Highs and lows from another wild college football season

• The best game of the season was Alabama vs. Georgia
• USC was the biggest disappointment of the seasonBrian Kelly of Notre Dame provided the best coaching performance

The 2012 season was always going to be one packed with drama.

Expansion was moving major schools to new conferences. High-profile coaches were making debuts.

The early national championship picture was shaped by three of the sport's blue bloods.

Alabama was seeking its third title in four years. LSU was looking for redemption after last year's flop in the Bowl Championship Series title game. Southern California was looking to get back to the top of the mountain after its probation ended, and Matt Barkley was expected to be the school's latest quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy.

In the end, the only one to make it through without a loss was Notre Dame, which started as an afterthought after so many years in obscurity.

The season produced names we had never heard, such as Johnny Manziel and Jordan Lynch. There was the return to prominence of old masters Bill Snyder and Urban Meyer.

There were firings, injuries and tears.

Here's a look back at the highs and lows of the last three months.

Best game

Alabama vs. Georgia: The Crimson Tide could have this category all to themselves with their other classics against LSU and Texas A&M. The former game left quarterback AJ McCarron crying after he led a comeback win. The loss to the Aggies nearly cost him and his team a trip to the title game. However, the best was last with Alabama's ground attack and McCarron's long touchdown pass to Amari Cooper rallying the team in the second half, while the Bulldogs finished 5 yards short in a bid to knock off the defending champs in a 32-28 loss in the Southeastern Conference title game. Other memorable games include West Virginia's shootout with Baylor that ended with 133 points scored, North Carolina State's last-minute defeat of Florida State and Notre Dame's goal-line stand in overtime that held off Stanford.

Heartwarming moments

Marcus Lattimore's injury: It was difficult seeing the South Carolina running back suffer a major knee injury for the second consecutive season. The scene afterward with Tennessee players joining South Carolina teammates around Lattimore as he was carted off the field showed the respect the running back has among opponents.

Penn State senior day: The senior class that stuck together after the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal and devastating NCAA probation was honored at Beaver Stadium while wearing the number of injured leader Michael Mauti. The Nittany Lions outlasted Wisconsin in overtime to finish an emotional season 8-4.

Best conference debut

Fresno State: Yes, Texas A&M showed it was SEC-worthy. The Aggies, however, were just third in their division. The Bulldogs, under first-year coach Tim DeRuyter, earned a share of the Mountain West title with their only loss in the league coming at Boise State. Derek Carr emerged as a standout quarterback, throwing for 36 TDs.

Biggest disappointment

Southern California: There were so many to choose from in this category. Arkansas didn't make a bowl after starting in the top 10. Michigan State lost five conference games by 13 total points. Virginia Tech waited until its final play to extend its bowl streak to 20 seasons. Auburn went winless in the SEC and fired coach Gene Chizik. But the award goes to the Trojans, who were thinking national title or bust when the season started. Instead, they lost five games, including one to rival UCLA that meant they didn't even win their Pac-12 division. With two more years of NCAA scholarship reductions, Lane Kiffin might not be long for the job.

Top coaching performance

Brian Kelly, Notre Dame: Bill O'Brien can be proud of his season at Penn State. Will Muschamp revived Florida in his second year. David Shaw won a Pac-12 title at Stanford without Andrew Luck. Dave Doeren led Northern Illinois to a BCS bowl bid. Kelly wins the honor for leading the Irish unscathed through a tough schedule behind a defense that took three years to build into an elite unit. He also molded redshirt freshman quarterback Everett Golson into the leader of an offense efficient enough to win 12 games, even if some were a little closer than expected.

Filling shoes award

Kevin Hogan, Stanford: Joe Southwick led Boise State to 10 victories after replacing Kellen Moore, who won 50 games in his four seasons. Nick Florence followed Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III and threw 31 touchdown passes and guided the Bears to seven wins, including a defeat of Kansas State. Hogan gets the nod as the second of two starters used by the Cardinal after the loss of Andrew Luck. He led the team to wins against four ranked opponents in its last four games to secure the school's first Rose Bowl bid since 2000.

Disappointing finishes

Geno Smith, West Virginia: It was a meteoric rise for the Mountaineers quarterback, who became the Heisman Trophy front-runner after a September of five wins and 24 touchdowns without an interception. WVU followed the start with five losses in a row, and Smith was off the national radar even though his numbers were worthy of more attention.

Denard Robinson, Michigan: The senior's career wasn't supposed to end with him exclusively as a ballcarrier. That's what happened in Robinson's final two games after he suffered an arm injury against Nebraska. A bright spot was the Wolverines got an early look at next year's starter, Devin Gardner, which should pay dividends.

Breakout star

Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M: It didn't appear Manziel would end up with the quarterback job after an offseason arrest. Instead, his unconventional play, the cool nickname (Johnny Football) and some impressive victories made him a household name and left SEC defenses wondering how to defend him the next three seasons. Not far behind was Jordan Lynch, who in his first year at quarterback took Northern Illinois to the Orange Bowl. On the defensive side, Anthony Barr switched from offense to linebacker and immediately became a dominant force for UCLA. He finished the regular season with a national-best 13½ sacks, including a memorable hit that injured Matt Barkley's shoulder and knocked him out of USC's game against Notre Dame.

Troubling trend

Short coaching tenures: The reservoir of goodwill in college football is getting smaller and smaller. Chizik's firing at Auburn came less than two years after a national title. Ellis Johnson landed a plum job at Southern Mississippi and was removed after one winless season. Colorado let go of Jon Embree after two seasons. Derek Dooley and Skip Holtz lasted three years, respectively, at Tennessee and South Florida. Danny Hope won his last three games and took Purdue to its second consecutive bowl in his fourth season. It wasn't enough to keep his job. The concept of a real opportunity to rebuild a program is long gone. With the money and pressure, it's win or else start looking for work.

Worst injury situation

Maryland quarterbacks: Projected starter C.J. Brown tore up a knee in preseason practice. That left true freshman Perry Hills as the man in the opener. He tore a knee ligament, and backup Devon Burns was lost for the season with a foot injury. Caleb Rowe then took over, and he, of course, had the same knee injury as Brown and Hills. This happened all before the end of October. Maryland was forced go with linebacker Shawn Petty in the final four games. All things considered, Petty played well with six touchdown passes and two interceptions. But the Terps lost their last six games and finished 4-8.

Underrated team of the year

Syracuse: The Orange quietly went 7-5 with all five of their losses coming to bowl teams. One reason Syracuse stayed below the radar was a 2-4 start that included a one-point loss to Northwestern and close games against USC and Rutgers. Things turned around in the second half behind the play of quarterback Ryan Nassib. The Orange dealt Louisville its first loss and won at Missouri to secure a bowl bid on the penultimate weekend of the season. Not to be overlooked were strong seasons by Mid-American Conference schools Ball State and Bowling Green and Arkansas State's season-ending seven-game winning streak that led to the outright Sun Belt title.

Top impact transfer

Cody Green, Tulsa: After two seasons at Nebraska, the quarterback was an immediate star for the Golden Hurricane, passing for 2,499 yards and 17 touchdowns and leading the team to the Conference USA title. The award might have gone to Oklahoma wide receiver Jalen Saunders, who had 53 receptions for 766 yards. The junior, however, missed the first four games of the season while awaiting clearance from the NCAA. Also worth noting are strong seasons by three running backs: USC's Silas Redd, San Jose State's De'Leon Eskridge and Temple's Montel Harris. Among the transfers who didn't bear immediate fruit were three quarterbacks: Wisconsin's Danny O'Brien, Kansas' Dayne Crist and Colorado's Connor Wood.