ARENA 01: [Togashi Yūta] Kise Ryōta
ARENA 02: [Araragi Koyomi] Usui Takumi
ARENA 03: [Otonashi Yuzuru] Hatake Kakashi
ARENA 04: Kuroko Tetsuya [Okita Sōgo]
ARENA 05: [Roy Mustang] Kurosaki Ichigo
ARENA 06: Takasu Ryūji [Kamijō Tōma]
ARENA 07: [Kirigaya Kazuto] L Lawliet
ARENA 08: [Oreki Hōtarō] Heiwajima Shizuo
ARENA 09: [Toshinō Kyōko] Sumiyoshi Chisato Fujiwara no Takaiko
ARENA 10: [Okita Sawa] Binboda Momiji Takamura Yui
ARENA 11: [Akaza Akari] Kunitachi Rinka Hasegawa Haruka
ARENA 12: [Inaba Himeko] Oda Nobuna Sakuraba Chitose
ARENA 13: [Natsume Rin] Sakurakōji Sakura Erina Pendleton
ARENA 14: [Dekomori Sanae] Mizutani Shizuku Tsugumi Ruri
ARENA 15: [Nōmi Kudryavka] Natsume Asako Inaba Rinne
ARENA 16: Morgiana Suirenji Ruka [Sugisaki Ringo]
Florida State: 2012 ACC Champions
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In a span of four days last week, Florida State lost three times.
On Saturday, the Seminoles lost a heartbreaker to rival Florida in the final game of the season on their home turf. On Sunday, they lost their leading tackler and star defensive end, Tank Carradine, to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. And on Tuesday, they lost their beloved defensive coordinator, Mark Stoops, to Kentucky. Never mind the constant swirl of rumors about head coach Jimbo Fisher following Stoops into the SEC for another head-coaching gig.
“There were a lot of distractions this week,” FSU athletic director Randy Spetman said.
With a 21-15 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday in the Dr Pepper ACC championship game, the Seminoles knocked any perceived distractions over like bowling pins. There was no sign of a hangover from the Florida game as FSU jumped out to a convincing 21-6 lead at the half. The news about Carradine and Stoops inspired the defense to a game-changing finish in the fourth quarter, as an interception by Karlos Williams sealed the ACC title with about a minute remaining. For a fleeting moment late Saturday night, as confetti scattered in the air and the Seminoles celebrated their first ACC title since 2005, the rest of the college football world was forced to pause and finally let the Noles enjoy themselves.
They earned it.
“We are still ACC champions, and that is one goal,” FSU safety Lamarcus Joyner said. “We had a lot of goals and we met one of them. We have another one in front of us. That makes greatness, grasping opportunities in front of you.”
In order to do that, they had to forget the missed opportunities behind them -- the loss to NC State, the loss to Florida.
There’s no question there was a sense of relief from within the program Saturday night. This is a team that began the season ranked No. 3 in the country. The loss to NC State knocked the Noles out of the national title conversation and will continue to haunt them long after this season ends. Five turnovers in a loss to Florida was another statement opportunity squandered. And with Georgia Tech in position to put together a game-winning drive late in Saturday's game, NC State 2.0 looked like a very real possibility.
It was almost as if you could hear the entire city of Tallahassee exhale all the way in Charlotte when Williams snagged that pick.
“Oh man,” defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan said. “Oh, man. We’ve been trying to get here for a long time. That’s why I thank God for letting us win this game and I thank the seniors for helping this program get back to the top and get back into the national title conversations and winning these ACC championships and Orange Bowls and those types of games. We’re Florida State. That’s what’s supposed to happen. It wasn’t nothing miraculous. That’s what we’re supposed to do.”
It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t matter.
Give 'em a break. In the end, Florida State is right where almost everyone predicted this summer it would be: heading to the Discover Orange Bowl. While many will continue to lament what could have been, Florida State is staring down what is: the possibility at a 12-2 season with an ACC title and a BCS win.
Not exactly a five-loss Rose Bowl team, now is it?
“I’m extremely happy for our players because I know how hard it is and how much flak they’ve taken: ‘When are you going to be back, when are you going to win a championship, when are you going to do this,’” Fisher said. “... There’s a point in time you point back and you look at it and you say, ‘That was it.’ That’s the time that you got over the hump and you got there and you didn’t let the circumstances blur your vision, and they did that.”
It doesn’t always have to be about playing in the shadow of the SEC or comparing what’s happening in Charlotte to what’s happening in Atlanta. It wasn’t time to ask whether Fisher was the right man to replace Bobby Bowden. For once -- just once -- it can be simply about putting a trophy in the case and letting a group of players -- kids -- who have been through a lot enjoy it.
