Rose
Bowl
Hurricane Dorsey Slams Nebraska
by Mike Mitchell
1/4/02 12:56 am est
They came. They saw.
They conquered. With the help of precision passing from Ken Dorsey
and three early turnovers from Nebraska, Miami wasted very little
time in storming to a 37-14 Rose Bowl win and their fifth national
championship.
It was the 22nd consecutive victory for Miami after going undefeated
in Larry Coker's first year as head coach. Coker became the first
rookie coach to win a national title since Bennie Oosterbaan
did it with Michigan in 1948.
For Nebraska, which only made it here after a flurry of late-season
upsets knocked numerous others out of the hunt, it was their
second straight loss by more than 20 points. (Colorado beat them
62-36 in their final game of the regular season).
Miami jumped to a 34-0 halftime lead as Dorsey threw for 258
yards in the first half while Eric Crouch was committing costly
turnovers.
Crouch's fumble midway through the first quarter set up the Hurricanes'
first touchdown, a 49-yard pass from Dorsey to Andre Johnson.
Johnson finished the night with seven catches for 199 yards and
two scores.
Miami had already increased its lead to 14-0 when James Lewis
went 47 yards with a Crouch interception. That put the 'Canes
ahead 21-0 with 12:52 still left to play in the second quarter.
Just over two minutes later, Jeremy Shockey scored on an 21-yard
pass and the rout was on.
Andre Johnson's second touchdown was on an 8-yard pass from Dorsey
with 3:35 left in the half.
Nebraska managed to regroup at halftime and slow down Miami's
offense, but the Hurricane defense wasn't about to let this one
get away. Though the 'Huskers managed two second-half scores,
they still only wound up with 259 yards and produced only seven
points on offense.
Judd Davies put Nebraska on the board on a 16-yard run with 2:29
to play in the third quarter. The other score came when DeJuan
Groce added a 71-yard punt return for a TD early in the fourth
period.
Todd Sievers kicked a 37-yard
field goal with 10:04 left for Miami's only second-half score.
Dorsey completed 22-of-35 passes for 362 yards and was selected
co-player of the game with Johnson.
The Hurricanes finished the 2001 season as the only unbeaten
team. While they escaped late-season challenges from Boston College
(18-7) and Virginia Tech (26-24), they also demolished Washington
(65-7) and Syracuse (59-0). Earlier in the season, they enjoyed
victories over Pittsburgh (43-21) and Florida State (49-27).
All six of those opponents went to bowl games, and four of them
won. |
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Orange Bowl
Gators Race Past Terrapins
by Mike Mitchell
1/3/02 12:56 am est
Rex Grossman threw four
touchdown passes and led Florida to the end zone on his first
six drives as Florida scored a 56-23 win over Maryland in the
Orange Bowl.
Spurrier benched the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting
for a curfew violation, but he entered the game after Brock Berlin
was picked off for the second time. Berlin produced just 14 points
in his six drives and Maryland was close at 14-10 when Grossman
took over with 6 minutes left in the half.
The Gators rolled up 659 yards on offense to break a 49-year
old Orange Bowl record. Numerous players got in on the act. Jabar
Gaffney, as would be expected, caught two scoring passes. Taylor
Jacobs, unexpectedly, set Orange Bowl records with 10 receptions
and 170 yards.
Maryland was playing in its first bowl game since 1990, and it
showed. Still, they had their moments and their players. When
Jafar Williams hauled in a 64-yard pass from Shaun Hill at the
end of the first quarter, the Terrapins trailed just 14-7.
But the Terps failed to take advantage of some early Florida
miscues and had fallen behind 28-10 by halftime.
Hill threw for 257 yards, and Williams caught 4 passes for 96
yards. As a team, Maryland managed to gather 360 yards of offense.
Both teams finish the year with 10-2 records. |
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Sugar Bowl
LSU Savors Sweet Sugar Bowl Win
by Mike Mitchell
1/1/01 11:56 pm est
LSU set a Sugar Bowl
record with 595 yards of total offense, 444 from the arm of Rohan
Davey who set a bowl record with 31 pass completions, in a 47-34
annihilation of Illinois.
