12-08-2004, 09:54 PM | #1 | ||
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Wolfpack Pre-plays the Bowl Season (with a twist)
I have settled on a new dynasty that should hopefully get done by the end of next week as I will be in NC for Christmas for two weeks after that.
What I've decided to do is pre-play the college football bowl season, but with one very significant change. I will be incorporating an eight-team playoff into the mix. I wanted it to be a semi-plausible reality, so I opted against 16 teams because I couldn't figure out a way to incorporate such a field into the current calendar that didn't make things seem a bit silly. As with other recent dynasties I've done, I'm doing this with my Quick Play Football utility. I have generally figured out how to rate new teams for the game, though it isn't exactly correct according to numbers the game's originator has come up with for teams already in the game. The differences are fractional in most cases, though. The eight teams chosen for the playoffs are the four highest-rated conference champions in the BCS standings and the four highest-rated teams from the remainder in the BCS standings. As it turns out, this year, it is strictly the top eight in the BCS. The top four conference champions are: (1) USC (Pac-10) (2) Oklahoma (Big XII) (3) Auburn (SEC) (6) Utah (Mountain West) The four remaining highest-rated teams are: (4) Texas (Big XII) (5) California (Pac-10) (7) Georgia (SEC) (8) Virginia Tech (ACC) The tournament will be played at the home field of the higher seed in the quarterfinals and semi-finals and at the Orange Bowl for the championship. Quarterfinal losers actually become eligible for regular bowl season games. Semifinal losers, however, do not. I figure they've played two games already, plus it would be difficult to have the bowl committees wait until mid-December to make their selections and get the tickets out. It would be tough to wait until Dec. 12, but it would be impossible on Dec. 19. Like I said, I'm aiming for something that could be done to show that it can be done. Because there are still teams to be made available (first round losers) in this arrangement, it means that while some bowl games will be identical to real life, others may be completely different. One thing has to give: there's only 57 eligible teams for 56 slots in real life. Eliminating two teams because they lose in the semi-finals drops that number to 55. As a result, either a 6-6 team like Northwestern must "magically" make it, or a bowl will have to be foregone. After giving some thought, I'm going to be generous and add the 6-6 teams to the eligible pool. As for the remaining BCS bowls, they get first dibs on the pool, starting with the Rose, which would take Michigan and would hope and pray that Cal or USC get bumped. The Fiesta (normally anchored by #2 Oklahoma of the Big XII) gets second pick, followed by the Sugar. Things will domino from there depending on who gets bumped out of the tournament. In most instances, conferences will either bump up or bump down to accomodate losers or fill spots. As much as I can, I will aim to retain matchups as they presently exist. So, the first round of the tournament will kick off the postseason on December 11, 2004 with these pairings: (8) Virginia Tech at (1) Southern Cal (5) California at (4) Texas (7) Georgia at (2) Oklahoma (6) Utah at (3) Auburn The semi-finals will be December 18. All bowl game dates remain unchanged. It should be noted that I will be extremely busy over the next couple of days and so may not get to invest much time in this until next week. But, once it starts, it should snap to a finish as I can run the whole bowl season (once it's all determined) at once. |
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12-09-2004, 09:24 AM | #2 |
Head Coach
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very interesting.
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12-17-2004, 01:06 PM | #3 |
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I've finally gotten the chance to kick this project into gear. I had to spend a bit of time creating a college OT set of charts for the game (the original only has pro OT charts). At any rate, I'll start things off in the next post.
