After a nondescript freshman season, Derrick Harvey (Class of 2002) had put together a strong sophomore campaign for the University of Florida. But, without question, he saved his best game for last. Harvey, a defensive end for the Gators, had four tackles, three of them sacks, and recovered a fumble in Florida's dominating 41-14 win over Ohio State in the BCS Title Game. Harvey led a Florida defense that shackled Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and a potent Buckeyes' offense. OSU mustered only 82 yards of offense and one offensive score, and ran only 37 plays on offense to the Gators’ 80.

Harvey's fumble recovery came after a Jarvis Moss sack of Smith. He scooped up the loose ball and returned it 9 yards to the Buckeyes' 5-yard line. Florida freshman QB Tim Tebow (Class of 2004) capitalized on Harvey's fumble recovery, throwing his only pass of the game, a 1-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell (Class of 2002) to make the score 34-14 Florida with 23 seconds left in the first half. Tebow, in the game mostly to run the ball, carried 10 times for 39 yards and a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to end the scoring.

Caldwell finished with two catches for 6 yards and carried the ball three times for 13 yards.

• If it was his last game at Louisiana State, JaMarcus Russell made it a dandy. Playing in front of a friendly crowd in the Sugar Bowl, Russell (Class of 2002) was spectacular in dismantling Notre Dame 41-14. The junior threw for 332 yards while completing 21 of his 34 attempts. He connected on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe and a 58-yard scoring strike to Brandon Lafell late in the third quarter. Russell also ran for the go-ahead score -- a 5-yard TD run -- to break a 14-14 tie with 1 minute, 15 seconds left in the first half.

• Florida State senior running back Lorenzo Booker (Class of 2001) helped spark a struggling offense in the Seminoles' 44-27 win over UCLA in the Emerald Bowl. Booker ran for 91 yards on 22 carries and touchdown runs of 25 and 3 yards. Booker also had a game-high 117 yards on five catches.

• Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards (Class of 2005) ran for 81 yards and threw for 146 as the freshman led the Mountaineers to their second straight Division I-AA national title. For the season, Edwards completed 167 of 274 passes for 2,251 yards and 15 touchdowns, and ran for another 1,153 yards and 15 touchdowns. He became the fourth quarterback in Division I history – and the first freshman – to pass for at least 2,000 yards and run for at least 1,000. He was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and College Sporting News national Freshman of the Year.

• South Florida's freshman quarterback Matt Grothe (Class of 2004) led the Bulls to their first bowl victory and played the first quarter and a half of the PapaJohns.com Bowl before leaving with an injury. He threw for 81 yards and a touchdown before leaving. Grothe was named Big East Rookie of the Year, throwing for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns while completing 63.7 percent of passes. He also ran for 622 yards and nine touchdowns. Entering the bowl game, he was the top ranking freshman in total offense at 258.5 yards per game.

Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards (Class of 2005) was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and first team All-Conference by the conference's coaches and the Southern Conference Sports Media Association. Edwards threw for 1,636 yards on 124-of-201 passing with 11 touchdowns, while rushing for 685 yards and nine touchdowns.

Edwards had three games of 200-plus passing yardage, including a career-high 311 yards against Chattanooga. He broke Appalachian State records for passing yards by a freshman, most touchdowns thrown and total offense (2,321). He also entered the record book by rushing for 140 yards against Georgia Southern, the second-best rushing total by a quarterback in ASU history. He was named the SoCon Freshman of the Week on five occasions, tying for the most by any freshman in league history.

He won all nine of his regular season starts, leading the top-seeded Mountaineers into the semifinals of the Division I Football Championship playoffs.

• Southern Cal's Taylor Mays (Class of 2005) was named co-freshman of the year in the Pac 10 Conference. Mays took the starting job at free safety in the second game of the season for the Trojans, and has 58 tackles and three interceptions after the end of the regular season.

• Florida wide receiver Andre Caldwell (Class of 2002) caught three passes for 31 yards but his 5-yard touchdown pass with 9:04 left in the game sealed the Gators' 38-28 SEC title game win over Arkansas.

As a redshirt freshman quarterbacking a team that's only been around 10 years, Matt Grothe led South Florida to the school's biggest victory.

Grothe (Class of 2004) led the Bulls to a 24-19 win at seventh-ranked West Virginia, in one of the most raucous stadiums in college football.

Grothe threw for 272 yards, completing 22 of 30 passes and a 21-yard touchdown pass that extended the Bulls' lead to nine points late in the third quarter. He completed passes to nine different receivers and threw two interceptions.

