Bowl Review: Day 1

Oops.


Oh, you don't know why I typed that? The short version is because there were 2 bowls today and I missed on both of my predictions. I'll repay you with a timely post:

New Mexico Bowl
Fresno State-28, Wyoming-35 (2OT)

You know, if you ignore the fact that these were two mediocre teams, this was actually a very good game. Good hard hits, a thrilling comeback in regulation, and some good overtime play. My thoughts?

Well, in the first overtime, Fresno State successfully got the ball down onto the one yard line of Wyoming and managed to do nothing in 4 tries...That's actually a credit to Wyoming's defense, as it is just about impossible to stop 4 straight runs up the middle. Fresno State did nothing wrong, and I hope that this episode doesn't encourage more coaches to try play action or sweep plays from the 1 yard line. Since it occurred in a fairly obscure bowl between two fairly obscure teams, I'm sure that won't be the case.

Any hoo, in the next overtime, Wyoming played it safe and went for the field goal. In footage that you can no doubt catch on youtube or ESPN, the kicker missed, but Wyoming players and fans were already headed onto the field. Look, guys, the football's in the air for, like, 3 seconds. Can't you wait for the referee to signal? Is that so hard? Premature celebrations bug the heck out of me, especially in light of the fact that, had Fresno won the game, the sting would have been made much more bitter. Kinda like what happened to Kentucky in this nifty link. So fans, I beseech you, wait for the refs' signal. It's not too hard, it doesn't take too long, and it keeps you from looking like an idiot...

Finally, for this game at least, take note that Fresno tried the ol' "offensive lineman gets the ball" trick again in the second overtime. If you'll recall, this happened during the last week of the regular season (second, equally nifty, link) during the final play against Illinois. This time it was intentional. Ironically, this time it didn't work. I'm not sure what that should tell us, but I'm sure it tells us something.

Congrats to Wyoming on winning their first bowl since 2004, and only their second since 1966. Also, congrats on starting bowl season off right!

CFR Pick counter: 0-1

St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's
Rutgers-45, UCF-24

See the post below this one? Where it says UCF will upset Rutgers? Yeah, whoever wrote that is an idiot.

Oh, you're still here? Well, I can analyze this one pretty simply: Once I found out exactly what Beef 'O' Brady's was, my interest in this game plummeted. I figured after the high scoring first half that we'd be in for something of a shootout. Unfortunately for those of us who thought UCF might win, they left their offense in the locker room for the 3rd quarter, and an 11 point halftime lead became an insurmountable 21 point 4th quarter lead. The onside kick attempt that was run back for a touchdown probably didn't help...

Congrats to Rutgers, you beat a team from an inferior conference. Since you play in the Big East and played one of the worst nonconference schedules imaginable (Howard, Florida International, Maryland and Texas Southern), that's basically what you've done all year. Nice job.

CFR Picks: 0-2

Tune in tomorrow to see if I'm really as bad at this as it seems!