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12-17-2004, 01:32 PM | #4 |
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December 11, 2004--Quarterfinals
The tournament starts with four big quarterfinal matchups, one (Utah-Auburn) featuring two unbeatens. Code:
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12-17-2004, 03:49 PM | #5 |
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December 12, 2004
All bowls aside from the Orange complete their bowl pairings. The BCS bowls, Rose, Fiesta, and Sugar take turns picking from their pool of available teams (consisting of the Top 12 in the standings, plus any BCS conference champs, in this case Michigan and Pittsburgh, outside the Top 12). With some of the teams unavailable due to being in the playoff, a couple of teams that wouldn't have made the BCS bowls otherwise do so, causing a chain reaction that resounds across the landscape. Here is the 2004-05 bowl line-up: December 14, 2004 Wyndham New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA) Southern Mississippi (6-5) vs. North Texas (7-4) December 21, 2004 Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL) Georgia Tech (6-5) vs. Syracuse (6-5) December 22, 2004 GMAC Bowl (Mobile, AL) Memphis (8-3) vs. Bowling Green (8-3) December 23, 2004 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV) Wyoming (6-5) vs. Akron (6-5) PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl (Fort Worth, TX) Cincinnati (6-5) vs. Marshall (6-5) December 24, 2004 ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu, HI) Hawaii (7-5) vs. UAB (7-4) December 27, 2004 MPC Computers Bowl (Boise, ID) Fresno State (8-3) vs. Virginia (8-3) Motor City Bowl (Detroit, MI) Toledo (9-3) vs. Pittsburgh (8-3) December 28, 2004 Insight Bowl (Phoenix, AZ) Notre Dame (6-5) vs. UCLA (6-5) Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA) Iowa State (6-5) vs. Miami (OH) (8-4) December 29, 2004 MasterCard Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX) Minnesota (6-5) vs. Oklahoma State (7-4) EV1.net Houston Bowl (Houston, TX) UTEP (8-3) vs. Colorado (7-5) December 30, 2004 Silicon Valley Football Classic (San Jose, CA) Troy (7-4) vs. Northern Illinois (8-3) Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA) Arizona State (8-3) vs. Texas Tech (7-4) Emerald Bowl (San Francisco, CA) Navy (9-2) vs. New Mexico (7-4) Continental Tire Bowl (Charlotte, NC) Boston College (8-3) vs. North Carolina (7-4) December 31, 2004 Vitalis Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX) Ohio State (7-4) vs. Oregon State (6-5) Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) Miami (8-3) vs. Alabama (6-5) Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN) Northwestern (6-6) vs. Connecticut (7-4) AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN) Louisville (10-1) vs. Boise State (11-0) January 1, 2005 Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL) Purdue (7-4) vs. Florida (7-4) Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Florida State (8-3) vs. West Virginia (8-3) Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX) Georgia (9-3) vs. Texas A&M (7-4) Capital One Bowl (Orlando, FL) Tennessee (9-3) vs. Wisconsin (9-2) Rose Bowl presented by Citi Michigan (9-2) vs. Utah (11-0) Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Texas (10-2) vs. Iowa (9-2) January 2, 2005 Nokia Sugar Bowl Virginia Tech (10-3) vs. LSU (9-2) Some notes *In filling the slots, I generally bumped teams up or down a place in the pecking order, though there were some shifts made and a few surprises as well. Generally, though, the lower bowls filled with teams from the non-BCS conferences remained roughly the same, while the higher bowls had a number of changes. *I tried a way the BCS bowls might come up with teams, which was essentially a draft order based on who had priority (Rose, then Fiesta, then Sugar). I would figure the Rose would still want Michigan, so they were selected. The Fiesta has a Big 12 anchor, so I had them take Texas. Finally, the Sugar would want a big travelling fan base and Virginia Tech gives them that. On the second pass, I couldn't justify the Rose taking Arizona State at 8-3 when 11-1 Utah was still available (and fresh off proving themselves in a close loss at Auburn). Then again, the Rose is so hidebound to its traditions that Arizona State could be taken in this arrangement, records be damned. Fiesta's second pick went to Iowa on the basis of good travelling fan base, then the Sugar opted to invite the home-state Tigers back to guarantee a full house. *Northwestern gets in at 6-6 because I'm one team short otherwise. The Music City Bowl spot was for a Big 10 team, so I held that open until I determined other spots. Once Akron went to Las Vegas, it left Northwestern and Louisiana Tech to choose from and because of that Big 10 tie-in, Northwestern gets the slot. *The one I agonized over was how to work the Cotton Bowl. With LSU moving up the chain to the Sugar Bowl, Tennessee became the natural choice to move over to the Cap One Bowl. I had considered a creative choice of putting West Virginia in the Cotton Bowl since the Big East does have a tie-in if the Cotton elects to skip the SEC, but I couldn't work it because I reasoned the Gator would want West Virginia and the match up with FSU and Bobby Bowden and they had essentially first dibs on the Big East with Pittsburgh falling out of the BCS. They'd want the WV fans. The Cotton's Big East choice is down the list. As a result, I had them take Georgia, reasoning the Cotton has stature and tradition and Georgia would find that acceptable. This meant Florida got booted into the Outback (again) while Alabama went to the Peach Bowl. This left open a spot at the Music City. With Pittsburgh out of the BCS, I reasoned they, not Connecticut, would go to the Motor City Bowl (closer, better opponent) and that UConn would fall to the Music City. At any rate, I've gotta get cracking if I want to finish this. I wanted to get it done before I left for Christmas. |
12-17-2004, 04:32 PM | #6 |
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December 14, 2004
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12-17-2004, 04:38 PM | #7 |
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December 18, 2004--Semifinals
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12-17-2004, 04:41 PM | #8 |
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December 21, 2004
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12-17-2004, 04:44 PM | #9 |
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December 22, 2004
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12-17-2004, 04:49 PM | #10 |
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December 23, 2004
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12-17-2004, 04:56 PM | #11 |
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December 24, 2004
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12-17-2004, 05:01 PM | #12 |
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December 27, 2004
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12-18-2004, 02:26 PM | #13 |
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December 28, 2004
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12-18-2004, 02:32 PM | #14 |
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December 29, 2004
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12-18-2004, 03:01 PM | #15 |
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Colorado 33, UTEP 14.
