ESPN College Football

Kez McCorvey still shows his players the catch 18 years later. In the film room of Bethel (Tenn.) University, the Wildcats' wide receivers coach focuses on the details of the play, "560 vertical," and not so much on the circumstances surrounding it, which NBC play-by-play man Charlie Jones summed up thusly:

"So the perfect season for the Seminoles, Bobby Bowden's shot at the national championship, coming down to this play. It is fourth down and goal to go. Twenty-yard line. 2:31 left."

Eventual Heisman Trophy winner and NBA point guard Charlie Ward took the shotgun snap from the 20, dropped three steps and fired a bullet over the middle that looked destined for the hands of Notre Dame safety Brian McGee. Instead, the ball dropped into McCorvey's hands for the touchdown, cutting the Irish's lead in half and granting Florida State new life in what was then the Game of the Century -- Nov. 13, 1993.

"My guys here, they'll get plays they think we just invented or something," said the 39-year-old McCorvey, who still gets on the practice field to demonstrate routes for his NAIA pupils. "And I'll tell them we've been running that play forever. 'Look here on YouTube. I'm old as dirt, we're not even doing a good job of doing it and I'm slow and old and I can score, so here.' "

The improbability of the play had McCorvey and his teammates thinking fate had intervened -- "I don't wanna make it sound like Florida State is all that and a bag of chips, but we'd just never been in a situation where we'd been out of a game, so we just never quit."

The celebration, however, was short-lived, one of many twists and turns of a season that saw No. 2 Notre Dame upset No. 1 Florida State, 31-24, only to watch the Seminoles be declared national champions less than two months later despite having the same number of losses.

The schools will renew their rivalry in Thursday's Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., a smaller stage later in the year that will lack the 800-plus media members, dozens of fake credentials, coach's dinner party and rapid trash-talking that surrounded South Bend, Ind., that fall week in 1993.

The messages that week, at least from up top, could not have been any more different.

"Leading up to it, obviously Coach Holtz's thing was at the beginning that we may get beat by 50, and that was just Lou Holtz, that's just how he handled things," said former Irish safety Jeff Burris, who scored the Irish's last two touchdowns of the game as a running back. "And by Monday or Tuesday, 'We'll be happy to be in the game by halftime.'

"Just his mentality was that way, but he was always focused on, 'If we do this the right way it might be a game.' And by Thursday or Friday it was, 'We'll win this game, and this is how we'll win this game.' "

For Florida State, meanwhile, it was business as usual.

"I would love to tell you we did it bigger than the Miami game, but we didn't," said McCorvey, citing a win over the No. 3 Hurricanes a month earlier. "Nothing against Notre Dame, but we felt like since we beat Miami we could win the national championship, so we'd been accustomed to that type of pressure. Coach Bowden, too. It wasn't as big a deal going into games -- the pressure, game situations. So we didn't do a whole lot of things that we hadn't done before."

Yet McCorvey couldn't help himself during the week leading up to the game, making references to "Rock Knutne" and being quoted as saying: "I appreciate what Notre Dame has accomplished, but those old guys don't play anymore. You can't win with mojo or magic. Joe Montana isn't going to put on the pads and win for them."

"I think it was a little bit of ignorance with the Knutne comment," McCorvey laughed. "That was me being young."

Still, the scene was unlike any all parties involved had ever been a part of.

Tickets were going for $1,000. ESPN's "College GameDay" was making its first on-campus appearance, albeit in front of just a few dozen loyal fans stationed on the concourse of the Joyce Center, where Notre Dame's basketball team plays.

"You can tell this is not just a football game; this is a happening," host Chris Fowler said on the air. "Paul Azinger, Roger Clemens, Spike Lee — lots of folks are gonna be here. Al Gore. Andre Agassi. Some others got turned down. As further proof this is transcendent-game status."

Signs in the parking lot offered assets such as an Orlando vacation or a Mercedes-Benz for entrance into Notre Dame Stadium that day.

"When they said it was the Game of the Century," former Irish quarterback Kevin McDougal said, "it really was."

