NCAA football bowl games, 2006-07
Encyclopedia
The 2006-07 NCAA College Football Bowl Games post-season schedule followed the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS regular season in college football
. The NCAA
divided Division I into two divisions for football in 1978. The top level, originally known as "Division I-A" and officially changed to the "Football Bowl Subdivision" in 2006, includes teams that play in bowl games. The second level, originally known as "Division I-AA" and renamed the "Football Championship Subdivision" in 2006, consists of smaller schools and conferences, most of which play in a playoff system (although a few conferences, such as the Ivy League
, choose not to participate in the playoff). The larger schools, who do not have a playoff system, concludes with a series of bowl games that have developed as a reward for teams that do well in the regular season.
The 2006-07 schedule served as the largest post-season lineup ever, with the addition of the new stand-alone Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game
as well as four new games — the International Bowl
in Toronto, Ontario (which is the first postseason game to be played outside the USA
since the last Bacardi Bowl
was played in Havana, Cuba in 1937), the Papajohns.com Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl, and the post-season-ending Texas vs. The Nation Game
— all as part of a record 38 post-season games (32 not counting the post-BCS all-star games) that were scheduled between the Poinsettia Bowl
on December 19, 2006, and the aforementioned Texas vs. The Nation Game on February 2, 2007. Thus, 64 schools out of the 119 schools in the Bowl Subdivision were playing in the post-season, thanks in part to the NCAA's decision to expand schedules to twelve regular season mainland games (not counting games either played in Hawaii or conference championships in the ACC
, Big 12
, SEC
, MAC
or Conference USA
) and allow teams with a 6-6 record to be bowl eligible
if either the team or their conference has negotiated a bowl contract.
NCAA regulations stipulate any team finishing 6-6 can only be selected to fill a conference tie-in bowl slot once all other available conference teams are chosen. For example, the Big East had six bowl-eligible teams, but only five bowl tie-ins, so 6-6 Pittsburgh
was automatically the odd team out. The same rule also applies to at-large bowl selections. With only a pair of at-large bowl positions available and two remaining 7-5 teams, the MAC
's ' selection to the and the Sun Belt
's Middle Tennessee
's selection to the meant any remaining 6-6 teams had no chance of playing in a bowl game. Thus, this season marked the first time in NCAA history that every team with a winning record in the regular season played in a bowl game.
Besides Pitt, those who didn't go bowling with a .500 record were Kansas
from the Big 12, Pac-10 members and Washington State
, from Conference USA
, the MAC's , Sun Belt members and and Mountain West
member , which drew controversy on the subject of the New Mexico Bowl
, listed below.
NOTE: All payouts mentioned are in US dollars
.
37, 7
The post-season kicked off with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
at San Diego
's Qualcomm Stadium
on December 19, 2006, the first of two scheduled bowl games in that stadium. The Mountain West
's Texas Christian University Horned Frogs held the Mid-American Conference
's Northern Illinois University Huskies' star running back Garrett Wolfe
to 28 yards en route to a 37-7 win. TCU quarterback Jeff Ballard rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another. The Horned Frogs entered the game ranked 25th in the final regular season AP Poll
, while the Huskies entered the Poinsettia Bowl after finishing in third place in the MAC's West Division. Each team earned $750,000 for their conferences by participating in the game. Among those in attendance were San Diego Chargers
running backs LaDainian Tomlinson
(TCU alumnus) and his backup, Northern Illinois alum Michael Turner
.
The first meeting between a BCS conference and a non-BCS conference took place in the Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl
on December 21 at Sam Boyd Stadium
on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
in the titular city
. The Mountain West Conference champion Brigham Young University Cougars, led by game MVP tight end Jonny Harline
, handily trounced the Pac 10's University of Oregon Ducks by a score of 38-8. Both teams took home $950,000 for playing in this game for their respective conferences.
One relative newcomer to the Division I Bowl Subdivision, and one team that last won a bowl game in 1954, squared off in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
, which returned to the Louisiana Superdome
in the titular city
on December 22 after the 2005 game was held at Cajun Field
on the campus of University of Louisiana at Lafayette
due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina
. Conference USA
's Rice University Owls, who made their first post-season appearance in 45 years, were trounced by the Sun Belt Conference
co-champion Troy University Trojans 41-17. The Trojans, winning their first bowl game in school history, were playing in their second post-season game in three years, having appeared two years beforehand in the now-defunct Silicon Valley Football Classic
. The conferences were paid $325,000 each for their schools' performances. Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook and cornerback Elbert Mack were named co-MVPs.
The city known as the "Football Capital of the South" returned to the post-season for the first time since 1990 and the defunct All-American Bowl
when Birmingham, Alabama
's Legion Field
hosted the inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl, the first of three games that were scheduled Saturday, December 23. Conference USA's East Carolina University, coached by Skip Holtz
, the son of Lou Holtz
, fell to the Big East
's University of South Florida by the score of 24-7, in the Bulls' second post-season game in as many years, having been shut out 14-0, the last year in the Meineke Car Care Bowl by North Carolina State. Both teams earned a $300,000 paycheck for their conferences by playing this contest. Game MVP Benjamin Williams scored the game's historic first points as well as the Bulls' first points as a member of the Bowl Subdivision with a touchdown, one of two he scored, ninety seconds into the game. The game evened the BCS/Non-BCS tally at one game apiece.
The second game of this December 23 triple-header was another first annual bowl game, the New Mexico Bowl, played at University Stadium
on the campus of the University of New Mexico
in Albuquerque
. The Spartans of San Jose State University, representing the Western Athletic Conference
, faced the host school, who represented the Mountain West. The Lobos were chosen over the University of Wyoming Cowboys, despite Wyoming beating them on said field, 14-10, on October 7, and having a better record in the MWC (5-3 vs. New Mexico's 4-4). John Broussard
of the Spartans scored the first points in the bowl's history just ten seconds into the second quarter on a 78-yard pass from quarterback Adam Tafralis
, and five turnovers did the Lobos in as SJSU won, 20-12. Each school earned $750,000 to be divided among each other's conferences.
The last of three games on December 23 was the Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl
, formerly known as the Fort Worth Bowl, played at Texas Christian University
's Amon G. Carter Stadium
in Fort Worth, Texas
. The Mountain West's University of Utah Utes trailed at the half, but beat Conference USA's Golden Hurricane of the University of Tulsa (who, like Utah, was once in the WAC), 25-13. Utah's versatile Defensive Back Eric Weddle
helped lead the Ute's by grabbing an interception and scoring a rushing touchdown. Each team got $600,000 for their respective conferences.
The Christmas Eve
tradition known as the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
returned to Aloha Stadium
in Honolulu, Hawaii
on December 24 as the host school, the University of Hawaii Warriors, representing the WAC, returning after a one-year absence because of a losing record, defeated the Pac 10's Sun Devils from Arizona State University, 41-24. Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan
set a new NCAA record for most touchdown passes in a single season, breaking David Klingler
's standard set in 1989 at Houston with his 55th touchdown toss in the second quarter. He then added three more to bring his final total to 58. This was Dirk Koetter
's final game as the head coach of ASU, as Dennis Erickson
will take over, coming in from Idaho. On top of the $398,000 for each team to divide among fellow conference members, the Pac-10 also gave Arizona State an additional $300,000 in travel expenses as "a special case" exemption. The Warriors' win gave the non-BCS conferences a 3-1 lead in their rivalry.
The Motor City Bowl
, played at Ford Field
in Detroit, Michigan
on December 26, featured the only newcomer to the Bowl Division in the 2006-07 campaign. The Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University, co-champions of the Sun Belt Conference, made their bowl debut against the MAC champions, the Central Michigan University Chippewas, who won 31-14. Each school made $750,000 for the conferences involved, as MTSU was chosen as an at-large school after the Big Ten
sent two teams to the BCS, and their 7-5 record shut out Pitt (which has 6-6; under NCAA FBS rules, a 6-6 team cannot be considered until all 7-5 teams have been assigned bowl slots, even if they are not "power conference" teams).
The Emerald Bowl
was played at AT&T Park
in San Francisco, California
, home of the San Francisco Giants
on December 27. The ACC
's Florida State University Seminoles, who finished the regular season at 6-6, defeated the Pac-10's University of California Los Angeles Bruins 44-27, who were coming off defeating Southern California at home on December 2, eliminating them from national championship contention. The schools had payments of $850,000 sent to their conferences to divvy up.
The first of three games played on Thursday, December 28 was the PetroSun Independence Bowl
played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana
, pitting the SEC
's University of Alabama Crimson Tide against the Big 12
's Oklahoma State University Cowboys. With 8.9 seconds left in the game, Oklahoma State kicker Jason Ricks kicked a 27-yard field goal to defeat the Crimson Tide, 34-31. Alabama had mounted a 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter, with their last touchdown coming with 8:41 left to play. The SEC and Big 12, the conferences represented in this game, received a check for $1.2 million for the bank accounts. The Tide was coached on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Joe Kines (who had previously served as an interim coach at another SEC West school, the University of Arkansas, in the past) as this game was played between the firing of Mike Shula
and the eventual hiring of Nick Saban
.
