Bowl Preview: Orange and Sugar

As I said in my previous post, New Year's Day used to be the day that mattered in college football. Now, it's just a day to enjoy lots of football. In 2011, New Year's Day also provided an opportunity for one of the major conferences in college football to get egg all over its face. But that day has passed, and we're on the downhill slide when it comes to bowl games. 28 bowls have been played thus far, meaning we only have 6 left, and 2 of those feature unranked teams. This post will run you through two of the 3 remaining BCS Bowls. Let's get started...

January 3, 2011

Discover Orange Bowl

#4 Stanford vs. #13 Virginia Tech

How they got here: Stanford got here by having an excellent season--the best in school history, in fact. The Cardinal come in with only one blemish on their record: a loss to National Championship contender Oregon. In that game, they led 21-3 early in the game, proving that Stanford is a very, very good football team. Their wins over Southern Cal and Arizona State were close, but every other victory under Stanford's belt was by at least 10 points. The lone question mark for Stanford is this: they have not beaten a single team in the current Top 25.

Virginia Tech got off to one of the worst starts in school history, then snagged a bit of redemption by winning 11 straight, with only their win over Georgia Tech coming in at under 11 points. The loss to Boise State was rough, but the James Madison loss is what hangs over the Hokies' heads in the national consciousness, right or wrong. Much like Stanford, serious questions must be raised about the overall strength of Virginia Tech's wins, as they've beaten just one currently ranked team: #23 Florida State. Oh, and Tech "got here" by winning the ACC, thus guaranteeing their spot in the Orange Bowl.

Should I watch this game: Yes. ESPN's been touting the quarterback matchup, but it will be more interesting to see how well Andrew Luck throws the ball against Virginia Tech's secondary. Both teams run the ball well (Stanford: 17th, Virginia Tech 18th), but Virginia Tech's normally three-headed attack will be down to one for the first quarter: Ryan Williams is questionable for the game, and David Wilson has been suspended for the first quarter because he missed bed check. If Virginia Tech can get through the first quarter OK, we'll be in for a good game.

Blogger's pick: Stanford. Understand that I pick games based on who I think will win. This isn't what I hope happens, but it's what I think will happen. Stanford's offensive line is amazing, and Virginia Tech's relatively young linebacking corps may have trouble stopping the run, which will open up Stanford's list of options to include running, play-action, and straight pass plays. Look for a fairly close game, but Stanford will likely take this one.

January 4, 2010

Allstate Sugar Bowl

#6 Ohio State vs. #8 Arkansas

How they got here: Ohio State finished in a 3-way tie atop the Big 10, dropping only their road game against Wisconsin. Mind you, that means they dropped 1/4th of their road games, but I digress. Because Ohio State was ranked higher than Wisconsin and Michigan State, they were guaranteed a spot in the BCS, and they very nearly wound up as conference "champs" by sneaking past Wisconsin in the BCS rankings. Fortunately, common sense narrowly prevailed, and the Buckeyes were not sent to Pasadena. Instead, they drew an Arkansas team that had a fairly quiet year for a 10-2 SEC team. Seriously, without looking can you name me an Arkansas player other than QB Ryan Mallett? It's not that the Razorbacks deserve to be ignored, they just have the misfortune of playing in a season with the Oregon blur offense, the Cam Newton affair, the Carolina scandal, the Ohio State mess, Boise State's rise and fall, the decline of Texas football, and a host of other stories. There just hasn't been time for Arkansas in the spotlight. All that aside, Arkansas has had an impressive season, with wins over 4 currently ranked schools, which is impressive compared to the 0 that Ohio State's beaten.

Should I watch this game: Yes, if only for the crushing Big 10/SEC subplot that will be rammed down your throat whether YOU like it or not! Seriously, we get it, ESPN. Ohio State hasn't beaten an SEC team in a really long time. The Big 10's having a down bowl season (well, at least a down January thus far). You think at this point anyone who follows college football won't know that? Do you think anyone who doesn't follow college football will care? Oh, and this game will feature a good quarterback battle, with the "traditional" Ryan Mallett playing against the scrambling Terrelle Pryor. And though I mocked it above, it will be interesting to see if the Big 10 can salvage a 3-5 bowl record. If they finish 2-6 with wins over only Baylor and Missouri, then Jim Delaney and Gordon Gee and their toadies will really be exposed as cowards, ducking a playoff so other teams won't have all the fun after the Big 10 gets knocked out. Just one last stat to provide you with a reason to watch this game: the Big 10 is currently 0-3 against the SEC. The much-maligned ACC is 2-0 (counting the questionable Music City Bowl...).

