RESULTS - BRACKET 62 Round 1 (seed) year school - score
(62) 1999 Nebraska - 38 (1987) 1982 Oklahoma State - 11 This one was over as soon as the Cornhuskers took the field. Jimmy Johnson's defense wasn't ready for prime time and C Dominic Raiola dominated DL Brent Guy in the trenches. Sophomore QB Eric Crouch ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns.
(963) 1997 USC - 19 (1086) 1991 West Virginia - 17 In one of the uglier games of the tournament so far, USC linebacker Chris Claiborne made the difference with 13 tackles. He shadowed RB Adrian Murrell all game long and made the game winning tackle on fourth down on the Mountaineers final possession.
(574) 1985 BYU - 27 (1475) 2006 Tulsa - 17 BYU QB Robbie Bosco paced a workmanlike offense that looked like it was holding back for the later rounds. There wasn't even a hint of panic on LaVell Edwards' face when QB Paul Smith found WR Idris Moss for a 27-yard TD that cut the BYU lead down to 20-17 late in the third quarter. Then Vai Sikahema delivered the knockout punch (much like his knockout of Jose Canseco) with an 11-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
(451) 2001 South Carolina - 24 (1598) 1992 Auburn - 15 If Pat Dye's Auburn Tigers had brought as much energy to this game as their mascot Aubie, they might have had a chance. Instead, RB Andrew Pinnock ran up, around, over, and through the Auburn defense all day long.
(318) 1999 Tennessee - 30 (1731) 1977 Arkansas State - 10 Tennessee wasted no time putting away this out-matched Arkansas State team. The RB duo of Jamal Lewis and Travis Henry accounted for over 200 yards on the ground.
(707) 1998 Virginia Tech - 28 (1342) 2003 New Mexico - 17 The Virginia Tech defense was the story here. UNM RB DonTrell Moore was taken out of the game early thanks to a Pierson Prioleau blocked punt that he returned for a touchdown. Lobo QB Casey Kelly had no chance against the pass rush of Hokie bookends Corey Moore and John Engelberger.
(830) 1993 Indiana - 19 (1219) 2004 New Mexico - 15 Rocky Long's Lobos take another hit in the tournament, with the 2004 team getting eliminated immediately after the 2003 team bit the dust. Indiana's defense, paced by LB Charles Beauchamp, were able to corrall RB DonTrell Moore.
(195) 1985 Iowa - 37 (1854) 2008 Louisiana Tech - 14 Hayden Fry's 1985 Hawkeyes are a team to watch in this tournament. The run pass duo of QB Chuck Long and RB Ronnie Harmon looked great against rookie coach Derek Dooley's defense.
(190) 1992 Texas A&M - 23 (1859) 1987 TCU - 10 The Wrecking Crew was every bit as good as advertised. Sam Adams and company held the potent TCU ground game to only 26 rushing yards. TCU coach Jim Wacker was not pleased.
(835) 1999 Colorado State - 29 (1214) 1994 Georgia - 26 Georgia RB Terrell Davis, who some Rams players were calling "overrated" prior to the game, never got loose in this one. He was held to 64 meaningless yards, placing the entire burden on QB Eric Zeier. Zeier played well, but not well enough. The Dawg defense couldn't stop Colorado State down the stretch and QB Matt Newton found WR Dallas Davis for the game winning touchdown.
(702) 1977 Colorado State - 24 (1347) 1986 Texas Tech - 17 Another Colorado State advances to the second round. The '77 edition, coached by Sark Arslanian, picked up the win thanks to the play of their defense.
(323) 2002 Notre Dame - 25 (1726) 1990 Western Michigan - 15 The 2002 Notre Dame formula for winning games was to rely on the defense to force turnovers. Shane Walton didn't let anybody down. The senior picked off two Brad Tayles passes and LB Derek Curry forced two fumbles as the Irish defense outscored the offense yet again.
(446) 1990 BYU - 39 (1603) 1988 Oregon State - 21 The 1990 BYU team is another sleeper in Bracket 62, if for no other reason than their high scoring offense. QB Ty Detmer threw for 436 yards and 4 touchdowns against a bad Beaver defense.
(579) 1979 Wake Forest - 21 (1470) 1981 Iowa State - 19 Somehow, Wake Forest coach John Mackovic managed to pull this game out. Despite failing to score a single point on three trips to the red zone, the Deacons still had enough fire power to reach the end zone three times on big plays.
(958) 1989 Oregon - 29 (1091) 1994 Syracuse - 21 Syracuse needs to find some coaching. Despite bringing some great players, the Orange are already 0-fer-3 in this tournament. This time it's WR Marvin Harrison and RB Kirby Dar Dar going home. Despite a solid '94 season, LB Antwaune Ponds was no match for Oregon RB Derek Loville, who piled up 143 yards on the soft Syracuse D.
