Posted 12/21/2004 7:06 PM Updated 12/21/2004 7:17 PM
Today's Top Sports Stories
? D.C. Council, Selig on board with stadium financing plan - 5:07 PM
? O'Neal out of Tuesday's game with calf injury - 6:57 PM
? More paperwork needed on Big Unit megadeal - 6:23 PM
? Report: Canucks RW Bertuzzi will accept plea bargain - 4:46 PM
? Jaguars' Darius fined, but not suspended for hit on Packers' Ferguson - 6:19 PM
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Orange Bowl is fitting end to season of great storylines
The good thing about the start of bowl season is the constant criticism of the BCS will go away for another year, and the focus turns to the action on the field. In the shadow of all the debate, it has been an amazing season in college football with three unbeatens from major conferences and tons of great storylines to enjoy.
Reggie McNeal and the Texas A&M offense will challenge Tennessee's struggling defense.
By David J. Phillip, AP
Auburn finished 12-0 and won its first SEC championship in 15 years, helping soothe the sting of being left out of the national title game.
Adrian Peterson stepped out of high school and finished second in the Heisman voting.
Mike Price and Gary Barnett emerged from scandals to put their teams in bowl games.
Utah broke the stranglehold of the big conferences in the BCS and will play in the Fiesta Bowl behind the play of star quarterback Alex Smith.
En route to back-to-back bowl appearances, Navy won nine games in a season for the first time since 1963, when Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy.
Hawaii's Timmy Chang set the NCAA for career passing yards and led the Warriors to comeback wins against Northwestern and Michigan State to secure another bowl bid.
Unwanted for years by the ACC, Virginia Tech took home the conference title in its first season as Frank Beamer molded a young team that could be even better in 2005.
True freshmen Chad Henne and Michael Hart helped Michigan share the Big Ten title (with Iowa) and earn a repeat trip to the Rose Bowl.
James Madison played all four of its playoff games away from home and emerged with the school's first Division I-AA national championship.
And just when we thought the name Maurice Clarett was out of our consciousness, the former Ohio State running back claimed he was given money, paid for bogus jobs and was given free cars during his short stay in Columbus.
It was quite busy on the coaching front, too.
Steve Spurrier announced his return to the college coaching landscape, surprisingly at South Carolina instead of his alma mater of Florida.
The Gators turned to Urban Meyer, who turned down his dream job at Notre Dame. Meyer, of course, replaces Ron Zook. Zook's dismissal ended the need for fireronzook.com for a few weeks until he took over for Ron Turner at Illinois.
Tyrone Willingham was let go by Notre Dame and was quickly snapped up by Washington. Walt Harris left Pittsburgh for Stanford after leading the Panthers to the BCS and getting no support from his athletic director.
Cal's Jeff Tedford, Louisville's Bobby Petrino and Boise State's Dan Hawkins all led their teams to Top 10 rankings in the final regular season poll, yet turned down the opportunity to leave for greener pastures.
The last and best storyline will be at the Orange Bowl, where Southern California and Heisman winner Matt Leinart will square off with Oklahoma and last year's trophy winner Jason White, with the national championship on the line. It will be a fitting way to wrap up the smorgasbord of 28 postseason games that takes us through another holiday season.
Enjoy all the action and we'll see you again next year.
Champs Sports Bowl? Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse, Dec. 21, 7:45 p.m.
Not only did Syracuse's win against Boston College knock the Eagles out of the BCS and save Paul Pasqualoni's job, it may actually provide the catalyst for the Orange to close out the season on a high note and follow with a strong 2005. Syracuse 24, Georgia Tech 20.
Today's Top Sports Stories
? D.C. Council, Selig on board with stadium financing plan - 5:07 PM
? O'Neal out of Tuesday's game with calf injury - 6:57 PM
? More paperwork needed on Big Unit megadeal - 6:23 PM
? Report: Canucks RW Bertuzzi will accept plea bargain - 4:46 PM
? Jaguars' Darius fined, but not suspended for hit on Packers' Ferguson - 6:19 PM
Add USATODAY.com headlines to your Web site
What's this?
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Search by events or regions:
Location Select a region Atlanta Baltimore Boston Buffalo California North California South Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis New Orleans New York Metro Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland,ME Portland,OR Raleigh-Durham Salt Lake City San Antonio Seattle St. Louis Syracuse Tampa Bay Toronto Washington D.C.
Genre Select a sport Baseball NBA NCAA College Basketball Football NCAA Football NASCAR Golf Tennis More Sports Tickets
Ticket holders:
Looking to sell tickets quick? Register now.
Orange Bowl is fitting end to season of great storylines
The good thing about the start of bowl season is the constant criticism of the BCS will go away for another year, and the focus turns to the action on the field. In the shadow of all the debate, it has been an amazing season in college football with three unbeatens from major conferences and tons of great storylines to enjoy.
Reggie McNeal and the Texas A&M offense will challenge Tennessee's struggling defense.
By David J. Phillip, AP
Auburn finished 12-0 and won its first SEC championship in 15 years, helping soothe the sting of being left out of the national title game.
Adrian Peterson stepped out of high school and finished second in the Heisman voting.
Mike Price and Gary Barnett emerged from scandals to put their teams in bowl games.
Utah broke the stranglehold of the big conferences in the BCS and will play in the Fiesta Bowl behind the play of star quarterback Alex Smith.
En route to back-to-back bowl appearances, Navy won nine games in a season for the first time since 1963, when Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy.
Hawaii's Timmy Chang set the NCAA for career passing yards and led the Warriors to comeback wins against Northwestern and Michigan State to secure another bowl bid.
Unwanted for years by the ACC, Virginia Tech took home the conference title in its first season as Frank Beamer molded a young team that could be even better in 2005.
True freshmen Chad Henne and Michael Hart helped Michigan share the Big Ten title (with Iowa) and earn a repeat trip to the Rose Bowl.
James Madison played all four of its playoff games away from home and emerged with the school's first Division I-AA national championship.
And just when we thought the name Maurice Clarett was out of our consciousness, the former Ohio State running back claimed he was given money, paid for bogus jobs and was given free cars during his short stay in Columbus.
It was quite busy on the coaching front, too.
Steve Spurrier announced his return to the college coaching landscape, surprisingly at South Carolina instead of his alma mater of Florida.
The Gators turned to Urban Meyer, who turned down his dream job at Notre Dame. Meyer, of course, replaces Ron Zook. Zook's dismissal ended the need for fireronzook.com for a few weeks until he took over for Ron Turner at Illinois.
Tyrone Willingham was let go by Notre Dame and was quickly snapped up by Washington. Walt Harris left Pittsburgh for Stanford after leading the Panthers to the BCS and getting no support from his athletic director.
Cal's Jeff Tedford, Louisville's Bobby Petrino and Boise State's Dan Hawkins all led their teams to Top 10 rankings in the final regular season poll, yet turned down the opportunity to leave for greener pastures.
The last and best storyline will be at the Orange Bowl, where Southern California and Heisman winner Matt Leinart will square off with Oklahoma and last year's trophy winner Jason White, with the national championship on the line. It will be a fitting way to wrap up the smorgasbord of 28 postseason games that takes us through another holiday season.
Enjoy all the action and we'll see you again next year.
Champs Sports Bowl? Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse, Dec. 21, 7:45 p.m.
Not only did Syracuse's win against Boston College knock the Eagles out of the BCS and save Paul Pasqualoni's job, it may actually provide the catalyst for the Orange to close out the season on a high note and follow with a strong 2005. Syracuse 24, Georgia Tech 20.
