Emerald Bowl Player Profile, History & More

2006 Emerald Bowl Player Profile, History, Best Games & More

UCLA (7-5) vs. Florida State (6-6)

Dec. 27, 8 p.m., ESPN

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Emerald Bowl History
2005	Utah 38, Georgia Tech 10
2004	Navy 34, New Mexico 19
2003	Boston Coll 35, Colorado St 21
2002	Virginia Tech 20, Air Force 13

By Richard Cirminiello

Emerald Bowl Player profile
Rover Myron Rolle, Florida State – Ending the year at the Emerald Bowl is a humbling reminder of just how badly this past season unraveled in Tallahassee.  Yeah, Jeff Bowden mercifully stepped down and Miami reeked just as bad, but Seminole fans need something more substantial to cling to until spring practice begins in March.  How about a very young and very talented defense that sports a budding superstar in Rolle?  If you spent a few months in a laboratory, creating the perfect student-athlete, your creation might bear a striking resemblance to the ‘Noles’ true freshman rover.  Rolle is a modern day renaissance man with ideal safety size, ample smarts and a smile that already makes product marketing managers weak in the knees.  Considered by most experts to be one of the premier high school recruits of 2006, he failed to disappoint in his debut, starting nine games and contributing 68 tackles and 5½ tackles for loss, both tops among the team’s defensive backs.  Rolle’s achievements, however, aren’t limited to Saturday afternoons or Doak Campbell Stadium.  He enrolled at Florida State in January after graduating from the Hun School, one of the most exclusive academic prep schools in the country, carried a 4.0 GPA through the spring and summer semesters and has already passed enough credit hours to be an academic junior.  Much more than just an elite athlete, Rolle is on the verge of becoming one of the front-and-center ambassadors for Florida State University…and a beacon of light that ‘Nole fans can point to during these dark days of mishaps and mediocrity.     

Best Seminole Bowl Moment – The ‘Noles’ 14-game bowl unbeaten streak from 1982-1998 is one of the most incredible runs of any kind in college football history.  The high point of that boon—and there were many—was the classic 1994 Orange Bowl with Nebraska that matched the top two teams in the country.  Florida State took an 18-16 lead on a Scott Bentley chip shot with 21 seconds left, but had to watch as a Byron Bennett field goal attempt fittingly sailed wide left before wrapping up the win and the school’s first national championship.       

Best Bruin Bowl Moment – UCLA was almost unbeatable in the 1980s, winning seven of eight bowl games, including three Rose Bowls.  However, the 1960s were home to its most unforgettable postseason victory.  Before 1964, the Bruins had played in five Rose Bowls, and lost each one.  The 1965 squad mercifully ended that futility in a thriller with No. 1 Michigan State, when three Bruin defenders stopped a game-tying two-point conversion with under a minute left in the game.

Florida State's best win ... Florida State 13 ... Miami 10
In a defensive slugfest, FSU's Gary Cismesia hit two field goals including a 33-yard boot with just over eight minutes to play to break a 10-10 tie. Miami had one final shot, but QB Kyle Wright was intercepted by Michael Ray Garvin. Neither offense did much of anything with FSU gaining one rushing yards and Miami doubling the output netting two. Cismesia started off the scoring with a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter, but Miami came back scoring on a four-yard Charlie Jones run and a 20-yard Jon Peattie kick in the second. FSU's best drive of the night tied the score with a Joe Surratt touchdown run on the first play of the fourth. The two teams combined for 17 first downs.

Florida State's worst loss ... Wake Forest 30 ... Florida State 0
Wake Forest held Florida State to 139 yards of total offense and won easily with Sam Swank field goals from 20, 25 and 51 yards out, a 18-yard touchdown catch from John Tereshinski on the first play after an interception, and a 33-yard touchdown run from Richard Belton to turn it into a laugher. Kevin Patterson ended any and all Seminole hope with a 48-yard interception return for a score. The Seminole quarterbacks combined to complete nine of 28 pass with both Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee throwing two picks.

UCLA's best win ... UCLA 13 ... USC 9
UCLA ruined USC's national title hopes when Eric McNeal snuffed out a final USC drive deep in Bruin territory tipping the ball in the air before making the interception. The Bruin offense only managed 235 yards of total offense, but cranked out a 91-yard drive in the first quarter culminating in a one-yard Pat Cowan touchdown run and got two Justin Medlock field goals in the second half. The UCLA defense held USC scoreless after one-yard C.J. Gable run in the final minute of the first half. A holding call in the end zone gave USC a safety on the way to a 9-7 halftime lead.

UCLA's worst loss ... Washington 29 ... UCLA 19
UW's Dan Howell picked off a Ben Olson pass and took it 33 yards for a touchdown with six minutes to play to put away a tight game. The Huskies got a great game out of Isaiah Stanback with two touchdown passes to Sonny Shackelford and a four-yard scoring pass to Johnie Kirton as part of a 29-3 run after UCLA got out of the gate with the first 16 points of the game. Justin Medlock connected on field goal tries from 28, 23, 51, 23 and 22 yards out for the Bruins. The only touchdown came on a one-yard Chris Markey run in the first quarter.

