Semi-Finals Saturday Super Shockers! Notre Dame controls Oregon 49-27; Bama loses QB and game to Stanford, 20-7

Heading to Cowboys Stadium, fans attending the Semi-Finals certainly expected two entertaining games, but also wins that would provide an Alabama-Oregon final.  In college football, the best laid schemes....

GAME 1: #1 Notre Dame 49, #4 Oregon 27

So typical for Notre Dame's season: after a listless effort that eventually lead to a 17-10 win over Louisville, a seemingly different Notre Dame team showed up that rolled up an early lead over Oregon.

Maybe conjuring up some Joe Montana Cotton Bowl Magic of 1979, Notre Dame was in control from the start.  The Irish jumped to a 21-0 lead by early in the second quarter on Theo Riddick's 4-yard run and Everett Golson's TD passes of 8 yards and 55 yards.

The Notre Dame defense dominated early, as Oregon punted four times and lost the ball on downs before getting a break when an Irish fumble after a reception gave the Ducks the ball on the ND 21. Two plays later, Oregon QB Marcus Mariota's 22-yard touchdown pass cut the lead to 21-7.

Notre Dame quickly added two more touchdowns to put it out of reach at 35-7. Riddick burst up the middle for his second touchdown of the game, a 26-yarder, and, after Baylor punted yet again, Cierre Wood broke free for a 43-yard touchdown run with 1:58 left before halftime.  An Oregon field goal made the halftime score 35-10, and Notre Dame fans' eyes were looking toward a Miami championship game match-up against the winner of the second game of the session.

 

GAME 2: #6 Stanford 20, #2 Alabama 7

 

Some games, first drives matter, some games, they don't.  In their third consecutive Final Four, the previous two losses to Auburn and LSU came after impressive first drives by the Cardinal.  In those two games, their foes went on to dominate the Cardinal. 

 

In this game, Alabama star QB AJ McCarron was injured after an awkward fall during the Tide's first drive, and could not return. 

 

Both teams seemed to struggle through the first half.  Stanford's six first half possession's included three punts, an interception, and a fumble, but their other possession started the scoring with ten minutes left in the second quarter.  Stepfan Taylor scored on a three yard pass from Kevin Hogan, and after a missed PAT, Stanford took a 6-0 lead.

 

With sophomore Blake Sims at quarterback, the first six possessions for the Tide included three punts, a missed field goal, a turnover on downs, and an interception.  But before the half, Sims hit Eddie Lacy with a 9-yard TD pass, and Alabama had the 7-6 lead at the break.

 

However, Stanford broke out quickly from the gate, scoring early in the third for a 13-7 lead on Hogan's 1-yard run.  While Alabama remained scoreless in the half, Hogan's 17 yard TD pass to frosh RB Kelsey Young made the score 20-7 early in the fourth.

 

The final two possessions by Alabama resulted in interceptions deep in Stanford territory, and after such a dominating Sugar Bowl victory over Florida State solidified the Tide being tourney favorite, Stanford hung on to a 20-7 shocker. 

 

Notre Dame and Stanford will see each other for a second time in Miami for the National Championship.

 

 

Updated tournament results:

FIRST ROUND:

In Atlanta:
7 Florida State 21
10 Wisconsin 14

In Chicago:
8 Northern Illinois 10
9 Louisville 25

BCS BOWLS (Quarterfinals):

Fiesta:
1 Notre Dame 17
9 Louisville 10

Orange:
4 Oregon 35
5 Kansas State 17

Sugar:
2 Alabama 42
7 Florida State 17

Rose:
3 Florida 23
6 Stanford 34

Semi-Finals in Arlington, Texas: (January 12th)

1 Notre Dame 49
4 Oregon 27

2 Alabama 7
6 Stanford 20

BCS Championship in Miami: (January 26th)

1 Notre Dame
6 Stanford

Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame gets a scare from the Cardinals; Irish survive Louisville 17-10

Throngs of ND apparel clad fans hit the desert, to see the start of their march to a national championship.  Certainly the Irish would be psyched, and not suffer a performance reminiscent of struggles against Pitt and other teams of that ilk.

Well, the good thing that Brian Kelly brought to the Notre Dame head coaching position was bringing teams to the college football tournament twice.  The bad news was those Cincinnati teams were 0-2 once they were in the tournament.  And for a lot of the Fiesta Bowl, it seemed Kelly going 0-3 was a real possibility.

Though kept out of the scoring column, Louisville and QB Teddy Bridgewater looked to be the better team throughout the first quarter.  The first half was scoreless until the final minute, but Louisville's John Wallace hit a field goal, and the Cardinals were ahead 3-0 at halftime.

