TOM FOX / DMNUps far outweighed downs for former Southlake Carroll kicker Garrett Hartley this season, writes David Moore. Hartley’s 40-yard field goal in overtime of the NFC Championship Game put the Saints in their first Super Bowl and ignited the biggest celebration in franchise history.

Auburn’s dramatic Outback Bowl victory over Northwestern served as a fitting end to the 2009 season considering all the ups and downs through the first year of the Gene Chizik era.