2005 Emerald Bowl
Utah 38 ... Georgia Tech 10
Utah stunned Georgia Tech with 550 yards of total offense and a record 16 catches for 214 yards and four touchdowns from WR Travis LaTendresse, with three of the scores helping the Utes to a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter. Georgia Tech's offense got back in the game at the end of the first half with a 31-yard touchdown catch from George Cooper and a 29-yard field goal from Travis Bell, but that was it. Utah put it away with a 41-yard touchdown run from Quinton Ganther.
Player of the game: Utah WR Travis LaTendresse caught 16 passes for 214 yards and four touchdowns along with a two-point conversion.
Stat Leaders: Georgia Tech - Passing: Reggie Ball, 18-38, 258 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: P.J. Daniels, 20-109. Receiving: Damarius Bilbo, 4-103
Utah - Passing: Brett Ratliff, 30-41, 381 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Quinton Ganther, 22-120, 1 TD. Receiving: Travis LaTendresse, 16-214, 4 TD

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Florida State Bowl History (20-12-1)

2005	Orange	Penn State 26, Florida State 23 (3 OT)
2004	Gator	Florida State 30, West Virginia 18
2003	Sugar	Miami 16, Florida State 14
2002	Sugar	Georgia 26, Florida State 13
2001	Gator	Florida State 30, Virginia Tech 17
2000	Orange	Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
1999	Sugar	Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29
1998	Fiesta	Tennessee 23, Florida State 16
1997	Sugar	Florida State 31, Ohio State 14
1996	Sugar	Florida 52, Florida State 20
1995	Orange	Florida State 31, Notre Dame 26
1994	Sugar	Florida State 23, Florida 17
1993	Orange	Florida State 18, Nebraska 16
1992	Orange	Florida State 27, Nebraska 14
1991	Cotton	Florida State 10, Texas A&M 2
1990	Blockbuster	Florida State 24, Penn State 17
1989	Fiesta	Florida State 41, Nebraska 17
1988	Sugar	Florida State 13, Auburn 7
1987	Fiesta	Florida State 31, Nebraska 28
1986	All-American	Florida State 27, Indiana 13
1985	Gator	Florida State 34, Oklahoma State 23
1984	Citrus	Florida State 17, Georgia 17
1983	Peach	Florida State 28, North Carolina 3
1982	Gator	Florida State 31, West Virginia 12
1980	Orange	Oklahoma 18, Florida State 17
1979	Orange	Oklahoma 24, Florida State 7
1977	Tangerine	Florida State 40, Texas Tech 17
1971	Fiesta	Arizona State 45, Florida State 38
1968	Peach	LSU 31, Florida State 21
1967	Gator	Florida State 17, Penn State 17
1966	Sun	Wyoming 28, Florida State 20
1965	Gator	Florida State 36, Oklahoma 19
1958	Bluegrass	Oklahoma State 15, Florida State 6
1954	Sun	Texas Western 47, Florida State 20
1950	Cigar	Florida State 19, Wofford 6

 

UCLA Bowl History (13-14)

2005	Sun	UCLA 50, Northwestern 38
2004	Las Vegas	Wyoming 24, UCLA 21
2003	Silicon Valley	Fresno State 17, UCLA 9
2002	Las Vegas	UCLA 27, New Mexico 13
2000	Sun	Wisconsin 21, UCLA 20
1998	Rose	Wisconsin 38, UCLA 31
1997	Cotton	UCLA 29, Texas A&M 23
1995	Aloha	Kansas 51, UCLA 30
1993	Rose	Wisconsin 21, UCLA 16
1991	John Hancock	UCLA 6, Illinois 3
1988	Cotton	UCLA 17, Arkansas 3
1987	Aloha	UCLA 20, Florida 16
1986	Freedom	UCLA 31, BYU 10
1985	Rose	UCLA 45, Iowa 28
1984	Fiesta	UCLA 39, Miami (Fla.) 37
1983	Rose	UCLA 45, Illinois 9
1982	Rose	UCLA 24, Michigan 14
1981	Bluebonnet	Michigan 33, UCLA 14
1978	Fiesta	UCLA 10, Arkansas 10
1976	Liberty	Alabama 36, UCLA 6
1975	Rose	UCLA 23, Ohio State 10
1965	Rose	UCLA 14, Michigan State 12
1961	Rose	Minnesota 21, UCLA 3
1955	Rose	Michigan State 17, UCLA 14
1953	Rose	Michigan State 28, UCLA 20
1945	Rose	Illinois 45, UCLA 14
1942	Rose	Georgia 9, UCLA 0