Joey Johnston

Just another season in college football? Hardly.

Thirteen top-five teams were beaten by unranked opponents.

Before this season, the Nos. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams hadn’t been defeated in the same weekend since 1996. It happened three times in the last two months.

The Heisman Trophy went to a sophomore.

Everyone on the mainland suffered a loss, but Hawaii remains unbeaten.

Ron Zook, who was 4-19 in his first two seasons at Illinois, is in the Rose Bowl.

Kansas, which received no votes in the preseason polls, is in the Orange Bowl.

Ohio State and LSU, which each lost the No. 1 ranking after suffering home-field defeats in the last three weeks, are playing for the national championship.

No, it was not just another season.

Some awards are in order:

Biggest Rip-Off — Missouri was ranked No. 1 nationally, playing for a spot in the national-championship game. Less than 24 hours later, the Tigers didn’t even have a BCS bowl bid. Are you kidding me?

One Man’s Heisman Ballot — 1. QB Tim Tebow, Florida; 2. RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas; 3. QB Colt Brennan, Hawaii.

Best Game — Arkansas 50, LSU 48 (three overtimes). It was classic theater. McFadden had his finest hour. LSU went down hard, but, although we didn’t know it at the time, would be granted a reprieve.

Best Team — You got me. Even after the Ohio State-LSU game, we probably still won’t know for certain. OK, here’s a hint.

Best Game We Won’t See — LSU vs. USC. Oh, what might have been.

Best Conference — For a while, this one was up for grabs. But the SEC had a closing kick, finishing with potentially its second straight national champion (LSU), another BCS team (Georgia), two teams led by Heisman Trophy finalists (Florida, Arkansas), one of the great Lazarus acts (Phil Fulmer and Tennessee) and 10 bowl-eligible teams overall.

The Third-Biggest Upset — Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32 on Sept. 1. Who ever thought we would see a Division I-AA team winning at the Big House? It was the most incredible thing we had seen until …

The Second-Biggest Upset — Stanford 24, USC 23 on Oct. 6. The Cardinal, 41-point underdogs, stunned the preseason No. 1 team, one of the first signs that this season might be abnormally wacky. It was the most amazing thing we had witnessed until …

The Biggest Upset – Pittsburgh 13, West Virginia 9 on Dec. 1. The Panthers were 28-point underdogs, not as downtrodden as Stanford, but consider the stakes. West Virginia was at home, playing for a spot in the national-championship game. QB Pat White was injured, sure, but there was no excuse for the Mountaineers to play so poorly.

College football Complete recaps of all 32 games

Best Clutch Play — Boston College QB Matt Ryan, rolling left, pivoting, throwing back across his body, hitting the winning touchdown pass in the final seconds to beat Virginia Tech and remain unbeaten (but it wouldn’t last).

Biggest Surprise — Dennis Erickson’s Arizona State Sun Devils (10-2), who won their first eight games and were worthy of a BCS bowl.

Closing Down The Orange Bowl (The Wrong Way) — Virginia 48, Miami 0. A nationally televised affront to the building’s mystique and the Hurricanes’ tradition.

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Closing Down The Orange Bowl (The Right Way) — Florida International 38, North Texas 19. Yes, there was another final college game played at the creaky old stadium. Florida International snapped a 23-game losing streak (SMU, Idaho and Minnesota will enter next season tied for the nation’s longest losing streak at 10 games). The Orange Bowl deserved to go out with a victory.

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