Portal:College football/Selected article/2008
January, 2008
The 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl was an edition of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, formerly known as the Peach Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. It pitted the Georgia Bulldogs against the Virginia Tech Hokies in a postseason American college football bowl game in Atlanta, Georgia. The University of Georgia represented the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the competition. The game was the final competition of the 2006 football season for each team and resulted in a 31–24 Georgia victory, even though spread bettors favored Virginia Tech to win by three points. In exchange for the right to pick the first ACC team after the Bowl Championship Series selections, bowl representatives paid $3.25 million to the ACC, while the SEC, whose fifth team was selected, received $2.4 million. The combined $5.65 million payout was the seventh-largest among all college football bowl games, and the fourth-largest non-BCS bowl game payout.
In a game that was expected to be a defensive struggle, Virginia Tech took a 21–3 lead in the first half. After halftime, Georgia answered Tech's first-half success, thanks in part to four second-half turnovers by Tech quarterback Sean Glennon. Virginia Tech's No. 1 ranked defense struggled in the second half, allowing 153 yards (of 200 total) in the final 30 minutes. As time ran out, Georgia held a one-touchdown lead, 31–24, having beaten back a last-second Tech rally. 75,406 people attended the game, making it the 10th consecutive Peach Bowl sellout, the largest crowd to ever attend an event at the Georgia Dome, and the third-largest bowl game in terms of attendance for the 2006–2007 season. Both schools sold out their allotment of 18,500 tickets quickly. 31,922 people attended the Chick-fil-A "fan fest" prior to the game, setting a new attendance record. Virginia Tech's loss brought it to a final 2006 record of 10–3, while Georgia's final-game win earned it a record of 9–4.
February, 2008
The 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2006-2007, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship. The team was coached by Bob Stoops, led on offense by quarterback Paul Thompson, and played their homes games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
The previous year's team did not quite reach to the expectations that head coach Bob Stoops has set for his teams. The Sooners ended the previous season with eight wins and four losses, third in the Big 12 South standings and 22nd in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls.
This season saw the Sooners re-emerge to the forefront of college football. The season began when the starting quarterback and an offensive lineman were kicked off the team the day before fall practice started. They lost two of their first five games including a controversial loss to the Oregon Ducks and a loss to the defending national champion Texas Longhorns. They followed those losses with eight consecutive wins. The Sooners won their fourth conference championship under Bob Stoops to make 40 conference championships total. They played Boise State University in the Fiesta Bowl and lost in what many consider one of the "greatest" bowl games of all time. The Sooners' defense again ended the season nationally ranked finishing number one is several categories in the conference. Following the season, Adrian Peterson was selected seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. In addition to Peterson, Rufus Alexander and C. J. Ah You were also drafted into the National Football League (NFL).
March, 2008
Colt McCoy is the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorn college football team. As a redshirt freshman in 2006, he was the starting quarterback for the 2006 Longhorn team and he led the 2007 Texas Longhorn football team.
On November 4, 2006, McCoy threw his 27th touchdown pass in a win against Oklahoma State, to take sole possession of the UT school record for most touchdowns ever thrown by a quarterback in a single season. Subsequently, in the 2006 Alamo Bowl on December 30, Colt McCoy threw two touchdowns against Iowa to tie the NCAA freshman record of 29 touchdown passes established by Nevada's David Neill in 1998. Also during the 2006 season, Colt McCoy was named College Football News Big 12 Player of the Year and was named the quarterback to their "All Freshman Team". Injuries caused him to miss portions of the final two regular season games, but was able to play for the entire duration of the Longhorns' bowl game.
In the 2007 season, McCoy was somewhat less consistent. Through the first five games he threw nine interceptions - two more than he threw in the entire 2006 season; he threw 18 interceptions during the 2007 season.
(more)April, 2008
The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech is the name of the official mascot of the student body at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Ramblin' Wreck is a 1930 Ford Model A Sports coupe and it embodies the spirit, tradition, and passion of the Tech student body. The Wreck is present at all major sporting events and student body functions. Its most noticeable role is leading the football team onto Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field, a duty which the Wreck has performed since 1961. The Ramblin' Wreck is mechanically and financially maintained on campus by students in the Ramblin' Reck Club.
The first mechanical Wreck was a 1914 Ford Model T owned by Dean Floyd Field. Until the current Wreck was donated to the school in 1961, most of the early Ramblin' Wrecks were owned by students, faculty or alumni. The modern Wreck has donned a number of different paint jobs and has had several restorations and modifications made to it. These changes were done by various individuals and organizations over the years, including Bobby Dodd and a Georgia Tech Alum at the Ford plant in Hapeville, Georgia. The upkeep of the Wreck has been the sole responsibility of the Ramblin' Reck Club and the Wreck driver since 1987.
The Ramblin' Wreck has been the target of a number of pranks perpetrated by rival schools; the University of Tennessee once provided the Wreck with an unsolicited new paint job, and the University of Georgia has kidnapped the Wreck on at least two occasions. Several replica or "false" Wrecks are owned by alumni, or are used for display and do not run. The official Ramblin' Wreck is considered the only "true" Wreck, and no backups or replacements exist.
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May, 2008
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is the on-campus football facility for the University of Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma. The official capacity of the stadium following recent renovations is 82,112, making it the 14th largest college stadium in the United States and the 3rd largest in the Big 12 Conference (behind Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium at the University of Texas and Kyle Field at Texas A&M University). The record attendance for the stadium was set during a 2006 home game against Texas Tech University with 85,313 in attendance. The stadium is also the site of Spring Commencement exercises for the University.
