One of the more enjoyable projects one can perform with sports simulation games is creating fantasy match ups to explore the many “what-if” situations discussed on a daily basis by sports fans everywhere. One of the more common conversations centers around the BCS determination of who will play in each years National Championship game. The current system doesn’t seem to have too many fans, except for the two teams that get to play for the Championship, and any organizations that benefit financially.
This bowl season, I reached for the paper, pencil, and dice and ran my own 16-team BCS Tournament using Momentum Football by Downey Games. Momentum Football is classified as a “quick play” football game, where each drive is resolved by the roll of the dice. Games can be completed in about 20 minutes, but still capture the excitement, ebb and flow of the real game. For my project, BCS rankings were used to identify the “Sweet 16″, and a bracket similar to the NCAA Basketball Championship was created. You already know who won it all, but let me tell you how it happened.
The first round of 8 games held 3 upsets from teams that would all go deep in the torunament. #13 Penn State knocked off #4 TCU 24-21 in OT. PSU trailed for most of the game, but tied it up at 21 late in the third quarter as Clark hit Zug for a 30 yard TD. #11 Virginia Tech took out one of the other undefeated teams #6 Boise State 24-17. In maybe the most surprising upset, #15 Miami defeated #2 Texas 35-24. So much for Hook ‘em Horns! In other action, #1 Alabama beat #16 West Virginia 44-24, #8 Ohio State took out #9 Georgia Tech 21-14, #5 Florida crushed #12 LSU 45-19, #7 Oregon held off a tough #10 Iowa team 34-24, and #3 Cincinnati knocked off #14 BYU 34-21.
The second round saw 3 of the 4 games end in dramatic upsets. The only top team to advance to the Final Four was Alabama who handled Ohio State easily, 33-21. Penn State won their second straight upset victory by only 3 points, as they knocked off Florida and Tim Tebow by the score of 31-28. PSU held a 31-6 lead with only 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, but Tebow led a furious Florida comeback that came up 3 points short. In the other upsets, Miami beat Oregon 35-27 and VirginiaTech defeated Cincinnati courtesy of a Williams TD with only 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
The Final Four matchups were #1 Alabama vs. #13 Penn State and #15 Miami vs. #11 Virginia Tech. Penn State put an end to Alabama’s title hopes, while continuing their upset streak with a dramatic 17-16 victory over the Crimson Tide. Both defenses played very well, but it was a Bowman interception of McElroy with 40 seconds left in the game that sealed the victory for PSU. Miami’s upset streak ended as VT took advantage of an interception return for a TD by Carmichael to secure the 24-19 victory.
Either way, the title game was going to crown an unlikely champion. No Alabama or Texas, not even a TCU or Boise State. As a championship game, however, it did not disappoint. Following halftime, the Nittany Lions trailed the Hokies 10-17. On their second drive of the second half, Clark and Powell brought the crowd to their feet as they connected for a 99-yard TD play to tie the game at 17. The PSU defense played up to expectations and shut-out the VT offense for the remainder of the game. The winning score for PSU came with 6:20 remaining in the game as Newsome ran it in from 2 yards out. Final Score: Penn State 24, Virginia Tech 17.
I doubt we’ll ever see a 16-team tournament to end the college football season, but until there is some sort of change in the current system, the debates will continue, and us sports fans will continue to say “what if….”
