2006 Sugar Bowl
| 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 2, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | Nielsen ratings | 9.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2006
The freshmen-led West Virginia team stunned Georgia—playing in what amounted to a home game in the
In the third quarter, Georgia cut the lead to 31–28 following a 68-yard scoring drive.
Freshman quarterback
With 1:26 remaining in the game and facing a 4th-and-6 near midfield, West Virginia's Phil Brady ran for 10 yards on a fake punt to seal the win. West Virginia's freshman running back Steve Slaton was named the game's MVP, having rushed for a Sugar Bowl-record 204 yards and 3 touchdowns, including two separate scores of 52-yards each. Fellow freshman Darius Reynaud, a wide receiver, scored the Mountaineers' other two touchdowns.
Aftermath
West Virginia capped off an 11–1 season ranked #5 in the nation, while Georgia fell to 10–3. The win was the first of four bowl victories for West Virginia QB
ESPN ranked the 2006 Sugar Bowl #6 on its list of the best major bowl games of the BCS era.[3]
This was the last Sugar Bowl to host the SEC champion until the 2014 season when Alabama played in the national semifinal game. The SEC champion would play in the BCS National Championship Game each of the eight years following the 2006 game.
References
- ^ "Sugar Bowl". oddsshark.com. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- ^ Bennett, Brian (January 19, 2010). "Big East players of the decade - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
- ^ "BCS at 10: Best BCS bowl games". ESPN.com. May 19, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2018.