Background Info & History Florida State Storyline Kentucky Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer Prediction
Bridgestone is a Japanese company that is basically "stone bridge" in Japanese. It is one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world. Bridgestone was founded in 1931, too. They create a wide range of products like foam, water hoses, and I'm pretty sure they make golf balls.
The history of the Music City Bowl goes back to 1998. The first ever game was a Virginia Tech victory against Alabama. I said earlier this month that Wisconsin defeated Auburn in the 2003 Music City Bowl, but that wasn't the case. Auburn won that game 28-14, not sure what I was thinking there....
Another year and more failed expectations for the Seminole program.
This was the season where things were supposed to turn around for Florida State who was 7-5 one season ago not including their Emerald Bowl win against UCLA. Many writers thought this team was going to win the ACC this year. Turns out, that was never close to happening, even with their addition of Jimbo Fisher and Rick Trickett.
The year began with a failed comeback attempt against the Clemson Tigers at Death Valley. It was a good effort, but the offense just didn't show up in time.
Florida State was playing well on their four game winning streak against UAB, Colorado, Alabama, and NC State until they ran into Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons pulled off what was then considered the upset. That set the team back because the next week, they lost to Miami, yes, that 5-7 Miami team. FSU looked sharp against Duke and then came back with another top 5 defeat by beating then #2 Boston College. They played a tough schedule, but they underachieved.
7-5? That's it?
Even more than that was expected out of this Kentucky football team. With Andre Woodson and boatloads of talent coming back, the Wildcats failed down the stretch and found themselves back in the Music City.
The year began with a bang by smashing Eastern Kentucky and Kent State. Rich Brook's team ran into Louisville who doesn't know how to defend anyone and looking back on that, it wasn't a great win and Kentucky should have won by more than six points at the last minute.
But, the following game against Arkansas was one of their best efforts. The Hogs tried to give the game away, but it was one of the best days in the Wildcat season considering the effort they gave. Even so, Kentucky ran into South Carolina on national TV and blew their chances at becoming the SEC frontrunner. Still, there was the win that defined their season yet to come. They played LSU down to the wire and stuffed Les Miles' team on a 4th down in triple overtime for the win.
Kentucky would go on to lose their last four out of five with their only victory coming against Vanderbilt, but in a year with the SEC as deep as it is, the Wildcats had a good season.
Kentucky Passing Game vs. FSU Pass Defense-This is probably where Florida State is going to lose. They have a great run defending team, but they have had their struggles defending the pass. Andre Woodson should have a big day without Robinson in the secondary.
FSU Running Game vs. Kentucky Run Defense-Even though Florida State will probably lose this game due to their hits taken on their depth, they'll try to run and run and run to keep that clock moving. Time of possession is the most overrated stat in all of sports, but it will be crucial in this game. The shorter the amount of possessions for each team, the more it benefits FSU because the loss of their depth will wear on them as the game progresses.
Andre Woodson. He's got a ton of targets and he's going up against a weak pass defense.
FSU must find ways to pressure him or else he'll find holes in the secondary. That's been FSU's Achille's Heel all season long and it's probably the reason why they didn't win the ACC.
Look for Woodson to have a big day with the suspensions on the Seminole defense.
Antone Smith. Smith is the key to Florida State being in this game. He'll need to have a big day.
Kentucky's most glaring weakness is their run defense. Even though Jimbo Fisher hasn't got the production out of the rushing attack that he had hoped, Smith is serviceable and will do his damage on the ground. The more that clock runs, the better opportunity Florida State has to win this game.
This game gets a 7 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer. Neither team is that special, both sitting at 7-5 in their respective conferences. Plus, with the suspensions and injuries, FSU will probably not make the game as entertaining.
Kentucky should win. FSU will have a lot of success running the football today against the nation's 92nd ranked run defense, but it won't be enough. All of the hits taken on their depth will take its toll and Florida State will wear out late in the second half. Look for Kentucky to outscore FSU by about 20 points in the second half. Kentucky wins but FSU gives a valiant effort, 37-28 (17 confidence points, but that was before the suspensions).
Insight/Chick-fil-A Previews: UNDER CONSTRUCTION
12/31/2007
Bowl-O-Rama: Music City, Insight, Chick-fil-A Edition
Bowl-O-Rama: Armed Forces, Humanitarian, Sun Edition
Background Info & History Air Force Storyline Cal Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer Prediction Background Info & History Fresno State Storyline Georgia Tech Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer Prediction Background Info & History Oregon Storyline
I guess it only seems natural that the Armed Forces Bowl is sponsored by Bell Helicopters. Now, after seeing Bell Helicopters sponsor this game, I know where to go get a helicopter if I ever need one :) . It used to be known as the Fort Worth Bowl, but they changed the name to the Armed Forces Bowl beginning in 2006. Part of the problem was a lack of a sponsor because it seemed that Plains Capital was the only one willing to sponsor such a bowl game.
The history of this game is almost non-existent if you want to go by the actual Armed Forces Bowl's inauguration. Going back to 2003 when it was known as the Fort Worth Bowl, Boise State won a classic against the TCU Horned Frogs, but the following games were hardly as exciting. Cincinnati thrashed Marshall and Houston got obliterated like a Mark Mangino-eaten cheesecake in 2005. The Jayhawks ran away with it, 42-13. The game last year between Utah and Tulsa was somewhat entertaining, but nothing to write home about.
Uh....Nobody saw that coming besides maybe Troy Calhoun.
Calhoun spent the previous season in the Houston Texans organization, but he passed on the NFL for the job at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Boy, did it pay off.
The head coach was Calhoun, but it might as well have been Fisher DeBerry at the helm. The Falcons finished the year only second in rushing to rival Navy.
The very beginning of the season started off with a bang. The Falcons fought off South Carolina State easily, but they managed to defeat Utah and TCU announcing to the rest of the Mountain West that they were for real. Even though they got manhandled against BYU the following week, the momentum would stay with this team for the rest of the season.
Air Force finished the season winning 6 of 7, the only loss coming on the road to New Mexico. Even though the latter stages of the slate was filled with MWC bottom-dwellers, the Falcons rushing attack demolished their opposition pretty easily.
How is Cal in the Armed Forces Bowl?
If you said that before the loss to Oregon State, people would think you were nuts. The Golden Bears were one hot football team expected to produce like they have been over the last few seasons under Jeff Tedford. One mistake may have cost Cal all of the momentum in the world.
Kevin Riley, who was filling in for the injured Nathan Longshore, made one of the biggest bonehead moves in college football this season. The Golden Bears were in FG range ready to tie the game and send it into overtime all the while preserving their hopes at a BCS title game. But Riley slid with no timeouts for a needless first down. The clock ran out and it was all downhill from there.
Cal's tumble was non-stop throughout the rest of the season. The only win in their last seven games came against lowly Washington State in Strawberry Canyon. While they played Arizona State and USC pretty tight, it was a disaster for the most part including losses to Washington and Stanford to close out the season. Ouch. There isn't a colder football team heading into bowl season than California.
Air Force Running Game vs. Cal Rush Defense-This is Air Force's bread and butter, no question. The key to this game will be Cal's ability to read the option and stay in their lanes to make fundamentally sound tackles. They're very capable of doing that. Shaun Carney can pass when he wants to and getting him to throw it for 20+ times would be a big help for Cal (meaning Air Force is in a lot of third and long situations).
Cal Passing Game vs. Air Force Pass Defense-Cal's passing offense is solid, Air Force's pass defense is average. So, which one will give? The Golden Bears equip some solid athletes at the WR position like Lavelle Hawkins and DeSean Jackson who should be big difference makers in the game.
Lavelle Hawkins. All of the focus is paid to DeSean Jackson, but it's Hawkins who gets the work load in the passing game. He averages more receptions per game than Jackson and he's athletic enough to make some huge plays.
Air Force might be able to defend Cal's passing game. The Bears don't have a prolific ariel attack, but it can be if they execute to their potential. How Air Force's secondary deals with the Cal receivers such as Hawkins will be critical.
They're going to have to play a lot of zone because I'm not sure the Falcon DBs can keep up with these guys in man coverage. They could exploit that.
Drew Fowler. Fowler is one of the best defensive players that Air Force has. They haven't quite faced an offense as talented as Cal's. Maybe BYU produces more, but Cal has some athletic guys.
If Fowler brings his A game, gets a few sacks, pressures Longshore, and maybe swats down a pass or two, then he will have done his job. It'll be a difficult task to keep this Cal offense out of the endzone, but Air Force is capable.
The Armed Forces Bowl gets a 6 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer. Air Force's offense is exciting to watch for fans of the more diehard nature because of how exotic it is. California is coming into the game with not a whole lot to prove because of how poorly they played down the stretch. Look for Air Force to be the more motivated team. I'm not sure how that translates into watchability, but it's something to consider.
Cal will make a game out of it, but with the way they've been playing lately, getting smashed by Washington and losing to Stanford, I'd shy away from picking them. Air Force has an offense that many on Cal hasn't seen before. They last played each other in 2003, so don't think they'll be prepared for the option game. Air Force will give up some plays defensively, but they'll give a 110% effort and it'll be enough for a tight win. Cal loses another heartbreaker, 32-24 (10 confidence points).
The now-named Humanitarian Bowl was called the MPC Computers Bowl for a while before Micron Technology dumped its sponsorship. Roady's Truck Stops is an Idaho-based company that began about a year ago, actually. It was created by a merger of General Savings Network and Truck Stops Direct.
The history of the Humanitarian Bowl is pretty amazing if you look at it. How could a bowl game in Boise survive so long? It's a good question. The first ever Humanitarian Bowl was between Cincinnati and Utah State with the Bearcats winning 35-19. There have been some memorable games like Idaho/Southern Miss, Boise State/Louisville, Fresno State/Virginia, and Boise State/Boston College.
That's more like it.
Fresno State had a major downer of a season in 2006 stunningly missing out on a bowl game. It basically boiled down to poor QB play from Tim Brandstater and it really showed throughout the year including a shocking loss to Utah State, God awful 2006 Utah State! Amazing from a Pat Hill-coached team.
But all is right with the world. The Bulldogs have found their way back to the post season trying to slay yet another big dog. It's Fresno's M.O., it's just what they do. So GT better beware.
Fresno looked almost like a carbon copy of the 2006 team for the first four games. After a sloppy win against bad Sacramento State, Fresno fell just short of upsetting Texas A&M at Kyle Field and they were slaughtered by Oregon. The win against Louisiana Tech wasn't anything special and Fresno didn't show any signs of improvement.
But then the Nevada game came. They gave up 700+ yards in the effort, but they won it 49-41. It was the boost the program needed to get back on the right track. This was a team that was good enough against the WAC doormats to finish with a winning record all the while giving Boise State and Hawaii runs for their money. To wrap it up, it was a successful season.
After playing for the ACC championship a year ago, Georgia Tech figured it was Chan Gailey's fault that the team finished 7-5.
The head coach was canned and the replacement is Paul Johnson. But that doesn't mean this team won't be focused to play. They still have shown the capacity to be competitive and they have a good defense.
The Yellow Jackets looked like they were ready for the ACC after smashing Notre Dame and Samford, but the Boston College defense found a way to shut this team down 24-10. GT suffered from sporadic play and a hampered Tashard Choice in their losses to Virginia and Virginia Tech. There was also a tough loss to handle against Maryland thrown in there.
The end of the season was basically Gailey's undoing. The former NFL head coach saw his team get dominated by Virginia Tech. They were able to beat Duke and slip by North Carolina, but the loss to Georgia was the nail in the coffin. Gailey had been unable to beat Georgia during his tenure.
So was it was Georgia Tech was looking for? Not really, but they'll move on with Johnson and all will be well in Atlanta.
Fresno State Offensive Line vs. Georgia Tech Pass Rush-Will Fresno State be able to handle Georgia Tech's pass rush? When you think of this defensive front for GT, you think speed, speed, speed, and more speed. They are fast and strong. But, the Bulldogs are a physical team with one of the better offensive lines in the WAC. They're surrendering about a sack and a half per game.
Georgia Tech Special Teams vs. Fresno State Special Teams-If there's one game that special teams will play a more important role in, tell me. Neither team has a prolific offense, but both teams play solid defense. FGs will be at a premium. So, that's where the 6th ranked punting team in the nation (Georgia Tech) meets one of the best punt returners in the country in Clifton Smith. A.J. Jefferson is first in the nation at returning kickoffs.
Tashard Choice. Probably the most underrated RB in the entire country, the Oklahoma transfer has been downright awesome at Georgia Tech running against those tough ACC run defenses.
If Fresno State lets this guy loose, they'll pay for it. GT was 1-2 when Choice wasn't healthy with their only win coming against Army. He appears to be at full strength and that'll will be tough for the nation's 86th rushing defense to contain.
Bear Pascoe. Pascoe is a great TE that is utilized properly in Pat Hill's offense.
Pascoe is second on the team in receptions with 3.25 a game. Georgia Tech can't treat him like just any TE because he basically acts as another WR out on the field.
Brandstater will need all the help he can get Georgia Tech's secondary and Pascoe will be one of his best options.Fresno State usually makes for an attractive non-BCS team for the casual viewer, so this game gets a 7 out of 10. If that casual viewer pays some attention to college football, they might realize just how well Fresno State plays against the big boys. Georgia Tech will be coming into this game without a head coach so it will be interesting to see how they will respond. Hopefully, it isn't as awful as it was when they ran into Utah in the 2005 Emerald Bowl...
Fresno State always does well against the big boys, but they'll fall short in this effort. They're still in mini-rebuild mode because they're far from the best team Pat Hill has ever fielded in Fresno. Even though Georgia Tech is without Gailey and teams with coaching issues haven't won a game this bowl season, and there's a reason for that--it's because they weren't supposed to win their games to begin with (Houston, Texas A&M, Navy, Southern Miss, UCLA)--they should be able to play well enough defensively with Tashard Choice dominating on the ground. GT will pull it out in the fourth quarter, 34-24 (14 confidence points).
There have been some entertaining games in the past. Most recently, Ron Mason's Minnesota Golden Gophers edged out Oregon 31-30 in the 2003 Sun Bowl. The 2005 Sun Bowl failed to live up to expectations but it was okay. Last year's Sun Bowl between Oregon State and Missouri could have been the best ever with Mike Riley showing off his major cajones going for two points. He was Boise State before Boise State!
Just as Cal playing earlier on New Year's Eve, another fallen Pac-10 team with national title aspirations will be taking the field.
The Ducks had it going on with Dennis Dixon at the helm. He probably should have won the Heisman trophy even after he was injured showing just how valuable he actually was. But that's another story for another day...
That fateful game against the Arizona Wildcats sealed the deal for the Ducks. Dixon went out with a torn ACL, Brady Leaf came in, and it was never the same Ducks team.
Oregon went from killing inferior opponents to not being able to do anything offensively. Brady Leaf fits into that offense like a square peg in a round hole. Even average Pac-10 teams like UCLA found ways to run through Oregon like crap through a goose. Hey, I know you guys have lost three straight including a demoralizing loss to rival Oregon State, but speaking of crap through a goose, maybe George Patton can pump you up:
USF Storyline
Could this be described as the #2 Teams That Collapsed Bowl?USF was #2 at one point in time defeating West Virginia in the biggest game in the program's history. Yeah, they were helped out by the loss of Pat White, but this team could tackle giving them the edge in that game.
Well, let's go from the start. That 28-13 win against Elon was on ESPN Gameplan and they were sloppy as hell. I couldn't believe my eyes. However, they were able to rebound and beat Auburn on the road in overtime.
Of couse, they had the big win against West Virginia, but they backed that up with a beatdown of UCF. I also saw USF play against Florida Atlantic and that game was a lot closer than the score showed.
USF would then lose to three of the top teams in the Big East: Rutgers, UConn, and Cincinnati. After that rough spot on the schedule, the Bulls coasted into bowl season by slamming Syracuse, Louisville, and Pittsburgh.
Match ups of the Game
Oregon Running Game vs. USF Rush Defense-This is pretty much Oregon's only hope of winning this game. Jonathan Stewart is a special back that can win games almost single-handedly so USF needs to be on their A-game defensively. With Justin Roper getting the start, expect Oregon to run about 75% of the time. They're going to keep this thing on the ground and roll with it.
USF Running Game vs. Oregon Rush Defense-Oregon's main weakness is the pass defense, but that's not how USF likes to operate. The Bulls like to keep things on the ground with Grothe, Ford, and Williams. The USF ground game is 29th in the nation so that should be a challenge for the Oregon defensive front.
Keep an Eye on...
George Selvie. Oregon won't pass very much, but when they do, expect Selvie to be back pressuring Roper. Mr. Roper won't be having a whole lot of fun in that backfield.It's very possible that Selvie is the best defensive player in the nation. Selvie is tremendously atheltic and a huge physical specimen. He ranks second in sacks and first in tackles for loss, averaging more than two per game. He is one impressive athlete.
While we key in on one defensive end, how about Oregon's best defensive player?The Ducks aren't going to win if they allow USF to score more than 30. It's just not going to happen. So, it will be Nick Reed's responsibility to make some plays of his own and try to best his DE counterpart.
Reed is almost as impressive as George Selvie ranking sixth in sacks and third in tackles for loss.
Match ups of the Game
The Sun Bowl gets an 8 out of 10 on the SSO Must-See-Ometer. Even though Oregon is without Dennis Dixon, this has the potential to be a good football game.Oregon may have lost to Arizona and UCLA in less-than-stellar fashion, but the game against Oregon State was entertaining, wasn't it? I think that game showed that the Ducks still have some life left in those wings of theirs. USF is coming in on a three-game winning streak so they're playing at a high level.
Prediction
USF should win. I'm not really going out on a limb there. The Ducks without Dixon have been far from potent offensively. They'll give USF a game with Stewart carrying the load, but the USF defense is too good if Oregon gets one-dimensional. Roper has to have a big day, but he's going up against two NFL CBs in Williams and Jenkins. Grothe will make two or three game-changing plays with his legs and that will be the difference. USF wins, 31-17 (23 confidence points).
12/30/2007
Bowl-o-Rama: Independence Bowl Edition
Background Info & History Colorado Storyline Alabama Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer Predictions
PetroSun is a bio-fuel company seeking alternative energy sources but it also is in the business of the petroleum industry. One of their main things is called "algae fuel" which is in the picture above.
The history of the Independence Bowl goes back a long way. Played in Shreveport, it began in 1976 and it had the infamous sponsor of Poulan and Weed Eater from 1990 to 1996. That was the standard bearer for comical bowl names. There was one tie between Maryland and Louisiana Tech in 1990. Ole Miss has had a lot of success in this game defeating Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech in recent years. Last year, Oklahoma State was able to defeat Alabama in a tight duel by 3 points (34-31). That game was coming off of Shula's firing.
The Buffaloes rebounded nicely from their 2-10 season a year ago.
Even though there were some setbacks along the way (such as a thrashing against bowlless Kansas State and a loss to Iowa State), the season was considered a success.