That's right, Jeeber. |
12-20-2004, 09:39 AM | #16 |
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Just wanted to let everyone know that I do have access here at my parents' house in NC. I do have the results with me, but I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to post them. Maybe later today. (I'll be visiting wife's family next couple of days, though.)
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12-29-2004, 11:00 PM | #17 |
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Bizarre...in my game Colorado scored 6 in the first, 14 in the second, 3 in the third and 10 in the fourth. In real life, they scored 3 in the first, 10 in the second, 6 in the third, and 14 in the fourth. The game essentially matched every quarter score for Colorado, just in a different order. Similarly, other than UTEP's 14-point outburst in the opening quarter, the other three quarter scores from the preplay match up (7, 0, 7) though again in the wrong order.
(Yes, I've finally gotten back online, but only briefly. I hope to get to post the rest of this before too long, but it won't be tonight.) |
01-06-2005, 04:55 PM | #18 |
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Apologies for dragging this thing out. I got a nasty bug of some kind that I'm still battling (though gradually getting better) that has pretty much kept me off the computer over the past week (that and traveling and the wife and so forth). But, finally, I have computer time for a short while so I'll try to wrap this whole thing up.
So, without further ado.... |
01-06-2005, 05:07 PM | #19 |
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December 30, 2004
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01-06-2005, 05:36 PM | #20 |
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December 31, 2004
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01-06-2005, 09:13 PM | #21 |
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January 1, 2005
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01-06-2005, 09:22 PM | #22 |
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January 1, 2005--The Rose Bowl presented by Citi
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From the opening gun, it was clear Utah was the better team. The Utes jumped on Michigan early, and though Michigan got on the board with a touchdown, the Utes seemed to be playing with a vengeance. The dam finally broke as Utah racked up three touchdowns in the second quarter to turn a 13-7 lead into a 41-14 rout by halftime. Embarrassed, the Wolverines gamely fought back in the third to cut it to 41-28, but a big Utah touchdown drive took the wind out of Michigan's sails. In the fourth, the Utes had answers for every Michigan challenge and then some, expanding their lead to 55-35 by game's end. Urban Myer goes out on top and Utah fans are left to wonder what might have been had he stayed. As it is, the Cinderella team of 2004 walks away with one of the biggest prizes of the entire ball, a Rose Bowl trophy. Last edited by Wolfpack : 01-06-2005 at 09:22 PM. |
01-06-2005, 09:29 PM | #23 |
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January 1, 2005--Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
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The game was pretty much all Texas from the start. The Longhorns cut up the Iowa defense for two surprisingly easy touchdown drives in the first quarter that seemed to take a lot of fight out of Iowa. They then added a field goal right before the half to take a commanding 17-0 lead at the break. In the third, Iowa gave their large fanbase that came with them something to cheer about as they struck for a touchdown to cut it to 17-7. Unfortunately, that was the only life shown by the Iowa offense all day as the Longhorns ruthlessly snuffed out all other chances the rest of the way. The Texas offense, while unable to produce points, did something far more important, guzzle clock. The Longhorns effectively strangled the Hawkeyes over the remaining time and claimed the Fiesta Bowl, 17-7. |
01-06-2005, 09:39 PM | #24 |
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January 3, 2005--Nokia Sugar Bowl
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Unfortunately for those home state fans, the home state team apparently stayed back in Baton Rouge. Perhaps distracted by all the hubbub that came from the surprise hiring of head coach Nick Saban by the Miami Dolphins, the Tigers looked completely flat throughout. The Hokies, while not spectacular on offense, put up a workmanlike effort that netted them touchdowns in each of the first two quarters (though they gambled away a sure field goal and lost on one occassion) while the stout Hokie defense completely shut down the Tigers after they netted a field goal on the opening drive. The Tiger defense finally bore down in the third quarter, but all that resulted was a lot of punts as the Hokies still wouldn't allow the Tigers any quarter on offense. Virginia Tech completed the scoring with a pair of time-consuming drives that resulted in field goals, the second one of which effectively sealed the game with a 17-point lead. The Hokies complete a spectacular 2004 season with a great win in the Sugar Bowl. Last edited by Wolfpack : 01-06-2005 at 09:39 PM. |