Blogger's pick: It's hard to do this, but I'll go with Ohio State. My confidence in this pick might have been high at one point, but not after the New Year's Day disaster. OSU's defense is the 3rd best scoring defense in the country, and they should at least give Mallett a few problems. Arkansas's D has been porous at times (that 65-43 game against Auburn comes to mind), and Terrelle Pryor can hang up points quite consistently. The hyper-conservative OSU offense will give Arkansas little opportunity for takeaways, and I think the Big 10 salvages a 3-5 bowl record in a narrow Buckeye victory.

That's all for right now. As of New Year's Day, I'm 19-9. Woo?

Bowl Preview, 2010: 2011

Heh, snappy title, if I do say so myself...Moving on.

Historically, January 1 was the day of big bowls. It was the day on which many a national title was decided in years past. Thanks in no small part to a combination of ballooning bowl numbers, greedy bowl execs, and the BCS system, New Year's Day is now just a day with a high number of relatively high-profile bowls. Still, it's a national holiday AND a day with a very high number of bowls, so let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Even if it's a slightly diseased gift horse, like the first bowl of the day...

January 1, 2011

Ticketcity Bowl

Northwestern vs. Texas Tech

How they got here: By going 7-5. To paraphrase Roger the Shrubber, what sad times are these when 7-5 teams can get bowls on New Year's Day. Northwestern spluttered down the stretch, losing 5 of their last 7, which was (unsurprisingly) when they played the better teams on their schedule. Texas Tech wasn't much better, going 3-5 in Big 12 play and defeating the following nonconference giants: Southern Methodist, New Mexico, Weber State, and Houston. Neither team has exactly lit up the headlines, and the only currently ranked team either squad has beaten was Texas Tech's one win over Missouri.

Should I watch this bowl game: Sure, for an hour. Use it as your warmup for the much, much better slate of games that's coming up later. Neither team is exceptionally remarkable except for Texas Tech's passing attack, which ranks 8th in the nation primarily because of the fact that they throw the ball just over 40 times per game (comparison stat: Northwestern throws the ball about 27 times per game). Northwestern ranks 85th in their passing attack, meaning that we could be looking at the makings of a bad game.

Blogger's pick: Texas Tech, due to the afore mentioned difference in the pass attack/pass defense. I know the predictions page on College Football Cafeteria currently says I picked Northwestern, but that was before I looked closely at the games. My bad.

Capital One Bowl

#16 Alabama vs. #9 Michigan State

How they got here: Alabama got here by being the nation's best 3-loss team. That statement is about half sarcasm, half serious analysis. If 'Bama had gotten a little luckier against LSU and Auburn, they'd be 11-1 and would have almost certainly gone to the SEC Championship Game and the BCS. As it stands, they lost 3 games and I get to post an unnecessary picture which mocks one of this nation's premier sports magazines:

Heh, that was kinda fun.

Oh, and Michigan State got here because they finished in a 3-way tie atop the Big 10. Now, understand that I'm not a big advocate of Michigan State, but I do find it odd that the only reason they're not in a big time, BCS payday bowl is because of their preseason ranking. They were unranked, as opposed to Ohio State and Wisconsin, who started the year as #2 and #12 respectively. Heck, Michigan State even beat Wisconsin, the team selected to go to the Big 10's automatic bowl (the Rose). Yes, Michigan State's loss (to Iowa) was the worst of the 3 one-loss teams in the Big 10, but I question whether or not it mattered. Any loss for Michigan State would have sent them here, so they should enjoy it as best they can.

Should I watch this game: Yes, I say with enthusiasm. There are 3 simultaneous Big 10/SEC bowl games taking place on New Year's Day, but this one features the best combination of teams. The squads seem to be pretty well-matched, but Alabama's defense is much better in terms of points allowed--giving up a touchdown less per game. This game will give you the best possible preview of the Ohio State/Arkansas game on January 4, as well as providing two legitimately good programs, rather than the also-rans in the other 2 Big 10/SEC bowls on the 1st. While we're on that subject, allow me to ask the following: why are there 3 games featuring the same two conferences against one another on the same day? Can't they spread these things out any more? Yes, Big 10 and SEC fans fill seats better than anyone else, but the rest of us would like a little variety on our day off, OK?