The year began with a terrific game against Colorado State. I don't think I've ever seen a Rocky Mountain Showdown as back-and-forth and as exciting as that.
Cody Hawkins was busy developing, but Colorado still managed to pull of a tremendous, BCS-shattering upset against Oklahoma in week 4 right after losses to Florida State and Arizona State. The last-second FG made by Kyle Eberhart was obviously the high point of the season.
That wasn't the only good though. Colorado drilled a somewhat respectable Miami OH team 42-0 in Boulder, controlled the game against Texas Tech in Lubbock, and got that win against a down Nebraska team in a high-scoring affair of 65-51. All in all, a bowl game, even if it is the Independence Bowl which annually pits mediocre SEC and Big 12 teams together, was all Dan Hawkins could ask for.
It seems that Paul Bear Bryant isn't walking through that door....
Nick Saban certainly had loftier expectations for this Alabama team that just looked like it quit down the stretch. Saban and the Crimson Tide were embarrassed after suffering their personal Pearl Harbor (whoops) in a loss to lowly UL Monroe. It was one of the worst losses in Alabama history, to put it frankly.
But it wasn't all bad in Saban's first year. Even though Bama was an average 6-6, they fought and fought hard at the beginning of the year. They found ways to beat Arkansas at the last second which was a very difficult win. Alabama also played Georgia and LSU down to the last minute and according to many pundits and talking heads, these two teams are two of the best in the nation.
Alabama Pass Rush vs. Colorado O-line-Man, it's tough to find things that each team can exploit. Colorado is generally ranked in the 60's and 70's on just about everything and Alabama is generally ranked in the 50's and 60's on just about everything. But, one thing Colorado has done tremendously is protecting Cody Hawkins. The Buffs are 20th in sacks allowed and if the Colorado offensive line can keep him standing upright, they should be in good shape.
Alabama Passing Game vs. Colorado Pass Defense-Colorado has really struggled against the pass and that has shown against Nebraska, Missouri, Texas Tech, and Baylor. Luckily, John Parker Wilson is 97th in pass efficiency. Neither thing will give, they'll likely find a middle ground; Parker won't be horrible and Colorado will appear respectable in the secondary.
As I discussed in the match ups of the game segment, if Alabama can pressure Cody Hawkins, the Crimson Tide should win easily. That task will be up to Wallace Gilberry who is 23rd individually in sacks.
Gilberry is an athletic senior who will have much to play for tonight. Even if it is the Independence Bowl, he'll give it all he's got and he'll be tough to keep in check for the 20th ranked Buffaloes (in sacks allowed).
Terrence Wheatly. He's also a senior and a darn good CB. The top Buffalo defensive back earned the 12th best INT per game ratio in the country.
If Colorado can find a way to keep Alabama's passing game at bay, they should win the game. It could depend on Wheatly's coverage abilities.
Also, he's a solid kick returner. Special teams will have a big role in the outcome of this game too.
The Independence Bowl gets a 5 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer.
It's not because of how the two teams compare. They match up very well because neither team is that good or that bad at anything (besides Colorado's pass defense and Alabama's passing efficiency). Basically because it will be a boring game between two mediocre teams. South Carolina should probably be representing the SEC. Alabama's loss to UL Monroe is a major embarrassment to the conference. Then again, Colorado has been just as shaky at times against Iowa State and Kansas State.
I like Colorado. I don't know, it's a shot in the dark. There's no reason why Colorado should win necessarily, but at least they're coming into this game with a win. Alabama has lost their last three and they might be a bit deflated with their loss to rival Auburn. The loss to UL Monroe is a major downer. I see Hugh Charles doing a little bit of damage on the ground and Cody Hawkins will be able to stand around in the pocket. JP Wilson will get his yards, but he'll throw a pick in the final drive of the game to lose a close one. Colorado takes it, 27-23 (15 confidence points, I have no idea why I chose that number because I'm not that confident...) .
We interurpt the Bowl Previews for Cotton Bowl News
The new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys that will now host the Red River Shoot Out and the Cotton Bowl wants to be part of a new BCS bowl game in 2011. This has been reported on ESPN that Jerry Jones is trying to get the Cotton Bowl into the BCS in 2011, I personally thought that the Cotton Bowl should have been in instead of the Fiesta Bowl, but since the Cotton Bowl is an outdoor stadium and weather is an issue in Texas in January. The Cotton Bowl can start with talks in 2008 about inclusion.
The new stadium can hold anywhere between 80,000 to 100,000 fans which makes it attractive for a BCS game and be part of the rotation for the national title game. Prior to the BCS and the Bowl Collation the Cotton Bowl was on par with the Fiesta, Orange, and the other top bowls.
Another article I found in the Kansas City Star that was talking about the possibility of adding the Cotton Bowl to the BCS rotation. An interesting quote from the paper "Members of the Cotton Bowl Association anticipate that [the stadium] should prepare the way for the Cotton Bowl to join the BCS bowl lineup of the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, Rose and the championship game."
So we are going to have 5 BCS bowl games, plus the BCS championship game, and then the additional payout? 6 games is not realistic because then you are watering down what are suppose to be the best of the best in college football. If the Cotton Bowl were to get into the BCS then there are really only 2 choices in my opinion for it to happen. They are to kick out a current BCS bowl and with that scenario the bowl that gets snubbed would do whatever they would to stay in, because if there are 5 games and 4 bowls then the one that is out loses A LOT of money from not being involved in the BCS game and the title game every 4 years. Or keep the BCS at 5 games and that would mean no double hosting, and in this case all 4 of the current bowls would not want to include the Cotton Bowl to share their millions.
Money is the key word here so why would the other bowls want to share the TV deal and lose the double hosting feature every 4 years? The new stadium would have the same seating capacity as the Rose Bowl and that might be enough to get them in. If a bowl were to be replaced it most likely would be the Orange Bowl, because the Rose has the tradition, the Fiesta Bowl has the new stadium in Glendale, so it comes down to the Orange and Sugar. Since the Sugar bowl had renovations after the Hurricane look for the Orange Bowl to be knocked out IF they are to shuffle BCS bowl games in 2011.
I would just rather see a playoff and use all of these bowls, but what do I and 90% of every college football fan know what is entertaining.
When you are done reading this potential award winning piece go check out Mountain West News
12/29/2007
Liberty/Alamo Bowls
I'm going to be taking care of some other stuff today, so sorry for no previews.
I'm taking UCF 34-28 with 11 confidence points and Penn State 30-14 with 25 confidence points. My Wake prediction doesn't look so good right now...
Bowl-o-Rama: Meineke Bowl Edition
Background Info & History
If you guessed the sponsor of the Meineke Car Care Bowl is Meineke Car Care, then give yourself a pat on the back. The spnsorship was taken over by Meineke Car Care from Continetnal Tires back in 2005.The first ever Meineke Car Care Bowl featured NC State and USF with the Wolf Pack winning a snoozer. In 2006, Navy made things really interesting but failed to hang onto a pitch that could have won the game.
UConn Storyline
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UConn is in the Meineke Car Care Bowl? That might not be a huge surprise, but the way they did it was pretty shocking.The Huskies made it by playing a creampuff non conference schedule and pulling off some things in Big East play. Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer
Early in the year, UConn was surrounded in controversy with a game against Temple. UConn was flat and wasn't expecting much of a challenge, but the Owls fought down to the wire. There was a catch that never came to be called after extensive review made by Bruce Francis. It was quite clear that his foot fell in bounds, but it wasn't to be. UConn dodged an early season bullett there.
The one non-conference test that UConn had to endure was against Virginia who won a close game by a single point. The very next week after that, UConn came from behind to beat Louisville on a fair catch that wasn't called. Let's just say that UConn has had a lot of breaks this year.
Match ups of the Game
Wake Forest Passing Game vs. UConn Pass Defense-The Huskies have been rock-solid against the pass this year not allowing anybody to get things done through the air. Wake can throw if they wish; they prefer to keep the ball on the ground, but the stats are a bit misleading due to the turnover margin and the special teams stats. Riley Skinner is a good QB who had two bad games that messes up his whole season-ending statistics. Grobe likes to run a lot of gadget plays so we'll get to see UConn deal with that.
UConn Running Game vs. Wake Forest Run Defense-How will the Huskies be able to run the football against Wake Forest? The Demon Deacons are 16th in run defense and that's UConn's modus operandi. UConn can't throw, so if they get stuffed on the ground, they might not score more than 20 offensive points.
Marion is 4th in kick returns in the country which is very impressive. Marion averages about 31 yards per return.
In a game dominated by defense (most likely it will anyway), field position will be at a premium and with Marion returning kickoffs, look for Wake Forest to win that battle.
src="http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb54/Eric080/AndreDixon.jpg" border=0>As mentioned earlier, the ground game will be key to UConn winning this football game. Wake Forest ranks 16th against the run and UConn is 46th.
Even though Donald Brown was the leading tailback this year, Andre Dixon, also a sophomore, took over the role and never relinquished the spot. He's basically UConn's only potent offensive threat and he'll need a big day.
Prediction
This isn't a hard game to pick. UConn has been making their own breaks, but that has to stop sometime. This team was probably exposed after their games against Cincinnati and West Virginia. You'll have to wonder how they will react to playing a defense as good as Wake Forest and an offense that throws a bunch of misdirection and such at them. Wake wins easily, although the score will be close, 21-13 (26 confidence points).
Alright, screw this. I tried to spellcheck the stupid post, but Blogger's spellcheck decided to spellcheck the word "PhotoBucket" in the HTML code which messed up my pictures. Sorry about that....
12/28/2007
Bowl-O-Rama: Champs, Emerald, Texas Edition
Background Info & History Michigan State Storyline Boston College Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer Prediction Background Info & History Oregon State Storyline Maryland Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on...
Champs Sports is a sporting goods store, obviously. They're often found around malls and is part of the Foot Locker Chain. The Champs Sports Bowl was previously known as the Blockbuster Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, and many other names. It's now located in Orlando and we'll get to hear about the players' trips to Disney World during 70% of the broadcast. Yipee.
It hasn't exactly fielded very many entertaining games. Most recently, Maryland dominated Purdue in what could've been the most boring bowl game ever.
This is what Michigan State needed.....desperately.
What is a better sign of progress for a first year head coach than a bowl game? Michigan State hadn't been to a bowl game since 2003 under John L. Smith. It was about time, quite frankly.
MSU loaded up early on cupcakes like Bowling Green, UAB, Notre Dame (yes, they qualify as a cupcake). The Pittsburgh win was a little too close for comfort, but MSU looked like the real deal sitting at 4-0.
Not really. The Spartans eventually showed some signs of the old team under Smith by "collapsing" according to some people. They fail to realize that this team had their heads screwed on unlike the ones before the Dantonio era ever begun. They just didn't play anybody early on so it seemed like they were collapsing.
After a year's worth of agonizing defeats versus Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio State, the Spartans battled back to improve to 7-5 with wins against Penn State and Purdue to close out the season.
Everything was going so right for Boston College until Florida State.
Matt Ryan was in front of the Heisman Chase and Boston College was primed for a run at the national championship game. Florida State came along and trashed all hopes of a national title.
In what is probably the defining game of the 2007 season for Boston College, Matt Ryan led a furious comeback against Virginia Tech by scoring 14 points in two minutes and change.
However, Virginia Tech would enact revenge on Ryan and company in the ACC title game, a match completely controlled by the Hokies.
So, from being a few plays away from going to the BCS to the Champs Sports Bowl. Will BC be focused? That is yet to be determined.
Michigan State Running Game vs. Boston College Run Defense-There's a reason why Boston College is first in the nation against the run. The newly-converted, grind-it-out offense of Michigan State will have to find ways to penetrate the Boston College run defense if they want a shot at winning the game. It'll be difficult to do against the defensive front seven of the Eagles.
Boston College Passing Game vs. Michigan State Pass Defense-This side of the ball has a different twist to it. Michigan State is okay at defending the pass, ranking 43rd, but Boston College is 6th in the country in passing offense. Adding to the match up's intrigue is the fact that Jonal Saint-Dic was one of the Michigan State players to be suspended for the game. Saint-Dic is the pass rushing master and he'll be sorely missed.
Jolonn Dunbar could very well be the most underrated defensive player in the country. All he does is make tackles and he's very smart.
Michigan State will have a tough enough time running the football, so expect MSU to go to the passing game to find some holes in the Boston College defense. MSU will run run run and whenever they pass, it'll be up to Dunbar to make the right play whether it be reading the offense, making a tackle to save a first down, sacking or putting pressure on the QB, or anything you can ask him to.
If you remember last bowl game, he had a huge day against Navy so expect more of the same out of him.
Devin Thomas. Thomas is the Spartans biggest playmaker by far. He's the sixth ranked all-purpose runner in America which is very impressive.
Michigan State likes to do a lot of reverses or options that eventually fall into the hands of Devin Thomas. He's their top receiver by far, registering multiple 100+ yard receiving games.
Like I mentioned earlier, MSU will have to pass the football because even though they are a powerful rushing team, they won't be able to do that much on the ground against Boston College. MSU must execute through the air when they have to.
The Champs Sports Bowl gets a 7 out of 10 on the SSO Must-See-Ometer. It won't be an immensely thrilling football game, especially if you like big-time offense. Both defenses have a bunch of slobber-knockers lining up to face their less-than-stellar offensive opponents.
But, if you can find out how to appreciate solid defense, then ESPN at 5:00 PM is the place for you. Ringer will get some yards, Thomas will make some plays, and Matt Ryan will make a bunch of good throws. But expect the defense to control this football game.
Michigan State will find a way to make it close. If you've been paying attention to the 2007 Spartans, they haven't been blown out at all and the average margin of difference between winning and losing has been about 10 points and that includes their large victories against UAB, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Indiana. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that if Michigan State is going to lose, which they're favored to do, it will at least be close. Boston College has all of the match ups going in their favor and if you add that to the fact that Michigan State just suspended players like SirDarean Adams and Jonal Saint-Dic, winning this game will be too difficult. Boston College wins, 34-21 (22 confidence points).
The sponsor of the Emerald Bowl is Diamond Walnuts. As a matter of fact, before it was called the Emerald Bowl, it was known as the Diamond Walnuts San Francisco Bowl.
There hasn't been a whole lot of history worth noting in the Emerald Bowl. 2004 was probably the most notable Emerald Bowl with Navy's famous drive. Help me out, Adam, what was it, 12 minutes?
Before the season, Oregon State was projected to be one of the best teams in the Pac-10 along with USC and UCLA.
But, it didn't turn out that way at least early on. The Beavers looked okay against Utah, but their season would be spoiled by Week 2. During a trip to Nippert Stadium, the Beavers were embarassed on national TV against Cincinnati 34-3. To add insult to injury, Oregon State QBs combined for 6 INTs!
Things suddenly went downhill. Oregon State was looking okay against Arizona State and UCLA for a while before both teams stormed back to win the game by a large margin. The win against Arizona was nice, but the turning point of the season came against Cal. If you get Versus, you might have seen Kevin Riley of the then #2 Cal Golden Bears have a mental mistake. He dove with no timeouts and about three seconds left on the clock. Oregon State would take advantage of that miscue and win their next 4 of 5 including another Civil War for the ages.
Disappointing and average are two words that come to mind when discussing Maryland.
Projected by many to be one of the best teams in the ACC, Maryland came out and laid an egg this year by going 6-6.
After starting out the season 2-0 with wins against Florida International and Villanova, the Terps got shelled again by West Virginia on national television. So they're similar to Oregon State in that regard.
The Terrapins biggest win of the year came against intraconference opponent, Boston College. The win against what was a top 10 team then amounted to one of the bigger wins in the Friedgen regime. After a closs loss to Florida State, Maryland needed to beat NC State in order to keep their bowl hopes alive. They destroyed the Wolf Pack rather easily 37-0.
Maryland Running Game vs. Oregon State Rush Defense-The Beavers are second in the country against the run and Maryland is only 64th which pales in comparison. Maryland will try to come at Oregon State with Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball and the game probably lies in this match up.
Oregon State Passing Game vs. Maryland Pass Defense-Oregon State is putting their faith in Lyle Moevoa who has taken over the starting QB job due to Sean Canfield's injury. Moevoa is prone to making mistakes, but he has done a nice job over the last few weeks. Make sure you check out what the Oregon State WRs do against the Maryland DBs such as J.J. Justice and Kevin Barnes.
Erin Henderson. Probably the best Terrapin defender, he should be the star of this game (at least on this side of the ball).
Oregon State has some issues protecting the QB position. The Beavers rank 94th in sacks allowed which is pretty alarming going against a LB corps this talented.
Henderson is the little brother of E.J. Henderson who was with the Vikings, not sure if he's there anymore 'cause I don't pay enough attention to the NFL. He's obviously got some football genes floating around in that DNA somewhere. I mean, the guy averages 11 tackles a game! He's always a factor.
For every issue that might arise from the Oregon State pass protection, Maryland might have some more troubles.
The Terps rank 107th in sacks allowed surrendering a little more than three sacks a game. That can be detrimental for a team trying to move the football against a stingy defense like Oregon State.
So, that leads us to somebody you might not have paid much attention to: Victor Butler. Butler, along with Slade Norris and Darion Smith, have made OSU a sacking machine. Oregon State is third in sacks and it should be a tough load for a struggling Maryland offensive line. Chris Turner (or Napoleon Dynamite suiting up to play QB) isn't very mobile and he'll have to make quick decisions in order for Maryland to win the game.
Must-See-Ometer
The Emerald Bowl reads an 8 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer. While not a match up of two powerhouses, this game features two offenses are that just beginning to move it along with very good defenses. This will be similar to the Champs Sports Bowl being played right now.If you think Maryland can't win, just think about last year. UCLA was the hot Pac-10 team that everybody was counting on and they couldn't get it done. Florida State was the ACC team that was bit of an afterthought. It turns out that FSU dominated the game. Maryland is a similar team so it'll be interesting to see if they can duplicate the feat.
Prediction
This game between two athletic defenses will come down to the team with the most playmakers. While Oregon State has Yvenson Bernard waiting in the backfield, you have to like Maryland's WRs. I can see Darius Heyward-Bey and Danny Oquendo playing huge parts in this and making the game-changing catches that Maryland will need to pull this off. I think they will, I'm taking Maryland but with low confidence. Terps take it in a low-scoring close game, 23-20 (4 confidence points).
Background Info & History
No sponsor here. The Texas Bowl was surrounded in a lot of question marks just a few years ago for not paying teams their supposed amount. This used to be known as the EV1.net Houston Bowl before it was changed to the Texas Bowl.There's only been one game in Texas Bowl history and that was Kansas State vs. Rutgers in a game dominated by the Scarlet Knights.
TCU Storyline
Phhhhhht, BCS?!?!?Yeah, right, that's what I projected before the season began. While most weren't saying the Horned Frogs would end up there, many expected more than a 7-5 finish and a Texas Bowl berth.
TCU looked strong for a half against the Texas Longhorns, but you'd have to assume that that's where things began to go downhill a little bit in terms of confidence.
