Bowling ‘08

Saturday, January 10, 2009

College football is over for another year, and I miss it already. “Bowling ‘08″ had more bowlers than ever before – 29 of you. Thanks for the play; thanks for putting up with my rantings another year. I would be interested in hearing from you guys whether you liked the recaps on the blog, prefer those via email (or both), or would rather not have them at all (that’s OK too) - let me know. Each bowl is now recapped as much as I’m going to do below – read and weap, object, laugh, or shake your head. Thanks again for the fun time bowling.

 

Couple more games (for the 29 bowlers only): 

1. 15 colleges bowled last season but not this season. How many can you name? (first to send me a list with the most correct colleges gets the prize)

2. 19 colleges bowled this season but not last season. How many can you name? (first to send me a list with the most correct colleges gets the prize)

and

3. First to send me the correct Mascot match to the College Bowl Team gets the prize (cut and paste the two lists below into a Word document and email your anwers to me)….

 

Mascot

Badgers

Bearcats

Beavers

Broncos

Broncos

Buckeyes

Bulldogs

Bulldogs

Bulldogs

Bulls

Bulls

Cardinals

Chippewas

Commodores

Cornhuskers

Cougars

Cougars

Cowboys

Crimson Tide

Demon Deacons

Ducks

Eagles

Eagles

Falcons

Fighting Irish

Fighting Owls

Gamecocks

Gators

Golden Bears

Golden Hurricane

Gophers

Hawkeyes

Hokies

Horned Frogs

Hurricane

Huskies

Huskies

Jayhawks

Longhorns

Midshipmen

Mountaineers

Nittany Lions

Owls

Panthers

Pirates

Rans

Rebels

Red Raiders

Scarlet Knights

Seminoles

Sooners

Spartans

Tar Heels

Terrapins

Tigers

Tigers

Tigers

Tigers

Trojans

Trojans

Utes

Warriors

Wildcats

Wildcats

Wildcats

Wolf Pack

Wolf Pack

Yellow Jackets

 

 

College Bowl Team

Air Force

Alabama

Arizona

Ball State

Boise State

Boston College

Buffalo

BYU

California

Central Michigan

Cincinnati

Clemson

Colorado State

Connecticut

East Carolina

Fla. Atlantic

Florida

Florida State

Fresno State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Hawaii

Houston

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

La. Tech

LSU

Maryland

Memphis

Miami

Michigan State

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

N.C. State

Navy

Nebraska

Nevada

No. Illinois

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Rice

Rutgers

So. Carolina

So. Mississippi

South Florida

TCU

Texas

Texas Tech

Troy

Tulsa

USC

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia Tech

W. Michigan

Wake Forest

West Virginia

Wisconsin

 

 

Friday, January 2, 2009

 

Want me to go on and on about the BS (BCS) system again? I will let Josh Peters do it today Thorns exposed in Rose - I will do it later.

 

Wednesday December 31, 2008

 

Top five best BCS bowl games and/or Top Five worst BCS bowl games

 

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A Bowl Trivia game - let me know how you score. Trivia: Bowl season brings more questions

Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 10:48am CST

 

Chick-fil-A to offer free biscuits

Dallas Business Journal

Chick-fil-A Inc. is standing up and asking the world to take notice. The fast-food brand is offering an opportunity for guests to enjoy a free biscuit.

Chick-fil-A, which has more than 65 fast-food restaurants in the North Texas area, is celebrating the New Year – and responding to so-called “imitation” chicken biscuits produced by competitors – by giving away its signature dish.

On Jan. 1, customers of Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A will be offered a free chicken biscuit with any purchase. A news release from the nation’s second-largest chicken restaurant said the promotion celebrates Chick-fil-A’s iconic biscuit and is in response to competitors that have entered the chicken biscuit segment.

“While some of our competitors are touting a trend of ‘change’ toward chicken as the new meat choice for breakfast, it’s something our customers have known all along,” Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A vice president of brand development and director of Chick-fil-A’s menu strategy said in the release.

The offer will be broadcast during the Chick-fil-A Bowl, airing on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.

Chick-fil-A has more than 1,420 restaurants in 38 states.

