SB Nation - Ohio Bobcats

2009 Pizza Bowl - Marshall vs. Ohio

utesfan100 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:43:48 -0000

December 26th 2009, 1 ET ESPN

The Little Ceasar's Pizza Bowl starts its first season under its new name (Formerly the Motor City Bowl) with the Marshall Thundering Herd team that was present for the first four games in the thirteen year history of this bowl game. This bowl is advertised as the only major bowl game played in the mid-west.

Marshall is 3-1 in the Pizza Bowl and this will be the Ohio Bobcats first appearance. Ohio leads the all time series 29-17-6, though Marshall has a four game winning streak. They won the most recent game 16-13 in Athens Ohio. They have not played since Marshall left the MAC for C-USA.

Five years later, how do the teams look?

General

	Marshall Thundering Herd	Ohio Bobcats
Current Top 25 Faced	#11 Virginia Tech (10-52) #16 West Virgina (7-27)	None
Ranking	#76	#63
Record	6-6	9-4

Marshall has faced a tougher test but Ohio has less loses to show for it. Both have faced several teams as strong as or better than what they will face in Detroit.

Marshall's Ball

	Marshall Offense	Ohio Defense
Points	21.83	21.31
Yards	355.3	354.2
Per Play	5.25	4.90
Rushing	138.8	150.9
Per Play	3.92	3.87
Passing	216.5	203.2
Per Play	6.71	6.12
Turnovers	21	36

Marshall should have some success moving the ball but needs to watch out for Ohio's turnover hungry defense. Marshall should have a better day on the ground than they are used to but the passing lane will be available also.

Ohio's Ball

	Marshall Defense	Ohio Offense
Points	24.92	25.38
Yards	392.5	324.5
Per Play	5.92	5.23
Rushing	145.1	119.7
Per Play	4.57	3.61
Passing	247.4	204.9
Per Play	7.15	7.1
Turnovers	16	22

Ohio will likely have success in the passing game, but the ground game will be available also.

Prediction

Ohio should be able to leverage a slight statistical lead almost across the board into a solid but close win.

Ohio 24 Marshall 21

Poll

Who will win the 2009 Pizza Bowl

Fortune Teller: 2009 Bowl Predictions (Part 1)

Brian @ BCI — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:16:14 -0000

For the third straight year, we preview the upcoming college football postseason. Here are our picks for bowls 1-17, which takes you from the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque to El Paso, Texas for the Sun Bowl.

Leave your thoughts on any of the first 17 matchups below.

New Mexico (December 19)

Matchup: Fresno State (8-4) vs. Wyoming (6-6)
The Line: Fresno State -11.5

The Lead: Wyoming makes only its second trip to a bowl this decade while Fresno State makes its 9th bowl appearance in the last 10 years. Fresno State returns to New Mexico for the second straight year (losing to Colorado State 40-35 last year).

Brian Pick: Fresno State -11.5
Jeff Pick: Wyoming +11.5

St. Petersburg presented by Beef ‘O’ Brady’s (December 19)

Matchup: UCF (8-4) vs. Rutgers (8-4)
The Line: Rutgers -2.5

The Lead: Rutgers just making a bowl game game is no longer exciting for their players and fans who had higher hopes coming into this season than to finish 3-4 in the Big East. UCF meanwhile will be playing less than three hours from their campus and should be thrilled to be there.

Jeff Pick: UCF +2.5
Brian Pick: Rutgers -2.5

R + L Carrier New Orleans (December 20)

Matchup: Southern Miss (7-5) vs. Middle Tennessee (9-3)
The Line: Southern Miss -3.5

The Lead: Southern Miss returns to the New Orleans Bowl for the second straight year. Last year, Southern Miss blocked a field goal in overtime to defeat Troy 30-27 in one of the more entertaining 2008 bowl games. Middle Tennessee State is one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 6 straight and reaching the 9 win plateau for the first time since joining Division I-A in 1999. Southern Miss has a perfect 3-0 record in the New Orleans Bowl.