The stadium is a horseshoe-shaped facility with its long axis oriented north/south, with the north end enclosed and the south end open. Visitor seating is in the south end zone and the southern sections of the east side. The student seating sections are in the east stands, surrounding the 350-member Pride of Oklahoma which sits in section 29, between the 20- and 35-yard lines. The Sooners' bench was also located on the east side with the students, but the home bench was moved to the west (shady) side in the mid-1990s so the Sooners can take respite in the tall shadow of the press box from the sweltering August and September heat – a key advantage for the Sooners against teams from cooler climates or with inadequate heat conditioning.
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June, 2008
The 2005 Texas vs. Ohio State football game, played September 10, 2005, was the first-ever meeting between The University of Texas at Austin and The Ohio State University in a college football game. The two teams came into the game ranked No. 2 and No. 4, respectively. It was the second game of the 2005 season for both teams. Schools have become increasingly conservative in scheduling non-conference opponents of a high caliber, so a meeting of two top-five teams in the country was unusual this early in the season. For either team, winning the game would boost their chances of ultimately playing in the BCS National Championship Game while the loser likely faced the end of their national championship hopes.
According to observers such as USA Today, the match-up between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes was one of the most-anticipated games of the 2005 season. Due to the high level of anticipation, ESPN chose the game for the location of its weekly College GameDay broadcast.
The 2005 Texas Longhorn football team (variously "Texas" or "UT" or the "Horns") was coached by head football coach Mack Brown and led on the field by quarterback Vince Young. The 2005 Ohio State Buckeyes football team (variously "Ohio State" or "OSU" or the "Bucks") was coached by Jim Tressel. Justin Zwick and Troy Smith shared time as quarterback due to disciplinary measures enforced against Smith. The game was a back-and-forth affair which was ultimately won by Texas, 25-22. The game's attendance was 105,565, which set the then all-time attendance record for Ohio Stadium. The game was televised nationally on ABC and drew 9.9 million viewers.
ESPN and College Football Rivals, were among the observers who named the game one of the best football games of the season. Texas' win kept them near the front of the national championship picture. They ultimately finished the season unbeaten, snaring the Big 12 Conference and NCAA championships. Ohio State finished the season with nine wins and two losses and ranked No. 4 in the nation.
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July, 2008
Southwestern honored the memory of Kahler by naming the football field "Art Kahler Field." In 1974, Kahler was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
(more)August, 2008
Samuel Colgate, Jr. was the first head football coach for the Colgate University Raiders located in the Village of Hamilton in Madison County, New York and he held that position for two seasons, from 1890 until 1891 (some sources and photos say "until 1892"). His coaching record at Colgate was 5 wins, 2 losses, and 0 ties.
Samuel Colgate, Jr. was the son of United States business magnate Samuel Colgate, who along with his brother James B. Colgate were responsible for a significant amount of financial support to Colgate (formerly Madison) University. In 1890 the school was renamed in honor of the Colgate family. Because of this unique naming of the university, Samuel Colgate may be the only head football coach (or any collegiate sport) whose family name was literally the same as the school where he coached.
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September, 2008
It is not uncommon events or groups other than teams to receive a ranking, such as the 2006 Wisconsin Badgers football team non-conference schedule--the schedule received the ranking, not the team. Another often-used favorite is the term "Directional Michigan" which is used to reference a group of schools in the state of Michigan.
The Chicago Tribune credits the original idea to Los Angeles sportswriter Steve Harvey approximately 30 years before ESPN began using the term. ESPN now publishes the rankings "With apologies to Steve Harvey."
(more)October, 2008
Nathan Stauffer was an early American football coach in the United States. He was one of the first head coaches at a small school to be paid for his work.
Stauffer was the first head football coach for the Dickinson College Red Devils in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and he held that position for four seasons, from 1896 until 1899. His coaching record at Dickinson was 22 wins, 11 losses, and 2 ties. As of completion of the 2007 season, this ranks him sixth at Dickinson in terms of total wins and fourth at Dickinson in terms of winning percentage.
After Dickinson, Stauffer became the head coach at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania for the 1900 and 1901 seasons. His record at Widener was a successful 7-3 season his first year, and a disappointing 3-5 season in 1901.
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November, 2008
Forrest Craver was a college football player and coach and athletic director who helped to pioneer physical education programs at the collegiate level including the introduction of intramural sports.
Craver served as the fifth and fourteenth head football coach for the Dickinson College Red Devils in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He held that position for a total of five seasons, first coaching the team for the 1904 season and then returning to coach the team from 1918 until 1921. His overall coaching record at Dickinson was 21 wins, 18 losses, and 6 ties. This ranks him seventh at Dickinson in terms of total wins and tenth at Dickinson in terms of winning percentage.
Craver was the first graduate of Dickinson to coach football at Dickinson. His teams would often scrimmage against the cross-town rivals Carlisle Indians coached by Pop Warner.
Craver was a long-standing faculty member at Dickinson as instructor of mathematics, Latin, and physical education. The school has honored his memory by annually awarding the "The Forrest E. Craver Mathematics Prize" to selected graduates. He was a long-standing member of the Phi Beta Kappa organization at Dickinson and was the local chapter's treasurer from 1910 until 1939.
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December, 2008
Malone failed to defend their title as the 2007 Victory Bowl winners on their third consecutive trip to the bowl. Northwestern's win was their second Victory Bowl championship and fourth appearance in the game's twelve-year history.
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