Two days before the game, Holtz and his wife, Beth, invited 50-60 media members stationed in South Bend over to their Woodland Hills home, 10 minutes from campus.

"My then fiancée and I arrived in South Bend on Thursday," Michael Messaglia, Holtz's son-in-law, said. "Expecting a quiet night at her parents’ house, we arrived to a house full of reporters."

After Beth Holtz sent reporters out with cookies in napkins as they left, and after Holtz handed out small boxes of golf balls, the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy wrote in his day-of-game column:

"That settled it. It doesn't matter if Florida State wins today by four touchdowns; I will write only good things about Notre Dame. I have broken bread with Lou. After today's game of the century, I will have only one question.

"What time is dinner before the BC game?"

Of course, the high of Shawn Wooden knocking down Ward's final pass of the Game of the Century was met the following week with a hangover against Boston College, as the Eagles engineered a 41-39 shocker that played a pivotal role in deciding the national championship.

Notre Dame beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1. Florida State won its last two regular-season games before topping undefeated Nebraska in the Orange Bowl the same day.

The Seminoles finished atop both The Associated Press and coaches' polls, giving Bowden his first national championship, though the regret wasn't limited to the Irish's side.

"You look back and you think you won the national championship, but you wanted to go 13-0," McCorvey said. "You wanted to not lose a game that whole year and leave your legacy as one of the best teams that ever played. The Notre Dame loss was something that kind of tarnished that a little bit."

If you needed any more proof that Oregon's visit to Stanford is big, ESPN's College GameDay provided it by deciding to make its first trip to the Farm.

Oregon, ranked eighth in last week's BCS standings, is 8-1 and has won 18 conference games in a row. The Ducks lone loss came in the opener against No. 1 LSU. Stanford, ranked fourth in last week's BCS standings, is 9-0 has won 17 in a row, the nation's longest winning streak.

Yes, it's big.

This will be the fourth time this season Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Erin Andrews have been at a Pac-12 game. "GameDay" was at the season opener between Oregon and LSU, at Oregon for the Ducks' matchup with Arizona State and at USC for the Trojans game with Stanford.

ESPN's "College GameDay" is heading to LA for Stanford's visit to USC.

This will be the third time this season Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Erin Andrews have been at a Pac-12 game. "GameDay" was at the season opener between Oregon and LSU, and it was at Oregon for the Ducks' matchup with Arizona State.

This will be "GameDay's" first trip to LA since Oct. 30 of last year (Oregon at USC).

Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and ESPN GameDay are headed back to Eugene for Arizona State's visit to Oregon.

This will be GameDay's sixth trip to Oregon. The Ducks are 4-1 in the five previous games.

The game kicks off at 10:15 p.m. ET.

Oregon was ranked ninth before it beat California 43-15 on Thursday. Arizona State was 22nd before beating Utah 35-14.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly and ESPN's Chris Fowler sat down Thursday at the home office in Bristol, Conn., and chatted.

It started like this.

Fowler: We cannot ignore the elephant on the lawn out here.
Kelly: I don't see an elephant.

Fowler does a good job of drawing out a little bit more from Kelly on the Willie Lyles-NCAA inquiry. Specifically, he asks Kelly if his conscience is clear. Kelly quickly replied: "My conscience is clear."

Rob Moseley of the Eugene Register-Guard has a nice summary of the interview here, and he does a good job of describing what might be the best moment of the interview:

The host then presented to Kelly a hypothetical: What if he were recruiting a player who signed elsewhere, and Kelly discovered that school had a financial arrangement with someone close to the player?

Kelly usually brushes aside hypotheticals, but perhaps the combination of being on camera and in the presence of a trusted personality led him to entertain this one.

"What would I think?" Kelly said. "I would think that that's not the right thing to do. ...

"I understand why everybody looks at the situation," he continued. "But until you get all the facts -- I've always been a person (that) no matter what the situation is, let me get all the facts first before I make a decision on how I'm going to react or what I'm going to do."

Kelly then acknowledged that "I think everybody's going to change their philosophy" about the use of scouting services in recruiting based on this situation.