The Irish showed their fighting instincts by taking the ball at the start of the second half and moving downfield.  However, Irish optimism was put on hold as their QB Everett Golson threw an interception near the Louisville goal line to stop the momentum.

Louisville did not take advantage, and the Irish scored with four minutes left in the third on a Golson 2 yard run, and Irish eyes, well, were relieved. 

In the fourth quarter, the Irish scored again on Theo Riddick 6 yard TD reception from Golson to provide ND a 14-3 lead.  However, Louisville made Notre Dame fans collectively squirm as Bridgewater hit DeVante Parker with a TD pass, and the score narrowed to 17-14. 

Needing some breathing room, Notre Dame's Kyle Brindza field goal provided a 17-10 lead, and Louisville threats never came within range, and the Irish held on.

This game was supposed to be the easy tune-up for a Semi-Finals match, but things will only get tougher as Notre Dame faces high flying Oregon at Cowboys Stadium, as the Irish were the only Final Four team not to win by more than a touchdown.


Updated tournament results:

FIRST ROUND:

In Atlanta:
7 Florida State 21
10 Wisconsin 14

In Chicago:
8 Northern Illinois 10
9 Louisville 25

BCS BOWLS (Quarterfinals):

Fiesta:
1 Notre Dame 17
9 Louisville 10

Orange:
4 Oregon 35
5 Kansas State 17

Sugar:
2 Alabama 42
7 Florida State 17

Rose:
3 Florida 23
6 Stanford 34

Semi-Finals in Arlington, Texas: (January 12th)

Notre Dame versus Oregon

Alabama versus Stanford

BCS Championship in Miami:  (January 26th)

Sugar Bowl: Alabama continues Nawlins dominance, send Florida State packing, 42-17

Three of the past four Sugar Bowls, Alabama has shown little Southern hospitality by defeating Ohio State, West Virginia, and now Florida State by a sum total of 75 points.  Maybe the shellacking the Crimson Tide took at the hands of USC in the 2009 Rose Bowl taught Alabama to not leave any room for error during the weeks leading up to New Year's Day games.

Alabama's first drive was a steamroller of 82 yards, capped with an Eddie Lacy run for 20 yards for a touchdown for the early 7-0 lead.  Before Florida State could blink, Bama had the ball back, on their way to touchdown pass from AJ McCarron to Michael Williams from 3 yards out, and it was 14-0 Alabama. 

The Seminoles were game to try and hang around, and Dustin Hopkins 25 yard field goal made it 14-3, and that is how the first half ended. 

Like some kind of mythical scoring machine, Alabama continued driving, which early in the second quarter produced a T.J. Yeldon 1 yard TD run.  Florida State's Lonnie Pryor ran it in from 37 yards out, trying to match the  SEC champ, cutting the lead to 21-10.   That would not be bad way to enter the locker room, but the Crimson Tide does not roll over that easily, and in the last minute of the half, Eddie Lacy's 11 yard pass reception for a TD from McCarron allowed the Tide to roll to the break with a 28-10 lead.

That seemed to take the wind from the sails of the Seminoles, as they did not score in the third, whereas midway through the frame, Amari Cooper caught a 34 yard TD pass from McCarron, and the lead grew to 35-10. 

In the early minutes of the fourth, Cooper scored again on a 19 yard throw from McCarron, for the 42-10 cushion.  It was time to start thinking Semi-Finals, as Alabama was cruising.  Florida State added a late TD, but 42-17 would be the final.

Alabama moves on to try to repeat as national champion.  Next locale: Cowboys Stadium.  Next opponent: Pac-12 champion Stanford, in their third straight Final Four.

Orange Bowl: Oregon makes statement, returns to Final Four with 35-17 win over Kansas State

When Stanford looks around Cowboys Stadium when they arrive for the Semi-Finals, although a possible re-match is still several weeks off, they will see at least one set of familiar faces, as Oregon returns to the Final Four, with a comfortable 35-17 win over Big XII champion Kansas State.  Stanford and Oregon will represent the Pac-12 in the Final Four, just as they comprised half of the field two seasons ago.  In their fourth consecutive tournament, the Ducks avoided some of the "thuds" that have seemed inevitable in recent seasons by turning up the heat early in the Orange Bowl.  Oregon did nothing to dispel the notion that they are a team to watch in this tournament, next playing the winner of the Notre Dame/Louisville Fiesta Bowl.  Who knows, miles and miles from Pac-12 country, Miami may host a championship game rematch of this season's overtime game between Oregon and Stanford.

Kansas State, who lost out on the last at-large slot last season to Boise State, took a punch to their collective guts immediately when De'Anthony Thomas returned the opening touchdown 94 yards for a touchdown.  The Wildcats seemed sucker punched as Oregon pulled out a trick play for a Dion Jordan run for the two-point conversion, and like that, Oregon 8, K-State 0.

