BOWL SEASON
College football finishes with a bangBY MONICA CRAWFORD ON JANUARY 24, 2014
The saying “save the best for last” can definitely be applied to this year’s bowl season. Every year since 1998, college football season has culminated in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), however, this year marks the final BCS. Next year the college football championship will be decided by a playoff format similar to the one used in professional football. With this year being the last year of the BCS, the games did not disappoint.
One of the best games of this year’s bowl season was the 100th Rose Bowl between Michigan State and Stanford. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Stanford University Cardinals 24-20 on New Year’s Day for their first Rose Bowl win in 26 years. Michigan quarterback Connor Cook led his team with 332 passing yards, but the big play of the game was made by fill-in starter Kyler Elsworth. With under two minutes to go in the game, Elsworth made a big tackle to secure a win for Michigan State while Stanford was trying to run the ball on fourth down. While Michigan State is celebrating their Rose Bowl win, Clemson is celebrating their win in the Orange Bowl. The Clemson University Tigers played the Ohio State Buckeyes and emerged victorious with a score of 40-35. It was a record setting night for the Tigers with receiver Sammy Watkins catching 16 passes for 227 yards and setting the Orange Bowl record for yardage. The Buckeyes put up a good fight with quarterback Braxton Miller throwing for 234 yards, but in the end the Tigers came out on top with the quarterback Tajh Boyd and Watkins leading their team to victory. The underdog Oklahoma Sooners were victorious in their game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Oklahoma upset Alabama with a score of 45-31; thus, giving a bittersweet end to Alabama’s quarterback AJ McCarron’s last season in college football. Despite a great college career, McCarron was not able to pull out the win against the Sooners. The final game of the BCS was between Florida State University and Auburn University. While the Florida State Seminoles were projected to easily win the BCS National Championship, the Auburn Tigers came close to earning one last miraculous win of the season. Auburn had an incredible season, and their coach Gus Malzahn improved the Tiger’s football program from last year. The Tigers were in the lead almost all game long, leaving the Seminoles worried. It was not until freshman and Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston threw a two yard touchdown pass with under 79 seconds left in the game that Florida State was able to pull ahead. After a nerve wracking game for Florida State, the Seminoles finished their season undefeated with the title of BCS Champions. College football season has come to an end and the traditional bowl games have been played. The games this year did not disappoint and helped the BCS go out with a bang. The BCS may be over, but the games played in this year’s bowl games will be remembered for a long time to come. HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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