Rising from the ashes of the former Houston Bowl, the Texas Bowl
was the second game played on December 28 at Reliant Stadium
in Houston
. Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, an arm of the Houston Texans
, took over the game in June with NCAA approval, and for their first game saw the Big 12's Kansas State University Wildcats lose to the Big East
runner-up, the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights, 37-10. The Wildcats sent payment of $750,000 for the Big 12 as a gift of their participation, while Rutgers puts $500,000 in the Big East coffers. The win was the first for college football's oldest program, having played its first game in 1869 against Princeton's Tigers, winning by a score of 6-4. Rutgers' Ray Rice
scored two touchdowns and personally outgained the KSU offense 170 yards to 162 yards.
The Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl presented by Bridgestone
was the first of five games scheduled for December 29, the second-busiest schedule of games outside New Year's Day. In this game, played at LP Field
in Nashville
, the ACC's Clemson University Tigers lost to the SEC's University of Kentucky Wildcats, 28-20. Kentucky jumped to a big early lead; Clemson cut the margin late but not enough to win. Kentucky's Andre Woodson
was the bowl game MVP. The two teams had last faced each other in the 1993 Peach Bowl; Kentucky has won 8 of the 12 meetings between the two teams. This was the first bowl win for the Wildcats since 1984. Both teams earned a check for their respective conferences of $1.6 million.
The Brut Sun Bowl
was the second of the five games played December 29, held in the self-named stadium
in El Paso, Texas
on the campus of UTEP, pitting the Big 12's University of Missouri Tigers against the Oregon State University Beavers from the Pac 10. Oregon State coach Mike Riley was told by Yvenson Bernard to go for the win. Bernard barely pushed into the end zone on the gutsy two-point conversion run, giving the 24th-ranked Beavers a 39-38 victory, having been down by 14 points earlier in the game. Among Missouri's big plays were a 40-yard catch by Chase Coffman that led to Temple's 7-yard scoring run on the opening drive. A 47-yard run by Temple was followed by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chase Daniel to Coffman on the next play for a 38-24 lead with 12:08 left in the game. Missouri's Tony Temple missed setting a Sun Bowl record for rushing, which was 197 yards by Charles Alexander of LSU in 1977, by losing four yards on his final carry. Each of the conferences got a check for $1.9 million for the teams' playing.
The third game on the docket for December 29 was the AutoZone Liberty Bowl
at the self-named stadium
in Memphis, Tennessee
, pitting the Conference USA champions, the University of Houston Cougars against the SEC's University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Both teams had considerable success passing the ball in the second quarter; as a result, the halftime score had Houston leading 28-27. The shootout continued into the second half, however, South Carolina held off Houston to win by a score of 44-36. The offensive showcase set records for most points in the first half (55), most receiving yards (201 by Houston's Vincent Marshall), and most total yards gained (1,039 - 527 by Houston and 512 by South Carolina) and tied the record for touchdown passes by a single player (4 by South Carolina's Blake Mitchell). The conferences each received a check for $1.5 million for the teams' appearances.
The fourth game in the quintet of contests scheduled on December 29 was the Insight Bowl
, which moved from Chase Field
in downtown Phoenix
to Sun Devil Stadium
on the campus of Arizona State University
in nearby Tempe
, former home of the Fiesta Bowl
. The game pitted the Texas Tech University Red Raiders from the Big 12 against the Big Ten's University of Minnesota Twin Cities' Golden Gophers. The Gophers took a 38-7 lead midway through the third quarter, only to see the Red Raiders storm back to tie the game and eventually win in overtime in the biggest comeback ever in Division I FBS bowl history, surpassing Marshall's
30-point comeback against East Carolina
in the 2001 GMAC Bowl
. Each conference received a check for $1.2 million. Two days after the Gophers' collapse in the game left them with a losing record on the year, head coach Glen Mason
was dismissed by the school's athletic department.
The fifth and final game December 29 pitted the University of Maryland, College Park Terrapins from the ACC and the Purdue University Boilermakers from the Big Ten in the Champs Sports Bowl
, the first of two bowl games in four days played at the Citrus Bowl
in Orlando, Florida
. Maryland played an efficient and mistake-free game in cruising to a 24-7 victory. The Terrapins was able to dominate the game with a balanced offense and stingy defense that shutdown Purdue's potent passing game. Each school received a payout of $2.25 million for their respective conference's coffers.
The first game of three scheduled for Saturday, December 30 was the Meineke Car Care Bowl, played at Bank of America Stadium
in Charlotte, North Carolina
. In the game, the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen played against the Boston College Eagles from the ACC. Both teams received a $750,000 payment, with Navy keeping the entire amount as they play as an independent in Division I, meaning they have no conference affiliation, unlike Boston College, which sent the money to ACC offices in Greensboro, North Carolina
to be divided with all other bowl payouts. Walk-on placekicker Steve Aponavicius, who joined the team in October after the regular kicker was suspended, kicked the walk-off field goal as time expired to give Boston College their seventh straight bowl win, which leads the nation.
The second contest on December 30 was the Alamo Bowl
, played at the Alamodome
in San Antonio, Texas
. It pitted the defending 2005 national champions
, the University of Texas Austin Longhorns, who did not make the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game, against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes from the Big Ten. The game, without corporate sponsorship for the first time as former title sponsor MasterCard
pulled out, still gave each conference $2.2 million in residuals for their participation. The 2006 meeting set a new attendance record for the bowl and the facility at 65,875. The bowl would get a new sponsor in 2007 as Valero Energy, a San Antonio-based company assumed sponsorship of the game.
The only game to be played on New Year's Eve
(December 31) was the MPC Computers Bowl on the Blue Turf of Bronco Stadium
on the campus of Boise State University
in the state capital of Idaho
. The ACC's University of Miami Hurricanes, who were playing their final game for departing head coach Larry Coker
, who was dismissed from his job after their regular season was completed, defeated the WAC's University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack by one point in a game that wasn't decided until the final minute. Both teams earned $250,000 for their conferences, and the BCS group now had a 3-2 deficit against their "mid-major" brethren. Starting with the 2007 game, the title reverted to the "Humanitarian Bowl", with Roady's Truck Stops
taking over as title sponsor.
The first International Bowl
featured the MAC's Western Michigan University Broncos and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats from the Big East Conference. The game was played on January 6, 2007 at Toronto, Ontario's Rogers Centre
(formerly known as SkyDome) making it the first game played outside the United States since Notre Dame
and Navy
played their annual game in Dublin in 1996 and the first postseason game outside the U.S. since the Bacardi Bowl
in Havana, Cuba back in 1937. The game's scoring came in three separate blocks, as Cincinnati jumped out to a 24-0 lead by the second quarter before WMU stormed back with 24 straight points of their own to tie the game. Immediately following WMU's tying touchdown in the 4th quarter, Cincinnati came back with a 12-play, 81-yard drive ending with a 33-yard field goal that provided the winning margin with 6:11 remaining in the game. The win by Cincinnati closed out a perfect bowl season for the Big East conference which went 5-0. Each school received a check for $750,000 (in US dollars) for their conferences to divide. New head coach Brian Kelly
made his debut for the Bearcats, and five assistant coaches from Kelly's former job at Central Michigan followed him there. All five assistants had been on the CMU sidelines at the Motor City Bowl 11 days earlier, but without Kelly.
The last game before the BCS Championship was in Mobile, Alabama
's Ladd Peebles Stadium
, where the GMAC Bowl
was contested on Sunday, January 7. In the contest, played in an off-and-on rainstorm, the Ohio University Bobcats from the MAC were defeated by Conference USA's University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles by the score of 28-7. The conferences playing in this game will receive a stipend of $750,000. The Golden Eagles' win avoided C-USA of being totally shut out of the bowl win column.
, ABC
or Fox
rather than ESPN
or NFL Network
, which are cable/satellite channels.
The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
was the first of the six prestigious non-BCS games and the third game to be played on December 28. It was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, which also hosts the Poinsettia Bowl. In this contest, the Texas A&M University Aggies, representing the Big 12, were routed by the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears from the Pac-10, with the Bears coming out on top, 45-10. Each conference received $2.2 million for the teams playing.
The Chick-fil-A Bowl
(formerly the Peach Bowl), was the final contest of three games to be played on December 30, and was held at the Georgia Dome
in Atlanta
. The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Hokies, representing the ACC, played against the University of Georgia Bulldogs, representing the SEC. In exchange for the right to pick the first ACC team after the BCS, the bowl paid $3.25 million to the ACC, with the SEC receiving $2.4 million. Virginia Tech jumped out to a 21-3 halftime lead, scoring on two one-yard touchdowns from tailback Brandon Ore and a 53-yard pass from flanker Eddie Royal to tight end Sam Wheeler. Georgia then scored 28 unanswered points in the second half and held off a late Tech rally to win 31-24.