BOWL RECAP

1. EagleBank Bowl  - Someone tell me: Has Navy ever won a Bowl game? And someone also tell me why anyone but the fans of these 2 fine institutions of higher learning cared about this game? It was a grudge match – Navy beat up these guys early in the regular season – ho hum…This game was played in Washington DC and was also coined the Congressional Bowl – as if Congress needed something to call their own and/or bail out. 16 Bowlers guessed right. Despite the loss, I like Navy’s first year coach – Ken Niumatalolo. A native of Hawaii (I think), he has the kahoneas needed to perhaps make Navy a mid-Bowl contender for many years to come…that is if Hawaii themselves don’t come knocking with lucrative coconuts. Navy actually passed 7 times in this game, completing 2 of them for all of 32 yards. Wake out-rushed Navy and QB Skinner went 11-11 passing. This was an OK opening Bowl season game – Navy got out front 13-0 and then a momentum swing lost the lead, and game. 16 Bowlers picked right. Final Score Wake Up Forest 29, Seasickmen 19. Ranking after 1 game played: #1 TR (24 pts), #2 Becky (21 pts.) 
2. Las Vegas Bowl - First upset of the Bowl season – 7 Bowlers somehow guessed a Pac-10 team besides USC could win a Bowl game for a change. These 7 were gamblers (being in Las Vegas and all) and have won an all expense paid trip to sin city…provided their bank accounts can spring for the trip. We had Arizona’s QB Willie Tuitama pushing Head Coach Mike Stoops on the sidelines, and Stoops pushing back – and then they were all buddy-buddy (I bet Brother Bob would have reacted a little bit different – as in “set your sorry arse down”…as long as it wasn’t Bradford that is). BYU never showed up to this game – apparently they were still watching TCU and Utah game films trying to figure out what happened. This was Arizona’s first Bowl win in 10 years. The Cougars beat these guys in most statistical categories except the score. So much for BYU’s season – Arizona has something to build on if they can replace their QB next year. 7 Bowlers picked right with Dean being the biggest winner with a 30 confidence point pick. This was a big 286 confidence point swing in Arizona pickers favor. Final Score Arizona 31, B-goneYU 21. Ranking after 2 games played: #1 TR (47 pts), #2 Dean (44 pts.) 
3. New Mexico Bowl – “Queenie” texted me 2/3 through this game and renamed the Bowl “No Defense” This was truly a whoever-has-the-ball-last-wins type of game. CSU’s Gartrell Johnson had 375 yards of offense just by himself; FSU’s backfield of Harding and Miller had a combined 233 yards rushing (both 100+ yards game). Fresno State played without 6 starters. 6 Bowlers picked right with Tim1 taking 19 confidence points with a CSU pick. This was a big 275 confidence point swing in CSU’s favor. Final Score Colorado State 40, Fresno State 35. Ranking after 3 games played: #1 TR (47 pts), #2 Dean (44 pts.) 
4. St. Petersburg Bowl - What a yawner of a Bowl. This was a junior varsity squad against the freshman. Any wagers on whether this Bowl will be back next year? All 29 Bowlers picked So. Florida in this contest – an average of 22 confidence points…I would have guessed higher. This was nothing more than another home game against lame competition for USF…in fact the team bused between the Bowl stadium and campus all week long for practice (football that is). I struggle with any highlights of this game, as does ESPN.com, Rivals.com, and FoxSports.com. Therefore, I’m left with only giving the Final Score as So. Florida Prep 41, Memphis High School 14. The fortunate result of this game is that it ends Day 1 of Ugh Week (Consolation Bowls). Ranking after 4 games played: #1 TR (78 pts), #2 Tim2 (63 pts.) 
5. New Orleans Bowl (aka The Katrina FEMA Bowl – nobody home, nobody cares) The Golden Eagles against Condoms that quit working: What a painful game to watch. Not only was the quality of football in question, but the ESPN announcers doing TV coverage was rookie to say the least. Pal Queenie kept me in the first half of the game by texting while travelling to my Christmas vacation spot – I was able to concur with her ESPN assessment during the second half after finding the game, in all its misery, on the cabin television. This was our first OT game of the Bowl season. That means perhaps this Bowl’s selection committee made the right competition choice picking the Sun Belt Conference Troy Trojans against the Conference USA Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, despite the junior college level of play. Britt Barefoot (what a great name for a kicker BTW) decided to boot 3 field goals in this game…he was all of a 50% kicker throughout the regular season and Dumb and Dumber (the ESPN guys) gave him, of all people, the MVP. And speaking of names, Southern Miss’s coach Larry Fedora didn’t wear one. Whatever happened to shaved heads and skull caps? I witnessed more Rastafarian dreadlocks hanging out of the helmets than usually seen. The play may have be pitiful, but the hair was worthy of noting. A brilliant display of sportsmanship by the Troy placekicker Sam Glusman after the OT blocked FG – I counted at least 5 helmet slams to the turf…get over it for crying out loud and what good did that do? Make Mama proud Sam. The Golden Eagle did a USC and wore their gold (home) jersey as the visiting team – lost a time out because of it. Southern Miss DeAndre Brown broke his leg early in this game. Troy blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to lose in OT.  In a lame attempt to explain the blocked field goal in his team’s OT loss: “It looked like penetration to me, but I don’t have a photogenic memory,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. “Somebody got penetration on the right side.”…we all can only hope his coaching gets better than his brilliant display of post-game obviousness. 11 Bowlers picked So. Miss to win – Tony1 and Bob had the most confidence in this win  with 25 and 21 points respectfully. Final Score: Southern Mississippi 30, Choked Troy 27. Ranking after 5 games played: #1 Dean (79 pts), #2 TR (76 pts.)
6. Poinsettia Bowl (aka Where in the World Will Gary Patterson Blossom Next Year Bowl) – this may have been the best Bowl played of the season. I love to watch this kind of football…where pride and respect are on the line, not some asinine point system to determine whether your Bowl garners ¾ million bucks or 13 million. The two teams that got the biggest snub from the BS Bowl selection committee (aka the thumb & grommet group) played a heck of a game. Too bad the vacation family would only let me watch the game with the mute on – I can only assume the ESPN commentators for this game had graduated from their high school broadcasting class. The first quarter belonged to the Broncos. Then TCU rattle off 17 unanswered points, hanging on at the end with a 1 point win. TCU QB Andy Dalton (Katy TX kid BTW) is a red-headed Irish boy with heart, but it was the Horned Frog defense that shut down the high powered, trickery-laced Bronco offense. The Frogs earned and deserved this win – 470 yards offense to 252 and 86 TCU plays to 56 for BSU. This game was the Mountain West whacking the WAC. Boise State gots to shut yo mouth now about being passed over for a BCS game. 12 Bowlers picked TCU to win – Rod and Jayne each with 28 confidence points, Yoe71 with 27. Final Score TCU 17 Boise State 16. Ranking after 6 games played: #1 Tony2 (90 pts), #2 Dean (79 pts.)
7. Hawaii Missionaries-Invaded Bowl had the Catholics doing everything right and the Natives doing everything wrong, but in a passive and compliant sort of way. Maybe only a few of you may know just how much it pains me to write or say anything good out Pope U. I’ve said for many years now that my two favorite teams on Saturday in the fall were K-State and whoever is playing Notre Dame. The Irish hadn’t won a bowl game in 15 years and now they win it big: 400+ yards passing and 5 touchdown throws…where was this all season? And get this, the game is in Hawaii and the Warriors were designated the visiting team meaning they had to wear away jerseys, use the visitor locker room, and play from the visitor sideline…in their own stadium – damn Irish luck just ain’t right sometimes. And then they go and put names on the back of their jerseys for the first time since Moses played.  This game was over before half time and so upsetting boring I played Mexican Train Dominos with the vacationing family, during the game, and had loads more fun doing it by not having to watch ND win. BTW, I’ve heard from a reliable source (a friend of Jasper’s) that Charlie Not So Weis, before going under anesthesia for his knee surgery, has rescheduled the 2009 season and they now will be playing Hawaii 5 times – 4 regular season games in Honolulu and the same Bowl game next December. Final Score: The Luck of the Irish 49, Hi-How-Whar-Ya 21. Ranking after 7 games played: #1 Tony2 (90 pts), #2 Jayne (82 pts.)