While only 13 points separated the two teams in the final score,
the Bayou Bengals pretty much had their way with the Illini all
night. LSU staked out a 34-7 halftime lead, and even though Illinois
outscored the Tigers 27-13 in the second half, they never got
closer than the final margin.
In fact, it was a record night on many fronts for the LSU. RB
Domanick Davis set a Sugar Bowl record with four rushing touchdowns
while Josh Reed, Biletnikoff winner as the nation's top receiver,
had 14 receptions for 239 yards to set two more bowl marks.
The SEC champion Tigers improved to 10-3 with the victory. The
Big 10 champion Illini fell to 10-2 after losing the first game
they ever played in the state of Louisiana. |
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Fiesta Bowl
Buffs Take Siesta, Ducks Win Fiesta
by Mike Mitchell
1/1/01 8:53 pm est
Oregon piled up 500 yards
of offense, including 350 yards passing and 4 touchdowns from
Joey Harrington, and the Ducks rolled past Colorado 38-16 in
the Fiesta Bowl.
Colorado started off on the right foot, taking a 7-0 lead on
Brandon Drumm's 1-yard run in the first quarter. But Harrington
led the Ducks to an answering score only three minutes later
on a 28-yard hook-up with Keenan Howry.
That was the first of 38 consecutive points to be scored by Oregon
before the Buffaloes added 9 meaningless late fourth quarter
points.
In the mix of scores were touchdown passes of 79 yards to Samie
Parker, 6 yards to Onterrio Smith, and 4 yards to Justin Peele.
Maurice Morris added a 49-yard run on which it looked like he
was tackled after a substantial gain, but he landed on top of
a defender without touching the ground and was able to right
himself and turn the play into a unique touchdown.
Colorado's running attack, which had boosted the Buffaloes to
wins over Nebraska and Texas to end the season, was held to just
49 yards by the Ducks. And quarterback Bobby Pesavento, who had
led Colorado to five straight wins, was just 11-of-27 for 139
yards and 2 interceptions before being relieved by Craig Ochs
in the fourth quarter.
Colorado dropped to 10-3 with the loss while Oregon improved
to 11-1. The Ducks only defeat was a 49-42 setback to Stanford
in a rare home loss at Autzen Stadium. |
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Citrus Bowl
Vols Squeeze Wolverines In Citrus
by Mike Mitchell
1/1/01 5:16 pm est
Casey Clausen passed
for a career-high 393 yards and three touchdowns, and added two
1-yard runs, as Tennessee routed Michigan 45-17 in the Citrus
Bowl.
The loss was Michigan's worst bowl defeat in 32 postseason appearances
is its first-ever meeting with the Vols. Meanwhile, Tennessee
improved its Citrus Bowl record to 4-1 and claimed its fourth
11-win season in coach Phil Fulmer's tenure.
Tennessee was relegated to this game after bowing to LSU in the
SEC Championship, a 31-20 loss that knocked them out of a possible
national title shot in the Rose Bowl.
The Volunteers built an early 17-0 lead behind a 3-yard scoring
pass from Clausen to Kelley Washington, a 1-yard Clausen run,
and a 32-yard Alex Walls field goal.
After John Navarre finally got Michigan on the board midway through
the second quarter with a 14-yard pass to B. J. Askew, Clausen
answered with a second 1-yard run. to make it 24-7.
Though the Wolverines pulled to within 24-10 at the break on
Hayden Epstein's 28-yard field goal, they were never able to
seriously threaten Tennessee's lead.
Clausen tacked on a 64-yard scoring throw to Jason Witten in
the third quarter and a 37-yard touchdown pass to Washington
early in the fourth for a 38-10 advantage. Travis Stephens put
the icing on the cake with a 3-yard run just 24 seconds later
after Jabari Greer picked off a Navarre pass. |
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Gator Bowl
FSU Win Ties Bowden With "Bear"
by Mike Mitchell
1/1/01 4:18 pm est
Bobby Bowden got a late
Christmas present from his Florida State football players, a
30-17 Gator Bowl win over Virginia Tech to ease some of the pain
of their four-loss season. It was also the 323rd victory of his
coaching career, tying him with the legendary Paul "Bear"
Bryant and leaving him just four behind Joe Paterno.
This one was far from easy as the two teams traded scores and
leads throughout the first three quarters. In fact, the Hokies
led 17-13 entering the final period.
