The College Football Blog: Bowl Season Review

Reviewing the 2008-2009 College Football Bowl Season

I thought this year’s bowl season was mediocre. There were too many pointless matchups. Some of the more interesting matchups didn’t end up producing exciting games. At this point it seems like the only game that matters is the National Championship Game. I was more ready for a playoff than I had ever been before at the end of this last bowl season.

5 Best Bowl Games

5th Alamo Bowl
#21 Mizzu over #23 Northwestern, 30-23 (OT).
Missouri comes back to tie NW late in the 4th and wins in OT.

4th Meineke Car Care Bowl
West Virginia over UNC, 31-30.
Pat White leads the Mountaineers on a game winning TD drive in the 4th.

3rd Poinsettia Bowl
#11 TCU over #9 Boise State, 17-16.
Battle of non-BCS conference powers goes down to the wire.

2nd Fiesta Bowl
#3 Texas over #10 Ohio State, 24-21.
Colt McCoy and the Longhorns steal the game from the Buckeyes in the final moments.

1st National Championship Game
#2 Florida over #1 Oklahoma, 24-14.
Gators come out on top in a bizarre title game.


10 Bowl Games Match up Ranked Teams

10 of the 34 bowl games were matchups of two teams ranked in the top 25 of the final BCS standings. In those 10 games, the higher ranked team was only 4-6. #11 TCU played #9 Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl and won by a point, 17-16. #21 Missouri came back and beat #23 Northwestern, 30-23, in overtime. The Holiday Bowl was a shootout as usual, with #17 Oregon outgunning #13 Oklahoma State, 42-31. Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno led #15 Georgia to a 24-12 come from behind win over #18 Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. #5 USC and #8 Penn State squared off in the Rose Bowl in one of the more highly anticipated matchups of the bowl season. The Trojans put the game away early and the game was not a close as the 38-24 final score suggested. #19 Virginia Tech played #12 Cincinnati in one of the more unexciting Orange Bowls ever, with the Hokies winning 20-7. #25 Ole Miss surprised #7 Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl, 47-34. #6 Utah shocked #4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, winning 31-17 to finish the year unbeaten. #3 Texas scored late to beat #10 Ohio State and break the Buckeyes’ hearts in a classic Fiesta Bowl. And in the NCG, #2 Florida outlasted #1 Oklahoma, 24-14, to win the national title.

5 Ranked Teams Fall to Unranked Opponents

5 teams ranked in the final BCS standings lost bowl games to unranked foes. In the Las Vegas Bowl, Arizona knocked off #16 BYU, 31-21. Amid high winds, Oregon State held on for a 3-0 win over #20 Pittsburgh in a bizarre Sun Bowl. In Nashville, Vandy stunned #24 Boston College, 16-14, to win the Music City Bowl. LSU enjoyed the Georgia Dome as usual, crushing #14 Georgia Tech, 38-3, in the Chick-fil-a Bowl. And Tulsa won the GMAC Bowl over #22 Ball State, 45-13, despite pouring rains.

2 Significant Upsets

As far as point spreads there were only 2 substantial upsets in the entire bowl season. Only 2 underdogs of more than 5 points pulled off upsets. Florida Atlantic was a 7 point underdog against Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl but the Owls won 24-21. And of course Utah was a 9.5 point dog against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl but the Utes won 31-17.

Number of Unbeaten Teams Shrinks From 2 to 1

There were still 2 teams without a loss on their record entering the bowl season. Boise State finished the regular season 12-0 but lost 17-16 to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl for their first defeat of the year to finish the season 12-1. It looked like there would be no undefeated team in the FBS for a 2nd straight year. Utah had finished the regular season 12-0 but they were big underdogs against Bama in the Sugar Bowl. However, the Utes sprung the 31-17 upset to finish the year 13-0 as the only undefeated team in the FBS.

2 Bowl Games Settled in Overtime

There were 2 overtime games this bowl season and both games decided after only 1 overtime session. In the Alamo Bowl, Missouri came back and tied Northwestern at 23-23 late in the 4th, and then won 30-23 in overtime. In the New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss came from 10 points back in the 4th to tie Troy, 27-27, and then won on a FG in OT, 30-27.