8. Motor City (Because Of The Bail Out, Hope They Paid Upfront Bowl) Bowl  There should be some shouting going on with this win. Howard Schnellenberger, all of 75 years of age, is still winning and gets very little recognition. What is significant with this win is he took his upstart FAU team to the heart of Michigan and beat a home-state favorite. This is a Schnellenberger win that even Mac Brown can applaud. It was an interesting game – both teams playing better than the officiating. The final box score proved an even match; the score emphasized the competitive play. Two colleges from Tier-2 Conferences (Sun Belt and MAC) gave their fans (nobody else watched) something to cheer about. 26 Bowlers doubted Schnellenberger winning ability – way to go Tal1, Tal2, and Yoe71 for picking USF. This was an upset of huge proportions for this game – 471 confidence points were NOT won (an average 18 point pick value; 444 points went out the Chevy exhaust pipe) with the Central Michigan loss. The first meeting of these two schools had a final score of the Owls 24 the Chippewas 21 – Rusty Smith USF and Brian Brunner CMU won the “Two Men and a Truck” (www.twomen.com) citizenship awards as a side note. That garners $5,000 to each school’s athletic scholarship fund (and they haven’t asked for a bail out yet). Ranking after 8 games played: #1 Tony2 (90 pts), #2 Jayne (82 pts.)
9. Champs-Chumps Sports Bowl (used to be the Blockbuster Bowl back in the 90’s and when people actually rented movies from them) I would like to place a collect call (if that can still be done) to the Wisconsin Athletic Department, and then to Big 10 front office and ask what the hell was that all about? It is the start of what might be a sad Bowl season for Big 10 football. Like the Motor City Bowl, officiating may have swayed the game, but I seriously doubt Wisconsin could have played any better and won against FSU’s talent. Now understand I didn’t watch this game, but apparently FSU’s punter (Graham Gano) had one outstanding day at the office. He put 3 straight un-returnable 1^st quarter punts inside the Wisconsin 3 yard line that took any wind right out of the Badgers sails…oh my! This game was also another first time meeting between two schools. Florida State has been to 27 consecutive bowls. The second oldest coach (Bowden) went up against the 4^th youngest coach (Bielema) and got some old glory and respect back. 21 Bowlers sided with age over youth in this contest. Final Score FSU 42 We-Don’t-Need-No-Stinking-Badgers 13. Ranking after 9 games played: #1 Tony2 (101 pts), #2 Tim1 (96 pts.)
10. Emerald Bowl was anything but sparkling and glamorous as the name so implies (it’s actually a snack food company). Cal had the better team this day, Miami is building. Cal has a running back Jahvid Best that should be handed the ball 9 out of 10 plays…but he wasn’t for this game. Cal’s QB situation can only get better. Despite this, Cal was better than Miami only because the Hurricane can’t gameplan or clock manage to save their young talent’s life. I wholeheartedly agree with collegefootballnews.com, this was a pitiful display of major college coaching on both schools’ part. And with lousy coaching, its hard to blame players for such a ho hum performance. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a game where both teams had less than 350 yards total offense.  23 Bowlers picked Cal to lurch-kiss Miami. Final Score California da’Bears 24 Miami Hurricane 17. Ranking after 10 games played: #1 Tony2 (118 pts.), #2 Jayne (117 pts)
11. Meineke Fix My Car Care Bowl Hooray for a real college football game…finally. This was really only our second Bowl game of the season (Poinsettia Bowl being the other). This one was more fun to watch, starting from the opening kickoff. Pat White is good – 4 years good for WVU – but probably not as much as his coaches tout him to be. He did have a 330+ yard/3 touchdown passing game…that’s pretty good right? This was a who-has-the-ball-last-wins game. WVU came from behind to beat Butch Davis and his Tarheels. Bowlers had this game as a toss-up, rightfully so, with 14 WVU picks and 15 for UNC. Interestly, those who picked UNC to win were twice as confident as those picking WVU (average pick value fo 12 versus 6). Final Score West Virginia 31 North Carolina 30. Ranking after 11 games played: #1 Tony2 (118 pts.), #2 Jayne (117 pts)
12. It was the 36th running of the Independence “Somebody Didn’t Let the Dogs Out” Bowl – With team mascots being canine in origin, there was no bark nor was there a bite. Keep in mind No. Illinois’ coach has a name only a true football lover would appreciate – Jerry Kill. However, the kill was over early for the Huskies. The last 3 quarters belonged to La. Tech. Does this sound like a statement from a guy named “Kill”: “We recovered from the turnovers pretty well,” Kill said. “They made plays and we didn’t. We did everything we needed to do to win the game, we just didn’t win the game. The whole team played hard all game and I’m proud of them to end up in a bowl game after a 2-10 season is fantastic.” I guess I expected too much with some fire and brimstone…or “blood makes the grass growth” inspirational/motivational speaking. Oddly enough (since they lost), No. Illinois out-offensed La. Tech by nearly 100 on the game. It was a pitifully low offensive showing by todays standards. Combined, these 2 teams had a dreadful 575 combined yards. Thank heavens for a 97-yard kickoff return by La.Tech. Phillip Livas or this game still might be in OT. Regardless, it was coach Derek Dooley’s (son of Georgia legendary coach Vince) first Bowl win. This amounted to another home game with La. Tech. only 70 miles from the Bowl. Since the SEC and Big12 could not put a team in this Bowl, La. Tech gladly accepted the invitation.  21 Bowlers, a 3:1 favorite in this game, picked La. Tech to win this game with only a 2:1 confidence point difference. Final Score Bulldogs 17 Huskies 10. Ranking after 12 games played: #1 Tony2 (142 pts.), #2 Tim1 (141 pts)
13. The Pizza Online (PapaJohns.com) Bowl resulted in nothing more than cold pizza upon delivery. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights now get free cheese pizza delivered to their dorm room for a year with their win over the North Carolina State Wolfpack; NC State gets only out-of-date anchovy. It’s not that it was a bad game…if you like sloppy excitement. Bowl football should be played better than this (are we listening here Hawaii?) There was some game today – NC State had 4 turnovers after losing their starting quarterback in the first half, allowing his backups to display the thinness of talent on the offensive bench, making Rutgers defense look a whole lot better than they were. A lousy leaderless Wolfpack offense made the Rutgers offense look better than they were. Never one to give up, Rutgers came from behind to win this game against the scout team of backups for NC State (much like their 1-5 to start the season).  I didn’t think either of these teams deserved a bowl invitation – their biggest (and most) wins came against D-2 schools.  Rivals.com blogger/writer Matt Hinton had this prediction come one step closer to being true: “… I think this is at least as good a game under the circumstances as the ACC and Big East champions meeting in the Orange Bowl.” 24 Bowlers just knew Rutgers was not going to be as lousy as NC State this day. Final Score: Rutgers 29, NC State 23. Ranking after 13 games played: #1 Tony2 (160 pts.), #2 Dean (159 pts)