Blogger's pick: Alabama. The key matchup in the game will be Michigan State's run defense against Alabama's dual attack of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. If the Tide running backs can find holes in the Spartan defense, things could get ugly. I don't think it'll matter that much, as Alabama's scoring defense should hold the Spartans to under 20 points regardless of how well MSU plays.

Outback Bowl

Florida vs. Penn State

How they got here: Both of these teams had seasons that were disappointing by their standards. Actually, 7-5 is pretty disappointing regardless of who you are, but especially with the kind of seasons these two teams are used to. Florida followed up 2 straight BCS trips with a decidedly bad 7-5 season, which ended in arguably the worst way possible: a 31-7 drubbing at the hands of rival Florida State. Penn State didn't fare much better, finishing with the same record as the Gators with just as many wins over currently ranked teams (0).

Should I watch this game: Yes, if only for the postgame interviews featuring a doubtlessly teary Urban Meyer and a mildly self-aware Joe Paterno. So a coach has a down year at a power school that he led back to glory and rather mysteriously bolts at the end of the season. Sound familiar? It should. I have no evidence of anything, but keep an eye on Florida in the coming months, my friends. JoePa, despite not wearing a headset (or knowing exactly where he is) for the last several years keeps right on trucking. Why do I get the feeling that the Penn State coaching staff feels kind of like the two guys in Weekend at Bernie's? No, JoePa's not dead, but does anyone outside of Happy Valley think he's coaching? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Blogger's Pick: Penn State. Florida has officially mailed in this season. Their last win against a bowl-bound team was when they beat Georgia in October. Their last win over a team with a winning record was in week 2 against South Florida. Penn State hasn't been too much better, but they beat a team with a winning record within recent memory. Florida's also had some players get taken out due to injury, which could provide the opportunity for Penn State to pick up a win over the Gators. And I'm sorry, I don't buy the "win one for the outgoing coach" prediction, because Urban was going to be leaving at the end of last season, too. Maybe he and Brett Favre can get together and play dice to decide who gets more media attention during the offseason.

Progressive Gator Bowl

#21 Mississippi State vs. Michigan

How they got here: Mississippi State's season followed a weirdly symmetrical pattern: a win, 2 losses, 6 wins, 2 losses, and a win. Win or lose, this bowl will screw up that nice little palindromic thing they had going on. MSU's 8 wins are a bit misleading, because their best win is probably their 10-7 road victory over Florida. The Bulldogs hung close with Auburn and Arkansas, but got smashed by Alabama and LSU, and those 4 losses are the reason they wound up in sort of a middle-tier bowl game.

As for Michigan, what more can I say? If you're a regular reader, you know that the Wolverines have repeated last year's pattern: open up the season with impressive wins over lesser competition (UConn's Big East title notwithstanding) and hit a wall when faced with better schools, closing the year out by losing 5 of their last 7. Their dynamic, sure-fire freshman Heisman candidate turned into someone who can hammer slow defenses but struggles with teams that can react quickly to the option and broken plays. It really seems like history was put on a slightly improved loop in Ann Arbor this season. "Slightly improved" meaning that they beat Illinois and Purdue this season.

Should I watch this game: Yes, but only when the Gator Bowl and Capital One Bowl are on commercial break. The matchup between Mississippi State's run defense (19th in the country) and Michigan's run offense (11th in the country) will be interesting, but just about everything else is pretty much chaff. As stated: watch this one during commercial breaks and, if it's close, in the 4th quarter, since the other 2 games start 30 minutes earlier. Actually, scratch that, the Rose Bowl starts at 4:30. Unless you're a Michigan or Mississippi State fan, just watch this one during the commercial breaks.

Blogger's pick: Mississippi State. When in doubt, always pick defense. Denard Robinson will certainly score some points, but Mississippi State's ground defense is strong enough to force some mistakes out of the young QB. Michigan's defense will also likely be a liability for the Wolverines. In short, my fellow Michigan bashers should enjoy this bowl season, because the Wolverines are improving, and could very easily make some noise next season. And I mean real noise, not the early-season clanking of tin cans we've seen the last two seasons.