Many Lopsided and/or Non-Competitive Games

Of the 34 bowl games, 18 were decided by double digits. 13 of those 18 were decided by 13 points or more and 11 were decided by a full 2 touchdowns (14 points) or more. 9 of the 34 bowl games were decided by at least 18 points; 8 of those were decided by 3 touchdowns (21 points) or more; and 6 games were decided by at 24 points or more. There were 5 games with margins of victory of at least 27 points: South Florida beat Memphis by 27 points in the St. Petersburg Bowl, 41-14; Notre Dame whipped Hawaii by 28 in the Hawaii Bowl, 49-21; FSU won the Champs Sports Bowl by 29 points over Wisconsin, 42-13; Tulsa destroyed BSU in the GMAC Bowl, winning by 32 points, 45-13; and in the biggest blowout of the bowl season, LSU crushed Georgia Tech by 35 points in the Chick-fil-a (Peach) Bowl, winning 38-3.

Also a Number of Competitive Games

While most of the bowl games were decided by double digits, there were quite a few very competitive games. 16 of the 34 bowl games were decided by a touchdown (7 points) or less. 12 games were decided by 6 points or less. 7 bowl games were decided by 3 points or less. There were 4 games with a margin of victory of a field goal: Texas won by 3 over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, 24-21; Oregon State beat Pitt, 3-0, in the Sun Bowl; FAU nipped CM 24-21 in the Motor City Bowl; and Southern Miss beat Troy in OT, 30-27. There were 3 games decided by less than a field goal. Vandy upset BC by 2 points, 16-14, in the Music City Bowl. The smallest margin of victory in any bowl game was 1 point. 2 bowl games were decided by just 1 point: TCU eked out a 17-16 win over Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl; and West Virginia won a thriller over UNC in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, 31-30.

How the Conferences Fared

The 12 conferences (including Independents as 1 conference) each had at least 2 teams in bowl games. The ACC had the most bowl teams with 10; the SEC had 8 bowl teams; the Big Ten and the Big XII each had 7 bowl teams; Conference USA and the Big East each had 6 bowl teams; the Pac 10, the MAC, the Mountain West, and the WAC each had 5 bowl teams; and the Sun Belt and Independents had 2 bowl teams each. Of the 12 conferences (Including “Independents” as a 12th conference), 4 had losing records in the bowl games; 2 were .500 in bowl games; and 6 had winning records in bowl games. SBC teams and FBS Independents each went 1-1 in bowl games. The MAC, the WAC, the ACC, and the Big Ten all had losing records in the bowl season. The MAC had the worst record of any conference in the bowl season, with its teams going 0-5. The Big Ten had by far the worst record of any BCS Conference, going just 1-6. The WAC was also very bad, with its teams compiling a 1-4 record. The 10 ACC teams went 4-6 in the bowls. The Big XII was lauded as the top conference throughout most of the season but they went just 4-3 in the bowl season. During the year the MWC looked to be as strong as any conference other than the Big XII and the SEC, but the Mountain West went just 3-2 in the bowl games. The Big East and Conference USA had the 2 most surprising bowl seasons, with each conference posting 4-2 records. The SEC had the most bowl victories of any conference, going 6-2 in 8 games, but no conference had a better record in the bowls than the Pac-10, which was undefeated at 5-0. Pac-10 teams outscored opponents by a total of 45 points, while the SEC had a +43 point scoring differential in their 8 games. The Big Ten had a -65 point scoring differential in 7 games, while MAC teams were outscored by a total of 84 points.

More Bowl Game Notes

The Vegas handicappers did another brilliant job, with favorites going 17-16-1 ATS in the 34 bowls. Favorites were 23-11 straight up…In the 10 battles between ranked teams, the lower ranked teams went 6-4 against the teams ranked above them…Ranked teams went 0-5 against unranked opponents in bowl games…5 conferences claimed BCS Bowl Game victories: the SEC (National Championship Game); the ACC (Orange); the Big XII (Fiesta); the Pac-10 (Rose); and the Mountain West (Sugar)…2 bowl games were rematches of games played in the regular season. In both cases, the team that lost during the regular season avenged that defeat in the bowl game. In the Eagle Bank Bowl, Wake Forrest beat Navy 29-19 to avenge a week 5 loss. In the Armed Forces Bowl, Houston beat Air Force 34-28, getting some revenge for a 31-28 loss in week 3…This was the 4th time in the last 5 years that a team from outside the 6 BCS conferences other than Notre Dame reached a BCS bowl game; Utah’s win made non-BCS conference teams other Notre Dame 3-1 in BCS games, with Utah now 2-0…Utah was the 4th team to finish the season undefeated and non win the National Championship in the last 5 years; in fact this was the 2nd team in the last 5 years that Utah finished undefeated and did not win the National Title...Virginia Tech’s win in the Orange Bowl snapped the ACC’s losing streak in BCS games at 8 and was just the 2nd BCS Bowl win ever for the ACC… The SEC won the BCS National Championship for the 3rd straight year and the 5th time in the 11 year history of the BCS…The MAC is 0-8 in bowl games over the last 2 years; the WAC is 2-7 in bowl games over the last 2 years; the ACC is 6-12 in bowl games over the last 2 years; the Big Ten is 6-16 in bowl games over the last 3 years; the Pac-10 is 9-2 in bowl games over the last 2 years; the Mountain West is 10-4 in bowl games over the last 3 years.