14. Alamo “Forget the Big12 Championship, Remember This” Bowl I went to the Alamo Bowl’s web site and all they could talk about was the chairman of the Bowl, an accounting of Alamo Bowls past, and how big the TV audience was (7.2 million estimated BTW) - think they’re worried about a sponsorship pull-out next year. Be it known I think Missouri sucks. With that said, I’m not so sure I’ve seen a better individual defensive performance as furnished by Tiger Sean Weatherspon that night. He had 12.5 tackles on the night – I know, I know…Tim, he’s the only defense Missouri has. Be it known that I am a huge fan of Northwestern. Why you ask? The story is when I was schooling at K-State, my Mildcats competed annually with Northwestern for the #1 rating of the Bottom 10. KSU and NU had that in common, not to mention the same mascot and the predominant purple team color. Their rise to football prominence (under Gary Barnett) coincided with KSU’s rise under Bill Snyder. So there you’ve heard my story and you’re still without a game recap. Lame I know but there you have it….honk honk. Recap: This was one of the better games to watch thus far in the bowl series – Missouri won and they suck. Maclin had a 75-yard punt return and that sucked. Maclin caught the touchdown pass in OT and that sucked as well. Did anyone else notice the pot belly Chasey is getting? Wildcats missed a PAT early in the game that weighs heavy on the sportswriters recaps – to me, it was the absence of NU’s offense in the 4th quarter. I like NU’s coach – Pat Fitzgerald. He’s not taking any of this lightly: “We didn’t have a moral victory tonight, OK,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “We’re very disappointed that we lost the game. We fought hard and we fought valiantly, but there are not moral victories.” 22 Bowlers picked heavily favored Missouri and breathed a huge sigh of relief after NU choked in OT (640 confidence points were on Missouri and their all-offense/no-defense) Final Score Missouri 30 Northwestern 23 (in OT). Ranking after 14 games played: #1 is tied Dean (193 pts), Tony2 (193 pts.)
15. Humanitarian “Blue Turf” Bowl – “We Are, Boise State!” screams constantly at you for 4 hours watching this game. If it’s not the blue turf, it’s the Boise State Bronco logo that stretches between the 30 yard lines that will annoy the crap out of you. OH yeah, Maryland played Nevada in this game. Maryland RB Dai’Rel Scott and 6 other players got home sick (or maybe sick of the December chamber of commerce weather in Boise Idaho – I don’t know which) and decided to hop a bus back to Maryland. Somebody intercepted Scott and he sat out 2 1/2 quarters for the curfew violation. Once in the game, he unloaded on Nevada.  In 20 minutes of play, he carried the ball 14 times for 174 yards. I’ve heard that Nevada is still at Boise Stadium trying to catch him, his shadow, his footprints, writeups in the paper…something…anything. Nevada has this “pistol” offense (please oh please lets not have this become a real name…or for that matter don’t let Texas Tech know what they call their offense – we just might have a dangerous finger pistol shooting war to contend with). We will call this an even pick: 14 Bowlers had Maryland, 15 had Nevada. Final Score Maryland 42 Nevada 35  Rankings after 15 games played #1 Dean (217) #2 Tony2 (193)
16. Holiday ”Duelling Donors” Bowl – this was a game to watch…too bad I didn’t get to watch the whole thing. But the ESPN highlights were enough for me to get excited about seeing whether Nike or Alternative Wind Energy would prevail as next year’s Bowl sponsor. Nike co-founder and former Oregon track athlete Phillip Knight “owns” the Oregon Ducks in much the same way as T. Boone Pickens “owns” the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oregon showed up in the second half of this game (OSU did not) out scoring the Cowboys 35-14. It started off with a 91-yard kickoff return by Oregon’s Walter Thurmond. Oregon’s ”Jasper-type” QB Jeremiah Masoli – all 225 pounds of him - literally ran over the Cowboy defense for 3 touchdowns and several key running plays. The Ducks had 565 yards offense, 307 of them was running the football. Both teams played well – each having one-half of football they called theirs. Best news was OSU’s Gundy did not go ballistic in the post-game press conference (you just never know). T-Bone won’t be looking for windmill farm locations any time soon in southern California (or Oregon for that matter). 3 of 29 Bowlers (Tim1, Tim3, and Pat) looked genius – just thought I would add that in ever so discreetly – by picking the Oregon upset. You other Bowlers just lost 619 collective confidence points thinking O-State was better than they are. Final Score Oregon 42 Oklahoma State 31. Rankings after 16 games played #1 Dean (217) #2 Tony2 (193)
17. Texas Rice Bowl – Hooray for the smarty pants Rice Owls. They won their first bowl in 50-some-odd years (the ‘54 Cotton Bowl). And they did it convincingly. Where did this defense come from? Ranked way down the list with opponents getting 460+ yards and 35 points per game, Rice held the #24 offense in the nation to a measly 278 yards. The Broncos were simply pitiful on this day. Bronco QB Hiller tearfully let his coach tell the press after the game he had played their last 3 games with a torn left knee ligament – is that an excuse for lousy play? The knee certainly didn’t prevent Hiller from hitting his own receivers 19 times (and twice to the other team). The other 23 passes had his skillet hands (clank, clank) receivers dropping passes all night long. The Owls win this home game (Reliant Stadium is only 15 minutes from campus if the traffic cooperates) in fine fashion. We had 26 Rice Bowlers for this game. Final Score 59 years waiting for a 10-win season Rice Owls 38 , Western Michigan Broncos 14 4th quarter points against the Owl JV. And just think Rice was 1-10 just 3 years ago…. Rankings after 17 games played #1 Dean (237) #2 Tony2 (200)
18. Bell Helicopter Armed Forces We’re Gonna Kick Your Ass Wear A Uniform Get Bin Laden Buy Me A Tank Fly Your Flag Bowl not only wins the longest bowl name award, it had one of the more exciting bowl games to watch. Did anyone notice that TCU did a fine job promoting the actual Bowl on their stadium’s turf (unlike a certain aforementioned blue turfed field). I like Houston – Houston is cool…this time of year. 763 yards of offense entertained fans at Amon Carter Stadium, home of the Poinsettia Bowl winning TCU Horned Frogs. Air Force was no slouch at all in this game. They more-or-less equalled the high octane Houston offense and played very good defense throughout the game. Another decade hurdle was knocked over - the Cougars had not won a Bowl in 28 years. We had 22 Houston Bowlers playing with 303 confidence points today. The Military schools are 0-2 this bowl season – I can say however they are their best on another battlefield besides a football field. Final Score Houston 34 Air Force 28. Rankings after 22 games played #1 Dean (258) #2 Tony2 (206).
19. Chicks-on-the-sideline-fil-a-TV-screen Bowl – 35 points in the first half, LSU looked like the BCS team of old…granted their competition made them look very good tonight. So good I had to quit watching…even the Southern girls at the game. I know Georgia Tech is only a mile from the Bowl stadium, but just how did they get in a bowl like this, playing like that? 3 puny points – one mighty field goal – for the Yellow Jackets this night! Aside from special team play, the game was statistically even for the most part. LSU certainly capitalized on a fumbled punt, on-side kick, and a failed fake punt – all gifts of an ill-prepared Georgia Tech team. LSU needed this win as they lost 3 of their last 4 regular season games. The Tigers are young - watch out for them the next few years. Georgia Tech’s coach Paul Johnson said this “We got outplayed,” Johnson said. “We got outcoached. It was a good beating.” Somebody please tell me…is there such a thing as a “good beating”? Only 5 Bowlers thought LSU could pull this off. Our game leader Dean scored 22 points with the LSU win to extend his lead over us all. Yoe71 had the top upset points with 28. Final Score LSU 38 Georgia Tech 3. Rankings after 19 games played #1 Dean (280) #2 Tony2 (206).
20. Gophers Were No Where Insight Bowl – KU wins back-to-back Bowl games for the first time…e-v-e-r. They also handed the Big 10 it’s 3rd bowl loss this year. The 14 Reesing to Briscoe passes and 10 Reesing to Meyer passes accounted for the aeiral bombardment of the Gophers. 8 punts in this game. Minnesota could never quite sustain any offense after they scored 2 quick touchdowns in the first quarter. Despite the loss, the Gophers had a nice season considering they were 1-11 last year. 27 of the 29 Bowlers picked Kansas to win (720 confidence points). Final Score Kansas 42 Minnesota 21. Rankings after 20 games played #1 Dean (311) #2 Tony2 – while at the damn game managed his 240 points from the stands and from the tailgate (he called and said he forgot his game card…can you believe that? I thought everyone carried that with them wherever they go). Hey Bec…I’ve said nothing about the rotund guy this year and whatever you do please don’t give me one of those silly a “chalk rocky” responses on this blog….
