After checking out the list of college football bowl games, I focused on paying attention to two of the 32 games scheduled: Boise State taking on Oklahoma and Florida against Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game.
The bowl season which started on December 19 ends with Florida/Ohio State this coming Monday, January 8. When it is all said and done, 32 bowl games will be played in 21 days.
So why Boise State and Oklahoma on New Year's Day?
For openers, Boise State came into the game undefeated with a 12-0 record and was snubbed by the BCS system for a shot in the National Championship Game against Ohio State. The reason is simply that Boise State is a small Division I school and plays in what many pundits consider the substandard Western Athletic Conference.
The WAC includes Utah State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Idaho, Fresno State, Nevada, San Jose State and Hawaii. Boise State won the WAC title with an 8-0 record. Many die-hard football fans do not even consider the WAC a conference.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, plays in the mighty Big 12 conference which boasts such current powerhouse programs as Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Nebraska. Oklahoma won the Big 12 South championship with an 8-1 mark and came into the Fiesta Bowl with an 11-2 record.
You can imagine that Oklahoma was favored not only to take down but also slap around Boise State and its unblemished 12-0 record.
Someone forgot to tell the Boise State players not to bother showing up.
In one of the most exciting bowl games in college football history, Boise State not only led early on (21-10 at the half) but looked to put the game away until Oklahoma methodically mounted a comeback, taking a 35-28 lead with 1:02 remaining when Sooner cornerback Marcus Walker's returned an interception for a touchdown.
The Boise State Broncos subsequently found themselves at midfield with a fourth-and-18 and only 7 seconds left.
It was enough time for Boise State to pull off a jaw-dropping 50-yard pass play to Drisan James at Oklahoma's 35, and for James to lateral the ball to Jerard Rabb who raced into the end zone to tie the game at 35. It was a play the Broncos practiced all season but seldom ran.
Oklahoma's defensive secondary moved with James as his catch and run was going one way when James pitched to Rabb going the other way. The defensive secondary was out of position and could not stop Rabb from tying it up, sending the game into overtime.
The Oklahoma Sooners scored on the first play in overtime as Adrian Peterson scampered virtually untouched for 25 yards. It looked as if the game was over.
But Boise State receiver Vinny Perretta threw a fourth-down touchdown pass to Derek Schouman to put the Broncos within an extra point kick of tying it up yet again.
However, Boise State Head Coach Chris Petersen and his Bronco players decided not to give Oklahoma another chance and went for the two-point conversion and victory instead.
On the decisive last play, Broncos quarterback Jared Zabransky looked at three wide receivers to his right, pump faked, and then he handed the ball behind his back to Ian Johnson who raced untouched into the end zone for the dramatic victory.
Who would have thought to run the old Statue of Liberty play in a game this important? Answer: Boise State. Talk about a kahuna. Oklahoma could not even spell the word, much less stop Johnson on his run into Boise State history.
The final score read Boise State 43 and Oklahoma 42. There were a lot of unhappy Sooners and Sooner fans and a lot of ecstatic Broncos and Bronco fans after the amazing game-ending play.
Ian Johnson, who scored the winning two-point conversion, kept running right over to his cheerleader girl friend and proposed; she accepted and jumped into his arms. This is college football folks, not pro football which sometimes can put you to sleep on its best day.
Petersen completed his first year at Boise State undefeated at 13-0 after taking over for Dan Hawkins who left to become head coach at Colorado.
Underlying this incredible college football bowl game was the belief of the Boise State players that they could upset Oklahoma, proving once again that anything man can see and believe he can achieve.
Never, never, ever underestimate the power of belief. Clearly, the Boise State players would not have won the game as underdogs unless they believed they could win.
One of my favorite expressions is ask and you shall receive, don't and you won't.
In this case, it was believe and you shall win, don't and you won't.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