“I’ll be extremely proud of it 10, 15 years from now,” quarterback EJ Manuel said. “I’ll be able to say I helped our team get back to where we needed to be as far as the BCS conversation, the national championship conversation and things like that. I want to see greatness from here on out. We have a lot of great players, a lot of great young players, and guys understand what it takes to get to this point, so I don’t see us going back to where we used to be. I think Florida State is back in the conversation.”
Thanks in large part to the defense, which held Georgia Tech and the nation’s No. 3 rushing offense to just 183 rushing yards.
“You didn’t want to work this hard for three years and not be able to finish this,” Stoops said, “because our program, Coach Fisher and the players deserved this win.”
And they deserve to celebrate it -- without any distractions.
Alabama: 2012 SEC Champions
ATLANTA -- Alabama got a hand on the ball, which wobbled into the arms of a Georgiareceiver who wasn't supposed to catch it.
Before the Bulldogs could get off another play, the clock ran out.
The Crimson Tide are heading back to the national championship game.
By a mere 5 yards.
AJ McCarron threw a 45-yard touchdown pass toAmari Cooper with 3:15 remaining, and No. 2 Alabama barely held on at the end, beating No. 3 Georgia 32-28 in a Southeastern Conference title game for the ages Saturday.
"I'm ready to have a heart attack here," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said.
As confetti fell from the Georgia Dome roof, the Bulldogs collapsed on the field, stunned they had come so close to knocking off the team that has won two of the past three national titles.
"We just ran out of time," Georgia coach Mark Richt moaned.
Alabama (12-1) will get a chance to make it three out of four when they face top-ranked Notre Dame for the BCS crown on Jan. 7 in Miami.
This time, Alabama will head to the big game with a championship already in its pocket -- unlike last year's squad, which didn't even make it to Atlanta, but got a do-over against SEC champion LSU in the national title game.
Even though the Tide left little doubt, it was truly the best team in the country, routing the Tigers 21-0, there were plenty who thought Saban's team didn't deserve a rematch.
There will be no complaints when Alabama heads to South Florida for a dream matchup between two of college football's most storied programs. The Tide and Notre Dame have each won eight Associated Press national titles, more than any other school.
"This group has been fantastic," Saban said. "They were able to accomplish something of significance, and something that last year's team didn't accomplish, which is win the SEC championship."
What a game it was.
After an apparent game-clinching interception by Alabama was overturned on a video review, Georgia's Aaron Murray completed a 15-yard pass to Arthur Lynch, a 23-yarder to Tavarres King and a 26-yarder to Lynch, who was hauled down at the Alabama 8 as the clock continued to run.
The Bulldogs (11-2) were out of timeouts.
Instead of spiking the ball and gathering themselves, the Bulldog snapped the ball with 9 seconds to go. Murray attempted a pass into the corner but it was deflected at the line and ended in the arms of Chris Conley out in the right flats.
Surprised to get the ball, he slipped down at the 5.
Georgia couldn't get off another play.
Richt said the offense had the play it wanted at the end, but Alabama ruined it by tipping the pass. If it had fallen incomplete instead of going to Conley, who instinctively caught it, the Bulldogs likely would've had at least one more play, maybe two.
Instead, they were done.
"I told the guys I was disappointed, but I'm not disappointed in them," Richt said. "They're warriors. We had a chance at the end."
The consolation prize will likely be one of the second-tier bowls -- the Capital One, Cotton or Chick-fil-A -- though the Bulldogs certainly looked like a team deserving of something better.
"Do I think we're worthy of a BCS bowl?" Richt said. "Yes I do."
The Bulldogs even got props from Saban.
"It would be a crying shame if Georgia doesn't get to go to a BCS bowl game," the Alabama coach said. "They played a tremendous game out there. That was a great football game, by both teams. It came right down to the last play."
In a back-and-forth second half that looked nothing like a game in the defensive-minded SEC, the Crimson Tide trailed 21-10 after Alec Ogletree returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Alabama rallied behind a punishing run game, finishing with 350 yards on the ground, an SEC championship game record. Eddie Lacy -- the game's MVP -- rumbled for 181 yards on 20 carries, including two TDs. Freshman T.J. Yeldonadded 153 yards on 25 carries, also scoring a TD.
After the game, Lacy hooked up with the guy he replaced in the Alabama backfield -- Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, now with the NFL's New Orleans Saints.
"He just told me congratulations and that I did a great job running and it was it was the best he's ever seen me run." Lacy said.
But the Tide won it through the air.
