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la_samtyrObviously, it's so we can watch the bowl games (US football) on tv. My mind is already numb at the sheer number of games to be televised, a good many of which are going to be less than compelling -- and that's being polite about it. Check out the link if you wish, and see if you can guess what I *won't* be watching.
If you're not from the US, you might want to give this a pass. Then again, you might want to read out of sheer morbid curiousity (sic). Sorry, I need more coffee.
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=886661
December 7, 2008
Huguenin: Not all bowl games must-see TV
Mike Huguenin
Rivals.com College Football Editor
The number of bowls has increased to 34 this season and, not surprisingly, that means there are some less-than-savory bowls.
Hey, we have to watch every game; it's our job. But there is no reason for the typical fan to waste his time watching some of these matchups, especially around the holidays.
Thus, in an effort to help the typical fan spend time wisely, here's our ranking of the bowls - from 34th to first.
34. Independence Bowl, Louisiana Tech (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (6-6), Dec. 28: This game is being played at night on the final Sunday of the NFL season. Trust us: If you tune in, absolutely nothing will be of NFL caliber.
33. Motor City Bowl, Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Florida Atlantic (6-6), Dec. 26: This is Central Michigan's third consecutive appearance in this game. Excuse the Chippewas if they can't get too excited about the venue or the opponent.
32. New Mexico Bowl, Colorado State (6-6) vs. Fresno State (7-5), Dec. 20: A middle-of-the-pack team from the Mountain West meets a middle-of-the-pack team from the WAC – on the Saturday before Christmas. We would rather stand in line with screaming children for three hours that day at Build-A-Bear Workshop than watch this.
31. St. Petersburg Bowl, Memphis (6-6) vs. USF (7-5), Dec. 20: We're going to wow you with our USF knowledge here: While the main campus is in Tampa, there's a satellite campus in St. Petersburg about 5 minutes from Tropicana Field, where this game will be played. As for the game itself, do you really care?
30. New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss (6-6) vs. Troy (7-5), Dec. 21: Southern Miss has DeAndre Brown, who is one of the nation's best freshman wide receivers. Troy won the Sun Belt.
29. EagleBank Bowl, Navy (8-4) vs. Wake Forest (7-5), Dec. 20: This is one of two regular-season rematches this postseason (Navy won 24-17). What's weird: It was specifically written into Navy's contract with the bowl that there would be no regular-season rematch in the bowl.
28. Armed Forces Bowl, Air Force (8-4) vs. Houston (7-5), Dec. 31: This is the other rematch (Air Force won 31-28). Air Force was in this bowl last season, too.
27. Liberty Bowl, East Carolina (9-4) vs. Kentucky (6-6), Jan. 2: Kentucky comes in having lost three in a row, four of five and six of eight. Yep, that sounds like a bowl team to us.
26. Music City, Boston College (9-4) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6), Dec. 31: Vanderbilt comes in having lost six of its past seven. Yep, that sounds like a bowl team to us. BC, by the way, holds the nation's longest current bowl winning streak, at eight games.
25. Hawaii Bowl, Notre Dame (6-6) at Hawaii (7-6), Dec. 24: It's nice to be Notre Dame – you go 6-6, lose four of your final five regular-season games and get to go to Hawaii for the holidays. Hawaii is the only bowl team playing in its home stadium this season.
Will Turner Gill still be the coach at Buffalo come Jan. 3?
24. International Bowl, Buffalo (8-5) vs. Connecticut (7-5), Jan. 3: Buffalo was the surprise winner of the MAC title game, and coach Turner Gill should be one of the nation's hottest coaching commodities. UConn, meanwhile, comes in having lost five of its past seven and has thrown just four TD passes – and 17 interceptions – this season.
23. Humanitarian Bowl, Maryland (7-5) vs. Nevada (7-5), Dec. 30: This is the last season of the ACC's tie-in with this game. Unfortunately for Maryland, it's the last league team that gets stuck going to Boise. As for Nevada, the Wolf Pack are second in the nation in rush offense.
22. Outback Bowl, Iowa (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5), Jan. 1: Iowa runs well but can't throw. South Carolina runs poorly and would like to throw but can't. At least both play good defense.
21. Papajohns.com Bowl, N.C. State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (7-5), Dec. 29: These teams are a combined 13-11. But they come in having won a combined 10 consecutive games – Rutgers has won six in a row, NCSU four in a row – and this matchup has some promise.
