Here are the next 6 winners from this year’s 2007 college football game results:
Champs Sports Bowl – Boston College beats Michigan State by field goal, 24-21, to earn its eighth straight bowl win
Senior quarterback Matt Ryan went 22-for-47 for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Boston College to beat Michigan State, giving the Eagles their eighth straight bowl victory and an 11-3 record for first-year coach Jeff Jagodzinski. It was the first 11-win season for Boston College since 1940, 67 years ago.
The Eagles started their season 8-0 and rose to No. 2 in the polls before losing 3 of their last 5 games, including a loss to Virginia Tech that cost Boston College the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
Eagles American safety Jamie Silva had two interceptions, one in the end zone, and was named Most Valuable Player. Boston College played with 17 fifth-year players and will have to do some rebuilding to match this year’s success.
Michigan State, which surprisingly closed out the game, made no excuses. The Spartans, who went 7-6, lost all 6 of their games by a combined 31 points under first-year coach Mark Dantonio.
The bowl game was the first for the state of Michigan in 4 years. The Spartans played without 4 players who were academically ineligible and another who was suspended for breaking an unspecified team rule. They included their best pass-rusher and a linebacker. Spartan quarterback Brian Hoyer had a long night with 4 interceptions and a fumble.
Texas Bowl – Cristiano de Texas def. Houston 20-13
Texas Christian took its first lead early in the fourth quarter to outlast Houston 20-13 in the Texas Bowl. Justin Watts got the go-ahead score. The victory gave the Horned Frogs their third straight bowl win in 3 years. The fans were not exhausted by the excitement of seeing this monotonous duel. Both teams finished the year with a record of 8-5.
Emerald Bowl – Oregon State tops Maryland 21-14
Oregon State senior Yvenson Bernard rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown, and freshman James Rodgers rushed for a career-best 115 yards, caught an early touchdown pass and recovered the ball loose by Bernard for the only score of the second half to lead the Beavers to beat Maryland 21-14. .
Oregon State’s rushing defense (ranked No. 2 nationally) gave up exactly 2 yards to Maryland over 3 quarters and 19 total yards in the game to seal the victory. Oregon State’s victory (now 9-4) extended the Pac 10’s longest bowl winning streak to 4 and snapped Ralph Friedgen’s 3-game postseason winning streak at Maryland, leaving the Terrapins to 6-7, a losing season.
Meineke Car Care Bowl – Wake Forest Beats Connecticut 24-10
Connecticut scored all of its 10 points in the first half, and Wake Forest scored all of its 24 unanswered points in the second half as the Demon Deacons proved Connecticut wasn’t that big or that bad, winning 24-10. Wake Forest did it with defense and speedy receiver Kenneth Moore, who caught 11 passes for 112 yards.
Wake Forest has for years endured the “weak forest” moniker for its ineptitude, but that moniker may fade as the Demon Deacons racked up their second-most wins, bested only by last year’s 11-3 mark. Both Connecticut and Wake Forest finished 9-4 this year.
Liberty Bowl 10-3 Mississippi State Slips by Central Florida
In what may turn out to be the lowest scoring bowl game this year, Mississippi State’s Anthony Dixon broke a 3-3 tie by scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:54 left in the game to beat Central Florida 10-3.
The Bulldogs limited Central Florida’s Kevin Smith to just 119 rushing yards, stopping Smith just 61 yards shy of Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record of 2,628 yards for Oklahoma State in 1988. The bad news for Oklahoma State opponents Central Florida next year is that Kevin Smith is a junior and will get another shot at beating Sanders’ record. Mississippi State finished the season 8-5 while Central Florida fell to 10-4.
Alamo Bowl 24-17 Joe Pa and Penn State Down Texas A&M
Evan Royster broke a 17-17 tie with a 38-yard touchdown run and Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions overcame an early 14-point deficit to beat Texas A&M 24-17 in the Alamo Bowl. Penn State finished its season 9-4 while Texas A&M fell to 7-6.
“Joe Pa,” college football’s leader in bowl appearances with 34, led his Nittany Lions in a thriller that gave him their record 23rd postseason win. Penn State’s win over Texas A&M was their third straight bowl victory and ninth in their last 11 appearances.
Paterno, the 81-year-old Happy Valley icon, now has 372 career wins, exactly one win behind Florida State’s Bobby Bowden for the most wins in major college football.
Bowden, who is 78, lost his bowl game this year 35-28 at Kentucky. Like Paterno, Bowden is not far behind. He has won 2 national championships, 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles, and is the only coach in which his Florida State Seminoles finished in the top 5 teams nationally for 14 consecutive seasons in the AP Top 25 poll. Florida State also has played in a game of bowls for the past 26 consecutive seasons.
It will be interesting to see if Joe Pa or Bobby Bowden will be fired or retire first. Both coaches are obviously two of the most competitive people on planet Earth.
(Editor’s note: This is the third article in a series on the results of the 2007 bowling game.)
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley