Using NCAA Football 2007, I have set up a playoff bracket based on my own personal predictions. I played the games on simulation, CPU vs. CPU, and the results I got were pretty astonishing and fun to watch. There were 7 games, with 2 of them being hosted by the lesser bowls. My idea here is that those 2 games would be rotated among the lesser bowl sponsers, along with the rotation among the "Big Four". This is thier story...
Holiday Bowl
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes: 23
#8 Boise State Broncos: 14
Close close game until the end. In real life, this would almost be a moral victory. Boise had a chance at the end, 20-14, but Zabransky was picked off. Troy Smith had a very...average game. He made some crucial third downs, but was also picked off in the endzone. One of thier scores was off the initial runback of the game which was fumbled by Boise inside thier redzone. Not overly impressive, especially compared too...
Fiesta Bowl
#4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 21
#5 LSU Tigers: 66 (!)
Domer haters unite! This was your dream game, as LSU crushed Notre Dame in ways that even USC could not imagine! JaMarcus Russell was basically perfect, throwing for 7 touchdowns and no picks. LSU was never stopped and held a 21 point lead after the first quarter. ND's defense looked slow and completely outmatched, which is suprising because I have seen ND dominate teams in this game.
Rose Bowl
#3 Michigan Wolverines: 13
#6 West Virginia Mountaineers: 17
WVU cameback from 10 down to take the lead, and Michigan could not convert on its final drive. Very exciting game. WVU's run looked stopped at first, but after they fell behind, Slaton came alive. Pat White was not impressive throwing save for a few lucky catches, so it was basically thier only chance. This set up the potential Big East rematch if Louisville could pull the upset...
Cotton Bowl
#2 Florida Gators: 17
#7 Louisville Cardinals: 21
Even in virtual reality, the Gators cannot score over 20. The difference in this see-saw game was that Louisville responded late with a touchdown, a brilliant 50 yard run by Michael Bush that was the result of a great stiffarm. He was almost down 4 times by my count, but the Gators did not wrap up and Louisville stopped a late drive with a pick of Leake. Rematch, although not the one everyone was rooting for, was to come.
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Sugar Bowl
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes: 13
#5 LSU Tigers: 27
OSU showed its inconsistency on offense and could not capitalize on several good oppurtunities in LSU's redzone. Russell came alive after a lackluster first half and found Doucet twice to seal the game in the fourth and pull off the upset. Now the one, two, three, and four teams had all been upset.
Orange Bowl
#6 West Virginia Mountaineers: 23
#7 Louisville Cardinals: 27
Game of the century so far! Awesome finish, as these two Big East rivals traded scores mainly in the second half. It seems over when WVU knocks out Brohm and then takes over in Louisville territory. What happens? They try to convert a third and long with a safe pass...PICKED OFF! Louisville is without timeouts though, so they have to scramble and scrap to barely gain a first down. Time is running out and they only have 10 seconds to try one more play from the 50...10....9...backup quaterback, hasnt played in weeks...8....7...recievers not totally in position....6...5...4...panic getting to the line...3....2...1...HEAVE FROM THE QUATERBACK...ITS A CORNER ROUTE TO THE LEFT, AAANNNDDD HEEES GOT IT!!! OH MY GOODNESS, ITS CAUGHT!!! THE WEST VIRGINIA DEFENDER FALLS DOWN!!! ITS GOING TO BE A TOUCHDOWN, TOUCHDOWN LOUISVILLE!!! TOUCHDOWN LOUISVILLE!!! LOUISVILLE IS GOING TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!! THE MOST IMPROBABLE, UNBELIEVABLE FINISH IN BOWL GAME HISTORY!!!! *ahem, announcing job in my future?
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BCS National Championship Game
#5 LSU Tigers: 17
#7 Louisville Cardinals: 24
I was actually stunned by this result. Up to this point, LSU had destroyed and controlled much better opponents. Louisville had gotten here by luck, and was definately not taking it for granted. They got up on LSU early and forced them away from the run. Still, JaMarcus had a chance but his last pass attempt was batted away and then dropped off the tip...causing everyones heart to jump in thier throats. Somehow, someway, the Louisville Cardinals became the college football champions of the world...of NCAA 07