1.
2009 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
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The 2009 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The teams head coach was Frank Beamer, the Hokies finished the season 10–3 and won the Chick-fil-A Bowl, 37–14, over Tennessee. *Vacated by North Carolina Source, ACC Virginia Tech home games have featured flyovers by military aircraft
2.
2009 Tennessee Volunteers football team
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The 2009 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Lane Kiffin, the 2009 season was Kiffins first and only at Tennessee, he left to take the head coaching job at the University of Southern California on January 12,2010. The Vols played their games in Neyland Stadium and competed in the Eastern Division of the SEC. The Vols finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in SEC play and this is the way that we expect to play, Kiffin said. I just talked to them about understanding that was one game, weve got to find a way to play better next week. In its first two drives, Tennessee looked as if it hadnt learned much under Kiffin, the youngest active coach in the division. Crompton threw a pass over the middle that was tipped by Thomas Majors and intercepted by Jamal Forrest. The Vols settled down after the first quarter, and Hardesty carried for 18 and 22 yards to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman Bryce Brown early in the second quarter. Bobby Rainey fumbled on the Hilltoppers next play, and LaMarcus Thompson recovered for Tennessee, Crompton connected with Luke Stocker on his first of two TD catches to make it 14–0 only 7 seconds later. Tennessees defense looked every bit the stalwart it was in 2008, running backs broke through the line of scrimmage, wide receivers ran sound routes and Crompton threw accurately. We really just tried to get our personality as a team on film and we wanted to be physical but smart. The game we just played is part of our resume, and we want to build that resume and send it out to our opponents, the receiving corps hardly looked depleted by injuries, with Stocker, Marsalis Teague, Quintin Hancock and Brandon Warren each catching scoring strikes. Crompton, who was pulled with 12,26 left in the game, Hardesty finished with 160 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and Brown had 104 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 attempts. The Hilltoppers couldnt capitalize on the turnovers and had minus-21 yards after their first 19 plays. Tennessee finished with 657 yards compared to Western Kentuckys 83, Rainey had the Hilltoppers only score on a 19-yard run with 2,41 in the third quarter that made it 35–7. The win was the Vols easiest since a 70–3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe in 2000 and their 380 yards rushing were the most since 2004. The Vols were also joined by former Vols and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Western Kentucky went on to go 0–12 and finish last in the Sun Belt Conference. Even with offensive guru Norm Chow in the box, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel turned to his defense with the game on the line
3.
Atlantic Coast Conference
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The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-five sports with many of its member institutions athletic programs held in high regard nationally. ACC teams and athletes have claimed dozens of championships in multiple sports throughout the conferences history. Generally, the ACCs top athletes and teams in any sport in a given year are considered to be among the top collegiate competitors in the nation. Also, the conference enjoys extensive media coverage, the ACC was one of the six collegiate power conferences, which had automatic qualifying for their football champion into the Bowl Championship Series. With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014, the ACC is one of five conferences with a contractual tie-in to an access bowl, the additions in recent years extended the conferences footprint into the Northeast and Midwest. The most recent expansion in 2013 saw the additions of the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh, in 2012, the University of Marylands Board of Regents voted to withdraw from the ACC to join the Big Ten Conference effective July 1,2014. On November 28,2012, the ACCs Council of Presidents voted unanimously to invite the University of Louisville as a full member, replacing Maryland effective July 1,2014. Seven universities in the South Atlantic States were charter members of the ACC, Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, previously members of the Southern Conference, they left partially due to that leagues ban on post-season football play. After drafting a set of bylaws for the creation of a new league, the bylaws were ratified on June 14,1953, and the ACC was created, becoming the second conference formed by schools collectively withdrawing from the SoCon, after the Southeastern Conference. On December 4,1953, officials convened in Greensboro, North Carolina, and admitted Virginia, in 1960, the ACC implemented a minimum SAT score for incoming student-athletes of 750, the first conference to do so. This minimum was raised to 800 in 1964, but was struck down by a federal court in 1972. In 1971, South Carolina left the ACC to become an independent, the ACC operated with seven members until the addition of Georgia Tech from the Metro Conference on April 3,1978. The total number of member schools reached nine with the addition of Florida State, also formerly from the Metro Conference, on July 1,1991. The expansion was controversial, as Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia filed lawsuits against the ACC, Miami, and Boston College for conspiring to weaken the Big East Conference. The ACC Hall of Champions opened on March 2,2011, next to the Greensboro Coliseum arena, on September 17,2011, Big East Conference members Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh both tendered formal written applications to the ACC to join its ranks. The two schools were accepted into the conference the day, once again expanding the conference footprint like previous expansions. Because the Big East intended to hold Pitt and Syracuse to the 27-month notice period required by league bylaws, however, on July 16,2012, the Big East and Syracuse came to an agreement that allowed Syracuse to leave the Big East on July 1,2013. Two days later, the Big East and Pittsburgh reached an identical agreement, on September 12,2012, Notre Dame agreed to join the ACC in all sports except football and hockey as the conferences first member in the Midwestern United States
4.
Southeastern Conference
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The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the Southern part of the United States. Its fourteen members include the public universities of ten states. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I in sports competitions, for football, it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-A. The SEC was also the first NCAA Division I conference to hold a game for college football and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series. The current SEC commissioner is Greg Sankey, the conference sponsors team championships in nine mens sports and twelve womens sports. The SEC consists of 14 member institutions located within the borders of 11 contiguous states and these divisional groupings are applied exclusively to football and baseball as well as their scheduling and standings. The other charter members were, The University of the South left the SEC on December 13,1940 and it is currently a member of the Division III Southern Athletic Association. Georgia Institute of Technology left the SEC in 1964, in 1975, it became a founding member of the Metro Conference, one of the predecessors to todays Conference USA. Georgia Tech competed in the Metro Conference in all sports except football, in 1978, Georgia Tech joined another Southern Conference offshoot, the Atlantic Coast Conference, for all sports, where it has remained ever since. Tulane University left the SEC in 1966, along with Georgia Tech, it was a charter member of the Metro Conference. Unlike Tech, however, Tulane remained in the Metro Conference until it merged with the Great Midwest Conference in 1995 to form Conference USA, Tulane remained an independent in football until C-USA began football competition in 1996. Tulane left C-USA in 2014 for the American Athletic Conference, in 1990, the SEC expanded from ten to twelve member universities with the addition of the Arkansas Razorbacks and the South Carolina Gamecocks. The two new members began SEC competition with the 1991–1992 basketball season, at the same time, the SEC organized competition for some sports into two divisions. Initially, the format was used in football, baseball. The divisional format was dropped for mens basketball following the 2011–2012 season, the 1992 and 1993 championship games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, and all championship games from 1994 onward have been held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. On November 6,2011 the SEC commissioner announced that the University of Missouri would also join the SEC on July 1,2012, for football, Texas A&M was scheduled to compete in the Western Division, and Missouri in the Eastern Division. Texas A&M and Missouri both left the Big 12 Conference, the office of Commissioner was created in 1940. Under the leadership of Michael F, the SECU rebranded its mission to better serve as a means through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of Southeastern Conference universities would be promoted and advanced
5.
Frank Beamer
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Franklin Mitchell Beamer is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. Beamer was a cornerback for Virginia Tech from 1966 to 1968 and his coaching experience began in 1972, and from 1981 to 1986 Beamer served as the head football coach at Murray State University. He then went on to become the football coach at Virginia Tech from 1987 until his final game in 2015. He was one of the longest tenured active coaches in NCAA Division I FBS and, Beamer remains at Virginia Tech in the position of special assistant to the athletic director, where he focuses on athletic development and advancement. He then attended Virginia Tech and was a cornerback for 3 years on the football team. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1969 and attended Radford University for graduate school while serving as an assistant football coach at Radford High School, in 1954, when Beamer was seven years old, he used a push broom to help keep a pile of burning trash in place. When the job was done he returned the broom to the not knowing that its bristles were still smoldering. A spark ignited a nearby can of gasoline, which exploded in front of him and his 11-year-old brother Barnett saved him by rolling him around on the ground, but Frank was left with burns on his shoulders, chest, and the right side of his neck. He underwent dozens of skin graft procedures that left him with permanent scarring, Beamer began as an assistant at Radford High School from 1969 through 1971. His college coaching experience began in 1972, when he became an assistant for the University of Maryland. After one season, he became an assistant coach at The Citadel under Bobby Ross and he spent seven seasons at The Citadel, the last two as the defensive coordinator. Beamer was hired as the coordinator at Murray State University in 1979 under head coach. In 1981, after two seasons as defensive coordinator, Frank was promoted to head coach, in his six years as head coach, Beamer compiled a record of 42–23–2. Frank hired former Murray State defensive back, Bud Foster as a assistant in 1981. Foster later joined Beamers coaching staff at Virginia Tech in 1987, on December 22,1986, Beamer was hired as the head coach at Virginia Tech, replacing Bill Dooley, the winningest coach in school history to date. However, Dooley had been forced to resign due to numerous NCAA violations, Beamer signed a four-year contract worth $80,000 annually. Virginia Techs new athletic director, Dale Baughman, also replacing Dooley in that capacity, some people have questioned this decision because he is not a big name, Baughman said at the time. But its a decision, and Im standing by it
6.
