This was no easy exercise. How the heck could we leave out Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey in the 2002 Rose Bowl, Utah quarterback Alex Smith in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, Georgia defensive end Marcus Howard in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl or Tennessee receiver Peerless Price in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl?
Here's a look at the 10 best performances in a BCS bowl during the BCS decade:
1. Texas QB Vince Young vs. USC in 2006 Rose Bowl
You remember this one right? It was only one of the greatest individual performances in U.S. sports history. Start with the biggest number, which is mind-blowing: a BCS bowl record 467 total yards in Texas' 41-38 victory. Young rushed 19 times for 200 yards, scoring touchdowns of 14, 17 and eight yards, the final tally providing the game winner on fourth down. That's still the best rushing total in a BCS title game. Oh, and Young didn't lose a single yard against a fast Trojans defense. Nor did he throw an interception while completing 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards. That's the second-highest completion percentage in any BCS bowl game. But it wasn't just the "no-way-he-just-did-that" athleticism. It was his rising to the moment and almost single-handedly ending USC's 34-game winning streak by leading a comeback from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to give Texas its first national title since 1970. It was Young, weeks after failing to hide his disappointment over losing the Heisman Trophy to USC's Reggie Bush, proving to the world that he was college football's biggest star.
2. Oklahoma defense vs. Florida State in 2001 Orange Bowl
Florida State was a 12-point favorite for one reason: Its offense, led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Chris Weinke, was unstoppable. The Seminoles entered the contest averaging 42 points and 549 yards per game, which ranked No. 1 in the nation. Yet when the final bell tolled, Oklahoma's defense didn't yield a point in a 13-2 victory -- only a late safety saved FSU from its first shutout loss since 1988. The telling stat? The Seminoles were 1-of-15 on third down. Ouch. Sooners linebacker Torrance Marshall, a Miami native, earned game MVP honors after recording six tackles and an interception, but this was really about a brilliant scheme enacted flawlessly by an entire unit. This defeat prevented the Seminoles from repeating as national champions and marked the final chapter of their dynastic run of 14 consecutive finishes in the AP top-five.
3. Texas QB Vince Young vs. Michigan in 2005 Rose Bowl
Perhaps we should have seen Young's 2006 Rose Bowl performance coming, considering he'd made a similarly stunning star turn in the same storied venue almost exactly a year before. In Texas' 38-37 victory over the Wolverines, he rushed for 192 yards with touchdown jaunts of 20, 60, 10 and 23 yards. He also passed for 180 yards and a touchdown, and drove the Longhorns for the game-winning kick. And, while not a championship game, there was some unique pressure on Young and his Longhorns teammates. After a controversial lobbying effort by coach Mack Brown, Texas had leapfrogged California in the national polls and received a guaranteed BCS berth, thereby preventing the traditional Pac-10-Big Ten matchup, which didn't make the Longhorns terribly popular in Pasadena. A side note: Young's performance unfortunately marginalized Michigan receiver/return man Steve Breaston's Rose Bowl record of 315 all-purpose yards.
4.Wisconsin RB Ron Dayne vs. UCLA in 1999 Rose Bowl
While "The Great Dayne's" NFL career has mostly sputtered, he was one of college football's all-time greats -- his 6,397 career rushing yards is an NCAA Division I-A record. His performance against UCLA -- 27 carries for 246 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-31 victory -- set the stage for his winning the 1999 Heisman Trophy. His rushing total remains the most accumulated in a BCS bowl game. The following season, he rushed for 200 yards in another Rose Bowl victory over Stanford and won another game MVP award, which means Dayne owns two of the top three rushing totals in BCS bowl games history (the 200 yards being tied for third with Vince Young).
5. West Virginia RB Steve Slaton vs. Georgia in 2006 Sugar Bowl
Slaton made himself at home in what was billed as practically a home game for the Bulldogs because the Sugar Bowl had been moved to Atlanta's Georgia Dome due to damage Hurricane Katrina wrought upon the Superdome. The speedy freshman rushed 26 times for 204 yards and three touchdowns -- including a pair of 52-yard scoring sprints -- in front of a stunned crowd. His rushing total is a Sugar Bowl record and the second most recorded in a BCS bowl game. Moreover, West Virginia, a two-touchdown underdog, earned the Big East some much needed validation with its 38-35 victory.
