Simply and succinctly, it was the most amazing football game I've ever attended. Never seen that much nerve from a coaching staff. Never seen such nerves of steel from the players executing the razzle dazzle in do-or-die situations. Never seen both teams appear hopelessly beaten in the final minutes of regulation.
Where do the Broncos go in the aftermath of their epic upset of Oklahoma? Into the top 10 on a semipermanent basis? Into the households of better and better recruits? Onto more and more TV screens nationwide? Or do they slip back to normal life on the fringe of BCS Land?
More importantly, where does college football go?
Is this the beginning of a new day in the sport? A day when all colleges can dream the Boise State dream, and have the avenue to achieve it?More lasting than ESPN's temporary speculation (let's face it, those guys have an Eastern Establishment bias the likes of which will only be overcome by years of the West pounding away at their preconceived notions), were the words of Oklahoma's own respected sportswriter, Berry Tramel, writing for the Oklahoman:
After a breathless string of magic and miracles, after two football teams so very different in tradition and prestige but not so much in talent and heart waged a game to remember, after Oklahoma and Boise State produced the Fiesta of all Fiestas in the desert, we finally had a winner Monday night.
Boise State and college football.
The little Broncos, kept on the outside of this tradition-rich sport until this amazing night at University of Phoenix Stadium, bested the Sooners 43-42 in overtime in the wildest game you ever will hope to see.
Boise State hero Jared Zabransky called it maybe the greatest game in college football history. That's silly, of course, but I'm taking nominations for any games wilder.
Boise State won it in a manner that maybe only Oklahomans can appreciate. The Broncos were victimized by Sooner Magic, as Ohio State and Nebraska and so many others had been so many times before. But Boise State saw that magic and trumped it with a miracle of its own, a 50-yard touchdown play with seven seconds left on the old hook-and-lateral.
Remember that, OU fans? What's good for the goose in 1976 against Nebraska is good to cook a goose 30 years later.
Then in overtime, more tricks. A two-point conversion play that was part Statue of Liberty and part hidden-ball trick and all guile by rookie Boise State coach Chris Petersen, who wasn't afraid to lose and was rewarded with victory.
And never again will college football look at the little guy the same. Never again can an unbeaten Boise State or TCU or Brigham Young be written off for weak schedules. All they ask for is a chance.
That chance came to Boise State, and the Broncos made the most of it by slaying the Big 12 champion.
"We felt like we belonged here all along,” Petersen said. "We really did. I think a lot of people felt we belonged here. That's why you play the game. You've got to go out there and prove it.”
George Mason University last week took out a full-page ad in the Idaho Statesman, congratulating Boise State and wishing the Broncos well in the Fiesta Bowl. George Mason rocked college basketball last spring by making the Final Four.
Boise State trumped George Mason with this victory. Some questioned whether the Broncos deserved a BCS bid. But they proved it in spades Monday night against an OU team that played poorly much of the game but with great heart late.
Despite the way the Sooners played, this was not a game they lost. This was a game Boise State won.
This is a game that will gnaw at Bob Stoops, giving up such an easy score with the game seemingly in hand. And Stoops will be right; a defense should never be so victimized.
But the 50-yard hook-and-lateral — quarterback Jared Zabransky to Drisan James to Jerard Rabb — was a play for the ages. It was a play so big, it made you almost forget the epic finish by the Sooners.
The 77-yard touchdown drive directed by Paul Thompson and 2-point conversion pass. Marcus Walker's 33-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:02 left, which but for Boise State's charm is a play that would rank among the greatest in Sooner lore.
Truth is, OU didn't lose this game with its defensive lapses against Petersen's bag of tricks. The Sooners lost this one with 55 minutes of lethargic play.
OU looked in this bowl game just like it did the previous two BCS trips, losses to LSU in the Sugar and Southern Cal in the Orange. The Sooners seemed out of it. Mistakes galore, uninspired play.
But OU's finish made this a memorable Fiesta and at least gives the Sooners something to build upon. Down at Miami two years ago, OU quit early. This game could have been equally embarrassing, getting blown out by Boise State, but the Sooners not only didn't quit, they pulled back ahead.
Truth is, this was the wildest OU game in memory. Nothing really compares. Not Ohio State 1977. Not Bedlam 1983. Not any game.
Near the end, Glendale police trotted out officers on horseback to line the field. What in the world for? Who had energy left to rush the field or celebrate or do anything but marvel at what a wondrous game this was.
Perhaps this article will explain to my Alabama friend Oklahoma's true take on sports. Yes, we want to win, will pay big money to win and only revere winners. But...Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Comanche and mostly Choctaw (you can't trust a Choctaw, they are only interested in games)...we love a great contest. In the Fiesta Bowl, one was had and enjoyed by all. We lost. That sucks. It's not the end of the world. Why? Because Oklahoma is not Boise State. They did not begin playing Division 1-A college sports until 1996. In 2007, Oklahoma will celebrate her 100th birthday. The University of Oklahoma began playing college football in 1897. Our dynasty will continue. Take note that the Fiesta Bowl was the only BCS Bowl featuring only western teams.
Seven times in the history of college football, Oklahoma has been recognized National Champions. Our annual battle in the only college rivalry that is played off site allows us to affirm that we have beaten Texas more than most, hanging more points on Bevo than any other school. Over the years, we have taken down almost everyone and, in turn, been taken down by them. These things happen.
In recent memory, in 2000 and again in 2004, sportswriters questioned whether Oklahoma had fielded the perfect football team. No team, no individual and no state is perfect. But we have come close and continue to strive for perfection. Funny thing is, this year, we knew, inside and out, that we weren't great...we were only good.
Good or great, we have BEEN THERE. Any history of college football includes all the teams that played in this very bowl season. But only Oklahoma took on Cinderella and lost by the length of shaven nail in a breathless finish after midnight. And maybe Oklahoma will end up the most gracious and appreciative. You see, we love Boise State, too, if only because they brought SERIOUS GAME. And if this game does change the face of college football...well, Oklahoma was there...again.
From the Idaho Statesman....
Boise State football will never, ever be the same again after a thrilling Monday night in the desert.
"We were playing for the little guys, apparently. We were playing for the mid-majors. We were playing for the people back home," Johnson said. "We never saw ourselves as the little guys. We never saw ourselves as David and Goliath, but we'll take it because David always wins."
Now Boise State is the talk of the country — and not just the sporting one. The other New Year's Day bowl games are a mere footnote to the Broncos' captivating and miraculous victory.
Johnson's end-of-game marriage proposal to his cheerleader girlfriend thrust him into the mainstream. Petersen's go-for-broke mentality — three trick plays in the final moments, all producing points on the board — endeared him to every free spirit in a nation full of them.
There is no telling where this will end.
The top 5 in year-end polls? The cover of Sports Illustrated? Or People? A playoff system in Division I-A?
Read the full article here:http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/65911.html
Every free spirit in a nation full of them? You betcha. And someday there will be a play-off in Division 1-A college football. As for now, Oklahoma played flat, came back, were heroes for a bit of time, busted our collective asses and came up one point short. As for then, we will be there.
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