The 7-5 record wasn't indicative of a meltdown of any sorts, because it seemed that TCU just wasn't good enough to do more than that. All in all, a .500 mark in conference play is unbelievably disappointing and they'll get a chance to right the ship in the Texas Bowl.
Houston Storyline
Art Briles is no longer the head coach at Houston taking the job at Baylor. You know, I never really understood that move because you would think Houston would be a much better job than Baylor, but that's a story for another day I assume.So, Houston had a decent season. It wasn't one that made a lot of waves and it was a year without a huge win or a huge upset loss. They basically did what was expected of them.
However, you can't say it wasn't an exciting ride for Brile's final year. Houston was kept beneath the 25-point mark only twice scoring one TD in their only WTF game all year against Tulsa and they scored 24 in their thrilling loss to Alabama.
Match ups of the Game
Houston Running Game vs. TCU Rushing Defense-Houston's balance makes them a formidable offense to face, but TCU is hardly afraid of any offensive attack. It'll be up to the TCU defenders such as Jason Phillips and David Hawthorne to stuff Houston's biggest playmaker, Anthony Alridge.
TCU Special Teams vs. Houston Special Teams-Chris Manfredini will be a huge part of this game. Even though Houston can't play much defense, TCU doesn't know how to move a football. TCU has scored over 30 points only four times all season against Stanford, UNLV, New Mexico, and San Diego State. Besides New Mexico, there aren't many defensive juggernauts on that list. They're going to be settling for FGs often. Also, TCU has had some success at blocking punts this year. Houston probably won't win the field position battle being ranked 113th in net punting.
Keep an Eye on...
Anthony Alridge. The guy can play. He's a 100% speedster and his shiftieness is something to see to believe. He's so quick and agile he's been a pain in the ass to stop for C-USA defenses all season long (and Oregon can attest to that).He's a big-time threat to come out of the backfield and catch a pass or two or three.......or four. Alridge alone is responsible for 180 yards a game and he's going to be really tough for TCU to handle.
Chase Ortiz. Ortiz is the pass-rushing specialist on this TCU defense. Houston hasn't been great over the last few weeks at keeping their QBs, Case Keenum and Blake Joseph, from standing upright.Houston is 83rd in sacks allowed and TCU is 14th in sacks. Ortiz is a big part of that.
Must-See-Ometer
The Texas Bowl gets a 7 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer (that is, if you can see it being on the NFL Network and all). The match up of TCU's defense and Houston's offense should be spectacular. Who will win? I guess that's why you've got to tune in. I'm a little undecided as to how much of the Emerald Bowl or Texas Bowl I'm going to be watching because both games are so good.Prediction
I like Houston, surprisingly. Even though they lost their head coach, Art Briles, to Baylor, I think the offense will do just enough and the defense will be surprisingly efficient. TCU will play great on defense, but they don't have enough offense to win. Watch for Anthony Alridge to be the difference maker Houston is looking for. Cougars win a tight one, 27-23 (6 confidence points).
12/27/2007
Background Info & History Arizona State Storyline Texas Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer Prediction
Pacific Life is an insurance company and is a Fortune 500 company. Some former sponsors of the Holiday Bowl have been Culligan, Sea World, Thrifty Car Rental, and Plymouth.
The history of the Holiday Bowl often makes it regarded as one of the best non-BCS bowls on a year-to-year basis. The WAC was involved from the bowl's inception up until 1997. The Big 10 was one of the participants from 1986 to 1994.
There have been some well-known Holiday Bowls in the past. One of the most well-known was the 1988 Holiday Bowl where Oklahoma State crushed Wyoming 62-14. That was Barry Sander's record-setting game. BYU has also had their moments in that game, especially in 1984 where the Cougars defeated Michigan and kept their #1 ranking. BYU also was the winner of the Miracle Bowl defeating SMU in 1980. In more recent history, two Pac-10 teams that felt they were shafted, Oregon in 2005 and Cal in 2004, lost to decent Big 12 teams in Oklahoma and Texas Tech respectively.
After receiving a lot of flak for hiring Dennis Erickson, it turned out to be the right move and the right fit for the journeyman head coach.
After coaching Idaho for one season, Erickson bolted for the greener pastures (or in this case, drier deserts) of Tempe, Arizona. Immediately, there was improvement from the team previously coached by Dirk Koetter. The defense felt the largest impact going from 51st in total defense to 27th. The offense saw a little improvement as well.
The year started with Arizona State being a major sleeper in the national title race. After surviving an upset bid against Washington State, the Sun Devils looked like the real deal by bashing Cal and Washington. The most hyped up Pac-10 game of the year came against Oregon and Arizona State where a healthy Dennis Dixon led the Ducks to a decisive 35-23 victory. ASU then got crushed by a USC team that played like it should, so you can't fault them on that one.
Coming into bowl season, Erickson's squad was uplifted by a close, squeaker against arch nemesis, Arizona squandering their hopes of a bowl bid. Let's just say that 2007 was a major success for Arizona State.
Is it possible that Texas is the most underrated team in the country?
It's not that Texas is disrespected; the name brand alone demands that they be. It's just that nobody seems to be talking about Texas. Before the A&M loss, people forgot that this was a top-10 team that could be in the BCS.
Texas' storyline began with three scares against lesser foes. Arkansas State was a blown call and an onside kick away from at least giving the Longhorns even more of a scare than they already got. TCU was hanging right with Texas before McCoy and the offense pulled away. Central Florida was playing up to Texas' level before the 4th quarter.
It may not seem like it, but the game against Rice was the one where Texas looked like it snapped out of that daze it had for the first three weeks of the season. Yes, we all know Rice's defense is, well, Rice's defense, but the Longhorns were in dire need of a blowout.
Even if they did snap out of that daze, the top 5 Longhorns fell and fell hard to Jordy Nelson and Kansas State Wildcats. The following week, Texas fell in the Red River Shootout. Who better than Iowa State to come along to get a team out of the dumps? The 56-3 win set up a five game winning streak that was snapped by rival Texas A&M.
This season has been up-and-down, but make no mistake about it: Texas is darn good when they want to be.
Arizona Passing Game vs. Texas' Pass Defense-Texas didn't see a whole lot of improvement from 2006 in the secondary. Texas finished the regular season with a 109 out of 119 ranking in pass defense. Rudy Carpenter leads a balanced offense, but Arizona State likes to pass more than not. ASU is 37th in passing offense.
Texas Pass Rush vs. Arizona State Offensive Line-ASU has really, really struggled to protect Rudy Carpenter. The Sun Devils rank 117th in sacks allowed. Texas has underachieved a little bit on the defensive front, but it is a talented one led by Lamarr Houston, Frank Okam, and Aaron Lewis.
Chris McGaha. Carpenter will have to be effective, but McGaha will have to catch everything thrown his way.
Going up against this Texas secondary won't be hard, so the only thing that will prevent Arizona State from tossing for fewer than 400 yards will be Arizona State themselves. McGaha isn't a big-time playmaker, but his possession skills are impressive.
Jamaal Charles. Like the Texas team as a whole, is Charles the most underrated RB in America?
He's the guy that has put up sick second half numbers against Nebraska (which was a game Texas should have lost and would have lost without Charles). He's the guy that averages 120+ yards on the ground per game which is 13th nationally.
ASU has been very stout against the run this season ranking 13th. So I guess that's kind of ironic considering Charles is 13th individually in rushing yards per game. Anyway, Arizona State has held half of the teams they've played to under 100 yards rushing. It will be crucial to get Charles going early and often.
This game reads a 9 out of 10 on the SSO Must-See-Ometer. There really isn't a whole lot to say about it. The names and rankings of both teams should be enough to sell the casual fan on it. This game should provide the perfect mix of offense and defense to make it really entertaining.
I like Texas in this one. The Longhorns will be facing a solid offense and a very tough defense but the offensive skill players for Texas will come through big. Expect Charles to approach 150 which is a feat against this defensive front and for McCoy to throw for close to 350 yards. ASU will get some yards through the air, but the Sun Devils will fall just short. Texas wins, 34-30 (18 confidence points).
12/26/2007
Bowl-O-Rama: Motor City Bowl Edition
Background Info & History CMU Storyline Purdue Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer Prediction
There are three sponsors to the Motor City Bowl. As you might be able to infer, the Motor City Bowl takes place in Detroit so it only seems natural that the "Big 3" automakers, Chrysler, Ford, and GM all co-sponsor the event.
The history of the Motor City Bowl has its roots in the Cherry Bowl which only lasted a few seasons. A bowl game in Detroit was resurrected in 1997 and it was played in the Pontiac Silverdome until 2001. The first ever game in the bowl's history was a 34-31 win for Ole Miss against Marshall. As a matter of fact, after that loss, the Thundering Herd went on to win the next three Motor City Bowls. Probably the best Motor City Bowl game to this date was the Northwestern/Bowling Green game played in 2003 where Josh Harris led the Falcons to a 28-24 victory. The most recent game, in 2006 (which yours truly attended), CMU defeated at-large Middle Tennessee State in front of a 54,000+ record crowd.
You want to talk about schizophrenic football teams? Look no further than Central Michigan.
The Chippewas were downright awful against their non-MAC foes. The average score of their OOC games against Purdue, North Dakota State, Clemson, and Kansas was 52.75 to 14.25 (this doesn't count their victory against Army). In MAC games, CMU won on average 47.9 to 33.1. So something is screwy there.
Who knew Kansas was going to be so good? When I first saw that score, as a CMU fan, I began freaking out thinking that Butch Jones was a complete and total failure. I thought North Dakota State would beat Central Michigan, but the way they did it was extremely shocking. Let's just say CMU looked like a sinking ship.
Once MAC play was on the schedule, it was much smoother sailing for this vessel. The CMU offense cut through the helpless arm-tackling of lesser MAC defenses like a hot knife through butter on their way to a second consecutive MAC West title.
This team faced off against Miami OH for a MAC championship game. The RedHawks were hanging in there for a while, but you have to give the Central defense credit for playing the best defensive game all year.
Another year, more failed expectations for Purdue.
Much of this is pinned on Joe Tiller. Speaking of Tiller, this is a homecoming for the head coach. He's from the Toledo area and used to be a big fan of the Detroit Lions who used to own the NFL which may come as a surprise to non-NFL historians.
Anyway, Purdue was a hot football team. They ran into Ohio State and Michigan, two teams the Boilermakers have been able to avoid for the last two seasons. The game against Iowa was the real litmus test as to whether or not the team was for real. Northwestern and Iowa got smoked so it looked like this team was on the right track.
Uh-oh. This is when Purdue took a turn for the worst. Penn State smothered the offense and controlled the game on both sides of the ball. Then, Brian Hoyer showed unprecedented success at QB as Michigan State won, 48-31. If not for the heroics of Austin Starr, Purdue would have the Old Oaken Bucket and a plane ride to Phoenix.
Purdue Passing Game vs. Central Michigan Pass Defense-If you've been following Central Michigan at all this year, you should be able to pick up that they can't defend the pass at all, especially one as potent as Purdue's 18th ranked passing offense. The Boilermakers will come at the Chippewa secondary with Dorien Bryant, Selwyn Lymon, Dustin Keller, and Greg Orton.
CMU Passing Game vs. Purdue Pass Defense-Now, just read what I said about Purdue's offense and CMU's pass defense and flip it around. While Purdue doesn't have as bad of a secondary as the Chips possess, Dan LeFevour has a tremendous target in Bryan Anderson with whom he'll hook up a couple of big plays tonight.
Dan LeFevour. Think of him as a poor man's Tim Tebow (which is a good thing). LeFevour obviously wasn't playing as many quality opponents as Tim Tebow has, but his stats are almost as impressive. He's the only QB in the NCAA that has ran for 1000+ and threw for 3000+ joining Vince Young in that category.
LeFevour will be a load for the Purdue defense to handle mainly because of his dual-threat status. The sophomore has a good-sized arm and he's not lightning quick but he will hurt you on the ground. Purdue is merely average against the run but they are shaky against the pass (ranked 70th).
This is probably your third best match up of the game right here. Cliff Avril is an excellent pass rusher and the best player for Purdue defensively.
He averages half a sack per game, but, the Central Michigan offensive line has proved to be rather sturdy.
CMU ranks 16th in sacks allowed. Part of that is LeFevour's escapability and quick-decision making, but the Chippewas have the best offensive line in the Mid-America Conference.
If Avril has a big day, CMU's offense won't be as explosive as most project it to. If CMU can handle Avril's pass rushing ability, they'll move down the field with ease.
The Motor City Bowl receives a 6 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer. If you like offense, you've come to the right place.
Even though these two teams have met already, there are a few reasons to believe this will be a better football game:
• CMU is playing in their own backyard.
• CMU is the hotter team. Purdue has dropped three straight going from 7-2 to 7-5.
• Motivation. CMU is bound to be the more excited team. Can you imagine Purdue being pumped up for this?
The three items mentioned above only point to this being a closer game. When Purdue and Central met in September, the game was 38-0 in the third quarter. The final score is a bit misleading.
The bottom line is whether or not CMU's defense will play like they did against Miami OH. Granted, Miami OH is no Purdue, but it was their best defensive game of the season. If the CMU offense stays hot, look for this to be closer than last meeting.
Regardless, Purdue has too much offensive firepower and more athletes on defense compared to Central Michigan. Look for Purdue to pull away big in the 4th quarter. Boilermakers win, 45-31.
12/25/2007
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, everybody!
Just a heads up on that renovation: I'm not going to get it done today, obviously. I might not tomorrow either. I'm going to be headed off to Detroit to see Central Michigan get drilled by the Purdue Boilermakers. Should be fun.
12/24/2007
Site Under Construction
SSO will have a new look after this Christmas. This is mainly of a boredom, I've gotta try and spruce the thing up a little bit.
In the meantime, watch this hillarious video:
Hypothetical, Possible 2008 Games
With ESPN already looking ahead to 2008 on their front page by publishing articles about usual powers who had down seasons, why don't we look at some teams with openings on their 2008 schedule? Here are some games that I personally would love to watch (via NationalChamps.net):
Who wouldn't want to see a match up between non-BCS powers? These are usually fun to see. Troy will be without Omar Haugabook and might not win the Sun Belt next year, but I suppose it won't really matter going up against CMU's pourous defense. All of the main pieces in the Central Michigan offensive machine come back with LeFevour, Hoskins, Sneed, Anderson, and Brown. This would be a fun, high-scoring game.
If you thought North Texas/Navy was a shootout, wait until you see this hypothetical game. Todd Dodge is only in year one of implementing his system but the Mean Green passing game should become appreciably better. New Mexico State will get a bunch of offensive skill back led by their QB, Chase Holbrook. When healthy, Holbrook can bomb away with the best of them. This game would have 600+ passing yards for both teams and both would go across the 60-point mark.
If this game got scheduled(which I really doubt it would), the hype machine that is ESPN would play it up like there's no tomorrow. The Petrino hire raised a lot of eyebrows throughout the college football world and the NFL. Facing his old team with a head coach that has taken a step back would be exciting to see. Even without McFadden on the roster (more than likely anyway), the Arkansas passing game would get better overnight.
Just imagine if this game was scheduled with Illinois beating USC and LSU beating Ohio State. This could become the biggest game of 2008 should it ever come to happen. The spread attack of Juice Williams going against the defense of LSU would be worth the price of admission. Keep in mind, Illinois would have a good deal of Zook's recruiting class developed. Should Illinois find a way to beat USC, the Fighting Illini would no doubt be ranked in the top 5 to begin next season. LSU is LSU, which means they'll almost always be a top 10 team.
Oklahoma already plans on taking on Cincinnati this year, so it's no secret that they don't shy away from tough games. Virginia Tech still has an opening and this game would be one of the most fun ones to watch. The VT defense against the potent offense of the Sooners. Wait until you see Oklahoma's offense next year with Bradford and Murray as sophomores. It'll be lights-out.
And, to be clear, these games are totally hypothetical and you probably will see none of them come to fruition. Instead, North Texas will probably play SW South Dakota Tech and Virginia Tech will probably find a way to schedule Central Rhode Island State.
The Call on the Field is.....Ridiculous
If there's one thing about college football that most agree on, it's that the replay system is a plus. We no longer have annoying, obvious, blown calls that almost always seem to go in favor of teams you might despise (like a Notre Dame, USC, or Miami). Referees now have a security blanket so they don't become scapegoats for bloodthirsty fans who might wish them a slow and painful death. There are people like that out there; just scour some of those ESPN Conversation boards like I've been doing lately.
But there is one obvious flaw in the system. That flaw would be that not everything is reviewable.
If you saw the Hawaii Bowl last night, you might have noticed the play that set up ECU for the game-winning FG. It was clear that Jamar Bryant (which yours truly selected as a potential ECU game-changer, man, to gloat for a minute, I've been doing pretty good at those for this bowl season) was tapped by the Boise defended which I'm not sure of his name at this moment. The only problem was, the referees determined that he was "pushed" out of bounds and therefore the play was not reviewable.
Just a quick question: Why?
Why isn't reviewable? That's what I don't understand. Perhaps somebody can knock some sense into me. Matt Zemek a little while ago suggested that just about everything should be reviewable-even penalties. I mean, if you think about it, aren't awful pass interference calls or shoddy roughing the passer calls just as detrimental to a football team as a fumble at their own 36? It could be.
So, I just want to find out why these things can't be reviewed. I'm not suggesting that the booth be responsible to review penalties, but I would hand out two challenges to head coaches so that they could be used on game-changing penalties just to make things clear.
It's important to get things right.
12/23/2007
Bowl-O-Rama: Hawaii Bowl Edition
Background Info & History Boise State Storyline ECU Storyline Match ups of the Game Keep an Eye on... Must-See-Ometer Prediction Recap
Man, does that place look nice or what? If you had to pick a bowl game to attend without your team playing, you're nuts if you choose against the Hawaii Bowl. That's a pic of a Sheraton Hotel on Maui, I think.
The history of this game goes back a long ways in terms of bowl longevity. There have been bowl games in the past on the islands like such as the former double-header of the Oahu and the Aloha Bowl. In 2002, the actual Hawaii Bowl came about sponsored by ConAgra Foods. Of the five Hawaii Bowls played, Hawaii has appeared in four of them. Hawaii is 3-1 in the Hawaii Bowl with their only loss coming to Tulane. They were able to beat Houston accompanied with their fiasco at the end, owned UAB in 2004, and handled Arizona State in 2006. For the 2005 season, the Nevada/UCF game was one of the best bowl games I've ever seen. A lot of offense and the UCF kicker missed an extra point in overtime.
Boise State's act in 2006 was a tough one to follow up. Expectations were high and even though Hawaii was the obvious favorite to make the BCS, Boise State was another contender.
The Bronco's winning streak was snapped against the Washington Huskies on the road. The Husky defense didn't allow Boise State to do too much, but the Broncos were basically the better team as the game progressed.