Grothe led South Florida with 51 yards rushing on 23 carries and a 10-yard touchdown run that gave the Bulls a 14-6 halftime lead.

• Louisiana Tech running back Patrick Jackson (Class of 2004) ran for 87 yards on 19 carries and a 3-yard touchdown in the Bulldogs' 34-27 loss to Fresno State. Jackson also returned a kickoff 100 yards, tying a school record, and set a career best with 277 all-purpose yards.

• Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards (Class of 2005) threw for 226 yards and three first half touchdowns, and ran for 172 yards and two second half touchdowns in the Mountaineers' 45-28 win over Coastal Carolina. The rushing yards set a school record for rushing by a quarterback.

• LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell (Class of 2002) threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 31-26 win at Arkansas and ending the Razorbacks' national title hopes.

• Florida wide receiver Andre Caldwell (Class of 2002) caught eight passes for 125 yards and a 66-yard touchdown in the Gators' 21-14 win at Florida St.

Taking over the reins of the defending Division I-AA national champions has not proven to be a problem for true freshman Armanti Edwards.

Edwards (Class of 2005), the starting quarterback for Appalachian State, led the team to a 7-0 record and Southern Conference title with a 119 yards rushing and two touchdowns as the Mountaineers beat Western Carolina 31-9.

Edwards has 685 yards rushing this season, the second most by an ASU quarterback. He also threw for 85 yards on a wet day in Cullowhee, N.C., and one touchdown.

His 12-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter was his 11 th of the season, setting the school's freshman record.

The defense, which allowed only a late fourth quarter touchdown, was led by Billy Riddle (Class of 2003) and his seven tackles. Riddle was making his career first start.

• Matt Hardin (Class of 2002) threw for 212 yards and two first quarter touchdown passes as Jacksonville State blitzed Samford 55-7.

• LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell (Class of 2002) was nearly perfect, going 18 for 21 for 207 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers topped Alabama 28-14.

• Truman quarterback Matt Ticich (Class of 2003) threw for 197 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for a team high 75 yards in a 40-15 win over Fort Hays State.

• Pittsburgh running back LaRod Stephens-Howling (Class of 2003) ran for 154 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns as the Panthers fell to Connecticut 46-45 in double overtime. Pitt linebacker H.B. Blades (Class of 2002) made a game-high 17 tackles.

Three interceptions did nothing to dampen JaMarcus Russell’s big day in Knoxville.

Russell (Class of 2002), LSU’s senior quarterback, survived three errant throws to march the Tigers down the field and hit Early Doucet with a four-yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds left in the game to lead LSU to a 28-24 upset win over Tennessee.

Russell threw three touchdowns on the day. In addition to the pass to Doucet, Russell completed a second-quarter TD strike to Craig Davis that covered 23 yards, and a third quarter pass to Dwayne Bowe for 5 yards.

Russell ended the day with 247 yards on 24 of 36 passing. He also ran for a game high 71 yards on only seven carries, with a long of 34 yards.

• Tyrell Sutton (Class of 2004) ran for 169 yards and a touchdown, and added 35 yards receiving for Northwestern as the Wildcats picked up a 21-7 upset win at Iowa.

• Deon Williams (Class of 2005) ran for 67 yards on only seven carries, including a 46 yard touchdown run in Valdosta State’s 51-3 win over Arkansas-Monticello.

• Xavier Lee (Class of 2003) threw for 185 yards a touchdown, and ran for a team-high 49 yards in Florida State’s 33-0 win over Virginia.

• Matt Grothe (Class of 2004) connected on 19-of-25 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown to lead South Florida to a 22-12 win over Pittsburgh.

• Steve Williams (Class of 2003) recovered one of the four fumbles the Harvard defense forced and helped hold Columbia to minus-14 yards rushing in the Crimson’s 24-7 win.

Two Florida Gators made sure that their annual trip to Jacksonville to play rival Georgia wasn’t a wasted one.

Junior wide receiver Andre Caldwell (Class of 2002) scored two touchdowns, and sophomore defensive lineman Derrick Harvey (Class of 2003) wreaked havoc in the Gators’ 21-14.

Caldwell scored the Gators’ first two touchdowns. The first came on a 12-yard reverse, the second on a 40-yard pass from Chris Leak. He finished with a game-high 86 yards receiving on eight catches.

With the Gators leading 14-0, Harvey stripped the ball from Kregg Lumpkin, which Ray McDonald scooped up and ran 9 yards for what would be the game-winning touchdown.