20. Insight Bowl, Kansas (7-5) vs. Minnesota (7-5), Dec. 31: This one will be televised by the NFL Network; if you don't get that network, given this matchup, it's not that big a deal. And no word on whether Glen Mason will be the color analyst.
19. Champs Sports Bowl, Florida State (8-4) vs. Wisconsin (7-5), Dec. 27: Florida State thought it was going to the Gator Bowl. One saving grace for the Seminoles: I can tell them from experience that Orlando is nicer than Jacksonville. As for Badgers fans, given the average temperature at that time of the year in Wisconsin, playing a bowl game in Belle Glade would be a nice trip.
18. Alamo Bowl, Missouri (9-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3), Dec. 29: Missouri started the season with visions of a bowl trip to Miami; the Tigers will have to settle for San Antonio. Northwestern has overachieved, and if Mizzou doesn't play with passion, the Wildcats could end up with 10 wins.
17. Gator Bowl, Clemson (7-5) vs. Nebraska (8-4), Jan. 1: Clemson won seven games, but two of the victories were over FCS (i.e., Division I-AA teams) teams. Still, if the Tigers play with the same intensity they did in the last month of the regular season, this game should be interesting.
16. Emerald Bowl, California (8-4) vs. Miami (7-5), Dec. 27: This basically is a home game for Cal, whose campus in Berkeley is across the bay from San Francisco. Miami won't sell many tickets (any tickets?), but Cal fans should pack the stadium.
15. Orange Bowl, Cincinnati (11-2) vs. Virginia Tech (9-4), Jan. 1: The ACC champ meets the Big East champ. Next.
14. Texas Bowl, Rice (9-3) vs. Western Michigan (9-3), Dec. 30: A quick rule of thumb for a bowl game: If there will be a lot of offense, it's worth watching even if you don't know anything about the teams. This one will have a lot of offense. The game is in Houston, which is Rice's home.
Could Les Miles and LSU really finish 7-6 a year after winning it all?
13. Chick-fil-A Bowl, Georgia Tech (9-3) vs. LSU (7-5), Dec. 31: This basically is a home game for the Yellow Jackets, who will be playing a few miles from their campus in downtown Atlanta. LSU comes in having lost three of their past four. If the Tigers' defense doesn't awaken from its season-ending slumber, LSU is going to finish 7-6 one season after winning the national title.
12. Las Vegas Bowl, Arizona (7-5) vs. BYU (10-2), Dec. 20: The Mountain West owned the Pac-10 during the regular season. Will that carry over to the postseason? Arizona has a solid secondary, which could cause BYU QB Max Hall some problems.
11. Meineke Car Care Bowl, North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4), Dec. 27: This is Pat White's final college game, which makes it worth watching. Both teams are 8-4, but WVU was a disappointment and UNC a surprise.
10. GMAC Bowl, Ball State (12-1) vs. Tulsa (10-3), Jan. 6: Two teams who, at one point during the season, looked as if they would finish unbeaten. Alas, neither is unbeaten. In addition, each lost its conference title game. But this should have a ton of points, so it should be entertaining.
9. Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss (8-4) vs. Texas Tech (11-1), Jan. 2: Ole Miss has a good front four, and if you can harass Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, he becomes an average quarterback. But only one team was really able to harass him this season. Watch Ole Miss junior DE Greg Hardy, who could declare for the draft. Hardy could make himself quite a bundle of money with a big game.
8. Sun Bowl, Oregon State (8-4) vs. Pittsburgh (9-3), Dec. 28: Oregon State was one win away from the Rose Bowl. Pitt, meanwhile, bounced back from an inexplicable season-opening loss to Bowling Green to have a solid season. Two good running backs will be on view in Pitt's LeSean McCoy and Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers.
7. Capital One Bowl, Georgia (9-3) vs. Michigan State (9-3), Jan. 1: An intriguing Big Ten-SEC matchup. Michigan State can't pass, but TB Javon Ringer had a great season and Georgia's defense has had trouble against the run. And can Michigan State slow Georgia TB Knowshon Moreno? In their three losses, the Spartans' defense was run over.
6. Sugar Bowl, Alabama (12-1) vs. Utah (12-0), Jan. 1: Utah has a lot to prove, despite its unbeaten record. Will Alabama suffer any kind of hangover from its SEC title game loss?
5. Holiday Bowl, Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Oregon (9-3), Dec. 30: The Holiday Bowl usually has one of the best pre-New Year's matchups, and this season is no different. There should be a lot of points in this one, as Oklahoma State is seventh in the nation in total offense and Oregon is eighth.