That's when Chris Rix and Javon Walker got busy and combined
for 3 huge plays that produced 17 straight points and a deceptive
winning margin.
First, Rix found Walker for a 77-yard touchdown on the first
play of the final period. Another long pass set up a Xavier Beitia
35-yard field goal just over four minutes later for a 23-17 Seminole
lead.
Tech took the ball into FSU territory twice in the fourth quarter
but failed to get any points out of their efforts.
Florida State pushed ahead 30-17 with just 2:14 left in when
Rix hit Walker for a 23-yard pass just one play after converting
a crucial fourth down by inches.
Rix passed for 326 yards with 195 of those going to Walker on
just 4 receptions.
Tech's Andre Davis countered with 158 yards on 5 catches. His
55-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter gave the Hokies
their last lead of the game.
In an unusual turn for Seminole kickers, Beitia was 3-for-3.
He knocked a 50-yarder right down the middle just before halftime,
added a 47-yard kick in the third quarter, and banked his last
one in off the left upright to put an exclamation point on his
magical day. |
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Outback Bowl
Outback Bowl-The Sequel:
Gamecocks Beat Buckeyes Again
by Mike Mitchell
1/1/01 4:03 pm est
The Outback Bowl must
be starting to seem like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day to Ohio
State. For the second year in a row the Buckeyes faced South
Carolina and lost. This time, it took Daniel Weaver's 42-yard
field goal as time expired to offset a tremendous comeback effort
from Ohio State.
The Gamecocks held a 28-0 lead near the end of the third period
before the Buckeyes finally woke up.
Steve Bellisari directed four touchdown drives in less than 15
minutes to tie the game with 1:54 to play. But when the Buckeyes
got the ball back following an interception deep in their own
territory, instead of playing for overtime, they tried to march
downfield and turned the ball right back over to the Gamecocks
on a pass into traffic.
Three plays later, Weaver barely cleared the crossbar on the
game-winner.
South Carolina's lead was built on two Andrew Pinnock runs and
a pair of touchdown passes from Phil Petty to Brian Scott and
Andrea Gause.
The Gamecocks beat Ohio State 24-7 in this game last year. |
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Cotton Bowl
Sooners Get Defensive In Cotton Win
by Mike Mitchell
1/1/01 3:43 pm est
Oklahoma held Arkansas
to 50 total yards and collected 9 sacks as the Sooners stifled
the Razorbacks 10-3 in the Cotton Bowl.
Oklahoma's Rocky Calmus, the Butkus award winner as the nation's
top linebacker, registered two of those sacks and added nine
tackles and a fumble recovery.
The game's lone touchdown was scored in the opening quarter when
Sooner DB Matt McCoy picked off a Zak Clark pass to set up a
37-yard scoring drive. QB Nate Hybl plunged over from the one.
Tim Duncan's 32-yard field goal capped the opening drive of the
second half and extended Oklahoma's lead to 10-0.
Arkansas' lone score was a 32-yard Brennan O'Donohoe field goal
on the Razorbacks' first possession of the final period.
The game was similar to last year's win by Oklahoma in the Orange
Bowl when they beat Florida State 13-2 to claim the national
title. |
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Peach Bowl
Tar Heel Defense Just Peachy In Win
by Mike Mitchell
12/31/01 11:13 pm
est
The North Carolina defense
held Auburn to just 176 total yards while collecting six sacks
and forcing three turnovers en route to a 16-10 Peach Bowl win.
The Tar Heels snapped a five-year losing streak for ACC teams
in this bowl game, going nearly 59 minutes before allowing an
Auburn touchdown with 1:18 left to play. But UNC recovered the
ensuing onside kick and took home the trophy.
First-year head coach John Bunting guided North Carolina to a
final record of 8-5 while Auburn lost its' third straight game,
their fourth defeat in the last five games.
In fact, Auburn has gone just 2-4 since it shocked Florida in
a game that improved the Tigers record to 5-1 at the time.
Willie Parker's 9-yard run gave the Tar Heels a 7-0 lead in the
first quarter and Jeff Reed's chip shot field goal from 22 yards
out in the second put UNC ahead 10-0 at the half. Quarterback
Ronald Curry scrambled 62 yards in the third quarter for North
Carolina's final score.