It's a good interview beyond the Lyles stuff. Kelly talks about suspended cornerback Cliff Harris, the loss to Auburn in the national championship game and the Sept. 3 matchup with LSU.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- TCU pushed Oregon State around inside palatial Cowboys Stadium. No getting around that. The sixth-ranked Horned Frogs rushed for 278 yards, which is more than the Beavers 255 total yards. Oregon State ran just 51 plays; TCU 81.

"Still," the glum head shakes from the Beavers said afterwards. They had the ball and a chance with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter, but they made their biggest error of the evening. A miscommunication on a shotgun snap from senior center Alex Linnenkohl to sophomore quarterback Ryan Katz, who was making his first career start, sailed over a surprised Katz's shoulder, which forced Katz to kick the ball through the end zone for a safety.

Those would be the final points -- and the last time the Beavers touched the ball -- in a 30-21 defeat.

"I'm disappointed that we didn't give ourselves a chance on the drive at the end," Beavers coach Mike Riley said.

What happened was this: Oregon State, down seven, had a first down on its 18-yard line. A draw play was called. Katz saw something he didn't like. He tried to change the play. Linnenkohl didn't get the message and snapped the ball.

The Horned Frogs got two points and the ball and they didn't give it back.

"The safety was a big deal," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "You go up by nine and you play the game a lot different."

The biggest deal was TCU's running game and the Beavers lack of one. While Jacquizz Rodgers gained a tough 75 yards on 18 carries, the Beavers finished with just 73 yards on the ground. Three TCU runners gained at least 64 yards, topped by Ed Wesley with 134 on just 17 carries, which works out to a crisp 7.9 per rush.

Suffice it to say, the Horned Frogs option worked even though the Beavers knew it was coming.

"We just couldn't get off a block to make a play," Riley said.

Oregon State was still in the game in the fourth because of two interceptions of TCU quarterback Andy Dalton -- one by Lance Mitchell and the other by Dwight Roberson -- and a well-executed fake punt that netted 23 yards on a fourth-and-1. The fake punt set up the second of Katz's two touchdown passes, which gave the Beavers a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.

Katz made some nice throws -- his TDs covered 30 and 34 yards -- but he only completed 9 of 25 passes for 159 yards. Nonetheless, it was a solid first start on the road. He didn't throw an interception and was mistake-free until the muddled shotgun snap.

The only plus coming from that play was Katz taking responsibility for the miscue, just like a veteran quarterback would.

"We should have just stayed with the [called] play," he said. "That's on me."

Riley agreed, by the way: "He didn't have to get out of it."

As for TCU, it got another win over a BCS conference foe. In the constant fight for respect, this was another notch on the musket. Seeing that the Horned Frogs are 14-3 in their past 17 games against teams from BCS automatic-qualifying conferences, they might need another musket.

"The national spotlight and national attention I think will pick up," Dalton said. "I think a lot of people will watch the game tonight and see how we play football."

One thing is for sure: TCU still enjoys seeing itself as an underdog. It didn't escape detection that ESPN GameDay analyst Lee Corso picked the Frogs to go down by "three touchdowns."

"I did text [Corso]," Patterson said. "You guys thought that was a bogus text. That was me. I asked Chris Fowler, 'Lee: Three touchdowns?'"

Big week for the Mountain West Conference, too. Utah beat Pittsburgh, the Big East favorite, on Thursday, and BYU's win over Washington -- along with Oregon's 72-0 win over New Mexico -- gave the conference a 2-1 Saturday vs. the Pac-10. Why is the conference in turmoil when it's so darn good?

Perhaps the most disappointed Beavers were the Rodgers brothers, who were playing their first -- and likely only -- game together in the state of Texas. Both turned in solid performances -- James Rodgers caught four passes for 75 yards and a TD -- but both only saw what they didn't do.

"We left a lot of plays out there," James Rodgers said.

For both programs, this big stage was an opportunity. Both are nationally respected -- see national rankings -- but both want to take the next step. TCU knows only perfection will get it into the national championship conversation -- or even BCS bowl contention -- while the Beavers want to climb toward the top-10 while they make a run at their first Rose Bowl since 1965.