The first bowl game scheduled for New Year's Day
(January 1) was the Outback Bowl
, which was played at Raymond James Stadium
in Tampa, Florida
, with the SEC's #17 University of Tennessee Volunteers challenging the Big Ten's unranked Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions. Legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno
was set to return to the sidelines after an accident on the sidelines left him with a knee injury during their game at Wisconsin, but a steady drizzle throughout the game convinced the 80-year old that he was not ready to return to the sidelines, instead staying in the press box and coaching the game from there. Thanks to an 88-yard return of a fumble for a touchdown by Nittany Lions' cornerback Tony Davis, JoePa won his record-extending 22nd post-season game 20-10. The schools each received a $3 million payment for their conferences. The win left Penn State ranked 24th in the nation.
Game number two on January 1 was the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, played at the self-named stadium
on the site of the State Fair of Texas
in Dallas
. The Big 12's University of Nebraska at Lincoln's Cornhuskers played the Auburn University Tigers from the SEC in the annual game, with the Tigers prevailing 17-14. Each school's conference received $3 million.
Jacksonville, Florida
served the site for the third bowl game of New Year's Day, the Toyota Gator Bowl
, played at Alltel Stadium
. In the game, the West Virginia University Mountaineers from the Big East came back from an 18-point deficit to beat the ACC's Georgia Institute of Technology's Yellow Jackets by the score of 38-35, with the combined total of points (73) setting an all-time Gator Bowl record. The conferences each got a $2.5 million payment for the teams playing. 2007 marked the last time Toyota was the game's title sponsor, as Konica Minolta
became the new sponsor starting with the 2008 event. It also marked the first time the game aired on CBS
under the new TV contract.
In Orlando, Florida, the fourth contest on New Year's Day and the last non-BCS prestigious bowl game to be played was at the Citrus Bowl in the Capital One Bowl
, and featuring two teams that, due to BCS rules, were shut out as both the Big Ten and SEC sent two teams into the BCS, including the BCS Title Game. The University of Arkansas Razorbacks lost to the University of Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 17-14. Each conference received $4.25 million for their schools playing.
The University of Southern California Trojans returned to the Rose Bowl Game presented by citi
in the first BCS game of 2007 on New Year's Day in Pasadena, California
. Historically, the Rose Bowl has pitted the Pac-10 and Big Ten regular season champions. The Pac-10 champion Trojans played in a non-traditional Rose Bowl matchup with the University of Michigan Wolverines. What made this game a not-so-traditional matchup is that Michigan entered as the runner-up of the Big Ten, as the Big Ten champions Ohio State instead participated in the BCS Championship Game due to their #1 national ranking. Thanks to their win, the Trojans now hold a 6-2 lead in their eight meetings against the Wolverines in Pasadena.
Thanks to an unbeaten season and sitting inside the Top 12 teams in the final BCS survey, the Boise State University Broncos, champions of the Western Athletic Conference, earned their way into the BCS for a visit to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
. They defeated the Big 12 champions, the University of Oklahoma Sooners, at the new University of Phoenix Stadium
in Glendale, Arizona
on New Year's Day. Many sports journalists hailed the game as an "instant classic" for its dramatic ending. Oklahoma scored 25 straight points in the second half to rally from an 18-point deficit and take the lead; the teams combined to score 22 points in the final 90 seconds. The Broncos used three successful trick plays to get to overtime then win the game: a hook and lateral play on 4th-and-18 to score the tying touchdown with seven seconds left, a halfback option
pass for an overtime touchdown on 4th-and-2, and a Statue of Liberty play
on a two-point conversion
attempt to win the game. Not only did Boise State win, but they also claimed a fourth win for the mid-major conference
s in seven games against BCS conferences.
The third BCS game, the FedEx Orange Bowl, was played at Dolphin Stadium
in Miami Gardens, Florida
on January 2, 2007. The Big East Conference champions, the University of Louisville Cardinals, beat the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons, winners of the ACC, 24-13. Louisville entered the game as heavy favorites, but their offense sputtered early and the game was tied 10-10 at halftime. Wake Forest took a 13-10 lead in the fourth quarter but Louisville scored two unanswered touchdowns on drives of 81 and 72 yards to take an 11-point lead, after which Wake Forest was unable to score. Brian Brohm
completed 24 of 34 passes and was named the game's MVP. Brohm's 311 passing yards were the third most in Orange Bowl history, behind only Tom Brady
(in 2000 for Michigan against Alabama) and Matt Leinart
(in 2005 for Southern California against Oklahoma). In addition, the Cardinals' win clinched the ESPN
-sponsored Bowl Challenge Cup
as the much-maligned Big East, who were in their second year of their new football alignment, had a 4-0 record with one game remaining passing the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences, who had 3-1 records and completed their games.
The fourth BCS game, the 73rd Allstate Sugar Bowl
, the new corporate sponsor replacing Nokia
, took place at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on January 3, 2007, returning from Atlanta after a one-year absence due to Hurricane Katrina
. The contest featured the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, an independent school, playing the Louisiana State University Tigers, representing the SEC. The Fighting Irish kept their $21.5 million payout, while LSU split up their $21.5 million among their SEC brethren. While the game was competitive early, LSU dominated the second half, scoring 20 points while shutting out Notre Dame, winning by a commanding score of 41-14. JaMarcus Russell
threw for 331 yards---more yards than Notre Dame gained total---in a commanding performance. Brady Quinn
struggled, completing 15 of 35 passes for only 149 yards and throwing two interceptions
. Notre Dame has now lost an all-time record nine consecutive bowls; their last win came in the 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas A&M. That streak ended in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl.
The final college football game of the marathon bowl season that had taken three weeks and had thirty-one prior contests was the Tostitos 2007 BCS National Championship Game
, played on January 8 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The top two teams based on the final BCS standings on December 3 — the Big Ten conference champion Ohio State University Buckeyes, was the top-ranked team in the final survey, and the SEC champion University of Florida Gators, was ranked number two. Florida settled the issue of who was the champion of NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision football. Ohio State opened the game with a 93 yard TD return by Ted Ginn, Jr.
, who injured his foot in the mass celebration following the play and did not return. Florida ultimately prevailed in the championship game, winning 41-14.
Note: The Las Vegas All-American Classic
, which was scheduled to be played on January 15 in the titular city
was canceled one week prior to its playing due to a lack of sponsorship.
The list of conferences infra includes all conferences with at least one team having played in a bowl game (minor, non-BCS New Year's Day, or BCS), and is sorted first by winning percentage, then by total games won, and finally alphabetically, by conference name. The list also includes the teams from each conference that finished in the top 25 in the final AP Poll or the final Coaches poll for the 2006 season.
Final Standings
KEY
† — Winner of the Bowl Challenge Cup
.
≠ — Ineligible for the Bowl Challenge Cup as they only had two schools instead of the minimum three teams mandated.
AP — Final AP Poll for 2006 season.
CP — Final Coaches Poll for 2006 season.
t-tied for that position.
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. The NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
divided Division I into two divisions for football in 1978. The top level, originally known as "Division I-A" and officially changed to the "Football Bowl Subdivision" in 2006, includes teams that play in bowl games. The second level, originally known as "Division I-AA" and renamed the "Football Championship Subdivision" in 2006, consists of smaller schools and conferences, most of which play in a playoff system (although a few conferences, such as the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
, choose not to participate in the playoff). The larger schools, who do not have a playoff system, concludes with a series of bowl games that have developed as a reward for teams that do well in the regular season.
The 2006-07 schedule served as the largest post-season lineup ever, with the addition of the new stand-alone Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game
BCS National Championship Game
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the U.S. national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
as well as four new games — the International Bowl
International Bowl
The International Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto from 2007 through 2010...
in Toronto, Ontario (which is the first postseason game to be played outside the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since the last Bacardi Bowl
Bacardi Bowl
Bacardi Bowl was a college football bowl game played seven times in Havana, Cuba at La Tropical Stadium. Sometimes referred to as the Rhumba Bowl or the Cigar Bowl, the game was the climaxing event of Cuba’s annual National Sports Festival. The first five occurrences matched an American college...
was played in Havana, Cuba in 1937), the Papajohns.com Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl, and the post-season-ending Texas vs. The Nation Game
Texas vs. The Nation Game
The NFLPA Game is a post-season college football all-star game that was established in 2006 as the concluding game of the college football post-season. The game is currently played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game was previously known as the Texas vs...
— all as part of a record 38 post-season games (32 not counting the post-BCS all-star games) that were scheduled between the Poinsettia Bowl
Poinsettia Bowl
The Poinsettia Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that was created in 2005. The game was created by the organizers of the Holiday Bowl and is played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game is currently sponsored by the San Diego...
on December 19, 2006, and the aforementioned Texas vs. The Nation Game on February 2, 2007. Thus, 64 schools out of the 119 schools in the Bowl Subdivision were playing in the post-season, thanks in part to the NCAA's decision to expand schedules to twelve regular season mainland games (not counting games either played in Hawaii or conference championships in the ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
, Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
, SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
, MAC
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
or Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
) and allow teams with a 6-6 record to be bowl eligible
Bowl eligible
Bowl eligibility in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision College Football is the standard through which teams become available for selection to participate in postseason bowl games. When a team achieves this state, it is described as "bowl-eligible"...
if either the team or their conference has negotiated a bowl contract.
