Nevada, the WAC co-champion, beat C-USA's Central Florida, 49–48, as Golden Knights kicker Matt Prater missed an extra point in overtime, sealing a defeat for UCF, who was playing in its first ever bowl game, having gone winless as recently as 2004.

Though playing at home on its blue "Smurf Turf", where it held a 31-game winning streak, WAC co-champion Boise State was unable to get its usually potent offense untracked early, falling behind ACC rep Boston College by 24 at halftime before losing, 27–21.

Virginia, representing the ACC in a slot forfeited by the SEC, which failed to qualify enough teams for bowl eligibility, came back from a second-quarter 14-point deficit to drive for a game-winning field goal with 1:08 to play, ultimately defeating the Big Ten's Minnesota, 34–31.

Golden Gophers quarterback Bryan Cupito shined in defeat, completing 65 percent of his passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns (including two to wide receiver Jared Ellerson), as Minnesota took a 21–7 lead with less than seven minutes to go in the second quarter.

Although Minnesota finished with a nearly seven-minute edge in time of possession, thanks in part to the running of Laurence Maroney and Gary Russell, who combined for 190 yards on 49 carries, and to forcing two Virginia turnovers in the fourth quarter, the Golden Gopher defense allowed the Wahoos to drive from their own three-yard line to record the final field goal and break the tie.

A Derrick Ming interception of a Mitchell pass in Gamecocks territory led to another Smith rushing score, and Crossett atoned for his earlier miss by hitting a 50-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers their first lead of the game.

Mitchell responded with a long drive of his own, hitting freshman wide receiver Sidney Rice, his top target in the game (catching 13 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown), three times en route to a 30-yard Josh Brown field goal.

Only South Florida managed sustained drives in the fourth quarter, as running back Andre Hall keyed an attack that reached the NC State 17-yard line before quarterback Pat Julmiste threw an interception, ending the Bulls’ scoring chance—a fake punt netted South Florida a first-down in Wolfpack territory with less than five minutes to play, but they turned the ball over on downs and failed to threaten again until the waning seconds of the game.

The running of Hall, the Big East's leading rusher during the regular season, kept South Florida within striking distance, as he overcame a slow start to finish with 130 yards on 21 carries.

Behind the play of senior quarterback Paul Pinegar, who threw efficiently if unremarkably (19 completions in 30 attempts for 215 yards), the Bulldogs tied the game early in the third quarter with a Kyle Zimmerman 27-yard field goal.

Mountain West champion Texas Christian, filling a slot reserved for the SEC, which failed to qualify enough teams for bowl eligibility, tallied a 27–24 win over Iowa State, representing the Big 12.

Soon after Iowa State defensive back LaMarcus Hicks evened the turnover battle, intercepting TCU quarterback Ballard at midfield to set up the first of two touchdown receptions by wide receiver Todd Blythe, who finished as the leading Cyclones receiver with 105 yards on only five receptions, Cyclones defensive end Brent Curvey sacked Ballard and then halted a running play in the end zone, giving Iowa State a safety.

The Ducks, trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter, were unable to convert a first-down in the shadow of their own goal posts against the aggressive Sooners defense and thus failed to capitalize on the Peterson turnover.

Their defense, though, stymied every Oklahoma drive in the fourth quarter, getting two more possessions for the offense, and Oregon drove 81 yards in 14 plays, with Brady Leaf's hitting Tim Day for a three-yard touchdown.

The outcome, though, was anything but close as the Hurricanes struck first with a field goal six-plus minutes into the game and then watched as the Tigers, led by sophomore quarterback Matt Flynn, who replaced the injured JaMarcus Russell after having thrown only 15 passes all year, scored 40 points on eight straight possessions to claim a 40–3 win.

The contest, the last to be termed the "Peach Bowl" (the game was renamed the "Chick-fil-A Bowl" after the season), was marred by a postgame scuffle in which an ersatz fight between Tigers and Hurricanes players was ostensibly misunderstood by several Hurricanes, who initiated actual physical contact, necessitating the intervention of Georgia State Patrol officers and medical treatment for Miami offensive lineman Andrew Bain, who was reported to have been briefly unconscious, but was instead dazed after being hit in the head by a helmet.

Florida senior cornerback Vernell Brown, forcing the game's only turnover, intercepted Iowa quarterback Drew Tate with less than two minutes to play in the first half and returned his catch 60 yards for a touchdown.

In a third quarter in which each team punted twice and the Hawkeyes missed a field goal, Florida extended its lead once more, as Leak threw a touchdown to Baker, this one from 38 yards; with just over 17 minutes to play, the Gators led by 24.

Though the Crimson Tide defense kept the Red Raiders in check most of the second half, Hodges engineered late drives for Texas Tech, using both his legs (he finished as his team's top rusher, gaining 93 yards on 13 carries) and arm.

In a humorous moment following the game at a press conference, Mike Shula, Alabama's coach, fell off the platform where he was sitting on, then got back up and stated "I hope that ESPN didn't film that."

After Brandon Pace made a 36-yard field goal for the Hokies, Cantwell led another long drive, this one 80 yards, and connected with wide receiver Joshua Tinch for a 39-yard touchdown to give the Cardinals an 11-point lead.

In a span of 66 seconds early in the fourth quarter, each team scored a touchdown, as Gary Barnidge caught a 29-yard Cantwell pass and Humes ran 24 yards before the Hokies added a two-point conversion to cut the Louisville lead to three points.

After the Wisconsin defense held the Tigers at midfield, the Badgers took the ensuing possession, largely through the running of Calhoun, 98 yards to the Auburn one-yard line before allowing time to expire, securing Alvarez, who will continue in his role as the school's athletic director, his fourth season of double-digit wins.

The win was the third in the Fiesta Bowl for Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who saw his team defeat Miami (Florida), 31–24, in the double overtime 2003 edition, thereby claiming the 2002 national championship.

White continued to play well through air and on the ground in the fourth quarter, though, and led his team on an 80-yard drive that ended when Slaton ran for a 52-yard touchdown and once more extended the West Virginia lead to ten.

After a defensive stop, the Florida State offense scored in one play, as Weatherford hit running back Lorenzo Booker, who finished with three catches for 69 yards, for a 57-yard touchdown; kicker Gary Cismesia, however, missed the extra point, and so a 25-yard scoring pass by quarterback Michael Robinson to wide receiver Ethan Kilmer, who accumulated six receptions totaling 79 yards on the day, gave Penn State a 14–13 halftime lead.

Tulane safety Tra Boger extended the East lead to 23 points in the third quarter, as he returned an interception thrown by Brett Elliott, a backup quarterback at Utah, 40 yards for a touchdown.

The West would score twice in a span of four-and-one-half minutes in the early stages of the second quarter, as Texas Tech running back Taurean Henderson, who ran for 32 yards on seven carries over the game, ran for a two-yard touchdown and Texas tight end David Thomas caught a 20-yard scoring toss from UCLA quarterback Drew Olson, who completed five of eight passes for 67 yards for the game; two more successful extra points by Missouri State kicker Jonathan Scifres would give the West a 21–7 lead.

After the teams exchanged punts, the East finally retook the lead with 2:18 to play in the third quarter on a 47-yard field goal by Ohio State kicker Josh Huston, who would score seven points on the day.

The North team drove the length of the field on its first possession, but Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler, who completed just 6 of 19 passes on the day for only 69 yards, threw an interception to Texas cornerback Cedric Griffin.