4. Poinsettia Bowl, Boise State (12-0) vs. TCU (10-2), Dec. 23: This is must-watch TV. Can Boise State remain unbeaten? Can TCU's No. 2-ranked defense slow the Broncos? The teams are a combined 22-2, and only the Sugar Bowl has fewer combined losses.
Daryll Clark and Penn State will be tested by USC.
3. Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1), Jan. 5: Ohio State has been pounded in its past two BCS appearances. Will the Buckeyes be ready to play in this one? Will Texas be psyched to play, considering a lot of folks think they should be in the national title game?
2. Rose Bowl, Penn State (11-1) vs. USC (11-1), Jan. 1: Two one-loss teams whose fan bases are wondering why their favorite team isn't in the national title game. USC leads the nation in total defense, and Penn State is fifth. USC also is ahead of Penn State in the total offense rankings, 14th to 15th.
1. BCS National Championship Game, Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1), Jan. 8: It's for the national title, which makes it No. 1 on this list. The past two title games have been decided by a total of 41 points. That may be the number of points needed to win this one.
Some bowl facts and figures:
The ACC has 10 teams in the postseason, the most ever for any league. While the ACC has no elite teams this season, it does have a lot of solid teams - and that shows with the number of bowl bids.
Four bowl-eligible teams were left home: Arkansas State of the Sun Belt, Bowling Green of the MAC, Louisiana-Lafayette of the Sun Belt and San Jose State of the WAC. All four were 6-6. In addition, Bowling Green fired its coach last week.
There are nine 6-6 teams in bowls.
The conference breakdown: The ACC has 10; the SEC has eight; the Big Ten and Big 12 have seven; the Big East, Conference USA and the MAC have six; the Mountain West, Pac-10 and WAC have five; and the Sun Belt has two. There also are two independents.
The Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC each left two bowl slots unfilled. The Big Ten left one. The breakdown: The Big Ten couldn't fill its Motor City slot; the Big 12 couldn't fill its Independence and Texas slots; the Pac-10 couldn't fill its Hawaii and Poinsettia slots; and the SEC couldn't fill its Independence and Papajohns.com slots.
Mike Huguenin is the college sports editor for Rivals.com. He can be heard on Rivals Radio every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET and can be reached at mhuguenin@rivals.com.
If you're not from the US, you might want to give this a pass. Then again, you might want to read out of sheer morbid curiousity (sic). Sorry, I need more coffee.
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=886661
December 7, 2008
Huguenin: Not all bowl games must-see TV
Mike Huguenin
Rivals.com College Football Editor
The number of bowls has increased to 34 this season and, not surprisingly, that means there are some less-than-savory bowls.
Hey, we have to watch every game; it's our job. But there is no reason for the typical fan to waste his time watching some of these matchups, especially around the holidays.
Thus, in an effort to help the typical fan spend time wisely, here's our ranking of the bowls - from 34th to first.
34. Independence Bowl, Louisiana Tech (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (6-6), Dec. 28: This game is being played at night on the final Sunday of the NFL season. Trust us: If you tune in, absolutely nothing will be of NFL caliber.
33. Motor City Bowl, Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Florida Atlantic (6-6), Dec. 26: This is Central Michigan's third consecutive appearance in this game. Excuse the Chippewas if they can't get too excited about the venue or the opponent.
32. New Mexico Bowl, Colorado State (6-6) vs. Fresno State (7-5), Dec. 20: A middle-of-the-pack team from the Mountain West meets a middle-of-the-pack team from the WAC – on the Saturday before Christmas. We would rather stand in line with screaming children for three hours that day at Build-A-Bear Workshop than watch this.
31. St. Petersburg Bowl, Memphis (6-6) vs. USF (7-5), Dec. 20: We're going to wow you with our USF knowledge here: While the main campus is in Tampa, there's a satellite campus in St. Petersburg about 5 minutes from Tropicana Field, where this game will be played. As for the game itself, do you really care?
30. New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss (6-6) vs. Troy (7-5), Dec. 21: Southern Miss has DeAndre Brown, who is one of the nation's best freshman wide receivers. Troy won the Sun Belt.
29. EagleBank Bowl, Navy (8-4) vs. Wake Forest (7-5), Dec. 20: This is one of two regular-season rematches this postseason (Navy won 24-17). What's weird: It was specifically written into Navy's contract with the bowl that there would be no regular-season rematch in the bowl.