2008-2009 Bowl Season Results

Eagle Bank Bowl
WF 29, Navy 19 (WF comes back from 13-0 deficit, avenges week 5 loss, wins 2nd straight bowl; Navy loses 3rd straight bowl.)

New Mexico Bowl
CSU 40, Fresno St. 35 (Gartrell Johnson catches 5 passes for 90 yards, runs for 285 yards, scores 2 TD’s in the 4th as the Rams overcome 8 point 4th quarter deficit. CSU gets first bowl win since 2001, snapping 3 game losing streak in bowls.)

St. Petersburg Bowl
SF 41, Mem 14 (SF jumps out to 24-7 lead, shuts out Memphis 17-0 in 2nd half to even all-time record in bowl games at 2-2; Tigers’ bowl record falls to 3-3.)

Las Vegas Bowl
Ariz 31, BYU 21 (BYU playing in 4th straight LV Bowl and going for 3rd straight win. Cats trail14-10 in 3rd before going on 21-0 run to win in their first bowl game since winning 1998 Holiday Bowl.)

New Orleans Bowl
S Miss 30, Troy 27 (OT) (Eagles erase 10 point deficit in final 7 minutes to tie it and then win in OT; S Miss now 3-0 in New Orleans Bowl since 2004.)

Poinsettia Bowl
TCU 17, Boise St. 16 (TCU falls down 13-0, comes back to deal Broncos their first loss of the season. TCU wins 4th straight bowl over last 4 years; Boise State falls to 1-4 in their last 5 bowl games.)

Hawaii Bowl
ND 49, Haw 21 (ND puts Hawaii in 42-7 hole on the way to their first bowl win since 1994 Cotton, snapping a 9 game losing skid in bowl games. Hawaii’s 3 game win streak in Hawaii Bowl snapped.)

Motor City Bowl
FAU 24, CM 21 (Owls tie it up at 10-10 late in the 1st half, take 17-10 lead early in the 3rd and lead the rest of the way. FAU wins bowl game for 2nd straight year, now 2-0 all-time. CM loses in Motor City Bowl for 2nd straight year.)

Meineke Bowl
WV 31, UNC 30 (WV scores with 7:14 left to go up 31-30 and win 4th bowl in 4 years; Pat White finishes 4-0 in bowl games.)

Champs Sports Bowl
FSU 42, Wis 13 (FSU leading just 14-6 midway through the 3rd before going on 28-0 run to make it 42-6, securing Bobby Bowden’s 21st bowl win.)

Emerald Bowl
Cal 24, Mia 17 (Cal scores with 2:41 left to break a 17-17 tie and win their 4th straight bowl game over the last 4 years.)

Independence Bowl
LT 17, NIU 10 (Bulldogs fall down 7-0 early but get a 97 yard kickoff return for a TD to tie it and score the next 17 points to get their first bowl win since 1977. LT gets just their 2nd bowl win all-time out of 5 bowl appearances.)

Papa Johns Bowl
Rut 29, NC St. 23 (NC State leads 17-6 at the half but Russell Wilson misses the entire 2nd half with an injury and Rutgers outscores the Wolfpack 23-6 after the break for their 3rd straight bowl win over the last 3 years. NC State’s 3 game win streak in bowl games is snapped.)

Alamo Bowl
Missouri 30, NW 23 (OT) (Tigers tie it up on a FG with 2:49 left and win in OT to deal NW their 6th straight loss in a bowl game.)

Humanitarian Bowl
Mary 42, Nev 35 (Maryland blows a 14 point lead in the 2nd half as the Wolfpack tie it up at 28 but Maryland scores next 14 to take 42-28 lead and they go on to win it, dealing Nevada their 3rd consecutive loss in a bowl game.)

Texas Bowl
Rice 38, WM 14 (Rice scores the games first 38 points and wins their 1st bowl game since the 1953 Cotton Bowl, snapping a 4 game skid. WM falls to 0-4 all-time in bowl games.)

Holiday Bowl
Ore 42, Ok St. 31 (Okie State leads 17-7 at the half and 31-28 early in the 4th but Oregon scores the final 14 points to win.)

Armed Forces Bowl
Hou 34, AF 28 (Cougars avenge week 3 loss, get first bowl win since 1980, snapping 8 game winless streak in bowls. AF losses 3rd straight bowl game.)