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Vizio

#5 Wisconsin vs. #3 Texas Christian

How they got here: This section is much easier to write for the BCS games. Wisconsin was one of the three teams tied atop the Big 10 at 11-1. They're the highest ranked team in the Big 10, meaning that they got their berth to the Rose Bowl the second that the final BCS standings were released. TCU got an automatic berth by virtue of being a non-AQ team ranked in the top 12. TCU hasn't lost a regular season game since November of 2008, but they weren't a football power in 1960, so they don't get a shot at the title. At least they're headed to the Big East in 2012, which should help alleviate some of the controversy TCU seems to generate.

Should I watch this game: Obviously. This is the only real headline game between a non-AQ team and a big name college team. All the others (Air Force/Georgia Tech, ECU/Maryland, Georgia/UCF, Nevada/Boston College) are footnote bowls at best. And they have a weirdly high number of ACC teams...Any hoo, this game will provide us all with some nifty water cooler talk. Or pew talk, since they're playing on a Saturday and you'll likely have to cut through layers of caked on NFL-talk if you wait until Monday to discuss this with co-workers. This looks to be a good one, with Wisconsin's powerful run offense going against a fast (but small) TCU defense. We'll see if TCU's amazing (seriously, under 12 points against per game?!) stats were inflated by playing inferior foes, or if the Horned Frogs were cheated by the lack of a playoff. (Blatant pandering to blogger's alma mater follows: Be sure to catch the Rose Parade in the morning, as the Western Carolina University Band will be playing in said parade. Hey, it's pretty much all we have here in the mountains, and how many opportunities will I have to pimp WCU to a national audience?)

Blogger's pick: TCU, on one condition: that the game is close. This is sort of a stupid statement, but here's my "rules o' the game:" If the final margin is 7 points or less, it's a TCU win. If the final margin is anything more than 7, then Wisconsin won. Furthermore, if Wisconsin wins, I'd put money that it's by at least 20. I, however, am thinking it'll be a close game, which would lead to a TCU win. Hooray, circular logic!

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

Connecticut vs. #7 Oklahoma

How they got here: By winning their conferences. UConn won the Big East, which was this season's equivalent of winning a shoving match between the members of a high school Chess Club (OK, Spanish Club, the MAC would be the chess club). Oklahoma took home another Big 12 championship, their 4th in the last 5 seasons. Oklahoma nearly lost several games (they've won 6 games by 8 points or fewer), but the important bit is that they only dropped 2 games, both of which they lost to fairly good teams.

Should I watch this game: For at least the first half, yes. Like most people, I expect UConn to get ripped to shreds in this game. If they're still in it at the half, then this game might just be worth watching. After all, as many pundits have pointed out, Oklahoma has been favored heavily in the Fiesta Bowl before. How'd that turn out again? Oh, wait, I found a picture from that game:

So, you know, anything could happen, even if the likelihood doesn't seem great.

By the way, if you live out there you may as well go to the game. Upper-level tickets are currently selling for about $14. Sideline seats are selling for $75. UConn's sold about 1/4th of their tickets as of midnight on December 29th, meaning that they have about 3 days to sell 13,000 tickets. So if you live in Arizona, Utah, California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, or west Texas, take a road trip! You'll spend more on gas than on the tickets, and you'll get to go to a BCS bowl.

Blogger's pick: Oklahoma, for reasons which should be painfully obvious. UConn does have the advantage on the ground, but Oklahoma's pass attack could very easily rip the Huskies for 400+ yards. It is extremely difficult to give UConn a fighting chance, and I would hardly be surprised if this game is over at the half. Best of luck to UConn, and I sincerely hope they make it a game, but I just don't see it happening. The Sooners win this one going away.

There's my predictions for the new year. I hope you all had a great 2010, and I hope 2011 is even better! (PS: Bowl picks are at 7-4 as of December 29. Thanks, Missouri.)

Preseason Polls Purportedly Possess Purpose

Apologies to everyone for the title, it seemed like a good idea at the time, I swear.

Any hoo, yesterday (August 21) the second major poll in college football was released for public consumption. Sure, there was nothing in the way of surprises (defending champion Alabama #1? Really? How daring!), but the release of these polls always creates some consternation among the college football community. Before I begin spouting inane bile, allow me to state that I see nothing egregiously wrong with the first AP poll. I agree with the positioning of just about every team in the poll, and any quibbles I have with the current AP rankings involve stuff like tweaking the team at #15 and moving them up a spot or two, moving #20 down a spot, bumping #24 to #23, etc. So...yeah, petty stuff.