Brian Pick: Southern Miss -3.5
Jeff Pick: Southern Miss -3.5

MAACO Las Vegas (December 22)

Matchup: Oregon State (8-4) vs. BYU (10-2)
The Line: Oregon State -2.5

The Lead: BYU was on top of the world after beating Oklahoma to start the season. Oregon State was on top of the college football world in the final Thursday night of the season when playing Oregon for the Pac-10 title. Things didn't work out as either team had hoped from those points on though and they both fell to the pre-Christmas Las Vegas Bowl. Oregon State has plenty to prove though as they attempt to beat BYU, TCU and Boise State in the next 11 months and serve as the non-BCS school killer.

Jeff Pick: Oregon State -2.5
Brian Pick: Oregon State -2.5

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia (December 23)

Matchup: Utah (9-3) vs. California (8-4)
The Line: California -3

The Lead: With BC losing to Vanderbilt last season, Utah now owns the longest active winning streak in bowl games, having won their last 8 games including last year’s Sugar Bowl over Alabama. Cal is riding a seven game streak for bowl apperances, the longest in school history.

Brian Pick: Utah +3
Jeff Pick: Utah +3

Sheraton Hawaii (December 24)

Matchup: Nevada (8-4) vs. SMU (7-5)
The Line: Nevada -15

The Lead: This game features a very good WAC team against a very good C-USA team but does that mean that they are actually good teams? It's tough to say. Neither team has a very impressive win this season and both seemed to lose all their games when they had opportunities to prove themselves. Will anyone watch the Christmas Eve game in Hawaii? Other than Brian?

Jeff Pick: SMU +15
Brian Pick: Nevada -15

Little Caesars (December 26)

Matchup: Marshall (6-6) vs. Ohio (9-4)
The Line: Ohio -2.5

The Lead: This game renews a rivalry game between the two schools located only 80 miles apart. Ohio and Marshall used to compete in the Battle for the Bell which is set to be renewed in 2010. Ohio leads the all-time series 29-17-6, however Marshall has won 8 of the last 10 matchups between the two geographic neighbors.

Brian Pick: Ohio -2.5
Jeff Pick: Ohio -2.5

Meineke Car Care (December 26)

Matchup: Pittsburgh (9-3) vs. North Carolina (8-4)
The Line: Pittsburgh -3

The Lead: What a disappointing finish to the season for Pittsburgh. Pitt lost to their backyard brawl rival West Virginia before losing to Cincinnati in a de-facto Big East Championship game. The Panthers led the entire game against Cincinnati but could not finish so now instead of the Orange Bowl they get a trip to Charlotte to play North Carolina in a "road" bowl game. Good luck getting your team fired up for this one, Dave!

Jeff Pick: North Carolina +3
Brian Pick: Pittsburgh -3

Emerald (December 26)

Matchup: Boston College (8-4) vs. USC (8-4)
The Line: USC -9

The Lead: The 8-4 Eagles travel to San Francisco for the second time this decade to take on the 8-4 USC Trojans. This is the first time in seven years that USC hasn’t played in a BCS bowl game (5 Rose Bowls, 2 Orange Bowls). Good news for the Eagles is the last time Pete Carroll found himself in a non-BCS bowl game, the Trojans lost 10-6 to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. You don't think we would pick against BC now, do you?

Brian Pick: Boston College +9
Jeff Pick: Boston College +9

Gaylor Hotels Music City (December 27)

Matchup: Kentucky (7-5) vs. Clemson (8-5)
The Line: Clemson -7.5

The Lead: If Boston College's 2008 performance in the Music City Bowl is any indication of how Clemson might play this year after the disappointing ACC Championship Game, it's is going to be tough to watch for Tiger fans. But after losing to South Carolina, the ACC really doesn't need Clemson, or any of its top programs, to lose to mediocre SEC teams. Clemson ticket sales for the bowl have been soft but hopefully Dabo can rally this team to victory.

Jeff Pick: Kentucky +7.5
Brian Pick: Clemson -7.5

AdvoCare V100 Independence (December 28)

Matchup: Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Georgia (7-5)
The Line: Georgia -7

The Lead: Georgia wraps up an otherwise disappointing, up-and-down season in Shreveport, Louisiana. For every quality win for UGA, there seemed to be an equally puzzling loss this year. Defeat Arkansas, get crushed at Tennessee. Defeat Auburn, lose to Kentucky at home, come back and defeat in-state rival Georgia Tech. Texas A&M has had a similar up-and-down season, but seemingly backed into the postseason having lost 3 of their last 4 games.