Harvey recovered another fumble, had three solo tackles and a 10-yard sack of Georgia’s Matthew Stafford.

• Jacksonville State’s Matthew Hardin (Class of 2002) threw for 164 yards and a 17 yard touchdown pass to Taurean Rhetta on the first possession of overtime to lead the Gamecocks to a 17-10 win over Tennessee Tech.

• Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman (Class of 2002), ran for touchdowns of 13 and 9 yards among his 114 yards rushing in the Buckeyes 44-0 whitewash of Minnesota.

• Tulane wide receiver Brian King (Class of 2004), caught five passes for 83 yards, including a 15 yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in the Green Wave’s 42-28 win over Army.

Most freshman quarterbacks are just happy when they get some playing time. Armanti Edwards has taken the reins for Appalachian State, the defending Division I-AA champions, and kept them on top of the heap.

Edwards (Class of 2005), had another in a series of remarkable games Saturday against Georgia Southern.

Edwards ran for 140 yards and threw for 210 yards to lead the Mountaineers to a 27-20, double overtime win.

Edwards gave the Mountaineers a 10-7 lead midway through the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run.

After Georgia Southern took a 17-10 lead, Edwards connected with William Mayfield on a 65-yard touchdown pass to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

Edwards is the team’s second leading rusher and has thrown for more than 1,200 yards. He has accounted for 15 touchdowns.

• Northwestern teammates Tyrell Sutton (Class of 2004) and C.J. Bacher (Class of 2003) each had big games in a 41-38 loss to Michigan State. Sutton ran for 171 yards and caught two passes for 19 yards. Bacher threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns and added a touchdown run.

• Northeastern senior Jamil Young (Class of 2001) made two tackles, both sacks, as the Huskies upset New Hampshire 36-35.

• Running back Marlon Lucky (Class of 2004) threw for what appeared to be the game winning touchdown pass for Nebraska, only to see Texas drive the field and kick the winning field goal.

While defense gets the headlines in Truman State’s 14-13 win at Emporia State, Matt Ticich made sure the Bulldogs got all the points they would need.

Ticich (Class of 2003), a sophomore quarterback that transferred from Mt. San Jacinto Junior College, ran for a two-yard touchdown on the game’s first drive.

After falling behind 13-7, Ticich led the Bulldogs on a nine-play, 59-yard drive and hit Ryan Bonner for an 11-yard touchdown strike for the winning points.

Ticich finished with 145 yards passing and a team-high 33 yards rushing in snapping a six game losing streak to Emporia State.

Seville Ko (Class of 2003) ran for 130 yards for Emporia State in the game.

• Matt Grothe (Class of 2004) threw for 160 yards on 14 of 21 passing and a touchdown in South Florida’s 37-20 win at North Carolina.

• Brent Schaeffer (Class of 2002) went 13 of 20 for 163 yards and 55-yard touchdown pass for Mississippi in a 26-23 overtime loss to Alabama.

• Karsten Sween (Class of 2004) threw for 202 yards and a touchdown and ran in another score in Wyoming’s 31-15 win over Utah.

• Arkansas State’s Cedric Wilkerson (Class of 2003) ran for 116 yards in the Indians’ 26-23 last second win at Memphis.

• Antone Smith (Class of 2004) ran for 80 yards, all of it on a touchdown run on the first play of the second half of Florida State’s 51-24 win over Duke. Smith also had 21 yards receiving.

Most of Tim Tebow’s playing time for the University of Florida this year has led to him running the ball out of the Gators’ spread option attack.

But in Saturday’s battle of top-10 teams, Tebow (Class of 2004), a lanky left-handed freshman, only completed two passes, for his first two collegiate touchdowns, and ran for another, in the Gators 23-10 win over LSU.

Tebow’s first pass, with 22 seconds left in the first half, gave the Gators the lead for good. Taking the snap out of the shotgun from the 1 yard line, he started running toward the end zone. He jumped in the air and floated a pass over the LSU defensive line to Tate Casey in the back of the end zone.

His second touchdown pass was a 35-yard bullet to Louis Murphy less than three minutes into the third quarter.

Tebow, who has been taking some snaps from senior Chris Leak, enrolled early at Florida after graduating from Ponte Vedra Beach Nease High School a semester early.

• Pittsburgh’s LaRod Stephens-Howling broke open a tight game early, and then did his best to salt the game away.

Stephens-Howling (Class of 2003), ran for a 70-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 14-3 lead en route to a 21-11 win at Syracuse. The long run was part of a career-best 221-yard effort of 27 carries. He had 178 yards on 14 carries in the first half alone.