Lane Kiffin
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Lane Monte Kiffin is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at Florida Atlantic University. He was the youngest head coach in modern NFL history at the time when he joined the Raiders, Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama from 2014 until 2016, when he was hired at Florida Atlantic. He left the offensive position on January 2,2017. Kiffin is the son of longtime NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Kiffin graduated from Bloomington Jefferson High School in Minnesota in 1994, and committed to Fresno State University. Kiffin worked as an assistant for one year at Colorado State University. In 1999, while he was working with the offensive line, Kiffin secured a job with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a quality control assistant for one year. He was then hired by Pete Carroll as an ends coach at USC. Kiffin began working with the University of Southern California staff during the 2001 season, Kiffin also took the reins as recruiting coordinator that year. Along with these duties, Kiffin continued as the receivers coach. Steve Smith fell a few yards short of also surpassing 1,000 yards in receiving, in Kiffin’s three years as recruiting coordinator at USC, the Trojans had the No.1 ranked recruiting class in college football every year. The team produced top 20 statistics in most NCAA offensive categories, litigation from former coach Todd McNair to overturn those vacancies is still ongoing. Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach John Madden was 32 when he was elevated to the head post by Davis in 1969. Davis had been known to young, up-and-coming coaches in their thirties, those hires who fared well include John Madden, Mike Shanahan. All have won Super Bowls, though Madden is the one of the three to win a championship with the Raiders. On August 12,2007, in his NFL head coaching debut, Kiffin, Kiffin vehemently opposed the selection of JaMarcus Russell in the 2007 NFL Draft, who would eventually be regarded as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. Russell held out until September 12, and did not make his first start until December 2, at his end-of-the-season press conference, Kiffin told the media and his players that he had many plans and changes he was going to make in the 2008 offseason. On January 25,2008, ESPNs Chris Mortensen reported that Davis, however, the Raiders denied the story, while Kiffin refused to comment. On September 15,2008, NBC Sports reported Davis was unhappy with Kiffin, on September 30,2008, Davis fired Kiffin over the telephone
7.
Georgia Dome
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The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and it was primarily the home stadium for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League and the Georgia State Panthers football team from Georgia State University. Also, it has hosted the Peach Bowl from 1992 until 2016, in addition, the Georgia Dome has also hosted several soccer matches since 2009 that have drawn over 50,000 fans. The Dome was accessible by rail via MARTAs Blue and Green lines, in 1992, the Georgia Dome was completed at a cost of $214 million, which came from the Georgia General Assembly, making it one of the largest state-funded construction projects in Georgia history. For most Georgia State football games, the dome was configured with 28,155 seats, with tickets for only the bulk of the lower level, the record for overall attendance at the Georgia Dome is 80,892 for the 2008 SEC Championship Game in football. The dome was the largest cable-supported dome in the world and its roof was made of teflon-coated fiberglass fabric and had an area of 374,584.08 square feet. From its completion until the December 31,1999 opening of the 20-acre Millennium Dome in London, the Georgia Dome originally used AstroTurf artificial surface for its football events. In 2003, Arthur Blank, the new owner of Atlanta Falcons, in 2006, the Atlanta Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority announced a $300 million renovation to the Georgia Dome. The project was separated into two stages, the first stage, which took place before the 2007 NFL season, focused on updating the premium seating areas, including the creation of eight super-suites as well as an owners club. The entrance gates and concourses were also renovated and updated before the 2008 football season, in 2009, the video screens in both endzones were relocated to a new exterior monument sign on Northside Drive. The interior endzones each received a new and considerably wider High Definition video screen that significantly enhances views of replays, as well as graphics, a new sound system was installed in the same year, replacing the previous system that was nearly 20 years old. Three years after the completion of the Dome, the integrity of its roof became an issue. During a Falcons pre-season game in August 1995, a rainstorm caused water to pool on the fabric, tearing part of the material. The collapse occurred after fans left the stadium, and no one was injured during the incident, the roof was eventually repaired in a way that prevented similar incidents from occurring in the future. The quarterfinal game to follow between the Kentucky Wildcats and Georgia Bulldogs was postponed until the following day, the resulting damage forced the rest of the tournament to be moved to the Alexander Memorial Coliseum, now known as Hank McCamish Pavilion, at Georgia Tech. The Falcons final football game in the Dome was the 2016 NFC Championship Game on January 22,2017, the stadiums final public event took place on March 4 and 5,2017 with back-to-back Monster Jam events. Salvage operations and interior demolition will take place throughout the spring, the Georgia Dome site will become greenspace for tailgating at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and other community events, a 600-car parking garage and a convention center hotel is also planned for the site. The stadium also hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, the new incarnation of Turner Field is now tentatively known as Georgia State Stadium
8.
Atlanta
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Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U. S. state of Georgia, with an estimated 2015 population of 463,878. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,710,795 people, Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. In 1837, Atlanta was founded at the intersection of two lines, and the city rose from the ashes of the American Civil War to become a national center of commerce. Atlantas economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors that include logistics, professional and business services, media operations, Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage. Revitalization of Atlantas neighborhoods, initially spurred by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, has intensified in the 21st century, altering the demographics, politics. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in north Georgia, Creek Indians inhabited the area, standing Peachtree, a Creek village located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Indian settlement to what is now Atlanta. As part of the removal of Native Americans from northern Georgia from 1802 to 1825, the Creek ceded the area in 1821. In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western, the initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would then be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the zero milepost was driven into the ground in what is now Five Points. A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later as Thrasherville after a merchant who built homes. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor the Governors daughter, later, J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29,1847, by 1860, Atlantas population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a hub for the distribution of military supplies, in 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, on November 11,1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Armys March to the Sea by ordering Atlanta to be burned to the ground, sparing only the citys churches and hospitals. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt, due to the citys superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta surpassed Savannah as Georgias largest city, by 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology and the citys black colleges had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted the Cotton States and International Exposition, during the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta experienced a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades time, Atlantas population tripled as the city expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs
9.
Ryan Williams (American football)
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Ryan Gene Williams is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia Tech, Williams attended Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Virginia. He was the starting tailback all four years and he finished with over 2,000 rushing yards, including 1,574 yards as a junior. As a freshman at Virginia Tech in 2008, Williams was redshirted, as a redshirt freshman in 2009, Williams took over as starting running back after starter Darren Evans suffered a season-ending ACL injury. He began the 2010 season as a starter but injured his hamstring in a game against East Carolina University and was out for three games before coming back against Duke. On January 9,2011, it was announced that Williams will give up his final 2 years of NCAA eligibility to make available for the 2011 NFL Draft. Williams was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the round of the 2011 NFL Draft. On October 09,2012, he was placed on the reserve list with a left shoulder injury. He was released on May 12,2014, Williams signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys on May 17,2014. He was cut on August 30 and signed to the practice squad the following day. On June 28,2015, Williams was waived/injured, and reverted to Dallas injured reserve the next day, on September 15, he was released by the Cowboys with an injury settlement. Arizona Cardinals bio Virginia Tech Hokies bio
10.
The Star-Spangled Banner
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The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States of America. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, the poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a mens social club in London. To Anacreon in Heaven, with lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Keys poem and renamed The Star-Spangled Banner, it became a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one octave and one fifth, it is known for being difficult to sing, although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today. Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom, hail, Columbia served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. My Country, Tis of Thee, whose melody is identical to God Save the Queen, following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them The Star-Spangled Banner, as well as America the Beautiful. Beanes was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers, because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise and later back on HMS Minden. On the morning of September 14, the flag had been lowered. During the bombardment, HMS Terror and HMS Meteor provided some of the bombs bursting in air, Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had made by Mary Young Pickersgill together with other workers in her home on Baltimores Pratt Street. The flag later came to be known as the Star-Spangled Banner and is today on display in the National Museum of American History and it was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program. Aboard the ship the day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on September 16, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore and he completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and titled it Defence of Fort MHenry. Much of the idea of the poem, including the flag imagery and some of the wording, is derived from a song by Key. The song, known as When the Warrior Returns, was written in honor of Stephen Decatur, absent elaboration by Francis Scott Key prior to his death in 1843, some have speculated in modern times about the meaning of phrases or verses. Professor Mark Clague has stated that the two verses of Keys lyric vilify the British enemy in the War of 1812 and in no way glorifies or celebrates slavery. Clague asserts that the used to refer to British professional soldiers but also the Corps of Colonial Marines which Key viewed as scoundrels
11.