No, the issue I have here is the existence of the preseason poll at all. First off, the AP Poll doesn't factor into the BCS system at all, which makes one wonder why it even exists as it matters quite literally as much as the opinions any given random blogger can espouse at any given second. So unless it exists as a form of subtle protest to the BCS system (in which case, applause to the AP), the AP Poll is the college football equivalent to the Queen of England.

Do not attempt to refute this point. Ever since the debacle in 2003-4 where the AP voted Southern California as the national champs, while the BCS (with the Coaches Poll attached) said that LSU had won the title, the AP poll has been excluded (at its members' behest) from the BCS equation. Yes, the AP still gives out its trophy, but that isn't the one that people focus on anymore. Unless the AP made a bold statement like naming Utah its 2008 national champion, there's no reason to care about the trophy given by pollsters who don't even decide who plays in the biggest 5 games of the postseason. And ever since 2004 the AP has given its national championship trophy to the same team the BCS has crowned champion, so basically any argument that the AP Poll is anything more than a barometer of sportswriters' opinions is fallacious.

Furthermore, preseason polls are often laughably inaccurate. Indeed, the only thing good about the BCS is that they don't release any polls until week 8, allowing time and games to sort out contenders from pretenders. Not so with the AP and Coaches polls, they try and predict the outcome of arguably the least predictable major sport before the season even starts. Allow me to make something clear: I DO NOT FAULT PRESEASON POLLS FOR BEING WRONG! That would be, for lack of a better term, stupid. The preseason AP Top 25 for 2009 had Oklahoma ranked 3rd. The AP could not have foreseen BYU's week 1 upset, nor the injury Sam Bradford suffered in said upset. Nor should they have been expected to. Just because someone is an "expert" does not mean that they can predict the injuries and upsets that make college football interesting. There are dozens of examples of ludicrously wrong preseason predictions, and not one of them deserves to be mocked, because predicting the outcome of any given season is an impossible task for anyone without a real, working crystal ball, and I imagine that particular band of gypsies has better things to do than predict the outcome of games.

"But Bones," you ask, "the Coaches Poll came out a few weeks ago, and it's a key component in determining the BCS champion." Yes, that is true, which brings us to an even more troubling point. While the preseason polls are frequently inaccurate, it's actually worse for college football fans when they're right. The fact of the matter is that preseason polls often determine the contents of a championship game months in advance of the actual game. Texas and Alabama were 2 of the 5 teams that went undefeated in college football last season, yet they made the national title game because they had the advantage of being #2 and #5 in the initial coaches poll instead of #16, #17, and unranked (TCU, Boise State, and Cincinnati respectively). Look, I'm aware of the fact that Texas and Alabama play in much tougher conferences than the other teams in question here, but a team must be given a chance to prove itself among the elite! Otherwise, college football is nothing more than an elitist club that won't allow teams to play in big games unless they were good in the 1960's and are still good today (or are mediocre today, but were good in the 1960's. I am looking at you, Notre Dame).

Let's use this coming season as an example: Given the way this season is scheduled, the following scenario is a reality: Alabama, Ohio State, Boise State, Texas, and TCU could all run the table. They're all in different conferences, and none of them play one another. So, keeping it simple, let's assume that just these 5 teams go undefeated. Who gets the chance to win the ugly crystal football? Alabama, obviously. They play in the murderous SEC. Who else do you send? Don't dwell on it too much. It doesn't matter, because 3 other teams which started the season in the Top 10 get screwed.

The bottom line is this, the existence of preseason polls is really not good for anyone. It's not good for writers or coaches who get lampooned when their predictions are wrong, it's not good for schools whose fates are often decided before the first snap of the season, and it's not good for fans of teams outside the Top 25, who know that they don't have a chance at getting a national title barring about 25 separate miracles occurring in a 12 week span. The only groups that this current poll benefits are people attached to Alabama and Ohio State, because no one else controls their own destiny. If you disagree with that statement, find yourself a Boise State, TCU, or Cincinnati fan and ask them. Yet, within our grasp, their lies a solution to this problem: it's called a playoff. If you're a member of the BCS Committee, look it up.