Selection of the teams
2006 Pittsburgh Panthers football team
The 2006 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2006 college football season.-Schedule:-Team Players drafted into in the NFL:...
was automatically the odd team out. The same rule also applies to at-large bowl selections. With only a pair of at-large bowl positions available and two remaining 7-5 teams, the MAC
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
's ' selection to the and the Sun Belt
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
's Middle Tennessee
2006 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team
The 2006 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University in the 2006 college football season. Middle Tennessee entered the 2006 season coming off a losing 4-7 record in 2005, which saw the dismissal of former head coach Andy McCollum. The team's new head...
's selection to the meant any remaining 6-6 teams had no chance of playing in a bowl game. Thus, this season marked the first time in NCAA history that every team with a winning record in the regular season played in a bowl game.
Besides Pitt, those who didn't go bowling with a .500 record were Kansas
2006 Kansas Jayhawks football team
The 2006 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season.-Schedule:...
from the Big 12, Pac-10 members and Washington State
2006 Washington State Cougars football team
The 2006 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Bill Doba, and played its home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington....
, from Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
, the MAC's , Sun Belt members and and Mountain West
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
member , which drew controversy on the subject of the New Mexico Bowl
2006 New Mexico Bowl
The 2006 New Mexico Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 23, 2006 at University Stadium on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque as part of the 2006-07 NCAA bowl season. The game, telecast on ESPN, featured the from the WAC and the hometown from...
, listed below.
NOTE: All payouts mentioned are in US dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
.
Poinsettia Bowl
2006 TCU Horned Frogs football team
TCU began the 2006 season with high expectations. After a 2005 season where the TCU Horned Frogs lost only one game and won the Mountain West Conference championship, nothing less was expected of the Frogs in 2006. The season would start with two old Southwest Conference foes, and Texas Tech...
37, 7
The post-season kicked off with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Poinsettia Bowl
The Poinsettia Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that was created in 2005. The game was created by the organizers of the Holiday Bowl and is played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game is currently sponsored by the San Diego...
at San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
's Qualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in San Diego, California, in the Mission Valley area....
on December 19, 2006, the first of two scheduled bowl games in that stadium. The Mountain West
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
's Texas Christian University Horned Frogs held the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
's Northern Illinois University Huskies' star running back Garrett Wolfe
Garrett Wolfe
Garrett Wolfe is an American football running back. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played his college football at Northern Illinois. He is currently a free agent.-Personal life:...
to 28 yards en route to a 37-7 win. TCU quarterback Jeff Ballard rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another. The Horned Frogs entered the game ranked 25th in the final regular season AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
, while the Huskies entered the Poinsettia Bowl after finishing in third place in the MAC's West Division. Each team earned $750,000 for their conferences by participating in the game. Among those in attendance were San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
running backs LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tramayne Tomlinson is an American football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers fifth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Christian.Tomlinson, often referred to by his initials, L...
(TCU alumnus) and his backup, Northern Illinois alum Michael Turner
Michael Turner (NFL player)
Michael 'The Burner' Turner is an American football running back for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Northern Illinois.-College career:He attended...
.
Las Vegas Bowl
- Brigham Young2006 BYU Cougars football teamThe 2006 BYU Cougars football team represents Brigham Young University in the 2006 college football season. The Cougars won the Mountain West Conference championship outright with an 11-2 record , their first unbeaten conference play since 2001...
38, Oregon2006 Oregon Ducks football teamThe 2006 Oregon Ducks football team represented the University of Oregon in college football's 2006 season. The team was coached by Mike Bellotti and played their home games in Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States....
8
The first meeting between a BCS conference and a non-BCS conference took place in the Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas Bowl
The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas is an NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. since 1992. From 1992 to 1996, matchups featured the champion teams from the Big West and Mid-American...
on December 21 at Sam Boyd Stadium
Sam Boyd Stadium
Sam Boyd Stadium is a football stadium located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas metropolitan area; the mailing address of the stadium is "Las Vegas". The stadium is named after Sam Boyd, a major figure in the hotel/casino industry in Las Vegas. The stadium consists...
on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...
in the titular city
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. The Mountain West Conference champion Brigham Young University Cougars, led by game MVP tight end Jonny Harline
Jonny Harline
Jonathan "Jonny" Harline in North Brunswick, New Jersey) is a current member of the band Perfect Disorder. He played college football at Brigham Young.-College career:...
, handily trounced the Pac 10's University of Oregon Ducks by a score of 38-8. Both teams took home $950,000 for playing in this game for their respective conferences.
New Orleans Bowl
- 41, 17
One relative newcomer to the Division I Bowl Subdivision, and one team that last won a bowl game in 1954, squared off in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans Bowl
The New Orleans Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2001. The game was sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New...
, which returned to the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
in the titular city
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
on December 22 after the 2005 game was held at Cajun Field
Cajun Field
Cajun Field is a stadium located in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana. Nicknamed The Swamp, it is the home field of the Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns...
on the campus of University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
's Rice University Owls, who made their first post-season appearance in 45 years, were trounced by the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
co-champion Troy University Trojans 41-17. The Trojans, winning their first bowl game in school history, were playing in their second post-season game in three years, having appeared two years beforehand in the now-defunct Silicon Valley Football Classic
Silicon Valley Football Classic
The Silicon Valley Football Classic , sometimes referred to as the Silicon Valley Bowl or Silicon Valley Classic, was an NCAA-certified Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that was played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California,...
. The conferences were paid $325,000 each for their schools' performances. Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook and cornerback Elbert Mack were named co-MVPs.
Papajohns.com Bowl
- 24, East Carolina2006 East Carolina Pirates football team-Schedule:...
7
The city known as the "Football Capital of the South" returned to the post-season for the first time since 1990 and the defunct All-American Bowl
All-American Bowl
The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985....
when Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
's Legion Field
Legion Field
Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...
hosted the inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl, the first of three games that were scheduled Saturday, December 23. Conference USA's East Carolina University, coached by Skip Holtz
Skip Holtz
Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz, Jr. is the head coach of the University of South Florida football team. For the previous five years, he served as the head coach of the East Carolina University football team...
, the son of Lou Holtz
Lou Holtz
Louis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...
, fell to the Big East
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
's University of South Florida by the score of 24-7, in the Bulls' second post-season game in as many years, having been shut out 14-0, the last year in the Meineke Car Care Bowl by North Carolina State. Both teams earned a $300,000 paycheck for their conferences by playing this contest. Game MVP Benjamin Williams scored the game's historic first points as well as the Bulls' first points as a member of the Bowl Subdivision with a touchdown, one of two he scored, ninety seconds into the game. The game evened the BCS/Non-BCS tally at one game apiece.
New Mexico Bowl
- 20, 12
The second game of this December 23 triple-header was another first annual bowl game, the New Mexico Bowl, played at University Stadium
University Stadium
University Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the south campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is the home field of the New Mexico Lobos football team of the Mountain West Conference. The stadium opened in September 1960 and currently has a seating capacity...
on the campus of the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
. The Spartans of San Jose State University, representing the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
, faced the host school, who represented the Mountain West. The Lobos were chosen over the University of Wyoming Cowboys, despite Wyoming beating them on said field, 14-10, on October 7, and having a better record in the MWC (5-3 vs. New Mexico's 4-4). John Broussard
John Broussard
John Broussard is a former American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at San José State.Broussard was a member of the New York Giants Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions...
of the Spartans scored the first points in the bowl's history just ten seconds into the second quarter on a 78-yard pass from quarterback Adam Tafralis
Adam Tafralis
Adam Tafralis is an American quarterback who currently a free agent. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
, and five turnovers did the Lobos in as SJSU won, 20-12. Each school earned $750,000 to be divided among each other's conferences.
Armed Forces Bowl
- Utah2006 Utah Utes football teamThe 2006 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2006–2007. The team was coached by 2nd year head football coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes played their homes games in Rice–Eccles Stadium.-Schedule:...
25, 13
The last of three games on December 23 was the Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl
Armed Forces Bowl
The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl is an annual postseason college football bowl game that was inaugurated in 2003 as the Fort Worth Bowl under corporate sponsorship of PlainsCapital Bank. In 2005, the game was without corporate sponsorship...
, formerly known as the Fort Worth Bowl, played at Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
's Amon G. Carter Stadium
Amon G. Carter Stadium
Amon G. Carter Stadium is an open-air football stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. It is the home stadium of the TCU Horned Frogs football team. It was named after Amon G...
in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. The Mountain West's University of Utah Utes trailed at the half, but beat Conference USA's Golden Hurricane of the University of Tulsa (who, like Utah, was once in the WAC), 25-13. Utah's versatile Defensive Back Eric Weddle
Eric Weddle
Eric Steven Weddle is an American football safety for the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League.-Early years:...
helped lead the Ute's by grabbing an interception and scoring a rushing touchdown. Each team got $600,000 for their respective conferences.
Hawaii Bowl
- Hawaii2006 Hawaii Warriors football teamThe 2006 Hawaii Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the 2006 NCAA Division I-Bowl Subdivision college football season...
