2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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BCS Bowl Game. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | January 8, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | University of Phoenix Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Glendale, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Offense: QB Chris Leak (Florida) Defense: DE Derrick Harvey (Florida) |
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Favorite | Ohio State by 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
National anthem | U.S. Military Academy Cadet Glee Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Jack Folliard (Pac-10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Halftime show | Ohio State and Florida bands; Habitat for Humanity presentation | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 74,628 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Network | FOX | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Thom Brennaman, Barry Alvarez, and Charles Davis | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nielsen ratings | 17.4, 28.8M viewers, 27 share | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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. It was the first time that the BCS had staged its own standalone national title game (previously the member bowls each took turns serving as the title game). The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes lost to the BCS No. 2 Florida Gators, 41–14. The Buckeyes secured a spot by finishing the regular season undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the BCS. It was the first time the Buckeyes and Gators had ever met on the football field. The 12–1 Florida Gators earned a spot after defeating Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game in early December, and jumping from No. 4 to No. 2 in the final BCS Rankings, passing No. 3 Michigan and previous No. 2 USC.
The game was the first BCS National Championship Game to be televised on the FOX network.
The 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 Texas Longhorns, then No. 24 Penn State Nittany Lions, then No. 13 Iowa Hawkeyes, and their then undefeated Big Ten Conference rival, then No. 2 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 Southern California (USC), No. 4 Florida, and No. 5 Notre Dame.