2011 College Football Playoff: December Madness

You know how, at times, art imitates life? Consider this simulated game recap Whatifsports.com's Sistine Chapel.

The Tigers and Tide combined for seven field goals in 60 minutes. The game's final five minutes were an edge-of-your-seat, anxiety attack waiting to happen.

Trailing by nine, Alabama's Jeremy Shelley booted a 30-yard field goal with five and change remaining to cut LSU's lead to six, 19-13.

The Tide's ironclad defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession. Three offensive plays swung the momentum back to 'Bama: Trent Richardson's 48 yards on a draw, Eddie Lacy's 1-yard carry and Lacy's 20 yards on a pitch right for six (extra point good).

Trailing 20-19, Jordan Jefferson had 2 minutes, 46 seconds to move the ball into field-goal range for Drew Alleman.

The Tigers faced a fourth-and-11 from their own 21, when coach Les Miles called a timeout. He drew up a beauty. Jefferson hit Odell Beckham on a 21-yard pass play to move the chains and keep the Tigers' chances alive. The quarterback completed his next three passes for 31 yards to move into LSU territory and settle in at the Alabama 27-yard line.

With 19 seconds remaining, the snap came back, the ball was put down and Alleman booted his fifth and final field goal through the uprights for the game-winner.

The Tigers won 22-20 and advanced in dramatic fashion.

Player of the game: Drew Alleman (Game-winning field goal)

Winning Percentage of 1,001 Simulations: LSU 59.9% - Alabama 40.1%

The Broncos were the highest seed (12) to advance to the second round of December Madness 2011.

As with many December Madness simulated games, Broncos-Badgers came down to the fourth quarter.

Down five, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore (229 yards, four touchdowns, one interception) kept the chains moving in an 11-play drive that included a gutsy call by coach Chris Petersen to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Badgers' 12-yard line. Doug Martin picked up 8. Moore hit Matt Miller in the end zone two plays later (missed two-point conversion) to hand the Broncos their first lead since the early in the second quarter.

The Broncos enjoyed that lead for exactly 75 seconds. On the Badgers' third play of the next drive, Montee Ball housed one from 56 yards out. (James White's two-point conversion was good.) Wisconsin led 30-23 with a little more than nine minutes to go in the game.

Boise State countered with a haymaker of its own, Martin broke off a 50-yard run to the left side before being tackled at the Wisconsin 4. Moore found Tyler Shoemaker for six (extra point good), and just like that it was tied 30-30.

The Badgers, in field-goal range, had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Ball fumbled and the Broncos recovered.

In the first overtime, Moore and the offense picked up a first down before the quarterback hit Kyle Efaw for a 14-yard touchdown. Wisconsin failed in its attempt to force a second overtime.

The Broncos won 37-30 in OT to advance to the semifinals and a date with LSU.

Player of the game: Kellen Moore (229 yards, 4 TDs)

Winning Percentage of 1,001 Simulations: Boise State 53.2% - Wisconsin 46.8%

To amend a line from the film Anchorman, "Today we spell redemption "H-O-C-K-E-R."

When one imagines a hypothetical showdown between offensive juggernauts Oregon and Arkansas, kickers rarely would factor into the picture. Perhaps the nimbleness of LaMichael James springs to mind, or the poise and guidance of Tyler Wilson. Even the aesthetically-pleasing and constantly-altering uniforms of the Ducks pop into your mind before special teams make an appearance. So it's apropos that the booters from both squads would decide the outcome of this battle.

James commenced the scoring with an eight-yard run for paydirt in the first quarter, only for Oregon kicker Alejandro Maldonado to miss on the PAT. Arkansas would answer with a 41-yard field goal and nine-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Cobbi Hamilton, but, alas, Arkansas' foot, Zach Hocker, could not convert on his point-after-touchdown attempt.

Oregon came back with two scores of their own in the second quarter, with Darron Thomas finding De'Anthony in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard conversion and James racking up his second score of the day off a two-yard plunge. Arkansas ended the half with a Tyler Wilson scamper, making the score 20-16 Oregon at the break. Yes, all PATs were successful in the second quarter.

Sadly, this was not the case for the second half, as a 61-yard airstrike from Wilson to Dennis Johnson was sullied by another missed PAT, giving Arkansas a two-point lead. The team's proceeded to swap touchdowns, with James reeling off a 61-yard run to the Promised Land and Wilson hitting Greg Childs from 10 yards out, as Arkansas led 29-27 at the onset of the fourth quarter.

Wilson posted his fourth touchdown of the day to start the final quarter, with Joe Adams as the lucky recipient. The Ducks, down but not out, would answer with 10 points in under two minutes, thanks to a Maldonado field goal and another James touchdown, this time a 59-yard bolt to give Oregon a one-point lead with 4:37 to go.

The Razorbacks engineered a drive of their own, only to be stalled at Oregon's 29-yard line. Despite missing two gimmies in the game, coach Bobby Petrino sent out Hocker for a 46-yard try. The flight of the pigskin looked inauspicious at takeoff, yet the ball hooked through the uprights to give Arkansas a two-point lead with a minute to spare. Darron Thomas and the Oregon offense could not muster an answer, as the Razorbacks advance to the Final Four of December Madness.

Player of the game: Tyler Wilson (388 passing yards, 4 TD)

Winning Percentage of 1,001 Simulations: Arkansas 54.1% - Oregon 45.9%

Oklahoma State's decree of BCS betrayal is a sentiment most college fans can sympathize with, as every year a school seems to be slighted without reason. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, these claims have lost some of their merit with their first-quarter performance against the Cardinal. Stanford jumped out to a 16-point lead in the opening segment off three field goals from Jordan Williamson and a 22-yard touchdown strike from Andrew Luck to Jamal-Rashad Patterson.

While they're not 40 (although Brandon Weeden is sure close), Mike Gundy must have informed his team to start acting like men, as the Cowboys scored two touchdowns in a five-minute span in the second quarter, and followed it up with a 46-yard bomb from Weeden to Colton Chief to open the third to take a 21-19 lead.

Andrew Luck may be garnering the national headlines, but it's the Cardinal kicker Williamson that keeps Stanford alive in December Madness. While the offense continually stalled against the opportunistic Oklahoma State defense, Williamson was a conversion machine, connecting on all eight attempts, including three in the fourth quarter, to give Stanford a 38-28 win.

After the Weeden-to-Chief connection, the Cowboy's aerial assault was grounded. Weeden, one of the more accurate arms in the land, hit just 23-of-42 passing attempts. The running game is not without fault for OSU, as the majority of Joseph Randle's 77 yards derived from a 41-yard run.

For the second straight game, Luck was not at his best for the Cardinal, but managed to keep the ball away from the Cowboys and repeatedly put Williamson in range to score. Luck posted 301 yards and a touchdown off 29-for-45 passing, while Stephan Taylor added 104 yards in the ground game.

Player of the game: Jordan Williamson (8/8 FG, 2/2 XP)

Winning Percentage of 1,001 Simulations: Stanford 50.5% - Oklahoma State 49.5%