42, Arizona State2006 Arizona State Sun Devils football teamThe 2006 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's coach was Dirk Koetter who was fired after the season...
24
The Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
tradition known as the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii Bowl
The Hawaii Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 2002. Typically played on either Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, the game matches teams from either...
returned to Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...
in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
on December 24 as the host school, the University of Hawaii Warriors, representing the WAC, returning after a one-year absence because of a losing record, defeated the Pac 10's Sun Devils from Arizona State University, 41-24. Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan
Colt Brennan
Colton "Colt" James Brennan is an American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii....
set a new NCAA record for most touchdown passes in a single season, breaking David Klingler
David Klingler
David Ryan Klingler , is a former American football player. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals after a record setting quarterback career at the University of Houston...
's standard set in 1989 at Houston with his 55th touchdown toss in the second quarter. He then added three more to bring his final total to 58. This was Dirk Koetter
Dirk Koetter
-NFL drafted players under Koetter:-External links:* *...
's final game as the head coach of ASU, as Dennis Erickson
Dennis Erickson
Dennis Erickson is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Arizona State University until November 28, 2011, a position he had held since the 2007 season. In 2008 the Arizona Board of Regents had approved a contract extension to keep Erickson at Arizona...
will take over, coming in from Idaho. On top of the $398,000 for each team to divide among fellow conference members, the Pac-10 also gave Arizona State an additional $300,000 in travel expenses as "a special case" exemption. The Warriors' win gave the non-BCS conferences a 3-1 lead in their rivalry.
Motor City Bowl
- 31, Middle Tennessee2006 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football teamThe 2006 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University in the 2006 college football season. Middle Tennessee entered the 2006 season coming off a losing 4-7 record in 2005, which saw the dismissal of former head coach Andy McCollum. The team's new head...
14
The Motor City Bowl
Motor City Bowl
The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually since 1997. The first five games were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Starting in 2002, the game was moved to 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown...
, played at Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
on December 26, featured the only newcomer to the Bowl Division in the 2006-07 campaign. The Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University, co-champions of the Sun Belt Conference, made their bowl debut against the MAC champions, the Central Michigan University Chippewas, who won 31-14. Each school made $750,000 for the conferences involved, as MTSU was chosen as an at-large school after the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
sent two teams to the BCS, and their 7-5 record shut out Pitt (which has 6-6; under NCAA FBS rules, a 6-6 team cannot be considered until all 7-5 teams have been assigned bowl slots, even if they are not "power conference" teams).
Emerald Bowl
- Florida State2006 Florida State Seminoles football teamThe 2006 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2006 college football season. Florida State entered the 2006 season as the defending ACC Champion, coming off an 8-5 record in 2005...
44, UCLA2006 UCLA Bruins football teamThe 2006 UCLA Bruins football team represented UCLA in the college football 2006 season. They played their home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and were coached by Karl Dorrell. It was Dorrell's fourth season as the UCLA head coach...
27
The Emerald Bowl
Emerald Bowl
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually at 40,800-seat AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, in San Francisco, California, since 2002...
was played at AT&T Park
AT&T Park
AT&T Park is a ballpark located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000....
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, home of the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
on December 27. The ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
's Florida State University Seminoles, who finished the regular season at 6-6, defeated the Pac-10's University of California Los Angeles Bruins 44-27, who were coming off defeating Southern California at home on December 2, eliminating them from national championship contention. The schools had payments of $850,000 sent to their conferences to divvy up.
Independence Bowl
- 34, Alabama2006 Alabama Crimson Tide football teamThe 2006 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama for the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season trying to improve from a 10–2 record in the 2005 season. The Tide was led by head coach Mike Shula entering his fourth year at Alabama. Despite a strong 5–2 start, they...
31
The first of three games played on Thursday, December 28 was the PetroSun Independence Bowl
Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, so named because it was inaugurated in the United States bicentennial year, 1976....
played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, pitting the SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
's University of Alabama Crimson Tide against the Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
's Oklahoma State University Cowboys. With 8.9 seconds left in the game, Oklahoma State kicker Jason Ricks kicked a 27-yard field goal to defeat the Crimson Tide, 34-31. Alabama had mounted a 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter, with their last touchdown coming with 8:41 left to play. The SEC and Big 12, the conferences represented in this game, received a check for $1.2 million for the bank accounts. The Tide was coached on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Joe Kines (who had previously served as an interim coach at another SEC West school, the University of Arkansas, in the past) as this game was played between the firing of Mike Shula
Mike Shula
Mike Shula is an American football quarterback coach for the Carolina Panthers, an NFL team. Between 2003 and 2006, he was the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program.- Early life :...
and the eventual hiring of Nick Saban
Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou "Nick" Saban is the head coach of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team. Saban has previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other NCAA universities: LSU, Michigan State and Toledo...
.
Texas Bowl
- Rutgers2006 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football teamThe 2006 Rutgers Scarlet Knights campaign was considered by many to be the breakout season for the Rutgers football team. Led by Draddy Trophy winning senior fullback Brian Leonard, sophomore quarterback Mike Teel, sophomore halfback Ray Rice, sophomore wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, junior...
37, Kansas State2006 Kansas State Wildcats football teamThe 2006 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the college football season of 2006. The team's head football coach was Ron Prince. 2006 was the first year for Prince who came to K-State from Virginia as their offensive coordinator...
10
Rising from the ashes of the former Houston Bowl, the Texas Bowl
Texas Bowl
The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, formerly known as the Texas Bowl, is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that was held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaced the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005...
was the second game played on December 28 at Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of with of natural grass playing surface....
in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, an arm of the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, took over the game in June with NCAA approval, and for their first game saw the Big 12's Kansas State University Wildcats lose to the Big East
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
runner-up, the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights, 37-10. The Wildcats sent payment of $750,000 for the Big 12 as a gift of their participation, while Rutgers puts $500,000 in the Big East coffers. The win was the first for college football's oldest program, having played its first game in 1869 against Princeton's Tigers, winning by a score of 6-4. Rutgers' Ray Rice
Ray Rice
Raymell Maurice Rice is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. He is currently ranked as the Baltimore Ravens third all-time rusher in...
scored two touchdowns and personally outgained the KSU offense 170 yards to 162 yards.
Music City Bowl
- 28, Clemson2006 Clemson Tigers football teamThe 2006 Clemson football team represented Clemson University in the 2006 college football season The team was coached by Tommy Bowden and played their homes game in the Memorial Stadium.-Notable:...
20
The Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl presented by Bridgestone
Music City Bowl
The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998.-Site:The first Music City Bowl was played at Vanderbilt Stadium in 1998...
was the first of five games scheduled for December 29, the second-busiest schedule of games outside New Year's Day. In this game, played at LP Field
LP Field
LP Field is a football stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, the ACC's Clemson University Tigers lost to the SEC's University of Kentucky Wildcats, 28-20. Kentucky jumped to a big early lead; Clemson cut the margin late but not enough to win. Kentucky's Andre Woodson
André Woodson
Andre' Woodson, Jr. is an American football quarterback. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft and is currently a free agent. Woodson played collegiately at the University of Kentucky...
was the bowl game MVP. The two teams had last faced each other in the 1993 Peach Bowl; Kentucky has won 8 of the 12 meetings between the two teams. This was the first bowl win for the Wildcats since 1984. Both teams earned a check for their respective conferences of $1.6 million.
Sun Bowl
- Oregon State2006 Oregon State Beavers football teamThe 2006 Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's head coach is Mike Riley, with home games being played at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.-The upset:...
39, Missouri2006 Missouri Tigers football teamThe 2006 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season.-Schedule:...
38
The Brut Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
was the second of the five games played December 29, held in the self-named stadium
Sun Bowl Stadium
The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium, on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners of Conference USA , and the late December college football bowl game, the Hyundai Sun Bowl...
in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
on the campus of UTEP, pitting the Big 12's University of Missouri Tigers against the Oregon State University Beavers from the Pac 10. Oregon State coach Mike Riley was told by Yvenson Bernard to go for the win. Bernard barely pushed into the end zone on the gutsy two-point conversion run, giving the 24th-ranked Beavers a 39-38 victory, having been down by 14 points earlier in the game. Among Missouri's big plays were a 40-yard catch by Chase Coffman that led to Temple's 7-yard scoring run on the opening drive. A 47-yard run by Temple was followed by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chase Daniel to Coffman on the next play for a 38-24 lead with 12:08 left in the game. Missouri's Tony Temple missed setting a Sun Bowl record for rushing, which was 197 yards by Charles Alexander of LSU in 1977, by losing four yards on his final carry. Each of the conferences got a check for $1.9 million for the teams' playing.
Liberty Bowl
- South Carolina2006 South Carolina Gamecocks football teamThe 2006 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference during the college football season of 2006-2007...
44, Houston2006 Houston Cougars football teamThe 2006 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH represented the University of Houston in the college football 2006-2007 season. It was the 61st year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by fourth year head football coach, Art Briles...