Sun Bowl
Ore St. 3, Pitt 0 (Beaves kick 44 yd FG with 2:18 left in 1st half, hold Pitt to 178 yards to win 5th straight bowl game over last 6 years. Pitt losses 3 straight bowl.)

Music City Bowl
Vandy 16, BC 14 (Playing in their first bowl since 1982 and their 4th all-time, the Dores go ahead on a 45 yd FG with 3:26 left and go on to get their first bowl win since the 1955 Gator Bowl and just their 2nd bowl game victory of all-time. For BC the loss snaps their streak of 8 consecutive bowl victories over the previous 8 years.)

Insight Bowl
Kan 42, Minn 21 (The Jayhawks trail 14-7 late in the 2nd before going on a 28-0 run to take a 35-14 lead to the 4th quarter, as Kansas wins their 3rd straight bowl game. Minnesota’s losses their 3rd straight bowl.)

Chick-fil-a Bowl
LSU 38, GT 3 (LSU leads 7-3 after 1 and outscores Tech 28-0 in the 2nd to take a 35-3 lead to the half and they go on to win their 4th straight bowl over the last 4 years. Tech losses their 4th straight bowl game over the last 4 years.)

Outback Bowl
Iowa 31, SC 10 (The Gamecocks had been 2-0 in the OB Bowl but Iowa puts them in a 31-0 hole and wins easily.)

Capital One Bowl
UGA 24, Mich St. 12 (The Dawgs trail 6-3 at the half but outscore MSU 21-6 in the 2nd half for their 3rd straight bowl win; the Spartans lose their 3rd straight bowl game.)

Gator Bowl
Neb 26, Clem 21 (Neb trails 21-10 midway through the 3rd but outscores Clemson 16-0 the rest of the way as the Tigers drop their 3rd straight bowl game.)

Rose Bowl
USC 38, PSU 24 (7-7 after 1 but USC outscores PSU 24-0 in the 2nd and leads 31-7 going to the 4th. The loss snaps a 3 game win streak in bowl games for Joe Pa. USC wins their 3rd straight Rose over the last 3 years. For the Trojans it is their 7th BCS appearance in a row, their 6th BCS bowl win in the last 7 years.

Orange Bowl
VT 20, Cin 7 (Hokies trail 7-0 after 1, outscore Cinci 20-0 the rest of the way to get their first BCS Bowl win, snap Cinci’s 3 game winning streak in bowl games.)

Cotton Bowl
Miss 47, Texas Tech 34 (Rebs fall down 14-0 in the first 10 minutes, score 38 of the game’s next 45 points to take a 38-21 lead to the 4th. The win is Mississippi’s first in a bowl game since 2003.)

Liberty Bowl
Ken 25, EC 19 (Cats trail 16-3 at the half, 19-16 going to the 4th, tie it up on a FG and then take the lead on a 56 yard fumble return for a TD to win their 3rd straight bowl over the last 3 years.)

Sugar Bowl
Utah 31, Bama 17 (Utes outscore Bama 21-0 in the 1st, Bama cuts it to 21-10 by halftime, scores first in the 3rd quarter to make it 21-17 but Utah scores the final 10 points for the win to finish the season undefeated at 13-0. The victory gives Utah 6 bowl wins over the last 6 years and 8 straight bowl victories overall.)

International Bowl
Conn 38, Buff 20 (Conn trails 20-10 midway through the 2nd but outscores the Bulls 28-0 the rest of the way to deal Buffalo a loss in their first ever bowl game.)

Fiesta Bowl
Texas 24, Ohio St. 21 (Texas leads 17-6 after 3 but Ohio State scores 15 straight, going ahead 21-17 with just 2:05 remaining. Texas comes back and scores on a 26 yard TD pass from McCoy to Cosby with 16 seconds left to win it. The win gives Texas 5 straight bowl victories over the last 5 years. For the Buckeyes it is a BCS Bowl loss for a 3rd year in a row.)

GMAC Bowl
Tulsa 45, BSU 13 (Tulsa leads 24-13 at the half and outscores BSU 21-0 in the 2nd on the way to their 2nd straight GMAC Bowl win. The loss drops BSU to 0-5 all-time in bowl games.)

National Championship Game
Fla 24, Ok 14 (0-0 after the 1st quarter; 7-7 at halftime; 14-7 Florida at the end of 3 quarters; 14-14 early in the 4th; Florida outscores Sooners 10-0 the rest of the way to win 2nd BCS National Title in 3 years. For Oklahoma over the last 6 years: 1-5 in bowl games; 0-5 in BCS bowl games; and 0-3 in BCS National Championship Games.)