Patrick and I were chatting on IM early this morning about the most incredible, amazing, stupendous, phenomenal, unbelievable football game we’ve ever seen — a.k.a. last night’s Fiesta Bowl — and we decided that it needs a name. You know, like the “Music City Miracle” or the “Bush Push,” except ideally, the name should refer to the whole game, not just the play that ended it (because really, the Statue of Liberty play that ended it was only, like, the 27th utterly ridiculous and impossible play that occurred in the final few minutes of that game).

Anyway, we tried to brainstorm, but we couldn’t think of anything adequate, so I thought I’d turn it over to my blog audience and see what you guys can come up with. Possible half-ideas include the “_____ in the Desert,” or the “_____ in the Valley,” or the “Glendale ______.” Other words to consider using (alongside whatever synonym for “holy f***ing s*** that was f***ing amazing” you choose) are: Arizona, Fiesta, Tostitos, BCS.

The name needs to be catchy, reasonably descriptive, and worthy of that unbelievably ridicuously impossible game. And if there’s some way to simultaneously express the incredible nature of the game itself and its potentially far-reaching implications for the future of college football, all the better. So… any ideas?

P.S. I’m waiting for some game highlights to show up on YouTube, so I can “embed” them here on the blog. Until then, you can get them from Fox Sports.

Some people have trouble keeping their New Year’s resolutions. I’d say Boise State running back Ian Johnson is off to a pretty decent start. Here are a few things he accomplished on the first day of 2007:

1) Help prove to the world that your team deserves its spot in the BCS — and arguably more — with a performance for the ages in a game for the ages against an über-talented Oklahoma team that should have been 11-1 and in the national-title discussion. Check.

2) Win said “game for the ages” with perhaps the most dramatic trick play in college-football history (beating out the game-saving 50-yard hook-and-lateral from a few minutes earlier), a Statue of Liberty play for the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime. Check.

3) In the course of accomplishing #1 and #2, make your legions of fans, not to mention your friends and family, diliriously happy. Check.

(That’s Ian Johnson’s brother, Kyle.)

4) Propose to your extremely attractive cheerleader girlfriend on national TV. Check.

5) She says yes. Check.

Yep, I’d say that’s a pretty damn good day.

Incidentally, her name is Chrissy Popadics, and… did I mention she’s cute? Patrick was kind enough to send me links to these photos:

I nominate the future Mrs. Ian Johnson for next year’s Athlon cheerleader contest. Do I hear a second?

Boise State’s incredible victory in the Fiesta Bowl put Colin Pedicini back on top of the 2nd annual Irish Trojan bowl pick ‘em contest — and in position to win the contest if Notre Dame wins the Sugar Bowl and Ohio State wins the BCS Championship Game.

Pedicini is one of ten contestants still mathematically alive to win the contest with five bowls — Louisville vs. Wake Forest, LSU vs. Notre Dame, Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan, Ohio vs. Southern Miss, and Ohio State vs. Florida — remaining. Here is a list of those contestants, and what must happen for them to win the contest:

Colin Pedicini: Notre Dame and Ohio State win.
Mike Wiser: Wake Forest, LSU and Ohio State win.
Robert Wilson: Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Florida win.
Brandon Minich: Louisville, LSU, Cincinnati, Ohio and Florida win.
Brad Miller: Louisville, LSU, Western Michigan, Southern Miss and Ohio State win, and the combined number of points scored by both teams in the BCS Championship Game is 56 or more.
Kevin Hauschulz: Louisville, LSU and Ohio State win, and either: a) Cincinnati wins, b) Ohio wins, or c) the combined number of points scored by both teams in the BCS Championship Game is 55 or less.
Ben Sloniker: Louisville, LSU, Southern Miss and Florida win, and either: a) Cincinnati wins, or b) the combined number of points scored by both teams in the BCS Championship Game is 39 or less.
Bill Reising: Louisville, LSU, Western Michigan and Florida win, and either: a) Ohio wins, or b) the combined number of points scored by both teams in the BCS Championship Game is 40 or more.
martysgirlfriend: Wake Forest and Florida win, and either: a) LSU wins, b) Western Michigan and Southern Miss win, or c) Western Michigan wins and the combined number of points scored by both teams in the BCS Championship Game is 55 or greater (54 for a tie with uscroger).
uscroger: Notre Dame and Florida win, and either: a) Louisville wins, or b) Western Michigan and Ohio win and the combined number of points scored by both teams in the BCS Championship Game is 53 or less (54 for a tie with martysgirlfriend).

Put another way, here are the 32 different scenarios that could occur, and who would win in each of those scenarios (after the jump).