Brian Pick: Georgia -7
Jeff Pick: Georgia -7

EagleBank (December 29)

Matchup: UCLA (6-6) vs. Temple (9-3)
The Line: UCLA -4

The Lead: UCLA had to wait to see the result of the Army-Navy game before getting officially invited to this bowl game. In the bowl's second season, I don't imagine that their will be much hype this year compared to last year's geographically favorable matchup of Wake Forest vs. Navy. Look for Temple to surprise some people and possibly knock off a BCS school in this one.

Jeff Pick: Temple +4
Brian Pick: Temple +4

Champs Sports (December 29)

Matchup: Miami (Fla.) (9-3) vs. Wisconsin (9-3)
The Line: Miami -3

The Lead: This year’s Champs Sports Bowl is a matchup of 9-3 ranked teams. Both teams are coming off strong finishes, each winning 4 of their final 5 games. Wisconsin finished the season with a 51-10 drubbing of Hawaii on the road, while Miami took care of USF 31-10. Miami is 2-0 all-time in the Champs Sports Bowl. Wisconsin played in Orlando last season, losing to Florida State 42-13. This is the last year the Big 10 will be represented in this bowl as the Big East will send a team to face an ACC opponent starting next season.

Brian Pick: Miami -3
Jeff Pick: Miami -3

Roady’s Humanitarian (December 30)

Matchup: Bowling Green (8-5) vs. Idaho (7-5)
The Line: Idaho +1.5

The Lead: Another game that might set an attendance record this season but not the kind of record that you want to be setting if you are putting this bowl together. Boise fans might already be on their way to the Fiesta Bowl so even getting a few locals to come out for this game will be difficult. Bowling Green has a pretty good WR, and Idaho plays home games in a dome. That's all I have for this one.

Jeff Pick: Bowling Green -1.5
Brian Pick: Idaho +1.5

Pacific Life Holiday (December 30)

Matchup: Arizona (8-4) vs. Nebraska (9-4)
The Line: Arizona -1.5

The Lead: Arizona - having defeated the Trojans 21-17 to move to 6-3 in conference - will represent the Pac-10 as its #2 team in the Holiday Bowl. Nebraska won the Big 12 North, finishing the season at 9-4, 6-2 in conference. The Cornhuskers are coming off a heartbreaking 13-12 loss to Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Brian Pick: Arizona -1.5
Jeff Pick: Nebraska +1.5

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces (December 31)

Matchup: Houston (10-3) vs. Air Force (7-5)
The Line: Houston -4.5

The Lead: The mighty Houston Cougars who knocked off Oklahoma State at home are only 4.5 point favorites against Air Force? Oh right, we later found out that Oklahoma State was not nearly as good as anyone thought the would be and failed to make a push for a BCS bowl by nearly losing to Colorado and then getting destroyed by Oklahoma to end the season. Air Force had another nice season but only managed a 1-5 record against bowl bound teams this season.

Jeff Pick: Air Force +4.5
Brian Pick: Houston -4.5

Brut Sun (December 31)

Matchup: Oklahoma (7-5) vs. Stanford (8-4)
The Line: Oklahoma -8

The Lead: This should be an intriguing matchup between the unstoppable force (Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart and the 15th ranked Stanford Cardinal offense) and the immovable object (Oklahoma's 7th ranked defense). Oklahoma has had an otherwise disappointing season, that is, up until they put a 27-0 hurtin' on in-state rival Oklahoma State in Bedlam. Stanford may or may not be playing without the services of starting freshman quarterback Andrew Luck.

Brian Pick: Stanford +8
Jeff Pick: Oklahoma -8

Maximum Bowl Overdrive

JazzyUte — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:46:10 -0000

I'm not sure if the Trucker College Green Demons qualified...

It's the holiday season again and that can only mean one thing - we're about to bombarded by the numerous bowl games that will dominate the next couple of weeks. It's as much apart of the Christmas season as eggnog, gaudy sweaters and ridiculous and tacky Christmas decorations. Which is fitting, because, much like the overblown displays we see throughout countless American suburban neighborhoods, the bowl system is just as overdone.