21. Music City Bowl – It was a day of half and quarter century milestones. The Houston Cougars spent the last 28 years trying to win a bowl, Rice Owls bowl win column was tallied after 54 years waiting, the Sun Bowl had the lowest score of a major bowl, and the Vanderbilt Commodores spent 53 years trying to win a bowl of their own. Once the doormat of the SEC, Vandy capped off a nice season with a low scoring, hold em off at the end win against the big Irish Cathoics of Boston College. Vandy only converted 1 of 15 3rd downs in this game, were held to 200 yards, and scored only 1 touchdown…but they won anyhow. 17 punts in this game – go figure. Two private schools won’t get many blue chippers to play for them or against each other in some Chime Town football game. Only 5 Bowlers picked Vandy to win – Tony1 got 30 points, Tony2 garnered 23 with the Commodore win.  Final Score Vandy 16 Boston College 14. Rankings after 21 games played #1 Dean (319) #2 Tony2 (263).
22. Some-Brut-This-Was Sun Bowl – despite the colonge sponsorship, that bowl game stunk, holy hole in a donut Batman. Oregon State and Pittsburgh were so bad – 449 total combined offensive yards…for the game - all I’m going to say is the Final Score was Pac-10 THREE (count them 1-2-3) pussy points (sorry ladies), Big East ZERO, NADA, ZIP, ZILCH (0). Rankings after 22 games played #1 Dean (319) #2 Tony2 (283). BTW, 18 Bowlers picked Oregon State but I bet not a one of them thought that only 3 points would be scored. Hey wait a minute…was it really the Auburn Tigers playing in Pittsburgh Panther uniforms? NOTE TO BOTH SCHOOLS AD – FIRE YOUR COACHES NOW!………………………………………No, I’ve got to keep going with this: 20 punts in this game – 8 of them were returnable! The punts equalled 881 yards – that’s almost twice as much as the guys carrying, throwing, and catching the ball could muster. It was more fun (and that’s a stretch no matter how it’s said) watching punts in this game than watching offensive plays – they certainly covered more ground than either team’s offense – but oh my neck is killing me from watching all the hang time.  One field goal…and that was from 44 yards (they missed a 37-yarder later in the game). Pittsburgh tried one field goal in the game – it was from 58 yards at the end of the game (oh my josh could you imagine had they made that field goal how miserable the OT would have been. Sharp objects would have had to been taken away from me…my hands would have had to been bound to protect my eyes from removal or self-strangulation). Rivals.com is saying this was the lowest scoring major bowl game in 50 years. I agree but I think Rivals was talking strictly about the score – I’m agreeing with the lowly performance. These 2 schools can have undefeated seasons for the next 50 years and the Sun Bowl will never invite them back; won’t even look at them, consider them, or mention their school names. The Sun Bowl will never again invite teams with any remote resemblance of a Beaver or Panther. OSU’s coach Mike Riley brilliance comes through when he actually says things like this: “That’s the game we were in,” Riley said. “We played that game. We ended up winning it. Some people will call it ugly, but I can’t.” Or this obvious statement: “We were three downs and out way too much,” Riley said. “We put a terrific burden on our defense and we put a lot of burden on the punt team. They came through. That’s the game we were in and we played that game. We ended up winning it.”
23. Outback Behind the Woodshed Stick A Fork In It Good Day Mate Steak House Bowl – thank heavens for the Iowa Hawkeyes this year. They seem to be the only Big10 school worthy of any football press/coverage, and depending on how Ohio State does against the Longhorns, may be a candidate for the Lone Wolf award being the only Big10 school that wanted to, or should I say could play in this post-season. This was an absolute lousy January 1 Bowl game – no matter how you marinate and cook the steak in the Outback Bowl, if the meat is rotten you’re gonna get sick. And the meat was rotten. Criminal redshirt freshman Gamecock QB Stephen Garcia (yup, he was arrested twice during his 1st month on campus), fumbled the ball away and threw and interception within the first 4 offensive plays of the game. He ended up throwing 2 more interceptions before Spurrier benched him (what took you so long Stevie). So. Carolina was penalized 10 times for 100 yards in this game – that was 3 times more than the game rushing total. 4 turnovers while “spreading” the passing to 11 different receivers. Aaaa Steve, it’s not working…Steve? So long to some guy named Shonn (why can’t it just be “Shawn”) Green – he thinks because he gain 121 yards and scored 3 touchdowns, the NFL wants him to come out early…see ya “Sean”.  17 Bowlers picked the best Big 10 team on the field. Our game leader Dean kept his #1 lead over us all despite confidently picking South Carolina to win (26 points). Final Score Iowa 31 South Carolina 10. Rankings after 23 games played #1 Dean (319) #2 Tony2 (283).
24. Capital One What’s Was In My Wallet Is Now Gone Bowl – and I’m sure the sponsor would agree. They are probably trying to get those Viking characters to come open a can of bed credit whup on both Georgia and Michigan State, their fans, and anyone that watched the game on television. Remember Georgia was the pre-season #1 pick in several polls…ummmmm.  Okay, NFL prospect, will-he-come-out-early Matthew Stafford (isn’t he a Dallas-Highland Park kid?) had a nice second half with 3 TD passes (we won’t talk about his woeful first half, not even in the least). I guess all you have to do is play half a game of football in this new year in order to get the game’s MVP – OK Stringer’s first half stats had him completing less than half his passes and throwing 1 interception. MSU’s highly touted RB Javon Ringer was not one (a ringer) this game – he only had 47 yards on 20 tries. At half time the scoring board had been lit up with 3 first half FGs…both teams combined scoring (I had a vision…a nightmare of the Sun Bowl was being played all over again). You know how I love post-game quotes. Well here you go, a ride down intelligence lane: “We played with our hair on fire, great emotion,” tackle Corvey Irvin said. “When we play with emotion, you can’t stop it.”……….”I love to get pressure without blitzing,” Richt said. “That’s what makes us tick, baby.”……….”We wanted to put some hats on Javon and make Hoyer throw,” Richt said. “If he had hit some big plays passing, it could have softened us up, give them more room.” 26 Bowlers picked the SEC to beat the Bog (HaHa) 10. Dale, Quennie, Tim3 – what were you guys thinking? A Little 10 team other than Iowa winning a bowl game.,,come on!.  Final Score Bulldoggies 24 Spartans 12. Rankings after 23 games played #1 Dean (346) #2 Tony2 (310).
25. The Gator Scared All The Fans Away Bowl – was any one at this game? The end zone bleachers were pretty thin (no one there to catch all the FGs)…and this was January 1 bowl game. A January 1st Bowl game that neither team deserved to be in. Nebraska’s cushy schedule gave them a respectful record (8-4), but they were no where near ready to field a team of Jan 1 quality football. And that goes for Clemson too – these guys have had 2 haed coaches in the same season…the son of a legend (Bowden) and a guy with a name from Lord of the Rings (Dabo Swinney). 15 punts, 3 interceptions, 2 of 4 fumbles lost, and 4 FGs made for really exciting execution football now didn’t it.  Clemson had 4 players carry the football – collectively, yes I said “collectively” they had 5, yes I said “5″ total, yes I said “total” yards rushing in the game. Now I am old, fat, I fart alot, and every appendage on me hurts (careful now), but I think I could fall forward with a football in hand and gain more yards than these guys did. Nebraska scored 20 3rd quarter points to put the game out of reach. And another thing…Nebraska QB Joe Ganz was said to have suffered a “slight concussion” in the first half – since he’s a senior playing his last game I guess a “slight” brain injury is OK to keep him on the field…idiots.  The Cornshuckers finished with 361 total yards for the game (to Clemson’s 209, yes I said “209″). 23 Bowlers picked the Big 12 to beat the ACC.  Final Score Nubbyraski 26 Clumpson 21. Rankings after 25 games played #1 Dean (355) #2 Tony2 (310).
