Far from home,  non-BCS team Utah stayed undefeated and took home their second BCS bowl game win last night in New Orleans over Alabama. After a five play first drive touchdown, Nick Saban knew he was in for a game, and that he got. His arrogance was quickly shot down as Utah dominated the entire game from start to finish, ending with a 31-17 win at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Here are some fun facts about the two teams:

• Utah became the first school with two undefeated seasons in the BCS era (since 1998), extending its current bowl winning streak to an FBS-best eight games.

• Alabama finished the year by dropping its final two games after starting 12-0.

• The Crimson Tide, playing without offensive lineman Andre Smith, surrendered a season-high eight sacks and rushed for a season-low 0.9 yards per carry.

• Utes quarterback Brian Johnson threw for a season-high 336 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

And now we have more questions about the flawed BCS system in college football.

After winning the Mountain West Conference, the Utes were left out of the BCS national championship game in favor of perennial powers Florida and Oklahoma, even though both have one loss.

That’s bound to bring more calls for changes to the BCS system, because Utah showed it could do more than just hang with the big boys, it could dominate one of them.

Regardless of this win, Utah wouldn’t be undefeated if they played in a “big boys” conference like the Big 12 or the SEC. So, I still think the right teams are going to the championship.What do you think?

[image: AP]