(more…)

When Boise State coach Chris Petersen held up the Fiesta Bowl trophy and said “This is for the Bronco Nation,” some of you might have been tempted to snicker. I can imagine the retort: “There’s a Bronco Nation?” Everyone knows there’s a Trojan Nation, a Domer Nation, a Red Sox Nation, a Raider Nation, etc. … but does Boise State really have a “nation”?

Well, let me tell you, there absolutely is a Bronco Nation, and it came out in force to Arizona for this game. Those people you heard on TV cheering for the Broncos weren’t just bandwagon fans rooting for the underdog; they were Boise die-hards. It’s absolutely incredible how many people can down here from Idaho. The Boise State fans seriously own this town right now. When Becky, Casey and I went to Tempe for New Year’s Eve celebrations, we were all floored by the vast number of Boise fans. They were everywhere! There were at least five Broncos fans for every Sooners fan, and it might have been more like ten, as I said at the time. It was amazing.

There were a lot of reasons I was absolutely ecstatic when Boise won (and, conversely, absolutely crushed when I thought they were going to lose), but one of the biggest reasons was thinking about how these folks must be feeling:

I can’t tell you how happy I am for the Boise fans. They deserve every bit of the joy they’re feeling right now. They treated this game much like their team’s players and coaches did: as a chance to prove themselves on a national stage, to disprove the doubters and show that they’re “for real.” In the fans’ case, that meant proving that Boise State has a rabid fan base that absolutely will travel to big-time bowl games. And they definitely proved it. So, hats off to the Bronco Nation. Great job, guys.

During the last four days, the Phoenix Valley has played host to the greatest comeback in bowl history (the Insight Bowl in Tempe) and one of the greatest bowl games ever, period (the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale). The latter might also qualify as the greatest upset in bowl history, if we’re looking not at pointspreads but at the reputation and national cachet of the teams involved, as well as the potential implications for underdogs everywhere.

And I was here, and yet I didn’t go to either game. Damn, I wish I had more money to blow on football game tickets. ;)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BOISE STATE WINS THE FIESTA BOWL ON A STATUE-OF-LIBERTY PLAY ON A TWO-POINT CONVERSION IN OVERTIME!!!!!!

YESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Un-freakin-believable!!! I honestly think that might have been a better game than USC-ND last year. Certainly the best football game I’ve ever watched on TV. Absolutely incredible.

And an absolutely perfect ending for a champion of the mid-majors like me. I was literally just running around the in-laws’ living room, silently pumping my fists and jumping over furniture. (Everyone else in the house is asleep. Fools. They missed an utterly amazing game.)

Fox reporter asks Boise QB Jared Zabransky: “Do you deserve a shot at Ohio State?”

Zabransky: “I believe we do … We deserve a chance at a national title.”

Yes, Jared, yes you do.

UPDATE: And Ian Johnson just proposed to his (cute!) cheerleader girlfriend, and she said yes! Call me an emotional sap, but I totally have goosebumps. Okay, that puts it over the top: this was officially better than the USC-ND game. :)

Boise State 28, Oklahoma 10, with 8:05 left in the third quarter.

I love it!!

UPDATE: Dammit. Just when I was starting to dream of a Boise blowout… a crucial, flukey turnover, and it’s 28-17.

UPDATE 2: Calm down, Broncos, calm down. Don’t lose your composure now. Yikes.

UPDATE 3: Dear Samsung: Your HDTV girl is really, really creepy. I’m going to have nightmares about her saying “it’s the mirrors.” The person who came up with the concept for those ads was clearly on drugs. Seriously. Creepy!!

Anyway, a crucial stand there, holding the Sooners to a field goal. So it’s 28-20. Now Boise needs some offense.

UPDATE 4: Absolute craziness, and it’s tied 28-28 with 1:26 to go.

C’mon Boise… don’t panic… you have time left… drive for the winning field goal! GO BRONCOS!

UPDATE 5: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Oklahoma intercepts it, runs it in for a touchdown, and will apparently win in the most absolutely heartbreaking fashion imaginable for Boise State and its fans…

Sooners lead, 35-28 with 1:02 left. Boise State ball, two timeouts left.

UPDATE 6: YEESSSSS SSS S S SS sdnfgfkls[dhagpidfwkshtoiashjgdfjshgklajdfsbhgvkljasdHfaks OWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE 7: Forgive me, dear readers, and excuse my French, but:

HOLY SHIT!!!!

Boise State ties the game with 7 seconds left with a touchdown on 4th and 19, featuring a LATERAL that kept the game alive! We’re going to overtime, baby!!!