Official (American football)
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In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college games, seven officials operate on the field. Beginning in 2015, Division I college football conferences are using eight game officials, College games outside the Division I level use six or seven officials. Arena football, high school football, and other levels of football have other officiating systems, High school football played under the National Federation of State High School Associations rules typically use five officials for varsity and 3,4, or 5 for non-varsity games. Because the referee is responsible for the supervision of the game. American football officials generally use the equipment, Whistle Used to signal a reminder to players that the ball is dead. Penalty marker or flag A bright-yellow-colored flag that is thrown on the field toward or at the spot of a foul, for fouls where the spot is unimportant, such as fouls which occur at the snap or during a dead ball, the flag is typically thrown vertically. The flag is wrapped around a weight, such as sand or beans, so that it can be thrown with some distance and accuracy and to ensure it remains in place, Officials typically carry a second flag in case there are multiple fouls on a play. Officials who run out of flags when they see multiple fouls on a play may drop their hat or a bag instead. Bean bag Used to mark various spots that are not fouls, for example, a bean bag is used to mark the spot of a fumble or the spot where a player caught a punt. It is typically colored white, blue, black, or orange, depending on the league, college conference, level of play. Unlike penalty flags, bean bags may be tossed to a parallel to the nearest yard line. Down indicator A specially designed wristband that is used to remind officials of the current down and it has an elastic loop attached to it that is wrapped around the fingers. Usually, officials put the loop around their index finger when it is first down, the finger when it is second down. Some officials, especially umpires, may use a second indicator to keep track of where the ball was placed between the hash marks before the play. This is important when the ball is re-spotted after a pass or a foul. Game data card and pencil Officials write down important administrative information, such as the winner of the coin toss, team timeouts. Game data cards can be paper or reusable plastic
12.
Conference USA
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Conference USA is a collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAAs Division I in all sports, C-USAs offices are located in the Las Colinas business district of the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas. C-USA was founded in 1995 by the merger of the Metro Conference and Great Midwest Conference, two Division I conferences that did not sponsor football. To even out at 12 members the conference invited the University of Houston, the conference immediately started competition in all sports except for football, which did not launch until 1996. To even out at 12 members the conference invited the University of Houston, the conference immediately started competition in all sports, except football which started in 1996. The conference saw radical changes for the 2005–06 academic year, the stage for these changes was set in 2003, when the Atlantic Coast Conference successfully lured Miami and Virginia Tech to make a move from the Big East Conference in 2004. Boston College would later make the move, joining the ACC in 2005. In response to that series of moves, which depleted the Big East football conference, five C-USA members departed for the Big East, including three football-playing schools and two non-football schools. Another two schools left for the Atlantic 10, TCU joined the Mountain West, and a member, Army. With the loss of these teams, C-USA lured six teams from other conferences, UCF and Marshall from the MAC, as well as Rice, SMU, Tulsa, and later UTEP from the WAC. Note that UCF played in the MAC for football only, for all other sports, with C-USAs membership now consisting of 12 schools, all of which sponsor football, the conference has adopted a two-division alignment. In 2013, C-USA entered its next phase with the departure of four schools for the American Athletic Conference and this was again the result of Big East schools leaving for the ACC, this time being Syracuse and Pittsburgh. It was announced in early 2012 that Conference USA was in talks with the Mountain West Conference about forming either a football alliance or conference merger in the future, as a result, both C-USA and the MW backed away from a full merger. As of April 2012, the likeliest scenario was an alliance in which both conferences retain separate identities. However, after the MW added more members, the alliance was apparently abandoned. For mens soccer, there was a chance that the MW, SEC, and C-USA along with the one Sun Belt member, however, the only MW member school that ultimately moved to C-USA mens soccer was New Mexico. For the 2013–14 season C-USA invited five new members to join their conference, UTSA and Louisiana Tech joined from the WAC and North Texas and FIU, from the Sun Belt Conference. Old Dominion, which already housed five of its sports in C-USA, moved the rest of its program from the CAA
13.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
14.
Television network
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Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast networks. Many early television networks evolved from earlier radio networks, such networks are commonly referred to by terms such as specialty channels in Canada or cable networks in the U. S. A network may or may not produce all of its own programming, if not, production companies can distribute their content to the various networks, and it is common that a certain production firm may have programs that air on two or more rival networks. Similarly, some networks may import television programs from other countries, some stations have the capability to interrupt the network through the local insertion of television commercials, station identifications and emergency alerts. Others completely break away from the network for their own programming and this is common where small networks are members of larger networks. The majority of television stations are self-owned, even though a variety of these instances are the property of an owned-and-operated television network. The commercial television stations can also be linked with an educational broadcasting agency. It is also important to note that some countries have launched national television networks, on the other hand, television networks also undergo the impending experience of major changes related to cultural varieties. The emergence of television has made available in major media markets. Such a diverse captive audience presents an occasion for the networks and this is explained by author Tim P. Vos notes that policymakers did not expressly intend to create a broadcast order dominated by commercial networks. In fact, legislative attempts were made to limit the networks preferred position, as to individual stations, modern network operations centers usually use broadcast automation to handle most tasks. A major international network is the British Broadcasting Corporation, which is perhaps most well known for its news agency BBC News. Owned by the Crown, the BBC operates primarily in the United Kingdom and it is funded by the television licence paid by British residents that watch terrestrial television and as a result, no commercial advertising appears on its networks. Outside of the UK, advertising is broadcast because the licence fee applies to the BBCs British operations. 23,000 people worldwide are employed by the BBC and its subsidiary, other networks are dedicated to specialized programming, such as religious content or programs presented in languages other than English, particularly Spanish. The largest television network in the United States, however, is the Public Broadcasting Service, some public television outlets, such as PBS, carry separate digital subchannel networks through their member stations. This works as each network sends its signal to many local affiliated stations across the country. These local stations then carry the feed, which can be viewed by millions of households across the country
15.
ESPN
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ESPN is a U. S. -based global cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc. a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Corporation. ESPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut, the network also operates offices in Miami, New York City, Seattle, Charlotte, and Los Angeles. John Skipper currently serves as president of ESPN, a position he has held since January 1,2012, as of February 2015, ESPN is available to approximately 94,396,000 paid television households in the United States. In 2011, ESPNs history and rise was chronicled by These Guys Have All the Fun, Bill Rasmussen conceived the concept of ESPN in late May 1978, after he was fired from his job with the World Hockey Associations New England Whalers. One of the first steps in Bill and his son Scotts process was finding land to build the channels broadcasting facilities, the Rasmussens first rented office space in Plainville, Connecticut. However, the plan to base ESPN there was put on hold because a local ordinance prohibiting buildings from bearing rooftop satellite dishes and this helped the credibility of the fledgling company, however there were still many doubters to the viability of their sports channel concept. ESPN launched on September 7,1979, beginning with the first telecast of what would become the flagship program. Taped in front of a live audience inside the Bristol studios. ESPNs next big break came when the acquired the rights to broadcast coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament. It first aired the NCAA tournament in March 1980, creating the modern day television event known as March Madness. The channels tournament coverage also launched the career of Dick Vitale. In April of that year, ESPN created another made-for-TV spectacle, the next major stepping stone for ESPN came over the course of a couple of months in 1984. During this time period, the American Broadcasting Company purchased 100% of ESPN from the Rasmussens, for years, the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball refused to consider cable as a means of broadcasting some of their games. However, with the backing of ABC, ESPNs ability to compete for major sports contracts greatly increased, later in 1984, the U. S. ESPNs Sunday Night Football games would become the highest-rated NFL telecasts for the next 17 years. In 1992, ESPN launched ESPN Radio, a sports talk radio network providing analysis. It became the fastest growing cable channel in the U. S. during the 1990s, ownership of ABC, and in effect control of ESPN, was acquired first by Capital Cities Communications in 1985, and then by The Walt Disney Company in 1996. In 2012, ESPN generated more revenue for Disney than any of its other properties combined, alongside its live sports broadcasts, ESPN also airs a variety of sports highlight, talk, and documentary-styled shows. 30 for 30 started airing in 2009 and continues airing to this day, each episode is through the eyes of a well known filmmaker and has featured some of the biggest directors in Hollywood
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Matt Millen
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Matthew George Matt Millen is an American former National Football League linebacker, and former executive. Millen played for the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers, in Millens 12-year NFL playing career, he played on four teams that won the Super Bowl. Millen won a Super Bowl ring with each of the three teams for which he played, moreover, he won a Super Bowl ring in each of the four cities in which he played. After his playing career, Millen was President and chief officer of the Detroit Lions from 2001 until week 4 of the 2008 NFL season. His eight-year tenure as head of the led to the worst eight-year record in the history of the modern NFL. Millen assembled the personnel and coaching staff of the 2008 Lions, which became the first team to go 0-16, following his NFL career, he was a football commentator for several national television and radio networks. His last job before joining the Lions was as a member of the two broadcast team for NFL on Fox, as well as being the color commentator for Monday Night Football on Westwood One. On February 1,2009, he joined the NBC broadcast team for pre-game analysis of Super Bowl XLIII and he has also been employed by ESPN as an NFL analyst, and by NFL Network as a color commentator on Thursday Night Football. Millen was an analyst for ESPNs college football coverage, paired in 2013 with Joe Tessitore, in 2015 Millen returned to Fox NFL and debut on Big Ten Network. Millen was born and grew up in the Hokendauqua section of Whitehall and he attended Whitehall High School in Pennsylvanias Lehigh Valley region. He was a high school football player for Whitehall, which played in the highly competitive East Penn Conference. He was recruited from Whitehall High School by Pennsylvania State University, following his career at Penn State, Millen entered the 1980 NFL Draft and was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the drafts 43rd overall selection in the second round. During his 12-year NFL playing career, Millen played for the Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers, and he won a Super Bowl with each of these teams, including two with the Raiders. He won one Super Bowl each with the 49ers and Redskins, during his NFL career, he was selected to play in one Pro Bowl. Millen finished his 12 NFL seasons with 11 sacks and 9 interceptions, which he returned for 132 yards and he also returned 7 kickoffs for 72 yards. Tackles were not recorded at that time, following his professional football career, Millen worked as a color commentator for CBS TV, and for Fox. He also provided analysis for the radio broadcasts of Monday Night Football. At Fox, Millen came to be considered the number-two analyst for its nationally broadcast games and he filled in for Madden, alongside Summerall, on the 1997 American Bowl game because John Madden had fears of flying
17.
