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Bowled Over: 2007-08 Bowls In Review

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 8, 2008

Updated: 01/08/2008 12:15 am

College football's postseason ended Monday night with LSU taking on Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game. Here's a review of highlights from the previous 31 bowl games:

THE BEST GAMES

•Michigan 41, Florida 35 (Capital One Bowl) - Great show in Lloyd Carr's finale with 923 combined yards of offense and five lead changes. Question: Where was this Michigan team all season?

•Texas Tech 31, Virginia 28 (Gator Bowl) - The Red Raiders rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, winning on Alex Trlica's 41-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.

•Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 21 (Orange Bowl) - The Jayhawks (12-1) doubled their win total from last season and the ACC lost its eighth consecutive BCS bowl game.

•Auburn 23, Clemson 20, OT (Chick-fil-A Bowl) - Auburn rallied from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit, fell behind in overtime, then won on Kodi Burns' 7-yard run.

•East Carolina 41, Boise State 38 (Hawaii Bowl) - Ben Hartman's 34-yard field goal at the gun capped a night with 844 yards of combined offense and Boise State rallying from a 24-point second-half deficit.

BEST OFFENSE

Oregon. Dennis who? Freshman QB Justin Roper, in relief of injured Dennis Dixon, threw four TD passes and RB Jonathan Stewart ran wild (253 yards) in a 56-21 win against USF. The Ducks rolled up 533 yards in the Sun Bowl against a previously stingy USF defense.

BEST DEFENSE

Mississippi State. The Bulldogs limited UCF's Kevin Smith, the nation's leading rusher, to 116 yards in a 10-3 win at the Liberty Bowl. Mississippi State also held Arkansas' Darren McFadden (143.8-yard average) to 88 and Tulane's Matt Forte (177.3) to 47 in the regular season.

GOOD DECISION

Georgia bringing the defensive heat against Hawaii QB Colt Brennan at the Sugar Bowl. Bulldogs DL Marcus Howard, the game's MVP, had three sacks, two forced fumbles and one tipped pass in Georgia's 41-10 romp.

BAD DECISION

Texas A&M, trailing Penn State 24-17 at the Alamo Bowl, losing 4 yards on a fourth-and-goal option play from the 2-yard line with eight minutes remaining, while ignoring 263-pound RB Jorvorski Lane, who was so frustrated that he began to remove his shoulder pads.

WEIRD DECISION

Chris Jessie, stepson of Texas coach Mack Brown, stepping off the sideline to touch a live ball after a fumble, giving Arizona State a second chance at a touchdown in the Holiday Bowl. It didn't figure in Texas' 52-34 victory, but it was still odd.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

West Virginia, abandoned by Michigan-bound coach Rich Rodriguez and in a funk over an inexplicable home loss against Pittsburgh that ruined national championship hopes, played its best game of the season, smashing Oklahoma 48-28 at the Fiesta Bowl.

BELONGED IN BCS GAME

Missouri. The Orange Bowl passed over the 11-win Tigers, ranked No. 1 nationally heading into the Big 12 Championship Game, for Kansas. Missouri took out its frustration at the Cotton Bowl, burying Arkansas 38-7.

DIDN'T BELONG IN BCS GAME

Illinois. The Rose Bowl wasn't going to abandon its Pac-10 vs. Big Ten tradition, but USC vs. Georgia would have been a much better matchup. Ron Zook's Fighting Illini surrendered 633 total yards and fell to USC, 49-17.

UNKNOWN STAT

Central Michigan QB Dan Lefevour had six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) at the Motor City Bowl, giving him 27 passing TDs and 19 rushing TDs - just shy of the 20-20 feat of Tim Tebow, Florida's Heisman Trophy winner.

MVP, ALL-NAME TEAM

Navy QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

•Boston College has won eight consecutive bowl games.

•Houston has lost eight consecutive bowl games.

•Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger moved to 5-0 in bowls.

•East Carolina's Chris Johnson had 408 all-purpose yards in the Hawaii Bowl, an all-time bowl record.

•The Motor City Bowl had 99 points (Purdue 51, Central Michigan 48), the second-highest total for a bowl game that ended in regulation.

•Penn State's Joe Paterno got a record 23rd bowl win and his 372nd overall victory, one behind FSU's Bobby Bowden.

•Virginia RB Mikell Simpson had a 96-yard TD run in the Gator Bowl, setting an all-time bowl record for longest TD by a running back.

QUOTABLE

"We're No. 1. The nation knows it. Everybody knows it."

- Georgia safety Kelin Johnson, after beating undefeated Hawaii 41-10 at the Sugar Bowl

"I don't know how high I jumped. I really don't have a high vertical."

- Eathyn Manumaleuna, BYU's 280-pound lineman, who blocked UCLA's final-minute 28-yard field-goal attempt, preserving a 17-16 win at the Las Vegas Bowl

"It reminded me of the wacky WAC."

- Purdue coach Joe Tiller, on the Boilermakers' 51-48 win against Central Michigan at the Motor City Bowl

"Where you from, son?"

- FSU coach Bobby Bowden, after the Music City Bowl, to Kentucky QB Andre' Woodson, who passed for 358 yards and four touchdowns

"I love them to death."

- Outgoing Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, on his players, who beat Florida in the Capital One Bowl

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