Eight 2009 Bowl Teams Win by 3 Points Or Less, None More Exciting Than Idaho
Eight of the 34 bowl game winners-or approximately 25 percent-earned their victories by 3 or less points, and none won in more exciting fashion than Idaho-and that includes two double overtime winners (Wyoming and Central Michigan) and two single overtime winners (Arkansas and Auburn).
Coach Robb Akey of the Idaho Vandals will get the fans eternal nod of approval for choosing to go for a 2-point conversion and the win, rather than send the game into overtime with an extra point attempt and 4 seconds remaining on the clock.
Junior quarterback Nathan Enderle found sophomore wide receiver Preston Davis in the back of the end zone to give Idaho the 43-42 dramatic victory over Bowling Green in the Humanitarian Bowl.
Bowling Green thought it had the game in the bag.
Trailing 28-14 midway through the 3rd quarter, the Falcons scored 28 points, including two touchdowns in the final 4 minutes, taking a 42-35 lead on a 51-pass from Tyler Sheehan to Freddie Barnes with 32 seconds left.
But the Vandals were not fazed as Enderle found Davis (the same winning 2-point conversion combination) on a 50-yard completion to Bowling Green's 16-yard line.
With 8 seconds left, Enderle found senior wide receiver Max Komar, who caught a low throw sliding across the goal line to set up the winning conversion.
Here's the real kicker: Komar, the Vandals leading receiver, had been dropping balls like hot potatoes all game, and his catch to the put Idaho in a position to win was his first of the day.
On the other side of the ball, Falcon receiver Freddie Barnes was making NCAA history while hauling in 17 passes from Sheehan for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The 17 catches gave Barnes 155 for the season, breaking the record for most receptions in a season-a record that was previously held by two famous names, Nate Burleson of Nevada (138 receptions in 2002) and Howard Twilley of Tulsa (134 receptions in 1965).
Idaho's Enderle went 15-of-28 for 240 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Bowling Green's Sheehan went 33-of-47 for 387 yards and 4 touchdowns.
But the real story of Idaho's victory was coach Robb Akey, who labored 19 years as an assistant college football coach before taking over an Idaho program had was dead meat and had 3 coaches in 3 years before Akey arrived.
He went 1-11 and 2-10 in his first two seasons, but it would be a misnomer to say Idaho was crazy to keep him on with only 3 victories in 2 years.
Akey was busy getting rid of the dead meat on the team that did not want to work, play serious football, and win.
The result was this year's team.
The Vandals were picked to be at the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference this season, but started the year at 6-1 and finished at 8-5 with their Humanitarian Bowl victory.
The news from Moscow (ID), if you have not already heard, is that the Vandals are no longer a doormat waiting to be walked on.
Give Akey some well-deserved props; he created the environment and provided the leadership at the top to make it happen.
Perhaps the second most exciting, close game victory this bowl season belonged to the Wyoming Cowboys, who trailed by 11 points in the 4th quarter to storm back and beat Fresno State, 35-28 in double overtime at the New Mexico Bowl.
And Wyoming did it with a freshman quarterback and a superb, goal-line defensive stand against the leading rusher in the nation, Fresno State's Ryan Matthews.
First-year coach Dave Christensen could not have been happier or more proud of his players.
Matthews averaged 151 yards per game and did not disappoint his fans, racking up 144 yards on 31 carries while scoring 2 touchdowns.
Unfortunately, he fumbled midway in the final quarter when Cowboy lineman Mitch Unrien stripped the ball.
Wyoming capitalized on the miscue when freshman QB Austyn Carta-Samuels engineered a 19-play drive that brought Wyoming within 3 points, 28-25.
A 37-yard field goal by Cowboy Ian Watts with 20 seconds left tied it at 28-all.
Neither team scored in the first overtime, but Carta-Samuels found David Leonard on a 13-yard pass in the second OT to go up, 35-28.
Then the Wyoming defensive line staged a magnificent goal-line rally to stop Ryan Matthews, the nation's leading rusher, 3 times at the 1-yard line, and also stopped QB Ryan Colburn on a QB sneak at the 1 to shut the door on Fresno State.