Rankings Rant

Let's take a look at the Top 25, and everything that's wrong with it...


First off, you won't hear any complaints from this blogger about the Top 5. However, if I had one, it's that Boise State and Bama are ranked too low. Yeah, you read that right. Guess I should explain...

The Top 5 teams in college football have currently played a grand total of 2 ranked teams. Not just currently ranked teams, ranked teams period. (If you really want to stretch it, LSU played Washington who managed to get ranked, then promptly flamed out) #17 Miami has played 3 ranked teams, and beat two of them! Miami has one loss (to current #6 Virginia Tech) and yet they're in the bottom half of the poll. Florida has played nobody, yet they sit atop the poll because they are the defending national champions. I agree that they should be ranked, and ranked highly, but they have not proven themselves to be the best team in the country, especially with that pedestrian performance against Tennessee.

If rankings are supposed to prove who can beat whom, then Boise and Bama need to be higher.

Moving down the poll, I'm not entirely sure how Southern Cal vaulted back up into the #7 slot. They got beaten by Washington, fell to 12, then jumped up 4 spots for Penn State, Cal, Ole Miss, and Miami's losses. My question is simple: Why did they leapfrog Oklahoma to move up 5 spots? OU's loss came earlier (traditionally meaning they should be ranked higher until they lose again) against a team that was ranked, unlike USC's loss. Plus, BYU is still ranked, unlike Washington. It doesn't make any sense to me to see the Trojans above the Sooners, but I guess that's why I'm not a voter.

Cincinnati is in the Top 10 for the first time in school history. This is fairly meaningless, but I guess it's good for the Big East to have a Top 10 team. They certainly don't deserve it, since they've played no one, and I doubt they could beat the 110 teams ranked below them, but since they have an incredibly weak schedule, there's a real chance they could wind up with a BCS bid before it's all said and done.

Houston is ranked too low for my tastes. They beat the then-#5 team in the country, are undefeated, and are still ranked below Oklahoma, who was beaten by the then-#20 team in the country. How's that work?

Iowa should probably be ranked higher as well. They, Kansas, and Michigan are the lowest-ranked undefeated teams. The reason Iowa should be ranked higher? Because they beat #5, unlike Kansas and Michigan who have played a gaggle of nobodies.

Question: Why did Miami fall so hard? They got badly beaten, yes, but they also beat 2 ranked schools. Their hard fall teaches schools the wrong lesson: They shouldn't schedule hard teams because losing leads to low rankings. Even if they go undefeated from here on out, I doubt that Miami will make the National Championship game because of 1 Saturday in September.

Nothing else too egregious in the Top 25 this week, we'll wait for next week...

Texas/Ohio State mashup/matchup/thing

Oh, it's 2009. Oops. See, real sportswriters have an advantage over bloggers in that bloggers have jobs that don't entail writing and aren't paid. That said, I will not be attempting to review the previous bowls, though I would like to say that going to Miami for the Orange Bowl was pretty awesome.

But now, for the review of the Fiesta Bowl....

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Texas-24, Ohio State-21

The Buckeyes have nothing to be ashamed of here, as this is the best bowl that they've played in recent memory. Plus, were it not for an absolutely, shamefully bad "roughing" of Colt McCoy on the first of Texas's 3rd quarter scoring drives, we might have seen a different final score.

If there's a rule in college football that must be amended, it's the 15 yard roughing the kicker penalty. 99 times out of 100 that flag is thrown because the kicker treats a defender's accidental tap as if it were a gunshot wound. If there's a second rule that should be amended, it's the 15 yard roughing the passer penalty.

Quarterbacks need to be protected. To deny that would be, well, stupid. But QBs ARE football players. Getting hit is a part of the friggin' game, just as much as it is for any other player at any other position! When you release a football and are hit 3 seconds later, of course it's roughing! The defender had time to stop. When you're hit half a second later, it's not roughing, because the defender couldn't stop. And, back to the Texas/OSU game, when you're NOT hit in the head, it's NOT illegal contact!

Meanwhile, the Big 12's performance in Bowl games has been shoddy at best. Thus far, the conference's only bowl wins have come against the Big 10 (2 close ones and Kansas's crushing of Minnesota) and the ACC (Nebraska's comeback against Clemson). Since football pundits (including me) spent all season talking about who was better, Big 12 or SEC, I think we've gotten our answer...