26. Overnight (Orange) Bowl – for crying out loud, the January 1 games this year continue to suck. The Orange Bowl, last I knew, was a BCS Bowl…and this is all they can put on the field? Maybe it should be renamed “Grapefruit Punch Bowl”. Neither team deserved a January 1st invitation to play their level of football. I was particularly glad to see Cincinnati lose – Boise State and/or TCU needed to be playing Jan 1 instead of these honyocks. The recap: V-Tech score 2 TDs and 2 FGs, Cincy scored once…and that’s about all the highlights of this game. 15,781 seats were empty for the game. Rumors were you could buy a ticket online yesterday for $1…and still no one showed up to watch the lamest of lame BS Bowls. The Doobie Brothers played at half time and convinced half those attending the game to leave the stadium when they finished to partake in a tailgate doobie (just kiddding). FedEx would have liked to dump this Delivery Game on UPS, DHL, or USPS, but those guys wanted no part of this “game” (since we’re still waiting on a football game and it’s after 10 a.m., can CFB fans get their money back?) . Surprisingly 12 Bowlers knew VaTech could win a BS Bowl for a change. I truly question the other 17 Bowlers that thought Cincinnati had any kind of business being in this game – 211 confidence points were taken out of play with Cincy’s loss.  Final Score ACC (VATech) 20 somehow points, Big East (Cincinnati) 7 of the same. Rankings after 26 games played #1 Dean (355) #2 Tony2(310).
27. USC Exhibition Football (Rose) Bowl – ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ……….there we go, glad I got that out. Has anyone seen the Penn State team bus? I think they missed the turn to the Rose Bowl. The new 2009 calendar? I had to throw away…I thought the day (January 1st) was a misprint since I had yet to witness any decent college football this day.   Shameful, pitiful football and that’s coming from the guy that has always liked JoePa-style Penn State football. All I can say is that USC rolled up 31 first half points and Pete Carroll is a stupid interview…case in point when talking about Florida and Oklahoma in the upcoming Championship game: “With all due respect, those are two great programs, I don’t think anybody can beat the Trojans,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. Someone send Pete the Box Score of his game against Oregon State earlier this year, he sometimes gets conveniently forgetful during his whining and arguements against the BCS this year – years past or those yet to come he has sung or will sing a different tune. Big 10 takes yet another loser hit….24 Bowlers practiced safe bowling and chose to put the Trojans into play.  Final Score USC 38 Penn St. 24 (this score is the most misleading of the season thus far – Penn State was able to play football agains USC’s 3rd and 4th stringers). Rankings after 27 games played #1 Dean (383) a new #2 Larry (338).
28. AT&T All Circuits Are Busy Cotton Bowl – and they (the circuits) were busy because 88,000+ screaming, hollering, crazy college football fans attended the glorious 73rd and last Cotton Bowl in the perfect outdoor temperature and weather of the Fair Park Cotton Bowl (next year goofy-ass Jerry Jones’ mug gets plastered all over our televisions as he displays his new felone playground in Arlington)…can you imagine all the bluetooth waves bouncing everywhere in that stadium. I don’t care who you root for, this was college football in all its glory, excitment, energy, talent, play, etc.! All you Texas Tech fans that gritched about your bowl selection/invitation or boasted too much about your terrific season: now you just need to “shaaaaad up”. DMN Kevin Sherrington asked the question in Saturday’s column: ” If the Big 12’s third-best team gets thumped 47-34, by the SEC’s fourth-best team, what chance does Oklahoma have against Florida?” Nice question  but I think the next 2 Big 12 teams to play this year are on rungs much higher on the Big 12 ladder than TTU. Ole Miss had a game plan to keep the Red Raiders off the field and it worked. The Running Rebels had the ball 10 minutes more than TTU this game. It also helped Ole Miss that Tech couldn’t play defense to save their lives (or their season in this particular case). Despite the loss; despite the score; despite the 10 fewer minutes on the field, Graham Harrell still had a record-breaking heck of a day. 364 yards passing and 4 TDs – all with a sore non-throwing hand. The hobbled Michael Crabtree managed only 30 yards on 4 receptions. But those stats won’t be remembered in this game because of Ole Miss’s opportunistic play (Harrell stats were buried on page 6 of the DMN sports page Saturday morn). Former UT quarterback and Stephenville High School standout Jevan Snead, I think, played with a purpose to prove. He tossed about the football for 292 yards and 3 TDs. Rebel Dexter McCluster (my vote for the best name of the bowl season) ran for 97 yards and added another 83 yards by catching passes. 984 yards of offense for these 2 teams (515 for Ole Miss, 469 for TTU). Chin up Red Raider fans – this was a banner year. Far be it from me to boast about any perceived college football knowledge…Tim3 was the only Bowler in the bunch to pick the rightful Cotton Bowl winner (some knowledge…my Tim3 card is in 15th place even after the win) Final Score Ole Miss 47, Texas Tuck 34. Rankings after 28 games has Dean in first for the 15th straight game (383 pts.), Larry is in 2nd - 45 points behind the leader. BTW, 774 confidence points on Tick-Techer were taken out of play.
29. Car Parts On Sale (Autozone) Liberty Bowl – I don’t care who you root for, this was the second game of the day that truly was college football in all its glory, excitment, energy, talent, play, etc.! East Carolina beat Kentucky in just about every category except the score. This game was also about 30 minutes longer than most because of all the replays the Big 10 officials called for (they officiate about as good as they play football in that conference…ooooooo). Wildcat Ventrell Jenkins – a mountain of a man that can run 56 yards or so – is awarded the best stiff arm of this bowl season. The stiff arm knocked Patrick Pickney, ECU’s QB, mouthpiece into the air and I not so sure it has come down yet. The Pirates lead the entire game until the 4th quarter. They ran out of steam, momentum, and game breaks. Exciting game…unpredictable and unique fourth quarter made it fun to watch. Not a tremendous amount of offense (310 for the Wildcats, 397 for the Pirates) but enough to make the placekickers miss 3 PAT’s during the game. Only 4 Bowlers (Tony1, Tony2, Tim1, and Jayne) figured the Wildcats would be victorious. Final Score Kentucky 25 East Carolina 19. Rankings after 29 games…Dean #1 (383 pts.), and Tony2 shows up again at #2 (340 pts.). BTW, 348 confidence points on ECUwere taken out of play.
30. Allstate Give Me Some Sugar Bowl (or perhaps the Crimson Tidey Bowl is more appropriate) - I don’t care who you root for, this game capped off THE BEST DAY of college football in all its glory, excitment, energy, talent, play, etc.!  We were back to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl and Alabama left town with nothing more than a sour taste in their mouths. An absolute incredible game to watch if you like the underdog…although I think Alabama look vastly overrated and all the underdog of this game. As much as the Crimson Tide look pitiful, the Utah Utes looked the championship team. Utah out-offense the Tide 349 to 248. Of that 349 yards, Ute QB Brian Johnson had 336 yards passing to 7 different receivers, accounting for 3 TDs. I simply love underdog upsets. Tide coach Nick Sabin did all he could for the Utes by saying after his first loss against Florida his team was still the only undefeated regular season team “from a real BCS conference”. This may have given Utah locker room bullentin board material but then Sabin in all his lovable conceit says after the Sugar Bowl “I apologize if anybody was offended by that. We had a tremendous amount of respect for Utah,” Saban said. “I certainly misstated that. … So if that’s what gave them all their intensity, then I guess I’m responsible for the way they played and I’m responsible for the way we played.” That’s it Nick, don’t give the Utah coaching staff any credit what so ever for getting their own team ready to play, you stupid bone-headed helmet head. Even though Sabin would probably take all the credit if it became true, I am in agreement with Utah coach Kyle Whittingham that the Utes are the #1 team in the nation because of their play and record. They put a complete game on the field – offense and defense and really only made one mistake and that was allowing Tide DB Javier Arenas to return a punt for a long TD. The first quarter was the best as Utah scored 21 points and Alabama looked all the like of “what just hit me”. My old high school football coach always was yelling at us “Hit or be Hit”. Well, Alabama certainly got Hit, and then they got spanked, slapped, goosed, and knocked over. Maybe the SEC and Alabama aren’t all they’re cracked up to be (with the exception of Ole Miss’s conference representation from earlier in the day). Rod and Larry were the genius Bowlers picking the Utes.  Final Score has the itty bitty Mountain West Conference beating the mighty SEC – Llamabama 17, UTAH 31. Rankings after 30 games has Dean losing four straight games but keeping hold of his #1 (383 pts.), Larry bumps Tony2 for #2 (350 pts.). BTW, 751 confidence points on ‘bama were taken out of play – making January 2 the day of upsets with 1,873 confidence points placed on all the losers of the day.
