That Crazy, Unpredictable 2007 College Football Season
As the calendar turns to late August, schools start up again, and summer winds down, a new season is beginning: college football! If I were to pick a "favorite" sport, college football would hands-down be the winner. Today marks the beginning of a new college football season, one that's colloquially dubbed "Week Zero". Most schools open up next week, but a few play today -- Florida & Miami (FL) being the headliner.
This season, college football celebrates its 150th season. It's safe to say college football has come a long way since Rutgers and Princeton first squared off in a 6-4 duel. Think about that: at one point, in time, Rutgers was the winningest college football program! Of the 149 college football seasons, I've only been alive for a fraction of them - and have followed even less (roughly 16). Although I can't fully speak to the first 133 seasons, it's hard to imagine a college football season that's ever been - or ever will be - as crazy, wacky, and unpredictable as the 2007 college football season.
What made that 2007 college football season so crazy? Well, all one has to do is start from that season's opening weekend. Michigan was a preseason Top-5 team playing Appalachian State at home in college football's largest stadium. At the time, Appalachian State was the two-time reigning champ in a lower-level college football division. At the time, Vegas didn't even have betting lines when schools played lower-division schools. In this instance, it was assumed Michigan would cruise to victory. Naturally, Appalachian State blocked Michigan's field goal to win the game and pulled off the upset. To this day, that's considered one of college football's greatest upsets of all time. Little did anyone know though, that this would set the tone for a season filled with unpredictability and upsets.
Growing up, when someone finished second, they would say "first is worst, second is best" to take solace in being second. During the 2007 college football season, it turned out that second was worst. A plethora of teams rose up in the polls all the way to #2, only to lose - and often to an unranked opponent. Heck, there were multiple weekends when the top 2 teams in the polls lost, a feat that rarely occurred once in a given season, let alone multiple times. It wasn't just that the teams at the top were losing, either. What's amusing to me is the schools that made it that high up in the polls. Non-traditional powers such as Boston College, Cal, Oregon, West Virginia, South Florida, and Kansas (yes, Kansas!) made it to #2. Going to the final weekend of the college football season, Missouri was ranked #1 in the polls (more on that later).
2007 wasn't kind to some traditional powers, either. As mentioned above, Michigan started the season with a loss to Appalachian State (the Wolverines did bounce back to finish 9-4). Notre Dame finished with an abysmal 3-9 season, losing to Navy for the first time in over 40 years. This was also Nick Saban's first year at Alabama, before the Crimson Tide became the juggernaut they are today. In Saban's first year, the Tide finished 7-6, with one of those losses coming at home to...Louisiana-Monroe. In hindsight, one of the reasons why 2007 may have been so crazy is because Alabama wasn't a juggernaut yet. While USC finished strong and won the Rose Bowl this season, they also experienced a low point: losing at home as a 41-point favorite against a quarterback making his first start. At the time, this was the biggest points-spread upset in college football history. Amazingly, Stanford's historic upset of USC managed to "only" be the second-biggest upset in college football that season thanks to Appalachian State. It should be note though that that Stanford team was coached by a guy named Jim Harbaugh.
As the 2007 college football season winded down, the chaos didn't stop. On Black Friday, #1-ranked LSU lost at home to Arkansas in 3 OT. This was not only LSU's second loss of the season, but also it's second-loss in 3 OT (the first was against Kentucky). Coach Les Miles quipped that they were undefeated in regulation. The next day, Kansas and Missouri squared off in the "Border War" rivalry with a game that never had larger stakes: it was a Top-5 matchup, College Gameday came to town, and the winner would go to the Big 12 title game. Mizzou prevailed and rose to #1 in the polls.
On the final day of the college football regular season, Missouri and West Virginia were ranked 1-2. All they had to do was win their final game and they would square off in the national championship. Ohio State was ranked 3rd in the polls and had wrapped up its regular season. Meanwhile, LSU played Tennessee for the SEC Championship. Unfortunately for Mizzou, the Big 12 Championship was Mizzou-ry (excuse they bad pun), losing handily to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, West Virginia was playing a 4-7 Pitt team at home and was a huge favorite. The Mountaineers inexplicably lost to their rival, ending their hopes of playing for the national championship as well. Suddenly, Ohio State found itself in the national championship game for the second year in a row, this time against SEC champ LSU.
Okay, for a crazy season, an Ohio State-LSU title game sounds normal. However, the rest of the "major" bowl games that season provide a glimpse of the craziness. Hawai'i finished the regular season undefeated played Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Colt Brennan, Hawai'i's quarterback, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, college football's top individual honor. Kansas played Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl -- and won. That's all the more astounding with how abysmal the Jayhawks have been this decade. A 3-loss Illinois team played in the famed Rose Bowl, the Grandaddy of Them All. The likes of Mark Mangino (Kansas), Ron Zook (Illinois), and June Jones (Hawai'i) coached in major bowl games. It's amazing how much has changed over the past 12 years.
In the end, LSU defeated Ohio State to win the national championship. In the process, LSU became the first (and only) 2-loss champion. No school finished undefeated - and the only two schools to finish with one loss were...Kansas and Hawai'i. Tim Tebow took home the Heisman Trophy, beating out the likes of Chase Daniel (Missouri), Darren McFadden (Arkansas), and Colt Brennan. While that may not sound like a shocker in itself, Tebow was the first sophomore to win it and Florida was never truly a championship contender, either.