It's like the Griswold house...overdone, overblown...yet oddly you can't turn away.

Like crack, though, we just can't get enough of it. We'll bitch about the prospects of some program from the Sun Belt taking on the fifth best MAC team and yet, when it's all said and done, how many of you will pass up the opportunity to watch it if there is nothing else planned for that night?

I mean, even at my aunt's annual Christmas Eve party last year, we watched Notre Dame take on Hawaii in their bowl game. It wasn't an epic showdown and neither team really deserved the post season - but it didn't stop any of our family from watching that game.

In fact, I overdosed on bowl games in '08. Maybe it was in anticipation for the Sugar Bowl or maybe I truly am addicted. But when I came across a game between two 7-win teams that didn't mean anything other than bragging rights, I stopped and watched.

That's what happens, right? We can't pass up the chance to watch football. Especially when we know in less than a month, it'll be over until August. That's a long time and the bowl season offers up that one last party. You know, the bowl season really is our Fat Tuesday. We'll use it to gorge ourselves on the game knowing the fast is but only a few days away.

Which makes a playoff that much more obvious. You not only get the beauty of more games, but they actually mean something. Who cares if Bowling Green beats Idaho? Neither team has any chance of finishing ranked. So, like most every other bowl, it's just filler. It's just empty calories.

Now I'm sure to their fans, that bowl means a lot. But I'm not an Idaho fan and I don't expect them to put anything into the Poinsettia Bowl. So, basically, there are only a handful of bowl games that seriously interest a great deal of college football fans. That's obviously the national championship game and the BCS bowl your conference's best team might be playing in that year. For us, it's the Fiesta. Outside of that, I don't care what happens in the Orange. Or even the Sugar.

The national championship only matters because, even if we don't like the process, it still decides the champion.

That means every other bowl game is just there for the sake of being there. If the Little Caesars Bowl were to fold tomorrow, would anyone care? Well maybe the C-USA and MAC - but that's about it.

Yet I don't doubt that, if I stumble across the Little Caesars Bowl, I'll find myself watching. Do I care if Marshall or Ohio wins? No. But it won't stop me from enjoying the game.

Don't Bet On It!: College Football Bowl Edition (Part II)

T Kyle King — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:18:41 -0000

I made it through the ~~Sin City~~ Las Vegas Bowl in my last round of picks, so it’s time to rejoin the postseason schedule on the eve of Christmas Eve and run down my next four bowl predictions. As always, my ordinary mantra applies: Don’t Bet On It!

These are the next games on the slate in need of forecasting:

Poinsettia Bowl: California Golden Bears v. Utah Utes (Dec. 23): In the five years prior to this one, even those of us on the East Coast who aren’t entirely convinced that Versus is an actual channel have become accustomed to thinking of Utah as a top-flight college program bordering on perennial elite status. While this perception isn’t necessarily mistaken, it also isn’t applicable to 2009. This year, the Utes have gone 9-3, which sounds pretty good until you consider the fact that their three losses were to teams that together have gone 32-4 and their nine wins came against opponents with collective ledgers of 34-72. In short, Utah hasn’t beaten anyone who’s any good and Cal is a top 20 team. With apologies to the Superfans, I’m going with da Bears. (What if da Bears were midgets? Then it would be a much closer game . . . say, Bears 63, Utes 12. What about Tedford? Is he regular-sized? ‘Cause I assumed it was a mini-Tedford.)

Hawaii Bowl: Nevada Wolf Pack v. SMU Mustangs (Dec. 24): I’m not entirely convinced of this, but I’m fairly sure these two used to be in the same conference together at some point, maybe during one of the WAC’s wilder 36-team incarnations. Also, I find it a bit ironic that the student-athletes of Southern Methodist University, which is only now recovering from becoming the first program to be given the death penalty by the NCAA a quarter-century ago, are going up against the student-athletes of the University of Nevada at Reno, a program located in the quickie divorce capital of the world . . . so, basically, these two teams represent opposite ends of the spectrum where the consequences of cheating are concerned. I’m a Georgia fan, so you’ll have to excuse me if I’m a bit skeptical about June Jones’s ability to get his team to step up in a bowl game. I’m taking Nevada to get the better of the last living adherent of the run and shoot in what is apt to be a rocky homecoming.