01-07-2005, 05:01 PM | #25 |
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January 4, 2005--FedEx Orange Bowl
It is the game just about everyone was hoping to get. 14-0 Southern California, fresh off a complete demolition of Pac-10 rival Cal in the semi-finals, meets the 14-0 Auburn Tigers, who dispatched the second-seeded Oklahoma Sooners on the road in Norman in their semi-final pairing. It's been two-and-a-half weeks since each team took the field, just long enough to heal up some bumps and bruises, and just short enough to keep the teams from losing their edge. Pro Player Stadium is packed to the gills with Tiger and Trojan fans, though the majority of the support seems to be with the Tigers with their fans making the trek down from Alabama. 1st Quarter USC won the toss and deferred. The Tigers received the kickoff and asserted themselves right off the bat, with a strong drive utilizing the run. The drive was capped by a Cadillac Williams plow-in from the two with 9:06 left in the quarter and Auburn took the lead. John Vaughn converted the PAT to make it 7-0. The Trojans were quick in response, though not as strongly as they hoped. Reggie Bush gathered in the ensuing kickoff and nearly broke it all the way. Only a diving stab by Vaughn at the Auburn 40 saved the score. Taking over with great field position, Leinart immediately hooked up with Dwayne Jarrett, who converted a short out into a big gain that pushed the ball well into Auburn territory. But, the Tigers stiffened up on defense and did not allow the Trojans any further advance. Ryan Killeen thus had to come in on fourth down and attempt a 37-yard field goal, which he converted, leaving Auburn ahead 7-3 with the quarter half-gone. Auburn gets the ball and tries to put together another hammering drive, but it stalls out near midfield and they punt away, the clock winding down to 4 minutes left in the opening quarter. The Trojans start out fairly deep in their own end, but it doesn't last long as Leinart carves up the Auburn defense and moves the Trojans past midfield and into Auburn territory. Once again, however, the Tigers rise up and make a big third down stand. On comes Killeen for his second field goal, this one from 46 yards. This attempt is no good and the Tigers are able to keep the Trojans off the board with time running under a minute in the opening quarter. As the quarter ends, the Tigers are driving back to midfield. End of 1st quarter, Auburn leads 7-3 2nd Quarter The second quarter starts and the Tigers resume hammering the Trojans, beating them back into their own territory until they reach the USC 25. Campbell hands off to Williams, who explodes through the line and the Trojan defenders are unable to bring him down or catch him. He races into the end zone and the Auburn faithful at Pro Player Stadium erupts. John Vaughn adds the PAT and suddenly, the defending champs are on the ropes, down 14-3 with 12:15 left in the half. The Trojans prove their mettle, though, as they come back with a great drive that sees them advance deep into Auburn territory. But then, disaster hits as Leinart is drilled attempting to pass and coughs up the football. A pile-up ensues. The refs pull the bodies off and up comes Auburn with the football! The Tigers have a great chance to deliver a knock-out punch early! Alas, they don't take advantage. They do push the ball back to midfield, but once again, the Trojans are able to make a stand and force Auburn to punt. Reggie Bush waves for the fair catch and USC has it at its own 17 with 3:43 left. Leinart shakes off the last possesion's costly error and goes back to work, delivering precise passes that drive the Trojans deep into Auburn territory until they are standing at the Auburn 7 with :15 left in the half, time enough for USC to have one, maybe two cracks at a touchdown before having to bring on the kicker. Leinart drops back, looks, looks, fires! Caught! Touchdown! Caught by Dwayne Jarrett in the back of the end zone! Nine seconds left in the half and we have a new ballgame as Killeen boots the PAT to make it 14-10. Auburn, as expected, kills off the little clock left in the half after their return failed to secure any field position or score. End of the 2nd quarter, Auburn leads 14-10 3rd Quarter The Trojans receive the opening kick of the third quarter and put together another strong drive that pushes them into Auburn territory, when the Tiger defense makes a huge play. On second down and 5 at the Auburn 43, Leinart drops back and fires a pass to the sideline, intended for Bush. The problem is that safety Junior Rosegreen read the play perfectly and steps in front of the pass to make the interception. 