The California/Stanford game was played in heavy winds that were whipping through the Strawberry Canyon & in strange play calling, Cal opted to throw the ball 31 times, most of them deep & hit just 14 of them, only running the ball 33 times. It was enough to keep Stanford in the game. Tedford did win his 5th straight "Big Game". Cal got a 15 yd fumble return for a TD & led 13-3 with 2:32 left in the half but SU ret'd the KO 69 yds setting up a TD & trailed 13-10 at the half, but Stanford actually had a 172-103 yd edge. Cal settled for 2 more FG's in the 2H, the last one with just :57 left to clinch it 26-17 in a lackluster win in the "Big Game"...

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Louisville needed to beat Connecticut & have W Virginia beat Rutgers to win the Big East Title outright & get a BCS bowl berth. The Cardinals could have been up by more than 27 10 at the half as they had a 350-156 yd edge but fumbled a punt from their own 8 & settled for a pair of short FG's, missing one of them. The Cardinals would roll to a 48-10 lead before allowing a garbage TD with 2:40 left & finished with a 570-236 yard edge including UC's last drive...

San Diego St almost became the first team in its 86 year history to lose 10 games in a season but avoided that with a 17-6 win over Colorado St. The Aztecs did not get their first FD until their 4th possession of the game but took that drive for a TD & never trailed. They led 17 6 with 7:05 left & while CSU had a 288-235 yard edge, the Rams gained 75 of their yards on their final two drives during garbage time...

New Mexico St gained some momentum for next year when Chase Holbrook hit 41 of 54 for 514 yards, breaking numerous school records finishing the year with 4,619 passing yards, surpassing the previous NCAA record for passing yards by a sophomore set by Ty Detmer of BYU in 1989. His total offense of 4,541 broke the previous mark which was set by Timmy Chang in 2002. NMSt only led 14-7 at the half but would score a FG & five TD's on their first six drives of the 2H. Those drives were mostly short, set up by 4 turnovers & LT was also SOD at the NMSt 15. Backup QB Mosley led LT to 80 & 71 yard drives for garbage TD's in the final minutes...

TCU dominated Air Force more than the final score would indicate. The Falcons had just 87 yards offense with 6:58 left in the game & their school record low had been 102 yards set in 1977. TCU had 278-45 yard & 18-3 FD edges at the half leading 24-0 scoring on all 4 possessions. It was 38-0 after 3Q's when Air Force blocked a punt for a TD & then went on a 74 yard, 8 play drive for a garbage TD with 2:40 left & AF finished with just 142 total yards...

San Jose St got a fortuitous cover vs Fresno St, FSU had a 23-17 FD edge. SJSt got an 85 yd TD pass on the first play of the game, & after an int added another TD to lead 14-0. Fresno battled back to a 14-14 tie & forced a punt with 3:40 left in the half. Running into the K had SJSt go for it on 4th & 2 & they connected on a 42 yd TD pass to lead 21-14. Fresno missed a 48 yd FG which would have put them under the spread in the 3Q & then at 1st & goal at the 9 was int'd at the 3 instead of scoring the tying TD. SJSt got a FG with 8:50 left but Fresno had two chances at the backdoor. On the first they were int'd at the 7 & their 2nd they were int'd at the 35 with Spartan CB Dwight Lowery setting a school record with his 9th int...

Troy needed a win to wrap up the SBC Title & Florida Int'l was playing its final game for outgoing Coach Don Strock. FIU led by 1 with :34 left in the half when Troy got an 8 yd TD pass. Troy also had a 48 yd PR TD in the 1H & FIU was SOD at the Troy 34. For the game, FIU had a 19-15 FD edge. Another key play for Troy happened when FIU bobbled the snap on a punt & was tackled at their 22, setting up a TD...

Colt Brennan had a shot at setting the NCAA record for TD passes in a season but despite Hawaii's 32 points, came up one short of David Klingler's 1990 mark of 54. Since bowl games do count in the stats, he should be able to break the record in the Hawaii Bowl. UH had a nine game win streak snapped as Oregon St got a TD with 1:42 left. OSU actually led 35-24 early 4Q despite Hawaii having 31-17 FD & 504-316 yard edges. The Beavers used blitzes & stunts to force Brennan out of the pocket on several plays & finished with 6 sacks & forced a lot of bad passes. It was very windy & UH had two long drives to open the game but they ended in FG's of 50 & 38 yards & with the wind they missed both. UH was also int'd in the EZ in the 3Q ending a 13 play drive & OSU got a 30 yd TD pass on the next play for a huge 14 point swing...

Rutgers was inches away from an Orange Bowl berth. They did get the benefit of W Virginia resting star QB Pat White & while backup Jarrett Brown had a decent game, he hit just 14 of 29 passes & rushed for 73 yds. There was no defensive injuries, however, & Mike Teel, who had been much maligned all year, shredded the WV secondary hitting 19 of 26 for 278 yds. With 3:55 left in regulation, RU had a 3rd & 7 TD pass dropped & settled for a 37 yd FG which allowed WV to tie it on the 40 yard FG with :53 left. K Ito missed a 52 yard FG on the final play & WV prevailed in the 3rd OT after RU was stopped on a 2 point conversion...