(67) 1985 Florida - 27 (1982) 1984 Michigan State - 10 The 1985 Gators might have had their SEC title stripped due to NCAA violations, but that doesn't disqualify them from this tournament. Coach Galen Hall's defense was dominant in this contest, and QB Kerwin Bell was as elusive in the pocket as ever. At least the 1984 Spartans will be home in time to support their Cheer Squad in the Championships.
Round 2 Matchups- (62) 1999 Nebraska vs (963) 1997 USC (451) 2001 South Carolina vs (574) 1985 BYU (318) 1999 Tennessee vs (707) 1998 Virginia Tech (195) 1985 Iowa vs (830) 1993 Indiana (190) 1992 Texas A&M vs (835) 1999 Colorado State (323) 2002 Notre Dame vs (702) 1977 Colorado State (446) 1990 BYU vs (579) 1979 Wake Forest (67) 1985 Florida vs (958) 1989 Oregon
RESULTS - BRACKET 3 Round 1 (seed) year school - score
Highlights are available as links in Orange so look at the players, teams and plays that shaped the college football landscape for that particular team.
(126) 1991 Alabama - 31 (1923) 1981 East Carolina - 10 WR David Palmer is too fast for Coach Ed Emory's porous Pirate defense, and John Copeland and Eric Curry eliminated the run game in this very overmatched first round match-up. This game wasn't competitive after halftime and Alabama rested most of its starters in the second half.
(899) 1997 Toledo - 23 (1150) 1997 Clemson - 22 Toledo coach Gary Pinkel rides RB Dwayne Harris to a hard fought victory over a Clemson team from the same year. The very average QB Nealon Greene threw 2 interceptions one for a pick six by sophomore Jameel Turner. Clemson CB Antuan Edwards picked off Toledo QB Chris Wallace in the waning seconds of the 4th qtr but he only made it to the 5 yard line as time expired. So the great LB Anthony Simmons and RB Raymond Priester get eliminated from the tournament.
(638) 1983 UCLA - 28 (1411) 2001 Michigan State - 24 QB Rick Neuheisel outsmarts the Spartans and utilizes the great WR Mike Sherrard to beat this tough Michigan State team featuring the triplets: QB Jeff Smoker, WR Charles Rogers, and RB T.J. Duckett. Charles Rodgers had a great catch in this one for a 50 yard touchdown to bridge the gap to 4. But UCLA held on and sealed the victory with a interception of a hail mary by DB Ron Pitts.
(387) 1983 Illinois - 30 (1662) 2003 Washington - 24 The QB Jack Trudeau to David Williams connection outgunned the Cody Pickett-to-Reggie Williams duo. This was a shootout but a key pick by Craig Swoope turned the tide and a fumble by Rich Alexis sealed the victory for the Illni. But here is a tribute to Cody Pickett and one of his eliminations from the tournament, good luck with your 2001 and 2002 teams.
(382) 1978 Houston - 28 (1667) 1996 Texas A&M - 20 In the first of what is sure to be many intra-state matchups, Bill Yeoman's Houston squad takes advantage of a young Aggie defense and RB Emmett King runs for 120 and 3 TD's and FB Randy Love pounded a 35 yard run straight up the gut to seal this first round matchup. Sophomore A&M LB's Warrick Holdman and Dat Nguyen were overmatched by the running game of the Cougs. QB Branndon Stewart's interception late in the 4th quarter locked the game for the Cougars.
(643) 1989 Fresno State - 28 (1406) 1981 Tulsa - 21 Tulsa coach John Cooper and the Golden Hurricane can't keep up with Fresno St. QB Mark Barsotti lights them up for 343 and 4 TD's and all the Tulsa TD's came in garbage time.
(894) 1977 Arizona State - 25 (1155) 1990 North Carolina - 17 Mack Brown has a lot of teams in this bracket, but this one, featuring RB Natrone Means and WR Corey Holliday, doesn't have enough firepower to keep up with the Sun Devils and WR John Jefferson. QB Dennis Sproul hit Jefferson for a 50 yarder and a 42 yard touchdown to give Jefferson 6 catches for 223.
(131) 1985 Tennessee - 28 (1918) 1997 Wyoming - 13 It's not 2008 anymore (when Wyoming beat the Vols) this game is being played in a black hole somewhere that allows teams from different decades to play on the same field! And here, coach Johnny Majors atones for the 2008 loss by defeating Dana Dimel's Jay Stoner-quarterbacked Cowboys. The OL for Tennessee controlled the game from the get go with Harry Galbreath and Bruce Wilkerson paving the way for TB Keith Davis.