Auburn was held scoreless until Damon Duval, who kicked the game-winning
field goal against Florida as time expired, connected from 34
yards out early in the fourth quarter. |
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Liberty Bowl
Cardinals Ground Cougars
by Mike Mitchell
12/31/01 8:03 pm est
The Louisville defense
held Brigham Young to its' lowest point total of the season,
and Dave Ragone threw three touchdown passes, as the Cardinals
earned a 28-10 win at the Liberty Bowl.
It was a school-record 11th victory for Louisville whose previous
best season was a 10-1-1 mark in 1990 when the Howard Schnellenberger-led
Cards beat Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl.
Despite playing without one of the nation's best rushers, Doak
Walker Award winner Luke Staley, BYU managed to stay in the game
for the first 40 minutes. But with 4:45 to go in the third, Deion
Branch took a pass over the middle from Ragone 34 yards to the
house to open a 21-10 advantage.
Just over five minutes later, Ronnie Ghent helped cement the
win with a 27-yard touchdown reception. A defense that sacked
Cougar QB Brandon Doman five times made certain that BYU would
not mount a serious rally.
After beginning the season with 12 straight wins, the Cougars
dropped their last two games to finish 12-2. |
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Silicon Valley Classic
Michigan St. Mauls Bulldogs
by Mike Mitchell
12/31/01 7:14 pm est
Charles Rogers caught
10 passes and set a Michigan State record with 270 yards receiving
in a 44-35 Silicon Valley Bowl win over favored Fresno State.
The hometown Bulldogs struck first when David Carr threw his
first of four touchdown passes just 59 seconds into the game.
But Stephen Spach's 5-yard reception was countered 7-1/2 minutes
later by Rogers' 72-yard score off the pass from Jeff Smoker
who threw 3 touchdown passes for the Spartans.
The ensuing Fresno State possession ended in disaster when Monquiz
Wedlow recovered a fumble in the end zone to put Michigan State
on top 14-7 and the Bulldogs never regained the lead.
Carr, who threw for 531 yards, kept Fresno State within striking
distance. When Paris Gaines scored on a 15-yard pass with 6:04
left to play, the Bulldogs had cut a 37-21 deficit to 37-35.
Jeff Smoker answered the call by engineering a 77-yard drive
that ate up over four minutes and put the Spartans ahead by the
final margin.
Smoker was 22-of-32 for 376 yards as the opposing quarterbacks
combined for 907 yards through the air. And while Rogers was
cleaning up on Smoker's big day, Fresno State's Rodney Wright
hauled in 13 passes for a Bulldog record of 299 yards.
Fresno State finished the season at 11-3. Michigan State improved
to 7-5. |
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Sun Bowl
Wash. St. Burns Purdue In Sun Bowl
by Mike Mitchell
12/31/01 5:54 pm est
Washington State reached
10 wins for only the third time in history when the Cougars rallied,
then held off Purdue, for a 33-27 Sun Bowl victory.
The Boilermakers led 20-17 at halftime after scoring 20 points
in a row in the second quarter, including a 50-yard field goal
by Travis Dorsch just before the break, to erase an early 14-0
deficit.
Washington State took command in the third quarter with two Drew
Dunning field goals and Jason Gesser's 1-yard run. Another Dunning
field goal midway through the fourth quarter put the Cougars
up 33-20.
Purdue drew to within 6 points with 1:53 remaining on Taylor
Stubblefield's 51-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton. But after
recovering the onside kick and driving to the Washington State
22, Purdue's comeback hopes were ended by three straight incompletions.
Purdue slipped to 6-6 with the loss, losing five of their last
six games. |
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Humanitarian Bowl
Clemson Ices Louisiana Tech
by Mike Mitchell
12/31/01 5:20 pm est
Neither snow nor Louisiana
Tech's defense could stop Woodrow Dantzler from his appointed
rounds as the Senior led Clemson to a 49-24 Humanitarian Bowl
triumph over Louisiana Tech.
Dantzler threw four TD passes and the Tigers snapped a five-game
losing streak in bowls.
A game that was close at 14-10 at the half was broken open by
28 unanswered Clemson points in the third quarter. Bernard Rambert
accounted for 14 of those points within a span of 3:06. First,
he hauled in a 62-yard pass from Dantzler and then added a 21-yard
run.
