View source for 2007 BCS National Championship Game

{{Short description|College football bowl game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox college football game
| name = 
| year_game_played           = 2007
| title_sponsor              = Tostitos
| game_name                  = BCS National Championship Game
| subheader                  = 9th BCS National Championship Game
| image                      = 2007 BCS Natl Championship logo.png
| football_season            = 2006
| visitor_name_short         = Florida 
| visitor_nickname           = Gators
| visitor_school             = 
University of Florida
| home_name_short            = Ohio State 
| home_nickname              = Buckeyes
| home_school                = Ohio 
State University
| visitor_record             = 12–1
| visitor_conference         = [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]]
| home_record                = 12–0
| home_conference            = [[Big Ten]]
| visitor_coach              = [[Urban Meyer]]
| home_coach                 = [[Jim Tressel]]
| visitor_rank_AP            = 2
| visitor_rank_coaches       = 2
| visitor_rank_BCS           = 2
| home_rank_AP               = 1
| home_rank_coaches          = 1
| home_rank_BCS              = 1
| visitor_1q                 = 14
| visitor_2q                 = 20
| visitor_3q                 = 0
| visitor_4q                 = 7
| home_1q                    = 7
| home_2q                    = 7
| home_3q                    = 0
| home_4q                    = 0
| date_game_played           = January 8
| stadium                    = [[University of Phoenix Stadium]]
| city                       = [[Glendale, Arizona]]
| MVP                        = Offense: QB [[Chris Leak]] (Florida)<br />Defense: DE [[Derrick Harvey]] (Florida)
| odds                       = Ohio State by 7<ref name="Odds">{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=270080194 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926131012/http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=270080194 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 26, 2018 |title=Gators attack: Florida gets title with rout of Ohio State |agency=Associated Press |access-date=November 29, 2008 |date=January 8, 2007 |publisher=ESPN}}</ref>
| anthem                     = U.S. Military Academy Cadet Glee Club
| referee                    = Jack Folliard ([[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-10]])
| halftime                   = [[The Ohio State University Marching Band|Ohio State]] and [[The Pride of the Sunshine|Florida]] bands; [[Habitat for Humanity]] presentation
| attendance                 = 74,628
| us_network                 = [[Fox College Football|Fox]]
| us_announcers_link         = List of announcers of major college bowl games
| us_announcers              = [[Thom Brennaman]], [[Barry Alvarez]], and [[Charles Davis (defensive back)|Charles Davis]]
| ratings                    = 17.4, 28.8M viewers, 27 share<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/01/06/dont-look-for-texas-alabama-bcs-championship-to-top-texas-usc/37861 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008193451/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/01/06/dont-look-for-texas-alabama-bcs-championship-to-top-texas-usc/37861/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 8, 2012 |title=Don't look for Texas vs. Alabama BCS Championship to Top Texas vs. USC |last=Seidman |first=Robert |date=January 6, 2010 |work=TVbythenumbers.com |access-date=July 5, 2011}}</ref><ref name="ratings">{{cite news|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/college_football/20080108-1255-fbc-bcs-ratings.html |title=BCS title game ratings down from last year |publisher=signonsandiego.com |date=January 8, 2008 |access-date=January 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104152117/http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/college_football/20080108-1255-fbc-bcs-ratings.html |archive-date=January 4, 2013 }}</ref>
}}
The '''2007 [[Tostitos]] [[BCS National Championship Game]]''' was an [[American football]] game played at the [[University of Phoenix Stadium]] in [[Glendale, Arizona]], on January 8, 2007, and featured the top-ranked Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes against the 2nd-ranked SEC champion Florida Gators. The Gators routed the Buckeyes by a final score of 41–14 to win their first national championship since [[1996 Florida Gators football team|1996]].