36
The third game on the docket for December 29 was the AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...
at the self-named stadium
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is a football stadium, located at the Mid-South Fairgrounds, in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The stadium is the site of the annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and is the home field of the University of Memphis Tigers football team...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, pitting the Conference USA champions, the University of Houston Cougars against the SEC's University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Both teams had considerable success passing the ball in the second quarter; as a result, the halftime score had Houston leading 28-27. The shootout continued into the second half, however, South Carolina held off Houston to win by a score of 44-36. The offensive showcase set records for most points in the first half (55), most receiving yards (201 by Houston's Vincent Marshall), and most total yards gained (1,039 - 527 by Houston and 512 by South Carolina) and tied the record for touchdown passes by a single player (4 by South Carolina's Blake Mitchell). The conferences each received a check for $1.5 million for the teams' appearances.
Insight Bowl
- Texas Tech2006 Texas Tech Red Raiders football teamThe 2006 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2006–2007. The team was coached by Mike Leach. The Red Raiders played their home games at Jones SBC Stadium in Lubbock, Texas....
44, Minnesota2006 Minnesota Golden Gophers football teamThe 2006 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the college football season of 2006-2007. Coached by Glen Mason, the Gophers played their home games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as they had since Memorial Stadium closed after the 1981...
41 (OT)
The fourth game in the quintet of contests scheduled on December 29 was the Insight Bowl
Insight Bowl
The Insight Bowl is an NCAA college football bowl game played in Arizona since 1989. From 1989 to 1999, the games were played at Arizona Stadium in Tucson. The game moved to Phoenix in 2000 and was played at Chase Field until 2005. After the 2005 playing the Insight Bowl moved to Sun Devil Stadium...
, which moved from Chase Field
Chase Field
Chase Field is a baseball stadium located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona and is the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. It opened in , just in time for the Diamondbacks' first game as an expansion team...
in downtown Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
to Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor football stadium, located on the campus of Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The stadium's current seating capacity is 71,706 and the playing surface is natural grass...
on the campus of Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
in nearby Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
, former home of the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
. The game pitted the Texas Tech University Red Raiders from the Big 12 against the Big Ten's University of Minnesota Twin Cities' Golden Gophers. The Gophers took a 38-7 lead midway through the third quarter, only to see the Red Raiders storm back to tie the game and eventually win in overtime in the biggest comeback ever in Division I FBS bowl history, surpassing Marshall's
Marshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
30-point comeback against East Carolina
East Carolina Pirates
The East Carolina Pirates are the intercollegiate sports teams representing East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams sponsored by the university compete in NCAA Division I as a member of Conference USA...
in the 2001 GMAC Bowl
2001 GMAC Bowl
The 2001 GMAC Bowl, a college football bowl game held on December 19 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, pitted the Marshall Thundering Herd, then of the Mid-American Conference, against the East Carolina Pirates from Conference USA...
. Each conference received a check for $1.2 million. Two days after the Gophers' collapse in the game left them with a losing record on the year, head coach Glen Mason
Glen Mason
Glen O. Mason is an American football coach. Mason previously served as the head football coach at Kent State University, the University of Kansas, and the University of Minnesota, compiling a career college football record of 123–121–1.-Playing career:Mason played college football at...
was dismissed by the school's athletic department.
Champs Sports Bowl
- Maryland2006 Maryland Terrapins football teamThe 2006 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football season. It was the Terrapins' 54th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and its second within the...
24, Purdue2006 Purdue Boilermakers football teamThe 2006 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Tiller and played its home games at Ross-Ade Stadium...
7
The fifth and final game December 29 pitted the University of Maryland, College Park Terrapins from the ACC and the Purdue University Boilermakers from the Big Ten in the Champs Sports Bowl
Champs Sports Bowl
The Champs Sports Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at the Citrus Bowl. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Capital One Bowl and Florida Classic...
, the first of two bowl games in four days played at the Citrus Bowl
Citrus Bowl
The Florida Citrus Bowl is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, USA, built for football, which currently seats around 70,000 people....
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. Maryland played an efficient and mistake-free game in cruising to a 24-7 victory. The Terrapins was able to dominate the game with a balanced offense and stingy defense that shutdown Purdue's potent passing game. Each school received a payout of $2.25 million for their respective conference's coffers.
Meineke Car Care Bowl
- Boston College 25, 24
The first game of three scheduled for Saturday, December 30 was the Meineke Car Care Bowl, played at Bank of America Stadium
Bank of America Stadium
Bank of America Stadium is a 73,778-seat football stadium located on of land in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. It is the home facility of the Carolina Panthers NFL franchise. It also hosts the annual Belk Bowl which features teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East...
in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. In the game, the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen played against the Boston College Eagles from the ACC. Both teams received a $750,000 payment, with Navy keeping the entire amount as they play as an independent in Division I, meaning they have no conference affiliation, unlike Boston College, which sent the money to ACC offices in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
to be divided with all other bowl payouts. Walk-on placekicker Steve Aponavicius, who joined the team in October after the regular kicker was suspended, kicked the walk-off field goal as time expired to give Boston College their seventh straight bowl win, which leads the nation.
Alamo Bowl
- Texas 26, Iowa2006 Iowa Hawkeyes football teamThe 2006 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa during the 2006 college football season. The Hawkeyes played their home games at Kinnick Stadium and were coached by Kirk Ferentz...
24
The second contest on December 30 was the Alamo Bowl
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is a major American college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It matches the second choice team from the Pacific-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been...
, played at the Alamodome
Alamodome
The Alamodome is a domed 65,000 seat, multi-purpose facility that is primarily used as a football/basketball stadium and convention center in San Antonio, Texas, U.S...
in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. It pitted the defending 2005 national champions
2005 Texas Longhorn football team
The 2005 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season, winning the Big 12 Conference championship and the national championship. The team was coached by Mack Brown, led on offense by quarterback Vince Young, and played...
, the University of Texas Austin Longhorns, who did not make the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game, against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes from the Big Ten. The game, without corporate sponsorship for the first time as former title sponsor MasterCard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
pulled out, still gave each conference $2.2 million in residuals for their participation. The 2006 meeting set a new attendance record for the bowl and the facility at 65,875. The bowl would get a new sponsor in 2007 as Valero Energy, a San Antonio-based company assumed sponsorship of the game.
MPC Computers Bowl
- Miami (Fla.)2006 Miami Hurricanes football teamThe 2006 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2006 college football season. The team's head coach was Larry Coker.-Preseason:...
21, 20
The only game to be played on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
(December 31) was the MPC Computers Bowl on the Blue Turf of Bronco Stadium
Bronco Stadium
Bronco Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in Boise, Idaho, the home field of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. Since 1997, it has hosted the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Bronco Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in Boise, Idaho, the home field of the Boise State Broncos...
on the campus of Boise State University
Boise State University
Boise State University is a public university located in Boise, Idaho. Originally founded in 1932 as a junior college by the Episcopal Church, the university became an independent institution in 1934, and has been awarding baccalaureate and master degrees since 1965...
in the state capital of Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
. The ACC's University of Miami Hurricanes, who were playing their final game for departing head coach Larry Coker
Larry Coker
Larry Edward Coker is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio, whose Roadrunners football team begins play in 2011. From 2001 to 2006, Coker served as the head coach at the University of Miami...
, who was dismissed from his job after their regular season was completed, defeated the WAC's University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack by one point in a game that wasn't decided until the final minute. Both teams earned $250,000 for their conferences, and the BCS group now had a 3-2 deficit against their "mid-major" brethren. Starting with the 2007 game, the title reverted to the "Humanitarian Bowl", with Roady's Truck Stops
Roady's Truck Stops
Roady's Truck Stops is a chain of independently-owned truck stops in the United States. It is headquartered in New Plymouth, Idaho. With nearly 350 locations in forty-five states, Roady's is the largest truck stop chain in which all of its stores are independently-owned, and second overall in the...
taking over as title sponsor.
International Bowl
- 27, 24
The first International Bowl
International Bowl
The International Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto from 2007 through 2010...
featured the MAC's Western Michigan University Broncos and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats from the Big East Conference. The game was played on January 6, 2007 at Toronto, Ontario's Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
(formerly known as SkyDome) making it the first game played outside the United States since Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
and Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
played their annual game in Dublin in 1996 and the first postseason game outside the U.S. since the Bacardi Bowl
Bacardi Bowl
Bacardi Bowl was a college football bowl game played seven times in Havana, Cuba at La Tropical Stadium. Sometimes referred to as the Rhumba Bowl or the Cigar Bowl, the game was the climaxing event of Cuba’s annual National Sports Festival. The first five occurrences matched an American college...
in Havana, Cuba back in 1937. The game's scoring came in three separate blocks, as Cincinnati jumped out to a 24-0 lead by the second quarter before WMU stormed back with 24 straight points of their own to tie the game. Immediately following WMU's tying touchdown in the 4th quarter, Cincinnati came back with a 12-play, 81-yard drive ending with a 33-yard field goal that provided the winning margin with 6:11 remaining in the game. The win by Cincinnati closed out a perfect bowl season for the Big East conference which went 5-0. Each school received a check for $750,000 (in US dollars) for their conferences to divide. New head coach Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly (coach)
Brian Keith Kelly is an American football coach and former player in the United States. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, a position he has held since the 2010 season...
made his debut for the Bearcats, and five assistant coaches from Kelly's former job at Central Michigan followed him there. All five assistants had been on the CMU sidelines at the Motor City Bowl 11 days earlier, but without Kelly.