It was all in a day's work for the Cowboys, who have won 4 games this season with 4th-quarter rallies.
Wyoming's Austyn Carta-Samuels went 17-of-31 for 201 yards and 3 touchdown passes.
He was chosen the game's MVP, and was also selected as the Mountain West's Freshman of the Year.
The Cowboys, who were picked to finish last in their conference, ended the year at 7-6.
Fresno State was 8-5.
Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour continued to make history in the GMAC Bowl as he led the Chippewas to a high-scoring 44-41 win over Troy in double overtime.
LeFevour completed 33 of 55 passes for 395 yards and scored on a 13-yard run.
His 15,853 total career yards left him second only to Hawaii's Timmy Chang who holds the record with 16,910.
Lost in the shuffle of LeFevour's accomplishment was Central Michigan kicker Andrew Aguila, who nailed field goals from 28, 35, 44 and 42 yards before kicking the game-winning 37-yarder in double overtime.
His 5 field goals set a GMAC Bowl record.
Antonio Brown was also a huge presence for the Chippewas, scoring on a 95-yard kickoff return and finishing with 403 all-purpose yards-178 receiving on 13 catches, 203 on kickoff returns and 22 yards rushing.
Troy ended the season at 9-4 and Central Michigan at 12-2.
Chippewa coach Butch Jones, who won 2 Mid-American Conference titles in 3 years, has left the program to become the new coach at Cincinnati, replacing Brian Kelly who headed for Notre Dame.
Dan Enos, the running backs coach at Michigan State, will take over at Central Michigan for Butch Jones.
For Arkansas' Alex Tejada, it was redemption day at the Liberty Bowl as his 37-yard field goal in overtime gave the Razorbacks a 20-17 victory East Carolina.
Tejada had missed a crucial kick in a loss to Florida in October, and missed another kick against Louisiana State that prevented Arkansas from forcing a second overtime in a 33-30 loss.
But pass the pity on to East Carolina kicker Ben Hartman, he twice missed field goal attempts late in the game and missed again in the OT period.
Hartman actually missed 4 attempts in the game from 45, 39, 39 again on the final play of the game, and 35 in OT.
East Carolina (8-5) coach Skip Holtz felt Hartman's pain; Hartman is East Carolina's all-time leading scorer.
The Liberty Bowl was not picture perfect.
Arkansas' (8-5) win was only its 3rd in 15 bowl-game appearances.
The Razorbacks went 0-13 on third-down attempts, becoming only the second major college team this season to win a game without converting a third down.
Colorado State went 0-for-9 on third down attempts while beating Weber State earlier in the season.
The Razorbacks, who averaged 37 points a game, were down 10-zip at the half, marking the first time Arkansas had been shut out in the first half since losing to Alabama 35-7 in September.
Naw, the Liberty Bowl was not pretty, but Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino had the right attitude, saying "I'm not sure who outplayed who, but we won the game.
" Wes Byrum kicked a 21-yard field goal in overtime to give Auburn (8-5) a 38-35 victory over Northwestern (8-5) in the Outback Bowl, stopping a Wildcat rally that denied Northwestern its first bowl win in 61 years.
Some days it does not pay to tempt fate; for Northwestern, this was one of those days.
Coach Pat Fitzgerald sent backup kicker Steve Flaherty onto the field to try and tie the game on the last play in the first OT.
Flaherty was in because regular kicker Stefan Demos was injured earlier.
What happened next was a disaster.
Wildcat receiver Zeke Markshausen took a handoff from the holder, circled around right end to win the game, and was stopped at the 2-yard line by Auburn's Neiko Thorpe.
Game over.
Northwestern QB Mike Kafka was 47-of-78 (no typo here) for 532 yards (yes, 532 yards) and 4 touchdowns, but he also threw 5 interceptions, with 2 of the picks coming in the end zone and one being run back for a 100-yard touchdown.
Yikes.
First-year Auburn coach Gene Chizik could not have been happier with the win.
Playing in a driving rainstorm that turned the field into a mosh pit in Orlando (FL), the 11th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2) turned back the 13th-ranked Louisiana State Tigers (9-4), 19-17, to win the Capital One Bowl, the most prestigious bowl game among the remaining 29 after the 5 BCS bowl games.