Peach Bowl
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The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. It has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A since 1997, and is known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was referred to as simply the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, between 1971 and 1992, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium hosted the game. Between 1993 and 2016, the Georgia Dome has played host, the bowl will then be moved to Mercedes-Benz Stadium after that facility opens, scheduled for mid-2017. Since the 2014 season, the Peach Bowl has featured College Football Playoff matchups, with the 2016,2019,2022, seven of the first ten meetings pitted an Atlantic Coast Conference team against an at-large opponent. From 1993 until 2013, the game matched a Southeastern Conference team against one from the ACC, in 2005, the bowl hosted its first-ever matchup of top 10 ranked teams. Chick-fil-A, a fast food restaurant chain based in nearby College Park, has sponsored the game since 1997, from 2006 until 2013, Chick-fil-As contract gave it full naming rights and the game was referred to as the Chick-fil-A Bowl as a result. The traditional Peach Bowl name was reinstated following the announcement that the bowl would be one of the six College Football Playoff bowls, the funds from the deal were used to increase payouts for the participating teams. In response, from 2006 to 2014 the ACC gave the committee the first pick of its teams after the BCS—usually the loser of the ACC Championship Game or one of the division runners-up, also from 2006, the bowl got the fifth overall selection from the SEC. However, the BCS took two SEC schools in every season for the last nine years of its run, leaving the Chick-Fil-A with the pick from the conference—usually one of the division runners-up. As of 2013, the bowl was sold out for 17 straight years, in 2007, the Chick-fil-A Bowl became the best-attended non-BCS bowl for the previous decade. The 2007 game was played on December 31,2007 featuring the second Peach Bowl matchup between #15 Clemson and #21 Auburn. It was the first time the Peach Bowl had ended regulation play with a tie, and with the rules in play since the early 1990s, required an overtime, which Auburn won, 23–20. With a 5.09 share, the 2007 game was the highest-rated ESPN-broadcast bowl game of the 2007-2008 season as well as the highest rated in the games history, the rating was also higher than two New Years Day bowls, the Cotton and the Gator. In October 2009, the bowl extended the Atlantic Coast Conference contract through 2013, according to Sports Illustrated, although the bowl generated $12.3 million in profit in 2007, only $5.9 million of that was paid out to the participating schools. On December 31,2012 the bowl set new records for viewership, the New Years Eve telecast – a 25-24 Clemson victory over LSU – averaged 8,557,000 viewers, making it ESPNs most-viewed non-BCS bowl ever. Ninth-oldest bowl game in football history
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College football
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It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. No minor league farm organizations exist in American football and it is in college football where a players performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football. The best collegiate players will declare for the professional draft after 3 to 4 years of collegiate competition. Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as a free agent. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League, college football remained extremely popular throughout the U. S, in many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests. This allows them to more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium. College athletes, unlike players in the NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries, colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as football, by the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as Rugby football. The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges, the first documented gridiron football match was a game played at University College, a college of the University of Toronto, November 9,1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional mob football played in England. The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, when games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football, Princeton University students played a game called ballown as early as 1820. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes, in 1860, both the town police and the college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. The Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a figure called Football Fightum. The authorities held firm and it was a dozen years before football was again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were first published in 1871, all of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities
19.
Bowl game
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In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAAs Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in career totals. The term bowl originated from the Rose Bowl stadium, site of the first post-season college football games, the Rose Bowl Stadium, in turn, takes its name and bowl-shaped design from the Yale Bowl, the prototype of many football stadiums in the United States. The term has become almost synonymous with any major American football event. In professional football, the names of the National Football League s Super Bowl, the use of the term has crossed over into professional and collegiate Canadian football. A notable example is the annual Banjo Bowl between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, U Sports plays two semi-final bowl games before the Vanier Cup national championship game, the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. The matchups are determined on a rotation basis, with the Uteck Bowl being played at the easternmost host team. The history of the game began with the 1902 Tournament East-West football game. The Tournament of Roses eventually sponsored an annual contest starting with the 1916 Tournament East-West Football Game, with the 1923 Rose Bowl it began to be played at the newly completed Rose Bowl stadium, and thus the contest itself became known as the Rose Bowl game. The name bowl to describe the games comes from the Rose Bowl stadium. Other cities saw the value for tourism that the Tournament of Roses parade and Rose Bowl carried. The label bowl was attached to the name, even though the games were not always played in bowl-shaped stadiums. The historic timing of bowl games, around the new year, is the result of two factors—warm climate and ease of travel. The original bowls began in warm climates such as Southern California, Louisiana, Florida and Texas as a way to promote the area for tourism and business. Since commercial air travel was either non-existent or very limited, the games were scheduled well after the end of the season to allow fans to travel to the game site. As the number of games has increased, the number of games a team would need to win to be invited to a bowl game has decreased. With a 12-game schedule, a number of teams with only 5 wins have been invited to a bowl game, as of the completion of the 2016 season, the University of Alabama has played in more bowl games than any other school, with 64 appearances. Alabama also holds the record for most bowl victories with 37, the Florida State Seminoles have the longest active streak of consecutive bowl appearances with 35
20.
Kickoff (gridiron football)
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A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the kicking team – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the receiving team, kickoffs take place at the start of each half of play, the beginning of overtime in some overtime formats, and after some scoring plays. Additionally, penalties exist for various such as a player violating his position restrictions prior to the kick. A kickoff occurs at the start of each half and before each overtime and it is also traditionally decided by a coin toss at the beginning of each game carried out by the referee. The visiting team captain calls heads or tails. The winner of the coin toss elects whether to take first choice in the first half or the second half, the captain with first choice then picks either a team to kick off or an end of the field to defend. The other captain chooses the remaining option, at the beginning of the second half, the two captains choose in the reverse order. If an overtime is required, another coin toss takes place to decide who gets first possession during the overtime, after a touchdown the scoring team kicks the ball off to the opposing team. The NFL has a rule for after a team scores safety that is not in place in any other form of gridiron football. The team that scored the safety is awarded possession of the ball. The team that gave up the safety is required to kick the ball off from its own line, referred to as a free kick. Although this is not a requirement, most teams choose to punt the ball on the free kick, the same rules apply as on a normal kickoff, whereas the ball is a live ball if it travels at least ten yards without the receiving team fielding it. The line where the ball is placed for kickoff varies among the rule books, for the 2016 season only, the Ivy League will place the ball on the 40-yard line in conference games. All players on the team except the kicker must not cross the line at which the ball is placed until the ball is kicked. The receiving team must stay behind the line that is 10 yards from where the ball is placed. The ball can be fielded by the team at any point after it has been kicked. In American football touchback and fair catch rules apply to the kicked ball, if it is fielded by the kicking team, it is called an onside kick. A low, bouncing kick is called a squib kick and it is usually done when a team takes the lead in the final seconds, and is done to safely run out the remainder of the clock
21.
