Remembering 2007-The Year that Impacted College Football
The year was 2007. Apple unveiled the iPhone. A gallon of gas cost $3.38. And college football was impacted in ways unexpected prior to the start of the season.
Harbaugh and Co. bring their own Trojan Horse
Stanford hosted the #2 USC Trojans in head coach Jim Harbaugh’s first season in Palo Alto.
They were 40-point underdogs in their own stadium and had been a 1–11 team the year before.
USC was undefeated (4–0) coming into the game. Stanford was down 9–0 at halftime, but they outscored the Trojans 17–7 in the 4th quarter to gain a 24–23 upset victory. The mighty Trojans were averaging 40 points per game coming into the Stanford contest.
The Cardinal gained just 235 yards of total offense, but their defense forced 5 USC turnovers. Trojan QB John David Booty threw four INTs, including one that was returned 31 yards for a touchdown.
Impact of the Loss
The Trojans dropped from #2 to #10 in the AP Poll. They finished the season 11–2 and #3 in the final AP Poll after beating Illinois in the Rose Bowl.
Appalachian State Escapes from the Big House with a Big Win
Appalachian State was the defending FCS champs. Michigan was ranked #5 in the country in week 1 of the 2007 season.
The Mountaineers silenced the Michigan home crowd as they quickly ran out to a 28–17 halftime lead.
In the 4th quarter, the Wolverines scored twice but went for 2 both times and failed to convert. They held App. State to just two FG in the second half.
On their possession, Appalachian State quickly moved the ball down the field to get within field goal range. The Mountaineers kick attempt was good, and they took a 34–32 lead with 0:26 left on the clock.
Did Appalachian State leave too much time on the clock?
On the next Wolverine possession, Michigan QB Chad Henne connected with WR “Super” Mario Manningham on a long pass play to get down to Appalachian State’s 20-yard line, with just 0:06 left on the clock.
Michigan then set up to kick a field goal to win the game. The ball was snapped, and the Mountaineer rush broke through the line and blocked the kick to seal the 34–32 victory over the mighty Wolverines at the Big House.
Impact of the Loss
Michigan’s loss to FCS champion Appalachian State dropped them out of the Top 25 rankings after only one week at #5. They would not reappear in the rankings until week 7 at #24.
Michigan finished the 2007 season at 9–4 and a final ranking in the AP Poll at #18.
A “Backyard Brawl” That Wasn’t
Pitt vs West Virginia, a rivalry known as “The Backyard Brawl.” West Virginia came into the game with a 10–1 record and ranked #2 in the country, led by a dynamic dual threat quarterback named Pat White.
A Mountaineer win would secure a berth in the BCS national championship game.
But Pitt (4–7 on the 2007 season) had other plans. Their losing season was all but done. A win over WVA would give the Panthers momentum for next season.
Coming into the “Brawl”, White had averaged 304 yards of total offense per game over his previous four games, and they were averaging 41 points per game for the season until that time.
Pitt held White to just 5 of 10 passing for 50 yards and zero TDs, and only 41 yards rushing, and zero TDs on the ground. White was held to just 91 total yards, over 290 yards under his aforementioned four game average.
Pitt also held RB Steve Slayton, a 1000-yard rusher for the Mountaineers, to just 11 yards on 9 carries. The Panthers also forced 3 WVA turnovers.
Impact of the Loss
The loss to an unranked Pitt team in the last game of the regular season cost the Mountaineers a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. And, it may have cost White the Heisman Trophy. White totaled 3,059 total yards and 28 TDs on the season.
He finished 6th in the Heisman voting in 2007.
Luck of the Irish Crushed by an Anchor
This game went back and forth. Notre Dame and Navy were tied at 28–28 at the end of regulation.
Each team scored again and again in the overtime period. Navy then pulled ahead 46–38. On Notre Dame’s possession, the Irish scored and then went for a 2-point conversion to tie the game that would send it to a 2nd overtime period.
Notre Dame ran a running play with RB Travis Thomas around the right side. But the Midshipmen were there to greet him in mass and stopped him cold to secure the 46–44 win.
Impact of the Loss
Notre Dame would finish the 2007 season at 3–9 under head coach Charlie Weiss.
The significance of the win for Navy was huge. They hadn’t beaten Notre Dame in 43 years. Roger Staubach was quarterbacking the Midshipmen way back in 1963, the last time Navy won against the Fighting Irish.
Thanks for reading.
Material for this article was sourced from sports-reference.com, and espn.com, baltimoregridironreport.com.
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