As a side note, PTI was talking about the Texas/OSU matchup and felt the need to rip the Orange Bowl. Allow me a moment for rebuttal:
The Orange Bowl featured the champion of a muddled, highly competitive conference who everyone wrote off as crappy (Virginia Tech of the ACC) and an upstart squad who had the best season in school history (Cincinnati of the Big East). Now, we had to put up with fawning and "oooh"s and "ahhh"s over the Fiesta bowl, which featured a 2 loss Ohio State team against a just-shafted out of the title game Texas. Cincinnati had two losses! AND the Big East had a winning bowl record, compared to the 1-6 Big 10! Texas Tech finished in a 3-way tie (with Texas!) for first in the conference, and lost its bowl to an SEC team that was 4th in its conference! Virginia Tech finished in a 4-way tie for first in its conference and beat a Big East team that was first in its conference!

So let's play a little reversal. Let's put Ohio State and Texas Tech against one another. Seems fair. There would be so much hype surrounding these two teams, and if Texas Tech won? Well, then we'd have to put up with news that the Big 12 was superior and that the ACC and Big East certainly didn't deserve to be in such a prestigious bowl.

Am I saying that Cincy or Virginia Tech deserved a BCS berth? No. But if you're going to market the wonder of an Ohio State/Texas matchup, you'd best not bash a Virginia Tech/Cincinnati matchup. Especially since, inevitably, we are going to have to tolerate a spate of "USC is the REAL national champion!" articles in the coming future.

I, for one, look forward to mocking them...

Bowling!

34.

34 bowls. 68 teams. There's 120 teams in Division 1-A (or FBS for the super-literal among you.) and more than half of them make the post-season. Ridiculous, yes?

Oh, well. Let's size up the bowl picture thus far, starting over a week ago with the...

Eaglebank Bowl: Wake Forest-29, Navy-19

Normally we don't deal with unranked teams here at CFR, but we'll make an exception here (and in about 20 other bowls...) This game was a rematch, and not the best one. It was two weird option offenses facing off against one another, and Wake won. Do these small bowls merit such analysis? No. So let's get brief!

New Mexico Bowl: Colorado State-40, Fresno State-35

So...I watched this game out of the corner of my eye while eating dinner. Fresno lost by five but got outgained by 185 yards. So...I wouldn't say that this one was as close as the score says it was. Honestly, most people couldn't care less about this game. But, come on, this wasn't anywhere near the worst bowl matchup this year!

MagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl: South Florida-41, Memphis-14

Know what I'm sick of? Teams getting to play in home games for their bowls. Saint Pete is a bit closer for South Florida (hometown: Tampa, just a bridge away) than it is for Memphis (I am not explaining where Memphis's hometown is. Wikipedia it). There is a distinct home field advantage, and I'm not just talking about crowd noise. Teams are built around the weather that they are used to. The pass-wacky spread offense would not work well in Michigan, especially if there's a snowstorm going on. So South Florida had a leg up on Memphis before this game started. And this is a trend that's been going on for a while now.

Seriously, USC playing in Pasadena every year? It's ridiculous! Hawaii in Hawaii? Why? Boise playing on that hideous blue abomination they call a field? Come on! It's just a little bit silly, at least as far as I'm concerned...Oh, and South Florida destroyed the Tigers thus proving that the #6 team in the Big East is better than the #5 team in C-USA. I guess this is important.

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl: Arizona-31, #16 BYU-21

So much for the Cougars being potential BCS busters, eh? Honestly, it's best that this defeat happened here, rather than on the big stage where Hawaii failed so miserably last year. As for 'Zona...good to see them win a bowl. I guess. The PAC-10 still has a lot to prove this bowl season, but they got off to a good start, beating a ranked opponent from a conference that owned them during the regular season. (Positive PAC-10 press?! What am I doing?!)

R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Southern Miss-30, Troy-27

Nothing snarky to say here. Other than the fact that Southern Miss has the ugliest uniforms known to man. Seriously, looks like they killed the entire canary population of...wherever the heck canaries live...and slathered it on their uniforms. As a side note, a get well message to Southern Miss receiver DeAndre Brown, who suffered a nasty leg injury during the game.


Aaaaaand that is all for the first part of this little review. Tune in next time when we take a look at some Christmas-themed bowls. And the inferiority bowl!