Eastern Time Zone
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Places that use Eastern Standard Time when observing standard time are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time, when observing daylight saving time DST is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, in the northern parts of the time zone, on the second Sunday in March, at 2,00 a. m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3,00 a. m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap, on the first Sunday in November, at 2,00 a. m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1,00 a. m, southern parts of the zone do not observe daylight saving time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ruled that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October in the United States, the act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time as of 1987. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States beginning in 2007. So local times change at 2,00 a. m. EST to 3,00 a. m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, in Canada, the time changes as it does in the United States. However, a handful of communities unofficially observe Eastern Time because they are part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area – Phenix City, Smiths Station, Lanett, and Valley. Florida, All of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone except for the portion of the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as the Eastern–Central zone boundary approaches the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the Bay/Gulf county line. Indiana, All of Indiana observes Eastern Time except for six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. Kentucky, Roughly, the half of the state, including all of metropolitan Louisville, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Historically the entire state observed Central Time, when daylight saving time was first introduced, the Lower Peninsula remained on DST after it formally ended, effectively re-aligning itself into the Eastern Time Zone. The Upper Peninsula continued to observe Central Time until 1972, when all, Tennessee, Most of the eastern third of Tennessee is legally on Eastern Time. Eastern Time is also used somewhat as a de facto official time for all of the United States, since it includes the capital and the largest city. Major professional sports leagues also post all game times in Eastern time, for example, a game time between two teams from Pacific Time Zone will still be posted in Eastern time. Most cable television and national broadcast networks advertise airing times in Eastern time, national broadcast networks generally have two primary feeds, an eastern feed for Eastern and Central time zones, and a tape-delayed western feed for the Pacific Time Zone. The prime time is set on Eastern and Pacific at 8,00 p. m. with the Central time zone stations receiving the eastern feed at 7,00 p. m. local time. Mountain Time Zone stations receive a separate feed at 7,00 p. m. local time, as Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, during the summer months, it has its own feed at 7,00 p. m. local time
22.
Touchdown
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A touchdown is a means of scoring in both American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, to score a touchdown, one team must take the football into the opposite end zone. The touchdown is scored the instant the ball crosses the plane of the line while in possession of a player whose team is trying to score in that end zone. The play is dead and the scores the moment the ball crosses the goal line in possession of a player. The slightest part of the ball being over the line is sufficient for a touchdown to score. However, only the ball counts, not a players helmet, foot, touching one of the pylons at either end of the goal line with the ball constitutes breaking the plane as well. Touchdowns are usually scored by the offense by running or passing the ball, however, the defense can also score a touchdown if they have recovered a fumble or made an interception and return it to the opposing end zone. Special teams can score a touchdown on a kickoff or punt return, in short, any play in which a player legally carries the ball across the goal line scores a touchdown, and the manner in which he gained possession is inconsequential. A touchdown is worth six points, the scoring team is also awarded the opportunity for an extra point or a two-point conversion. Afterwards, the team scored the touchdown kicks off to the opposing team. This rule was changed to the iteration in 1889. If the teammate could fair catch the ball, he could follow with a try for goal from the spot of the catch, the governing rule at the time read, A match shall be decided by a majority of touchdowns. A goal shall be equal to four touchdowns, but in the case of a tie, in 1881, the rules were modified so that a goal kicked from a touchdown took precedence over a goal kicked from the field in breaking ties. In 1882, four touchdowns were determined to take precedence over a goal kicked from the field, two safeties were equivalent to a touchdown. In 1883, points were introduced to football, and a touchdown counted as four points, a goal after a touchdown also counted as four points. In 1889, the provision requiring the ball to actually be touched to the ground was removed, a touchdown was now scored by possessing the ball beyond the goal line. In 1897, the touchdown scored five points, and the goal after touchdown added another point, in 1900, the definition of touchdown was changed to include situations where the ball becomes dead on or above the goal line. In 1912, the value of a touchdown was increased to six points, the end zone was also added
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Running back
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A running back is an American and Canadian football position, a member of the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a play, to catch passes from out of the backfield. There are usually one or two running backs on the field for a play, depending on the offensive formation. A running back may be a halfback or a fullback, a running back will sometimes be called a feature back if he is the teams starting running back. The halfback or tailback position is responsible for carrying the ball on the majority of running plays, in the modern game, an effective halfback must have a blend of both quickness and agility as a runner, as well as sure hands and good vision up-field as a receiver. Quarterbacks depend on halfbacks as a safety valve receiver when primary targets downfield are covered or when they are under pressure, occasionally, halfbacks line up as additional wide receivers. As a trick play, running backs are used to pass the ball on a halfback option play or halfback pass. The difference between halfback and tailback is the position of the player in the offensive formation. In historical formations, the lined up approximately halfway between the line of scrimmage and the fullback. Because the halfback is usually the main ball carrier, modern offensive formations have positioned the halfback behind the fullback. As a result, some systems or playbooks will call for a tailback as opposed to a halfback, in most modern college and professional football schemes, fullbacks carry the ball infrequently, instead using their stronger physiques as primary lead blockers. On most running plays, the leads the halfback, attempting to block potential tacklers before they reach the ball carrier. When fullbacks are called upon to carry the ball, the situation calls for gaining a short amount of yardage. Fullbacks are technically running backs, but today the term running back is used in referring to the halfback or tailback. Although modern fullbacks are rarely used as carriers, in previous offensive schemes fullbacks would be the designated ball carriers. In high school football, where player sizes vary greatly, fullbacks are still used as ball carriers. In high school and college offenses, the triple option uses the fullback as a primary ball carrier. The fullback plays a role by establishing an inside running threat on every play
24.
Most valuable player
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In sports, a most valuable player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best-performing player in an entire league, for a particular competition, or on a specific team. Initially used in sports, the term is now also commonly used in amateur sports, as well as in other completely unrelated fields such as business. In many sports, MVP awards are presented for a specific match—in other words, the term is most common in the United States and Canada. In other cases, Player of the Year is used, in Australia, Australian rules football clubs and leagues use the term best and fairest, while those playing rugby league use Player of the Year, such as the Dally M Medal. The National Basketball League, however, uses the American-style MVP for its awards, in many cases the awards are voted on by members of the media. In others the vote is by players, coaches, or umpires, in recent years, online polls from the public decide some awards
25.
USC Trojans football
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The USC Trojans football program, established in 1888, represents the University of Southern California in college football. USC is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I FBS, the Trojans throughout NCAA history have claimed 11 national championships. USC has the most Pro Football Hall of Famers, USC has the highest all-time post-season winning percentage of schools with 25 or more bowl appearances. The team is coached by Clay Helton, USC first fielded a football team in 1888. Playing its first game on November 14 of that year against the Alliance Athletic Club, USC faced its first collegiate opponent the following year in fall 1889, playing St. Vincents College to a 40–0 victory. In 1893, USC joined the Intercollegiate Football Association of Southern California, which was composed of USC, Occidental College, Throop Polytechnic Institute, Pomona College was invited to enter, but declined to do so. An invitation was extended to Los Angeles High School. Before they were named Trojans in 1912, USC athletic teams were called the Methodists, during the early years, limitations in travel and the scarcity of major football-playing colleges on the West Coast limited its rivalries to local Southern Californian colleges and universities. During this period USC played regular series against Occidental, Caltech, Whittier, Pomona, the first USC team to play outside of Southern California went to Stanford University on November 4,1905, where they were trampled 16–0 by the traditional West Coast powerhouse. While the teams would not meet again until 1918, this was also USCs first game against a future Pac-12 conference opponent, during this period USC also played its first games against other future Pac-12 rivals, including Oregon State, California, Oregon and Arizona. Between 1911–1913, USC followed the example of California and Stanford, the results were disastrous, as USC was soundly defeated by more experienced programs while the school itself experienced financial reverses, it was during this period that Owen R. After several decades of competition, USC first achieved prominence under head coach Gloomy Gus Henderson in the early 1920s. Another milestone came under Henderson in 1922, when USC joined the Pacific Coast Conference, success continued under coach Howard Jones from 1925 to 1940, when the Trojans were just one of a few nationally dominant teams. It was during this era that the achieved renown as the Thundering Herd. USC achieved intermittent success in the years following Jones tenure, jeff Cravath, who coached from 1942–1950, won the Rose Bowl in 1943 and 1945. Jess Hill, who coached from 1951 to 1956, won the Rose Bowl in 1953, from 1957 to 1959, the Trojans were coached by Don Clark. The Pacific Coast Conference dissolved in 1959, USC joined the conferences other three California schools and Washington to form a new conference, the Athletic Association of Western Universities, under a new charter. The program entered a new golden age upon the arrival of head coach John McKay, during this period the Trojans produced two Heisman Trophy winners and won four national championships
26.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
27.