• Freshman QB Armanti Edwards (Class of 2005) was nearly perfect for Appalachian State, throwing for 311 yards and hitting 12 of 14 passes and three touchdowns in a 56-21 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga.

• James Noble (Class of 2003) ran for 121 yards, one touchdown and one two-point conversion to lead Cal Poly to a 23-17, comeback win over Cal-Davis

• Steve Williams (Class of 2003) made three tackles in Harvard’s 33-23 win over Cornell, but broke up a game-high three passes to help the Crimson hold on.

If the weather couldn’t stop LSU’s JaMarcus Russell, did Mississippi State stand a chance?

Simply, no.

Russell (Class of 2002), tied a school record with 14 straight completions in going 18 of 20 for 330 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-17 win over the Bulldogs.

Russell was undeterred when the game was delayed by strong storms and lightning for nearly an hour in the second half. By that point, the majority of the damage had been done.

Russell threw touchdown passes to Craig Davis and Early Doucet in the first quarter, and completed a 55-yard pass on the last play of the first quarter to set up a touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. Russell hit Dwayne Bowe for a score in the second quarter.

In the opening quarter, Russell hit seven of eight passes for 207 yards.

• Matt Grothe (Class of 2004) threw for 241 yards and a touchdown, and led South Florida with 61 yards rushing and two more touchdowns in a 22-20 loss to 23 rd-ranked Rutgers.

• Pierre Thomas (Class of 2002) ran for 110 yards to lead Illinois to a 23-20 win over Michigan State.

• Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween (Class of 2004) played the second half of the Cowboys 40-34, double overtime loss at Syracuse and threw for 213 yards on 18-of-28 passing and two touchdowns. His second touchdown, with five seconds left in regulation, forced overtime.

• Joe Garcia (Class of 2002) led Texas Tech’s defense with 13 tackles, eight solo and one for a loss, in the Red Raiders’ 31-27 win at Texas A&M.

After missing a week due to injury, Iowa’s Drew Tate proved how eager he was to get back under center.

Tate (Class of 2002), avenged last year’s loss to rival Iowa State with a near perfect performance. The senior quarterback completed 26 of 38 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-17 win over the Cyclones. Tate missed most of last year’s game after getting knocked out with a concussion.

Trailing 14-3 with less than three minutes left in the first half, Tate drove the Hawkeyes 80 yards in less than a minute for his first touchdown.

With the Hawkeyes down 17-10 midway through the third quarter, Tate led three scoring drives to close out the win.

• Ohio State’s Antonio Pittman (Class of 2002), ran for 154 yards on 16 carries and a 48 yard touchdown run in a 37-7 win over Cincinnati.

• Arizona State’s Chris McGaha (Class of 2004) caught four passes for 40 yards and his first collegiate touchdown reception.

• A.Q. Shipley (Class of 2003), Penn State’s center, anchored an offensive line that allowed its running backs to run for 389 yards on 10 yards per carry in a 37-3 win over Youngstown State.

• Appalachian State quarterbacks Armanti Edwards (Class of 2005) and Trey Elder (Class of 2003) each played a big role in the 41-0 shutout of Mars Hill. Edwards, a true freshman, threw for 203 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 49 yards and another score. Elder, a junior, threw for 60 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for another 50 yards.

• Mike McDonald (Class of 2002), led Adams State College with 11 tackles in a 26-7 win at Colorado School of Mines. He also forced a fumble and defended a pass in the win.

Charlie Jones wasted no time in getting the University of Miami going.

Jones (Class of 2002), scored the Hurricanes’ first two touchdowns in a 51-10 win over Florida A&M. He was part of a crowded backfield that featured four backs running for more than 60 yards. He picked up 62 yards on only 11 carries.

The Hurricanes’ running backs combined for 339 yards rushing on 47 carries, as they bounced back from the 2 yards gained in the season opener against Florida State. Jones scored the only touchdown in that game and leads the team with three rushing scores.

Nebraska's Marlon Lucky (Class of 2004), piled up 79 yards on the ground while scoring his first collegiate touchdown in a 49-10 win over Louisiana Tech. His second quarter touchdown proved to be the winner putting the Huskers up 14-3. The sophomore also had 42 yards receiving.