Even though Boise State lost, they never dwelled on the fact that they were likely out of the BCS picture. Wyoming gave them a battle, but the Bronco defense was excellent.
Southern Miss gave them their best shot, but it was to no avail. The Smurf Turf magic had worked again!
Until Boise ran into the buzzsaw that was Hawaii on The Islands, this team was playing at an extremely high level.
The Pirates of ECU had some offensive skill players to replace. They got the job done, especially with their offensive line.
The Pirates began the year playing a motivated Virginia Tech team. ECU was pretty admirable defensively, but other than that, they never really had a shot to win that game.
ECU then had a gut-wrenching win against the Tar Heels of North Carolina with a 34-31 final. The next two games included losses to Southern Miss and West Virginia.
Arguably, the biggest win of the season was against Houston when this somewhat young team decided against throwing the towel in. The following week, the C-USA champions were destroyed in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium 56-30.
ECU finished the year on a hot streak. They suffered a WTF loss to Marshall, 26-7, but other than that, they handled UAB, Memphis, and Tulane. Anybody who thinks this team will get steamrolled by Boise State might have another thing coming.
Boise State WRs vs. ECU DBs-ECU has struggled mightily at defending the pass this year. The Pirate secondary ranks 115th in the nation. Boise State is 23rd in passing offense. They should be able to pick apart ECU's secondary, but if the Pirates can clamp down and actually play some pass D, this could be a game. Another item of interest, WR Jeremy Childs has been suspended by Boise State.
ECU Running Game vs. Boise State Run Defense-ECU is decent at running the football, but they're going to be coming at the front four for Boise with Chris Johnson. Johnson can pound the rock and he's a big-time NFL prospect. It'll be interesting to see how the 25th ranked run defense will handle Johnson.
Jamar Bryant. Bryant is the most athletic of ECU's WRs and he has a knack for hauling in some big passes.
The ECU QB situation is one that is usually in flux. This is by design though, both Rob Kass and Patrick Pinckney split time. With the loss of Aundre Allison, Bryant has emerged as the top weapon for the Pirates' passing offense.
The sophomore will have to step up if Chris Johnson can't find enough running lanes against that difficult Boise State defensive front.
Taylor Tharp. Tharp has been surprisingly efficient. There hasn't been as much of a drop off, at least in production, with Tharp under center instead of Jared Zabransky.
As previously mentioned, ECU can't stop the pass at all. Tharp will have to make the right reads (which may not be that hard) against this secondary in order to take advantage of ECU's most glaring weakness.
And, Tharp will need some help from his other receivers due to the loss of Childs. Without Jeremy Childs, Tharp will need to look for some other targets to make plays in this offense.
The 2007 Hawaii Bowl reads a 5 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer. Obviously, the name brand of Boise State with their magical run last season adds some flavor for the Hawaii Bowl. But most people think ECU stands no chance. If you've been paying attention to the ESPN Bottomline lately, it reads that 98% of voters picked Boise State which was the most confident of any game.
But I wouldn't sleep on this ECU team. The Pirates can score even though their offense doesn't look that powerful on paper. The reason is they are an excellent kickoff return team and they know how to force turnovers. ECU ranks 6th in the country and this often sets them up with good field position. They'll come at Boise State with all they have.
If you're looking for fan excitement though to get jazzed up, this might not be your game. There shouldn't be too many fans for either side but ECU has been giving away their tickets to the Armed Forces which is a very nice thing to do.
Boise State should roll through this game. I believe ECU will give Boise a stiff challenge, but the issue with ECU is the defense. I'm afraid that the Broncos will be able to score at will in this game. Taylor Tharp should be able to sit back in the pocket and just dissect the ECU secondary. The Pirates will score, maybe even pass the 30 point mark, but Boise has the ability to go 50 and beyond. Boise State wins, 54-31 (31 confidence points).
Dammit, are you kidding me? Man, alive. As much as I want to be objective and be happy for ECU, I just blew my freaking office pool! Well, I basically blew the friggin' thing. I had 31 on Boise..........DAMN.
Anyway, I'll try to cool off a little bit and analyze. Boise State deserved to lose this game. That's for sure. I don't know of any team that can play as shitty of a half as they did in the first that deserves to win any football game. They couldn't stop Chris Johnson at all.
I was extremely impressed with Johnson and I'm trying to wonder where all of that athleticism went against Marshall and North Carolina State. I'm still trying to figure that one out. But they were the more focused of the two teams. Boise State clamped down and played defense in the second half.
BUT, there's one thing that caught my attention: "Forced"? FORCED? Phhsst, what a joke. He tapped the receiver and then he want out of bounds. It's not like he got shoved or anything. I thought the refs blew the call on that one. I hate this "not reviewable" crap. I e-mailed Matt Zemek a little while ago and asked him if he thought every play, even penalties, should be challenged. He mentioned in, I think, a 5 Thoughts segment over at CFN that there shouldn't be rules as to what is reviewable and what isn't. There's no reason why that shouldn't be reviewable, but it just isn't. I want an explanation. Why should it be against the rules to see if a player did or didn't get shoved out of bounds? Why? It makes no sense.
One hefty and loud "Argh!" for ECU winning this game. Damn :)
12/22/2007
Random Items of Somniferous Interest
Ha, DeepSouthSports.net posts this picture of an actual billboard in Monroe, Louisiana. The irony? The Alabama team will travel across the highway on their way to Shreveport.
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Orson Swindle is a contributor to The Sporting News' Web site? I didn't know that. Maybe it's just me, but I don't get the "humor" of that site. No offense intended to EDSBS, but I just don't find it funny.
Regardless, on his Sporting News piece, he listed the most annoying commercials of the 2007 Bowl Season.
If this is considered annoying...........I guess it must mean sexy; sort of like the word esoteric 
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This is the blog of CFB Tour Guide. I think this guy is funny, his blog about his trips to college football Meccas are really interesting. That link goes to his trip to the Big House during Week 12.
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And as always, I demand that you check out CFP Message Board. It's sort of where this whole idea began to concoct in my brain.
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Finally, I don't usually post on Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba, maybe once, but I usually lurk around to see what they have to say about the Bowling Green football team and the MAC in general. I was just going to give a shout out to them because the board is pretty fun to read.
Here's some trivia: Where did the whole "Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba" thing come from?
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Answer: It was a Zulu war chant. Now that wasn't that somniferous, was it?
Bowl-o-Rama: Dec. 22nd Edition
We've got a triple-header on the menu today with the Papajohns.com Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, and the Las Vegas Bowl. Enjoy the games!
Background Info & History
You know what's interesting? I have never actually had Papa John's Pizza. There's one nearby in Flint, but it's too far away from me. I'm not sure about you guys, but the best pizza in mid-Michigan is from a local chain called B&T. That stuff is.....stupendous, excellent, fantastic, whatever. I think Hungry Howie's is a national chain. It was founded in Michigan. Shoot, fatty is rambling again 
.I'm sure you're aware that, probably, the one bowl sponsor that gives the rest a bad name is none other than the one sponsored by Papa John's Web site. But what about the history of the game? There is virtually none with this being the second game ever played. Last time was a forgettable victory for USF over ECU.
Southern Miss Storyline
The biggest issue surrounding Southern Miss and the one thing that the 2007 Golden Eagle football team will be remembered for is obviously the departure of steady-as-a-rock head coach, Jeff Bower (even Bob Seger might be impressed).Southern Miss was hardly a stand-out team at any point this season. This was actually a team that many pundits thought could be a BCS sleeper. In my predictions, I didn't have Southern Miss going to be the BCS, but I was looking at 9 or 10 wins. Can anybody say, disappointment?
There were opportunities for two huge games that would make-or-break their BCS hopes. They were able to play Tennessee and Boise State but Southern Miss possessed no ability to compete, much less beat them.
In one of the biggest WTF games which occurred on a Wednesday in front of everybody, they choked big-time. They were defeated by Rice. By RICE folks! That Rice team that lost to Nicholls State and couldn't stop anybody defensively besides Southern Miss and Nicholls State. It was one of the ugliest losses in the Bower era in terms of preparation.
The Golden Eagles bounced back nicely looking halfway decent to close out the year. From the Rice loss onward, Southern Miss only suffered losses to UCF and Memphis.
Cincinnati Storyline
The storyline for Cincinnati is simple: Brian Kelly.No, it's not like he took the Bearcat program from a steaming pile of crap and made it into gold, but at the very least, he extended upon what Mark Dantonio was building, benefiting from Dantonio's defensive genius and his own offensive innovation.
If you have read this blog, Kelly's name has been mentioned close to 1,806 times but that's mainly my little bit of homerism because he is a home-grown product around my parts. But what about the season?
Cincy started off the year smoking Southeast Missouri State 59-3. The week after, the unknown Bearcat program trounced Oregon State in Nippert Stadium by a score of 34-3. This pretty much announced that Cincinnati has arrived.
After the Bearcats managed to beat Rutgers at their place, this team looked like it might not recover from two very big, under-the-radar upsets. Cincinnati lost to Louisville and Pitt, the definition of mediocre if there ever is one. So was Cincinnati just an overrated team that pulled off one upset on a relatively simple schedule? It turns out that they closed the season out on fire defeating USF and UConn, two of the Big East's other top teams.
Match ups of the Game
Southern Miss Passing Game vs. Cincinnati Pass Defense-Not much of a surprise here, but Southern Miss wasn't able to throw the football effectively this year. Most of the damage Southern Miss does is on the ground with Damion Fletcher. But the 90th ranked pass offense will go up against the 105th ranked pass defense. If there's one definitive weakness of this team, it's the fact that they don't defend the pass all that well. However, this is because many teams realize that they won't run against this team. Cincy is 38th in pass efficiency defense. So this should be the most interesting match up of the game.
Southern Miss Pass Rush vs. Cincinnati O-line-When looking at these teams from these two particular areas, neither is that great. Cincinnati has looked decent at times blocking for Mauk, but in some games there has been spotty pass protection. Southern Miss isn't great at creating sacks or making plays in the backfield for that matter. If Cincinnati can contain the pass rush of USM, this game could get ugly.
Keep an Eye on...
Anthony Hoke. This guy is one of the best defensive players on the team. The reason you have to keep your eyes peeled for this particular player is the fact that he's tied for 6th in the nation in sacks; he averages 1 per game.He's been a pass rushing terror, but he's not all about that. He can defend the run as well somewhat providing a dual-threat for the offensive lines.
Southern Miss isn't great at blocking for Jeremy Young, but Young can scramble. It will be interesting to see how much of a factor Hoke will play.
Damion Fletcher. He's one of the best running backs in Southern Miss history and it's safe to say that even if he is only a sophomore.The stud is the one carrying this Southern Miss team from just being downright mediocre. He's led Southern Miss to become a rushing powerhouse currently ranking 22nd in the country.
Keep in mind, Cincy is excellent at defending the run so this game could hinge on whether or not Fletcher could get going.
Must-See-Ometer
This game gets a 4 out of 10 on the SSO Must-See-Ometer. It's not a very intriguing football game by any means. Southern Miss is a slightly above-average C-USA team going against one of the Big East's best in Cincinnati.
However, there is one major storyline and that's the departing of head coach Bower. This is used by many USM pickers to explain why they're going with the upset. Don't be surprised at all if there's one last "hurrah" effort for his going-out party, if you will.
Prediction
I'm taking Cincinnati here. Whoopty-do, big surprise. The Bearcats just have a lot more firepower offensively with the mad scientist Kelly operating the scheme. If Cincy gets Butler Benton rolling on the ground game, don't expect Southern Miss to hang around much.
Give me Cincy, 37-17 (32 Confidence points).
Recap
Man, that Cincinnati team came out out-of-sync. It appeared that the layoff really did get to the Bearcats with Mauk being as cold as ice. Southern Miss wanted that game for Bower, but they didn't have the horses, especially in the passing game.
Background Info & History
Just a little FYI here since the New Mexico Bowl has no sponsor, the trophy is made out of Zia Pueblo pottery which, as you can probably infer, is native to New Mexico.Last year's game was a big clunker. Even though most expected to be #32 out of 32 bowl games on the must-see list, I thought it would be entertaining. The offenses were really bad but San Jose State came up with a timely stop (especially right on the goal line). The Spartans won the game 20-12 with James Jones and Matt Castelo being named MVPs.
Nevada Storyline
Coming into the 2007 season, the biggest question surrounding this Nevada program was the departure of QB Jeff Rowe who resurrected Nevada football. Nick Graziano was the heir apparent.
However, during the Wolf Pack's loss to Fresno State, Graziano suffered a season-ending injury which forced freshman Colin Kaepernick into the starting role. He never looked back taking the bull by the horns.
If you had to characterize Nevada's season in one word, it would be "almost". We're talking about a team that almost beat Northwestern, Fresno State, Boise State, and Hawaii. Northwestern scored a last minute TD to win, the Fresno State game wasn't as close but Nevada had over 700 yards of offense in the loss, the Sunday night game against Boise State lasted 4 OTs, and of course we all know how Hawaii kicked a last-second FG to beat the boys from Reno. Also, in the loss to San Jose State, Brett Jaekle missed a last-second FG which would have sent the game into overtime.
However, they have been on the good side of almost as well. This Nevada team has survived upset bids from UNLV by 3 points, New Mexico State by 2 points, and Utah State by 3 points. To wrap it up, this Nevada team has been living on the edge all season.
New Mexico Storyline
This Lobo season didn't start off with a bang. In what might have been the ugliest game I have ever seen at the FBS level, they dropped the opener to UTEP 10-6. More of the same from 2006? The Lobos were determined to prove that wrong.New Mexico has also been involved in some tight games. They pulled off the upset against Arizona earlier this year which might have turned their season around. They dropped a tough game against BYU where Long made the always unpopular decision of punting the ball and never getting it back.
The win against Wyoming showed that this team wasn't planning on going anywhere. Even though they got drilled against TCU 37-0, they also have a solid win against Air Force to their credit.
New Mexico is coming into this game with a number of triumphs and struggles in a screwy season. As far as we can tell though, when New Mexico has the "on" switch flipped, they can play hard and at a high level. Rocky Long's bunch was looking like it was slipping with a step back in 2006, but now the program is headed in the right direction. Now it's just a matter of getting that bowl win....
Match ups of the Game
Nevada Running Game vs. New Mexico Run Defense-The outcome of the game may depend on this one factor. Luke Lippincott (who I will get to in a second) has the potential to be a big part of this Nevada offense. Chris Ault loves running the football and it has shown with an 11th ranked attack. New Mexico is 37th against the run led by Tyler Donaldson.New Mexico Running Game vs. Nevada Run Defense-Well, we've examined one of the rushing attacks and defenses, how about the other? In what is widely regarded as the biggest twist to this game, New Mexico will be without Rodney Ferguson. That's troubling news for this 84th ranked rushing offense. Nevada has struggled stopping the run and the pass, but they're worse against the run. Ezra Butler is probably their best defensive player and he'll have to perform at LB. Let's just say something has to give.
Keep an Eye on...
Luke Lippincott. As previously stated, if Nevada can run, run, and run some more to wear out this New Mexico team, it'll be up to Lippincott to get the job done.He's one of the most underrated backs in the nation and when you think of the WAC, you think of passing offense. Nevada doesn't necessarily fit the mold in this regard.
Lippincott, the junior, is responsible for 115 yards a game which is 20th in the country. Luke has played all 12 games and has 8 100+ yard games. He's only hit the 200-mark once, but he is the prototypical consistent RB.
Marcus Smith is my game-changer for the Lobos. This WR can really fly with his size and he's a good NFL prospect.He, along with Travis Brown, will be a tough combo for the Nevada secondary to contain. Smith ranks 11th in the FBS in receptions per game, a little more than 7.
With Ferguson out, the running game might become even less of a factor. Donovan Portiere will have to look for Smith all game. If you saw what those Memphis WRs did to FAU, Smith might be able to do that to Nevada.
Must-See-Ometer
This game scores a 4 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer. If I'm a 'tweener compared to a casual fan and a diehard, I'm not going to go out of my way to see this game. For the second year in a row, there's not much buzz surrounding the New Mexico Bowl.But the match up of Nevada's powerful offense and New Mexico's strong defense will be something to watch. Also, if you haven't seen Colin Kaepernick, he should be the next thing to catch the WAC by storm. Don't be surprised if Nevada makes some noise offensively in the WAC next year with this kid. His pass efficiency is through the roof. Kaepernick has looked a little raw at times this year, but the guy has a rocket arm and pinpoint accuracy. He's a kind of player you'll go out of your way to see.
Prediction
I'm going against common wisdom and I'm picking Nevada. The Wolfpack have the offensive balance that could upset the Lobo defense. Most people think that New Mexico can't lose at home, but they did so last year. I'll grant you that that was a different New Mexico team, but it can be done. However, I'm not very confident. Usually in these offense/defense battles, the defense wins. I'm taking Nevada though, 31-27 (5 confidence points).
Recap
Wow. I'm not sure I've ever seen an offense as ill-prepared to face another team than I have with this New Mexico Bowl. Nevada was close a few times, but they were too conservative with their play calling. From what I saw, the Wolf Pack had a handful of 15-20 yard gainers, but they were never able to sustain a drive. Congratulations to New Mexico's defense for shutting this powerful, impressive offense down. This was the Lobo's first bowl victory since the 1961 Aviation Bowl and we heard that non-stop in the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl, 2004 Emerald Bowl, and the 2006 New Mexico Bowl. Finally, the announcers will quit harping on that!
Background Info & History
Man, that thing looks sharp..........Oh, forgive me, I'm still in the dark ages. I've got a dial-up Internet connection and no HDTV. I can't believe I don't have a freaking HD television yet. How can one enjoy football without HD? Anyway, Pioneer is actually Japanese although you probably can't tell that by the name. It used to be sponsored by EA Sports and Sega Sports before Pioneer gained the rights in 2003.
History shows the Las Vegas Bowl as an exception to the rule as far as newer bowl games are concerned. Unlike the Seattle Bowl or Fort Worth Bowl, the Las Vegas Bowl has been a hit pitting the best of the MWC (beginning in 2006) against a middle-of-the-road Pac-10 team. In the past, there have been some pretty entertaining games such as the Utah/Fresno State one in 1999 where Utah won 17-16. If you recall, it's also the game where USC was defeated by Utah which now looks pretty insane. Wyoming also pulled off a shocker against UCLA because I remember I got totally burned on that. I had 28 (out of 28 at the time) on UCLA because I didn't even see how Wyoming could be in that game. That's a story for another day I assume.
UCLA Storyline
The current head coaching situation is swirling around the UCLA Bruins. This cyclone of distractions could do one of two things: Gear UCLA up to play or have them come out flat.DeWayne Walker is the new head honcho--at least for now. The interim head coach is still a leading candidate for the job but Rick Neuheisel appears to be a valid candidate.
Let's go see how the season played out. In the preseason, UCLA was along with Kentucky, Illinois, Texas A&M, and USF, the media's common "sleeper". Some people were expecting UCLA to win the Pac-10 and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I read Matt Hayes saying something to the extent of them looking like USC did before their run to the Orange Bowl in 2002. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what I read.
