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2007 Poinsettia Bowl
The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Utah Utes played on December 20, 2007, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Utah defeated Navy 35–32 in a game that came down to the final seconds. The third edition of the Poinsettia Bowl was the first of 32 games in the 2007–2008 bowl season and the final game of the 2007 NCAA football season for both teams.
Coming into the game, both teams had win–loss records of 8–4. After beginning their season with a 4–4 record, the Navy Midshipmen defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in triple overtime and became bowl eligible after defeating the North Texas Mean Green for their sixth win of the season. The Utah Utes began the season with a 1–3 record, but won seven straight games when quarterback Brian Johnson returned from an injury. After finishing with the third best record in the Mountain West Conference, they accepted their invitation to the bowl game.
Both teams' offenses moved the ball down the field effectively during the game's first few drives, but neither team could make it into the end zone, leaving the game scoreless after one quarter. The Utes scored first in the second quarter, and the Midshipmen tied the game at 7–7 on their next drive. Navy added a field goal with 28 seconds left in the half to give the Midshipmen a 10–7 lead at halftime. After the Midshipmen scored another touchdown to increase that lead to 17–7, the Utes scored three unanswered touchdowns to gain a 28–17 lead. The Midshipmen narrowed that lead to three points after scoring another touchdown and two-point conversion, and after a series of defensive battles for both teams, the Utes scored again with 1:27 left in the game. Navy scored another touchdown on its next drive to bring the score to 35–32 and recovered an onside kick to retain possession with less than a minute left in the game. Midshipmen quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada's final pass down field, however, was intercepted, allowing the Utes to run out the remaining seconds and win the game with a final score of 35–32.
The win gave the Utah Utes their sixth straight bowl victory.
The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl, operated by the organizers of the Holiday Bowl, was sponsored by the San Diego County Credit Union. The previous year's game matched the TCU Horned Frogs from the Mountain West Conference against Northern Illinois Huskies from the Mid-American Conference. TCU defeated Northern Illinois with a score of 37–7. In exchange for their participation in the 2007 game, Navy and Utah each received $750,000.
Prior to the beginning of the 2007 college football season, Poinsettia Bowl organizers and Navy reached a single-season agreement with the United States Naval Academy for the Midshipmen to play in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl if the team became bowl eligible by reaching at least six wins. The Midshipmen had previously won the inaugural 2005 Poinsettia Bowl and played in the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl. The team earned a 4–4 record through the first eight games of the season, including an overtime loss against the Ball State Cardinals and a double-overtime win against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The team's ninth game versus the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ended with a triple-overtime win for the Midshipmen, their first victory in the Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry in 43 years. With a 5–4 record and needing another win to become bowl eligible, the Midshipmen reached that mark when they defeated the North Texas Mean Green in a contest that set a new NCAA record for most points scored in a regulation-length FBS college football game. The Midshipmen accepted their invitation to play in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl on November 12.
Utah's selection as the other half of the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl matchup came by virtue of its third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference, with which the Poinsettia Bowl had an exclusive agreement. After Utes quarterback Brian Johnson suffered a separated shoulder in the team's season opening loss to the Oregon State Beavers, Utah began the 2007 season with a 1–3 record through the first four games, their sole victory coming against the eleventh-ranked UCLA Bruins. When Johnson returned the following week, the Utes won seven straight games before falling to the BYU Cougars in the annual "Holy War" game to finish the regular season with an 8–4 record. The team accepted its invitation to the game on December 2, 2007. The Utes accepted their invitation to play in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl on December 2.
Prior to the game, Midshipmen head football coach Paul Johnson announced he would take over the head coaching position at Georgia Tech for the 2007 season. Navy's offensive line coach Ken Niumatalolo was initially named interim head coach, but was confirmed as Navy's permanent head coach before the game. The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl was Niumatalolo's first game as head coach at any school.
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2007 Poinsettia Bowl
The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Utah Utes played on December 20, 2007, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Utah defeated Navy 35–32 in a game that came down to the final seconds. The third edition of the Poinsettia Bowl was the first of 32 games in the 2007–2008 bowl season and the final game of the 2007 NCAA football season for both teams.
Coming into the game, both teams had win–loss records of 8–4. After beginning their season with a 4–4 record, the Navy Midshipmen defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in triple overtime and became bowl eligible after defeating the North Texas Mean Green for their sixth win of the season. The Utah Utes began the season with a 1–3 record, but won seven straight games when quarterback Brian Johnson returned from an injury. After finishing with the third best record in the Mountain West Conference, they accepted their invitation to the bowl game.
Both teams' offenses moved the ball down the field effectively during the game's first few drives, but neither team could make it into the end zone, leaving the game scoreless after one quarter. The Utes scored first in the second quarter, and the Midshipmen tied the game at 7–7 on their next drive. Navy added a field goal with 28 seconds left in the half to give the Midshipmen a 10–7 lead at halftime. After the Midshipmen scored another touchdown to increase that lead to 17–7, the Utes scored three unanswered touchdowns to gain a 28–17 lead. The Midshipmen narrowed that lead to three points after scoring another touchdown and two-point conversion, and after a series of defensive battles for both teams, the Utes scored again with 1:27 left in the game. Navy scored another touchdown on its next drive to bring the score to 35–32 and recovered an onside kick to retain possession with less than a minute left in the game. Midshipmen quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada's final pass down field, however, was intercepted, allowing the Utes to run out the remaining seconds and win the game with a final score of 35–32.
The win gave the Utah Utes their sixth straight bowl victory.
The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl, operated by the organizers of the Holiday Bowl, was sponsored by the San Diego County Credit Union. The previous year's game matched the TCU Horned Frogs from the Mountain West Conference against Northern Illinois Huskies from the Mid-American Conference. TCU defeated Northern Illinois with a score of 37–7. In exchange for their participation in the 2007 game, Navy and Utah each received $750,000.
Prior to the beginning of the 2007 college football season, Poinsettia Bowl organizers and Navy reached a single-season agreement with the United States Naval Academy for the Midshipmen to play in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl if the team became bowl eligible by reaching at least six wins. The Midshipmen had previously won the inaugural 2005 Poinsettia Bowl and played in the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl. The team earned a 4–4 record through the first eight games of the season, including an overtime loss against the Ball State Cardinals and a double-overtime win against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The team's ninth game versus the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ended with a triple-overtime win for the Midshipmen, their first victory in the Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry in 43 years. With a 5–4 record and needing another win to become bowl eligible, the Midshipmen reached that mark when they defeated the North Texas Mean Green in a contest that set a new NCAA record for most points scored in a regulation-length FBS college football game. The Midshipmen accepted their invitation to play in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl on November 12.
Utah's selection as the other half of the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl matchup came by virtue of its third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference, with which the Poinsettia Bowl had an exclusive agreement. After Utes quarterback Brian Johnson suffered a separated shoulder in the team's season opening loss to the Oregon State Beavers, Utah began the 2007 season with a 1–3 record through the first four games, their sole victory coming against the eleventh-ranked UCLA Bruins. When Johnson returned the following week, the Utes won seven straight games before falling to the BYU Cougars in the annual "Holy War" game to finish the regular season with an 8–4 record. The team accepted its invitation to the game on December 2, 2007. The Utes accepted their invitation to play in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl on December 2.
Prior to the game, Midshipmen head football coach Paul Johnson announced he would take over the head coaching position at Georgia Tech for the 2007 season. Navy's offensive line coach Ken Niumatalolo was initially named interim head coach, but was confirmed as Navy's permanent head coach before the game. The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl was Niumatalolo's first game as head coach at any school.