The Buckeyes secured a spot by finishing the regular season undefeated and ranked #1 in the BCS. It was the first time the Buckeyes and Gators had ever met on the football field.<ref name="first time">{{cite news | url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/cfb/story/6336144 | title=BCS Championship Notebook | publisher=bcsfootball.org | date=January 8, 2007 | access-date=January 8, 2007}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>  The 12–1 [[2006 Florida Gators football team|Florida Gators]] earned a spot after defeating [[Arkansas Razorbacks football|Arkansas]] in the [[2006 SEC Championship Game|SEC Championship Game]] in early December, and jumping from #4 to #2 in the final [[BCS Ranking]]s, passing #3 [[2006 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]] and previous #2 [[2006 USC Trojans football team|USC]].

The game was the first BCS National Championship Game to be televised on the [[Fox College Football|Fox]] TV network, as well as the first time the BCS had held a standalone national championship game (previously, one of the 4 BCS bowls had served as the national championship game).

==Pre-game buildup==
The [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State Buckeyes]] were the No. 1 ranked team for the entire [[2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season]], anchored by [[Heisman Trophy]] winning [[quarterback]] [[Troy Smith]]. The Buckeyes were 12–0 with several wins over ranked opponents: the defending national champions, then No. 2 [[2006 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas Longhorns]], then No. 24 [[2006 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State Nittany Lions]], then No. 13 [[Iowa Hawkeyes]], and their then undefeated [[Big Ten Conference]] rival, then No. 2 [[2006 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]]. The win over Michigan to finish the regular season essentially guaranteed the Buckeyes a spot in the National Championship game. Who they would play remained a highly debated question. Despite the loss to Ohio State, Michigan remained No. 2 in the polls, followed by No. 3 [[2006 USC Trojans football team|Southern California]] (USC), No. 4 [[2006 Florida Gators football team|Florida]], and No. 5 [[2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]].

The next week, with both No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan's regular season complete, No. 3 USC defeated then No. 5 Notre Dame.  Fourth-ranked Florida defeated unranked in-state rival [[2006 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State]]. With the victory over Notre Dame, USC passed Michigan in the polls, taking over the BCS No. 2 spot. Michigan fell to No. 3 with Florida remaining No. 4 and Notre Dame falling to No. 10.

The last week of the regular season was dynamic for the national championship race.  Third-ranked Michigan remained idle.  Fourth-ranked Florida faced No. 9 [[Arkansas Razorbacks football|Arkansas]] in the [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] Championship, while No. 2 USC faced unranked, [[UCLA–USC rivalry|in-city rival]] [[UCLA Bruins|UCLA]]. Both Florida and Michigan cheered as USC fell to UCLA 13–9. Florida defeated Arkansas 38–28 to claim the 2006 SEC Championship Title. USC's loss knocked them out of contention, leaving No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Florida as the most likely teams to earn the No. 2 ranking and face Ohio State for the BCS National Championship. The final BCS poll passed Florida  over Michigan to take the No. 2 spot while Michigan remained unchanged at No. 3, with .0101 points separating the two teams. This small difference was a result of the human polls (the [[Coaches Poll]] and [[Harris Interactive Poll]]) ranking Florida above Michigan while the computer polls had the two teams tied for second.

===Controversy over No. 2: Rematch or new opponent?===
There were many theories how Florida jumped Michigan in the final poll. Some sportswriters theorized that it was not a matter of which was the better team, claiming Florida had an advantage in the polls because they had played the last two weeks while Michigan had not, or that voters were swayed due to Florida coach [[Urban Meyer]]'s "campaign"{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} to get Florida into the BCS National Championship Game.<ref>{{cite web | title=Whining, politics, voting reversals part of BCS system | url=https://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2685389 |publisher=ESPN | date=December 4, 2006 | access-date=December 5, 2006 | first=Pat | last=Forde | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061209051338/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2685389| archive-date=December 9, 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Florida's fine, but how is Michigan left out? | url=https://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2685195 |publisher=ESPN | date=December 4, 2006 | access-date=December 5, 2006 | first=Gene | last=Wojciechowski | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061206021908/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2685195| archive-date=December 6, 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=U-M wronged by BCS voters |url=http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061204/SPORTS06/612040363/1082 |publisher=Detroit Free Press |date=December 4, 2006 |access-date=December 5, 2006 |first=Mitch |last=Albom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083052/http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20061204%2FSPORTS06%2F612040363%2F1082 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The fact that the difference in the final BCS Poll was due to human voters, not computer rankings, gives some credence to these theories. Other theories suggest that since Michigan did not win their conference title, they did not deserve to play for the BCS National Championship, or that a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State was not favored by the poll voters.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ohio State-Florida Was The Right Choice | url=http://buccaneers.aolsportsblog.com/2006/12/04/ohio-state-florida-was-the-right-choice/ | publisher=AOLSports.com | date=December 4, 2006 | access-date=December 5, 2006 | first=Jay | last=Coulter | archive-date=July 8, 2012 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708043551/http://buccaneers.aolsportsblog.com/2006/12/04/ohio-state-florida-was-the-right-choice/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>  The controversy was largely resolved{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}} when USC defeated Michigan 32–18 in the [[2007 Rose Bowl]], and Florida beat top-ranked Ohio State 41–14 in the BCS Championship Game.