Before they knew what hit them, the Bulldogs were down 49-10.
Two scores in the final eight minutes helped make the final tally
more respectable.
Dantzler entered the game as the first player in NCAA history
to pass for over 2,000 yards, and run for over 1,000 yards, in
the same season.
Louisiana Tech was making its first appearance in a bowl game
since a 34-34 tie with Maryland at the Independence Bowl in 1990. |
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Insight.com Bowl
Orange Puts Squeeze On Wildcats
by Mike Mitchell
12/29/01 9:20 pm est
Syracuse made as loud
a statement as it could for being snubbed by the Gator Bowl,
pounding Kansas State 26-3 in the Insight.com Bowl.
The Orangemen took control early, were never really challenged,
and never trailed.
James Mungro scored on a 65-yard run with 6:38 to play in the
opening period. He added a pair of 1-yard plunges in the 2nd
quarter (Kansas State's Josh Buhl blocked the PAT on each) as
Syracuse built a 19-3 cushion by halftime, aided by three Wildcat
turnovers.
The only score for Kansas State came from the leg of kicker Joe
Rheem. His 39-yard field goal in the first quarter made the score
7-3.
Neither offense was pretty - Syracuse managed just seven first
downs and Kansas State was held to 33 yards rushing, 224 yards
below their per-game average.
Syracuse finished second in the Big East and felt deserving of
the conference's Gator Bowl bid, but that invitation went to
Virginia Tech.
With the bowl win, the Orangemen completed their first season
of 10 wins or more since 1992, and sixth in school history, with
a record of 10-3.
Kansas State fell to 6-6 with the loss. The Wildcats had four
consecutive 11-win campaigns before this season. |
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Alamo Bowl
Iowa Gets A Kick Out Of Bowl Win
by Mike Mitchell
12/29/01 7:20 pm est
Nick Kaeding's fourth
field goal of the game was a 47-yard boot with just 44 seconds
left for a 19-16 Iowa win over Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl.
The game was largely a battle of field goals, but give due credit
to a Hawkeye defense that shut down one of the most potent passing
offenses in the country.
Red Raider quarterback, Kliff Kingsbury, threw for more than
300 yards but was intercepted twice and threw only one touchdown
pass. When Texas Tech was trying to mount a frantic last-minute
90-yard drive to tie or win the game, a Hawkeye rush forced a
time-consuming 20-yard scramble and a drive-killing throw-away
on a later play.
Kingsbury's hail mary pass on the game's final play was almost
caught. But the receiver bobbled the ball and it fell into the
hands of an Iowa defender to seal the Hawkeye victory.
Texas Tech got a 50-yard field goal from Clinton Greathouse as
time expired in the first half to narrow a 10-point Iowa lead
to 10-3.
Kingsbury went to work quickly in the second half, hitting Wes
Walker on a 20-yard pass to tie the game just 3:24 into the third
quarter.
Then, the game was turned back over to the defenses and kickers.
Kaeding hit field goals from 31 and 46 yards to put Iowa on top
16-10. Robert Treece followed for Texas Tech with kicks from
23 and 37 yards to knot the game at 16-16 with just 2:05 left
in the game. |
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Motor City Bowl
Toledo's Stars Send Rockets To Win
by Mike Mitchell
12/29/01 4:55 pm est
RB Chester Taylor and
QB Tavares Boldin put on a show in Motown as Toledo rocked Cincinnati
23-16 in the Motor City Bowl.
Trailing 13-3 at the half, Taylor and Boldin hit all the right
notes after the break as the Rockets came back for the win. Andy
Boyd's strip of Cincy WR Ray Jackson's would-be game-tying catch
in the last minute secured the victory.
Taylor racked up 190 yards rushing and the game-winning touchdown
with 3:23 left to give Tom Amstutz a bowl win in his first season
as coach. Toledo completed the season at 10-2, while Cincinnati
closed at 7-5 in losing this bowl game for the second year in
a row.
Boldin finished the game with 235 all-purpose yards. His 28-yard
touchdown run in the third quarter tied the game up.
Toledo took its first lead on Todd France's 30-yard field goal
in the fourth quarter, his third field goal of the game. But
the Bearcats clawed back to tie the game again at 16-apiece on
a 26-yard Jonathon Ruffin field goal, his third of the game also.