For TCU, mission accomplished. For Oregon State, it's another nonconference loss to start the season, which fits into a pattern: The Beavers started 2-3 in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and 2-2 in 2009.

Of course, if any team knows that an early loss doesn't end the season, it's the Beavers.

"It's very frustrating, but we can't let that get to us," James Rodgers said. "We've got 11 more games."

That's 11 more games, including a date with Boise State on Sept. 25, in which to make a statement.

But on this night, TCU made the statement: Count us in the mix in the national championship chase.

Ninth in a series looking at potential dream and nightmare scenarios for all Pac-10 teams, starting at the bottom and working up from my vote in the Pac-10 media poll.

Understand: These are not predictions. They are extreme scenarios and pieces of fiction.

Up next: Oregon

Best case

"Nate Costa is our quarterback," Oregon coach Chip Kelly tells reporters on Aug. 23." "But Darron Thomas is going to play, too."

A reporter asks, "Are you concerned that..."

"No," says Kelly.

"I mean to say, might it become an issue that..."

"No," says Kelly.

Both Costa and Thomas play and play well in a 50-13 win over New Mexico. With LaMichael James on the sidelines serving a one-game suspension, Kenjon Barner rushes for 156 yards and two touchdowns.

"Truth is, when our offense is rolling like that, getting a break isn't such a bad thing," Costa says.

James returns to score two touchdowns and run for 133 yards in a 35-17 win at Tennessee.

"I know from my 'How to talk like an SEC coach' class that we're supposed to act like no body plays good football outside the SEC," new Volunteers coach Derek Dooley says. "But, man, that is a really fast team. They could play with anybody in our league."

Three men in seersucker suits and panama hats seemingly appear from nowhere behind Dooley. They grab him by the shoulder and whisper in his ear.

"Er, just kidding," Dooley says. "Just ignore the Pac-10's consistent success against the SEC. Nothing to see there."

The Ducks whip Portland State and survive a sloppy performance against a rugged Arizona State defense. Stanford's Andrew Luck throws three TD passes at Oregon, but Thomas leads a nifty 80-yard drive for the winning score late in the fourth. The Ducks, now ranked fourth, improve to 7-0 after easy wins over Washington State and UCLA. They average 485 yards on offense and surrender just 287 yards on defense. Combined, Costa and Thomas average 254 yards passing and 88 yards rushing per game and their twin efforts lead the conference in passing efficiency.

"This is almost like USC's bowl game," Kirk Herstreit says from the ESPN "College GameDay" set in front of the Coliseum. "If the Trojans win this game, they have a good chance to go undefeated. That means they could even end up ranked No. 1 in Lane Kiffin's first season."

A Matt Barkley TD pass to Ronald Johnson gives USC a 28-24 lead with two minutes left. Costa and company take over at the Ducks 20. James takes a first-down screen for 20 yards. A reverse to Barner moves the Ducks into USC territory. On third and 10, Costa finds Jeff Maehl for a first down at the Trojans 28. Under pressure, Costa scrambles for a first down at the 7-yard line with 40 seconds left. After an incomplete pass, James rushes for five. The Ducks use their final time out with 17 seconds left. Costa dumps a pass to Barner, but he's knocked out of bounds at the 1.

On fourth down, USC stops Costa on a spread-option play. The Coliseum releases its pent-up, NCAA-sanctions-induced frustration.

"I think Chip Kelly is challenging the spot," Brent Musburger says through the din.

Touchdown. Oregon wins 31-28.

"The Ducks look like the best -- the most complete -- team we've seen this season," Chris Fowler says.

Oregon returns home triumphant and avoids a let-down against Washington after intercepting Jake Locker twice. At California, things go splat. Perhaps it's back-to-back emotional victories followed by a road trip to Berkeley with a bye week ahead. Whatever the excuse, the Ducks turn in a lethargic performance and a late comeback attempt falls short in a 28-24 loss. Oregon drops from No. 2 to No. 6 in the rankings.

The Ducks trounce No. 17 Arizona 38-20, which sets up another Civil War for the Roses at No. 9 Oregon State.

