The 2007 Bcs Championship

He could have lobbied more forcefully for the job but held off while his squad remained in the national title chase. Not even the Mad Hatter, as he came to be known this season, is that crazy. "The thing about Bo," he said of Bo Schembechler, for whom he played and coached at Michigan, "was that there was never any question about his commitment to the team."

Nor was there any question about the commitment of Flynn, whose parents, Alvin and Ruth, kept making the 333-mile drive from Tyler to Baton Rouge for four years, only to watch their son hold for extra points and field goals most of the time.

"To be honest," Flynn said after pulling off his shoulder pads for the final time as a Tiger, "this isn't how I would have scripted my career coming out of high school. But I wouldn't give up this one year for four years starting anywhere else. It's been tough, but right now it's so, so sweet."