The Rockets set a Motor City Bowl team rushing record as they
piled up 321 yards on the ground. And their defense set a record
in limiting Cincinnati to just 13 rushing yards. |
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Holiday Bowl
Applewhite Shines In Texas Treat
by Mike Mitchell
12/29/01 1:00 am est
The third time was charm.
Texas rallied from behind three times, finally subduing Washington
with 39 seconds left, in a wild 47-43 Holiday Bowl shootout.
Two of the Longhorns rallies came in the final period. They trailed
36-20 when the fourth quarter began, but stormed back to take
a 40-36 lead with six minutes still left.
At that point, I somehow knew that Texas had just played into
the Huskies hands.
Washington knows how to conduct a 4th quarter comeback - they
have done it 19 times in Rick Neuheisel's career as coach of
the Huskies, five times this season - and it didn't take long
for them to work their magic as they regained the lead with 1:49
to play.
On this night, however, Texas was just as magical. Major Applewhite
calmly led the Longhorns down the field and recaptured the flag
with 38 ticks left on the clock.
By this point, I had already spent the entire fourth quarter
amazed at what I was witnessing. Now, the first thought in my
mind was that Texas had once again left Washington with too much
time.
But alas, the magic genie was wiped out. And when Huskies' quarterback
Cody Pickett experienced brain lock and scrambled out of bounds
on 4th down, the Longhorns and Applewhite had completed an amazing
evening in victory.
The Major, in his first start of the year, completed 37-of-55
passes for 473 yards and 4 TD's in the fifth-year senior's final
game. With the victory, Texas completed its fifth 11-win season
in history (11-2) and Washington dropped to 8-4. |
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Music City Bowl
B. C. Beats Bulldogs
by Mike Mitchell
12/28/01 8:56 pm est
Boston College couldn't
have picked a better time to finally beat a team with a winning
record, downing Georgia 20-16 in the Music City Bowl.
William Green scored the go-ahead touchdown with just 4:43 remaining
as the Eagles ended a 21-game losing streak to ranked opponents.
Green rolled to 123 first-half yards as B. C. lead 13-10 at the
break. That the Bulldogs managed to hold him to just 26 in the
second half didn't matter. He still cut loose when it was needed
the most, including converting a crucial 4th-and-1 on the game-winning
drive.
Though it was Green's only score of the game, he set up a first
half 10-yard touchdown pass from Brian St. Pierre to Dedrick
DeWalt with a long run. Green carried the ball 35 times and caught
2 passes for a total of 37 touches in 72 plays.
Georgia struck first with a 15-yard David Greene pass to Fred
Gibson just two plays into the game after a long opening kick-off
return. The Eagles reeled off the next 13 points before the Bulldogs
re-took the lead in the third quarter, 16-13, when Verron Hayes
scored on a 1-yard run.
Georgia had the ball with a 4th-and-12 at the Boston College
48 with just over 2 minutes left to play, but coach Mark Richt
elected to punt. Only 14 seconds remained when Georgia finally
got the ball back at its own 48. An incomplete pass and a sack
ended the game. |
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Galleryfurniture.com Bowl
Aggies Polish Off Horned Frogs
by Mike Mitchell
12/28/01 5:17 pm est
Texas A & M saved
one of its best games of the year for bowl season as the Aggies
dominated TCU 28-9 in the 2nd Galleryfurniture.com Bowl in Houston.
The Aggie defense didn't allow a single point as the Horned Frogs
scored their only touchdown on an 89-yard fumble return by Charlie
Owens in the second quarter. TCU's only other points came when
Texas A & M coach R.C. Slocum elected to take a safety on
a punt late in the game by purposefully snapping the ball out
of the end zone.
Meanwhile, the Aggie defense recorded six sacks and forced four
Casey Printers interceptions that they turned into 14 points.
Texas A & M limited TCU to minus 26 yards rushing and 128
total yards.
The win snapped a four-bowl losing streak for A & M and prevented
the Aggies from losing their fourth game in a row this year after
dropping their last three regular season games to Texas Tech,
Oklahoma and Texas.
Aggie QB Mark Farris opened the scoring with a 1-yard run in
the first quarter and closed the scoring with an 82-yard pass
to Mickey Jones in the fourth. Those scores sandwiched a pair
of TD runs by Joe Weber. |
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Independence Bowl
Tide Drops Cyclones By An Inch
by Mike Mitchell
12/27/01 10:44 pm
est
You can't miss a field
goal by much less. Iowa State's 47-yard attempt with 51 seconds
left soared over the right upright, but was ruled wide by the
official under the goalpost, and Alabama's 14-13 comeback victory
over Iowa State in the Independence Bowl was secured.
The Tide fell behind 10-0 in the first 15:34 as the Cyclones
cashed in on a 37-yard Tony Yelk field goal and a Joe Woodley
1-yard run.
Alabama didn't get on the board until quarterback Andrew Zow
hit paydirt on an 8-yard run with 5:31 remaining in the first
half.
Iowa State pushed the lead to 13-7 when Yelk connected on a 41-yard
field goal in the third.
The Crimson Tide's big break came in the fourth when Yelk had
his punt blocked by Waine Bacon. Zow hit Terry Jones two plays
later on a 27-yard scoring pass with 4:44 remaining to give 'Bama
what would prove to be the winning points.
Both teams finish the season with 7-5 marks. It was a vast improvement
for Alabama after last year's 3-8 debacle as Dennis Franchione
coached the team to a postseason victory in his first season
as head coach in Tuscaloosa. |
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Seattle Bowl
Ga. Tech Wins Without Coach
And Top Running Back
by Mike Mitchell
12/27/01 10:14 pm
est
Georgia Tech had spent
the holidays dazed after its head coach resigned and its top
running back flunked out of school, but that didn't stop the
Yellow Jackets from wrecking Stanford 24-14 in the Seattle Bowl.
Sean Gregory rushed for 91 yards in replacing Joe Burns, including
a 54-yard burst that set up a 20-yard field goal just before
halftime. Burns was academically ineligible after leading the
Ramblin' Wreck with 1,165 yards during the season.
The Jackets also still had QB George Godsey and WR Kelly Campbell.
Campbell tallied a 2nd-quarter score on a 34-yard pass from Godsey
and added a clinching 3-yard run with 1:29 left in the game.
Stanford had trimmed a 17-3 halftime disadvantage to 17-14 with
11:29 left in the game, but could get no closer. The Cardinal
earlier failed to score touchdowns after driving inside the Yellow
Jackets' 2-yard line twice - once in the first quarter and again
in the third.
Godsey was 23-of-37 for 266 yards, while Campbell had 10 catches
for 106 yards.
Assistant Mac McWhorter led Georgia Tech as its interim coach.
He assumed the post after head coach George O'Leary resigned
to take over the reigns at Notre Dame. But O'Leary was forced
to resign from the Irish five days later when fabrications were
discovered on his resume. |
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Las Vegas Bowl
Utah Upends USC In Las Vegas Bowl
by Mike Mitchell
12/25/01 7:34 pm est
A relentless defense
and controlling ground game aided Utah in a 10-6 upset of Southern
California in the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas Day.
The Utes out-rushed USC 222 yards to 1. Adam Tate ran for 103
yards and scored Utah's only touchdown on a 3-yard run in the
first quarter. Dameon Hunter added 94 yards on the ground.
The Trojans' only score came on a 2-yard run by Sunny Byrd in
the 3rd quarter, but David Davis pushed the PAT wide right. USC
had a chance to get on the board just before halftime but Davis,
who had connected on 12 straight field goals, missed wide left
from 47 yards out.
Utah then drove to a 26-yard Ryan Kaneshiro field goal to take
a 10-0 lead at intermission.
A good crowd of approximately 30,000 was on hand as Utah avenged
a 28-21 loss to USC in the 1993 Freedom Bowl. |
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Tangerine Bowl
Panthers Tame Wolfpack In
Return of Tangerine Bowl
by Mike Mitchell
12/20/01 11:27 pm
est
The Pittsburgh Panthers
never trailed as they downed North Carolina St. 34-19 in the
first Tangerine Bowl since 1982.
Actually, the Tangerine Bowl never stopped, it just changed its
name to the Citrus Bowl and was played in the stadium bearing
that name. The new Tangerine Bowl is actually the old Micron
PC Bowl, relocated to Orlando from Pro Player Stadium in Miami
after it failed to generate interest in south Florida.
It was Pittsburgh's first bowl win since 1989, aided by WR Antonio
Bryant's two touchdown catches and a defense that continued the
stingy play that helped the Panthers win their last five regular
season games.
After trading field goals in the opening period, Pittsburgh took
control with three touchdowns in the second quarter for a 24-10
lead at intermission.
The defense took over in the second half, adding a 16-yard fumble
return for a score by Tyre Young with 6:15 left and later picking
off N. C. State QB Philip Rivers to halt any chance of a Wolfpack
comeback. |
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GMAC Bowl
Marshall Stampedes Back From
30-Point Deficit To Win GMAC Bowl
by Mike Mitchell
12/20/01 12:35 am
est
East Carolina had a history
of blowing leads in the regular season, and Wednesday night they
let a 38-8 halftime advantage dissipate as Marshall rallied for
a 64-61 GMAC Bowl win in double-overtime.
Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich helped East Carolina take
a quick 14-0 first quarter lead when he had an intercepted pass
returned 12 yards for a score, and a fumble returned 43 yards
for another touchdown in the opening 3 minutes, 21 seconds.
But Leftwich redeemed himself by throwing four TD passes and
running for a fifth score as he piled up 575 yards on a 41-of-70
performance.
ECU quarterback David Garrard countered Leftwich's turnovers
with two costly interceptions that were returned for Herd scores
in the third quarter. Those touchdowns helped Marshall reduce
the Pirate lead to 41-36 with a quarter still left to play.
The Pirates seemed in control again when they opened a 51-42
lead with 5 minutes left in the game after a 55-yard TD run by
Leonard Henry.
But Marshall thundered back once more. They cut the gap to 51-45
on a 27-yard Curtis Head field goal, then forced East Carolina
to punt to get the ball on their own 20 with 50 seconds left.
Facing only a 3-man rush, Leftwich quickly guided Marshall downfield
and hit Darius Watts with a game-tying 11-yard pass with just
7 seconds left.
This, however, was a night when the unexplainable just kept happening,
and Head shanked the PAT to send the game to overtime.
The teams traded TD's in the first extra period, but East Carolina
only managed a Kevin Miller 37-yard field goal to begin the second
OT. Marshall's Leftwich hit Josh Davis on an 8-yard pass for
the decisive points.
The 125 points were the most ever scored in any bowl game, blistering
the mark of 96 set by Texas Tech and Air Force when the Red Raiders
beat the Falcons 55-41 in the 1995 Copper Bowl.
The exhilaration of Marshall's scintillating rally soon turned
to despair when the NCAA announced it was putting the Herd on
four years of probation, taking away five football scholarships
each year.
The sanctions were imposed on the basis that the university exhibited
a "lack of institutional control" in the wake of finding
that several players were provided test answers and extra work
benefits between 1996 and 2000. It further called Marshall "very
negligent" in assisting the investigation. |
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New Orleans Bowl
Rams Roll Over Out-manned
UNT
by Mike Mitchell
12/18/01 11:42 pm
est
North Texas' players will be proud to tell their kids years from
now that they ended the school's 42-year absence from bowl games.
They can be excused if they leave out the minor detail of the
final score, a 45-20 loss to Colorado State in the inaugural
New Orleans Bowl.
The Rams (7-5) broke out to a quick 17-0 lead midway through
the first quarter, but the Mean Green (5-7) managed to cut the
gap to 24-14 by halftime.
Colorado State took command in the 3rd quarter by scoring a touchdown
off a blocked punt to take a 31-14 lead, and the Rams never looked
back.
CSU extended their lead to 45-14 before UNT back-up QB Andy Blount
hooked up with Richard Bridges on a 13-yard scoring pass with
just 2:11 left to play.
Colorado State quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt threw a first-half
8-yard TD pass to Jose Ochoa and added a 6-yard scoring run.
North Texas was the first team with a losing record to appear
in a bowl game since William & Mary in the 1970 Tangerine
Bowl. The Tribe lost that game to Toledo 40-12.
The Mean Green last appeared in a bowl game in 1959 when they
lost 28-8 to New Mexico St. They earned the automatic bid to
this year's New Orleans Bowl by claiming the Sun Belt Conference
crown with a league mark of 5-1. |
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