==Game summary==

===First half===
The Buckeyes got off to a fast start when receiver [[Ted Ginn Jr.]] returned the opening kickoff 93&nbsp;yards for a touchdown, giving Ohio State a 7–0 lead only 16&nbsp;seconds into the game. During the celebration following the return, Ginn was injured and would miss the remainder of the game. The Gators quickly rebounded, however, leading a quick 46-yard drive for a score, capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass from [[Chris Leak]] to [[Dallas Baker]]. After stuffing the Ohio State offense to a quick punt, Florida drove 36&nbsp;yards for a touchdown on a 4-yard run by [[Percy Harvin]]. On their next possession, the Gators once again drove in for a score, going 71&nbsp;yards on 10 plays and getting it in the end zone on a 2-yard run by [[DeShawn Wynn]] on the first play of the second quarter.

Ohio State came back for a score of their own with an 18-yard touchdown run by Antonio Pittman to bring the score to 21–14. After a Florida field goal, Ohio State coach [[Jim Tressel]] took a gamble by going for a fourth-and-one from the Buckeyes' own 29-yard line. The Gator defensive line stopped [[Chris Wells (American football)|Chris Wells]] in his tracks and the ball was turned over on downs. Chris Hetland, Florida's much-maligned kicker who was only 4-of-13 for the year, hit his second field goal of the night, making the score 27–14, and with just over two minutes left to play in the half, it appeared that would be the score heading to the break. As Ohio State started from their own 20, quarterback [[Troy Smith]] dropped back to pass and was hit by Florida lineman [[Jarvis Moss]], jarring the ball loose. Florida recovered on the Buckeye 5-yard line and punched it in with a one-yard touchdown pass from quarterback [[Tim Tebow]] to [[Andre Caldwell]]. The half ended and the teams went off the field with Florida leading 34–14.

===Second half===

The second half saw a much more defensive game, with no scoring in the third quarter. The Gator offense used up the clock, while the defense continued to stifle Ohio State's purportedly explosive attack. The lone score of the half came with just over 10&nbsp;minutes left in the game, when Tim Tebow ran in a one-yard touchdown score, bringing the tally to 41–14, which was the final score.

Chris Leak was named the offensive player of the game, and [[Derrick Harvey]] earned the defensive honors. The Gators held the Buckeye offense to only 82 total yards for the game, and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith completed only four passes for 35&nbsp;yards and an interception. The Gators also dominated in time of possession, limiting the Ohio State offense to just over 19&nbsp;minutes.

