Portal:College football/Selected article/2007
January, 2007
Trick Plays take advantage of the fact that nearly all American football plays are either a pass from the quarterback or a run by the halfback. As a result, defenses will think pass when the quarterback has the ball and run when the running back has it. Trick plays try to do something different in these situations. Trick plays are unusual plays, and therefore tend only to work if they are unanticipated.
In college football, the Boise State Broncos used several trick plays in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl:
- Trailing Oklahoma 35-28 with less than 20 seconds left in regulation and the ball at midfield, the Broncos executed a hook-and-ladder play. Quarterback Jared Zabransky connected with wide receiver Drisan James on a 15-yard pass over the middle. James then lateraled to Jerard Rabb, who ran the rest of the way for the touchdown with 7 seconds left. They successfully converted the extra point to force overtime.
- In overtime, with the Broncos down 42-35, they faced a fourth-and-2 from the Oklahoma 6-yard line. They lined up in the shotgun, but sent Zabransky into motion and snapped to backup wide receiver Vinny Peretta, who was playing as a running back. He then ran an option pass, throwing to tight end Derek Schouman for the touchdown that narrowed the lead to 42-41.
- Broncos coach Chris Petersen then opted to go for two to win the game rather than kick the extra point to send the game to a second overtime. Zabransky faked a pass to a wide receiver on the far right side with his bare right hand; all the while holding the football behind his back with his left hand. He handed the ball off behind his back to star running back Ian Johnson, who ran into the end zone untouched to complete the two-point conversion and win the game.
February, 2007
The 2005 Texas Longhorns football team (variously "Texas" or "UT" or the "Horns") represented the University of Texas at Austin in the college football season of 2005-2006, winning both the Big 12 Conference championship and the National Championship. The team was coached by head football coach Mack Brown and led on the field by quarterback Vince Young. The team played its home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
The team's penultimate victory of the season, in the Big 12 Championship Game, featured the biggest margin of victory in the history of that contest. Their ultimate victory in the 2006 Rose Bowl against the University of Southern California Trojans for the national championship, as well as their overall season, have both been cited as standing among the greatest performances in college football history by publications such as College Football News, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Scouts.com, and Sports Illustrated. The Longhorns and the Trojans were together awarded the 2006 ESPY Award by ESPN for the "Best Game" in any sport. The Longhorns finished the season as the only unbeaten team, with 13 wins and zero losses overall.
The season gave Texas its second Big 12 football championship (26 conference championships total, including 24 in the Southwest Conference), and fourth consensus national championship in football. It was the ninth perfect season in the history of Longhorn football.
The team set numerous school and NCAA records, including most points scored in a season. After the season ended, six Longhorns from this championship team were selected by professional football teams in the 2006 NFL Draft: Vince Young, Michael Huff, Cedric Griffin, David Thomas, Jonathan Scott and Rodrique Wright.March, 2007
Ralphie the buffalo is the name of the live mascot of the University of Colorado Buffaloes. She has been called one of the best live mascots in sports and is often erroneously labeled male.
Handlers, known as "Ralphie Runners," run Ralphie around Folsom Field, the University of Colorado's football field, in a loop before each half of each home game. Ralphie can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). Female bison are used because they are smaller and less aggressive, as well as for insurance reasons, although Ralphie has knocked over her handlers on more than one occasion. Because of this, whether or not Ralphie runs is at the sole discretion of her handlers, and her run may be canceled if she is unusually nervous or upset.April, 2007
The 2006 Alamo Bowl Game was a college football bowl game, part of the 2006–2007 bowl season of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 2006 Alamo Bowl was played in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on December 30. The game matched the Texas Longhorns versus the Iowa Hawkeyes and was televised on ESPN and ESPN-HD. It was the most-watched bowl game in ESPN history.
