Jan. 8, 2008
by Jeff Smith
Contributor, BigTen.org
CAPITAL ONE: Michigan 41, No. 9 Florida 35
In the end, Lloyd Carr got what he wanted. The first bowl win for his outgoing senior class. And those Michigan seniors got what they wanted. The last bowl win for their outgoing head coach, who retired after 13 years at the helm in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines upset ninth-ranked and defending BCS national champion Florida in the Capital One Bowl, 41-35. In a game that pitted U-M quarterback Chad Henne against Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, Henne prevailed by tossing 373 yards on 25-of-39 passing, which helped the Wolverines to 524 yards of total offense. Henne, who earned MVP honors in the game, found seven different receivers, including Adrian Arrington, who finished with career highs of nine receptions, 153 yards, and two touchdowns. Mario Manningham recorded five catches for 78 yards, while Mike Hart did some damage on the ground with 129 yards rushing on 32 carries.
Timid Tebow
The Wolverines clamped down on this year's Heisman winner, allowing him just 154 yards and three touchdowns in the air on 17-of-33 passing. Michigan's Jamar Adams posted nine tackles and one sack, while Chris Graham and Brandon Harrison recorded seven stops each.
Careers Concluded
The careers of Henne and Hart were one for the record books. Henne finished second in conference history with touchdown passes (87) and fifth in passing yards (9,715). Hart became just the fourth running back in Big Ten history to rush for over 5,000 yards as he finished with 5,040. His performance in the Capital One Bowl was also his school record 28th all-time 100-yard rushing game.
Later Gator
The Wolverines are now 2-0 against the Gators all-time and improved to 23-5-1 all-time against teams from the SEC.
VALERO ALAMO: Penn State 24, Texas A&M 17
Despite trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, its largest deficit of the season, Penn State rallied to top Texas A&M, 24-17, in the Valero Alamo Bowl. The Nittany Lion win was head coach Joe Paterno's 500th game at the school and the team's third consecutive bowl victory. Paterno extended his NCAA records of bowl wins (23) and appearances (34) and has now guided PSU to at least nine wins in 27 years under his watch. Senior tailback Rodney Kinlaw was named the Offensive MVP after posting 143 yards on 21 carries, which marked his sixth 100-yard game of the season. Junior linebacker Sean Lee earned Defensive MVP honors after recording a game-high 14 tackles and helping a defense hold the Aggies to just three points over the final three quarters.
Remember the Alamo...Bowl
Thanks in part to a large throng of Penn State fans, the 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl was seen before 66,166 fans inside the sold-out Alamodome, marking the largest attendance for any sporting event in the venue's history. The Nittany Lions have now played in front of two of the three largest Alamo Bowl crowds, as 65,380 attended the 1999 clash between Penn State and Texas A&M.
Lee the Linebacker Legend
Lee's 14 tackle performance in the Alamo Bowl was not only a game high, but it also tied the bowl record for stops in a game. It was Lee's 10th double-digit tackle game of the season, which gave him 138 tackles on the year, the fourth-best single-season mark in school history.
Running Away With the Win
Penn State's 270 rushing yards were a season high and the second highest total in Alamo Bowl history.
MOTOR CITY: Purdue 51, Central Michigan 48
The 2007 Motor City Bowl marked only the second occasion the Big Ten fielded a team in the event and was it ever memorable. Behind a mistake-free, game-winning drive, Purdue's Chris Summers kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired to help the Boilermakers to a 51-48 victory over Central Michigan. Quarterback Curtis Painter threw for a school-record 546 yards and three touchdowns, passing the previous school best of 522 yards, set by Kyle Orton (2004) and Drew Brees (1998). On three separate occasions the Boilermakers held a 21-point advantage over Central Michigan, but a fourth-quarter rally put the eventual victory in question until Summers' kick. The contest between the two teams marks the first time since 1898 that Purdue faced an opponent twice in the season, and with a 2008 regular-season matchup billed for Sept. 13, the two schools will have met a total of three times in a span of 364 days.
Offensive Showdown in Motown
Purdue and Central Michigan combined for 99 points in the Motor City Bowl, which tied the second-highest total in any bowl for a regulation game. Only the 2003 Insight Bowl, where California beat Virginia Tech 52-49, was better.
A Trio of Targets
For just the fourth time in school history, Purdue had three wideouts each amass more than 100 yards through the air in a game. Dustin Keller (150 yards), Greg Orton (136) and Jake Standeford (112) also became the first Boilermaker trio to accomplish the feat in a bowl game.