GMAC Bowl
- 28, 7
The last game before the BCS Championship was in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
's Ladd Peebles Stadium
Ladd Peebles Stadium
Ladd Peebles Stadium is a stadium in Mobile, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field for the Senior Bowl, the GoDaddy.com Bowl, the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic, and the University of South Alabama Jaguars...
, where the GMAC Bowl
GMAC Bowl
The GoDaddy.com Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. It currently matches teams from the Sun Belt Conference and the Mid-American Conference, and...
was contested on Sunday, January 7. In the contest, played in an off-and-on rainstorm, the Ohio University Bobcats from the MAC were defeated by Conference USA's University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles by the score of 28-7. The conferences playing in this game will receive a stipend of $750,000. The Golden Eagles' win avoided C-USA of being totally shut out of the bowl win column.
Non-BCS New Year's Day and other prestigious games
There are a half-dozen games that are not related to the BCS that have more prestige and higher payouts. While many of these games are played on January 1, two of the more notable games have created traditions of their own for exciting contests, or for their high payouts, such as the fact that the Capital One Bowl pays out $4.25 million to each of the conferences who play in the game, plus the fact that some of the games are shown on over-the-air (or terrestrial) television networks like CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
or Fox
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
rather than ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
or NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
, which are cable/satellite channels.
Holiday Bowl
- California2006 California Golden Bears football teamThe 2006 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the college football 2006-2007 season. They played their home games at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California and were coached by Jeff Tedford....
45, Texas A&M2006 Texas A&M Aggies football teamThe 2006 Texas A&M Aggies football team completed the season with a 9-4 record. The Aggies had a regular season Big 12 record of 5-3.-Schedule:-Roster:-The Citadel:-Louisiana-Lafayette:-Army:-Louisiana Tech:...
10
The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Holiday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, since 1978. Beginning with the 2010 playing the bowl will officially be known as the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl after...
was the first of the six prestigious non-BCS games and the third game to be played on December 28. It was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, which also hosts the Poinsettia Bowl. In this contest, the Texas A&M University Aggies, representing the Big 12, were routed by the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears from the Pac-10, with the Bears coming out on top, 45-10. Each conference received $2.2 million for the teams playing.
Chick-fil-A Bowl
- Georgia2006 Georgia Bulldogs football teamThe 2006 Georgia Bulldogs football team completed the season with a 9-4 record. The Bulldogs had an SEC record of 4-4. Despite losses to unranked Kentucky and Vanderbilt, Georgia salvaged its season by beating two ranked teams in the last two games of the season: #5 Auburn and #15 Georgia Tech...
31, Virginia Tech2006 Virginia Tech Hokies football teamThe 2006 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer...
24
The Chick-fil-A Bowl
Chick-fil-A Bowl
The Chick-fil-A Bowl, formerly called the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and before that simply called the Peach Bowl, is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta....
(formerly the Peach Bowl), was the final contest of three games to be played on December 30, and was held at the Georgia Dome
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Hokies, representing the ACC, played against the University of Georgia Bulldogs, representing the SEC. In exchange for the right to pick the first ACC team after the BCS, the bowl paid $3.25 million to the ACC, with the SEC receiving $2.4 million. Virginia Tech jumped out to a 21-3 halftime lead, scoring on two one-yard touchdowns from tailback Brandon Ore and a 53-yard pass from flanker Eddie Royal to tight end Sam Wheeler. Georgia then scored 28 unanswered points in the second half and held off a late Tech rally to win 31-24.
Outback Bowl
- Penn State2006 Penn State Nittany Lions football teamThe 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2006–2007 college football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania....
20, Tennessee2006 Tennessee Volunteers football teamThe 2006 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the college football season of 2006–2007. Tennessee entered the 2006 season coming off an 5–6 record in 2005...
10
The first bowl game scheduled for New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
(January 1) was the Outback Bowl
Outback Bowl
The Outback Bowl is an annual New Year's Day college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The event was originally called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1994 until being renamed in 1995 for its new title sponsor, Outback Steakhouse...
, which was played at Raymond James Stadium
Raymond James Stadium
Raymond James Stadium, also known as the "Ray Jay", is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Tampa, Florida. It is home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as the NCAA's South Florida Bulls football team. The stadium seats 65,857 , and it is expandable to 75,000 for special events...
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, with the SEC's #17 University of Tennessee Volunteers challenging the Big Ten's unranked Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions. Legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
was set to return to the sidelines after an accident on the sidelines left him with a knee injury during their game at Wisconsin, but a steady drizzle throughout the game convinced the 80-year old that he was not ready to return to the sidelines, instead staying in the press box and coaching the game from there. Thanks to an 88-yard return of a fumble for a touchdown by Nittany Lions' cornerback Tony Davis, JoePa won his record-extending 22nd post-season game 20-10. The schools each received a $3 million payment for their conferences. The win left Penn State ranked 24th in the nation.
Cotton Bowl Classic
- Auburn2006 Auburn Tigers football teamThe 2006 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Head coach Tommy Tuberville served his eighth season at Auburn, the third longest tenure among current SEC head coaches that year...
17, Nebraska2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers football teamThe 2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bill Callahan and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska....
14
Game number two on January 1 was the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, played at the self-named stadium
Cotton Bowl (stadium)
The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
on the site of the State Fair of Texas
State Fair of Texas
The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas, Texas . The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic Fair Park where it has been held since 1886. The 2012 State Fair of Texas will run from September 28th...
in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. The Big 12's University of Nebraska at Lincoln's Cornhuskers played the Auburn University Tigers from the SEC in the annual game, with the Tigers prevailing 17-14. Each school's conference received $3 million.
Gator Bowl
- West Virginia2006 West Virginia Mountaineers football teamThe 2006 West Virginia Mountaineers football team completed the season with a 11–2 record. The Mountaineers had a regular season Big East record of 5–2.-2006 Schedule:-Rankings:- References :...
38, Georgia Tech2006 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football teamThe 2006 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's coach is former Dallas Cowboys, Samford Bulldogs, and Troy Trojans coach Chan Gailey...
35
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
served the site for the third bowl game of New Year's Day, the Toyota Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
, played at Alltel Stadium
Alltel Stadium
EverBank Field is an American football stadium in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, and the home stadium facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . It also hosts the annual Florida vs...
. In the game, the West Virginia University Mountaineers from the Big East came back from an 18-point deficit to beat the ACC's Georgia Institute of Technology's Yellow Jackets by the score of 38-35, with the combined total of points (73) setting an all-time Gator Bowl record. The conferences each got a $2.5 million payment for the teams playing. 2007 marked the last time Toyota was the game's title sponsor, as Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta
is a Japanese manufacturer of office equipment, medical imaging, graphic imaging, optical devices, and measuring instruments. It is headquartered in the Marunouchi Center Building in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, with a Kansai office in Nishi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture...
became the new sponsor starting with the 2008 event. It also marked the first time the game aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
under the new TV contract.
Capital One Bowl
- Wisconsin2006 Wisconsin Badgers football teamThe 2006 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Bret Bielema, the Badgers completed the season with a 12-1 record, including a 7-1 mark in the Big Ten Conference, good for a...
17, Arkansas2006 Arkansas Razorbacks football teamThe 2006 Arkansas Razorbacks football team completed the season with a 10–4 record. The Razorbacks had a regular season SEC record of 7–1.-Schedule:-USC:...
14
In Orlando, Florida, the fourth contest on New Year's Day and the last non-BCS prestigious bowl game to be played was at the Citrus Bowl in the Capital One Bowl
Capital One Bowl
The Capital One Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl, and previously known as the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl...
, and featuring two teams that, due to BCS rules, were shut out as both the Big Ten and SEC sent two teams into the BCS, including the BCS Title Game. The University of Arkansas Razorbacks lost to the University of Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 17-14. Each conference received $4.25 million for their schools playing.
Bowl Championship Series
- All BCS games have a $17,000,000 payout for BCS conferences with a participating team. Each conference having two BCS-bound teams, the Big Ten and the SEC, received an additional $4,500,000 as per BCS rules. Independent school Notre Dame received $4,500,000. Boise State's was $18,000,000 to share amongst non-BCS Division I FBS conferences.
Rose Bowl
- Southern California2006 USC Trojans football teamThe 2006 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in college football season of 2006-2007, winning the Pacific-10 Conference and playing in the Rose Bowl...
32, Michigan2006 Michigan Wolverines football teamThe 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2006 college football season. The team's head football coach was Lloyd Carr. The Wolverines came into the season with lower expectations than many Michigan teams of the previous few seasons, ranked #14...
