They say you never forget your first time...and I don't think there's any doubt that this will hold true for Katy Perry and college football. Yesterday she attended her first game ever and just look what happened!
I always assumed that the celebrity pickers were scheduled sometime before the beginning of the season, whenever the schedule of College Gameday locations was decided. But Katy's appearance was spur of the moment. Kirk Herbstreit sent a tweet Thursday evening to Katy, asking her if she would be interested in being this week's celebrity picker:
Shortly after, Katy let Herbie know that she was down:
Almost immediately, ESPN's senior director of public relations announced that Katy was set to be the guest picker:
Katy was already scheduled to perform in Memphis on Sunday night but had Saturday off. Her manager, Brad Cobb, is a 1996 graduate of Ole Miss. He's worked with her since she was 19 years old, and has helped guide her to the top of the pop world. He apparently had already invited her to attend the game on Oxford's big day in the spotlight. Why not pick some games while getting Rebel fans fired up in The Grove? The rest, as they say, is history...
And this is how social media responded:
A couple of points were quickly made regarding Katy's gameday crush, OU quarterback Trevor Knight:
Friday was his birthday...
So the shout-out from Katy was an unexpected b-day present but, unfortunately for Katy, one of those special people in Trevor's life is his girlfriend, Kate Williams, a chemical-engineering major at OU who is as devout as she is beautiful. Sorry, Katy!
But, of course, the main event was the highly-anticipated clash between the Rebels and the Tide. There was a great deal at stake for both teams. Although my Seminoles were #1 in the AP Poll (Alabama #3), the Tide held the #1 spot in the Coaches Poll while Ole Miss was ranked 11th.
The 4-0 Rebels were trying to make it to 5-0 for the first time since Kennedy was in the White House and they wanted to upset a #1-ranked team for the first time in the school's football history. The Tide, meanwhile, wanted to maintain the status quo in the SEC by keeping the Rebels down...and they might have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for a feisty Katy Perry! Here's how it went down:
Katy watched the game from the Ole Miss sideline...
...where a good time was had by all...including the mascot...
...and visiting recruits!
Katy also hung out with the Rebelettes:
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And trolled Nick Saban for good measure...
...before taking the party to Funkys on Oxford Square...
...where this happened:
Again? I wouldn't bet against it! I think she likes it...
What an amazing game!
No. 1 Florida State beats No. 2 Auburn 34-31
For all Jameis Winston had done as a redshirt freshman for Florida State, he never had to pull the Seminoles from the brink of defeat.
In the biggest game of the year, down by four with 79 seconds left, the Heisman Trophy winner put together the drive of his life, and the Seminoles proved they could take a punch to win a championship.
Winston threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left and No. 1 Florida State beat No. 2 Auburn 34-31 to win the BCS national title game on Monday night.
"There's a lot of heart and guts down in Tallahassee, too," coach Jimbo Fisher said.
The Bowl Championship Series went out with a bang, with one of the best title games in its 16-year history. It will be replaced by a four-team playoff next season. And the Southeastern Conference's seven-year winning streak in college football's biggest game was snapped by the Atlantic Coast Conference school that played in the first three BCS title games but hadn't been back since.
Florida State was voted a unanimous No. 1 in the final AP Top 25. Auburn finished second.
Winston struggled much of the night but was near perfect when the Seminoles (14-0) needed it most, going 6 for 7 for 77 yards on the game-winning 80-yard drive.
"It was the best football game he's played all year," Fisher said, "and I'll tell you why, because for three quarters he was up and down and he fought.
"And to pull it out in the atmosphere and environment and with what was on the line tonight, to me if that's not a great player, I don't know who is."
Florida St. fans revel in BCS victory over Auburn
Florida State, Ohio State 1-2 in BCS
No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Ohio State have taken over the top spots in the BCS standings with just one week to go before the final pairing for the VIZIO BCS National Championship Game is announced.
The Seminoles and Buckeyes are the only two remaining undefeated teams from the automatic qualifying conferences and have the inside track to play for the title.
Alabama, which had been the No. 1 team in each previous edition of this year's standings, fell from the ranks of the unbeatens after losing to Auburn on the final play of the game Saturday.
Auburn moved up to No. 3 by winning the Iron Bowl, while Alabama dropped to No. 4, barely ahead of No. 5 Missouri.
Auburn will play Missouri on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game, but both teams will likely need either Florida State or Ohio State to lose in order to move into the top two.
Florida State is ranked first in both polls used by the BCS and is also first in the computer ratings. The Seminoles need only beat No. 20 Duke in the ACC Championship Game to remain at the top of the standings.
FEAR THE SPEAR!
