John Givot | Freelance Photographer
Jan. 1, 2 p.m.,
Pasadena, Calif.
Twice, the USC football team stood in line for a bid to the national championship game. Twice, they let the opportunity slip away.
USC started the season on a 6-0 run, only to be upset by Oregon State 33-31 in Corvallis. The Trojans appeared to revive their chances with four consecutive wins, including convincing victories over ranked opponents in California and Notre Dame. UCLA denied USC in a flourish of defense stops and opportune scoring. The Bruins’ 13-9 upset win relied on quarterback Patrick Cowan, who started on three days notice and passed for 114 yards. Cowan took regular starter Ben Olson’s spot and complemented his passing total with 55 yards on the ground.
The Trojans had already clinched the Pacific-10 Conference Championship. They are making a return trip to the Rose Bowl. The location hasn’t been kind to the Trojans recently, what with USC’s loss to Texas in last year’s national championship game and the loss to UCLA Saturday.
The Trojans are playing an angry Michigan squad, upset over its BCS snub. Michigan lost 42-39 to Ohio State in the final game of its season, while Florida and USC had the chance to make their national championship cases on the field. Michigan remained at home and waited. Sunday night, the Wolverines learned they were heading for the Rose Bowl for the third time in four seasons.
In Michigan’s last game, a 42-39 loss to Ohio State, running back Mike Hart ran the ball 23 times for 142 yards. Quarterback Chad Henne completed 21-of-35 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns.
The loss ultimately decided Michigan’s national championship fate. Florida, 12-1 and SEC champions, are headed to Glendale, Ariz. to meet Ohio State in the national championship game.
Dec. 28, 5 p.m.,
San Diego, Calif.
The California Golden Bears will take on the Texas A&M Aggies in the Holiday Bowl, marking the first time in school history the Bears have made four consecutive bowl game appearances.
The Bears had guaranteed themselves a second-place finish in the Pac-10 before they took on conference doormat Stanford Saturday. It is the second time in three years that the Bears have finished second in the conference. In addition, Cal’s 26-14 league mark during coach Jeff Tedford’s tenure – is the second-best record in the Pac-10 in that span. Tedford’s Bears are one of three Pac-10 teams to go to a fourth straight bowl game in 2006, joining USC and UCLA.
Texas A&M played a tough schedule down the stretch, dropping close games to Oklahoma and Nebraska, but put an exclamation point on their season by defeating Texas 12-7 in their final game of the season.
“This season has been all about the young men who play for Texas A&M and the players are very excited about the opportunity to play in the Holiday Bowl,” Aggie coach Dennis Franchione said. “The majority of our guys have never been to California so they are thrilled. I know the California Golden Bears will be a great challenge and we look forward to the hospitality of the good folks in San Diego.”
In addition to this being the 29th annual Holiday Bowl, it will mark the 29th bowl game for Texas A&M. The Aggies are 13-15 overall in the postseason.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Dec. 29, 11 a.m.,
El Paso, Texas
In a season that began with a 2-3 record, No. 24 Oregon State (9-4 overall, 6-3 Pacific-10 Conference) went on to finish strong by winning seven of its last eight games, earning a match with Missouri (8-4, 4-4 Big 12), the Big-12 North conference’s second-place team.
The Beavers’ season was highlighted by a 33-31victory over then-No. 3 USC, which broke the Trojans 27-game Pac-10 winning streak and helped end their run at appearing in the National Championship game for a third consecutive season.
Missouri, however, was on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Tigers won their first six games and then proceeded to lose four of the last six. Missouri lost 26-10 to then No. 19 Oklahoma, the only ranked team the Tigers faced during the season.
Missouri is led by sophomore quarterback Chase Daniel, who threw for 3,197 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. He and the Tiger offense average 414.3 yards and 29.4 points per game.
The Beavers’ offense features a trio of seniors at the skill positions. Running back Yvenson Bernard ran for 1,210 yards and 12 touchdowns, recording his second 1,000-yard season in his career. Wide receiver and punt returner Sammie Stroughter caught 66 passes for 1,206 yards, and quarterback Matt Moore threw 14 touchdowns and six interceptions for the season. The three combine to form a potent Oregon State offense that averages 353.2 yards per game.
Dec. 27, 5 p.m.,
San Francisco, Calif.
The fifth Emerald Bowl will feature two of the nation’s best bowl teams in a marquee match up for the new bowl game. Since 1982, Florida State leads the country with a 17-6-1 record, while UCLA is the Pac-10 leader at 11-6.
The two teams have never met and UCLA is the first Pac-10 team to play in the Emerald Bowl.
“It’s an honor to invite two of the most storied names in college football to this year’s Emerald Bowl,” said Emerald Bowl director Gary Cavalli.
The Emerald Bowl reached agreements with both the ACC and Pac-10 to match teams for each of the next four years, through 2009. The Emerald is the only bowl game (of 32 total) to feature a tie-in between the two conferences.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to play UCLA,” said coach Bobby Bowden. “We knew we would get a program with great tradition since it would be from the Pac-10 and the fact that it is UCLA makes it very special to our program and our players. It should be a very attractive football game from a fans’ point of view and we are looking forward to a week with them.”
The Bruins are coming off an upset win against rival USC that came on the heels of impressive November victories over Sun Bowl-bound Oregon State and Hawaii bowl-bound Arizona State. UCLA also took Notre Dame down to the wire in South Bend before losing 20-17 in the game’s final minute. The Bruins became bowl-eligible with a 24-12 win at Arizona State Nov. 18. The Seminoles ended the season 6-6. Five of their defeats were by a total of 26 points.
“This match-up will be a great opportunity for our football program. Bobby Bowden has won more football games than anyone in Division I-A history, and he has been especially successful in bowl games,” said Bruins’ coach Karl Dorrell. I know that the young men in our program will be very excited to play the Seminoles in a great setting in San Francisco.”
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Dec. 24, 5 p.m.,
Honolulu, Hawaii
The Arizona State Sun Devils head to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors in what figures to be an exciting, high-scoring match-up.
“They throw the ball a lot, they have a good quarterback. I’m sure it will be high-scoring, and it will be a great chance to play in that kind of atmosphere in Hawaii,” Sun Devils’ junior tight end Zach Miller said. “It’s our third Bowl game in a row and hopefully we can make it three wins in a row.”
As exciting as the game promises to be for fans, the players are just as excited about the chance to visit the Hawaiian Islands.
“When I heard that we could possibly go to Hawaii, I said a prayer,” said junior safety Josh Barrett. “I really wanted to go because I have never been there. It is beautiful there. I am ready to go.”
Hawaii played Oregon State in its final game of the season Saturday, and coach June Jones has had little to say about the Sun Devils early on.
“I’m more focused on the game (against Orego
n State) this week, so we’ll worry about who we play in the bowl game later,” said the coach in his weekly press conference. “But it will be good to play against two Pac-10 teams in a row.”
Arizona State finished its season with a 28-14 win over rival Arizona, at least partly salvaging what has been a disappointing season for Sun Devil fans. A 3-0 start had them in the top-25 nationally before a brutal three game stretch against Cal, Oregon, and USC dropped them from the rankings for good.
“I think this was a real talented team at the beginning of the season. But who are our most talented guys? They haven’t been playing,” said recently fired coach Dirk Koetter, who will coach his final game with the Sun Devils in the Hawaii Bowl. “They’ve been hurt or they’ve had things happen. I’m not making excuses but that is the truth.”
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