Alamo Bowl officials announced that both schools sold their entire allotment of tickets, resulting in the fastest sellout in Alamo Bowl history. The attendance for the game was 65,875, which established a new record for the most people to gather in San Antonio to view a sporting event. Texas won the game 26-24.May, 2007
Vince Young is an American football player. He is a dual-threat quarterback, and the current starting quarterback for the National Football League Tennessee Titans. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the #3 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft on April 29, 2006. He was awarded honors in his rookie season: NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a roster spot on the AFC Pro Bowl team. EA games announced on April 14, 2007 that Vince Young will be on the cover of the Madden football video game for 2008.
Young played college football for the University of Texas Longhorns before turning professional. As a college junior, he was one of three finalists for the 2005 Heisman Trophy, finishing second to Reggie Bush and ahead of Matt Leinart in the final vote. Young was named the best college football player of 2005 by College Football News, based upon their statistical analysis. Following the Heisman voting, Young led his team to a BCS National Championship on January 4, 2006 in a classic thriller against the defending BCS national champion University of Southern California Trojans in the 2006 Rose Bowl. The game featured two Heisman Trophy winners as Young's opponents: both USC quarterback Matt Leinart and USC running back Reggie Bush. The game was called one of the most-anticipated games in the history of college football. In perhaps the most spectacular individual college football performance ever, Young completed 75% of his passes for 267 yards and also managed to run for more yards than Bush; he totaled 200 yards at 10 yards a carry.
Young decided he would forgo his last year of NCAA college eligibility and become a professional player by entering the 2006 NFL Draft. This decision made him the second player in Longhorn coach Mack Brown's eight year term as head coach of the Texas Longhorns to enter the NFL with eligibility remaining.June, 2007
Sparty is the mascot of Michigan State University. Sparty is usually depicted as a muscular male Spartan warrior/athlete dressed in stylized Greek costume. After changing the team name from "Aggies" to "Spartans" in 1925, various incarnations of a Spartan warrior with a prominent chin appeared at university events and in university literature. In 1943, MSU art professor Leonard D. Jungwirth designed a statue for the university, which had to be cast in terra cotta because of World War II rationing. In 2005, the university had to replace Jungwirth's original statue with a bronze replica, moving the original indoors.
Sparty appears in several other incarnations. In printed literature, the university uses a copyrighted cartoon Spartan, usually drawn with a grimace and several days worth of whiskers, lending the nickname of "Gruff" Sparty. Finally, Sparty appears as a foam rubber mascot with an oversized head. The mascot costume, worn by an anonymous student, appears at most university sporting, alumni, and fundraising events; he is often portrayed in MSU notices and materials.July, 2007
The Fifth Down was the name of a college football play that was the result of an error by the crew officiating the game. This play enabled the Colorado Buffaloes to defeat the Missouri Tigers by scoring a touchdown on the last play of their game on October 6, 1990. The ensuing controversy cast doubt on Colorado's claim to Division I-A's 1990 national championship. It has been called one of the top memorable moments and blunders in college football history.[1][2]
In American football, a team is allowed four attempts or "downs" to move the ball ten 10 yards (9.14 m) towards the goal line. If the offense moves ten yards in four attempts or less, it gains a "first down," which restarts the process. If, after four attempts, the offense has neither scored nor gained ten yards, the other team is given possession of the ball. Under normal circumstances (for example, excluding penalties which can involve replaying a down), no team is supposed to be allowed five attempts. However, due to an officiating error, Colorado was given a fifth down which they used to score the game-winning touchdown as time expired.
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References
- ^ "College football's best of the last 20 years" (HTML). USA Today. 2002-11-19. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
- ^ Ted Mandell (2005-09-25). "HEART STOPPERS AND HAIL MARYS" (Book/CD). Hardwood Press. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
August, 2007
The 2005 Oklahoma vs. Texas football game, played October 8, 2005, was the 100th meeting between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners. This annual game is called the Red River Shootout. It is considered by college football coaches to be one of the three greatest rivalry games in college football, and Fox Sports says the rivalry includes some of the most unique traditions in the sport.