With Georgia stacking the line, McCarron fooled the Bulldogs with play action and delivered a perfectly thrown pass to Cooper, who beat Damian Swann in single coverage down the left side.
Georgia played like a champion until the clock ran out, though.
Using up their timeouts and forcing a punt, the Bulldogs got the ball back at their 15 with 1:08 remaining. Alabama broke into a celebration when a pass down the middle for Conley was deflected and Dee Milliner appeared to make a diving interception. But the replay showed the ball hit the ground, so Murray and the Georgia offense trotted back on the field for their last gasp.
And what a gasp it was.
Just not quite enough.
Todd Gurley led Georgia with 122 yards rushing, including a couple of TDs. Murray was 18 of 33 for 265 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
McCarron was 12 of 21 for 162 yards with an interception, just his third of the season.
After a defensive struggle in the first half, with Alabama kicking a field goal on the final play for a 10-7 lead, the last two quarters were nothing but run-and-gun.
The Bulldogs took the second-half kickoff and marched right down the field for the go-ahead touchdown. Gurley ran it seven times, capped by leg-churning, 3-yard drive up the middle to make it 14-10.
Alabama looked like it was about to answer, holding the ball for more than 5 1-2 minutes, before the drive stalled. Cade Foster came on for a 50-yard field-goal attempt, but his low kick was swatted down by Cornelius Washington. Ogletree scooped up the bouncing ball in stride and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown.
Suddenly, the Bulldogs led 21-10.
But the Tide wasn't about to go away that easy. Yeldon broke off a 31-yard run, Swann was called interference on a throw down the middle, and Yeldon powered in from the 10. He ran it again for the 2-point conversion, pulling Alabama to 21-18.
Georgia went three-and-out, and the ground assault resumed. Lacy barreled over right guard for 32 yards. Yeldon got it down to the 1. Lacy returned for the first snap of the fourth period, bulling over to put Alabama ahead 25-21.
The Tide's momentum lasted about 2 minutes.
Murray found King down the middle for a 45-yard completion and Gurley finished off the lightning-quick possession with a 10-yard touchdown run up the middle, putting Georgia back on top, 28-25.
But Alabama knows a thing or two about comebacks, having rebounded the past two years from regular-season losses.
Just three weeks ago, the Tide were upset at home by Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M.
Now, Bama is off to play for another title.
"It's just the never-give-up attitude," McCarron said. "You've got to keep fighting through it."
Tulsa: 2012 Conference USA Champions
Tulsa’s goal all season has been to win the Conference USA Championship. It did it with a 33-27 overtime win over Central Florida in the league title game Saturday at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
The Golden Hurricane (10-3) had to rally to win, which was done with Alex Singleton leaping over a pile into the end zone for the winning TD.
“I guess we had to find something to finish the game that we hadn’t done before,” Tulsa coach Bill Blankenship said. “Done about everything else. This team came from behind. They played in the lead. They’ve done all those things. And I just couldn’t be prouder. This is a great moment for these players and hopefully for the city.”
As the 2012 C-USA Champion, the Golden Hurricane will play in the Liberty Bowl on New Year’s Eve in Memphis, Tenn.
The Knights (9-4) had possession first and were forced to kick a field goal. Cory Dorris blocked Shawn Moffitt’s 38-yard attempt and the Hurricane only needed a score to win. on a one-yard TD.
The Hurricane led 21-14 at halftime but found itself down 27-21 after UCF quarterback Blake Bortles ran in 28 yards on a third down keeper.
Trey Watts scored a 54-yard punt return with 5:06 left in the game. But Tulsa could only tie the game at 27-27 since the extra point was blocked.
Watts rushed for 134 yards on 15 carries and was named Most Valuable Player. Singleton ran for 100 yards on 25 handoffs and two touchdowns.
After UCF jumped ahead to a 14-7, Tulsa answered back fast.
Trey Watts and Alex Singleton made big gains on the ensuing drive, with Singleton getting his 40th career TD on a seven yard run to tie it at 14-14 with 2:35 left in the first half.
The Golden Hurricane did not want to go into halftime up by three points. They wanted the seven and got it.
Cody Green hit Thomas Roberson with a deep pass to the two-yard line with two ticks left in the half. On the next play, Ja’Terian Douglas scored and Tulsa led 21-14 going into the locker room.
Los Angeles Galaxy: 2012 MLS Cup Champions
CARSON, Calif. – Give the LA Galaxy five minutes, and they’ll make memories to last an entire offseason.