For Penn State coach Joe Paterno and his QB Daryll Clark, the win meant vindication.
Clark carried the rap of not being able to win the big games, and Paterno is often criticized for piling up victories while playing soft opponents; in fact, Penn State had not beaten a ranked team all year.
I have been vitriolic about Penn State's cupcake opponents, that said, LSU is no cupcake, and now JoePa has beaten at least one ranked team.
LSU was behind by 13 but did take a 17-16 lead with 12:39 left.
Clark led a late-game drive that allowed Collin Wagner's 21-yard field goal to provide the game-winner.
For JoePa, it was his record 24th bowl victory, and LSU's Les Miles' first loss in 5 bowls as the coach.
Freshman Dion Lewis ran for 159 yards and a TD to lead 17th-ranked Pittsburgh (10-3) past North Carolina (8-5), 19-17 (same score as Penn State's win), in the Meineke Bowl.
Dan Hutchins kicked a 33-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to seal the deal.
The 5-foot-8 Lewis, overlooked by many college scouts because of his size, broke Tony Dorsett's 36-year-old Pitt freshman rushing record of 1,686 yards with 1,799 yards on the season.
Dorsett rushed for 2,150 yards in 1976, picking up the Heisman Trophy and helping Pitt win the national title.
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt blocked for Dorsett on that championship team.
Lewis is the real deal.
North Carolina came into the game with the nation's 6th best total defense and 9th best rushing defense, and could not stop Lewis who, barring injury, will break more records in the future.
Iowa State (7-6) scored twice in the 2nd quarter to edge Minnesota (6-7), 14-13, in the Insight Bowl.
Two years ago, the Cyclones won only 2 games.
Needless to say, first-year Iowa State coach Paul Roberts was pleased as punch.
Iowa State turned the ball over 4 times, gave up 434 yards and committed 8 penalties and still won.
How many teams could claim victory in a bowl game by turning the ball over 4 times? Ask Minnesota, the Golden Gophers let them do it.
Minnesota had trailed in all 6 of its regular season wins, and rallied 4 times during the 4th quarter to win.
Minnesota coach Tim Brewster can try again next year.
For the Cyclones, it was their first winning season since 2005.
Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley
Coach Robb Akey of the Idaho Vandals will get the fans eternal nod of approval for choosing to go for a 2-point conversion and the win, rather than send the game into overtime with an extra point attempt and 4 seconds remaining on the clock.
Junior quarterback Nathan Enderle found sophomore wide receiver Preston Davis in the back of the end zone to give Idaho the 43-42 dramatic victory over Bowling Green in the Humanitarian Bowl.
Bowling Green thought it had the game in the bag.
Trailing 28-14 midway through the 3rd quarter, the Falcons scored 28 points, including two touchdowns in the final 4 minutes, taking a 42-35 lead on a 51-pass from Tyler Sheehan to Freddie Barnes with 32 seconds left.
But the Vandals were not fazed as Enderle found Davis (the same winning 2-point conversion combination) on a 50-yard completion to Bowling Green's 16-yard line.
With 8 seconds left, Enderle found senior wide receiver Max Komar, who caught a low throw sliding across the goal line to set up the winning conversion.
Here's the real kicker: Komar, the Vandals leading receiver, had been dropping balls like hot potatoes all game, and his catch to the put Idaho in a position to win was his first of the day.
On the other side of the ball, Falcon receiver Freddie Barnes was making NCAA history while hauling in 17 passes from Sheehan for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The 17 catches gave Barnes 155 for the season, breaking the record for most receptions in a season-a record that was previously held by two famous names, Nate Burleson of Nevada (138 receptions in 2002) and Howard Twilley of Tulsa (134 receptions in 1965).
Idaho's Enderle went 15-of-28 for 240 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Bowling Green's Sheehan went 33-of-47 for 387 yards and 4 touchdowns.
But the real story of Idaho's victory was coach Robb Akey, who labored 19 years as an assistant college football coach before taking over an Idaho program had was dead meat and had 3 coaches in 3 years before Akey arrived.
