#10 Gator Bowl: Nebraska vs Georgia
Overall, this was a downhill game for the University of Georgia. Aaron Murray was out, and the offense was struggling throughout. Georgia could only get field goals in the first 3 quarters, scoring only 12 points to match up with Nebraska’s 24. After Georgia’s 4th field goal, Nebraska’s Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. tosses an initially 50 yard pass from the end zone, but Wide Receiver Quincy Enunwa spins past the safety to run the extra 40 yards for the touchdown. A 4th quarter touchdown wasn't enough for Georgia to come back in the end.
Neb-24 Geo-19
#9 Texas Bowl: Syracuse vs Minnesota
Yeeee-Hawww, down in Houston, Texas is where #9 brings us to. Overall this game was an even, low scoring, right-down-the-middle game. Although the offenses were in a boxing match, Syracuse hit harder as they only scored touchdowns while Minnesota only scored a field goal. Minnesota did try to mount a comeback, holding the lead until the final 3 minutes of the game, until Syracuse’s punt returner Brisly Estime takes the last punt 70 yards to the Minnesota 14 where Terrel Hunt takes it to the house to put the Orange back on top. Minnesota could not finish the 2 minute drill.
Syr- 21 Minn-19
#8 Outback Bowl: Iowa vs Louisiana State University
This was one of the bowls in town I was hyped for. Last year was South Carolina and Michigan, which really set the first pick of the 2014 NFL draft, Jadeveon Clowney, off with ‘The Hit’ forcing Michigan's running back, Vincent Smith, to fumble both the ball and his helmet. It was a rough start for Iowa. Their offense could not get started, while LSU’s Offense got a touchdown in each of the first 2 quarters. After an interception by Iowa’s John Lowdermilk bringing it back to the LSU 1, where Mark Weisman ran it in for the score. This was Jeremy Hill’s game, as he ran 212 yards for the LSU Tigers, including the 37 yards for the score in the 4th quarter. Even the 94 yard kick return to LSU 4 did not help; after they scored, they couldn’t get the ball back in time and had to rely on a punt return to win.
Iowa- 14 LSU- 21
#7 New Orleans Bowl: Tulane vs University of Louisiana Lafayette
This is a hometown crowd for both teams, especially for Tulane because they're located in New Orleans. The 1st half was ULL’s game due to a 21-0 start for the Ragin’ Cajuns. Before the half ended, the Green Wave of Tulane did get a touchdown. An interception on the Cajuns next series gave them a chance to comeback, and did so as the Green Wave moved up to be behind by one touchdown at the end of the half quarter. Tulane tied it up, but they could not find much in the 4th quarter after the Cajuns get a field goal to put them on top.
Tulane- 21 ULL- 24
#6 GoDaddy.com Bowl: Arkansas State vs Ball State
This was another quiet game. Low scoring comparing to the top 5, but a close game nonetheless. A back and forth game, tying it up at 10 before the half. Ball State could not do anything on offense, but holds Arkansas State to 2 field goals. Ball State gets a field goal, and a touchdown towards the end of the 4th quarter. Arkansas State comes back with about 2 and a half minutes on the clock and scores a touchdown, then blocks the Ball State field goal with 2 seconds left to clinch the game.
ArkSt- 23 BallSt- 20
#5 Discover Orange Bowl: Clemson vs Ohio State
This is another back and forth game, decent scores as well. This game was hyped by not only being a BCS game, but the 2 universities taking part were on the top 15 of best football schools in the country. Both teams came out blazing in the first half, scoring touchdowns left and right, and even an intentional grounding (throwing incomplete intentionally with no eligible receivers and the quarterback still in the pocket) by Clemson’s Tajh Boyd in the end zone gave Ohio State a safety. Ohio State starts off with a two point lead, with their defense holding up so the offense can extend their lead to 9. However, Clemson flips the switch and their defense shows dominance: after 1st wide receiver picked in the 2014 draft, Sammy Watkins, takes a pass 30 yards for a touchdown, the Tigers’ defense comes up with an interception. Following that interception was a touchdown to take the lead again. Ohio State bounces back to take back the lead, but go for the two-point conversion which failed. After 13 plays and 75 yards, it was to another wide receiver, Seckinger, for the touchdown, another two-point conversion which they didn’t convert. After 3 turnovers (a fumble and two interceptions) Clemson finally killed the clock, and proved that they were the better team.
