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Eight 2009 Bowl Teams Win by 3 Points or Less, None More Exciting Than Idaho - Part 2

By Ed Bagley

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 09Feb2010
Word count: 1034
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Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley

Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour continued to make history in the GMAC Bowl as he led the Chippewas to a high-scoring 44-41 win over Troy in double overtime.

LeFevour completed 33 of 55 passes for 395 yards and scored on a 13-yard run. His 15,853 total career yards left him second only to Hawaii's Timmy Chang who holds the record with 16,910.

Lost in the shuffle of LeFevour's accomplishment was Central Michigan kicker Andrew Aguila, who nailed field goals from 28, 35, 44 and 42 yards before kicking the game-winning 37-yarder in double overtime. His 5 field goals set a GMAC Bowl record.

Antonio Brown was also a huge presence for the Chippewas, scoring on a 95-yard kickoff return and finishing with 403 all-purpose yards—178 receiving on 13 catches, 203 on kickoff returns and 22 yards rushing.

Troy ended the season at 9-4 and Central Michigan at 12-2. Chippewa coach Butch Jones, who won 2 Mid-American Conference titles in 3 years, has left the program to become the new coach at Cincinnati, replacing Brian Kelly who headed for Notre Dame. Dan Enos, the running backs coach at Michigan State, will take over at Central Michigan for Butch Jones.

For Arkansas' Alex Tejada, it was redemption day at the Liberty Bowl as his 37-yard field goal in overtime gave the Razorbacks a 20-17 victory East Carolina. Tejada had missed a crucial kick in a loss to Florida in October, and missed another kick against Louisiana State that prevented Arkansas from forcing a second overtime in a 33-30 loss.

But pass the pity on to East Carolina kicker Ben Hartman, he twice missed field goal attempts late in the game and missed again in the OT period. Hartman actually missed 4 attempts in the game from 45, 39, 39 again on the final play of the game, and 35 in OT. East Carolina (8-5) coach Skip Holtz felt Hartman's pain; Hartman is East Carolina's all-time leading scorer.

The Liberty Bowl was not picture perfect. Arkansas' (8-5) win was only its 3rd in 15 bowl-game appearances. The Razorbacks went 0-13 on third-down attempts, becoming only the second major college team this season to win a game without converting a third down. Colorado State went 0-for-9 on third down attempts while beating Weber State earlier in the season.

The Razorbacks, who averaged 37 points a game, were down 10-zip at the half, marking the first time Arkansas had been shut out in the first half since losing to Alabama 35-7 in September.

Naw, the Liberty Bowl was not pretty, but Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino had the right attitude, saying "I'm not sure who outplayed who, but we won the game."

Wes Byrum kicked a 21-yard field goal in overtime to give Auburn (8-5) a 38-35 victory over Northwestern (8-5) in the Outback Bowl, stopping a Wildcat rally that denied Northwestern its first bowl win in 61 years.

Some days it does not pay to tempt fate; for Northwestern, this was one of those days. Coach Pat Fitzgerald sent backup kicker Steve Flaherty onto the field to try and tie the game on the last play in the first OT. Flaherty was in because regular kicker Stefan Demos was injured earlier. What happened next was a disaster.

Wildcat receiver Zeke Markshausen took a handoff from the holder, circled around right end to win the game, and was stopped at the 2-yard line by Auburn's Neiko Thorpe. Game over.

Northwestern QB Mike Kafka was 47-of-78 (no typo here) for 532 yards (yes, 532 yards) and 4 touchdowns, but he also threw 5 interceptions, with 2 of the picks coming in the end zone and one being run back for a 100-yard touchdown. Yikes. First-year Auburn coach Gene Chizik could not have been happier with the win.

Playing in a driving rainstorm that turned the field into a mosh pit in Orlando (FL), the 11th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2) turned back the 13th-ranked Louisiana State Tigers (9-4), 19-17, to win the Capital One Bowl, the most prestigious bowl game among the remaining 29 after the 5 BCS bowl games.

For Penn State coach Joe Paterno and his QB Daryll Clark, the win meant vindication.

Clark carried the rap of not being able to win the big games, and Paterno is often criticized for piling up victories while playing soft opponents; in fact, Penn State had not beaten a ranked team all year. I have been vitriolic about Penn State's cupcake opponents, that said, LSU is no cupcake, and now JoePa has beaten at least one ranked team.

LSU was behind by 13 but did take a 17-16 lead with 12:39 left. Clark led a late-game drive that allowed Collin Wagner's 21-yard field goal to provide the game-winner. For JoePa, it was his record 24th bowl victory, and LSU's Les Miles' first loss in 5 bowls as the coach.

Freshman Dion Lewis ran for 159 yards and a TD to lead 17th-ranked Pittsburgh (10-3) past North Carolina (8-5), 19-17 (same score as Penn State's win), in the Meineke Bowl. Dan Hutchins kicked a 33-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to seal the deal.

The 5-foot-8 Lewis, overlooked by many college scouts because of his size, broke Tony Dorsett's 36-year-old Pitt freshman rushing record of 1,686 yards with 1,799 yards on the season. Dorsett rushed for 2,150 yards in 1976, picking up the Heisman Trophy and helping Pitt win the national title. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt blocked for Dorsett on that championship team.

Lewis is the real deal. North Carolina came into the game with the nation's 6th best total defense and 9th best rushing defense, and could not stop Lewis who, barring injury, will break more records in the future.

Iowa State (7-6) scored twice in the 2nd quarter to edge Minnesota (6-7), 14-13, in the Insight Bowl. Two years ago, the Cyclones won only 2 games. Needless to say, first-year Iowa State coach Paul Roberts was pleased as punch.

Iowa State turned the ball over 4 times, gave up 434 yards and committed 8 penalties and still won. How many teams could claim victory in a bowl game by turning the ball over 4 times? Ask Minnesota, the Golden Gophers let them do it.

Minnesota had trailed in all 6 of its regular season wins, and rallied 4 times during the 4th quarter to win. Minnesota coach Tim Brewster can try again next year. For the Cyclones, it was their first winning season since 2005.

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