===Scoring summary===
{{Americanfootballbox | bg=#eee
|Road='''Florida'''
|R1=14
|R2=20
|R3=0
|R4=7
|Home=Ohio State
|H1=7
|H2=7
|H3=0
|H4=0
|stadium=University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
|date=January 8, 2007
|time=8&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] / 6&nbsp;p.m. [[Mountain Standard Time|MST]]
|attendance=74,628
|reference=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180926131012/http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=270080194 Recap]
}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Scoring Play
! Time
! Score
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| '''1st quarter'''
|-
|[[Ted Ginn Jr.]] – 93-yard kickoff return for TD
|14:44
|OSU 7–0
|-
|[[Chris Leak]] – 14-yard pass to [[Dallas Baker]]
|10:31
|Tie 7–7
|-
|[[Percy Harvin]] – 4-yard TD rush
|5:51
|UF 14–7
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| '''2nd quarter'''
|-
|[[DeShawn Wynn]] – 2-yard TD rush
|14:56
|UF 21–7
|-
|[[Antonio Pittman]] – 18-yard TD rush
|13:32
|UF 21–14
|-
|Chris Hetland – 43-yard FG
|6:00
|UF 24–14
|-
|Chris Hetland – 40-yard FG
|1:53
|UF 27–14
|-
|[[Tim Tebow]] – 1-yard TD pass to [[Andre Caldwell]]
|0:23
|UF 34–14
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| '''3rd quarter'''
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| No scoring
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| '''4th quarter'''
|-
|[[Tim Tebow]] – 1-yard TD rush
|10:20
|UF 41–14
|}

== Aftermath and legacy ==
{{See also|College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS}}

In retrospect, the 2007 BCS National Championship Game was arguably a turning point in the history of college football,{{according to whom|date=August 2023}} ushering in an era of dominance for the [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] and the [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]], in general. The [[2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2006 season]] was the first of seven consecutive national championships won by the SEC. A school from outside that conference did not win a national championship again until the [[2013 Florida State Seminoles football team|2013 Florida State team]].

Between [[2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2006]] and [[2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2022]], schools from the SEC won 13 of the 17 national championships. Between 2006 and 2022, schools from the Southeastern United States won 16 of the 17 national championships.

==Game records==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Individual
!Performance, Team vs. Opponent
!Year
|-
|Field goals
|2, Chris Hetland, Florida vs. Ohio State (tied with 3 others)
|2007
|-
|Sacks
|3, Derrick Harvey, Florida vs. Ohio State
|2007
|-
!Long Plays
!Performance, Team vs. Opponent
!Year
|-
|Kickoff return
|93, Ted Ginn Jr., Ohio State vs. Florida (TD)
|2007
|}

==Trivia==
* Florida later defeated Ohio State 84–75 in the [[2007 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game]] on April 2, 2007, marking both the first time in NCAA history that the same two schools have played for the football and basketball championships in the same year and the first time that a school has held both the football and basketball championships in the same academic and calendar year.<ref>{{cite web | title = FCS History | url = https://www.ncaa.com/history/default.aspx?id=91434 | access-date =June 29, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Division I Men's Basketball History | url = https://www.ncaa.com/history/default.aspx?id=87926 | access-date =June 29, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>
* This marked the first year in history that the losing team in both the college football national championship game and the Super Bowl returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} [[Chicago Bears]] [[wide receiver]]/returner [[Devin Hester]] took the Super Bowl kickoff for a touchdown against the [[Indianapolis Colts]] in [[Super Bowl XLI]]. The Colts won 29–17.
* This was the first of the SEC's streak of seven consecutive national championships. The streak would not be broken until Florida State defeated Auburn in the [[2014 BCS National Championship Game]].
* This was the first time these two teams faced each other in football. The next football game between Florida and Ohio State would not occur until the [[2012 Gator Bowl]], which was notable for being a matchup between Urban Meyer's former team and the team he had just been hired to coach at that point, and was therefore nicknamed the "Urban Meyer Bowl" even though he had no role in the game itself. Florida won that game as well, 24–17.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{NCAA football national championship finals}}
{{2006 bowl game navbox}}
{{BCS National Championship Game navbox}}
{{Florida Gators bowl game navbox}}
{{Ohio State Buckeyes bowl game navbox}}
{{2006–07 NCAA Division I championships navbox}}

[[Category:2006–07 NCAA football bowl games|BCS National Championship Game]]
[[Category:BCS National Championship Game]]
[[Category:Florida Gators football bowl games]]
[[Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football bowl games]]
[[Category:January 2007 sports events in the United States|BCS National Championship Game]]
[[Category:2007 in sports in Arizona|BCS National Championship Game]]
[[Category:Sports competitions in Glendale, Arizona]]
[[Category:American football competitions in Arizona]]