Anyway, the Bruins looked like the juggernaut many expected them to be after crushing Stanford and beating a respectable BYU team. But things all went down from there for head coach, Karl Dorrell. Utah came from absolutely nowhere and slammed the Bruins to the turf, 44-6. That was one of the biggest head-scratchers of the season because UCLA came into that game looking awesome and Utah was 0-2 with losses to Oregon State and Air Force.
UCLA was going to be okay right? Sure, they beat up on Washington and Oregon State after that until they ran into Notre Dame. This 2007 UCLA team now has the dubious distinction of losing to the worst Notre Dame team ever, joining Duke and Stanford. Ouch.
And, believe it or not, this team still had a shot to win the Pac-10 during the last week of the season! Wow. Turns out they lost to USC pretty handily and Dorrell got the boot. Things appear to be going downhill for UCLA, but they'll get a shot to come back with a win against BYU tonight.
BYU Storyline
The Cougars could be the best non-BCS team in the nation.The Cougars began the year with a hard-fought win against Arizona and a loss to UCLA. Then, in a classic shootout, Tulsa shockingly found a way to hang 55 points on this very good BYU defense.
Then, the whole season took a turn for the better. BYU is the hottest team in the nation besides maybe Georgia. The Cougars of Brigham Young have won 9 straight games including victories against Air Force, TCU, New Mexico, and Utah.
The offense is rolling right along. Right now, BYU is 15th in total offense and 10th in total defense. If these guys didn't lose to Tulsa, I would have no problem with them being in the BCS. They're that good.
Match ups of the Game
UCLA QBs vs. BYU Pass Defense-UCLA's injury-ridden season at the QB position may have had something to do with their 6-6 mediocrity and lack of consistency. Both Cowan and Olson will be healthy, it's just a matter of which one will take more snaps. BYU is 41st in the nation; they aren't really that great in the secondary. So, like some other match ups this bowl season, something has to give.
BYU O-line vs. UCLA Pass Rush-Say what you want about UCLA's pass defense--it's not good at all. But you have to give credit to the UCLA front 4. These guys can move and it's led by Bruce Davis. The Cougars O-line is 26th in sacks allowed. Whether the size and speed of UCLA's defensive front will be an issue for BYU's offensive line is yet to be seen.
Keep an Eye on...
Do you want to mess with that? I don't want to mess with that. I guess it goes back to Joey Porter's "dark alley" question. I'll take Bruce Davis over Jerramy Stevens or Joey Porter.But let's go back to the actual football field. Davis is a monster and the main reason UCLA ranks 14th in sacks and 4th in tackles for loss.
Davis could be the biggest difference in this game because of his 9 sacks. Most teams when going up against UCLA will try to focus on him putting a TE or an extra blocker of some sort to keep him from getting to the QB. This allows extra opportunities to other UCLA defenders showing how important of a role Davis has.
Let's stick with the DEs while we're at it. UCLA may have Bruce Davis, but BYU has Jan Jorgensen.Jorgensen has registered 11 sacks so far this season and he'll be an issue for the 103rd ranked pass protection otherwise known as UCLA's offensive line.
Only a sophomore, he's shown just how bright his future can be at BYU. UCLA's blocking problems are pretty severe and Jorgensen might exploit that.
Must-See-Ometer
The Must-See-Ometer for the Las Vegas Bowl reads a 6 out of 10. Part of the problem would be the fact that we've already seen this game. UCLA won and even though they are two different teams now then they were then, it's still a rematch and those are never fun.Even with that said, the BYU pass offense will roll against the struggling pass defense of UCLA. Both offensive lines working the opposing defensive line will be fun to see as well. For a casual fan, they might check this game out, but there might not be a ton to get excited about. There is a little bit of retribution possibly with Ben Olson playing his former team.
Prediction
I like BYU. Not much of a surprise. BYU is a much hotter team than UCLA right now. The only thing that concerns me regarding BYU is their running game against UCLA. I don't think they're going to get it moving, but the passing game led by Max Hall will do the bulk of the offensive work. BYU's pressure on Cowan/Olson will be too much to handle. BYU wins, 33-20 (24 confidence points).
Recap
BYU was lucky to escape from that alive. They didn't seem very motivated and I've seen BYU play much better games. If I'm The Decider at UCLA, I would hire DeWayne Walker to be my head man. Last night was the first time I've seen UCLA as motived to win a football game since their furious comeback against Oregon State. I feel sympathetic towards UCLA because they did play their hearts out and were set up for a chip-shot of a FG and blew it. Well, that's college football for you.
12/21/2007
Bowl-O-Rama: New Orleans Bowl Edition
Background Info & History
R+L Carriers is the sponsor of this bowl game. If you don't know, R+L Carriers is a trucking company......in case you didn't notice. The company was founded in 1965 by Ralph Roberts. In addition to sponsoring the New Orleans Bowl, R+L Carriers is involved with NASCAR as well. One of the cars Matt Kenseth drives has R+L Carriers on the front (forgive me for my lack of NASCAR jargon-usage). The former sponsor was Wyndham Hotels.
The history of this game dates back to 2001 where Colorado State defeated North Texas, 45-20. After that, the Sun Belt won their first ever bowl game with the Mean Green defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats, then playing in C-USA. In 2003, Memphis defeated North Texas and in 2004, Southern Miss defeated North Texas easily. Arkansas State broke the streak of Sun Belt representation by North Texas earning a bid to play Southern Miss in the 2005 New Orleans Bowl (which was relocated to Lafayette, Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina). And last year, as I'm sure you're well aware of, the favored Rice Owls got clobbered by Troy due to Rice's unprecedented flukiness throughout the course of the C-USA season and their injury to Chase Clement. But make no mistake about it, Troy earned a lot of respect for the conference last year.
Florida Atlantic Storyline
Could you imagine somebody like Howard Schnellenberger being a Santa Claus in the mall or something? I could see that.
Er, I digress, this is FAU's biggest coming out party in the program's existence. Before this season, I guess you could say their shocking road win against Hawaii during 2004 or their run in the then 1-AA playoffs in 2003 would be their most memorable moments.
Florida Atlantic has been consistently improving since their move to full-blown FBS status. The Owls this year have defeated the Sun Belt co-champs of the previous season, defeated a Big 10 team in Minnesota, gave the then #2 USF Bulls all they could ask for, and knocked off arguably the best Sun Belt team ever to keep them out of the postseason. Impressive resume? It is for a program in it's third year of tasting the FBS.
FAU is looking good right now as a football program. This is their opportunity to shine, their very first bowl game.
Memphis Storyline
This season for Memphis is most remarkable by their solid end to the season.The Tigers opened the year with a tough loss to Ole Miss but they were able to rebound against Jacksonville State the next week.
After a crushing blow dealt by Central Florida, tragedy struck this Memphis football team. Defensive lineman, Taylor Bradford, was shot but Memphis was determined to play for their fallen comrade the following Tuesday against Marshall. This could be the turning point of the season.
Memphis followed that up with a loss to Middle Tennessee, but after that, the Tigers started to roll. There were a few close wins on the way, defeating Rice by 3, Tulane by 1, Southern Miss by 3, and a 3 OT thriller against SMU, but it was all head coach Tommy West could ask for being down for that portion of the season.
I suppose you could say that this Memphis team is C-USA's Virginia. It may not be pretty all of the time (especially defensively...), but they are getting the job done.
Match ups of the Game
FAU Running Game vs. Memphis Run Defense-Florida Atlantic is not really what one would consider a running team, but expect them to get yards in chunks whenever they decide to pound the rock. Memphis is 110th against the run allowing a staggering 200+ yards PER GAME defensively. The Owls will come at you with D'Ivory Edgecomb, Charles Pierre, and FB William Rose. The biggest question here is, will Memphis be able to handle all of these rushing threats?Memphis Passing Game vs. FAU Pass Defense-Neither team is remotely decent at defending the pass, but the Tigers are equipped with some big, strong, athletic wideouts that could give the FAU DBs trouble. Even though Duke Calhoun is the speedster, Carlos Singleton and Steven Black are the guys that could make the Memphis O run smoothly.
Keep an Eye on...
Carlos Singleton. While most of the FAU defensive backfield will focus on the best WR in this offense, Duke Calhoun, Singleton has the ability to make plays.This guy is really one of the most underrated players in the smaller ranks of the FBS. Most of the passes Hankins/Hudgens/Malouf throws his way will be hauled in.
The Tiger passing game is 12th in the nation and his under-the-radarness, if you will, is part of the reason why.
Just as the Memphis WRs could make the difference in the game, the pressure is on the Florida Atlantic defensive backs. Taheem Acevedo (which is #9 in the pic) will be one of the keys in stopping Memphis.The safety was almost as good as Tavious Polo this year (and this true freshman can play, even though his INT production slipped off a little bit at the end, part of it was teams shying away from him).
Acevedo can play the safety position and his covering of guys like Singleton and Black could win or lose the game.
Must-See-Ometer
Okay, it has as new name now: The "Must-See-Ometer". How's that? At least I'm being a little more original.
This game gets a 6 of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer. If you're a diehard, every game gets a 10, but I'm trying to look at this from a fan's perspective that wouldn't be considered casual or a diehard. If you like offense, though, you must watch this game. We're talking about the 12th and 19th ranked passing offenses here, Memphis and FAU's respectively.
Prediction
This is a game Memphis should be able to win and while they probably have better athletes by a slight margin, FAU has one thing working for them: Motivation. To Memphis, they might feel that this is just a bowl game. For FAU, this is the biggest game in the program's history with the national spotlight shining bright all over them. While it's not the Rose Bowl, it probably feels like it to FAU and their fans.
The other reason I like FAU is that even though they don't play much defense, they find ways to generate turnovers and save their potential win. Polo is a big reason to their #1 ranking in turnover margin. If Memphis gets a little careless with the football, they could be in some hot water.
I'm taking the Owls in a big, big shootout even though usually the expected shootouts leave us scratching our heads at very low scoring first quarters (or so it seems), 42-37 (12 confidence points).
Recap
That was a fun game. Memphis was getting killed all night defensively and FAU's defense did get run over by the large WRs, but they held up for the most part. The definition of bend-but-don't-break. The final score was 44-27.
12/20/2007
Bowl-O-Rama: Poinsettia Edition
It's here, folks! The Winter Doldrums of off-time between football have come and gone. I've been getting caught up on all of the hockey I've missed and besides that, taking care of all the little things I was too occupied to take care of during the football season! Anyway, it's over, the wait, the long, dreaded wait, is finally over! Thank you, God.
Background Info & History
This game is played in San Diego and it's official sponsor is San Diego County Credit Union.
Of course, you're probably aware that a Poinsettia is a Christmas "flower". But how did it get its name? It is named after the first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett. The poinsettia is native to the west coast, hence the bowl game being named after a Pacific flower. It also could go by other names such as Mexican flame leaf, Christmas star, or Winter rose.
The Poinsettia is commonly mistaken for being a flower. It's actually clusters of shrub with the red flower growing on top of it. It's part of the Christmas holiday because of a Mexican story. If you want to read more, just visit Wikipedia.
As for the history of this relatively new football bowl, let's go back to 2005. Navy played Colorado State in the inaugural game basically mopping the floor with the Ram carnage after wasting them 51-30. Reggie Campbell lit up the scene with 5 TDs which was tied for the most scored in a bowl game. In 2006, TCU owned Northern Illinois 37-7. The game was nowhere near as close as the score shows, if you can believe that.
Navy Storyline
The season started out on a positive note, even though it was a shaky win against what was thought to be one of the worst teams in the nation in Temple. The Middies had to go on the road to earn that one.After the opener, Paul Johnson's crew dropped a hard one against Rutgers and the following week, they lost in a, at least what CSTV considers a classic, game against Ball State in overtime.
Is the season over? Is it time to go home and fade away into oblivion? This Navy team responded with a big win against Duke. Okay, so it's impossible for a win against Duke to be big, but the Blue Devlis were on the cusp of winning that game and it did show some resiliency from this Navy bunch.
There was a second stretch of the season where it appeared that things were going to fall apart. Navy got creamed by the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest and they lost in a 59-52 shootout against FCS runner-up, Delaware. Things suddenly changed with an earth-shattering victory against downtrodden Notre Dame. The team that had defeated them, what was it, 42 straight times, had finally gone down. This could be a major turning point in Navy football.
The Midshipmen were involved in one of the largest shootouts ever with Todd Dodge's North Texas team. Each squad traded scores after another but Navy had too much in the second half as they pulled away for a 74-62 win.
This is Navy's season in a nutshell, but their head man is gone, obviously. Paul Johnson left for what he feels is greener pastures in Atlanta, but the option will stay behind. Ken Niumatalolo will take over the head coaching duties. Obviously, the biggest storyline in this game involving Navy is the head coaching debut of Coach KN which I will call him from now on. He's a rookie at this kind of thing so it will be interesting to see if he can get this team prepared.
Utah Storyline
Utah began the season with much bigger aspirations.The Utes had a ton of offensive firepower and the defense should have been okay as usual. The only reason this team wasn't nearly as good as expected, at least at the beginning of the season, was the injury to Brian Johnson.
The biggest storyline of the year was Utah's wild inconsistency at the beginning of the year. Matt Asiata and Brian Johnson both went down with severe injuries in the opener against Oregon State.
Tommy Grady filled in and was okay, but the Utes blew a tough one against the Air Force Academy. After that, in one of the most mind-boggling games of 2007 with all of the App State/Michigans and Stanford/USCs, UCLA was totally whipped by a final score of 44-6!!!!!
I'm still trying to soak that in. And, speaking of that wild inconsistency, the Utes found a way to get SHUTOUT, yes, shutout, 27-0 against.......UNLV! That could be the most amazing two-game stretch this entire season. How does that happen?
Anyway, Utah picked up the pace and won seven games in a row including a big, close win against TCU and an amazing game against Wyoming in which the Utes won 50-0.
Match ups of the Game
Utah's Running Game vs. Navy's Run Defense-This could have the potential to play a big part in this game. The leading RB for the Utes goes by the name of Darrell Mack. This could get interesting because Utah has a decent rushing attack, but isn't anything special. Navy has been mediocre against the run, unlike the terribleness they display against the pass. Utah will throw, so the game could be won or lost on the ground. If this ground game gets going, it should be an easy with for the Utes.
Navy's Special Teams vs. Utah's Special Teams-The Midshipmen currently rank 13th in punt returns and 6th in kickoff returns. Most of the credit goes to one Reggie Campbell, but they know how to block upfield on these returns. Unluckily for them, the Utes can fire back with some special teams fireworks of their own. Utah is 19th in punt returns and 27th in net punting. Both teams are very sound on special teams and it should be very interesting to see who will win the battle.
Keep an Eye on...:
Louie Sakoda. This guy is a tremendous kicker and one of the more clutch ones in the nation. Sure, Joey Bullen for Navy has made his share of kicks as well, but Sakoda is widely regarded as one of the top punters/FG kickers in America and rightly so.The picture to the left shows the game against Louisville where Sakoda nailed the coffin tight and shut against the Cardinals at Papa John's Stadium.
Whenever Utah will need a FG, don't count on Sakoda to miss.
Reggie Campbell should also be a huge difference maker. Remember, this guy tied the bowl game record of 5 TDs at this very site.Campbell is also a monster at returning kicks and punts as we mentioned before. He has a great deal if shiftiness, but probably his best attribute would be his blazing agility. The Utah defense, as solid as it may be, should have a difficult time stopping Campbell cold.
Watchability-o-Meter
EDIT: I've gotta come up with another name for this! First, when I was doing my game previews, I never really realized how similar they were to CFN (at least in format). Now, it looks like I accidentally stole the term "watchability" from SMQ! That was an odd coincidence.
This game gets a 7 out of 10 on the SSO Watchability-o-Meter. While this game may not get the attention and love some of the bigger bowls will get due to the NFL being played on this Thusrday night, it should be a great game if you like offense.
Utah's specialty is defending the pass. The Utes currently rank 15th in pass defense and second in pass efficiency defense. They're an absolute rock through the air. The problem is, guess what? Navy doesn't pass!
Utah has defended Air Force's option game and they had some major trouble with it. Granted, Troy Calhoun throws some normal sets and such into his offense while the option at Navy is almost pure flexbone, but nevertheless, defending the option is defending the option. The unfamiliarity in peparing for it always gives Navy a distinct advantage.
Navy, on the other hand, will not be able to stop Utah's passing game. Even though these guys rank 85th in passing offense, Navy is 106th and they have the 109th ranked scoring defense. There's no way Utah will be kept out of the endzone.
Prediction
This bowl game should be a great matchup. Both teams have a lot of things working for them. As previously mentioned, the special teams will be the most interesting thing to watch. Navy will move the football against the Utah offense as it usually has this season. The only problem is that, even though Utah doesn't have a great offense on paper, they will light up Navy's defense. Utah wins, 45-37 (27 confidence points, yeah, it's high and it will be an entertaining game, but I'm confident in Utah).
BTW, Adam, I know the "experts" have loved picking the MWC over Navy starting from the 2004 New Mexico Bowl, but I took Navy in both of their bowl games against the MWC. I just can't trust the Middie defense in this one.
Merry Bowl Season!
Prediction
To be honest, I didn't see the end of the game. Like I wrote in the comments, I was going all day Thursday on 4 hours of sleep. I fell asleep near the middle of the 3rd quarter, but it was fun to see as much as I did. I was able to catch the ending of it on Sportscenter, and there probably wasn't a better way to kickoff bowl season. That makes it 7 in a row for Utah, the Boston College of the non-BCS!
12/18/2007
Yikes!
Looks like Florida State is in some trouble. Word is, up to 20, yes, TWENTY, Seminoles will be suspended for the Music City Bowl against Kentucky. That's just crazy.
Apparently, there's a big cheating scandal that was widespread amongst the football team. And, for all you people that are blaming Bowden for this, shame on you. FSU handled this the proper way by stepping up and suspending these athletes.
Regardless, those are some pretty hefty punishments. If I'm an FSU player, it appears that impunity is not an option
.And You Think Petrino Had Issues
Are you freaking kidding me?
Via Every Day Should Be Saturday, Nick Saban is apparently interested in the West Virginia job!
Sports By Brooks had the headline: I Never Knew Nick Saban Had a Flaming Couch Fetish.
This is some pretty big news here. Saban's reputation is damaged after his repeated job-hopping and if I were West Virginia, I would think twice about offering him the job.
This story just caught some fire, so expect more to come out in the next little while.
12/17/2007
On Second Thought
Maybe I should revise my statement about Michigan football and their potential Motor City Bowl bid in 2008.
Word around the Net is that of Terrelle Pryor, high school stud, adding Michigan to his list of potential schools. If you follow recruiting, you know that Pryor is supposed to be the next Vince Young.
Now, could you imagine this guy running Rodriguez's system? I certainly hope he would because it would be a sight to see, Michigan fan or not. Add him with McGuffie....
