Ranking the 2005-2006 Bowls From CollegeFootballNews.com After they were played, which were the best? Classic all-timers 1. Rose Bowl Texas 41 ... USC 38 In one of the greatest games of all-time, Texas came back from down 12 in the final 6:42 as Vince Young ran for a 17-yard score with 4:03 to play, the defense held USC's LenDale White on fourth down, and then Young led the offense on a ten-play, 56-yard drive culminating in an eight-yard touchdown run on fourth down for the win. Young ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns, but the Trojan rushing attack was equal to the task with 209 yards led by White's 124 yards and three scores. The Trojans appeared to have it won after Reggie Bush dove for a 26-yard touchdown and Dwayne Jarrett caught a 22-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but Young proved to be too much to stop. USC cranked out 574 yards of total offense, Texas 556. Player of the game: Texas QB Vince Young completed 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards and ran 19 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Stat Leaders: Texas - Passing: Vince Young, 30-40, 267 yds Rushing: Vince Young, 19-200, 3TD. Receiving: David Thomas, 10-88 USC - Passing: Matt Leinart, 29-40, 365 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: LenDale White, 20-124, 3 TD. Receiving: Dwayne Jarrett, 10-121, 1 TD 2. Orange Bowl Penn State 26 ... Florida State 23 3OT After three overtimes and several missed kicks from both sides, Penn State's Kevin Kelly finally hit one sneaking a 29-yarder inside the upright to end the marathon. FSU PK Gary Cismesia, who missed an extra point in the second quarter after a 57-yard Lorenzo Booker touchdown run, forced overtime with a 48-yard shot with 4:08 to play. In the first overtime, both Cismesia and Kelly missed field goal attempts. In the second overtime, Florida State answered a one-yard touchdown run from PSU's Austin Scott with a one-yard B.J. Dean touchdown. In the third OT, Cismesia's field goal attempt nailed the right upright before Kelly connected. Scott had started the scoring on a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but FSU got back in the game in the second on a 87-yard punt return for a touchdown from Willie Reid. Player of the game: Penn State RB Austin Scott ran 26 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Stat Leaders: Penn State - Passing: Michael Robinson, 21-39, 253 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Austin Scott, 26-110, 2 TD. Receiving: Jordan Norwood, 6-110 Florida State - Passing: Drew Weatherford, 24-43, 258 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Leon Washington, 6-30, Receiving: Leon Washington 6-24 Tremendously entertaining 3. Hawaii Bowl Nevada 49 ... UCF 48 OT In a game with 1,178 yards and 623 rushing yards, it was decided by a missed extra point in overtime as UCF's Matt Prater pushed his kick wide right giving Nevada the win. The Golden Knights made a fantastic comeback with ten points in the final 1:32 on a 46-yard Prater field goal, a recovered onside kick, and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall to force overtime. Nevada QB Jeff Rowe ran for a four-yard score in the first overtime, but UCF answered with a 19-yard Kevin Smith scoring run before the missed Prater kick. Smith also ran for scoring runs of 78 and three yards, but Nevada was always able to answer thanks to the running game. Robert Hubbard ran for three scores and B.J. Mitchell added two one-yard touchdown runs in the second quarter. Player of the game: Nevada RBs B.J. Mitchell and Robert Hubbard combined for 304 yards and five touchdowns averaging eight yards per carry. Stat Leaders: UCF - Passing: Steven Moffett, 19-36, 301 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Kevin Smith, 29-202, 3 TD. Receiving: Brandon Marshall, 11-210, 3 TD Nevada - Passing: Jeff Rowe, 22-32, 254 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: B.J. Mitchell, 23-178, 2 TD. Receiving: Caleb Spencer, 11-114 4. Sugar Bowl West Virginia 38 ... Georgia 35 West Virginia got out to a shocking 28-0 lead early in the second quarter highlighted by Steve Slaton touchdown runs from 52 and 18 yards, along with a touchdown run and catch from Darius Reynaud, but Georgia slowly crept back with a 34-yard touchdown run from Kregg Lumpkin, a 52-yard scoring dash from Thomas Brown, and a four-yard Leonard Pope touchdown catch to cut the lead to 31-21 at halftime. Georgia got the passing game going in the second half with a 34-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Bryant and a 43-yard scoring play to Bryan McClendon, but a second 52-yard touchdown run from Slaton midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the difference. The Dawg defense apparently had West Virginia stopped with just under two minutes to play, but a fake punt kept the final drive alive and allowed the Mountaineers to seal the win. West Virginia outgained Georgia 382 rushing yards to 224, and didn't commit a turnover while the Dawgs gave away three. Player of the game: West Virginia RB Steve Slaton ran 26 times for 204 yards and three touchdowns. Stat Leaders: West Virginia - Passing: Pat White, 11-14, 120 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Steve Slaton, 26-204, 3 TD Receiving: Darius Reynaud, 6-48, 1 TD Georgia - Passing: D.J. Shockley, 20-33, 277 yds, 3 TD Rushing: Thomas Brown, 9-78, 1 TD Receiving: Leonard Pope, 6-50, 1 TD 5. Alamo Bowl Nebraska 32 ... Michigan 28 In a thriller marred by questionable officiating and sure to be remembered for one of the strangest, almost greatest endings ever, Nebraska overcame a 28-17 deficit midway through the fourth quarter with a 31-yard touchdown run and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Nunn. Michigan had one last chance getting the ball back