Top Three College Football Games of the Past 10 years – #1 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma vs. Boise State

The game that had everything!

Without a doubt the greatest college football game of the last ten years was the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The hype and build up gave no indication that this would turn into such a great game. In fact, most of the build up was about the fact that Boise State did not belong in the game at all. Many pundits deemed it a game not worth watching, as Oklahoma would wipe the floor with them. It was setup as a classic David versus Goliath sports match up, with David once again not having any shot.

To get to the Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma had to go through a gauntlet of a season. Oklahoma had entered the season on a sour note as returning starting quarterback Rhett Bomar and lineman J.D. Quinn were ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Without these two players Oklahoma fell out of the top ten rankings and the team stumbled out of the gate. Oklahoma barely avoided an upset to Washington, winning 24-17. Oklahoma’s supposedly vaunted defense gave up 300 yards to a weak offense in Washington.

Oklahoma managed to get by in a couple of games before their luck finally ran out against Oregon. Oklahoma had managed to hold onto a 33-27 lead with 1:12 to go. Oregon went for an onside kick and managed to recover it. The problem was the ball did not travel the necessary ten yards. Even after a review and it being painfully obvious, the referees still gave Oregon the ball. Oregon used this lucky break to go down and score a touchdown, which proved to be the difference.

Oklahoma would again run into trouble during the Red River rivalry game. Texas completely dominated the 2nd half with 21 unanswered points. A Colt McCoy led offense dialed it up just right in their win against Oklahoma. This proved to be a turning point in the season, as Oklahoma made some key moves that put them back on their winning ways.

Adrian Peterson was one of the catalysts leading the way for the offense by providing both a bruising and fast running game. Peterson put up another great college season, rushing for 1012 yards and 12 touchdowns. On the other side of the ball the defense made a couple key changes adding talented freshmen to replace underachieving upper upperclassmen. From that point on Oklahoma defense only allowed more then 20 points twice.

With this formula Oklahoma was able to win the rest of its games and win the Big 12 championship. This earned them a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. Oklahoma looked like a team on the rise and one that would be able to thoroughly handle a mid-level Boise State team. Boise State on the other hand had been a dominant force the entire season. Boise State was able to rely on a strong cast of returning starters, most by any NCAA team. Those returning starters allowed Boise State to start and end the season strong.

Boise State’s main strength was their offense. Coach Chris Peterson’s aggressive and creative style of play gave Boise State a clear advantage. Opposing defenses would have to prepare for almost everything from trick plays to going for it on 4th down. Boise State also got the added luxury of being led by stud running back Ian Johnson who led the nation in points scored and highly efficient, dual threat quarterback, Jared Zabransky. Putting all this together allowed Boise State to be one of the best offenses in NCAA football.

Boise State’s aggressive style also translated to the other side of the ball. Boise State’s aggressive defense allowed only two close games all year, and helped the Broncos beat teams by an average of 24 points.

All this put together allowed Boise State to slowly rise from unranked to a BCS eligible bowl team. Boise State’s key victory in propelling itself was beating Hawaii, the previous WAC champion. After this game Boise State slowly started making its way up the rankings, jumping 1-3 spots up every week. Boise State was able to finally make it into the 8th spot in the BCS and thus barely eligible for a BCS bowl game. Although not known by the public, Boise State had the tools and had earned their way to play Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

This game started out fast with Boise State shockingly getting on the board first. Boise State’s ability to break a big play happened only 6 minutes in. On a play action pass, Jared Zabransky was able to complete a 49 yard touchdown pass to Drissan James, putting the Broncos up 7-0.

Boise State’s defense stepped up next by forcing and recovering a fumble on Oklahoma’s nine yard line. With a short field to work with, Chris Peterson went to his rock – Ian Johnson. Johnson needed only two carries to get to the end zone and lead Boise State to a stunning 14-0 lead.

Down 14-0, Oklahoma finally responded with a long drive for a score. With Adrian Peterson being able to extend the drive with key runs on third down. Paul Thompson was able to finish with an 8-yard TD pass to Reggie Smith for a touchdown. Cutting the Boise State lead in half.

The second quarter was more of a defensive battle, with neither team being able to get the offense going. Oklahoma finally managed to grab a field goal, which was setup by a 30 yard run by Allen Patrick.