If you aren't sold yet, just watch this video:
And some more comments about the Rodriguez hire:
• It will be interesting to see if Josh Jenkins, which many consider to be the top OG in this year’s class, will be heading to Michigan. He is similar to Pryor because he was interested in West Virginia.
• Where will West Virginia go from here? Jimbo Fisher was a candidate, but he’s probably not going anywhere since he was promised the job at Florida State. Rick Trickett is an interesting candidate mainly because he coached under Rodriguez and he’s a great offensive line coach. Butch Jones’ name has been tossed around (and we CMU fans would be glad for West Virginia to take him off of our hands! :D ). One of the most popular names is Terry Bowden who has yet to land a job. Bowden, of course, had his father coach at West Virginia before leaving to FSU and Bowden is an alum of West Virginia.
• Brian Kelly’s name was thrown around for the Michigan job, but Kelly remained adamant that he would stay at Cincinnati (at least for the upcoming year). Now that Rodriguez is out of the picture and West Virginia could possibly take a step back if Rich Rod’s replacement isn’t ready, this could be Kelly’s time to take his name up a notch and win the Big East. It’s very possible this could happen and if next year’s team doesn’t choke against mediocre Big East schools, this could be the Big East’s BCS representative.
12/16/2007
Rodriguez Hired as Michigan Preps for 08 Motor City Bowl
This is one hell of a hire.
As much as I wanted Brian Kelly to be the head coach of Michigan, Rodriguez should do a similar job. The guy has built a proven powerhouse at West Virginia and the only thing he had at West Virginia that he doesn't have at Michigan are the kind of players he needs. Could you imagine Ryan Mallett running this system? I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to transfer tomorrow.
Next year's Michigan team shouldn't resemble West Virginia's at all. The Wolverines don't have the speedsters at tailback so expect Michigan to keep running up the middle instead of to the outside. They should also pass a lot more than West Virginia does because the only thing the Wolverines have on their roster are pocket QBs.
The offense shouldn't begin to perform for at least the first two seasons. The defense should be okay, but don't expect anything big from Michigan in 08 and 09. And, as a Michigan fan, I'm perfectly okay with waiting a few seasons before Rodriguez gets his players.
12/13/2007
Update: University of Houston
Apparently the Houston Chronicle was way off about the final candidates for the opening at Houston. My post yesterday believed it would have been former Houston Cougar and Houston Oiler coach Jack Pardee or Michael Haywood who is the current offensive coordinator at Notre Dame. Then Houston went with a candidate that was not reported to be in the final 2 and according to an ESPN article the new coach will be co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin from Oklahoma who has been there for the past 5 years. Other coaching stops for Sumlin had been the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for two years at Texas A&M; he also has coached at Purdue, Minnesota, Wyoming and Washington State. This hire is better then the other two choices because Pardee would not last long and Haywood was on a Notre Dame team that was offensively challenged, and hiring a guy from Oklahoma that has had success in running that offense should help Houston improving in the same direction when they were under Art Briles.
12/12/2007
Houston, we have a Problem
Currently University of Houston is looking for a new coach after Art Briles left for the Big XII to coach Baylor. Briles brought Houston out of obscurity to win a Conference USA title in 2006, went to 3 bowl games, and had an overall record of 34-28. The record is not impressive but Briles did have a 3-8 record when things went downhill with injuries. The story here is that University of Houston's Athletic Director Dave Maggard has narrowed the search down to Jack Pardee who was previously the head coach at University of Houston from 1987-1989 where he turned the team around by installing the Run-N-Shoot offense, and then he took off to coach the Houston Oilers where he had pretty good success. The only problem is that Pardee is 71 years old, so why would the AD bring in a guy who was not coached since the mid 90's and how is this old man to relate to kids, and the main problem is that how long will he be there at that age.
The other candidate is current offensive coordinator at Notre Dame Michael Haywood who is a Houston native who has coached at top programs which include Minnesota, Army, Ohio University, Ball State, LSU and Texas before going to Notre Dame. The main difference is that Haywood is 43 and well not old like Pardee.
This job in my opinion should be much better then what it is, because they are in the 4th largest city in the United States and Texas has hundreds of division I athletes each year. The thing that hurts them is that they play in C-USA and Robertson Stadium is a joke, but that does not mean that they can not have the level of play as TCU or even get close to Texas Tech's level. Houston itself has major high school programs where players go to instate schools and also to other top programs across the country. So one would think that the Houston Cougars could get good players who might not get immediate playing time at other major programs and then go to Houston to play right away, and that is why Michael Haywood should be the new coach he is from the area and a young energetic player.
So I pose the question who would you hire after looking at these pictures?
And the one of Pardee is about 10 years old when he was with the Houston Oilers
Thumbing Through the Classifieds
Imagine, you're sitting on your butt in your parent's basement looking for a job. One catches your eye: Duke head coaching job!
It's not quite the same scenario, but even you could apply for the head coaching job at Duke!
The Blue Devils have caught a lot of heat for this and even though it is somewhat funny, all the University is doing is following protocol.
No word on whether or not there's a posting on Monster.com.
MAC Opponents You Should Know
Not really anything earth-shattering, but I made a post over at Mid-America Nattering discussing players that could make life difficult on the MAC this bowl season (as if it isn't difficult enough at this rate 
)
MAC-Opponents You Should Know
12/11/2007
BREAKING NEWS! Petrino is in
In what turns out to be a pretty stunning move, Bobby Petrino will become the next head coach at Arkansas; or at least he's close to signing a deal.
His resignation from the Falcons is finalized. Petrino failed miserably (probably not his fault at all) at Atlanta and it looks like he's really anxious to get back in the game.
It looks like Arkansas will have their coach......for THREE MILLION apparently. Wow.
So now Michigan fans can only hope and pray that a potential NFL resignee, Cam Cameron, will stay. Even though he withdrew his name from considerating, if his ass gets canned, that puts a different twist on things.
12/10/2007
Congrats to ECU
I noticed this last night, but it was a deed worth mentioning.
ECU is expected to give their tickets away to military personnel, firefighters, and policeman this coming holiday due to their presumably low attendence.
Sounds like a good idea because you're paying some respect to people who do a wonderful job. Neither ECU nor Boise State will exactly fill up the Aloha Bowl.
12/09/2007
Bowl-o-Rama: Debunking Crappy Analysis
Did any of you guys watch Bowl Mania last night? I'm yet again still trying to understand Mark May. And...... 
I'm also willing to get him an appointment with Dr. Phil to figure out what the Big 10 did to him as a child and if his emotions about it early in his life were suppressed. What is his deal with this conference? Argh, I'll just get to that a little bit later. Let's debunk the top 10 crappy analyses that you'll have to put up with this bowl season.
1. New Mexico Can't Lose to a Mid-Tier WAC Team at Home.
Uh, let's just rewind back to 2006 when San Jose State owned New Mexico. The final score was 20-12, but the Lobos scored a touchdown late in the game to make the score appear closer than it was.
Now, Jesse Palmer putting 25 points on Nevada is another story in and of itself, but the notion that New Mexico can't lose to Nevada would require totally blanking out the 2006 New Mexico Bowl.
However, you can rebut that with the fact that this Lobo team is a lot better than the one that went 6-6 last year and lost to Portland State. Nevada is the team that is 6-6 this year, so picking New Mexico wouldn't be a bad idea. Regardless, all I'm saying is that it's an evenly matched game between the great offense of Nevada and the stifling defense of New Mexico.
2. Michigan Can't Stop the Spread.
Wait just a moment here. Doesn't Northwestern run the spread? Doesn't Minnesota run the spread? Doesn't Purdue run the spread?
The answer to all of those questions would be yes. The problem here is that none of these teams have super-mobile QBs. Purdue's system has more of a Texas Tech-taste to it where Painter sits around in the pocket. Northwestern's is similar. Adam Weber isn't Vince Young even though he is somewhat mobile. So doesn't this analysis hold water?
Well, there's one teeny-tiny game that people seem to forget about: Illinois. Juice Williams and the Illini offense were held to 253 yards of offense.
Mark May says Ohio State has trouble defending the spread because of what Illinois did to them. He then doesn't mention anything about Michigan's dominance of that same Illinois spread offense.........on the road. Am I missing something?
And by the way, Mark May doesn't have an ingrained bias towards the Big 10; he sincerely believes that the conference sucks. The guy is just not looking at the situation from all of the angles.
3. Missouri's Defense Has Improved Down the Stretch and Their Offense Will Explode Against Arkansas.
I'm not hearing this as much as I was last week. Before the Oklahoma game, I was told that Missouri's defense had really improved since the beginning of the season. Perhaps OU maybe changed that.
But there does seem to be a number of people who think that Missouri's offense will roll against Arkansas. We're talking about the 5th ranked pass efficiency defense. Plus, the Hogs are on a roll offensively as proven with their games against Mississippi State and LSU.
Just take my advice: Never count out Darren McFadden! Missouri has a good rushing defense though. The Tigers are 100th against the pass but that doesn't really matter because of how bad Arkansas is passing.
Anyway, all I'm trying to get at is that Missouri will give up points and Arkansas will play better defensively than many expect them to. It still should be a close, semi-shootout.
4. Wisconsin Will Get Crushed Against an SEC Team.
The pundits have fun with this one. At least Ed Cunningham gave them a shot and Jesse Palmer did pick the Badgers again. So how is this "crappy analysis"?
Well, our ol' pal, Mark May, comes back into the scene. His reasoning is that Tennessee is on fire coming into this game. He thinks Phil Fulmer will have the team ready.
71% of America selected Tennessee. Not so fast, my friends, let's take a look at the history of Wisconsin vs. the SEC in bowl games.
The Badgers are 3-1 vs. the SEC over the last four bowl seasons. Their only loss came in the Outback Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs in 2004.
Every year it seems, Wisconsin is the underdog against the almighty SEC. The Big 10 heathen that are slow and large never match up against the speedsters of the Southeast. There's no bigger thorn in the side of SEC Lovers/Big 10 haters than Wisconsin which has routinely defeated their SEC foes.
5. Tulsa Will Smoke Bowling Green in the GMAC Bowl.
This one probably has the most credibility of any of these claims presented. Let's not forget, we are talking about the nation's #1 offense.
But I'll go against the grain here and give the Falcons a little bit of a shot. The MAC needs one bowl victory, do they not? Ball State won't beat Rutgers and Central Michigan won't beat Purdue.
I have a few reasons. First, Bowling Green has the 26th ranked pass defense. They'll give up 400+ through the air, but at least they won't let Tulsa move the ball at will.
Secondly, let's not forget how horrible Tulsa's defense is. The Golden Hurricane are 108th against the pass and 97th against the run. This is a team that's giving up 35 points a game and Bowling Green has averaged 38 points a game over their last four.
Look, I'm not even saying Bowling Green will win this game because I placed one point on them in my ESPN picks. But, if you look at the stats, it probably won't be a total blowout.
6. West Virginia Will be Too Emotionally Drained to Beat Oklahoma.
The Mountaineers have had to endure their doubters over the past few seasons. They apparently had no chance when they faced prominent powerhouse Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. There was even a group that didn't think they would score enough against Georgia Tech.
Oklahoma is a great team and they will probably beat West Virginia, but you're nuts if you don't think they'll come to play. Rich Rodriguez usually has this team motivated and there is one factor that played a part in both of the Mountaineer's losses: Pat White injuries.
White will have another month or so to get healthy for this huge game against the Sooners. And, as long as West Virginia takes care of the football, they should give Oklahoma their best shot. Another thing that's underrated about the Mountaineers is their defense. Even if they lost to Pitt, they were great defensively against the Panthers. Oklahoma will have a tough time scoring more than 30 points; these guys are that good.
7. Illinois Has No Chance Against USC in the Rose Bowl.
You want to talk about people putting too much stock into one game, has USC really looked that great down the stretch?
At the risk of sounding like USC apologist, Mark May, USC is a great team and when they are healthy, that defense can be mean and nasty. But Illinois has some weapons of their own and one factor is working for the Illini: Motivation.
No matter how much Pete Carroll has his team ready, they won't be able to match the excitement of Illinois. Ron Zook has this young team playing way over their heads and you get a sense that this is a team of destiny.
With leaders like J Leman and Juice Williams, they do have a lot of things working for them. Will it be enough to win? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing is for sure, Illinois will play well.
Sorry if that isn't good statistical analysis and I'm not sure I debunked the myth, but it's just my personal opinion of Illinois.
8. Bowl Season Coaching Changes Are Apocalyptic.
One prevailing theme to this bowl season is all of the departing coaches. Whether it be Navy, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, or Arkansas, the fact that their coach is leaving always puts an interesting spin on things.
But what about the last two bowl seasons? It's been a mixed bag of treats. This may not be 100% accurate, but I've got teams with coaching situations at 5-4 during bowl season over the last two years. Those winners were: 05 Wisconsin (Alvarez announced this would be his last game), 06 Central Michigan (Kelly went to Cincy), 06 Boston College (O'Brien left for NC State), 06 Miami (known that it was Coker's last game), and 06 Cincinnati (Dantonio left, Kelly took over and coached the bowl game). Those losers were: 05 Boise State (Hawkins took the job before the bowl game), 05 Colorado (Barnett resigned), 06 ASU (Koetter was fired), and 06 Bama.
Any rhyme or reason? I dunno. It just doesn't seem to effect the players that greatly which is why it doesn't, or at least hasn't over the past two seasons, have much of an effect on the outcome of the game.
9. Hawaii Doesn't Have a Chance.
Well, we'll see about that.
The Warriors closed out their game against Washington on a 35-7 run over the last three quarters. This made the first quarter look like an aberration.
This team has an improving defense which may or may not hold Georgia in check. We'll get to find out whether or not McMackin has really turned this unit around or if it was just a product of the schedule.
Plus, it would be impossible to ignore the fact that the non-BCS teams are 2-0 vs. BCS teams. There is a matter of motivation here. Georgia would get pumped up to play USC in the Rose Bowl, but no, they're facing Hawaii in the Sugar.
10. Ohio State is Slow, LSU is Fast, so There.
This is ridiculous. Yeah, that's why Ohio State consistently puts up NFL players like regular SEC powers do. Of course.
Tressel and his coaching staff will have learned from last year's experience. It will be a top priority to make sure that this team remains at full speed (sorry) during the layoff. It was apparent that this team got a little arrogant thinking they could waltz into Glendale and take care of business.
I think Corso's point about the Ohio State front five is very legitimate. They will knock you on your ass. Michigan learned this front-and-center a few weeks ago.
Say what you want about defending the spread, but LSU doesn't really run their offense like an Illinois, Oregon, or West Virginia would. May tried the non-sensical argument that Flynn is "fast". He's got some good speed, but he's no Dennis Dixon. The Buckeye defense is at its best when the opponent just goes straight at you and shys away from doing fancy stuff.
I'm actually picking LSU, but again, the people seem to think that the Tigers will hand Ohio State the championship. I'ts not going to happen.
On a parting note....
I'm sorry I had to use four things on the Big 10. It's just that SSO is the only blog in this blogosphere (at least for general college football) that defends the Big 10. This conference gets hammered all day when in reality it's not horrible. I'm not even suggesting that the Big 10 as a whole is with the SEC or Pac-10, but the Big 10 bashing has to stop some day or another. It could end with a good bowl showing, but Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, and Michigan State will have their hands full.
12/08/2007
FWIW, SSO All-American Team
Yeah, I know, every single player in the nation is just absolutely dying to get on this prestigious list, I know, I know. But it's worth a little bit of fun so here it goes:
SSO All-America Team:
QB: Tim Tebow (Florida)
RB: Matt Forte (Tulane)
RB: Kevin Smith (UCF)
WR: Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech)
WR: Jordy Nelson (K-State)
TE: Travis Beckum (Wisconsin)
OL: Jake Long (Michigan)
OL: Sam Baker (USC)
OL: Eric Young (Tennessee)
OL: Anthony Collins (Kansas)
OL: Tony Hills (Texas)
DE: Vernon Gholston (Ohio State)
DT: Glen Dorsey (LSU)
DT: Sedrick Ellis (USC)
DE: George Selvie (USF)
LB: Scott McKillop (Pitt)
LB: Jordan Dizon (Colorado)
LB: David Vobora (Idaho)
DB: Alphonso Smith (Wake Forest)
DB: Tavious Polo (FAU)
DB: Elbert Mack (Troy)
DB: Aqib Talib (Kansas)
K: John Sullivan (New Mexico)
P: Kevin Huber (Cincinnati)
Just so you know, there will be some more esoteric All-American teams coming up soon, but this is just the general one for the players with the best seasons. Compared to the Walter Camp AA team, I tried to pick some guys from smaller schools that deserve a little more recognition. So, I'm sorry Darren McFadden, James Lauranitis, and Craig Steltz.
12/07/2007
Setting College Football Back 50 Years
Well, folks, it's official: Paul Johnson will be setting sail for Atlanta, Georgia.
The guy has a good amount of youth on his side (he's only 50 if I'm not mistaken), he's innovative, he brings some fresh ideas to the table, and he runs the triple option flexbone!
This is going to be interesting to see how he runs the offense. There are critics out there who think the option is dead against teams with speedy defenses. Georgia Tech has much better athletes than Navy does and the Midshipmen looked okay offensively against Boston College in the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl and they did okay against Wake Forest. It's the defense that's been the issue for Navy this year and part of that could be Johnson's fault, but the brunt of the blame has to be placed on injuries and inexperience.
Either which way you slice it, you have to ask yourself if Johnson will resurrect the option back into college football. It's already here in the form of spread offenses like the kind that West Virginia and Illinois deploy, but we'll see if the flexbone sticks.
Oh, and this was Adam's summary of the situation.
12/06/2007
How Dumb do you Have to be....
Just another slow news day. Another coach spurns Arkansas, Miles signed an extension, yada, yada, yada.
In other news, two young football players just made a colossal mistake. The link can be found here.
Man, you know, you would think with the story of Sean Taylor and his tragic passing that these guys might get a clue. Also, there was a big story about two guys robbing a house and the owner panicked and shot the two.....dead. You would hope they'd learn, but apparently, that's not the case.
12/05/2007
Credulous Coaching Confabulations: Georgia Tech Style
The Situation: Well, one mediocre job in a season with a team expected to compete for a conference title will get you fired these days. Georgia Tech was always a beacon of stability, one of 7-5 and 8-4 records, anyway. It's not exactly that he's been a poor coach, but the administration obviously feels that he has underachieved during his tenure at Georgia Tech.
The Reasons for "Resigning"/Firing: From his first season in 2002, Gailey was on the hot seat. He just got fired for not winning a playoff game with the Dallas Cowboys. This guy was the head coach for "America's Team" so, let's just say he's dealt with pressure. The problem was his ability to win the biggest games, something his predecessor, George O'Leary, was able to do. Never being able to beat Georgia or win a conference championship is pretty damning as a Yellow Jacket head coach.