The 2005 Texas Longhorn football team was coached by head football coach Mack Brown and led on the field by quarterback Vince Young. The 2005 Oklahoma Sooners football team was coached by Bob Stoops with Rhett Bomar at quarterback.
This was the fourth game of the 2005 season for both teams. Texas came into the game with a 4-0 record and a #2 ranking. Oklahoma was 2-2 and unranked. Both teams were 1-0 in conference play. Since the two teams are both in the South Division of the Big 12 Conference, winning this game would be an important step towards winning the Division and possibly the Conference. For Texas, a loss would likely eliminate hope of them playing in the BCS National Championship Game.
Prior to the game, Texas was favored by 14 points. They took an early seven-point lead and led for the rest of the game. Although the score was close for the first quarter, Texas eventually won the game by 33 points, tying the biggest margin of victory for the Longhorns (a 40-7 victory in 1941) in the 100-game history of the rivalry. For Mack Brown, beating Oklahoma for the first time in five years allowed him to "get the monkey off his back" and shed his reputation as a coach incapable of winning the most important games.
(more)September, 2007
Photo credit: Jamie Howell
October, 2007
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is an elite college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma (OU). The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The program began in 1895 and is the most successful program of the modern era (post World War II) with 524 wins and a winning percentage of .761 since 1945. The program has seven national championships, 40 conference championships, 142 All-Americans, and four Heisman Trophy winners. In addition, the school has had five coaches and 17 players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and holds the record for the longest winning streak in Division I-A history with 47 straight victories. The team is currently coached by Bob Stoops and home games are played at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.
November, 2007
The University of Georgia (commonly referred to as Georgia or UGA) is located in Athens, Georgia and is a liberal arts research university. The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, Tech, or GT), is an engineering research university located in Atlanta, Georgia. The academic and geographic divergence of the two institutions polarizes the state of Georgia into two fairly large fan bases.
Georgia Tech and Georgia were founded over 100 years apart. Georgia was founded on January 27, 1785, and Georgia Tech was founded on October 13, 1885. Patrick Hues Mell, the president of the University of Georgia at that time, was a firm believer that it should be located at Athens with the University's main campus, like the Agricultural and Mechanical School. Despite Mell's arguments, the new school was located near what were then the northern city limits of Atlanta.
(more)December, 2007
The 2006 Alamo Bowl was a bowl game that faced the Texas Longhorns against the Iowa Hawkeyes as part of the 2006–2007 bowl season. The game was played in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on December 30. The game was televised on ESPN and ESPN-HD and was the most-watched bowl game in ESPN history to that point.
Iowa received the ball first, and came out strong, scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter. Hampered by an effective Iowa defense, Texas only managed a single field goal. In the second quarter, an interception thrown by Iowa quarterback Drew Tate, coupled with an 80-yard drive by Texas's offense, cut the Hawkeyes' lead to 14-10 heading into halftime. After receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, Texas marched down the field for a 43-yard field goal by Ryan Bailey, cutting Iowa's lead to a single point. After forcing Iowa's offense to punt, Texas ran a wheel route to running back Jamaal Charles, who ran for 72 yards, a touchdown, and Texas's first lead of the game. Iowa answered with a touchdown of their own, however, regaining the lead at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Texas scored a touchdown with 11 minutes remaining to take the lead, 26-20. A failed two-point conversion left Iowa only needing a touchdown and extra point to win.
The Hawkeyes' offense, however, stalled in the red zone, and settled for a field goal, hoping that their defense could force Texas to punt, thus giving another offensive chance to Iowa. Iowa's defense did force a punt, but their offense again failed to get the ball moving forward, as Texas's defense defeated an Iowa end-around for a loss of 11 yards. Iowa was forced to punt yet again, and the Texas offense proceeded to run out the clock and earn the win, 26-24.