2010 NFL Draft
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The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the first round on Thursday, April 22,2010. The second and third took place on Friday, April 23 starting at 6,00 pm EDT, while the final four rounds were held on Saturday, April 24. Television coverage was provided by both NFL Network and ESPN, the St. Louis Rams, as the team with the worst record during the 2009 season, selected quarterback Sam Bradford with the first pick. Three of the top four picks were members of the Oklahoma Sooners football team, the prime time broadcast of the first round was watched by 7.29 million viewers making it the most viewed first round ever and making ESPN the second most watched network of the night. Of the 255 players drafted 216 were among the 327 players who participated in the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine and this matches the average percentage of combine participants among draftees over the past ten years. An additional 39 players who did not attend the combine were selected, there was wide speculation that the 2010 NFL Draft would have a very large number of early entrants because of a possible rookie pay scale to be imposed starting with the 2011 NFL Draft. Eligible underclassmen projected as top NFL prospects risked losing millions of contractually-guaranteed dollars if they did not declare for the draft the year before a new CBA could be reached, the early entry deadline was January 15. After the early entry deadline had passed, it was confirmed that the 2010 NFL Draft would have fifty-three non-seniors, the drafts first round, in which teams were allowed ten minutes to make each selection, consumed three hours and 28 minutes. The second round lasted two hours and 25 minutes, after the second round, teams were allotted five minutes per pick. The third round took one hour and 41 minutes, rounds 4 through 7 each lasted less than two hours. For the second time in history, the first two players selected were named Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, respectively. The new format took into account the seeding of playoff teams, the two major changes from previous years were, Teams that make the playoffs pick after teams that do not. Teams that advance further in the playoffs pick later, in 2008, the Chargers, who went 8–8 in the regular season, defeated the 12–4 Indianapolis Colts in an AFC Wild Card game. The new order assigns picks for each round as indicated in the table below, with the exception of the changes noted above, the order will generally follow that used in previous years. Three coin tosses were necessary to establish the final order, Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Atlanta won their flips over Denver, Carolina. In the explanations below, denotes trades that took place during the draft, Round one Round two Round three Round four Round five Round six Round seven Two players were selected in the 2010 Supplemental Draft. Archived from the original on May 11,2011, archived from the original on May 21,2011
28.
Bowl Championship Series
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The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff. The BCS was created to end split championships and for the champion to win the title on the field between the two selected by the BCS. The system also selected match-ups for four other prestigious BCS bowl games, the ten teams selected included the conference champion from each of the six Automatic Qualifying conferences plus four others. The BCS was created by agreement by those six conferences. For the 1998 through 2005 seasons eight teams competed in four BCS bowls and it had been in place since the 1998 season. The BCS replaced the Bowl Alliance, in place from 1995 to 1997, prior to the Bowl Coalitions creation in 1992, the AP Polls number one and two teams had met in a bowl game only 8 times in 56 seasons. The APs top two teams met 13 out of the 16 seasons the BCS was in place, in the 2014 season, the BCS was discontinued and replaced by the College Football Playoff, which organizes a four-team playoff and national championship game. The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision is the only NCAA-sponsored sport without an officially organized NCAA tournament to determine its champion, instead, the postseason has historically consisted of individual bowl games. The bowl system began in 1902 with the first ever East-West game in Pasadena, California and this game was an exhibition game pitting a highly rated team from the west coast against a team from east of the Mississippi River. This was a time for a postseason game, as fans could take off work or school during this holiday period to travel to the game. In the first game, the University of Michigan Wolverines represented the east, due to the lopsided victory the game did not resume until 1916. The game was renamed the Rose Bowl in the 1920s when play shifted to the Rose Bowl stadium, by the 1930s, the Cotton Bowl Classic, Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl were also held on January 1 to showcase teams from other regions of the country. By the 1940s, college football conferences began signing contracts that tied their team to a particular bowl. This system raised the possibility that the two top-ranked teams in the poll would not play each other in a bowl game. Under these circumstances, it was not uncommon to have the Coaches Poll crown a different national champion than the AP Poll and this situation arose a total of ten different seasons before BCS was formed. For example, in 1991, the University of Miami Hurricanes, since the Huskies were locked into the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 Conference champion against Big Ten champion Michigan, they could not play then-independent Miami, who played in the Orange Bowl. Both teams won their bowl games convincingly and shared the championship, Miami winning the Associated Press poll. A split national championship has happened on occasions since then as well
29.
2009 ACC Championship Game
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The 2009 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Clemson Tigers. The game, sponsored by Dr. Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2009 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference, Georgia Tech defeated Clemson, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, 39–34. However, Georgia Tech was forced to vacate the game victory, according to a statement by ACC Commissioner John Swofford, there will not be a 2009 ACC Champion in football. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were selected to represent the Coastal Division by virtue of a 7–1 record in conference play, representing the Atlantic Division was Clemson, which had an 8–4 record. The game was a rematch of a contest played September 10 in Atlanta, in that first game, Georgia Tech won a close 30–27 matchup. The game was held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on December 5,2009, Tampa had been chosen to host the game after poor attendance at the games previous location, Jacksonville, Florida, led conference officials to seek an alternative. The 2009 championship was the last to be hosted in Tampa, as the game moved to Charlotte, from the start of the game, the 2009 ACC championship had a large amount of offense. Throughout the contest, neither team punted, Every offensive drive ended in a score or a turnover, Clemson scored first, a touchdown on its opening drive, and held a 7–3 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Georgia Tech scored 13 points to Clemsons six, and they extended that lead in the third quarter, scoring 17 points to Clemsons lone touchdown and extra point. In recognition of his significant performance despite the loss, Clemson running back C. J. Spiller was named the games most valuable player. By winning, Georgia Tech earned a spot in the 2010 Orange Bowl football game, several players that participated in the ACC championship later played in postseason all-star games and were later selected in the 2010 NFL Draft. The ACC Championship Game features the winners of the Coastal and Atlantic divisions of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the early 2000s, the conference underwent an expansion to add three former Big East members, the University of Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004, and Boston College in 2005. With the addition of a team, the ACC was allowed to hold a conference championship game under National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. The inaugural 2005 game featured a Florida State win over Virginia Tech, in 2006, two different teams made their first appearances in the game, which was held in Jacksonville, Florida. Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech, 9–6, in 2007, one team new to the championship game and championship-game veteran featured in the contest as Virginia Tech faced off against Boston College. The game resulted in a 30–16 Virginia Tech victory, in 2008, Virginia Tech and Boston College again played in the championship game. Virginia Tech won the rematch, 30–12, before the 2007 game, cities other than Jacksonville presented their plans to be the site of the 2008 ACC Championship Game
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2009 Clemson Tigers football team
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The 2009 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by head coach Dabo Swinney, who was in his first full season as head coach, the Tigers played their home games in Memorial Stadium. Clemson closed the season with a win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. In the Tigers 40–24 victory over the Florida State Seminoles on November 7,2009, running back C. J. Spiller, C. J. Spiller was named as one of the three finalists for the 2009 Doak Walker Award. Spiller, along with Mark Ingram of Alabama and Toby Gerhart of Stanford, was selected by a vote of the 130–member Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, on December 2,2009, Spiller was voted the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. The all-purpose threat was named as the top player following a vote of 40 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Spiller received 29 votes to outdistance Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt, virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams, the leagues rookie of the year, had two votes and Yellow Jackets defensive end Derrick Morgan had one. He returned four kickoffs and a punt for scores this year and has eight total returns for TDs during his career and he scored at least once in every game this season while leading Clemson to the Atlantic Division title and a spot in the league title game against Georgia Tech. Spiller led the ACC with an average of nearly 184 all-purpose yards and was the leagues fourth-leading rusher, Spiller is the seventh Tiger to be named player of the year and the first since Michael Dean Perry in 1987. Hunter, who led the 2008 team in fewest plays per tackle, was suffering from an increase in seizures due to epilepsy, on August 18, Coach Swinney announced that several players would alternate wearing #17 during the season as a way to honor Stanley Hunter. Byrnes High School in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Stanley Hunter remains a member of the Clemson team, serving as a student-coach this season for the Tigers. Cornerback Chris Chancellor, whose number is #38, wore #6. At the end of the season, Head Coach Dabo Swinney announced that they would retire the #28 jersey worn by C. J. Spiller at a ceremony when the Tigers play Maryland at home on Oct.16,2010. These are the starters, primary backups, and key reserves as of September 2009, C. J. Spiller went in the first round as the ninth overall pick