UPDATE 8: Oklahoma scores a touchdown immediately, on a 25-yard run by Peterson. So it’s Boise ball. They need a touchdown to keep it going.

[breathe… must remember to breathe…]

I love you.

Sincerely,
    the Irish Trojan

(more…)

USC alum Mike Wiser and Ohio State alum Brad Miller took the lead in the 2nd annual Irish Trojan bowl pick ‘em contest when USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, dropping previous leader Esteban Coca (a.k.a. alphadog) into a tie for eighth place.

Wiser, now a Ph.D. student at Michigan State, and Miller, more recently a graduate of Capital University Law School, have 40 points out of a maximum possible 50. Jeff Freeze, Colin Pedicini, Kay Torg and Ed (SFV) have 39 apiece. Bill Reising has 38. Kevin Hauschulz and alphadog have 37. Defending champion Brian Dupuis (DUP), who led the contest earlier today, is now one of five contestants tied for tenth place with 36 points. (The others are David Plewes, Harold Adkins, Patrick Cooper and Chris B.)

Complete standings after the jump.

If Boise State wins the Fiesta Bowl — and they lead Oklahoma 14-0 early — Pedicini, who was the contest’s early leader as he started 11-0, will take back the lead. If Oklahoma wins, Wiser and Miller will stay in first place.

(more…)

The wreckage of an Indonesian jetliner that went missing with more than 100 on board is spotted in a mountainous region but no word on survivors, Indonesian media reports. Visit CNN for the latest.

WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

USC 32, Michigan 18, final!

Beat the Vandals!!!

source file

Beat the Wolverines!

source file

UPDATE: I saw a guy in the crowd at the Rose Bowl wearing a Notre Dame hat. I wonder who he’s rooting for? To give you an idea, there’s a Facebook group that’s popular among ND students called “I hope a meteor falls on the Rose Bowl, killing both teams.” Heh.

UPDATE 2: It’s a defensive battle at halftime: USC 3, Michigan 3. What is this, an SEC game? ;)

UPDATE 3: Incidentally, Esteban Coca (a.k.a. alphadog) leads the Irish Trojan bowl pick ‘em contest at the moment. He got all four of today’s non-BCS bowls right, and took the lead over Brian Dupuis (a.k.a. DUP) when Wisconsin beat Arkansas. He’ll keep the lead if Michigan beats USC; if the Trojans win, Mike Wiser and Brad Miller will be tied for first place. Coca also needs Boise State to beat Oklahoma later tonight.

UPDATE 4: Touchdown Trojans! It’s 10-3 with 8:43 left in the third quarter.

UPDATE 5: Another touchdown Trojans! Woohoo! But Danelo missed the extra point…dammit. So, it’s 16-3.

UPDATE 6: 19-3 Trojans, start of the fourth quarter.

UPDATE 7: Now 19-11 after a Michigan touchdown and two-point conversion. Stupid missed extra point on USC’s first TD makes it a one-possession game. Gah. Early fourth quarter still.

…here’s a look at the ball dropping in Times Square:

I chose the NBC coverage because Carson Daly & co. had the good sense to shut up, and let the pictures speak for themselves, during the countdown and celebration — as opposed to, say, Fox News, where one of the anchors was clearly drunk (”they’re clountin’ down”) and the other offered such insightful commentary as “28 seconds, folks, until the year 2007, and what a year it has been.”

Also via YouTube, some views from people on the street: here, here and here.

UPDATE: Here’s the Dick Clark version. Dick sounds rather inebriated, himself.

Brian Dupuis (DUP), champion of the 1st annual Irish Trojan bowl pick ‘em contest, moved ahead of thebeef in the 2nd annual contest when Penn State beat Tennessee in the Outback Bowl, then maintained his one-point edge when Auburn beat Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. (Patrick Cooper would have jumped from tenth place to first place if the Cornhuskers had won.)

Dupuis’s lead may be short-lived, though. He picked West Virginia in the Gator Bowl and Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl, and both teams are trailing by double-digit margins early in the third quarter. If Georgia Tech and Wisconsin win, seth will take the lead. If it’s West Virginia and Wisconsin, alphadog would take over first place. Otherwise, Dupuis will still be in first heading into the BCS bowls.

Dupuis currently has 33 out of a maximum possible 39 points. Thebeef is second with 32, alphadog is third with 31, David Plewes is fourth with 30, and seven players are tied for fifth with 29 points: Joe McDade (Texasyank), seth, James McGinnis, Mark Gardner, Mike Wiser, Brad Miller and Courtney Tawresey.

Complete standings here and after the jump.

(more…)