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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Weekend wrap-up: Davie never gave up
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:
|  | | Bob Davie and the Fighting Irish have won seven straight since starting the season 2-2. |
Bob Davie and the Fighting Irish: I'm not sure if I should give this ball to Coach Davie or to the entire football team. There have been so many times over the last year and a half when I thought both were down for the count, and that this award would have seemed unimaginable. But being an ex-coach, I have to give it to Davie because he never gave up on his burning desire to take the Irish back to the top. Saturday, in one of college football's greatest rivalries, Notre Dame knocked out Southern Cal to finish a seven-game winning streak and improve to 9-2, which absolutely guarantees the Irish a spot in the BCS bowl lineup.
If you are looking for a lot of superstars on this team, don't waste your time. This Notre Dame team won football games the old-fashioned way: they earned it. Great field position, solid running game, and not turning the ball over were the ingredients utilized in South Bend for a most successful season. Look for the fighting Irish in the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl.
Santana Moss: Of course, this ball could also be given to the Miami team or coach Butch Davis. In fact, everybody on the Hurricanes squad deserves some type of trophy. But as the 'Canes continue to fight Florida State tooth and nail for that No. 2 position in the BCS -- throwing punch for counterpunch -- they threw the final blow in crushing Boston College 52-6 Saturday.
Davis said he wouldn't run up the score, but you have to put the blame on Moss because this receiver/punt returner/future NFL star wouldn't stay out of the end zone. From fabulous catches to great punt returns, he made sure the 'Canes would take care of that little margin of victory situation that had to be dealt with. Moss also set a school record with his 235 all-purpose yards, which gave him 4,402 total yards in his career and broke Ottis Anderson's career record set in 1978.
Whether Miami or Florida State makes it to the FedEx Orange Bowl, no one can say this group didn't do everything it could to earn an invitation.
Chris Simms: For all you Texas fans out there, I hope you saw the coming out party for Phil Simms' little boy. Every Longhorn has been waiting for the quarterback they knew they had, but in the third quarter against Texas A&M's Wrecking Crew, a star was born. In less than 15 minutes of play, Simms threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns, more than any other Texan has ever thrown in one quarter. It clearly established himself as the new young gunslinger who is going to take the Longhorns to the promised land. All three of his TD throws went to freshmen receivers -- Roy Williams, Sloan Thomas and B.J. Johnson.
You have to take your hat off -- 10 gallon, that is -- to Mack Brown and the extraordinary leadership he has shown in taking this very young, but very talented Longhorn team from the depths of a devastating Oklahoma loss to six straight victories. Let me be the first to say, that next year, Texas truly will be a real contender for the national championship.
Surprises of the day:
Oklahoma's offense: Hey fellas, what's going on? You were the talk of the town just a few weeks ago and now you are starting to make me wonder. Nobody could stop the Sooner offense for eight straight weeks, but after the last three games against Texas A&M, Texas Tech and now Oklahoma State, I am beginning to wonder if the Big XII has started to catch up to Bob Stoops' newfangled offense.
In spite of the obvious level off of Josh Heupel's scoring machine, Oklahoma is still undefeated because the Sooners are still playing outstanding defense. Oklahoma is not the most talented team in college football -- I would have to leave that honor to Miami or Florida State -- but Oklahoma is the only undefeated team out there. For that reason, with one more week to go, OU is still the undisputed No. 1.
Arkansas: What took the Razorbacks so long to decide to have a winning season? At 4-5, everyone in the SEC had written off Houston Nutt's injury-plagued team. But Coach Nutt's decision to turn over the defensive playcalling to co-defensive coordinator John Thompson two weeks ago has been Arkansas' resurrection. Just when everything seemed beyond hope, the Razorbacks beat Mississippi State in Starkville and then came back to squash the LSU Tigers in their season finale to end 6-5. It looks like the Razorbacks will go bowling again in 2000.