The Prime Candidate: Paul Johnson
As rumors currently swirl around the Internet, it appears that Johnson is the frontrunner in this campaign. He's got the smarts as a head coach and, don't be fooled by the talking heads, the option can still work nowadays. Just ask Boston College from their 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl experience and think of a team running that with better athletes. Ask Wake Forest or Pitt too because this Midshipmen option attack played out just fine. Apparently, he's being interviewed for a second time which means the guy is a serious player.Even so, the offense that he does run will raise a few eyebrows and bring up some skepticism. And, another thing about Johnson, his name was thrown around for the NC State job last year and we always hear his name with coaching rumors. It never gets old.
Every year, we wonder if it's his last at Navy. Could this be the year?
The Dark Horses: Jon Tenuta & Rick Neuheisel
Tenuta's name was thrown around for the defensive coordinator job at Michigan before Kirk Herbstreit's report was updated (I don't think he was wrong, LSU just came back with a better deal, moving on....).Tenuta has the defensive smarts that will take a team places in a conference like the ACC. In this conference, defense is the way to go. We all agree on one thing: The guy knows how to coach defense. The Yellow Jackets have consistently had a very good defensive team under Tenuta.
Yet another Neuheisel rumor. His name is popping up all over the place including Penn State (whenever it is that Joe Pa retires) and UCLA. Georgia Tech is the same thing.As I've already said in the Ole Miss edition, Neuheisel has put his "scandal" behind him (and won his lawsuit, clearing him of any wrongdoing) and is currently working as the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. I say, why not? The guy is one of the better coaches as evidenced by the struggles of Gilbertson and Ty Willingham (although I'd be the first to grant Ty more time after getting shafted by Notre Dame).
The Best Candidate: George O'Leary
Even though O'Leary mentioned that he's staying put at UCF, it's okay to dream, isn't it? Personally, I feel Johnson could be the best candidate out of all these four (as a fan anyway, I want to see the option revived in college football at a major level). Even so, let's take a look at O'Leary.He's rarely been mentioned as a head coach for this job due to his steadfastness (is that word?) about remaining at UCF. The guy has it made in Orlando.
But this guy was at the prime of his coaching career in Atlanta and it would be fun to see him go back. He won an ACC title making something out of a piece of crap that Bill Lewis left over.
12/04/2007
At Least He's Honest
I'm sure you guys have seen this already; I'm a little late to get in on it.
Jones obviously has an attachment to Brennan and he's sticking up for him in the Heisman race. I have no problem with that and he probably was giving his honest opinion on Tebow. I'm sure Tebow would excel in that offense if he had the proper coaching, but his main point was probably that the systems are much different than they appear and that Brennan has the qualities that make the run n' shoot tick while Tebow runs the spread option to perfection.
He's got a history of giving cocky (and that doesn't have a negative connotation to it) remarks about his team or other teams in general. I don't really take issue with it because we have some people, like Mark Richt politicking for his Georgia team, that are not even telling us what they truly believe. (and almost like a, "You won't buy it, but I sorta need to throw it out there" way of doing it).
12/03/2007
The BCS Beat: Playoffs? We Already Have 'Em
No more speculation, predictions, cases for and against: the Bowl Championship Series is set. Pundits set the BCS in the sports world forefront every year around this time, and the coming four weeks should be no exception. Everyone with an opinion and platform is sure to come out of the woodwork with thoughts on the system -- assuredly the majority is negative. The 2007 edition is sure to draw particular ire, because no other season has been this unpredictable. Yet, just as the experts rile themselves into a frenzy every December, come January the complaints will subside and those same pundits, panelists and predictors foaming at the mouth now will be resigned and welcome the winner Jan. 9 as college football's champion.
"Playoffs" is the buzzword one will hear/read ad nauseum. College football playoffs already exist. They began August 30. Look at the desire, the urgency teams played with out of the gate. Hawai'i, the only unbeaten and Sugar Bowl bound, was in a playoff setting every time it took the field. Ask June Jones if the Dec. 1 win over Washington was any more important than the Sept. 8 overtime defeat of Louisiana Tech and this blogger surmises the answer is clear.
The BCS is not without flaws. That's abundantly evident. Missouri boasts arguably the best resume of any at-large candidate, but thanks to a pair of losses to Oklahoma the Tigers must watch Kansas in the Orange Bowl and Illinois in the Rose Bowl: both teams MU defeated. Yet, Missouri had an opportunity not just to play in the BCS, but for the championship. The Tigers came into Sunday night's game knowing exactly what they needed to do and could not deliver.
BYU stumbled twice early in the season, but I would put the Cougars' play of November against just about anyone in the nation. Because of the Cougars' conference allegiance, BYU had zero margin for error. Like MU facing Oklahoma, BYU knew what was needed to reach the BCS and fell short. Moreover, placing a higher level of standard for smaller conference teams isn't exclusive to football. Basketball has the most famous playoff format in American sports, but if a mid-major team cannot win its conference tournament, that team isn't likely to receive a ticket to the Big Dance.
At 10-2, Arizona State is another team BCS opponents are sure to campaign for as an example of the system's flaws. A-State had a great season, and came through in its season finale. But the Sun Devils were unable to beat teams ranked late in the season despite having opportunities. For ASU, games against Oregon and USC were playoffs, just like Oklahoma was Missouri's playoffs game.
Are LSU and Ohio State the two best teams in college football? If one considers that the BCS system is a yearlong playoff, the Buckeyes and Tigers answered the call more than any other program in 2007.
12/02/2007
Bowl-o-Rama: Pairings & Initial Thoughts
Ah, yes, bowl selection day: I feel like a little kid at Christmas. Shall we begin? This is the newest segment here (sorry for the uncreative title, it's the best I can do). I'll be posting all of the matchups and giving a quick little thought on each.
Poinsettia Bowl: Utah vs. Navy
This isn't a great matchup for Navy considering how well Utah can throw the football around. Utah has a solid rushing defense that the Middies will have to penetrate in order to win.
New Orleans Bowl: Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis
This is a bowl game you have to keep your eye on. Both teams can wing the football around and neither are great at defending the pass. Memphis is 0-2 against Sun Belt teams and this will be FAU's first ever bowl game.
Papajohns.com Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Southern Miss
This is another game where there is a gaping mismatch. Southern Miss has really struggled throwing the football whereas that is Cincy's biggest hole. The Golden Eagles run and run and run and stopping the ground game is what the Bearcats do best.
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs. Nevada
This game is another that has some interesting matchups. Nevada's offense has exploded as it currently ranks 7th overall. New Mexico has the 25th ranked scoring defense.
Las Vegas Bowl: BYU vs. UCLA
In bowl games like these, I tend to dislike rematches. UCLA beat BYU the first time around but both teams are heading in different directions.
Hawaii Bowl: ECU vs. Boise State
It was a little surprising to see Boise State leave not-so-balmy Boise for the Hawaiian Islands, but this game is going to be a blowout.
Motor City Bowl: Purdue vs. Central Michigan
Again, we've already seen this. Even though Purdue is cold, they're going to smack Central Michigan around. Purdue just lambasted the Chips last time.
Holiday Bowl: Texas vs. Arizona State
This one feels like it should be a BCS game if not for some losses late in the year for each. Jamaal Charles will try his stuff against this overnight better Sun Devil defense.
Texas Bowl: Houston vs. TCU
This Lonestar showdown would be great if some people could see it (cough, NFL Network, cough). Luckily, I've got Dish Network, so that works out for me :) . TCU's defense against Houston's potent offense will be a joy to see. But hey, as long as somebody not named Bryant Gumbel is calling the action, I'm cool.
Champs Sports Bowl: Boston College vs. Michigan State
This has the potential to be a nice football game, but Michigan State was thought to be headed to Detroit while BC was expecting a better bowl game. It's always a shame when the #2 team in a conference ends up in the Champs Sports Bowl. That should never happen.
Emerald Bowl: Maryland vs. Oregon State
This is the Oregon State team we were expecting to see coming into the year! They've cut out the turnovers from the QB position and they've been on a little roll here. Maryland pounded NC State and they punched their ticket to bowl season.
Meineke Car Care Bowl: Wake Forest vs. UConn
This game should be a great one because both of these teams shouldn't be good. They are good, but they shouldn't be. Wake and UConn find ways to do things to win. Something has to give.
Liberty Bowl: UCF vs. Mississippi State
The shocking bowl eligibility of the Mississippi State Bulldogs found its way into Memphis. C-USA champion UCF, led by Kevin Smith, will test MSU's run defense.......BIG-TIME.
Alamo Bowl: Penn State vs. Texas A&M
A&M is a flaky team and they're without Coach Fran. It will be a difficult task to up-end a Penn State team that plays some great defense. The rushing duo of Lane and Goodson will be a joy to see against the 6th ranked Nittany Lion run defense.
Independence Bowl: Colorado vs. Alabama
I think South Carolina should be here, but, oh well. Dan Hawkins will try to complete his improbable run at a bowl season with a win against Alabama. If the Crimson Tide do not win this game, it might be a catastrophe for Nick Saban....
Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. Cal
The amazingly cold Cal Golden Bears limp into the postseason against the powerful running attack of Air Force. Shaun Carney should be able to rip into the front 7 of Cal.
Sun Bowl: USF vs. Oregon
Green/Yellow vs. Gold/Green? Ugh. I'm just curious as to which uniforms Oregon will decide to wear. 
Humanitarian Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State
GT will be without their head coach in this one as they take on a resurgent Fresno State team. It'll be interesting to see whether or not they'll be focused. Virginia wasn't so in 2004.
Music City Bowl: Florida State vs. Kentucky
This game should be awesome. I'm anxious to see Andre Woodson and the high-flying Kentucky offense take on Florida State's defense. There is one issue though and that's the fact that FSU isn't great against the pass which should work to Kentucky's favor.
PEACH Bowl: Clemson vs. Auburn
This could be the best of all the bowl games. Both Clemson and Auburn are awesome defensive teams and both Tiger offenses will be put to the test. Just don't get run over by any parachuting cows, now.
Insight Bowl: Indiana vs. Oklahoma State
Man, if you like points, this game is for you. You'll get to see two of the best WRs in the game today highlighted in Tempe: Adarius Bowman and James Hardy.
Outback Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee
The SEC Speed will just outclass that slow, stodgy Wisconsin offensive line. The Badgers have no chance. Just like Auburn in 2005 and Arkansas in 2006, they really showed them what Fast really is.
Cotton Bowl: Missouri vs. Arkansas
Should be a high scoring game here. Neither Missouri nor Arkansas have great defenses. Daniel and McFadden will be lighting up Dallas.
Gator Bowl: Virginia vs. Texas Tech
This game will be really interesting. Virginia plays some really solid defense and we'll see how that "circus show" of an offense that Mike Leach employs will do.
Capital One Bowl: Michigan vs. Florida
I made a premature post about how Michigan got railroaded by the system, but it turns out they're in a New Year's Day game anyway. They'll take on Florida and again, that SEC Speed will just shred them to pieces. (still rolling eyes)
Rose Bowl: USC vs. Illinois
Already, Illinois is projected to get creamed. I'm not so sure that's the case, but they will have a hard time scoring against that USC defense. The Illini will be sure to play this game with all they've got, it'll be a tight one.
Sugar Bowl: Hawaii vs. Georgia
It's time to man up, Hawaii. You're playing with the big boys now! Georgia must be hating this because there really isn't a whole lot to gain from winning this game and there's a ton to lose from it (just ask Oklahoma).
Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma
This should settle all of the West Virginia/Big East doubters' claims that West Virginia/Big East is either overrated or terrible. Oklahoma is a darn good football team and they won't take this opponent lightly (even though they did lose to Pitt).
Orange Bowl: Kansas vs. Virginia Tech
This game could be one of the most compelling. Kansas got the BCS bid ahead of Missouri but we'll have to see how they do against the best team they've played all year. Both the Jayhawks and the Hokies will struggle to move the football against these two very good defensive teams.
International Bowl: Rutgers vs. Ball State
This game isn't going to be pretty. Ball State is good......for a MAC team. Rutgers will run the bowl right down their throats and it could get ugly.
GMAC Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
Ah, this should be the highest scoring game all bowl season. BG and Tulsa both don't play any sort of defense and they each have very explosive offenses. The QB duel between Paul Smith and Tyler Sheehan should be the best this postseason.
BCS Title: LSU vs. Ohio State
Uh-oh, here comes that dreaded SEC speed again! All sarcasm aside, this should be a great football game and mark my words, Ohio State will be there to play.
Bowl Projections: Week 14
Poinsettia Bowl: Navy vs. Utah
New Orleans Bowl: Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis
Papajohns.com Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Southern Miss
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs. Nevada
Las Vegas Bowl: BYU vs. Cal
Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State vs. ECU
Motor City Bowl: Michigan State vs. Central Michigan
Holiday Bowl: Missouri vs. Arizona State
Texas Bowl: Troy* vs. Houston
Champs Sports Bowl: Indiana vs. Virginia
Emerald Bowl: Oregon State vs. Georgia Tech
Meineke Car Care Bowl: UConn vs. Maryland
Liberty Bowl: UCF vs. Kentucky
Alamo Bowl: Penn State vs. Texas A&M
Independence Bowl: Colorado vs. Alabama
Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. UCLA
Sun Bowl: USF vs. Oregon
Humanitarian Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Boise State
Music City Bowl: Florida State vs. Mississippi State
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Boston College vs. Arkansas
Insight Bowl: Purdue vs. Oklahoma State
Outback Bowl: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Cotton Bowl: Texas vs. Auburn
Gator Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Clemson
Capital One Bowl: Michigan vs. Florida
Rose Bowl: USC vs. Illinois
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Hawaii
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Kansas
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia
International Bowl: Rutgers vs. Ball State
GMAC Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
BCS Title Game: LSU vs. Ohio State
*Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there some kind of "7-5 At-large Rule" that would apply to Troy in this case? Troy is 8-4 while TCU is 7-5. I think if the Texas Bowl is forced to take an at-large, they would have to take Troy instead of TCU. Maybe it's applied to 6-6 teams vs. the rest of the eligible teams. Maybe it doesn't apply in that case, but I can't say that I'm too sure. The bowl projection "experts" have TCU in that bowl game, so I guess I'm probably wrong about that.
The Week That Was: Week 14
1. West Virginia Goes Down.
Holy crap. I was saying earlier this week that Pitt would be wasted similar to how they were last year at Heinz Field.
What is lost in this stunning game is that Pitt totally shut West Virginia down. I've been saying over and over again that any team that can tackle and play their man will stop West Virginia in their tracks.
You see, tackling is such a lost art which means any team that is fundamentally sound on defense has a distinct advantage. White and Slaton rely on players making dumb choices on how to defend the option or missed tackles. USF tackled fine, Pitt tackled fine and the result was two West Virginia losses.
But then again, you also have to consider the fact that White was injured and the Mountaineers didn't take care of the football. These two things just mentioned occurred in both losses as well. Either way you look at it, this loss was almost as big as Appalachian State/Michigan because there isn't a world of difference between Pitt and Appy State and rest assured, West Virginia is a lot better than Michigan.
2. Missouri Goes Down
This wasn't nearly as large of a surprise as the West Virginia loss, but the effect was the same.
Missouri was just outclassed for the second time against Oklahoma as the Sooners are now a lock for the BCS. This game I didn't see as much of because I was watching the Pitt/West Virginia game, but Oklahoma dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
OU's offensive line was one of the best coming into the nation and it wasn't like Missouri had a great defense. The bottom line was Missouri didn't cash in their yards for touchdowns. Pinkel said it himself, they kicked three field goals and this game would've been a lot different had Missouri not settled for those FGs.
This throws yet another monkey wrench into the BCS process which I'll get to later. All you can say here is congrats, Oklahoma, for yet another Big 12 title.
3. Non-BCS Championships.
If you weren't able to see the FAU/Troy game (like just about everybody including yours truly), you missed what could be considered the number two upset of the day. Troy was the favorite to take the Sun Belt crown by most paying attention to the conference. But FAU had other plans. They went on a scoring frenzy which included 28 points in a span of 12 minutes. Congrats, FAU, on the conference championship. It wasn't a conference championship game, but it might as well have been.
Central Michigan also pulled away late against Miami OH. I picked the RedHawks, but Central's defense finally stepped up for once holding Miami to 10 points. That's the best the Chippewas have played all season defensively.
Tulsa couldn't find a way to beat UCF as the Knights defeat the Golden Hurricane almost exactly like they did the first time. Personally, I was disappointed in how Tulsa's offense performed later in that game. You would have figured they could put up more than 25 points against UCF's average defense.
4. What's the Heisman Picture Looking Like?
Well, you can find out next Saturday on ESPN. Right now, it's looking like Tim Tebow will win it.
If I had a say in this thing, I'm voting Tebow. The guy has been insane all year and Florida's losses aren't his fault at all. The guy has ran for 20+ touchdowns and thrown for 20+ which makes him the only person to do that in college football history.
The other candidates are Todd Reesing (uh, no), Colt Brennan (uh, no), Chase Daniel (he's eliminated after losing to Oklahoma), Pat White (he's eliminated after losing to Pitt), and Darren McFadden.
D-Mac has the best chance at this point to knock Tebow off. His performance against LSU last Friday was masterful and worthy of gaining some consideration. McFadden is probably the best player at this point, but you're not going to deny Tebow the Heisman.
5. Who Will Be Playing in the BCS Mess/B.S./Any-other-anti-BCS-cliche?
The BCS was going to be able to absorb one loss between Missouri/West Virginia, but its worst nightmare happened on Saturday.
Now all of the two loss teams will enter the fray and claim that they have some part of belonging in the national title.
The problem is, many voters will have LSU jump FIVE spots for winning ONE game against FOURTEENTH ranked Tennessee. Does anybody else have a problem with this?
This just shows you how fair college football actually is. There is a precedent set which says, "If this team drops, the team directly behind them, barring a loss, will move up unless some team a few spots behind gets a huge win over a highly-ranked team." You ever hear of that? That's basically how the polls work. I don't see a win against Tennessee worthy of having a team jump ahead five spots over idle Georgia and idle Kansas. Virginia Tech should never be ahead of LSU in the first place, but that's a different matter.
This hypocrisy is ridiculous. If Georgia has performed well enough to be ranked ahead of LSU, why should they be penalized for not paying while LSU got a simple win against 14th ranked Tennessee? I can see where the Bulldogs didn't even win their division, but that's not the point. The precedent says that Georgia should be the one moving up. They were obviously impressive enough to be ranked ahead of LSU in the first place. Did that win against Tennessee convince you that LSU was number two?
In my view, USC and Oklahoma are the two best teams, but the national championship should be Ohio State and Georgia if the pollsters have any consistency at all.