Fueled by two lightning-quick goals early in the second half that wiped out a gritty first half from the Houston Dynamo, the Galaxy joined Major League Soccer royalty on Saturday by winning their second consecutive MLS Cup in front of a giddy, sold-out crowd at the Home Depot Center.
Defender Omar Gonzalez scored off a header in the 60th minute and captain Landon Donovan converted a penalty kick moments later in the 3-1 win, which thrust the Galaxy into rare company in league history. They joined D.C. United as the only clubs in MLS to win four league championships, and they are the third team in league history to win back-to-back titles.
Donovan – who scored the game-winner when the Galaxy topped the Dynamo in Carson last year – also joined a select fraternity with the win, finding company with longtime league stalwarts Jeff Agoos and Brian Mullan as the only players to win five MLS Cup titles in their careers.
Robbie Keane added an insurance goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time for this league-leading sixth goal of the postseason.
The Dynamo, meanwhile, settled for the runners-up podium yet again despite controlling large portions of the first half and getting a goal from striker Calen Carr in the 44th minute that staked them to a 1-0 halftime lead.
But two lapses – one that let game MVP Gonzalez rise above the fray for his second career postseason goal and a handball by midfielder Ricardo Clark that set the stage for Donovan’s winner – were too much to overcome. The Galaxy settled in after Donovan’s goal and punctuated the win when Keane was taken down on a breakaway by Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall in stoppage time.
Galaxy midfielder David Beckham – who went out a two-time Cup winner during a five-year MLS career – helped set up the Gonzalez goal and keyed what should have been a breakaway goal for Donovan in the first half. He came off the field to a roar of applause after Keane’s goal and with that waved goodbye to MLS, a far more celebratory exit than when he and the Galaxy floundered for two seasons after his arrival in 2007.
Beckham also had a hand setting up the Gonzalez goal, but much of the dirty work was done by the former Defender of the Year himself. The 6-foot-5 center back towered over Dynamo defender Kofie Sarkodie on a looping cross from midfielder Juninho and thumped a header to the far post and past Dynamo goalkeeper Hall to level the score at 1-1.
That goal sent the 30,515 fans in attendance into elation, but Donovan’s winner was sheer euphoria. Clark was whistled for a hand ball when Magee attempted a bicycle kick in the box in the 65th minute, and Donovan stepped to the spot for what’s become a ritual in Galaxy soccer circles for years.
He promptly placed his shot past Hall for his MLS-record 22nd career postseason goal, and there was no looking back. The Dynamo never really found another opening as the second half wore on, failing to test Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders as they had in the first 45. And Donovan – who has yet to state publicly if he’ll return to the league next season – won his third crown in a Galaxy uniform after two with the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Dynamo controlled much of the action in the early going and forced Saunders into a string of saves, but the best chance of the first 30 minutes went to Donovan after a picture-perfect Galaxy counterattack.
Beckham drifted a ball into space on the left side to a hard-charging Robbie Keane, and the Irish striker surged into space and to the edge of the Dynamo penalty box. Keane found Donovan streaking behind Houston defender Bobby Boswell and left the Galaxy captain with an open look from 10 yards out, but Donovan’s right-footed shot skipped harmlessly wide of the post.
The Galaxy never seriously threatened again before the break, as chances by Mike Magee in the 19th minute and Juninho in the 24th went wide of the mark.
Houston countered with a solid look in the 27th minute from right back Kofie Sarkodie, who skirted Magee in the right corner and put a shot on net that Saunders had to parry over the crossbar.
Then came an opportunistic surge forward from Carr for this second career postseason goal and one that left the HDC crowd in a state of shock. Midfielder Adam Moffat drifted a cross over the Galaxy back line and Carr beat defender Tommy Meyer to the ball, held him at bay and then poked a shot past Saunders to the near post for the goal.
Carr, however, buckled early in the second half when he collided knee-to-knee with Gonzalez and had to be subbed out for Macoumba Kandji.
It was, sadly, injury to insult for the Dynamo on what turned out to be day of destiny for the Galaxy, who strolled to the winners’ podium as the sun momentarily broke through the clouds in Southern California. It was the last run with Beckham, Donovan and Keane during an era when the Galaxy broke the bank to place their mark on league history, but was no denying Saturday the moment in history was theirs to savor.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
| Rank | Player | What We Saw |
| 1 | Omar Gonzalez | The equalizing goal and a relentess afternoon spent keeping the Dynamo out. Just another day in the sun for the league's best defender. |
| 2 | Calen Carr | His goal was a sheer stunner that gave the Dynamo the boost they needed, and the team never recovered after he left injured. |
| 3 | Robbie Keane | Should have probably finished with two goals and an assist. Capped an incredible postseason in style. |
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