campus of UTEP (U. of Texas-El Paso). The score was dismal, only 3-2 in favor of Arizona State (?). This is a field goal and a safety, people! It means that this was going to be a defense football game. The defense gave way to a plethora of touchdowns, and the Purdue Boilermakers wanted to take down Arizona State, but the Boilermakers were derailed by ASU.

Purdue - 23
Arizona State - 27
 
"May the Better Team Win"

BCS aspirations went up in smoke for Boise State. Instead of playing in the bigtime Bowl Games, the Broncos were relegated to a trip to Memphis. It's a ride through Graceland. I don't like or know Elvis, but this game was Heartbreak Hotel for the Broncos as they went up against perhaps their equal, Louisville. The big moment at the end of the game was that on 3rd Down with seconds to go, the BSU QB was sacked. And with no timeouts left, they had to Hail Mary one, but it wasn't meant to be.

So the only undefeateds left are USC, Oklahoma, Auburn, and Utah. The only game without undefeateds is the Rose Bowl (Michigan vs. Texas). But one thing is guaranteed, one team WILL fall out of these three. How do I know this? USC and Oklahoma play for the national title as both of them are undefeated. So even if Auburn and Utah win their Bowl Games, at least one of these four will fall. Who? Find out in my BCS Bowl Game reports! Meanwhile, congratulations to both Boise State and Louisville.

Louisville - 44
Boise State - 40
 
"Floridian Outback"

Outback Bowl; Tampa Bay, FL, USA; January 1st, 2005
Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (Southeast Conference)

It's a new year as Bowl Game season heads into the new year. The bigger story in January is usually the NFL playoffs with the AFC and NFC divisions going at it. This time around, four big games take place within the course of three days: 1/1, 1/3, and 1/4 in 2005. Tampa Bay is the city where the Outback Bowl is hosted, and the venue is Raymond James Stadium. Of course for you NFL fans, this is Buccaneer Country. If you know college football, the University of South Florida plays here. I like Florida and its tropical settings. Although I've never been outside of my home state (Texas), Miami is wonderful with all the water and marinas and other scenery. Orlando is pretty cool with Walt Disney and such. I'm sure Mickey Mouse loves newcomers to Disneyland. While NASCAR isn't my number #1 motorsport, Daytona has wonderful surroundings when I've seen faraway shots of the famed oval and sportscar venue (have you seen recent pictures of Daytona? Looks pretty nice). Tampa Bay I don't know too much about except that it's the hometown to import babe Ann Poonkasem.

Georgia met head on with Wisconsin with a game that had three field goals before Georgia took it to the house with a mid-range pass play. The game looked like a blowout as Georgia was leading with their winning QB David Greene, who passed Peyton Manning for most career wins. Wisconsin would bring the game to only a field goal. Georgia held on to the field goal point spread to win with David Greene ready to graduate, maybe even be a nice draft pick in the NFL Draft this April.

Wisconsin - 21
Georgia - 24
 
"Moving Forward"

Gator Bowl; Jacksonville, FL, USA; January 1, 2004
Florida State Seminoles (Atlantic Coast Conference) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (Big East)

Jacksonville plays host to this college football bowl game, presumably at Alltel Stadium. And if you know the NFL, this is Jacksonville Jaguar country. College games were all around the nation with this one being a pretty good match. Two east coast schools went at it from the Florida State Seminoles and the once-undefeated West Virginia Mountaineers. The game was fast paced with fumbles and interceptions and penalties, and the action was insane all the way around. The only deal was that the boys from Tallahassee, FL, USA were too much for the Morgantown, WV, USA Mountaineers.

Florida State - 30
West Virginia - 18
 
"Capital One Punishment"

Capital One Bowl; Orlando, FL, USA; January 1, 2005
Louisiana State Tigers (Southeasten Conference) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (Big Ten)

We had one trip to Orlando with the Champs Sports Bowl. You down for another? Good! The game was on the campus of UCF (U. of Central Florida). The UCF Golden Knights aren't going bowling this year, but LSU and Iowa are. And early in the first quarter, the Hawkeyes drew first blood as they took it to the house for six and the P.A.T. As LSU scored a touchdown over the Hawkeyes, they opted to go for two points LATE IN THE SECOND QUARTER, but the conversion failed. GTPlanet, remember the previous sentence. I'll tell you why near the end. As the game went on, Iowa kept putting on points on the LSU defense. The Hawkeyes QB was picked off twice and at one point, LSU took the lead late in the fourth quarter. They opted to go for two points in order for the game to be within 3 points. The attempt failed, so the score was within 2 as LSU led 25-23. After the kick return by the Hawkeyes, the Hawkeyes had 39 seconds to pull the upset off. But with poor clock management, time was running out. Iowa wanted to make LSU pay for trying to go for two WAY early in the game. Iowa needed only a few more yards tp kick a field goal, but the wide out took it to the house as the clock said 0:00. It was a Big Ten upset of a tough SEC team when it was all said and done. This game was an edge-of-your-seat thriller, and if you seen this game, hope you enjoyed the game. College football didn't get any better than this.

Louisiana State - 25
Iowa - 30
 
"Heavyweight Clash"

*+x Rose Bowl 2005 - Pasadena, CA, USA x+*

Rose Bowl; Pasadena, CA, USA; January 1, 2005
Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten) vs. Texas Longhorns (Big XII)

Want a place to settle a score in college football? Let it be where UCLA plays, the Rose Bowl. The settings are beautiful for football here. With a threat of rain and with 90 years of Rose Bowl excitement, year 91 was going to be a big game. Michigan has been to several Rose Bowls, but this is Texas's first Rose Bowl. But here's a fact for you. Michigan and Texas, in their illustrious past, have NEVER faced each other. So this time would be special.

It seemed as if this would be a dream matchup, and it was as Texas drew first blood over the Wolverines. Later on, Michigan would respond with a touchdown of their own. I didn't see all of the game, but the action was pretty heated with a score this close, but Texas proved they were the better team.

Texas - 38
Michigan - 37
 
"One Shining Moment"

Fiesta Bowl; Tempe, AZ, USA; January 1, 2005
Pittsburgh Panthers (Big East) vs. Utah Utes (Mountain West Conference)

The title I gave this game is the NCAA Basketball theme based on a song from the 1980s. Utah has had a wonderful season, being not only a BCS Buster, but also undefeated... so far. For Utah to go crazy, they have to beat one more opponent- Pittsburgh. I didn't think they would pull it off. Why didn't I think so? Usually every season, every team will have this really impressive run, then stumble to their defeat. It happened with TCU, it happened with Tulane, even Louisville... but not Utah. Talk about a Cinderella story! This battle wasn't even close, players!

Pittsburgh - 7
Utah - 35
 
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