31. North of the Border International Bowl – I know it’s a disappointment for my loyal readers, but I just can’t bring myself to recap this bowl for y’all. It wasn’t played on US soil; it “featured” two teams – one known for its basketball and having a player that soaks the spot light for his I’m going, I’m staying, I’m going indecisiveness on jumping to the pros…and then the other guys are from a town best known for losing Super Bowls and getting ridiculous amounts of lake-effect snow. Connecticut beat Buffalo 38-20 despite 5 fumbles in the game. Glad that’s over. If you want to read up on the game for yourself, check out Rivals.com (they have trouble recapping the game as well.) International Bowl. The Dallas Morning News, in Sunday’s paper, devoted all of about 4″ of single-column text to this game – didn’t even publish the box score. If I were to rank this bowl/game on the 1 through 34 tmayster-scale (oh no, not another rag-op), it would be somewhere in the mid-30 range. Rankings after 31 games: Dean continues his #1 ranking with 395 points, Larry closes the gap with 3 games remaining at #2 having 374 points.
32. The Party Must Still Be In Austin Fiesta Bowl – OK, is there anyone else out there that thinks this was a head scratching game that made ya wonder what the Shorthorns were doing playing in January. Yes, it was an exciting finish yeah, yeah, yeah - rivaling the Vince Young vs. USC game a few years back – but this was a Texas team ranked 3rd in the nation that really couldn’t find the end zone like they have this season…and they played a Big 10/Ohio State opponent of all things – oh for the love of Ara Parseghian.  Statisically Colt, Cosby, and Cows with Horns had a great game, as did the Buckeyes. After watching (and listening on the radio) it makes me appreciate the UT signing of Muschamp for their head coaching future and my idiot Mildcats’ oppportunity oversight looks almost tolerable since Texas couldn’t play defense to save their cleats (do they still wear those?). Even though one can get sick and tired of Mac Brown’s persistent BCS whining rather quickly, I’ve got to humorously appreciate his Zig Ziglar style optimism and self-motivation in his post-game comments: “This team started this way and finished this way, and they’re obviously one of the best teams in the country if not the best”. And than QB Bolt McCoy adds this: “I don’t think there’s anybody in the country who can beat us at this point.” Now let’s see here…that makes Pete Carroll thinking his team is unbeatable, Utah walked the walk with their unbeatable claim, now the apparent Real and Student coaches McCoy say the same thing about their Longhorns…and lets not forget that one of the two BCS Championship teams will stake their almighty claim as well – that makes 4 “unbeatable” teams this year in D-1…don’t ya just love college football – Oh for the love of Knute Rockne.  Had this game pitted the Longhorns against Texas Tech, Okie State, Oklahoma, ot Florida, Mac’s house would have been put on the “for sale” market before he got back to Austin. 6-3 OSU at halftime… Oh for the love of Joe Paterno I had yet another vision nightmare of the Sun Bowl. Thankfully for the Shorthorns, Beanie Wells played only half the game gaining 106 yards on 16 carries. The other half, they set his butt on the bench because of a concussion (imagine that, a major college doing that for the sake of the player). Over 200 yards rushing for the Buckeyes against the highly acclaimed, vastly improved, ferocious Texas defense. McCoy threw the ball 59 times – 41 were caught., for a 414 yard/2 TD/1INT night. Buckeyes kept changing QB’s to confuse Texas, the Fox announcers, and the TV viewers at home – we have a QB passing to a QB. No one owned the first half, Longhorns owned the 3rd quarter, Buckeyes had the all but the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter.  The Fiesta Bowl filled the bill as a party but it was a painful football gam e of mistakes, player preparation, and coaching. This bowl can sometimes be mean to both the Big 10 and the Big 12 – Oh for the love of Bill Snyder. Final Score Texas 24 Ohio State 21. Rankings after 32 games played #1 Dean (427) a new #2 Larry (405).
33. Did Anyone Last Night GMAC the Bowl – I think not. Put this bowl in early December…that is if GMAC can afford it next year. I feel a bit sorry for Ball State and Tulsa – they are the victums of baffoon Bowl scheduling. Just so you know, Ball State had 3 turnovers and managed only 223 total yards offense. Tulsa, on the other hand, rolled to 632 yards 1/3 of that coming from Tarrion Adams (207 yards rushing and 21 yards receiving) and another 1/3 from Damarius Johnson (76 yard rushing, 135 yards receiving). 2 other Tulsa players had 50+ yards rushing on the night. The Golden Hurricane had 30 first downs in this game. Ball State was not the #23 team in the country for this Bowl, in fact they didn’t even have a first down in the second half. It rained buckets this game – no it was a Golden Hurricane that hit Mobile Alabama. I’m going easy on this game recap just because there is reason to pity these 2 sorry teams. Final Score Tulsa Golden Hurricane 45 Ball State Cardinals 13. Rankings after 33 games maintains #1 and #2 spots for Dean and Larry. I hate to burst any bubbles but these guys cannot be unseated from their places so everyone enjoy the Chumpionship Game for what it is (or so we hope)…good college football.
34. It’s the BS Chumpionship Bowl – what a bunch of hype leading up to this game. You would think maybe this was some kind of special game or something. I started watching the hype at 6:30…I don’t know how many times I heard about the 700 points scored this season by the Sooners before they finally kicked off. Well can you remember what the score was at the end of the 1st quarter…0-0. Big whup – perhaps it was the 30-days off between games jitters. Tebow tossed his second game interception in the halfway in 2nd quarter (he only had 2 all regular season)…OU ran the football at will sometimes against this so-called mighty SEC defense - who needs DeMarco Murray OU ovisouly did since they couldn’t score on short and goal-to-go…twice. Florida finally punted with 2:00 left in the half (a little misleading since Tebow had the 2 interception prior to the first punt) and needed to let OU get inside their 10 yard line so they would never scored again.  After the first half of chumpionship play, I am comfortable concluding FOX sportcasters are no better than ESPN. An even first half statistically – 7-7 score, 225-212 total offense, 145-146 yards passing, 2-1 turnovers, 1-2 punts, 25-25 penalty yards, and the season-long streak of not trailing at half time remained intact by both teams…maybe I’ll go to bed at halftime. Well I didn’t go to bed early, I just kind of quit watching so intently. And it’s not like I missed much either. The second half had a few more points scored (thankfully), Florida (Tebow) slowly asserting themselves for control of the game, and that gut feel that it just wasn’t OU’s night continued to churn “in my belly”. I’ve learned the outstanding bowl games are not that prevalent in January of each year.  Oh this was a good game although both teams’ mistakes were annoyingly unexpected, the score board did not get lit up, and what he might lack in natural ability – like him or not on a football field – Tim Tebow should be respected as a true leader of his football team. If Bradford stays around for his junior year, we could somehow see Bob (Stoopper) wiggle his way into next year’s Big Game BS Chumpionship…although 4 of his 5 O-linemen are graduating and Sam might need to learn how to scramble next year. The goofy, school kid chant “wait till next year” comes to mind for the Big 12. Final Score Florida 24, Gator Bait 14. This was perhaps more of a game pitting the Big 12 against the SEC – who is the better football conference. It may also been a game of Heisman’s – I suggest next year the Heisman voters (don’t get me started on those guys) exclude any player from a team playing in the championship game. Heisman guys winning it all is just too far and not much in between. Only 9 Bowlers picked the outcome of this game right.    Another Bowl season comes to an end. Our #1 Bowler this year was Dean-O with 455 points-22 #1 rankings (21 in a row…the game was never in doubt right Dean?). Larry, for the second year in a row, came in at #2 - 26 points behind Dean. Tony2, Tim2, and Jayne round out the rest of the Top 5.