18
The University of Southern California Trojans returned to the Rose Bowl Game presented by citi
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
in the first BCS game of 2007 on New Year's Day in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. Historically, the Rose Bowl has pitted the Pac-10 and Big Ten regular season champions. The Pac-10 champion Trojans played in a non-traditional Rose Bowl matchup with the University of Michigan Wolverines. What made this game a not-so-traditional matchup is that Michigan entered as the runner-up of the Big Ten, as the Big Ten champions Ohio State instead participated in the BCS Championship Game due to their #1 national ranking. Thanks to their win, the Trojans now hold a 6-2 lead in their eight meetings against the Wolverines in Pasadena.
Fiesta Bowl
- Boise State2006 Boise State Broncos football teamThe 2006 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2006 college football season. The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference championship with an undefeated 12–0 regular-season record , their second unbeaten regular season in the past three years...
43, Oklahoma2006 Oklahoma Sooners football teamThe 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2006-2007, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship...
42 (OT)
Thanks to an unbeaten season and sitting inside the Top 12 teams in the final BCS survey, the Boise State University Broncos, champions of the Western Athletic Conference, earned their way into the BCS for a visit to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
. They defeated the Big 12 champions, the University of Oklahoma Sooners, at the new University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl...
in Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
on New Year's Day. Many sports journalists hailed the game as an "instant classic" for its dramatic ending. Oklahoma scored 25 straight points in the second half to rally from an 18-point deficit and take the lead; the teams combined to score 22 points in the final 90 seconds. The Broncos used three successful trick plays to get to overtime then win the game: a hook and lateral play on 4th-and-18 to score the tying touchdown with seven seconds left, a halfback option
Option offense
The option offense is a generic term that is used to describe a wide variety of offensive systems in American football. Option offenses are characterized as such due to the predominance of option running plays employed in these schemes. Option offenses have traditionally relied heavily upon running...
pass for an overtime touchdown on 4th-and-2, and a Statue of Liberty play
Statue of Liberty play
The Statue of Liberty is a trick play in American football, occasionally seen in high school football, college football and the NFL.-Execution of the play:...
on a two-point conversion
Two-point conversion
In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...
attempt to win the game. Not only did Boise State win, but they also claimed a fourth win for the mid-major conference
Mid-major
Mid-major is a term used in American Division I college sports, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the major six conferences...
s in seven games against BCS conferences.
Orange Bowl
- Louisville2006 Louisville Cardinals football teamThe 2006 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2006 college football season. The team, led by Bobby Petrino in his fourth year at the school, played their home games in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium...
24, Wake Forest2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football teamThe 2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Jim Grobe, in his fifth season at the school, and played its home games at Groves Stadium...
13
The third BCS game, the FedEx Orange Bowl, was played at Dolphin Stadium
Dolphin Stadium
Sun Life Stadium is an American football stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami. It is the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins National Football League team, and the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. It also hosts the Orange Bowl, an annual college football bowl game. It...
in Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
on January 2, 2007. The Big East Conference champions, the University of Louisville Cardinals, beat the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons, winners of the ACC, 24-13. Louisville entered the game as heavy favorites, but their offense sputtered early and the game was tied 10-10 at halftime. Wake Forest took a 13-10 lead in the fourth quarter but Louisville scored two unanswered touchdowns on drives of 81 and 72 yards to take an 11-point lead, after which Wake Forest was unable to score. Brian Brohm
Brian Brohm
Brian Joseph Brohm is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
completed 24 of 34 passes and was named the game's MVP. Brohm's 311 passing yards were the third most in Orange Bowl history, behind only Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
(in 2000 for Michigan against Alabama) and Matt Leinart
Matt Leinart
Matthew Stephen Leinart , is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League...
(in 2005 for Southern California against Oklahoma). In addition, the Cardinals' win clinched the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
-sponsored Bowl Challenge Cup
Bowl Challenge Cup
The Bowl Challenge Cup was created by ESPN in 2002 as a competition among the conferences in the NCAA's Division I-A, now called the Football Bowl Subdivision, to see which one was the best in the college football bowl games that take place...
as the much-maligned Big East, who were in their second year of their new football alignment, had a 4-0 record with one game remaining passing the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences, who had 3-1 records and completed their games.
Sugar Bowl
- LSU2006 LSU Tigers football teamThe 2006 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the college football season of 2006–2007. The team's coach was former Oklahoma State coach Les Miles. They played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana...
41, Notre Dame2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football teamThe 2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was a college football team which represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis in his second year as head coach and played their home football games at Notre Dame...
14
The fourth BCS game, the 73rd Allstate Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
, the new corporate sponsor replacing Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, took place at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on January 3, 2007, returning from Atlanta after a one-year absence due to Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. The contest featured the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, an independent school, playing the Louisiana State University Tigers, representing the SEC. The Fighting Irish kept their $21.5 million payout, while LSU split up their $21.5 million among their SEC brethren. While the game was competitive early, LSU dominated the second half, scoring 20 points while shutting out Notre Dame, winning by a commanding score of 41-14. JaMarcus Russell
JaMarcus Russell
JaMarcus Trenell Russell is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. Russell played college football for the LSU Tigers where he finished 21–4 as a starter and was named MVP of the 2007 Sugar Bowl. The Oakland Raiders selected Russell with the first overall pick of the 2007...
threw for 331 yards---more yards than Notre Dame gained total---in a commanding performance. Brady Quinn
Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
struggled, completing 15 of 35 passes for only 149 yards and throwing two interceptions
Interception (football)
An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...
. Notre Dame has now lost an all-time record nine consecutive bowls; their last win came in the 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas A&M. That streak ended in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl.
BCS National Championship Game
- Florida2006 Florida Gators football teamThe 2006 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2006 college football season...
41, Ohio State2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football teamThe 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team representing the Ohio State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's head coach was Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium...
14
The final college football game of the marathon bowl season that had taken three weeks and had thirty-one prior contests was the Tostitos 2007 BCS National Championship Game
2007 BCS National Championship Game
The 2007 BCS National Championship Game, sponsored by Tostitos, was an American football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8, 2007. The BCS No. 2 Florida Gators defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, 41–14. The Buckeyes secured a spot by finishing...
, played on January 8 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The top two teams based on the final BCS standings on December 3 — the Big Ten conference champion Ohio State University Buckeyes, was the top-ranked team in the final survey, and the SEC champion University of Florida Gators, was ranked number two. Florida settled the issue of who was the champion of NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision football. Ohio State opened the game with a 93 yard TD return by Ted Ginn, Jr.
Ted Ginn, Jr.
-College career:OSU track coach Russ Rogers recruited Ginn to run track, believing that he could qualify for the 2008 Olympics. However, his track career was put on hold in order to focus on football. Ginn was recruited as a defensive back by Ohio State....
, who injured his foot in the mass celebration following the play and did not return. Florida ultimately prevailed in the championship game, winning 41-14.
Post-BCS All-Star Games
| All-Star Game | Date | Location | Television | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inta Juice North-South All-Star Classic North-South All-Star Classic The North-South All-Star Classic was a postseason college football all-star game, the only edition of which took place in 2007. The game was played in Houston, Texas at the Galena Park ISD Stadium and telecast on ESPN 2.... |
January 13, 2007 | Galena Park ISD Stadium Galena Park ISD Stadium Galena Park ISD Stadium is a stadium situated on Galena Park ISD Sports Complex property in the Cloverleaf CDP of unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. The Galena Park Independent School District property is primarily used for American football and soccer, and is the home field of... , Houston, Texas |
ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,... |
North 28, South 17 |
| Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been... |
January 14, 2007 | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming.... |
Aina (East) 18, Kai (West) 10 |
| Dell Computers East-West Shrine Game East-West Shrine Game The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners... |
January 20, 2007 | Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas | ESPN2 | West 21, East 3 |
| Under Armour Senior Bowl Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium... |
January 27, 2007 | Ladd Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama | NFL Network NFL Network NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation... |
North 27, South 0 |
| Texas vs. The Nation Game Texas vs. The Nation Game The NFLPA Game is a post-season college football all-star game that was established in 2006 as the concluding game of the college football post-season. The game is currently played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game was previously known as the Texas vs... |
February 2, 2007 | Sun Bowl Stadium, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso | CSTV | The Nation (USA players) 24, Texas (college and former high school players from Texas) 20 |
Note: The Las Vegas All-American Classic
Las Vegas All-American Classic
The North-South All-American Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game that was played each January or February from 2002 to 2006 , and then took 2 years off due to lack of sponsorship...
, which was scheduled to be played on January 15 in the titular city
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
was canceled one week prior to its playing due to a lack of sponsorship.
Conference standings
Final Standings
| Conference | Bowl Appearances | Final Poll Top 25 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Record | % | Winners | Losers | # | Teams | AP Rank | CP Rank |
KEY
† — Winner of the Bowl Challenge Cup
Bowl Challenge Cup
The Bowl Challenge Cup was created by ESPN in 2002 as a competition among the conferences in the NCAA's Division I-A, now called the Football Bowl Subdivision, to see which one was the best in the college football bowl games that take place...
.
≠ — Ineligible for the Bowl Challenge Cup as they only had two schools instead of the minimum three teams mandated.
AP — Final AP Poll for 2006 season.
CP — Final Coaches Poll for 2006 season.
t-tied for that position.