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Cotton Bowl Classic
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The Cotton Bowl Classic is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually since January 1,1937. Between 1937 and 2009, the game was played at its stadium in Dallas, in 2010. Following the dissolution of the SWC in 1996, the game hosted a runner-up from the Big 12 Conference, on January 2,2017, Wisconsin beat Western Michigan in the 81st edition of the game by a score of 24–16. The Cotton Bowl Classic was founded in Dallas in 1937 at the Texas State Fair Grounds, TCU of Fort Worth took on Marquette, winning 16–6, but the game lost money even though some 17,000 attended. Nonetheless, Sanford persevered, and in 1938 the game made a profit as Rice of Houston defeated Colorado 28–14 in front of a crowd of 37,000. Some 40,000 attended the 1939 match between Saint Marys College of California and Texas Tech, with the Gaels upsetting the undefeated Red Raiders 20–13. In 1940, an underdog Clemson team surprised the Boston College Eagles 6–3, in the first, attendance at this game was given as 20,000. Later that year, a group of prominent Dallas citizens took over the staging of the game as the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, a few months later, the CBAA became an agency of the Southwest Conference. From 1941 to 1994, the SWCs champion hosted the Cotton Bowl Classic, in 1943, The Texas Longhorns represented the SWC in their first ever bowl game against a highly ranked Georgia Tech team at the time. Prior to the game, sportswriters boasted that Texas did not belong in the league as Georgia Tech. Texas proved the public wrong by defeating the Yellow Jackets 14–7 in what was mostly a defensive battle and this Cotton Bowl was the first bowl appearance for Texas as the Longhorns would go on to appear in a record 22 Cotton Bowls, the most of any team. In 1947 LSU and Arkansas played in front of 38,000 people to a 0–0 tie in what would become known as the Ice Bowl. LSU got the better of Arkansas most of the game, in 1948 Penn State, in a bowl game for the first time in 25 years, played Dallas SMU to a 13–13 tie. This was the first interracial game played at the Cotton Bowl, the 1953 Cotton Bowl would be a rematch of the 1951 bowl game as Texas and Tennessee played for the second time. Texas defensive stars shut out the Vols 16–0 as the Longhorns avenged the previous meeting when Tennessee beat Texas 20–14, the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic featured one of the most famous plays in college football history. Rices Dickey Moegle began a run around end from his teams 5-yard line, alabamas Tommy Lewis jumped off the bench and tackled Moegle. The referee, Cliff Shaw, saw what happened and signaled touchdown even though Moegle was tackled at the 42-yard line, the 1957 Classic matched the TCU Horned Frogs against the Jim Brown-led Syracuse Orangemen. Brown rushed for 135 yards, scored three touchdowns and kicked three points but a fourth-quarter blocked extra point by TCUs Chico Mendoza proved the margin of victory as TCU won
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Citrus Bowl
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The Citrus Bowl, also known as the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl for sponsorship purposes, is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It was previously known as the Tangerine Bowl, the Florida Citrus Bowl, the bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Russell Athletic Bowl and Florida Classic. Since becoming one of the bowls, the Citrus Bowl is typically played at 1 p. m. EST on New Years Day, immediately before the Rose Bowl. When January 1 is a Sunday, the game has played on January 2 or December 31. As of 2015, at $4.25 million per team, in nearly every year since 1985, the game has featured two teams ranked in the Top 25. The game, which play in 1947, is one of the oldest of the non-CFP bowls, along with the Gator Bowl. By 1952, the game was dubbed the Little Bowl with the Big Heart, from 1964 through 1967, it was one of the four regional finals in the College Division, along with the Pecan, Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls. In 1968, the Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City took over as a final. In 1986, it was one of the bowl games considered for the site of the winner take all championship game between Penn State and Miami, before the Fiesta Bowl was eventually chosen. The 1990 season game had national implications, Georgia Tech won the Florida Citrus Bowl, finished 11–0–1. The 1997 season game, which featured nearby Florida beating Penn State, in 2004, the bowl bid to become the fifth BCS game, but was not chosen, primarily due to the stadiums aging condition. Following the 2014 game, Capital One ceased its sponsorship of the bowl, Buffalo Wild Wings was announced as the new title sponsor of the bowl game in 2014. Buffalo Wild Wings had previously been the sponsor of what is now the Cactus Bowl. The 2016 season game was played on December 31, the first time in 30 years that the game was not played on January 1st or 2nd. From 1968 through 1975, the featured the Mid-American Conference champion against an opponent from the Southern Conference. MAC teams were 6–2 during those games, from the 1987 season through the 1991 season, the bowl featured the Atlantic Coast Conference champion against an at-large opponent. ACC teams were 3–2 during those games, from the 1992 season through the 2015 season, the bowl featured an SEC vs. Big Ten matchup – the SEC won 14 of those games, during the 1990s, the second-place finisher in the SEC typically went to this bowl
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Outback Bowl
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The Outback Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Years Day. The event was called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1994 until being renamed in 1995 for its new title sponsor. It is organized by the Tampa Bay Bowl Association under Jim McVay, the Outback Bowl was not Tampas first bowl game, the Cigar Bowl was played at old Phillips Field near downtown from 1947 to 1954. However, the event matched small college teams, so the Outback / Hall of Fame Bowl is the first major bowl game to be played in the area. The Hall of Fame Classic was held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Outback Steakhouse became the games title sponsor in 1995. In 1999, the Outback Bowl moved from Tampa Stadium into Raymond James Stadium, the Outback Bowl is played on New Years Day unless January 1 falls on a Sunday, in which case it is moved to the following Monday. It is usually the first game to start on a day which is full of college bowl games. ESPN has had rights to the game since 1993. Under an extension of those signed in 2010, ESPN broadcasts the game on either ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2, in conjunction with the Citrus Bowl. Before 1993, the Hall of Fame Bowl aired on NBC, upon signing agreements with the SEC and Big 10 in 1995, the Outback Bowl had the third pick of teams from each conference after the Bowl Championship Series teams were placed. As of 2017, the Outback Bowl payout was $3.5 million for each team, both Syracuse and Boston College participated in games as Independents and as members of the Big East Conference
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2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
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The 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tides 115th overall season, 76th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference, the team was led by head coach Nick Saban, in his third year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season undefeated with a record of 14–0 and as national champions, looking to build on the successes of the 2008 campaign, Alabama entered the 2009 season as the favorite to win the Western Division and meet the Florida Gators in the 2009 SEC Championship Game. Alabama closed the season with a 12–0 record including four wins against Top 25-ranked teams—and met the Gators for the SEC Championship in a rematch of the 2008 contest. Alabama was victorious by a score of 32–13. The following day, final Bowl Championship Series standings were unveiled, No.1 ranked Alabama would meet No.2 ranked Texas for the BCS National Championship. In the BCS National Championship Game, the Crimson Tide defeated the Longhorns 37–21 to capture their first-ever BCS Championship, Alabama earned their third SEC championship since the inception of the SEC Championship Game in 1992, and their 22nd SEC title. The victory over Texas gave Alabama their 13th national championship in football, the season included victories over the previous three national champions, Florida, Louisiana State University, and Texas. The season marked the first time a player for Alabama won the Heisman Trophy, other award winners included Rolando McClain, who won the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award, and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who won the Broyles Award as the nations top assistant coach. Also, six players were named to various All-America Teams with Terrence Cody, Mike Johnson, the Tide went on to lose their final two games in the postseason to end the season 12–2. They lost to the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship Game, Alabama reached No.1 in the AP and Coaches Polls for the first time since the final polls in 1992 and during the regular season for the first time since 1980 between weeks ten and fourteen. The Tide reached No.1 in the BCS rankings for the first time in history between weeks ten and fourteen. The team finished the 2008 season with a ranking of No.6 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. In February 2009, Alabama signed the No.1 recruiting class according to Rivals, spring practice began on March 13 and concluded with the annual A-Day game on April 18. Televised live by ESPN, the Crimson team defeated the White team by a score of 14–7 before 84,050 fans in Bryant–Denny Stadium, Greg McElroy and Marquis Maze were named co-MVPs of the game. As a penalty, the program was forced to vacate 21 victories from the 2005,2006. Alabama appealed the ruling to the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee in late June, but was unsuccessful, during SEC Media Days in July, voters selected Alabama and Florida to again win their divisions, with 63 of 64 ballots choosing Florida to win the SEC Championship Game. By August, Alabama had 19 players on 11 different preseason award watch lists, Alabama had 16 returning starters from the previous season, including eight on defense, four on offense, and all of the special teams
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2009 BCS National Championship Game
