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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Weekend wrap-up: Tigers roar to the end
By Terry Bowden
Special to BCSfootball.com
Bowden's Weekly Chat Show
Every Saturday throughout the season, ABC studio analyst Terry Bowden will weigh in his assessment of the day's games, the highlights, the lowlights and the surprises.
Three Game Balls:
|  | | Ben Leard and Auburn get another crack at Florida on Dec. 2. |
Auburn seniors: This one's near and dear to me, so I have to give a game ball to a great bunch of guys. In 1997 as freshmen, they were the future of a great Auburn program that came one point from winning the SEC Championship Game. Then, they had the misfortune of having to live through my midseason resignation, Bill Oliver's stint as interim head coach, and a brand new coach in Tommy Tuberville. In spite of all this political mess, they have come through to bring Auburn its second SEC West championship in the last four years.
Tuberville has done an outstanding job in getting Auburn back to where it was in 1997.
So to Ben Leard, Rob Pate and all the other guys, congratulations and goodbye -- because as you know, I never got to tell you that two and a half years ago. I hope you don't end up here, but if you get stuck at the Citrus Bowl, come visit me in Orlando.
Chris Weinke: I finally have to admit that my man Drew Brees is probably not going to win the Heisman Trophy, and it's all because of the incredible year Chris Weinke has had. At a school where great quarterbacks are a dime a dozen, he has smashed nearly every record, and when it comes to leading your team to victory, nobody has put more Ws in the book at FSU than Old Man Weinke.
There will be a good argument for Josh Heupel in this Heisman race, but when you statistically compare what each has done on the field this season, Chris has put himself at a whole different level than Josh:
Weinke: 4167 yards passing, 33 TD, 11 INT
Heupel: 3018 yards passing, 17 TD, 9 INT
Incidentally, Weinke's performance against the Florida Gators wasn't too shabby, either.
Oregon State: There might not be room on their mantle for another game ball, but the Beavers can put the rest of them in the closet to make room for this one. This is clearly the greatest football team in Oregon State history, and maybe one of the greatest success stories in college football in a long time.
Dennis Erickson needs to be next in the line of coaches who receive one of those million dollar contracts. And whether or not they make it to a BCS bowl game, America knows there is no better team in the Pac-10 than the Oregon State Beavers.
Surprises of the day:
Mississippi State's loss: What in the world happened in Starkville on Saturday? I thought it would be a cold day in Hell before the Bulldogs lost at home. Oh well, now that I think about it, it was a cold day in Starkville on Saturday -- raining, windy, and sloppy, so I guess that explains how Arkansas snapped Mississippi State's 16-game home winning streak.
Unfortunately, not only did the Bulldogs lose their first home game in a long time, but they blew their spot in the SEC Championship Game. Still, it's been a very good year at State, and beating Ole Miss. in the Egg Bowl will make up for this unexpected upset.
Clemson: For those who know the final score was Clemson 16, South Carolina 14, it probably doesn't look like a surprise. But after the Gamecocks scored to take the lead with 59 seconds to go, no one could have expected Woody Dantzler would throw a 49-yard pass completion to Rod Gardner with 10 seconds left to set up the game-winning field goal, against one of the SEC's best defenses.
Tommy Bowden has taken Clemson to its first nine-win season since 1991, and its second state championship in a row. He has learned well from his dad and brother that it's not necessary to be the best coach in America, but it is to be the best coach in your state.
Northwestern: I just wanted to mention Northwestern here to make sure that I give the Wildcats some final praise for their great season. The 61 points the Wildcats scored against Illinois was no real shock, since they are the Big Ten's highest-scoring offense. But what was a shock, and I still can't get over it, was how they only scored 17 against lowly Iowa last week to knock them out of the Rose Bowl. Still, it's nice to see the boys in Purple heading to a bowl game over the holidays.
|  | | LaDainian Tomlinson has rushed for 711 yards in his last two games against UTEP. |
Helped themselves:
LaDainian Tomlinson: Did anybody notice that LaDainian ran for 305 yards Saturday against a vastly improved UTEP team? He upped his rushing total to 1984 yards, and still has one game left. He will easily pass 2000 yards this weekend against Southern Methodist. I'm not saying he'll win the Heisman, because awards like that don't go to Horned Frogs, Beavers or Zips. However, Tomlinson should get a front row seat at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City, not to mention a nice little Doak Walker Award to go with it.
Rick Neuheisel: In only his second year as head football coach at the University of Washington, Neuheisel has the Huskies playing in the Rose Bowl, presented by AT & T. What more can I say?
Purdue: They finally made it. Drew Brees delivered on his promise four years ago, to take this team to the Rose Bowl. You have to love it -- for the Boilermakers, who haven't been to Pasadena in 34 years, since they were quarterbacked by our 'I didn't know he was that old' colleague at ABC Sports, Bob Griese.
Hurt themselves:
Florida: I'm sorry, but let's have a little less controversy at quarterback next year. Just pick one -- any one, and then get on with it. Coach Steve Spurrier continues to maintain Florida as one of the premier programs in the country, and has a chance to wrap up yet another SEC title Dec. 2, if he can beat Auburn for the second time this season. However, I don't see any more Sears Trophies finding their way to Gainesville until Florida can find some stability at the quarterback position.
Ohio State: John Cooper is now 2-10-1 against the Buckeyes' most hated rival, the Michigan Wolverines. Enough said.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks' stock went down only because it had risen so high after the first eight games. What has been a great turnaround for head coach Lou Holtz has turned from miraculous to merely incredible after three straight season-ending losses. The good thing for Carolina is that although its stock went down, it still remains one of the blue-chip variety.
Terry Bowden is ABC's college football studio analyst and hosts a weekly audio chat on BCSfootball.com. This week, Terry will host a special Thanksgiving week Tuesday edition of his show at 5 p.m. ET.
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Chris Weinke finds Marvin Minnis all alone for a 51-yard TD strike.
Coach Bobby Bowden thinks beating Florida should help in the BCS.