 

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And then here’s one of the first Bowling game cards:

 

NBCSports.com – 11/16/08

Teams that have accepted bids in italics:

Air Force: Poinsettia (wrong – Armed Forces)
Alabama: Sugar (right)
Arizona: Emerald (wrong – Las Vegas)
Ball State: Motor City (wrong – GMAC)
Boise State: Sugar (wrong, but should have been right – Poinsettia)
Boston College: Emerald (wrong – Music City)
Bowling Green: International (wrong – DNP)
Buffalo: Independence (wrong – International)
BYU: Armed Forces (wrong – Las Vegas)
California: Vegas (wrong – Emerald)
Central Michigan: GMAC (wrong  – Motor City)
Cincinnati: Orange (right, and should have been way wrong)
Colorado State: New Mexico (right)
Connecticut: Papajohns (wrong – International)
East Carolina: GMAC (wrong – Liberty)
Florida: BCS National Championship (right)
Florida Atlantic: New Orleans (wrong – Motor City)
Florida State: Humanitarian (wrong – Champ Sports)
Fresno State: New Mexico (right)
Georgia: Capital One (right)
Georgia Tech: Gator (wrong – Chick-fil-a)
Hawaii: Hawaii (right)
Houston: Armed Forces (right)
Iowa: Insight (wrong – Outback)
Kansas: Texas (wrong – Insight)
Kentucky: Liberty (right)
Louisiana-Lafayette: Independence (wrong – DNP)
Louisiana Tech: Humanitarian (wrong – Independence)
LSU: Cotton (wrong – Chick-fil-a)
Maryland: Chick-fil-A (wrong – Humanitarian)
Memphis: St. Petersburg (right)
Miami: Music City (wrong – Emerald)
Michigan State: Outback (wrong – Capital One)
Minnesota: Champs (wrong – Insight)
Mississippi: Music City (wrong – Cotton)
Missouri: Alamo (right)
Navy: EagleBank (right)
Nebraska: Insight (wrong – Gator)
North Carolina: Orange (wrong – Meineke Car Care)
Northwestern: Alamo (right)
Notre Dame: Sun (wrong – Hawaii)
Ohio State: Capital One (wrong – Fiesta)
Oklahoma: Fiesta (wrong – BCS Championship)
Oklahoma State: Holiday (right)
Oregon: Holiday (right)
Oregon State: Sun (right)
Penn State: Rose (right)
Pittsburgh: Gator (wrong – Sun)
Rice: Texas (right)
Rutgers: St. Petersburg (wrong – PapaJohns)
San Jose State: Poinsettia (wrong – DNP)
South Carolina: Outback (right)
South Florida: International (wrong – St. Petersburg)
Southern Mississippi: New Orleans (right)
TCU: Las Vegas (wrong – Poinsettia)
Texas: BCS National Championship (wrong – Fiesta)
Texas Tech: Cotton (right)
Troy: Papajohns (wrong – New Orleans)
Tulsa: Liberty (wrong – GMAC)
USC: Rose (right)
Utah: Fiesta (wrong – Sugar)
Vanderbilt: Chick-fil-A (wrong – Music City)
Virginia: EagleBank (wrong – DNP)
Virginia Tech: Meineke (wrong, but should have been right - Orange)
Wake Forest: Champs (wrong – EagleBank)
Western Michigan: Hawaii (wrong – Texas)
West Virginia: Meineke (right)
Wisconsin: Motor City (wrong – Champs Sports)

TEAMS PLAYING THAT WERE NOT EXPECTED (in the 11/16/08 NBCSports.com poll):
Clemson (Gator)
Nevada (Humanitarian)
North Carolina State (PapaJohns)
Northern Illinois (Independence)