Clem- 40 OSU- 35
#4 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: University of Central Florida vs Baylor
This game was another hyped BCS game, but everyone thought it would go one way. The game did go one way in the beginning, just not the team people were thinking. UCF jumped ahead to a 14-0 lead forcing Baylor to punt on their first 2 possessions, scoring in the final part of the first quarter. A stalemate in the second quarter forced punts and even an interception to tie the game (Baylor went for 2, didn’t work). UCF got an interception themselves, scoring a touchdown on that possession. But, UCF scores last, and Baylor misses the field goal as time expires. Coming out of the half, Baylor scores quickly in about 2 and a half minutes. UCF responds with a touchdown of their own, running down the clock as they did. At the beginning of the 4th quarter, UCF scores a touchdown immediately to put this game seemingly out of reach. Baylor tries to mount a comeback, but fails as they run out of time with UCF killing the clock.
UCF- 52 Baylor- 42
#3 Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Washington State vs Colorado State
This was a game that flew under the radar just because of who's playing (WSU is part of the PAC-12, who became bowl eligible by beating Utah, and CSU who is part of the Mountain West conference). At first, it looked like WSU dominated with scoring 35 points, blocking a punt, and an interception all in the 1st half. CSU mounted a small comeback towards the end of the 1st half, with a touchdown and a field goal in the last two minutes of the half. A little past the 11 minute mark CSU’s running back Kapri Bibbs makes it interesting and runs 75 yards for a touchdown to inch closer to Washington State. 4th quarter opens up with WSU going 80 yards with 11 plays to try to end the game. With 5 minutes left in the game: CSU drives 72 yards for a touchdown, forces WSU to fumble the ball (force and recovery credited to Shaquil Barrett) and scores another touchdown, force another fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and make a 41 yard field goal as time expired to claim victory for the Rams! Ridiculous.
WSU- 45 CSU- 48
#2 Chick-fil-a Bowl: Duke vs Texas A&M
Johnny Manziel hyped this game just by being in it. In the beginning, it definitely was not the hyped game everyone was expecting. Duke took a commanding 38-17 lead over the Aggies, which surprised everyone. However, this did not stop Johnny, scoring 14 unanswered points up until the end of the 3rd quarter answering with a field goal. Johnny had to make plays, so many i can’t name in this article, which made it easy because Duke’s quarterback Anthony Boone choked in the end, giving up a pick 6 to Tony Hurd Jr., and another to Nate Askew.Texas A&M ran down the clock to succeed in their comeback.
Duke- 48 Texas A&M- 52
#1 BCS Championship: Florida State University vs Auburn
Most people and professional sports analyst said this was Auburn’s game, due to FSU never playing through the 4th quarter. It was a rough start for the Seminoles, only scoring 10 points compared to the Tiger’s 21 points. The 3rd quarter was quiet overall, but it was the calm before the storm for the 4th quarter. FSU scores fast to make it a 1 point game, while Auburn gets a field goal to extend the lead. The ensuing kickoff however, if brought back 100 yards by Levonte Whitfield for a touchdown to put FSU ahead for the second time since the first quarter. which doesn’t last long as Auburn running back Tre Mason leads the Tigers to another touchdown, burning the clock down about a minute. What surprised everyone was FSU quarterback Jameis Winston lead the Noles using only a minute to score the game-winning touchdown to wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin.
FSU- 34 Auburn- 31
This was a good ending to the BCS way of post-season, before switching to the playoff system next year. Definitely interesting to see these teams next year, and to see who will benefit most from the playoff system.
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