SSO's Totally Worthless Top 25:
1. Ohio State
2. Oklahoma
3. USC
4. LSU
5. Kansas
6. Georgia
7. Virginia Tech
8. Florida
9. West Virginia
10. Missouri
11. Hawaii
12. Arizona State
13. Auburn
14. Texas
15. Boston College
16. Clemson
17. BYU
18. Illinois
19. Tennessee
20. Virginia
21. Cincinnati
22. USF
23. Texas Tech
24. Wisconsin
25. Air Force
On the Cusp (in no particular order): Mississippi State, Michigan, Penn State, Boise State, Wake Forest, Oregon State, Oregon, Michigan State, UConn, Kentucky
Somebody from FIU had to get the bronze game ball. The Golden Panthers just snapped their 23-game losing streak against North Texas! They won 38-19.Lionell Singleton had an INT and he returned a kickoff for 84 yards and a TD.
Luke Lippincott deserves the silver game ball this week. He accounted for 105 of Collin Kaepernick's 404 yards passing while he beat up Louisiana Tech on the ground for 112 yards rushing.The reason he gets the silver game ball? He had 5 TDs!
Kevin Smith certainly deserves the gold game ball this week. He ran for 284 yards all the while passing Marcus Allen's all-time record of carries by a RB in a season.Congrats, Kevin Smith!
I'm going to use the Kool-Aid Alert this week to try to hit my point further.I'm not saying that USC or Oklahoma should play for the national title. From seeing them close out the season, I think these two teams are the best. But does that make them the most deserving?
Obviously, LSU has done a great deal of things this season and they probably deserve to play for the national title. When I threw my poll together, I tried to do a combination of both how much the teams deserve the ranking and of how good they actually are. I don't see LSU being the top team, I think Oklahoma and USC are better. But Ohio State, with one loss, is the most deserving team to compete for a national title.
Okay, now that I hopefully cleared that up, I'm not saying Georgia is most deserving either. The pollsters obviously thought that Georgia was better than LSU judging by last week's poll. So my question is, why was that win against Tennessee so convincing that they should play for the national title and jump five teams in the process?
Oh well. I supported a Michigan/Ohio State rematch in the national title game lats year, so I guess I could be wrong. If I had my way, there wouldn't be this precedent and the pollsters would re-assort their teams radically on a week-to-week basis. But that isn't the system that they've been using for years on end. I just wish they were more consistent. Plus, this is a premature point anyway because LSU hasn't been ranked #2 yet even though they probably will.
Word of the Week: Vicissitude
-noun
Regular change or succession from one thing to another; alternation; mutual succession; interchange.
I suppose this describes the polls. Seems like we have a brand new top 5 every single week!
12/01/2007
Game Previews: Week 14
Check out Mid-America Nattering for my MAC championship preview.
When: 12:00 PM ET, CBS
Why You Should Care: Dude………..It’s Army/Navy……..
Army Will Win Because…: Navy’s defense is awful. These guys are 119th in pass efficiency defense (that would be last, folks). Pressure is something they’re very unaccustomed to. Carson Williams is really developing as a passer and he should have his way with the extremely shaky Navy pass defense.
Navy Will Win Because…: Oooooooooooh……..Ouch. Army is 114th in the nation against the run which can only mean one thing: Navy domination on the ground. The Middies only happen to have the best statistical ground game in the entire nation.
Keep an Eye on…: Sophomore QB Carson Williams. Any hope Army possibly has at keeping pace with Navy’s offense is for Williams to catch fire. It hasn’t happened often with the guy’s 11 TDs and 12 INTs. Navy has no clue how to cover so he should be halfway solid regardless.
Prediction: Army will unexpectedly explode on offense because of how pitiful Navy’s D is. Even so, Army has no hope of keeping Kaheaku-Enhada and/or Jarod Bryant, Singleton, Campbell, or anybody else you want to throw in the Navy rushing game. Middies win, 47-33.
When: 12:00 PM ET, ESPN
Why You Should Care: Do you like offense? Do you like conference championships on the line? Then the C-USA title game is what you crave!
Tulsa Will Win Because…: Who has the number one offense in the country? Hawaii? No. Texas Tech? No. Florida International? I kid, I kid. It happens to be Tulsa! Gus Malzahn has transformed Kragthorpe’s basic offense into this dynamic spread that is working to perfection. UCF has played decent defense overall, but they’ve had their moments where they’ve been downright terrible (ECU, USF, UAB). Paul Smith should be unstoppable.
UCF Will Win Because…: This game has already been played! UCF dominated the last time these two teams met, winning 44-23. The Knights have a secret weapon that deserves much more attention: Kevin Smith. He should run roughshod against the 90th ranked rushing defense.
Keep an Eye on…: Chris Chamberlain. The senior LB doesn’t get a lot of credit, but the guy can play and he’ll be instrumental in keeping Kevin Smith in check.
Prediction: I know it sounds stupid to go with Tulsa in this game, but that’s what I’m going to do. The Golden Hurricane got thrashed by 3 touchdowns last time these two teams met, but I’m taking the more potent of the two offenses just because I’ve been so impressed with Tulsa’s #1 unit. Tulsa will eek by UCF while playing no defense, 43-40.
When: 1:00 PM ET, ABC
Why You Should Care: Most of us saw the epic that was the Matt Ryan comeback in Blacksburg. On that Thursday night, it would set the stage for the ACC title game.
Virginia Tech Will Win Because…: Some say it’s difficult to beat the same team twice (I don’t buy it as much as others, but I could be wrong). I would go as far as to say that outside of Ohio State, Virginia Tech has the best defense in the nation. The Hokies have a knack for getting to the QB ranking 4th in sacks which could spell trouble for Matt Ryan.
Boston College Will Win Because…: Their defense is more than capable as well. Even though the Hokie offense has been coming around a little bit, the Eagles still have one of the best run defenses in the nation.
Keep an Eye on…: Branden Ore. Boston College’s run defense is about as stout as they come. Ore finished off the year rushing all over Virginia’s defense so he’ll need to keep that going in order to win.
Prediction: This seems just like BC’s game against Clemson; so many people, for whatever reason, are so sure of themselves that Virginia Tech will win. Boston College seems like a team of destiny and it seems like Matt Ryan needs one last hurrah before his collegiate exit. Boston College will win a close, boring game, 17-13.
When: 2:00 PM ET
Why You Should Care: Can FAU pull off the upset and take the Sun Belt title? They possibly could and they are certainly good enough to do it. This could throw a monkey wrench into the bowl process if you’re a 6-6 team looking to go bowling should FAU win.
FAU Will Win Because…: They can pass. Troy can defend the pass very well, but part of that is because there aren’t a whole bunch of prolific passing attacks in the Sun Belt. Rusty Smith is, outside of Omar Haugabook, the best QB in the conference. The FAU offensive line has been doing a tremendous job all season long and their defense should be able to get into Haugabook’s face.
Troy Will Win Because…: The Trojan run defense is their most glaring weakness and FAU doesn’t have much of a running game. Pierre is a good back, but the ground attack has really struggled this year. The FAU pass defense has stunk against most of the better passing teams they’ve faced this year.
Keep an Eye on…: Rusty Smith. The game is in his hands basically. Smith’s decision-making will be the difference in the game.
Prediction: FAU should be able to make a game out of it because Schnellenberger’s crew is no pushover. Troy though has too much offensive firepower and too much pass defense for FAU to win this thing in Movie Gallery Stadium. Troy wins, 31-21.
When: 4:00 PM ET, CBS
Why You Should Care: The SEC title game is on the line. Even if it didn’t mean as much before last Friday, it is still a pretty important game.
Tennessee Will Win Because…: LSU’s red zone defense, as pointed out by many analysts, is horrid while the Vols are on fire offensively. Erik Ainge should have a good day passing. This whole Les Miles-to-Michigan thing might put LSU in the wrong mindset entering this game.
LSU Will Win Because…: They should come out fired up after last week’s loss to Arkansas. Tennessee doesn’t have a great run defense and the Tigers are 12th in rushing the football.
Keep an Eye on…: Jacob Hester. The RB is a hero among LSU faithful and he should have a good day at the office against the Tennessee run defense.
Prediction: Even with the Miles distractions, LSU should win this game on talent alone. No disrespect intended to Tennessee, but the Tigers are a better football team. The bottom line is that the Vols don’t have enough defense to beat LSU. Bayou Bengals win, 35-20.
When: 4:05 PM ET
Why You Should Care: If Hawaii can pull out a win against Washington (which we will get to later), the winner of this game should be bowling at 6-6. Nevada missed a FG at the end of the game against SJSU to lose making this a must win game for them. Louisiana Tech is trying to create a comeback of sorts by winning 6 games in Derek Dooley’s first game.
Louisiana Tech Will Win Because…: It’s tough to think of a good reason why Louisiana Tech should defeat Nevada because punt returning is the only ranking where the Bulldogs are in the top 20. You do have to give them credit because they have found ways to sneak by the WAC’s worst (that being New Mexico State, SJSU, Idaho, and Utah State). Add those four teams to a win against Central Arkansas, and you’re looking at a 5-6 team.
Nevada Will Win Because…: La Tech has yet to prove that they can beat a decent team. Nevada has had some tough losses this year but much like Louisiana Tech, they have taken care of the inferior teams. Colin Kaepernick and the rest of the Nevada offense ranks 10th overall and that will probably be too much for Louisiana Tech to handle.
Keep an Eye on…: Zach Champion. He’s the leader of the team and he’s a pretty respectable QB. He’ll need to be able to throw in order to beat Nevada on the road.
Prediction: The WolfPack will probably have too much offensive firepower for Louisiana Tech to win this game. Just consider the Bulldog season a success at 5-7. Nevada will probably wind up in the New Mexico Bowl with a 30-21 win.
When: 4:30 PM ET, ABC
Why You Should Care: Either way you look at it, this game will play a part in deciding the Pac-10 championship. Should Arizona State lose and UCLA win, the Bruins will take home the conference championship.
UCLA Will Win Because…: They don’t have many things going for them statistically against USC, but this is a rivalry game. UCLA wasn’t expected to take out USC last year either. Plus, hey, Stanford found a way to beat the Trojans.
USC Will Win Because…: Defense, defense, and more defense. UCLA’s offense is pretty anemic and they won’t move the ball all that well against this Southern Cal D. The only hope UCLA has to make it close would be to run the football against USC’s fourth ranked rushing defense.
Keep an Eye on…: Lawrence Jackson. He’s a big playmaker and should raise hell in UCLA’s backfield.
Prediction: UCLA could keep it close considering it is a rivalry game and there’s a lot on the line, but USC has too much in the tank. The Trojans are healthy on offense and their defense has been playing great (if their dominance against Arizona State is concerned). USC wins, 32-14.
When: 4:30 PM ET, ESPN2
Why You Should Care: The Civil War is often the most underrated rivalry game in college sports. Every year, these two teams collide in a very passionate match. Even though it’s only on ESPN2, this is the first time in a while that the game has been available to a national audience.
Oregon State Will Win Because…: Now that Cody Kempt is at QB, the Oregon offense is sputtering and their only hope of winning this game is getting the ground game going. But guess what? The Beavers are first against the run! Can anybody say, “Matchup problem”?
Oregon Will Win Because…: This is a rivalry game and the players have short memories. In a somewhat ironic finish in a loss to Oregon State last season (well, ironic in the fact that it was similar to their win against Oklahoma without the onside kick fiasco), the Ducks should be ready to suit up and take this challenge on. If anybody is going to be able to run against Oregon State, it might as well be Darren McFadden or Jonathan Stewart.
Keep an Eye on…: Jonathan Stewart. The game will be decided on whether or not Oregon can run the football with the absence of Dennis Dixon.
Prediction: I’m going to go against all logical reasoning and pick Oregon. Since it’s a heated rivalry game, stats can be thrown out the window considering what’s on the line for both teams. Kempt will come up with a surprisingly effective game throwing the football. Oregon wins, 24-21.
When: 6:35 PM ET, The Mtn.
Why You Should Care: This game was postponed due to the Southern California wildfires. Even though San Diego State is 4-7, it’s refreshing to see them being somewhat competitive. BYU is trying to fight for a spot in the BCS, actually.
BYU Will Win Because…: They have a very powerful offense relative to San Diego State’s defense. The 20th ranked total offense should have their way with a team that just surrendered 30 to UNLV, 55 to Air Force, and 45 to TCU. BYU should approach the 50-point mark.
SDSU Will Win Because…: If there’s one thing that BYU doesn’t do so well in, it’s the turnover margin. The Cougars don’t take care of the football and that’s something the Aztecs need in order to even think about winning this game. The dual threat of Kevin O’Connell might give BYU some problems.
Keep an Eye on…: Kevin O’Connell. He’ll need to play the game of his life in order for San Diego State to win the game.
Prediction: San Diego State will hang around early, but the fact remains that they have no defense of which to speak. BYU should break the 50-point barrier and something that isn’t usually attributed to BYU is that they do play some defense. Brigham Young takes it, 54-27.
When: 7:00 PM ET
Why You Should Care: Will FIU find its first win of the season? North Texas will try to not become labeled with that dubious distinction.
North Texas Will Win Because…: The passing game. As you might have noticed, the Mean Green have one of the more explosive passing games (although it is rarely transferred into points). FIU has the 80th ranked pass defense which isn’t very good in the Sun Belt.
FIU Will Win Because…: If there’s a team that the Golden Panthers can play which can give them a little offensive boost, it would be the 119th ranked scoring defense of North Texas. This team is surrendering FORTY-FIVE points per game which is just downright ridiculous. It’s possible that FIU’s offense will be coming around just a tad because they’ve only scored 20+ points per game thrice and those have all come in their last three games.
Keep an Eye on…: Giovanni Vizza. He’s really turned some heads with his passing numbers even though he hasn’t been the most efficient of QBs.
Prediction: FIU will compete like they did against UL Lafayette a few weeks ago, but the strength of the UNT passing game will ultimately be the difference. FIU will move the football a little bit because there hasn’t been one team that has struggled to move the ball against North Texas. Regardless, North Texas wins a close one, 40-31.
When: 7:00 PM ET, Versus
Why You Should Care: Cal/Stanford is one of the better rivalry games but the only problem has been that the Cardinal haven’t been competitive in a while. Plus, it’s just interesting to see if there will be a play that rivals the Band Play.
Cal Will Win Because…: They’re a lot better. Any team that loses to Notre Dame has a few issues. Stanford only has three wins all year. Cal’s strong offense will score at will against that shaky Stanford defense.
Stanford Will Win Because…: Hey, they beat USC! Cal is reeling right now only winning A game since their victory against Oregon.
Keep an Eye on…: Nate Longshore. Even though Cal’s offense has been solid, it hasn’t really been living up to expectations. He should have a fine day though in this rivalry game.
Prediction: Cal should win this game rather easily. Golden Bears win, 37-13.
When: 7:45 PM ET, ESPN
Why You Should Care: Can West Virginia get to the championship game? Pitt might be able to put up a fight in the Backyard Brawl this year.
Pitt Will Win Because…: The Panthers have a vastly underrated defense. It is pretty capable of keeping teams at bay. Nobody will be able to stop Pat White, but they can at least contain him and Slaton. The 11th ranked total defense has had only three bad games against Virginia, USF, and Navy.
West Virginia Will Win Because…: They’re playing good defense. The Mountaineers are sixth overall on the defensive side of the ball and Pitt is really struggling offensively.
Keep an Eye on…: Pat White. You can’t help but keep your eye on this guy. He should be the difference maker yet again.
Prediction: West Virginia will run up, across, through, and any other preposition you can think of on Pitt. The Panthers aren’t really going to compete in this game and I’m still sitting here trying to figure out how Wannstedt got an extension. West Virginia dominates, 48-14.
When: 8:00 PM ET, ABC
Why You Should Care: Okay, let’s see: Big 12 title on the line, BCS bid on the line, national championship on the line. Alrighty then, I don’t know of one soul who shouldn’t care.
Oklahoma Will Win Because…: This game has been played before and Missouri kept shooting themselves in the foot. Don’t buy this “Missouri plays defense now!” argument. They don’t really play that great defensively. Kansas struggled against A&M offensively for God’s sake. Those pundits must have forgotten about Iowa State, Ole Miss, Illinois State, Kansas State, and Texas A&M. Oklahoma will have a lot of success offensively against Missouri.
Missouri Will Win Because…: Their offense should do some stuff as well. If you can think of an important offensive category, chances are Missouri is in the top 10. Chase Daniel is on fire right now and in the thick of the Heisman race. If you watched the Kansas/Missouri game, the Tigers were awesome up front giving Daniel 30 seconds to make a decision in the backfield.
Keep an Eye on…: Lorenzo Williams. He’s the anchor to the Missouri defensive line and he’ll need to stop Oklahoma’s running game. DeMarco Murray isn’t playing, but Allen Patrick is a more than capable running back.
Prediction: I honestly think Oklahoma will win somewhat easily. This could be an almost exact repeat of the game played in October. Missouri should be within striking distance for most of the game, but that distance will be by about two scores. The Sooners should win this game by having the more potent of the two offenses and the more stout of the two defenses. OU wins, 38-27.
When: 8:00 PM ET, ESPN2
Why You Should Care: This is another game that is under the radar as far as the national scope is concerned, Arizona State/Arizona is a rivalry game that doesn’t get a lot of respect. If USC loses and Arizona State wins, the Sun Devils will clinch a BCS bid.
Arizona Will Win Because…: Arizona State has a somewhat weakened pass defense and the offense that Sonny Dykes installed this off-season certainly focuses on the passing game. Willie Tuitama is having a big season and he should pass the 300-yard mark tonight.
Arizona State Will Win Because…: On the surface, ASU’s pass defense doesn’t look that great but in reality, they do rank 17th in pass efficiency defense. The game is in Sun Devil stadium and ASU is better in the turnover margin. The Sun Devils are solid and balanced offensive and they should have a decent day against this average Arizona defense.
Keep an Eye on…: Thomas Weber. That’s right, the Arizona State kicker. He’s averaging a little over three field goals. A solid kicker could make a big difference in a rivalry game like this one.
Prediction: This game will be really entertaining and back-and-forth. Expect the Wildcats to be right there at the end needing a last minute drive to win the game. They won’t execute well enough as ASU holds onto victory. Sun Devils win, 34-30.
When: 11:30 PM ET, ESPN2
Why You Should Care: Could Washington be the best team Hawaii has played to date? Personally, even though Washington beat Boise, I’ll take the Broncos. Regardless, this should be a good game with Hawaii finally getting to show their stuff in 2007 against a BCS conference team.
Washington Will Win Because…: Hawaii is 42nd in scoring defense by playing the kind of schedule they have. This sounds good for Washington’s offense led by Jake Locker. Locker’s dual-threat ability could give Hawaii problems because we’re not talking about a great defensive team here.
Hawaii Will Win Because…: The Huskies don’t deploy a very good defense at all. Washington 85th against the pass and that doesn’t look too good for them.
Keep an Eye on…: Colt Brennan. Brennan stepped it up in games against Purdue and Arizona State last year so when the spotlight is on, he does perform.
Prediction: Hawaii should win this game, but Washington might be right there. They won’t be able to stop the Warrior passing game, but they’ll find a way to get their points. Even so, Washington will lose, 39-24.