Kansas State tried to match the Ducks aggressiveness, by going for it on fourth down in Oregon territory, however, the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs.

With 3:46 left in the first quarter, Oregon's Thomas scored again, this time on a  23 yard pass from Marcus Mariota for a 15-0 lead.

Kansas State showed competitive life in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 15-10 after two scores: Collin Klein's 6 yard run and Anthony Cantele's 25 yard field goal, and it seemed like this might be a close one after all.

However, the Ducks ended the half on a role, scoring with 14 seconds left on Kenjon Barner's 24 yard pass recption from Marcus Mariota, and the halftime score was 22-10.

Oregon slammed the door on any thoughts of a K-State win by scoring the only points on the third quarter: Alejandro Maldonado 33yard field goal and Mariota's 2 yard run.  The Ducks lead 32-10, and were thinking Cowboys Stadium.  The final score was Oregon 35-17, and the Ducks can fly east, to see if they can finish the job this time and win it all.


Updated tournament results:

FIRST ROUND:

In Atlanta:
7 Florida State 21
10 Wisconsin 14

In Chicago:
8 Northern Illinois 10     
9 Louisville 25

BCS BOWLS (Quarterfinals):

Fiesta: 
1 Notre Dame
9 Louisville

Orange:
4 Oregon 35
5 Kansas State 17

Sugar:
2 Alabama
7 Florida State

Rose:
3 Florida 23
6 Stanford 34

Semi-Finals in Arlington, Texas:

Fiesta winner versus Oregon

Sugar winner versus Stanford

BCS Championship in Miami

Rose Bowl: No Luck required; Stanford takes third straight Rose Bowl, for triplecate Final Four; downs Florida 34-23

The questions going into the game, would SEC power dominate in a Florida win, or would two previous Rose Bowl victories propel Stanford to a third straight Final Four?  Early on, it looked like a well prepared Stanford team was on their way to Cowboys Stadium.

On the first play from scrimmage Florida QB Jeff Driskel's pass intercepted by Stanford and returned 38 yards for the touchdown, and suddenly the Cardinal fans were in pandemonium. 

Then, Stanford brought out the razzle dazzle on their first offensive possession, when wide receiver Drew Terrell's 34 yard pass was caught impressively by Jamal-Rashad Patterson.  This led to
Kelsey Young 16 yard touchdown run, and Stanford had a 14-0 lead.  

Florida finally scored early in the second quarter, on a Caleb Sturgis 33 yard field goal, to close the lead to 14-3. 

Stanford continued their offensive prowess, with a 79 yard drive, culminating in Stepfan Taylor's 3 yard touchdown run, and Stanford was in control 21-10.

Stanford's offense began to lose a bit of steam, and Florida put together a 75 yard drive to end the half, scoring on a Matt Jones 1 yard run, kinda swinging gate, gadgety play, and Florida had life, cutting the lead to 21-10 at half.

Both teams offensively sputtered in the third quarter, but Stanford took a 24-10 lead early in the fourth on a Jordan Williamson 47 yard field goal, and the Stanford crowd began to smell victory.  Another Williamson field goal, of 20 yards, added for a 27-10 Cardinal lead.

Florida answered on Andre Debose's 100 yard kickoff return, and the Gator fans began to think another comeback could be possible, now trailing 27-17.  But Stanford responded with a drive and TD to regain control 34-17.  Florida drove to score with two minutes left on Kent Taylor's 5 yard pass reception from Jeff Driskel, but it was too little, too late, and Stanford won 34-23.

Stanford returns to their third straight Final Four, upon completion of their Rose Bowl three-peat.  Their SEC odyssey may continue at Cowboys Stadium.  In Stanford's five previous tournament games over the last three seasons, four have been against five different SEC teams, and the trend might continue, as they take on the Sugar Bowl winner of Alabama or Florida State.


Updated tournament results:

FIRST ROUND:

In Atlanta:
7 Florida State 21
10 Wisconsin 14

In Chicago:
8 Northern Illinois 10     
9 Louisville 25

BCS BOWLS (Quarterfinals):

Fiesta:
1 Notre Dame
9 Louisville

Orange:
4 Oregon
5 Kansas State

Sugar:
2 Alabama
7 Florida State

Rose:
3 Florida 23
6 Stanford 34

Semi-Finals in Arlington, Texas:

Fiesta winner versus Orange winner

Sugar winner versus Stanford

BCS Championship in Miami

First Round Chicago: Louisville eyes the Irish, stomps Northern Illinois 25-10

Chicago hosted its first First Round tournament game on drizzly day in the upper 40's, but Louisville played like all was sunny and warm on their side of the field, as they bested a game but overmatched Northern Illinois team, to advance to the Fiesta Bowl against top seed Notre Dame.

