Leading Off

The Bowl Shebang

From the arrival of the first fruitcake through the last sips of champagne and into the new year, 28 bowls took place from Honolulu to Miami . Amid all the thrilling finishes (including Michigan 's failed seven-lateral pass play against Nebraska ) and record-breaking performances (like the combined 1,211 yards gained in the Insight Bowl) a familiar question raged: Should these games be superseded by a playoff system (page 20)? As you ponder that, take a look at these snapshots from each of the bowls--a scintillating postseason potpourri that ended with Texas 's 41-38 victory over USC for the national championship (page 36).

NEW ORLEANS
Southern Miss 31, Arkansas State 19
12/20/05 ? CODY HULL

FORT WORTH
Kansas 42, Houston 13
12/23/05 ? CHARLTON KEITH

MOTOR CITY
Memphis 38, Akron 31
12/26/05 ? DEANGELO WILLIAMS

HAWAII
Nevada 49, Central Florida 48 (OT)
12/24/05 ? ROBERT HUBBARD

POINSETTIA
Navy 51, Colorado State 30
12/22/05 ? REGGIE CAMPBELL

LAS VEGAS
Cal 35, BYU 28
12/22/05 ? TIM MIXON

GMAC
Toledo 45, UTEP 13
12/21/05 ? CHRIS HOPKINS

CHAMPS SPORTS
Clemson 19, Colorado 10
12/27/05 ? AARON KELLY