Published: December 16, 2007 11:25 pm            

Blog Championship Series | Quarterfinals

A first round full of surprises in the Blog Championship Series gave way to three expected results and an upset that would shock me as much as I was after finding out that Roger Clemens was named in the Mitchell Report (not at all).

(Blogger’s note: All Clemens dislike aside, about the only names that would have honestly shocked me had they come up in the Mitchell Report would have been Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. I say this only because I saw their workout in a 1999 Nike commercial. The only thing enhancing their performances was impressing the ladies.)

Back on track, this was a pretty uninteresting second round after having a game (Hawaii at USC) that would have been lauded as one of the best ever had it acually happened. Yet another reason for a tournament: Potential for multiple classics every December. Look at the basketball tournaments. Even if the championship game is a dog, epic first-rounders are part of the reason that the first weekend NCAA basketball tournament is almost a religious holiday.

But that’s merely one man’s opinion. ... On with the tournament.



Quarterfinal round - Game 1: No. 8 Kansas at No. 1 Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio – BCS No. 1 Ohio State did all it could to stop the high-powered offense of No. 8 Kansas Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

The Buckeyes couldn’t stop Jayhawks kickoff returner Ryan Murphy or overcome four turnovers – two in the red zone – as Kansas upset the top-seeded Big Ten champions 10-0.

Murphy broke the ice in the third opening the second half with his second kickoff return for a touchdown – this time an 84-yarder. The Jayhakws led 7-0 eight seconds into the period.

Murphy also had a 93-yard return to open up a sizable lead in Kansas’ first-round win over West Virginia.

A fumble by the Buckeyes’ Chris Wells on the ensuing drive allowed the upstart Jayhawks to add to their lead as Scott Webb connected on a PAT-distance field goal after Kansas moved the ball 25 yards from the Ohio State 28 to the 3-yard line.

It was all Kansas needed and really all it could muster against a Buckeyes’ defense that limited the Jayhawks to 106 yards of total offense and only one trip across the 50-yard line.

While the Buckeyes outgained Kansas by 42 yards, the Kansas defense stiffened at the right time and forced two Todd Boeckman interceptions in the second half. One by Tang Baheyie in the end zone to thwart a third-quarter march and another by Arist Wright late in the fourth.

Baheyie also had an interception on Ohio State’s opening drive when Boeckman sent a deep pass to Wells, who was on a wheel route during a third-and-12 play. Boeckman was 11-of-18 for 131 yards and the three interceptions.

Kansas’ Todd Reesing passed for 113 yards on 10 of 13 passing.



Quarterfinal round - Game 2: No. 12 Florida at No. 4 Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. – BCS No. 4 Oklahoma kept Florida’s offense at bay and knocked Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow out of action twice as the Sooners blanked No. 12 Florida 20-0 Saturday at Owen Field.

Florida turned the ball over four times while never posing a threat to the host Sooners, who did not look overwhelming even in holding the Gators to 103 total yards.

Oklahoma guaranteed that a Big XII team will be present in the tournament championship by setting up a semifinal clash with No. 8 seed Kansas, which had upset top-ranked Ohio State earlier in the day. That Kansas win gave the Sooners a chance at another home game after the higher-seeded Buckeyes were eliminated.

The Sooners and Jayhawks did not meet this season.

The Sooners grabbed a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley and quickly built on it when Brian Jackson intercepted a Tebow pass on the Gators’ next possession. Oklahoma parlayed the turnover into a six-play, 34-yard drive with a 1-yard run by Allen Patrick to increase the lead to 10-0.

Marcus Walker’s 62-yard punt return upped the Oklahoma lead to 17-0 in the second quarter after the Gators lost Tebow temporarily with an elbow injury en route to a three-and-out.

A Curtis Lofton interception in the fourth put the Sooners in position for the game’s final tally – a 40-yard field goal by Hartley.

The Gators, who bounded out to a 28-3 halftime in the first round of their 28-18 win over Georgia last week, had to rely on Cameron Newton for most of the second half after Tebow took a shot from Oklahoma’s Lewis Baker, knocking him out of the game midway through the third.

Tebow had passed for 73 yards before his departure. He was also lifted for two plays after injuring his elbow in the second.



Quarterfinal round - Game 3: No. 11 Arizona State at No. 3 Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. – By controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage and turning in their usual special teams dominance, the No. 3 Virginia Tech Hokies advaned to the Blog Championship Series semifinals with a 15-0 win over No. 11 Arizona State at Lane Stadium on Saturday.

The Hokies victory was the third shutout of the day in a quarterfinal round highlighted by exceptional defense.

Branden Ore carried the ball 22 times for 81 yards while the Hokies held Arizona State’s Rudy Carpenter to his lowest output of the season – 10-of-20 for 80 yards. Carpenter was sacked five times by an aggressive Virginia Tech pass rush that yielded three sacks from defensive linemen.

The Sun Devils hung tough with Virginia Tech throughout but could never establish any consistency on offense only picking up six first downs against the ACC champions. The Sun Devils’ 1-of-8 performance on third downs also prevented any chance at scoring on a dreary December evening – a far cry from the normal conditions in Tempe, Ariz.

Virginia Tech tallied the game’s first points in the second quarter when Jared Develli connected on a 37-yard field goal with help from a carom off the inside of the left upright.

Another Develli field goal – this one from 51 yards away – increased the Hokies’ lead to 6-0 late in the third period. A drive filled with steady doses of Ore stalled at the Sun Devils’ 34 after Ore was stood up by multiple Arizona State defenders on third-and-1.

The Hokies wrapped the game up in the early moments of the fourth quarter when Glennon found senior wideout Josh Morgan for a 43-yard touchdown. Ore’s two-point conversion try was stopped short of the goal line.

A 40-yard kick by Develli with six seconds remaining closed out the scoring.



Quarterfinal round - Game 4: No. 7 Southern California at No. 2 Louisiana State

BATON ROUGE, La. – Turnovers and missed opportunities plagued BCS No. 2 Louisiana State throughout Saturday’s quarterfinal clash with seventh-seed Southern California.

If not for the Trojans having more turnovers than the Tigers and failing to cash in on multiple chances in the second half, the 17-14 LSU win would not have been possible.

Southern Cal turned the ball over four times leading to three LSU points. The three turnovers committed by the Tigers harvested no points for the Pac-10 champions.

Those three points proved to be the difference for LSU, which hosts No. 3 Virginia Tech in the semifinals next Saturday. The Tigers trampled the Hokies 48-7 in an early-September meeting in Baton Rouge.

After picking off a Booty pass at the Tigers’ 7 in the first quarter, LSU’s Jai Eugene gave the hosts a 7-0 lead thanks to a 70-yard punt return early in the second. Eugene picked up impressive blocks five yards ahead of where he fielded the ball giving him room to wiggle free.

Matt Flynn’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Early Doucet expanded the Tigers’ lead following a USC three-and-out. The touchdown pass, which was the fifth play of a 63-yard drive, was tipped in the air by Southern Cal’s Kevin Ellison right to Doucet at the Trojans’ 12.

The hole was dug deeper on Trojans’ next play from scrimmage when Patrick Turner’s 12-yard reception became a lost fumble at the USC 43. LSU added three more points to its lead on Colt David’s 46-yard field goal just before the half.

Southern Cal posted its first points midway through the third quarter when Terrell Thomas stepped into the backfield to pick off Flynn and race 44 yards to the end zone.

USC drew closer with 50 seconds remaining as Booty hooked up with tight end Jimmy Miller on fourth-and-goal from the Tigers’ 1. Twice before that touchdown drive, the Trojans picked off Flynn only to give the ball back on failed fourth-down conversions. Southern Cal’s only successful third- or fourth-down play came on the Booty touchdown toss.

The Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick to put the game under wraps.



Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. He had no idea that Kansas would be known for more than college basketball and having a band named after the state that’s produced multiple mullet – I mean classic – rock staples.

        

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