with seven seconds to play, and after a misfire, managed to come up with a wild, improbable, eight-lateral play that went 51 yards through players and coaches on the field before Titus Brothers finally stopped Tyler Ecker on the Nebraska 13. Nunn had started off the scoring with a 52-yard touchdown catch, but Michigan seemed to have things in hand thanks to three touchdown passes and a touchdown run from Chad Henne. UM's Steve Breaston returned four kickoffs for 146 yards and seven punts for 72 yards. Player of the game: Nebraska RB Cory Ross ran 28 times for 161 yards and a touchdown. Stat Leaders: Michigan - Passing: Chad Henne, 21-43, 270 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Mike Hart, 19-74. Receiving: Jason Avant, 8-71 Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 14-31, 167 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Cory Ross, 28-161, 1 TD. Receiving: Terrence Nunn, 4-91, 2 TD 6. Fiesta Bowl Ohio State 34 ... Notre Dame 20 Ohio State cranked out 617 yards of total offense, but needed a 60-yard touchdown run from Antonio Pittman to finally put the Irish away. The Buckeyes scored on four plays of 56 yards or more with a 56-yard scoring pass to Ted Ginn Jr., a Ginn Jr. 68-yard touchdown run and an 85-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the first half, but they settled for field goals in the second half, before the Pittman score, letting the Irish get back into the game on two of Darius Walker's three touchdown runs. Ohio State averaged 7.6 yards per carry and 18 yards per completion, while Notre Dame averaged 2.2yards per carry and 9.9 yards per pass. Player of the game: Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 19 of 28 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns and ran 13 times for 66 yards. Stat Leaders: Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 19-28, 342 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 21-136, 1 TD. Receiving: Ted Ginn Jr., 8-167, 1 TD Notre Dame - Passing: Brady Quinn, 29-45, 286 yds Rushing: Darius Walker, 16-90, 3 TD. Receiving: Maurice Stovall, 9-126 7. Cotton Bowl Alabama 13 ... Texas Tech 10 Alabama PK Jamie Christensen had missed two earlier field goals, but nailed an ugly, knuckleball of a 45-yard kick that barely snuck in the corner as time expired for the win. Texas Tech's offense, held in check all game long, finally got in the end zone with just under three minutes to play on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Hicks, but Bama responded with a ten-play drive starting on its own 14 for the winning field goal. The Tide started off the scoring with a 76-yard touchdown pass to Keith Brown, but wasn't able to get in the end zone the rest of the way. However, the defense did the job holding the Red Raider offense to 329 yards and only 226 passing yards. Player of the game: Alabama WR Keith Brown caught five passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. Stat Leaders: Alabama - Passing: Brodie Croyle, 19-31, 275 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Ken Darbu, 29-81. Receiving: Keith Brown, 5-141, 1 TD Texas Tech - Passing: Cody Hodges, 15-32, 196 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Cody Hodges, 17-66. Receiving: Taurean Henderson, 5-46 8. Holiday Bowl Oklahoma 17 ... Oregon 14 Clint Ingram came up with a leaping interception on the Oklahoma ten with :33 to snuff out the final Oregon drive and prevent, at least, overtime. The Sooners took a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter helped by a 17-yard touchdown catch from J.D. Runnels and an eight-yard Kejuan Jones scoring run. They could've put the nail in the coffin on the first drive of the fourth, but Adrian Peterson got the ball slapped out of his hands on the one yard line after reaching for extra yards. The Ducks started their comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter on a three-yard touchdown pass to Tim Day on a drive helped by a pass interference call on a fake field goal. They were well within field goal range when Brady Leaf failed to put any air under a possible touchdown pass, and Ingram saved the game. Player of the game: Oklahoma LB Clint Ingram made four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and an interception. Stat Leaders: Oklahoma - Passing: Rhett Bomar, 17-30, 229 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Adrian Peterson, 23-84. Receiving: Malcolm Kelly, 7-79 Oregon - Passing: Brady Leaf, 14-24, 136 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Terrence Whitehead, 12-43. Receiving: James Finley, 9-67 Very Good. Worth the watch 9. Insight Bowl Arizona State 45 ... Rutgers 40 10. MPC Computers Bowl 11. Music City Bowl Virginia 34 ... Minnesota 31 12. Sun Bowl UCLA 50 ... Northwestern 38 13. Independence Bowl Missouri 38 ... South Carolina 31 14. Gator Bowl Virginia Tech 35 ... Louisville 24 15. Las Vegas Bowl California 35 ... BYU 28 16. Liberty Bowl Tulsa 31 ... Fresno St 17. Motor City Bowl Memphis 38 ... Akron 31 18. Outback Bowl Florida 31 ... Iowa 24 19. Houston Bowl TCU 27 ... Iowa State 24 A bowl game. Nothing more 20. Champs Sports Bowl Clemson 19 ... Colorado 10 21. Capital One Bowl Wisconsin 24 ... Auburn 10 22. New Orleans Bowl Southern Miss 31 ... Arkansas State 19 23. Poinsettia Bowl Navy 51 ... Colorado State 30 24. Champs Sports Bowl NC State 14 ... South Florida 0 Flat-out sucked 25. Fort Worth Bowl Kansas 42 ... Houston 13 26. Peach Bowl LSU 40 ... Miami 3 27. Emerald Bowl Utah 38 ... Georgia Tech 10 28. GMAC Bowl Toledo 45 ... UTEP 13
How was the Fiesta Bowl #6? That game was really never in much doubt. Cotton and Holiday were much better.
It was a much better bowl season than recent years and to all those who say the bowls are worthless....they are a whole lot better than watching the crap that is on TV nowadays.