To wrap it all up, 2007 truly was a crazy, unforgettable college football season. In an era with the College Football Playoff and powerhouses Alabama and Clemson, the 2007 season is all the more chaotic in hindsight. Thanks to Wikipedia, here are a few final stats from the 2007 season:
This season, college football celebrates its 150th season. It's safe to say college football has come a long way since Rutgers and Princeton first squared off in a 6-4 duel. Think about that: at one point, in time, Rutgers was the winningest college football program! Of the 149 college football seasons, I've only been alive for a fraction of them - and have followed even less (roughly 16). Although I can't fully speak to the first 133 seasons, it's hard to imagine a college football season that's ever been - or ever will be - as crazy, wacky, and unpredictable as the 2007 college football season.
What made that 2007 college football season so crazy? Well, all one has to do is start from that season's opening weekend. Michigan was a preseason Top-5 team playing Appalachian State at home in college football's largest stadium. At the time, Appalachian State was the two-time reigning champ in a lower-level college football division. At the time, Vegas didn't even have betting lines when schools played lower-division schools. In this instance, it was assumed Michigan would cruise to victory. Naturally, Appalachian State blocked Michigan's field goal to win the game and pulled off the upset. To this day, that's considered one of college football's greatest upsets of all time. Little did anyone know though, that this would set the tone for a season filled with unpredictability and upsets.
Growing up, when someone finished second, they would say "first is worst, second is best" to take solace in being second. During the 2007 college football season, it turned out that second was worst. A plethora of teams rose up in the polls all the way to #2, only to lose - and often to an unranked opponent. Heck, there were multiple weekends when the top 2 teams in the polls lost, a feat that rarely occurred once in a given season, let alone multiple times. It wasn't just that the teams at the top were losing, either. What's amusing to me is the schools that made it that high up in the polls. Non-traditional powers such as Boston College, Cal, Oregon, West Virginia, South Florida, and Kansas (yes, Kansas!) made it to #2. Going to the final weekend of the college football season, Missouri was ranked #1 in the polls (more on that later).
2007 wasn't kind to some traditional powers, either. As mentioned above, Michigan started the season with a loss to Appalachian State (the Wolverines did bounce back to finish 9-4). Notre Dame finished with an abysmal 3-9 season, losing to Navy for the first time in over 40 years. This was also Nick Saban's first year at Alabama, before the Crimson Tide became the juggernaut they are today. In Saban's first year, the Tide finished 7-6, with one of those losses coming at home to...Louisiana-Monroe. In hindsight, one of the reasons why 2007 may have been so crazy is because Alabama wasn't a juggernaut yet. While USC finished strong and won the Rose Bowl this season, they also experienced a low point: losing at home as a 41-point favorite against a quarterback making his first start. At the time, this was the biggest points-spread upset in college football history. Amazingly, Stanford's historic upset of USC managed to "only" be the second-biggest upset in college football that season thanks to Appalachian State. It should be note though that that Stanford team was coached by a guy named Jim Harbaugh.
As the 2007 college football season winded down, the chaos didn't stop. On Black Friday, #1-ranked LSU lost at home to Arkansas in 3 OT. This was not only LSU's second loss of the season, but also it's second-loss in 3 OT (the first was against Kentucky). Coach Les Miles quipped that they were undefeated in regulation. The next day, Kansas and Missouri squared off in the "Border War" rivalry with a game that never had larger stakes: it was a Top-5 matchup, College Gameday came to town, and the winner would go to the Big 12 title game. Mizzou prevailed and rose to #1 in the polls.
On the final day of the college football regular season, Missouri and West Virginia were ranked 1-2. All they had to do was win their final game and they would square off in the national championship. Ohio State was ranked 3rd in the polls and had wrapped up its regular season. Meanwhile, LSU played Tennessee for the SEC Championship. Unfortunately for Mizzou, the Big 12 Championship was Mizzou-ry (excuse they bad pun), losing handily to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, West Virginia was playing a 4-7 Pitt team at home and was a huge favorite. The Mountaineers inexplicably lost to their rival, ending their hopes of playing for the national championship as well. Suddenly, Ohio State found itself in the national championship game for the second year in a row, this time against SEC champ LSU.
Okay, for a crazy season, an Ohio State-LSU title game sounds normal. However, the rest of the "major" bowl games that season provide a glimpse of the craziness. Hawai'i finished the regular season undefeated played Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Colt Brennan, Hawai'i's quarterback, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, college football's top individual honor. Kansas played Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl -- and won. That's all the more astounding with how abysmal the Jayhawks have been this decade. A 3-loss Illinois team played in the famed Rose Bowl, the Grandaddy of Them All. The likes of Mark Mangino (Kansas), Ron Zook (Illinois), and June Jones (Hawai'i) coached in major bowl games. It's amazing how much has changed over the past 12 years.
In the end, LSU defeated Ohio State to win the national championship. In the process, LSU became the first (and only) 2-loss champion. No school finished undefeated - and the only two schools to finish with one loss were...Kansas and Hawai'i. Tim Tebow took home the Heisman Trophy, beating out the likes of Chase Daniel (Missouri), Darren McFadden (Arkansas), and Colt Brennan. While that may not sound like a shocker in itself, Tebow was the first sophomore to win it and Florida was never truly a championship contender, either.
To wrap it all up, 2007 truly was a crazy, unforgettable college football season. In an era with the College Football Playoff and powerhouses Alabama and Clemson, the 2007 season is all the more chaotic in hindsight. Thanks to Wikipedia, here are a few final stats from the 2007 season:
- Top 5 ranked teams lost to an unranked team 13 times over the course of the season
- The #2 ranked team lost 7 of the final 9 weeks of the regular season
- The Top 2 ranked teams lost on the same weekend 3 times
From this college football's fan perspective, 2007 will always be one of my favorite college football seasons. And it all started with Appalachian State knocking off Michigan. Here's to a new college football season kicking off!
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