With two minutes left, Oregon trails 27-23 and faces a fourth-and-3 from the Beavers' 33-yard line. Kelly has no choice but to go for it. Costa drops back and, under pressure, shovels the ball to James, who breaks to his right toward the sideline. One yard. Two yards. But at the marker Stephen Paea grabs James from behind. A battle of wills ensues. And the 180-pound James drags the 300-pound Paea, perhaps the strongest player in college football, forward for the first down.

And then he slips away and high steps into the endzone for the win. Later, most folks agree it was the moment that won James the Heisman Trophy.

The Ducks, one of four teams with only one loss, finish behind Alabama and Ohio State in the BCS standings even though they are ranked No. 2 in both the final human polls.

"Coach Kelly, have you noticed that the folks who do the computer polls all wear seersucker suits and panama hats?" a reporter asks.

"Yes," says Kelly.

The Ducks bludgeon Boise State 42-14 in the Rose Bowl and split the national title with Ohio State.

Worst case

A week after winning the quarterback competition with Nate Costa, Darron Thomas posts an uneven performance in an easy win over New Mexico. The sophomore clearly has skills both as a runner and passer, but he fumbles once and frequently tries to force the ball through tight coverage, though only one pass ends up picked off.

Those issues are even more glaring at Tennessee, where a crowd of 105,000 seems to be distracting the young QB. The Ducks trail 10-7 at halftime, and coach Chip Kelly makes a switch, inserting the senior Costa.

Costa isn't spectacular, but he doesn't make mistakes and he leads two second-half scoring drives as the Ducks escape 21-17. The Ducks improve to 4-0 with wins over Portland State and Arizona State.

But the ninth-ranked Ducks yield three TD passes to Stanford's Andrew Luck in a 30-24 home loss. After needing overtime to slip improving Washington State, and a fourth-quarter comeback to survive a challenge from UCLA, USC pounds the Ducks 35-20, knocking them out of the national rankings.

Then hated rival Washington comes to town.

Locker, who ranks just ahead of Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers in most Heisman Trophy polls, is asked if he's aware of how Oregon fans constantly tweak him as all hype and no substance.

"No, I've never heard that," Locker replies. "I love Oregon fans. A lot of fans in the Pac-10 are obnoxious. But Oregon fans are gracious and mellow. Like Michigan fans."

Locker rushes for 205 yards and two TDs and passes for 310 yards and two scores as the Huskies roll over the Ducks 41-17, ending a six-game losing streak in the series.

"Wow," says Rece Davis back in the ESPN studios. "If Jake Locker isn't atop your Heisman Trophy contender list, I don't know what you're thinking. Who would have thought that Autzen Stadium would provide him such an accommodating stage to record a signature performance."

Oregon bounces back with a win at California and beats Arizona in overtime.

The Ducks find themselves in the unusual role of spoiler when they visit Oregon State for the annual Civil War. The Beavers must win in order to go to their first Rose Bowl since 1965.

Rodgers, who ranks just behind Locker in most Heisman Trophy polls, is asked if he's aware of how Oregon fans constantly tweak him and say he isn't as good as LaMichael James.

"No, I've never heard that," Rodgers replies. "I love Oregon fans. A lot of fans in the Pac-10 are obnoxious. But Oregon fans are gracious and mellow. Like Michigan fans."

Rodgers rushes for 225 yards and three touchdowns and catches 10 passes for 107 yards and a TD as the Beavers roll over the Ducks 44-14.

Wow," says Davis back in the ESPN studios. "Seems like Oregon is the team to play to make a Heisman Trophy statement."

Locker wins the Heisman. Rodgers finishes second and announces he's coming back for his senior season.

A 31-24 win over Texas in the Alamo Bowl earns Washington a 10-3 finish and a final No. 9 ranking. The Beavers beat Iowa 28-24 in the Rose Bowl and finish 11-2 and ranked fourth.

Oregon loses the Las Vegas Bowl to Utah and finishes 8-5.

Phil Knight converts to Buddhism, gives his fortune to the United Way and moves to Tibet. Chip Kelly goes with him.

Tyrone Willingham comes out of retirement to become the Ducks head coach.