In honor of March Madness (and it being cancelled), the Walk-On Redshirts wanted to take a look at what a bracket might look like if you took the top teams from the 2000s and put them in a tournament. The round of 64 has been completed, and we have an interesting tournament breaking out. Let’s break down some of the games!
’07 WVU vs ’04 USC
The 2007 West Virginia team stuns the 2004 USC team winning 34-26. Pat White and Steve Slaton combine for 327 yards on the ground and 4 touchdowns. West Virginia was able to contain Reggie Bush, as he only rushed for 68 yards on 14 carries with 1 touchdown. The lone bright spot came as Matt Leinert was 18 of 26 for 252 yards and 1 touchdown.
’16 PSU vs ’11 LSU
The 2016 Penn State team played a hard fought game with 2011 LSU but in the end Penn State’s offense was just too much. Saquan Barkely had a monster game against the LSU defense where he rushed for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns. Penn State pulled out the victory 31-18.
’09 Texas vs ’17 Georgia
2009 Texas and 2017 Georgia’s game went to double overtime with Texas pulling out the nail-biter 41-38. Colt McCoy only had 7 incompletions the entire day. He finished the day 34-41 for 362 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sony Michel had 141 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
’06 Michigan vs ’09 Alabama
2006 Michigan stuns the 2009 Alabama squad. Lamarr Woodley had 3 sacks and 4 tackles for loss to help stifle the Alabama offense. Greg McElroy threw 2 interceptions to set Michigan up in great field position inside their own 40 twice. Mario Manningham had 7 catches for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns to help Michigan pull out the 24-13 victory.
’16 Michigan vs ’06 Florida
2016 Michigan surprisingly dominated the 2006 Florida team. Chris Leak struggled to ever get going. Jabril Peppers was all over the field scoring once on offense while having 7 tackles and a fumble recovery. Jake Butt finished the day with 6 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Taco Charlton also had 2 sacks. Tim Tebow scored twice on goal line packages. Michigan wins 38-21.
’08 Florida vs ’04 Utah
2008 Florida beat up 2004 Utah. Urban Meyer took no mercy on himself which he discussed as being quite odd during a halftime interview. Tim Tebow finished with 3 total touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing). Percy Harvin had 142 total yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. This was a game Alex Smith will look to forget as he prepares for a mediocre NFL career, turning the ball over 4 times in the game. Florida wins 42-17.
’11 Okie St vs ’03 USC
In the 5 vs 12 matchup, 2011 Oklahoma State gave 2003 USC all they could handle. Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden connected on 2 touchdowns. Blackmon had 197 yards, but it wasn’t enough to match the output of the Reggie Bush/Lendale White combo. The two had 284 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns. USC topped Oklahoma State 31-24.
Here are all the scores:
East
1)2001 Miami 45, 16) 2007 Illinois 16
8) 2006 Boise 24, 9) 2014 Oregon 29
5) 2015 Alabama 41, 12) 2007 Kansas 21
5) 2000 Oklahoma 27, 13) 2006 Ohio State 17
6) 2010 Oregon 36, 11)2014 TCU 24
3) 2013 Florida State 33, 14) 2001 Tennessee 20
7) 2017 Oklahoma 40, 10) 2010 Stanford 27
2) 2012 Alabama 34, 15) 2011 Boise State 17
West
1)2019 LSU 45, 16) 2007 Missouri 10
8) 2004 Auburn 34, 9) 2002 Georgia 24
5) 2002 Ohio State 24, 12) 2015 Stanford 21
4) 2016 Clemson 37, 13) 2017 UCF 27
6) 2011 LSU 18, 11) 2016 Penn State 31
3) 2017 Alabama 28, 14) 2013 Michigan State 13
7) 2002 Miami 35, 10) 2018 Notre Dame 28
2) 2008 Florida 42, 15) 2004 Utah 17
South
1)2004 USC 26, 16) 2007 West Virginia 34
8) 2005 Penn State 14, 9) 2008 Utah 20
5) 2003 USC 31, 12) 2011 Oklahoma State 24
4) 2010 Auburn 34, 13) 2013 South Carolina 31
6) 2013 Auburn 27, 11) 2014 Baylor 21
3) 2014 Ohio State 30, 14) 2010 Boise State 17
7) 2015 Michigan State 10, 10) 2016 Washington 20
2) 2018 Clemson 38, 15) 2015 Iowa 14
Midwest
1)2005 Texas 33, 16) 2012 South Carolina 14
8) 2000 Oregon State 21, 8) 2008 Penn State 31
5) 2006 Florida 21, 12) 2016 Michigan 38
4) 2003 LSU 34, 13) 2010 LSU 20
6) 2017 Georgia 38, 11) 2009 Texas 41
3) 2009 Alabama 13, 14) 2006 Michigan 24
7) 2015 Ohio State 33, 10) 2004 Texas 27
2) 2011 Alabama 30, 15) 2012 Texas A&M 20
Let us know your thoughts! Also, follow along with the polls to see who comes out as the winner! Be sure to vote everyday until we crown a champion. And follow The Walk-On Redshirts for all our off season content!
