Wildcats Win Inaugural FBCS Championship

Unlike its NCAA counterpart, the FBCS (Fantasy Bowl Championship Series) proved that it truly is the best way to determine a champion. In the FAC-10 Football Conference's inaugural season, running back Larry Johnson and the University of Mexico ran away with the title.









By Michael Upshaw, San Diego Chronicle




There is no "I" in team... unless you say it in Spanish, in which case, there is an "I" in equipo.

With the third overall pick in the 2005 FAC-10 draft, the University of Mexico selected running back Shaun Alexander. But when Alexander found out he’d be playing south of the border, he was irate.

"As soon as the pick was announced, I got a call from Shaun," said Wildcats head coach Keith Kantor. "I was a little confused why he refused to play in Mexico, mainly because he was yelling so loudly."

While Alexander prepared for a holdout, UM was busy trying to make the best out of a bad situation. They quickly found an acceptable home for the sulking tailback, sending him to Gillespie State. In return, the Wildcats received running back Willis McGahee and a late-round draft pick (which was eventually used on DL Julius Peppers).

Alexander had an excellent season, rushing for 1880 yards and 27 touchdowns, was named FAC-10 Player of the Year, and helped Gillespie State to a regular season title. Meanwhile, UM finished second in the conference and eventually found themselves in the FAC-10 Championships against the most unlikely of opponents, Doug Flutie #1 Pick.

It was all Wildcats in the inaugural Fantasy Bowl Championship Series (FBCS) game, led by undrafted free agents Larry Johnson and Santana Moss. Johnson had 131 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, while Moss had 160 yards receiving and 3 scores. Wide Receivers Torry Holt and Larry Fitzgerald combined for another 256 yards and 2 touchdowns.

On the other side, DF tried to keep up but the Wildcats defense was just too much for them. UM held quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to just 168 yards passing, while running back Tiki Barber had just 80 yards on the ground.

Mexico dominated the Keystone Light Ghetto Bowl from start to finish, winning by a convincing 57 points.

"What can we say, they were the better team out there," said DF head coach Kevin Neville. "We were the Cinderella story throughout the playoffs, but all stories have to come to an end eventually."

Shaun Alexander refused to dwell on his missed opportunity at being part of a conference championship. "I was never on that team, and never will be," he said.

The Wildcats had no players named to the FAC-10 All-Conference Team, yet still managed to average 100.17 points per game during the playoffs, best in the conference.

Don’t drink the water? Sounds like a conspiracy to me.