the ACC — a tiebreaker among four teams granted Pittsburgh the Big East championship. However, the BCS was still contractually obligated to place the Big East champion in one of its bowls. Utah's vaunted offense started the game slowly, but the Utes nonetheless went into halftime leading 14–0. The tone for the game was initially set by the Utes defense, which mercilessly pressured Panthers QB Tyler Palko, and special teams, which blocked a Pittsburgh field goal attempt and nearly blocked a punt. In the third quarter, the Utah offense came alive, with QB Alex Smith, a Heisman Trophy finalist who became the top overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, throwing two TD passes and connecting on a hook and lateral that ended in a Paris Warren TD. By the end of that quarter, the Utes led by their final margin of 35–7. The win capped off a fairy-tale 12-0 season, Utah's first perfect season since 1930, and sent Meyer off to his new job in Gainesville with a historic win. Smith went 29-for-37 passing for 328 yards and three TDs with no interceptions, and also led the Utes in rushing with 68 yards. Warren caught 15 passes for 180 yards and a TD, as well as scoring on the pass-and-lateral play. The Utes defense sacked Palko nine times. Sugar Bowl Auburn (12–0) 16, Virginia Tech (10–1) 13 In the second game of the bowl season held at the Superdome in New Orleans, the SEC champion Auburn Tigers took on the Virginia Tech Hokies, the ACC champions in the Sugar Bowl on January 3. Despite finishing the regular season 12–0 and winning the SEC, Auburn was not able to crack the top two in the BCS rankings, shutting the Tigers out of the BCS title game. Their main hope for a split national championship (as happened the season before with LSU and Southern California) was to score a resounding win over the Hokies and hope that Oklahoma unimpressively defeated Southern California in the Orange Bowl the following evening. Auburn would then have to hope that enough voters in the AP media poll switch their votes from Oklahoma to give the Tigers the AP title. The Tigers had a chance to blow the game open in the first half, but were unable to score a touchdown in three trips inside the Hokies' 10-yard line, settling for three field goals from John