Upper Deck Team USA Alumni Report: Lynch leads Northern Illinois to BCS bowl
By Joe Frollo Mon, 12/03/2012 - 12:49pm
Northern Illinois and standout junior QB Jordan Lynch is crashing the BCS party.
Lynch, a member of the 2009 U.S. Under-19 National Team, accounted for 372 yards and four touchdowns in the No. 21 Huskies’ 44-37 double-overtime win over No. 17 Kent State in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game on Friday night in Detroit.
The second-straight MAC title got even sweeter Sunday when the Huskies learned they will play No. 13 Florida State in the Orange Bowl, the first appearance by any MAC team in a BCS bowl.
“We’re 12-1,” Lynch said on ESPN Sunday night. “We faced tons of adversity this year. We won tons of games. … We definitely deserve to be in there.”
Lynch ran for 160 yards on 36 carries and completed 19-of-34 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown in the win over Kent State.
With 1,771 yards rushing this season, Lynch broke the NCAA FBS single-season record for most rushing yards by a quarterback, surpassing Denard Robinson’s 1,702 for Michigan in 2010.
Lynch’s 2-yard run in the second overtime proved to be the winning score.
“All the credit goes to the offense and offensive play calling,” Lynch said. “It put us in the right situation and the offensive coaches and my teammates – without them, it’s impossible.”
Lynch ranks third nationally in total offense at 364.1 yards per game, behind only Baylor’s Nick Florence and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel.
Brian Winters, a 2009 Team USA teammate with Lynch, started at left tackle for Kent State.
Hogan, Stanford win Pac 12
For the first time since 2000, Stanford is headed to the Rose Bowl.
And the Cardinal is going there with a freshman quarterback – Kevin Hogan (2011).
No. 8 Stanford beat No. 16 UCLA, 27-24, in the Pac 12 Championship Game as Hogan was 16-of-22 for 155 yards and a touchdown, adding 59 yards rushing and another score to earn the game’s MVP honors.
The Cardinal are 4-0 in games Hogan starts.
“It’s been a good month,” Hogan said. “We’ve been playing well. You know, especially for me, just being able to play, it’s been fun. The guys around me make it a lot easier than it looks. I’m very fortunate to have such great teammates around me.”
Stanford trailed, 24-17, after three quarters but that soon changed as Hogan found Drew Terrell for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 11:21 to play. Hogan later led a drive that resulted in a Jordan Williamson 36-yard field goal for the game-winner.
“We knew we had to stay calm and play our style of football,” Hogan said of the fourth-quarter comeback. “We kept to it. We pounded the ball, got good field position, and we ended up scoring the tie and Jordan made a great kick to win the game.”
Also for Stanford, A.J. Tarpley (2010) had seven tackles, Wayne Lyons (2011) had two tackles, and Alex Carter (2012) had one tackle.
The Cardinal will play Big Ten champion Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Elsewhere:
- Todd Gurley (2012) ran 23 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns in No. 3 Georgia’s 32-28 loss to No. 2 Alabama.
- Jaxon Shipley (2011) caught five passes for 68 yards and a touchdown for No. 18 Texas in a 42-24 loss to No. 6 Kansas State. Also for Texas, Daje Johnson (2012) caught five passes for 85 yards, Bryant Jackson (2010) had two catches for 42 yards and Joe Bergeron carried once for three yards.
- Adam Shead (2010) started at left guard for No. 11 Oklahoma in a 24-17 win over TCU.
- Tyler Dippel (2009) had two sacks for Wisconsin during a 70-31 win over No. 12 Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship. Imani Cross (2012) ran three times for 35 yards for the Cornhuskers.
- Kevin Cummings (2009) had four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown in No. 15 Oregon State’s 77-3 win over Nichols State. Jordan Poyer (2009) had two tackles and an interception.
- Tevin Reese (2009) caught five passes for 108 yard and a touchdown to help Baylor beat No. 23 Oklahoma State, 41-34.
- Jake Alexander (2010) started at left guard for Tulsa in a 33-27 overtime win over Central Florida in the Conference USA Championship Game.
Upper Deck has been the official trading card partner of USA Football and Team USA since 2011. Each year, Upper Deck produces a USA Football trading card set which features players from USA Football’s Under-19 National Team. Click here to learn more.