28. Armed Forces Bowl, Air Force (8-4) vs. Houston (7-5), Dec. 31: This is the other rematch (Air Force won 31-28). Air Force was in this bowl last season, too.
27. Liberty Bowl, East Carolina (9-4) vs. Kentucky (6-6), Jan. 2: Kentucky comes in having lost three in a row, four of five and six of eight. Yep, that sounds like a bowl team to us.
26. Music City, Boston College (9-4) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6), Dec. 31: Vanderbilt comes in having lost six of its past seven. Yep, that sounds like a bowl team to us. BC, by the way, holds the nation's longest current bowl winning streak, at eight games.
25. Hawaii Bowl, Notre Dame (6-6) at Hawaii (7-6), Dec. 24: It's nice to be Notre Dame – you go 6-6, lose four of your final five regular-season games and get to go to Hawaii for the holidays. Hawaii is the only bowl team playing in its home stadium this season.
Will Turner Gill still be the coach at Buffalo come Jan. 3?
24. International Bowl, Buffalo (8-5) vs. Connecticut (7-5), Jan. 3: Buffalo was the surprise winner of the MAC title game, and coach Turner Gill should be one of the nation's hottest coaching commodities. UConn, meanwhile, comes in having lost five of its past seven and has thrown just four TD passes – and 17 interceptions – this season.
23. Humanitarian Bowl, Maryland (7-5) vs. Nevada (7-5), Dec. 30: This is the last season of the ACC's tie-in with this game. Unfortunately for Maryland, it's the last league team that gets stuck going to Boise. As for Nevada, the Wolf Pack are second in the nation in rush offense.
22. Outback Bowl, Iowa (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5), Jan. 1: Iowa runs well but can't throw. South Carolina runs poorly and would like to throw but can't. At least both play good defense.
21. Papajohns.com Bowl, N.C. State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (7-5), Dec. 29: These teams are a combined 13-11. But they come in having won a combined 10 consecutive games – Rutgers has won six in a row, NCSU four in a row – and this matchup has some promise.
20. Insight Bowl, Kansas (7-5) vs. Minnesota (7-5), Dec. 31: This one will be televised by the NFL Network; if you don't get that network, given this matchup, it's not that big a deal. And no word on whether Glen Mason will be the color analyst.
19. Champs Sports Bowl, Florida State (8-4) vs. Wisconsin (7-5), Dec. 27: Florida State thought it was going to the Gator Bowl. One saving grace for the Seminoles: I can tell them from experience that Orlando is nicer than Jacksonville. As for Badgers fans, given the average temperature at that time of the year in Wisconsin, playing a bowl game in Belle Glade would be a nice trip.
18. Alamo Bowl, Missouri (9-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3), Dec. 29: Missouri started the season with visions of a bowl trip to Miami; the Tigers will have to settle for San Antonio. Northwestern has overachieved, and if Mizzou doesn't play with passion, the Wildcats could end up with 10 wins.
17. Gator Bowl, Clemson (7-5) vs. Nebraska (8-4), Jan. 1: Clemson won seven games, but two of the victories were over FCS (i.e., Division I-AA teams) teams. Still, if the Tigers play with the same intensity they did in the last month of the regular season, this game should be interesting.
16. Emerald Bowl, California (8-4) vs. Miami (7-5), Dec. 27: This basically is a home game for Cal, whose campus in Berkeley is across the bay from San Francisco. Miami won't sell many tickets (any tickets?), but Cal fans should pack the stadium.
15. Orange Bowl, Cincinnati (11-2) vs. Virginia Tech (9-4), Jan. 1: The ACC champ meets the Big East champ. Next.
14. Texas Bowl, Rice (9-3) vs. Western Michigan (9-3), Dec. 30: A quick rule of thumb for a bowl game: If there will be a lot of offense, it's worth watching even if you don't know anything about the teams. This one will have a lot of offense. The game is in Houston, which is Rice's home.
Could Les Miles and LSU really finish 7-6 a year after winning it all?
13. Chick-fil-A Bowl, Georgia Tech (9-3) vs. LSU (7-5), Dec. 31: This basically is a home game for the Yellow Jackets, who will be playing a few miles from their campus in downtown Atlanta. LSU comes in having lost three of their past four. If the Tigers' defense doesn't awaken from its season-ending slumber, LSU is going to finish 7-6 one season after winning the national title.
12. Las Vegas Bowl, Arizona (7-5) vs. BYU (10-2), Dec. 20: The Mountain West owned the Pac-10 during the regular season. Will that carry over to the postseason? Arizona has a solid secondary, which could cause BYU QB Max Hall some problems.