Huskies QB Jordan Lynch struggled early against a prepared Louisville defense.  But it was not only the Cardinals defense that was in a groove, but Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater heated up the cool-ish day with a sparkling passing attack.  Louisville took their first drive in for the touchdown, on J eremy Wright 1-yard run, for the 7-0 margin. 

Bridgewater continued to dominate, and a circus TD catch by DeVante Parker on a 15 yard throw, and and after John Wallace's extra point was blocked, Louisville had a 13-0 lead.

NIU and Lynch struggled offensively, as his regular season magic seemed to be left behind in DeKalb.  So the Huskies pulled out a trick play.  Desroy Maxwell took a short snap on a fake punt on fourth-and-3 and ran 35 yards to set up a field goal for the Huskies' first score.  Mathew Sims 25 yard field goal cut the lead to 13-3 before the end of the first quarter.
  
Louisville continued to pass well in the second quarter, but the Huskies defense tended to bend but not break, and the Cardinals did not take advantage of scoring opportunities by missing field goals of 40+.  The Cardinals added to their lead with a 27 yard field goal, the score was Louisville over NIU 16-3 at the half.

Louisville continued to control the game at the start of the third, but this time capitalized, as Teddy Bridgewater threw a 19 yard touchdown pass to Damian Copeland for the 22-3 lead. 

In the third quarter, Northern Illinois finally found the lighning in the bottle, if only for a single drive, as Jordan Lynch completed a pass to Akeem Daniels for 55 yards to the Louisville 37.  Lynch finished the drive with a touchdown pass to Martel Moore for 11 yards, and NIU fans had a chance to cheer, cutting the lead to 22-10.

That was the score going into the final quarter, but Louiville continued to dominate both sides of the line of scrimmage, adding a Wallace completing the 30 yard field goal in the fourth quarter for the 25-10 lead, and Northern never challenged. 

Louisville leaves Chicago with a trip to the desert, facing Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. 

First Round Atlanta: Seminoles tomahawk chop the Badgers; Florida State wins 21-14

Florida State knew coming in that the Big Ten had dominated the ACC in recent years' First Round games, but, despite a gutty effort by Wisconsin, the Seminoles reversed the trend. 

With a Sugar Bowl opportunity versus on Alabama on the line, both Florida State and Wisconsin seemed a bit out of sorts as the game began.  After a questionable fourth and goal call by the Badgers, who had Montee Ball on the sidelines, and a missed FSU field goal attempt, the first quarter ended in a scoreless tie. 

Things picked up in the second quarter.  Wisconsin's defense was stunned by a big play, a 60-yard TD run by FSU's Lonnie Pryor, giving the Seminoles a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.  However, Wisconsin responded with a scoring drive, with their RB Ball running it in from the 11-yard line to tie the score.  Later in the half, Badgers QB Curt Phillips continued a solid stretch of play by completing a 4 yard TD pass to Jordan Fredrick, to give Wisconsin its first lead of 14-7.  But the Seminoles anwered with Rashad Greene getting one toe down in the end zone on a 6 yard pass from FSU QB EJ Manuel to close out the first half scoring, and the teams were tied at 14 going into the locker room.

Florida State seemed to continue their momentum by utilizing their quickness early in the third quarter, but stuggles on third down kept the Seminoles from taking advantage on the scoreboard.  As the quarter rolled on, it became more of a physical game and Wisconsin seemed to gain control of the line of scrimmage. 

Early in the fourth quarter, behind the running of Pryor and Manuel, Florida State put together a drive capped by an EJ Manuel touchdown rush for 9 yards, and FSU lead 21-14.   Despite a solid performance overall by the Badgers QB, a late interception thrown by Phillips took away Wisconsin's final chance.  Florida State ran out the clock, and, for the first time since Virginia Tech defeated Texas Tech in the First Round in 2008-2009, an ACC team will be in the Bowl Quarterfinals.

Updated tournament results:

FIRST ROUND:

In Atlanta:
7 Florida State 21
10 Wisconsin 14

In Chicago:
8 Northern Illinois      
9 Louisville

BCS BOWLS (Quarterfinals):

Fiesta:
1 Notre Dame
8 Northern Illinois/Louisville

Orange:
4 Oregon      
5 Kansas State

Sugar:
2 Alabama        
7 Florida State

Rose:
3 Florida
6 Stanford

Semi-Finals in Arlington, Texas:

Fiesta winner versus Orange winner

Sugar winner versus Rose winner

BCS Championship in Miami