50! 45! 40! 35! 30! 20! 10! 5! Touchdown! Touchdown, Auburn Tigers! A 60-yard interception return for touchdown by Junior Rosegreen and now it's 21-10 with 12:34 left in the third. Again, the champs are on the ropes. Can they bounce back? There's still a lot of time left. The answer is very quick in coming and it is very emphatic. After the ensuing kickoff, the Trojans march downfield a little bit and then...it happens. At the Trojan 39, Leinart drops back and fires a bullet to Reggie Bush in the slot. Bush then does what Bush does best. He makes a couple of cuts, a narrow escape, and then is off to the races. When he's gone, he's gone. 61 yards later, he's in the end zone and the Trojans deliver the answer they needed in the form of a spectacular touchdown by Bush. In a curious decision, Pete Carroll elects to go for two to cut the lead to 21-18. "I felt it was worth the risk," said Carroll. "It would have gotten us to three points down, but if we missed, there was still plenty of time to repair the damage. I had to count on my defense to keep us in it, though." As it was, the Trojans went for two, but the pass was batted down in the end zone, leaving USC trailing 21-16 and the crowd gasping a little for air with 9:29 left in the third quarter. The Tigers got the ball back and worked downfield and into USC territory when they finally made their first mistake. A bad exchange on a handoff between Campbell and Williams had the ball skipping on the turf and into the arms of a Trojan, snuffing out a potential point-producing drive. USC, however, could not take advantage, and before long was punting it back to Auburn with time going under two minutes left in the third and the Tigers backed up in their end of the field. Auburn then pushed the ball back toward midfield, eating up the remainder of the clock in the third quarter. End of the third quarter, Auburn leads 21-16 4th Quarter As the fourth quarter began, the Tigers were still on their side of the field, moving out. They soon crossed midfield, but could not get much further in the face of the Trojan defense. Facing a 4th-and-4 at the USC 42, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville thought long and hard about going for it, even taking a time out, but in the end decided to punt and trust his defense. USC got the ball back and worked their way back downfield and into Auburn territory. Once again, however, the Tiger defense rose up and stopped the Trojans and forced them into another longish field goal attempt by Killeen, this one from 44 yards. Snap, hold, it's up...he missed again! Killeen misses and the score remains 21-16! Auburn took advantage, driving back down the field and into USC territory, eating clock and yardage. But, the Trojans finally got the stops they needed and forced the Tigers to bring on John Vaughn for a 39-yard attempt. A make here would make the lead 24-16 and make it very difficult for USC to come back with time running out. Snap, hold, it's up...he pushed it! Wide right! The Trojans are still breathing! With the clock now under 5 minutes left, Leinart and company go to work. The Trojans move back down the field until they reach the Auburn 12 with 1:49 left. Leinart drops back and fires a screen to Bush. Bush dashes outside to the sideline, just beating the cutoff defender, jitter-steps around another and then runs and lunges towards the end zone. As the play ends, Bush has his outstretched arm over the line with a pair of Tigers piled on him. The officials consult, trying to make sure his knee wasn't down before the ball broke the plane...they signal...yes! Touchdown, USC! The Trojan fans in the stadium erupt as USC now takes a 22-21 lead with 1:42 left. Again, Carroll goes for two to make it a three-point game. Once again, the Tigers are able to deny the conversion and keep the score at 22-21. Those missed points could prove costly. However, they do not. The Tigers make an effort, but the fight seems to have gone out and while they do make some headway, their last chance on a 4th-and-7 at their own 42 falls incomplete with :32 left. The Trojans come on the field, run out the clock, and celebrate a thrilling Orange Bowl victory and an undisputed claim to the national championship! End of the game, USC wins 22-21 Code:
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