Ole Miss: Congratulations to Coach David Cutcliffe, Deuce McAllister and the Ole Miss Rebels for dragging home the Egg Bowl Trophy in their annual scuffle with Mississippi State. Just a few weeks ago, there wasn't a Rebel worth his weight in cotton that would have figured the Rebs would win this game. But a solid performance by QB Romaro Miller (2 TD passes) and a four-TD effort (3 rushing, 1 passing) produced by the Deuce gave Ole Miss this coveted award.
They can talk about the USC-Notre Dame game, but there is no more heated rivalry than the Egg Bowl. This victory alone makes Coach Cutcliffe's third year at Ole Miss a solid success.
Helped themselves:
Georgia Tech: No team in the Atlantic Coast Conference improved more from the beginning of the season to the end than Georgia Tech. Saturday's victory over Georgia was the Yellow Jackets' seventh straight and sets up a holiday trip to the Peach Bowl.
I would be remiss not to add that George O'Leary has now led the Rambling Wreck to three straight wins over the Bulldogs, which has not been accomplished since 1961-63.
Virginia Tech: When Michael Vick hurt his ankle, the chances for the Hokies to play for the national championship went straight down the drain. But this is a team that will not relinquish its place among the nation's elite. Frank Beamer continues to turn down every job opportunity in the country and Vick keeps coming back as he did against Virginia to make this team one of the most attractive at-large possibilities for the BCS.
Mark my words: Beamer goes nowhere, Vick returns for his junior season, and next year, Virginia Tech will take another run at the national championship.
|  | | TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson became the eighth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. |
LaDainian Tomlinson: Why we stopped talking about LaDainian as a Heisman Trophy candidate, I have no idea. He is doing absolutely nothing different now than he has done every game for the last two years. Against SMU on Saturday, he rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown to lead the Horned Frogs to a 10-1 finish and the WAC title. This season, Tomlinson finished with 2,158 yards, the fourth best total ever in Division I. He also concluded his career with 5,263 yards, the sixth best mark ever.
Tomlinson became just the second player in college football history to rush for 2,000 in one season and 5,000 in his career. I, myself, plan to sit next to him at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York because this man will be one of the finalists for the Heisman Trophy.
Hurt themselves:
Although it pains me, I have to make this a unanimous SEC category.
Mississippi State: What is going on? Everybody, and I mean everybody, in the SEC thought it was going to be a cakewalk for the Bulldogs to make the SEC Championship Game. But what a difference a couple of weeks makes. I thought last week's upset home loss to Arkansas was a fluke, but when they dropped critical Egg Bowl Championship to hated rival Ole Miss, I knew this wasn't a typical Bulldog team. What started out as a promising season ended up being a major disappointment for the Bulldog faithful.
Georgia: How much further can this stock go down? From Jim Donnan's preseason statement that "he has been waiting all his life to coach talent like this" to athletic director Vince Dooley's postseason statement that at least coach Donnan "gives us a chance to be predicted to win," I am not sure if the dam is about to burst in Athens.
Yes, Donnan has given the Bulldogs another winning season, and yes, they are going to another postseason bowl game, bur for the fifth straight year, he has not gotten Georgia to the SEC Championship Game. Donnan has lost three straight to rival Georgia Tech, and is 6-14 against the Bulldogs' four most bitter rivals (Auburn, Florida, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee).
LSU: I thought the magic was back, but it is not quite there. Nick Saban, LSU's new $1 million coach, did the improbable this season by getting the Tigers a bowl-bound team again. However, just when they had a chance to put some icing onto this cake, they fell on their face in Little Rock, Ark. LSU will not reach the heights that a lot of Bayou Bengals expected them to this year, but they are better than they should have been and they will be the preseason favorite to win the SEC West next season.
Terry Bowden is ABC's college football studio analyst and hosts a weekly audio chat on BCSfootball.com.
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Notre Dame's QB Matt LoVecchio takes it in himself for a 13-yard touchdown run.
Bob Stoops says his Sooners made plays down the stretch to beat Oklahoma State.