Boise State finally managed to get back on track on offense right before the end of the first half. Zabransky was once again able to complete a long pass to James. This put Boise State up 21-10 and with a lead that almost no one thought possible.

Boise State started the 2nd half much like the way they ended the first. They were able to intercept and return a Paul Thompson pass for a touchdown. This put Boise State up 3 touchdowns and in control. Oklahoma looked in total disarray. If, Oklahoma were to have a shot of wining this ball game, they would have to answer quickly.

Oklahoma got back on track the very next drive, sort of. After Thompson managed to complete a couple long passes, the drive stalled. Oklahoma punted the ball away, but managed to recover a fumble after Aionna Key misjudged the punt. Peterson was able to take advantage with a 8 yard touchdown run. After stopping Boise State, Oklahoma was also able to get a 28 yard field goal putting the game at 28-20. Thus keeping them in striking distances.

For a long stretch in the 4th quarter, neither team was able to grab control as both teams defenses forced short drives. The game finally came down to Oklahoma’s last possession with 2:40 to go. Quarterback Paul Thompson took over, going a perfect 6 for 6, for 59 yards including the game tying touchdown and two point conversion pass. This tied the ball game with a little over a minute to go.

On the very first Boise State play, Okahoma’s Marcus Walter came up with the defensive play of the night. Walter’s managed to pick off Zabransky and then run it back for the Sooners’ first lead of the night. It looked like the Cinderella story for Boise State was not going to get a happy ending. But, as it was before Boise State made a couple plays and produced one of the most exciting 4th quarter drives in college football history.

With less then a minute to go and 78 yards to drive, Zabransky got Boise State going again with a 36 yard pass to Derek Schouman. But Boise stalled on the next 3 plays. Oklahoma managed to force a sack and 2 straight incomplete passes pinning Boise State to a 4th and 18 with only seconds to go. Even though things were dire, Boise State had a trick up their sleeves. Like they had practiced the week before, Zabransky completed a 15 yard pass to Drissan James, who in one quick step lateraled the ball to Jerrard Rabb with a whole lot of wide open space in front him. Rabb ran it in, tying the ball game and sending it into overtime.

At the very start of overtime, Oklahoma’s offense took control. Well, actually Adrian Peterson took control. On the very first play, Peterson busted a 25 yard run for a touchdown giving Oklahoma the lead once again. They seemed to be gaining more and more momentum as the game passed. You wondered how long Boise State could stay with them.

Boise State’s offense struggled, as Zabransky was just able to dink and dunk his way with short passes. Ian Johnson also managed a couple great run plays to get Boise State on the door step to score. A key moment in the drive came down to a 3rd and 1. Oklahoma’s defense came up big, finally stopping Ian Johnson and forcing a 4th and 2. Yet once again, as Boise State had done before they managed to pull another trick out of their bag.

On 4th and 2 Zabransky handed the ball off to Vinny Perretta who tucked the ball making it look like he was going to run the ball for the first down. Instead, Perretta pulled up and found tight end Derek Schouman for a touchdown right over the outstretched arms of an Oklahoma defender.

With Boise State getting the touchdown, Chris Peterson made another aggressive decision choosing to go for the two point conversion. The logic being they could not keep standing toe to toe with OU any longer. It was time to go for the knockout.

Peterson pulled out the last trick in his bag, with 4 wide receivers to right of formation. Zabransky took the snap and immediately faked a throw in that direction. In completing his motion, he secretly handed the ball off to Ian Johnson, who ran into the end zone untouched with the help of a couple blocks, giving Boise State one of the greatest upset ever. After scoring the two point conversion, Johnsons went strait over to his girlfriend, a BSU cheerleader and proposed. Thus giving the game the absolute perfect Hollywood ending.

In my book, this game managed to have everything. You had two sides with exciting offensive and defensive plays. An underdog team who manages to get out to a big lead, lose it and still somehow pull out a victory. The game also had a litany of great trick plays that caught everyone off guard. Finally, add in an overtime game that ends on a statue of liberty two point conversion and the player who scores the game winning conversion manages to also get the girl. All of that together adds up to the number one game of the last ten years and one that can stand up to the debate of best ever.