(254) 2001 Illinois - 30 (1795) 2002 Tulane - 22 This was a more star-studded matchup than it looked on paper. Ron Turner's Illinois offense, led by the dynamic QB Kurt Kittner and WR Brandon Lloyd, overcame their mistake prone defense to outscore a Green Wave offense paced by RB Mewelde Moore and QB J.P. Losman. The Illni defense was paced by a stellar performance by CB Eugene Wilson and the rush by Jeff Schumacher forced the elusive Losman into several on the run decisions. Despite the Green Wave staying composed it wasn't enough to beat the Great Kurt Kittner.
(771) 1981 Washington State - 26 (1278) 2006 Texas Tech - 23 Even across time lines, defense wins big games. Despite this being QB Graham Harrel's first year at QB he was constantly under pressure by Keith Millard and the Cougar D and they slowed him down. A fumble by RB Shannon Woods on a screen pass with 1:20 at their own 20 brought on K Kevin Morris to hit the game winner for the Cougars. So say good bye to the 2006 Texas Tech Team.
(766) 2000 LSU - 24 (1283) 1997 New Mexico - 23 Nick Saban named Rohan Davey over his starting quarterback Josh Booty for this tournament due to off the field trouble. The Lobos kept the game close but Rohan Davey threw for 318 and Josh Reed caught 3 TD's Two tipped passes late by LB Bradie Smith sealed the victory and skated the upset for LSU.
(259) 1986 Alabama - 31 (1790) 2005 Michigan State - 19 QB Mike Shula and RB Bobby Humphrey rolled over the the very pedestrian and uninspired John L Smith coached Spartans. The Crimson Tide Defense punished poor Drew Stanton all day and linebacker Cornelius Bennett finished the game with 4 sacks, 2 pass deflects and a forced fumble to pave the way for the easy first round victory. This was the only year Drew Stanton started all the games and it was Javon Ringer's first year as the starter lets have a moment of silence for Drew Stanton.
(510) 2001 Marshall - 31 (1539) 1998 TCU - 23 Who isn't excited for this game? Dennis Franchione guided his second team in the bracket (the other being 1997 New Mexico, who lost a heart breaker to 2000 LSU) to face QB Byron Leftwich. Unfortunately, Franchione's defense wasn't fine tuned enough to keep up with the Marshall offense. Byron Leftwich to Darius Watts was the story all day as they combined for 160 yards and 2 td's. Leftwich slightly hurt his ankle but was able to finish the game so this injury will be monitored for the second round match up. The TCU RB duo Basil Mitchell and sophomore LaDainian Tomlinson are sent home early. But watch out for 1999 TCU.
(515) 1981 Michigan - 29 (1534) 2003 Notre Dame - 14 A classic rivalry matchup that spans decades. Bo Schembechler gets the better of Tyrone Willingham here, and this game turns into the Anthony Carter show. thanks to a defense that forced QB Carlyle Holliday into bad decisions all day, which had the crowd calling for Quinn, but he is already suited up for the Irish in 2004, 2005, 2006 teams, this was his freshman year.
(1022) 1998 West Virginia - 26 (1027) 1993 Washington - 23 Two teams with excellent quarterbacks (Marc Bulger and Damon Huard) let their running backs do the talking in this tightly contested affair. In the end it was Amos Zereoue out-gaining Napoleon Kaufman that gave the Mountaineers the edge. This was a back and forth struggle but a late in the game sack of Huard by Gary Stills sealed the victory for the Mountainers.
(3) 1978 USC - 35 (2046) 1981 Arizona -10 No hint of an upset here. Heisman Trophy winning RB Charles White paced the Trojans to an early 17-0 lead and then let the backups take care of the second half in order to rest for what coach John Robinson hopes will be a deep tournament run. Arizona coach Larry Smith was just glad to be a part of the field. He knows his hopes lay elsewhere (namely in QB Corby Jones and the 1997 Missouri squad). Ronnie Lott makes his appearance late in this one as a sophomore.
Round 2 Matchups: (126) 1991 Alabama vs (899) 1997 Toledo (387) 1983 Illinois vs (638) 1983 UCLA (382) 1978 Houston vs (643) 1989 Fresno State (131) 1985 Tennessee vs (894) 1977 Arizona State (254) 2001 Illinois vs (771) 1981 Washington State (259) 1986 Alabama vs (766) 2000 LSU (510) 2001 Marshall vs (515) 1981 Michigan (3) 1978 USC vs (1022) 1998 West Virginia