He went 1-11 and 2-10 in his first two seasons, but it would be a misnomer to say Idaho was crazy to keep him on with only 3 victories in 2 years.
Akey was busy getting rid of the dead meat on the team that did not want to work, play serious football, and win.
The result was this year's team.
The Vandals were picked to be at the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference this season, but started the year at 6-1 and finished at 8-5 with their Humanitarian Bowl victory.
The news from Moscow (ID), if you have not already heard, is that the Vandals are no longer a doormat waiting to be walked on.
Give Akey some well-deserved props; he created the environment and provided the leadership at the top to make it happen.
Perhaps the second most exciting, close game victory this bowl season belonged to the Wyoming Cowboys, who trailed by 11 points in the 4th quarter to storm back and beat Fresno State, 35-28 in double overtime at the New Mexico Bowl.
And Wyoming did it with a freshman quarterback and a superb, goal-line defensive stand against the leading rusher in the nation, Fresno State's Ryan Matthews.
First-year coach Dave Christensen could not have been happier or more proud of his players.
Matthews averaged 151 yards per game and did not disappoint his fans, racking up 144 yards on 31 carries while scoring 2 touchdowns.
Unfortunately, he fumbled midway in the final quarter when Cowboy lineman Mitch Unrien stripped the ball.
Wyoming capitalized on the miscue when freshman QB Austyn Carta-Samuels engineered a 19-play drive that brought Wyoming within 3 points, 28-25.
A 37-yard field goal by Cowboy Ian Watts with 20 seconds left tied it at 28-all.
Neither team scored in the first overtime, but Carta-Samuels found David Leonard on a 13-yard pass in the second OT to go up, 35-28.
Then the Wyoming defensive line staged a magnificent goal-line rally to stop Ryan Matthews, the nation's leading rusher, 3 times at the 1-yard line, and also stopped QB Ryan Colburn on a QB sneak at the 1 to shut the door on Fresno State.
It was all in a day's work for the Cowboys, who have won 4 games this season with 4th-quarter rallies.
Wyoming's Austyn Carta-Samuels went 17-of-31 for 201 yards and 3 touchdown passes.
He was chosen the game's MVP, and was also selected as the Mountain West's Freshman of the Year.
The Cowboys, who were picked to finish last in their conference, ended the year at 7-6.
Fresno State was 8-5.
Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour continued to make history in the GMAC Bowl as he led the Chippewas to a high-scoring 44-41 win over Troy in double overtime.
LeFevour completed 33 of 55 passes for 395 yards and scored on a 13-yard run.
His 15,853 total career yards left him second only to Hawaii's Timmy Chang who holds the record with 16,910.
Lost in the shuffle of LeFevour's accomplishment was Central Michigan kicker Andrew Aguila, who nailed field goals from 28, 35, 44 and 42 yards before kicking the game-winning 37-yarder in double overtime.
His 5 field goals set a GMAC Bowl record.
Antonio Brown was also a huge presence for the Chippewas, scoring on a 95-yard kickoff return and finishing with 403 all-purpose yards-178 receiving on 13 catches, 203 on kickoff returns and 22 yards rushing.
Troy ended the season at 9-4 and Central Michigan at 12-2.
Chippewa coach Butch Jones, who won 2 Mid-American Conference titles in 3 years, has left the program to become the new coach at Cincinnati, replacing Brian Kelly who headed for Notre Dame.
Dan Enos, the running backs coach at Michigan State, will take over at Central Michigan for Butch Jones.
For Arkansas' Alex Tejada, it was redemption day at the Liberty Bowl as his 37-yard field goal in overtime gave the Razorbacks a 20-17 victory East Carolina.
Tejada had missed a crucial kick in a loss to Florida in October, and missed another kick against Louisiana State that prevented Arkansas from forcing a second overtime in a 33-30 loss.
But pass the pity on to East Carolina kicker Ben Hartman, he twice missed field goal attempts late in the game and missed again in the OT period.
Hartman actually missed 4 attempts in the game from 45, 39, 39 again on the final play of the game, and 35 in OT.
East Carolina (8-5) coach Skip Holtz felt Hartman's pain; Hartman is East Carolina's all-time leading scorer.
