2009 Rose Bowl (Quebec Independence)

The 2009 Rose Bowl was a college football match that served as the national championship game for the 2008 season. The two teams featured were the #2 Washington State Cougars and the #4 Red Oak Colonels. Both teams were considered equal, and the match went back-and-forth. Red Oak's victory would not be secured until the final play of the game, when Washington State quarterback, Nathan Adrian, would be tackled at the one yard line, preventing what would have been the game winning touchdown. The game is considered a classic and one of the greatest of all time.

Red Oak Colonels
With the return of many of the starters from last years team, which made it to the semi-finals, the Colonels entered the season at #7. Led by star quarterback Mark Bartkowski, the Colonels would go undefeated during the regular season, and made headlines with victories over #6 Boston College and #5 Pittsburgh Sergeants, which would elevate them to the number 4 spot. The Colonels marched into the Central Conference championship, and defeated their hated enemies, the #11 Iowa Hawkeyes to secure their automatic entry into the playoffs as the fourth seed.

From there, the Colonels would cruise to victory over #13 New Brunswick, before defeating #6 North Dakota. Bartkowski scored a combined 7 touchdowns in these games, and was at his peak when the Colonels faced #1 Boise State. The efforts of Bartkowski and halfback Brooke Abel led to the Red Oak victory in the final seconds. For the first time since 1977 the Colonels were headed to the National Championsip.