At least the Big 10 PLAYED in two of the best bowls.
The ACC stands 8-3 in its 11 bowl games with Clemson yet to face Alabama in the CFB National Championship rematch Monday night. The Big Ten, which was arguably the strongest conference in college football, went 3-7 in its 10 bowl games.
By the way, the SEC had the most bowl teams, with 12 is only 6-6 going into the CFBtitle game.
The Big Ten, the oldest conference in the country, participated in the two best bowl games so far – Florida State’s pulsating 33-32 win over seemingly always screwed Michigan in the Orange Bowl and conference champion Penn State’s last-second loss to USC in the Rose, Grand-daddy of all the bowl games (at least this season).
You remember Michigan lost at Ohio State on the disputed first-down call in overtime, missing its chance to go to the football Final Four? This time, Coach Jim Harbaugh went ballistic again when it appeared that Florida State was off-sides on Michigan’s last play from scrimmage in the Seminoles’ dramatic victory.
That game was topped only by last night in Pasadena, where Penn State came back from repeated 13-point deficits to go up by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. But Southern Cal’s freshman quarterback Sam Darnold rallied the Trojans with his fifth TD pass to tie the score at 49 all with less than 90 seconds to play. Foolishly, Penn State threw away overtime when it threw its third interception of the night, and SC returned it into field goal range.
Left-footed Matt Boermeester, a junior college transfer, won it at the gun with a majestic 46-yard field goal that curled between the goal posts, as the Trojans won the highest-scoring Rose Bowl in history – an Instant Classic in which Penn State set a record by scoring touchdowns on four consecutive offensive plays.
So, unless I am mistaken, the 39 bowls are finally over and one college football game remains. Sure hope all the excitement down in Clemson doesn’t run off on its basketball team tonight.
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