In a gut-wrenching emotional roller coaster of a finish, Coach Bando's West Virginia Mountaineers have eked past Coach Woody's adopted Rutgers Scarlet Knights 41-39 in triple OT. Your 2007 hat bearer is Coach Woody.
GQ, let us know who wins the Coltfest. Good night, coaches!!
The Scarlet Knights have held the Mountaineers to a field goal. West Virginia and Bando now lead 26-23, but Rutgers and Woody have the momentum and the ball.
That's "O" as in OT. For the second time in FP history, the deciding game for the hat bearer hasn't been settled in regulation. Rutgers missed a go-ahead field goal with seconds left, and both teams (and coaches) are still alive in their quests to escape the hated headgear. Rutgers has won the toss, but who will win the game??
With 3:55 left in the game, Coach Woody's new favorite team, Rutgers, has pulled ahead of West Virginia 23-20. The hat doesn't know what to think with plenty of time left for Coach Bando and West Virginia to rally, but it does know this: Rutgers left a sure touchdown on the field after a dropped pass in the end zone and settled for three points. Will it cost them the game and cost Woody the headgear? We shall see shortly.
... aren't sweating half as much as Coach Bando and Coach Woody. Midway through the fourth quarter, West Virginia and Rutgers are tied 20-20. The hat is split right down the middle, and there won't be a Solomon solution this time: One coach will wear the dreaded hat, but we don't know any more about which one it will be than we did three hours ago.
The most important fourth quarter of the season has arrived. Coach Bando and West Virginia lead Coach Woody's adopted Rutgers Scarlet Knights 20-17 heading into the final regulation frame. The Mountaineers have the lead, and they got the better end of a controversial non-fumble call that may have prevented a Rutgers touchdown. We'll see if it matters as the game nears its conclusion.
At halftime, Coach Woody's adopted Rutgers Scarlet Knights lead Coach Bando's West Virginia Mountaineers 10-6. As Bando would say, though, "There's time!" Plenty of it.
It all comes down to one last FP battle tonight. With Louisville crushing UConn today and TCU doing the same to Air Force in the fourth quarter, the dreaded hat has indeed come down to the Rutgers-West Virginia game tonight.
Don't be fooled by the photo above: Friendships are officially on hold until tomorrow, and anything can happen. ABC's Craig James and Doug Flutie are picking the Scarlet Knights (and Woody) to take down the Mountaineers, but the point spread suggests West Virginia (and Bando) will win out. We'll know the final score--and the hat bearer--shortly. Stay tuned!
The South Florida Bulls have decided to weigh in in the FP this season, just as they did last year. The Bulls knocked off Coach Bando's West Virginia Mountaineers--in Morgantown, no less--by a score of 24-19 in a shocker. The FP standings continue to stay painfully close, and there's no relief in sight.
Does USC's loss mean that one of the Big East powerhouses will get a shot at the national title? Maybe, and especially if it's West Virginia who wins this Thursday as Coach Bando and Coach Woody do battle at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. (I say that because the Mountaineers are already #3 prior to the game, but Louisville can certainly climb if they win, too.)
While Coach Rob is still in the thick of the race, too, could Thursday's game be a battle for (or against) the dreaded hat? We'll see.