USC had an NCAA record streak of 63 games scoring 20+ points snapped. Amazingly, the #2 streak was 37 set by Pitt. USC had the National Championship Game in their grasp but blew it vs their rival UCLA. The Trojans crossed midfield on their first 3 poss but 4th down problems hurt them as they were SOD at the UCLA 31, 40 & 40 in the game. USC had a chance to pull out the win but with 1 time-out left, McNeal tipped a pass & caught it himself at the UCLA 29 on 3rd down to seal the win.

CUSA TITLE GAME - The CUSA Title game drew a crowd of 31,818 (largest crowd in the history of Robertson Stadium). Vincent Marshall was named the game's MVP as he finished with 224 all-purpose yards (100 rec, 18 pass, 22 rush, 102 KR's). Both teams traded scores in the 1H with Houston trailing 13-10 with 10:01 left & S Mississippi getting an 8 yd TD pass with 1:36 left in the half, 17-13. UH went 57 yards in 6 plays & had a 3rd & goal at the 2 with :30 left in the half but ran the ball into the line & the officials did not call a delay penalty even though six SM players laid on top of RB Battle for over :20 running off the rest of the clock & they did not get another play off. UH got a 46 yd TD run by Kolb & 33 yd TD pass on their 2nd & 3rd poss of the 3Q & did not trail after that finishing with a 443-349 yard edge.

ACC TITLE GAME - The matchup 'everyone' expected for the ACC Title game took place with Wake Forest & Georgia Tech & WF came in ranked #16 in the country & GT #23, not exactly what the ACC had hoped for when they brought over Miami, Fl, Virginia Tech & Boston College from the Big East. WF QB Riley Skinner is a Jacksonville native that struggled early but hit 4 of 4 passes on his final drive guiding the comeback. Reggie Ball hit just 9 of 29 for 129 yds with 2 int. Both teams failed to punch it in the redzone with GT settling for FG's from the 4 & 17 & WF settling for FG's from the 2, 19 & 5 yard lines. GT was also SOD at the WF 13 & 32 & int'd at the WF 13. WF missed a 45 yd FG but a key play happened on a 3rd & 10 pass that gained 1 yard. Offsetting penalties gave WF, who trailed at the time 6-3, another shot & this time they got a 39 yd pass to the 29 setting up the tying FG with 8:27 left. A 43 yd pass to Idlette on the final drive set up the 22 yard FG with 2:55 left for the win.

BIG 12 TITLE GAME - Paul Thompson, who was forced into the starting role this year after Rhett Bomar was declared ineligible, had a fine season & capped it off in the Big 12 Title Game. He guided a Big 12 Title Game record 99 yard, 11 play drive & his 3 yard TD pass put Oklahoma up 21-7. The Sooners forced a Big 12 Title Game record 5 turnovers. The key play of the 99 yard drive happened on the 3rd play when on 3rd & 10 Thompson faked a handoff & hit a 35 yard pass to Gresham. If not for the unfortunate ref calls in the Oregon game, Oklahoma could be in the conversation as to which one-loss team should be appearing in the National Title Game. Should Phil Steele's Playoff format be in effect, the Sooners would make a great #4 team, due to the fact they were robbed in one of their two losses.

SEC TITLE GAME - This was a game of dramatic momentum shifts. Florida's much maligned FG K Hetland nailed a 34 yd FG (6:10 1Q) & Arkansas went on a 7 play drive but missed a 40 yd FG. Special teams really helped the Gators. They blocked a punt setting up a 10 yd drive for a TD & added another 74 yd drive for a TD to lead 17-0. Arkansas got a 48 yard TD pass to trail 17 7 at the half. At the half UF knew they were now playing for a possible berth in the National Championship Game as USC had lost but was int'd on their first drive & Arkansas drove 32 yds for a TD. The Hogs then added a 40 yd IR TD & led 21-17 (8:33 3Q). Two more big special teams plays helped the Gators. On 4th & 10 they faked a punt for a FD but then punted on 4th & 1 & Arkansas PR Fish made a foolish move trying to field the punt inside his own 5 & over his shoulder when it bounced in the EZ. He not only muffed the punt, but UF fell on it for a TD & the momentum had shifted again. The Gators added a 67 yard TD run by Harvin & Arkansas was int'd with 7:51 & 3:15 left, the latter in the EZ when Arkansas could have got the backdoor push with a TD from the 25.

MAC TITLE GAME - Big plays & QB injuries were the story of the MAC Championship game. C Michigan had 8 plays of 20+ yards. After Ohio tied the game at 7, CM got a 71 yd TD pass two plays later & after a fmbl, added a 27 yard FG to lead 17-7 at the half. OU went on a 76 yd, 18 play drive but settled for a 33 yd FG, 17-10 (7:36). CM got a TD early 4Q & then iced it as they were pinned at their own 4 with 6:30 left (up by 14) when they got a 96 yd TD run pass Sneed. OU lost starting QB Everson on the first series & backup QB Bower for another couple of series going to 3rd string QB Febus at times.