• Ohio State’s Antonio Pittman (Class of 2002) ran for 111 yards and one touchdown in a 35-12 win over Northern Illinois.
• James Noble (Class of 2003) rushed for 127 yards and one score to lead Cal Poly to a 44-0 win over Fort Lewis.
• Tom Zbikowski (Class of 2003) led a tough Notre Dame defense with eight tackles and added one tackle for loss in a 14-10 win over Georgia Tech.
• Although he threw for only 97 yards, Mississippi quarterback Brent Schaeffer ran for 48 yards, including the game-winning touchdown mid-way through the fourth quarter to lead the Rebels to a 28-25 win.

James Noble is coming up big when his team needs it the most.

Noble (Class of 2003), a redshirt freshman for Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo, ran for 248 yards to lead the Mustangs to a 35-10 win over Idaho State. The win keeps the Mustangs in the running for a spot in the 16-team Division I-AA playoff hunt.

Noble scored all five of SLO’s touchdowns, on runs of 12, 10, 23, 35 and 2 yards. It was the second time in three weeks Noble cracked 200 yards, and his seventh 100-plus yard game of the season.

Notre Dame wide receivers have been thriving this year with a new coach and a new offense. Senior Maurice Stovall is no exception.

Stovall (Class of 2001), hauled in eight passes for 130 yards and three touchdowns in the Fighting Irish’s 42-21 win over Navy.

Stovall’s touchdown catches covered 31, 16 and 10 yards, the first of which was a leaping one-handed grab over a defender in the end zone.

The outing was nothing new for Stovall recently. With the three touchdowns, he has eight in Notre Dame’s last three games.

Zbikowski (Class of 2002) was a one-man wrecking crew for the Fighting Irish in Saturday’s 41-21 win over Tennessee. First he gave the Irish a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter with a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown.

On defense, he iced the win by returning an interception 33 yards for a touchdown, giving him four touchdowns in his last three games. He also made nine tackles, one for a loss, and a sack.

Pittman (Class of 2002) ran for most of his 186 yards and both his touchdowns in second half of the Buckeyes’ 45-31 win.

Pittman started the scoring in the second half on the Buckeyes’ second play from scrimmage, breaking off a 67-yard touchdown run. Pittman later ended a six-play, 37-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to put Ohio State up 38-24.

Down 10-0, Blades (Class of 2002), got Pitt on the scoreboard, returning an interception 38 yards for a touchdown. Pitt went on to win 34-17.

Blades went on to make a team-high 11 tackles and recovered a fumble in the win that evened the Panthers’ record at 4-4.

Cornerback D.J. Wolfe (Class of 2003) picked off the first pass Kansas would through and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown.

The touchdown came 87 seconds into Oklahoma’s 19-3 win over the Jayhawks in Kansas City. Wolfe, a converted running back, also made two tackles.

Sutton (Class of 2004), scored four second half touchdowns, two to give the Wildcats 10-point leads, and his final run was the game-clincher in a 51-48 victory over the No. 14 Badgers.

Sutton, the nation’s top freshman running back, ran for 244 yards on 29 carries and three touchdowns. The first, from 1-yard out, gave the Wildcats their first lead, which wouldn’t be relinquished. He also scored on a 14-yard run and a 62-yard run to give Northwestern its final points, as well as a 9-yard touchdown catch.

Booker caught three passes for 78 yards and turned a swing pass from Drew Weatherford into a 71-yard touchdown catch as the Seminoles downed the Orange 38-14.

Booker ended up with 35 yards on five carries to help pace a balanced FSU running back.

Young finished with five tackles, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble, but made the defensive play of the game in a game of minimal defense.

Leading 41-35 at the start of the fourth quarter, Young intercepted a Towson pass in the end zone to keep the Huskies ahead and halt a 28-0 Towson run. Northeastern’s offense did the rest in a 56-41 win.

Stovall (Class of 2001), a senior wide receiver, had eight catches and a game-high 176 yards in the Fighting Irish’s 44-41 overtime loss to Michigan State.

Stovall caught a 7-yard fourth quarter touchdown pass that closed the Spartans lead to 38-31, and made a key catch on the Irish’s game-tying drive.

JaMarcus Russell (Class of 2002) gave the fans watching at home in Baton Rouge something to get excited about.

Russell scrambled and threw a desperation 39-yard touchdown pass to Early Doucet with 1:13 left to cap off a 28-point fourth quarter in a 35-31 win over the Sun Devils.

Russell finished with 232 yards passing on 16 completions.

Sutton, a freshman from Ohio, ran for 104 yards on 17 carries and a pair of touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 38-14 win over Ohio University.

Sutton’s first score, a 17-yard run, came with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first half and gave Northwestern a 17-0 lead. His second touchdown covered 20 yards and was the Wildcats’ final score of the day.