Kickoff Countdown: 11 Best Games Since 2000, A Double Dip

July 4 recognizes independence. Liberty. Freedom. SaturdayBlitz.com is exercising that freedom in counting each regular season’s best game since 2000 each Saturday leading up to 2011 kickoff.

Note “regular season,” as that begs the question whether conference championship games can be considered regular season. This created a dilemma for the 2002 induction, as one of that season’s finest games was a conference championship — and an underrate appreciated one at that. So in honor of those fine patriots who said “A POX!” on British tyranny, here are two games in the 11 Best Countdown. If you’re keeping score at home, that means 11 will actually total 12. Considering independence was actually declared July 2 and we celebrate July 4, this blogger is OK with the miscalculation.

The game widely regarded as the 2002 season’s best featured a Big Ten team. That would of course be Ohio State in the BCS Championship-determining Fiesta Bowl. Therefore, it’s only fitting that the same season’s top regular season game pit Big Ten foes again one another.

Iowa and Penn State began conference play against one another, with different roads leading into Happy Valley. The Hawkeyes had crushed Utah State the week before and were 3-1. But that mark had to be seen as a disappointment. After routing Akron in Week 1, Iowa barely escaped from Miami (OH) and a then-unheralded quarterback named Ben Roethlisberger with a 29-24 win. Week 3 brought Seneca Wallace and an Iowa State team that overcame a two-touchdown deficit to win 36-31 in Iowa City.

UI was coming into Beaver Stadium unranked, against a No. 12 Nittany Lion squad that had crushed defending national runner-up Nebraska, 40-7. Who could have guessed that Week 3 meltdown vs. ISU would be the Hawkeyes’ final regular season defeat en route to an Orange Bowl campaign?

Perhaps that ISU loss was necessary to shape the rest of UI’s season. A valuable lesson about maintain leads certainly came into play against the Nittany Lions. Iowa jumped ahead 26-7 at halftime, an advantage three points greater than that the Hawkeyes frittered away against the Cyclones.

UI actually built upon that, leading 35-13 going into the final stanza and held PSU scoreless the first half of the last 15 minutes. But strange things happen in Happy Valley, and as quickly as PSU fell behind, it hammered away at the lead. Zack Mills connected on three fourth quarter touchdown passes and in less than seven minutes, the deficit was erased.

Mills was great that day, throwing for 399 yards and four touchdowns. But was Iowa’s playmaker Brad Banks matched those four touchdowns in taking the first steps toward New York City and the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Banks’ final touchdown was the decider, a six-yard strike to CJ Jones in overtime that marked UI’s first points since the third quarter.

The real hero for Iowa this day was its defense. The PSU run game was completely stifled, thus forcing Mills into throwing enough to accumulate 400 yards. In fact, the Nittany Lions mustered just 54 yards on the ground. The UI defense came through on the final possession, stymieing PSU in OT to preserve the victory.

For PSU, it was the first of two overtime losses; the Nittany Lions would drop a three-point decision to Michigan two weeks later. Altogether, a combined 20 points were the difference in PSU’s four losses to UI, Michigan, Ohio State and Auburn.

The combined 77 points were impressive, but couldn’t match the second 2002 induction. The aforementioned overlooked championship game of the MAC pit Toledo against Marshall for a second consecutive year. Quite frankly, the 2001 MAC Championship deserves its own induction, as the Rockets used 31 second half points to erase a two-touchdown halftime deficit in a 41-36 victory.

The rematch was nearly a repeat.

Behind Byron Leftwich, Marshall cracked the Top 25 that season. MAC programs have broken into that elite each of the last seasons, but in 2002 this was a rarity. The Herd reaching that echelon of college football was made further impressive when considering it had only been Div. I-A since 1997.

Leftwich’s overall numbers took a slight dip from 2001 to 2002; he passed for more yards but gave up more interceptions (10 to seven) and fewer touchdowns (30 to 38). Nevertheless, he was still among college football’s best passers and against Toledo provided his usual fireworks with four scoring strikes and 404 yards on 32-of-42 passes.

For a second year the Herd jumped to a double-digit halftime lead, 28-17. And for a second straight year, the Rockets blasted off in the second half. Trinity Dawson and Astin Martin paced the Toledo comeback, combining for over 200 yards rushing and all five of the six Rocket touchdowns.

Three of the duo’s scores spanned a 22-point unanswered spell over the second and third quarters, which elevated UT to its first lead at 32-28.

From there it was a seesaw, with the squads exchanging scores and the lead. UT quarterback Brian Jones would cap the Rockets’ all-rushing touchdown day with a scamper in the waning minutes that pushed Toledo ahead once more. But there would be no repeat of ’01. Jones’ touchdown only served as a placesetter for Leftwich’s highlight reel heroics.

Like he was playing a pick-up game, Leftwich snaps off a first down long bomb to Darius Watts that seals a championship. Toledo got the ball back with nearly a minute left, but ironically was hoisted on its own petard. There’s no overstating the importance of PATs, and this was such a case as Toledo failed its attempt after the Jones touchdown. UT could have been driving for a field goal and overtime on its last possession, but the Marshall touchdown put the Rockets in a four-point hole.