Bryant and the Big Ten
Having concluded his career as one of the Big Ten's all-time all-purpose threats, Dorien Bryant sits fourth in conference history with 6,219 all-purpose yards. He ranks behind Wisconsin's Ron Dayne (7,429 yards), Ohio State's Archie Griffin (6,559) and Indiana's Anthony Thompson (6,446).
ALSTATE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: No. 2 LSU 38, No. 1 Ohio State 24
Chris Wells scampered for a 65-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the 2008 BCS National Championship game and Ryan Pretorius added a 25-yard field goal shortly thereafter, but Ohio State could not match No. 2 LSU, falling 38-24. Buckeye quarterback Todd Boeckman was 15-of-26 passing for 208 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Wells finished with 146 yards on the ground on 20 carries. Brian Hartline was Boeckman's leading receiver, hauling in six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. While Ohio State was trying to match its 2002 national championship, LSU became the first team to win two BCS national titles, having won their first in 2003.
ROSE: No. 7 USC 49, No. 13 Illinois 17
In a game that featured 1,078 yards of total offense, even a school record 445 yards from Illinois was not enough to top seventh-ranked USC in the Granddaddy of Them All. USC defeated 13th-ranked Illinois, 49-17, in the Illini's first return trip to the Rose Bowl since 1984. Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall ran for 155 yards and one touchdown, while quarterback Juice Williams set career highs in completions (21), attempts (35) and passing yards (245). Mendenhall established the school's all-purpose yardage record with 1,999 yards and broke the single-season scoring record with 114 points. He also improved his school-record total of 100-yard rushing games this season to eight and helped Illinois as a team set a new school record of total offense with 5,525 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, cornerback Vontae Davis posted a career-high 13 tackles, all of which were solo stops and were the most for any Illinois player in a bowl game.
OUTBACK: No. 16 Tennessee 21, No. 18 Wisconsin 17
The return of P.J. Hill to the Wisconsin backfield was not enough to stop Tennessee defeating Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl, 21-17. Hill rushed for 132 yards on 16 carries after sitting out two games and missing parts of two others this season due to injury. Quarterback Tyler Donovan was rushed in the pocket for most of the game and finished 14-of-24 passing for 155 yards and one touchdown. Garrett Graham was UW's leading receiver with seven catches and 75 yards. David Gilreath turned in a big day returning kickoffs, posting a total of 92 yards on three returns, including a long of 60 yards. The Badger defense kept the Volunteers from recording any points in the entire second half, but countered with only a field goal.
CHAMPS SPORTS: No. 14 Boston College 24, Michigan State 21
Despite owning the game's rushing attack, both offensively and defensively, Michigan State dropped a heartbreaker to 14th-ranked Boston College, 24-21, in the Champs Sports Bowl. MSU rushed for 172 yards in the game, which was the most allowed by Boston College this season. On defense, the Spartans held the Eagles to just 27 yards rushing and 276 yards of total offense, both of which were season lows for BC. Michigan State's Devin Thomas finished the game as the Big Ten's all-time single-season leader in kickoff return yards, having taken the opening kickoff 79 yards to set up an MSU score. Thomas had 178 kickoff return yards in the game and finished with a record 1,135 on the season. All six of Michigan State's losses this season were decided by seven points or less and the three-point defeat tied for the closest game in Champs Sports Bowl History. The game was played before 46,554 fans - the largest crowd the bowl has had since relocating to Orlando.
INSIGHT: Oklahoma State 49, Indiana 33
The Hoosiers did in fact "Play 13" and compete in a bowl game that was former head coach Terry Hoeppner's dream before he died of complications of a brain tumor in June. IU quarterback Kellen Lewis passed for 204 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 83 and another score, but it was not enough for the Hoosiers, who fell in the Insight Bowl, 49-33, to Oklahoma State. The Cowboys scored touchdowns on their first five possessions, while Indiana was limited on offense, as Lewis accounted for all but 10 of the team's 196 yards in the first half. The Hoosiers 33 points gave them 414 for the season, a new single-season record, and Lewis' pair of touchdown throws tied Antwaan Randle-El's career touchdown passes record at IU with 42. In addition, Austin Starr's 43-yard field goal on Indiana's first possession set the school single-season record with 20 made field goals. He would later extend that record to 21 in the final minutes of the game.