The Liberty Bowl was not picture perfect.
Arkansas' (8-5) win was only its 3rd in 15 bowl-game appearances.
The Razorbacks went 0-13 on third-down attempts, becoming only the second major college team this season to win a game without converting a third down.
Colorado State went 0-for-9 on third down attempts while beating Weber State earlier in the season.
The Razorbacks, who averaged 37 points a game, were down 10-zip at the half, marking the first time Arkansas had been shut out in the first half since losing to Alabama 35-7 in September.
Naw, the Liberty Bowl was not pretty, but Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino had the right attitude, saying "I'm not sure who outplayed who, but we won the game.
" Wes Byrum kicked a 21-yard field goal in overtime to give Auburn (8-5) a 38-35 victory over Northwestern (8-5) in the Outback Bowl, stopping a Wildcat rally that denied Northwestern its first bowl win in 61 years.
Some days it does not pay to tempt fate; for Northwestern, this was one of those days.
Coach Pat Fitzgerald sent backup kicker Steve Flaherty onto the field to try and tie the game on the last play in the first OT.
Flaherty was in because regular kicker Stefan Demos was injured earlier.
What happened next was a disaster.
Wildcat receiver Zeke Markshausen took a handoff from the holder, circled around right end to win the game, and was stopped at the 2-yard line by Auburn's Neiko Thorpe.
Game over.
Northwestern QB Mike Kafka was 47-of-78 (no typo here) for 532 yards (yes, 532 yards) and 4 touchdowns, but he also threw 5 interceptions, with 2 of the picks coming in the end zone and one being run back for a 100-yard touchdown.
Yikes.
First-year Auburn coach Gene Chizik could not have been happier with the win.
Playing in a driving rainstorm that turned the field into a mosh pit in Orlando (FL), the 11th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2) turned back the 13th-ranked Louisiana State Tigers (9-4), 19-17, to win the Capital One Bowl, the most prestigious bowl game among the remaining 29 after the 5 BCS bowl games.
For Penn State coach Joe Paterno and his QB Daryll Clark, the win meant vindication.
Clark carried the rap of not being able to win the big games, and Paterno is often criticized for piling up victories while playing soft opponents; in fact, Penn State had not beaten a ranked team all year.
I have been vitriolic about Penn State's cupcake opponents, that said, LSU is no cupcake, and now JoePa has beaten at least one ranked team.
LSU was behind by 13 but did take a 17-16 lead with 12:39 left.
Clark led a late-game drive that allowed Collin Wagner's 21-yard field goal to provide the game-winner.
For JoePa, it was his record 24th bowl victory, and LSU's Les Miles' first loss in 5 bowls as the coach.
Freshman Dion Lewis ran for 159 yards and a TD to lead 17th-ranked Pittsburgh (10-3) past North Carolina (8-5), 19-17 (same score as Penn State's win), in the Meineke Bowl.
Dan Hutchins kicked a 33-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to seal the deal.
The 5-foot-8 Lewis, overlooked by many college scouts because of his size, broke Tony Dorsett's 36-year-old Pitt freshman rushing record of 1,686 yards with 1,799 yards on the season.
Dorsett rushed for 2,150 yards in 1976, picking up the Heisman Trophy and helping Pitt win the national title.
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt blocked for Dorsett on that championship team.
Lewis is the real deal.
North Carolina came into the game with the nation's 6th best total defense and 9th best rushing defense, and could not stop Lewis who, barring injury, will break more records in the future.
Iowa State (7-6) scored twice in the 2nd quarter to edge Minnesota (6-7), 14-13, in the Insight Bowl.
Two years ago, the Cyclones won only 2 games.
Needless to say, first-year Iowa State coach Paul Roberts was pleased as punch.
Iowa State turned the ball over 4 times, gave up 434 yards and committed 8 penalties and still won.
How many teams could claim victory in a bowl game by turning the ball over 4 times? Ask Minnesota, the Golden Gophers let them do it.
Minnesota had trailed in all 6 of its regular season wins, and rallied 4 times during the 4th quarter to win.
Minnesota coach Tim Brewster can try again next year.
For the Cyclones, it was their first winning season since 2005.
Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley