Featured Moment: Jan. 7, 2010

This report courtesy of the National Football Foundation.

Published by Bonesville on Jan. 4, 2014

FEATURED MOMENT

Jan. 7, 2010: In Pasadena, quarterback Greg McElroy, a 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete, and 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy winner Barrett Jones led Alabama to its first national title since 1992 with a 37-21 victory over Texas. The Crimson Tide running game dominated Texas’ defense, as Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns while Trent Richardson ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Texas quarterback and 2009 National Scholar-Athlete Colt McCoy left the game early with an injury, but backup Garrett Gilbert threw for 186 yards and connected for two touchdowns with wide receiver Jordan Shipley, who finished with 10 catches for 122 yards. Shipley’s performance tied him for the second-most receptions in a BCS championship game, and his two touchdowns cut the lead to 24-21. The Longhorns had a chance to take the lead with less than three minutes left in the game. However, Crimson Tide linebacker Eryk Anders sacked Gilbert and forced a fumble that Alabama would recover. The play led to one of Ingram’s touchdowns, and minutes later, Richardson scored again, sealing the victory for the Crimson Tide in Pasadena. 2010 Campbell Trophy winner Sam Acho recorded six tackles in the game, including a sack.

OTHER NOTABLE DATES

JAN. 6, 2013: In Mobile, AL, Arkansas State won its first bowl game since joining the FBS in 1992 with a 17-13 upset of No. 25 Kent State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. The Red Wolves offense, which had been putting up big numbers all year, struggled against the Golden Flashes, who were playing in their first bowl game since 1972. However, Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin still managed to throw for 213 yards and a touchdown to wide receiver J.D. McKissic, who led the team with 11 catches for 113 yards. The Red Wolves averaged more than 41 points over a seven-game win streak to end the season, but it was their defense that would give them the victory. Trailing 17-13, Kent State made one last push down the field. Golden Flash quarterback Spencer Keith tried to scramble on fourth down, but was stopped by Red Wolves linebacker Qushaun Lee a few yards short of the marker with 52 seconds left, sealing the upset for Arkansas State.

JAN. 8, 2007: In Glendale, AZ, Florida’s two-quarterback system, made up of 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy winner Tim Tebow and 2006 National Scholar-Athlete Chris Leak, was too much for Ohio State in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game. The Buckeyes led off the scoring with a touchdown by Ted Ginn, Jr., on a 93-yard kick return, but it was almost all Gators from there, as Florida outgained Ohio State 370 yards to 82 and rolled to a 41-14 victory. Florida’s defense held Heisman-winning Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith to 4-of-14 passing for 35 yards, picking him off once, sacking him five times and holding him to -29 yards on 10 runs. Meanwhile, Leak threw for 213 yards and connected with Gator wide receiver Dallas Baker for a touchdown in the first quarter. Florida added two rushing touchdowns and two field goals before Tebow threw for a touchdown at the end of the first half to give Florida a 34-14 lead. Tebow would rush for the only other score of the game in the fourth quarter as the Gators pulled off the upset to win their second national title.

JAN. 9, 2011: In San Francisco, No. 15 Nevada finished its best season since joining the FBS in the final bowl victory of Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault’s career. The Wolf Pack defense was strong in the 20-13 triumph over Boston College, holding the Eagles to one touchdown, a 30-yard run by 2013 Heisman finalist Andre Williams. Nevada had been driven by a high-powered offense all season led by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who finished the game with 192 passing yards and a touchdown pass to wide receiver Rishard Matthews. Matthews would provide the most exciting play of the game when he returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown to give the Wolf Pack a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Nevada kicker Anthony Martinez and Eagles kicker Nate Freese traded field goals twice for the only other points of the game, allowing the Wolf Pack to finish the season 13-1, tying a school record for wins in a season.

JAN. 10, 1970: In Mobile, AL, a quarterback duel between Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech) and Dennis Shaw (San Diego State) produced the highest scoring Senior Bowl to date, which finished in a 37-37 tie. Shaw set a senior bowl record with 386 passing yards for the North, which still stands to this day, while Bradshaw threw for 267 yards for the South and was named the game’s MVP. The game saw five lead-changes, with the South taking a 37-23 lead into the fourth quarter, but Shaw was able to toss two touchdowns to tie the game at 37. The South had a chance to win the game, but missed a 46-yard field goal as the clock ran out. Hall of Famers Mike Reid (Penn State) and Steve Kiner (Tennessee) also played in the game.

JAN. 11, 1895: The history of the Big Ten traces back nearly 120 years, when then-Purdue president James H. Smart and school leaders from Chicago, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin gathered to organize and develop regulations for intercollegiate athletics. At the meeting, which was held at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, a basis for the control and administration of college athletics was outlined. Their first known action "restricted eligibility for athletics to bona fide, full-time students who were not delinquent in their studies." That important decision, along with others that would follow, served as the foundation for amateur intercollegiate athletics.

JAN. 12, 1906: At the Murray Hill Hotel in New York, the American Intercollegiate Football Rules Committee met in 1906 to create reforms for the sport of football, including measures to cut down the brutality in the game. The biggest rule change was the legalization of the forward pass, something Hall of Fame coach John Heisman had been lobbying to make happen since 1903. Among the other rule changes made for the 1906 season were the creation of the neutral zone and reducing the game from 70 minutes to two 30-minute halves. Also, teams had to gain 10 yards in three plays rather than five yards for a first down, and the field would be marked with lines every five yards. Although the forward pass was now legal, an incomplete pass would result in a 15-yard penalty and a pass could not be caught more than 20 yards past the line of scrimmage.

The Bonesville staff contributed to this report.

01/04/2014 01:00 AM