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The 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game was an American football game played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on January 8,2009. It was the championship game for the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The two participants were determined by the BCS Rankings to decide the BCS National Championship, television coverage in the United States was provided by Fox, and radio coverage by ESPN Radio. The game was the last BCS Championship to air on Fox, starting with the 2010 game, Tim Tebows two touchdown passes and Percy Harvins two-yard touchdown run led the Florida Gators to their second BCS National Championship in three seasons. The Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 24–14, in front of a Dolphin Stadium record crowd of 78,468, the Sooners, coached by Bob Stoops, lost one game during their regular season to Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry contest, 45–35 on October 11. The game was Oklahomas fourth BCS Championship appearance, meanwhile, the Gators, coached by Urban Meyer, were looking to win their second BCS championship in three years. They were led by 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow, the only blemish on their schedule was a loss to Mississippi at home, 31–30 on September 27. By prevailing, Meyer became the first coach to win two BCS championship games, and one of five coaches in NCAA history to win two titles in his first four years at a college. Second quarter FLA — Louis Murphy 20-yard pass from Tim Tebow,14,02 FLA7 - OKLA0, OKLA — Jermaine Gresham 6-yard pass from Sam Bradford,11,49 FLA7 - OKLA7. Third quarter FLA — Percy Harvin 2-yard rush,4,21 FLA14 - OKLA7, fourth quarter OKLA — Jermaine Gresham 11-yard pass from Bradford,12,13 FLA14 - OKLA14. FLA — Jonathan Phillips 27-yard field goal,10,45 FLA17 - OKLA14, FLA — David Nelson 4-yard pass from Tim Tebow,3,07 FLA24 - OKLA14. Passing, Sam Bradford 256 yards Rushing, Percy Harvin 121 yards Receiving, despite both teams having potent offenses, neither team scored in the first quarter. Quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford combined for four interceptions despite throwing for just eight combined over the course of the regular season. Despite coming off an injury and declaring himself at 90%, Percy Harvin had nine carries for 122 yards. The injury was reported as an ankle sprain, but Harvin later stated that it was in fact a hairline fracture. Jimmy Stevens 49-yard field goal attempt for the Sooners was blocked in the third quarter, Florida was ranked #1 and Oklahoma was ranked #5 in the final AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll, released after the game
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2009 Florida Gators football team
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The 2009 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2009 college football season. At the conclusion of the 2009 season, the Gators were ranked No.3 in both major polls, on December 26,2009, Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley announced that Urban Meyer would step down as the teams head coach for health and family reasons. The following day, Meyer stated that he would take an indefinite leave of absence. Meyer returned to coach the Gators in spring practice in March 2010, in the 2008 season, the Gators went 11–1 in the regular season, suffering their only loss to Ole Miss in Gainesville. Their post-season success included a win over No, 1–ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2008 SEC Championship Game, followed by a win over the No. 1–ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the 2009 BCS Championship Game, the Gators finished the 2008 season with a 13–1 record and ranked No.1 in the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls. It was the national championship for the Gators. With Spikes return, the entire two-deep of the Gators defense was set to return for the 2009 season, one major loss was All-America wide receiver Percy Harvin, who opted to leave the University of Florida to enter the 2009 NFL Draft. The Gators also lost offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Dan Mullen, former offensive line coach Steve Addazio was named as Mullens replacement, with Scot Loeffler hired to take on the role of quarterback coach. The Gators played their spring scrimmage on April 18,2009, Florida was voted #1 in both the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Poll. The Gators received the highest ever percentage of preseason #1 votes in the history of the AP Poll, ‡ New Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Attendance Record Sources,2012 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, and GatorZone. com. In the season opener, the Gators met the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in Gainesville, in a game that was never close, the Gators won 62–3. John Brantley threw for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns, the Florida Gators met the Troy Trojans in Gainesville, Florida. After a slow start, the Gators scored four times in the quarter before cruising to a 56–6 victory. In what may have been the most talked about game all pre-season, most of the pre-game talk surrounded comments made by Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin. The game remained close until the end with the Gators holding on for a 23–13 victory, Pregame Line, -20.5 In their first road game of the season, the Florida Gators traveled to Lexington, Kentucky to face the Wildcats. The Gators quickly took at 31–0 lead in the first quarter before going on to win 41–7, the biggest news story to come out of the game was a concussion suffered by Tim Tebow during the third quarter. Tebow spent the night in a Lexington hospital, returning two weeks later for Floridas 13–3 win at LSU
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2009 Ole Miss Rebels football team
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The 2009 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi during the 2009 college football season. The team was led by Houston Nutt, who was in his season as the Rebels head coach. Ole Miss has been a member of the Southeastern Conference since the inception in 1932. The Rebels played their seven games in 2009 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. The Rebels finished the season 9–4, 4–4 in SEC play, first year head coach Houston Nutt led the team from four straight losing seasons to a 9–4 record and a 5–3 mark in conference play. The improvement from 2007–2008 was the best single-season improvement for an Ole Miss team since 1947, the Rebels second- place finish in the SEC Western Division was their second best finish in the division since its inception in 1992. The 2008 squad concluded the season by defeating Texas Tech 47–34 in the 2009 Cotton Bowl, ranking sources, Coaches Poll AP Poll Harris Poll BCS Poll Schedule source, OleMissSports. com The 2009 Ole Miss Football Schedule was officially released on March 17,2009. ESPN. com tabbed Ole Miss 2009 non-conference schedule as the 3rd softest in the country, the week one game against Memphis was played on Sunday, September 6 and was nationally televised on ESPN. The week four game against South Carolina was played on Thursday, September 24, the 2009 season marked the first time Ole Miss has ever played Southeastern Louisiana, UAB and Northern Arizona in football. On July 7,2009, the Ole Miss athletic department announced that the 2009 training camp and team would be the subject of a reality show called Gridiron U. Filming was scheduled to begin in early August and end September 6, the camera crew came in June to interview players and coaches as well as to film key locations on campus. However, head coach Houston Nutt canceled the teams participation in the new show, Ole Miss was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the August 17,2009 issue. SIs preseason rankings has the Rebels ranked at #6, in late August 2009, the Ole Miss Athletic Department announced that season tickets were sold out for what is believed to be the first time in school history. Ole Miss highest ranking ever was #1 in 1964, Ole Miss set a school record with four straight games, going back to the 2008 season, of scoring forty or more points after defeating Southeastern Louisiana 52–6 on September 19,2009. Also as of the Southeastern Louisiana win, the Rebels had the second longest winning streak in the nation, the national champion Florida team had the first longest winning streak after Utah lost. Ole Miss defeat of Tennessee on November 14,2009 was the first time Tennessee had ever lost in Ole Miss home stadium, Tennessee now holds a 5–1 mark against Ole Miss in Ole Miss home stadium. Ole Miss defeat of LSU on November 21,2009 was the Rebels first win at home against LSU since 1998, on January 16, Terry Price began his second stint with the Ole Miss Rebels football staff. He coached defensive ends for the Rebels from 1995–98 and he then went on to be the defensive line coach at Auburn from 1999 to 2008
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2009 LSU Tigers football team
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The 2009 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The teams head coach was Les Miles who served his year at the helm of LSU football. They played their games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. The Tigers finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in SEC play, including a loss in the Capital One Bowl, 19–17, in his fourth season as head coach, Les Miles led LSU to a regular season record of 7–5, finishing 3–5 in the SEC. The Tigers were awarded a berth in the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl where they faced Georgia Tech, the Tigers easily defeated the Yellow Jackets by a score of 38–3. Miles improved to 4–0 in bowl games as coach of LSU. LSU completed the 2008 college football season with an 8–5 overall record, the bowl victory also marked the 700th win in LSU Tiger football history. The Tigers look to improve on their 8–5 season in 2009, following the 2008 season, co-defensive coordinators, Doug Mallory & Bradley Dale Peveto both left LSU. Mallory moved on to New Mexico to become defensive coordinator of the Lobos football program, the Tigers replaced Mallory and Peveto with new defensive coordinator John Chavis, who left the University of Tennessee after the departure of head coach Phillip Fulmer. Chavis was a Tennessee alum and held the position of defensive coordinator there since 1995, Chavis will also coach linebackers at LSU. Ron Cooper was hired as the new defensive backs coach, previously, Mallory had coached the defensive backs since 2005. Cooper came to LSU from the University of South Carolina where he spent the past five years coaching on the side of the football. Earl Lane also left LSU following the 2008, Lane spent 3 seasons as defensive line coach at LSU, but decided it was time to move on. Lane was replaced by Brick Haley, Haley was brought aboard as a veteran defensive line coach who has spent time in both the NFL and the Southeastern Conference. Finally, Josh Henson, who left to become line coach for Missouri, was replaced by Don Yanowsky. Henson came to LSU with Miles in 2005 and served as the Tight Ends coach, Henson has a reputation as of being one of the best recruiters in the nation. Yanowsky will also serve as the Tight Ends coach and Recruiting coordinator, offense Demetrius Byrd, WR Drafted in the 7th round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. Brett Helms, C Signed with the Houston Texans as a free agent