11. Meineke Car Care Bowl, North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4), Dec. 27: This is Pat White's final college game, which makes it worth watching. Both teams are 8-4, but WVU was a disappointment and UNC a surprise.
10. GMAC Bowl, Ball State (12-1) vs. Tulsa (10-3), Jan. 6: Two teams who, at one point during the season, looked as if they would finish unbeaten. Alas, neither is unbeaten. In addition, each lost its conference title game. But this should have a ton of points, so it should be entertaining.
9. Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss (8-4) vs. Texas Tech (11-1), Jan. 2: Ole Miss has a good front four, and if you can harass Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, he becomes an average quarterback. But only one team was really able to harass him this season. Watch Ole Miss junior DE Greg Hardy, who could declare for the draft. Hardy could make himself quite a bundle of money with a big game.
8. Sun Bowl, Oregon State (8-4) vs. Pittsburgh (9-3), Dec. 28: Oregon State was one win away from the Rose Bowl. Pitt, meanwhile, bounced back from an inexplicable season-opening loss to Bowling Green to have a solid season. Two good running backs will be on view in Pitt's LeSean McCoy and Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers.
7. Capital One Bowl, Georgia (9-3) vs. Michigan State (9-3), Jan. 1: An intriguing Big Ten-SEC matchup. Michigan State can't pass, but TB Javon Ringer had a great season and Georgia's defense has had trouble against the run. And can Michigan State slow Georgia TB Knowshon Moreno? In their three losses, the Spartans' defense was run over.
6. Sugar Bowl, Alabama (12-1) vs. Utah (12-0), Jan. 1: Utah has a lot to prove, despite its unbeaten record. Will Alabama suffer any kind of hangover from its SEC title game loss?
5. Holiday Bowl, Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Oregon (9-3), Dec. 30: The Holiday Bowl usually has one of the best pre-New Year's matchups, and this season is no different. There should be a lot of points in this one, as Oklahoma State is seventh in the nation in total offense and Oregon is eighth.
4. Poinsettia Bowl, Boise State (12-0) vs. TCU (10-2), Dec. 23: This is must-watch TV. Can Boise State remain unbeaten? Can TCU's No. 2-ranked defense slow the Broncos? The teams are a combined 22-2, and only the Sugar Bowl has fewer combined losses.
Daryll Clark and Penn State will be tested by USC.
3. Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1), Jan. 5: Ohio State has been pounded in its past two BCS appearances. Will the Buckeyes be ready to play in this one? Will Texas be psyched to play, considering a lot of folks think they should be in the national title game?
2. Rose Bowl, Penn State (11-1) vs. USC (11-1), Jan. 1: Two one-loss teams whose fan bases are wondering why their favorite team isn't in the national title game. USC leads the nation in total defense, and Penn State is fifth. USC also is ahead of Penn State in the total offense rankings, 14th to 15th.
1. BCS National Championship Game, Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1), Jan. 8: It's for the national title, which makes it No. 1 on this list. The past two title games have been decided by a total of 41 points. That may be the number of points needed to win this one.
Some bowl facts and figures:
The ACC has 10 teams in the postseason, the most ever for any league. While the ACC has no elite teams this season, it does have a lot of solid teams - and that shows with the number of bowl bids.
Four bowl-eligible teams were left home: Arkansas State of the Sun Belt, Bowling Green of the MAC, Louisiana-Lafayette of the Sun Belt and San Jose State of the WAC. All four were 6-6. In addition, Bowling Green fired its coach last week.
There are nine 6-6 teams in bowls.
The conference breakdown: The ACC has 10; the SEC has eight; the Big Ten and Big 12 have seven; the Big East, Conference USA and the MAC have six; the Mountain West, Pac-10 and WAC have five; and the Sun Belt has two. There also are two independents.
The Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC each left two bowl slots unfilled. The Big Ten left one. The breakdown: The Big Ten couldn't fill its Motor City slot; the Big 12 couldn't fill its Independence and Texas slots; the Pac-10 couldn't fill its Hawaii and Poinsettia slots; and the SEC couldn't fill its Independence and Papajohns.com slots.
Mike Huguenin is the college sports editor for Rivals.com. He can be heard on Rivals Radio every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET and can be reached at mhuguenin@rivals.com.
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Date: 2008-12-09 07:24 pm (UTC)It took a minute before that sunk in and he was all "HEY NOT NICE!!!"
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Date: 2008-12-10 02:04 am (UTC)