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Marshall Thundering Herd v. Ohio Bobcats (Dec. 26): All right, I’m absolutely certain that this used to be a conference game, back when this postseason tilt was the Motor City Bowl and wasn’t sponsored by the latest pizza company to get in on the act. I make a habit of making unmerciful fun of Ohio (Ohio), but, when the Bobcats are going up against a team that fired its head coach and is difficult to identify as a bowl team, I’ll side with Ohio to beat Marshall.

Meineke Car Care Bowl: North Carolina Tar Heels v. Pittsburgh Panthers (Dec. 26): A criminal defense attorney of my longstanding acquaintance has what he calls his "Joyce Kilmer defense" whenever a client of his is charged with manufacture of a controlled substance with respect to marijuana. His argument is that, while a guy running a meth lab is engaged in the manufacture of an illegal drug, a guy who’s growing pot plants isn’t "manufacturing" anything, because "only God can make a tree." Anyone who appreciates the distinction between a Hamiltonian affinity for manufacturing and a Jeffersonian devotion to agrarianism (as exemplified in the prose of the Vanderbilt Fugitives, the poetry of Wendell Berry, and the film "The Dukes of Hazzard") recognizes that he is right, which brings me to the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate bowl games. Bowls named after plants (Rose, Orange, Sugar, Cotton) or after animals that are raised on a farm (Chick-fil-A) are good bowl games. (Admittedly, the aforementioned Poinsettia Bowl undermines this argument.) The Meineke Car Care Bowl generally is a clear example of the fact that bowls named after factory-produced goods or the retailers who sell them tend to be crummy contests. That said, a showdown between Pitt and UNC should make for a better game than most, and I have learned my lesson. Siding with Dave Wannstedt in a meaningful game is like getting involved in a land war in Asia; it’s one of the classic blunders. Accordingly, I’m picking the Tar Heels. After all, we are dealing with tobacco-growing Southern agrarians doing battle with steel-welding Eastern industrialists.

In case you’re keeping track at home, that’s eight games down and 73 26 to go, so stick around for the rest of the Dawg Sports bowl picks, and, in the meantime, remember . . . Don’t Bet On It!

Go ‘Dawgs!

Ranking The 2009-2010 Bowls: Part 1

Mark Kieffer — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:10:59 -0000

Everyone and their grandma has been ranking the bowls......Except for me. So I figured that I should jump in on all the fun, and talk about the 2nd season of College Football: "Bowl Season".

Now, I am in the camp of those who think there are just way too many bowl games. I'm not going to lie. It takes quite a bit to get me hyped up for a bowl game. To be honest, almost every year I set out to try and watch every bowl game, and every year I end up watching a handful of bowls, but mostly college basketball.

This year, I'm not making any promises like that, especially when it's quite possible I'll be going down to Tempe for the bowl game. At the same time, I will make the effort of watching a handful of games, and I figured I would share my process of elimination with you, by doing a countdown of bowl games that I am looking forward to most.

In Part 1 of this three part series, I'm going to countdown the 14 bowls that I find the least exciting. I'd characterize this group by saying that I could watch some of these games, but I'm certainly not rearranging my life to watch them. I can safely say that if I somehow did not watch a single game from this group, I wouldn't be too disappointed.

#34: New Orleans Bowl (Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee State), 12/20/2009, 7:30pm CST, ESPN

I have absolutley no reason to get excited about this game at all. I thought Southern Miss would be a better team than they were, but they ended up being just another 7-5 midmajor. If you're hardcore, on paper these teams look pretty even in regards to scoring. It could be a close game. Accuscore has Southern Miss as a 54% favorite. Whatifsports.com has Southern Miss, just edging the victory as well. Fortunatley for me, the Vikings play the Panthers on that Sunday night, so I will be watching that as well.

#33: New Mexico Bowl (Fresno State vs. Wyoming), 12/19/2009, 3:30pm CST, ESPN

There have been years in the past, when I've flicked on the game, because it's the 1st one in the season, and it's been a bit of a novelty. Usually, I can't watch past the 1st quarter. This year, I will probably try and attempt the same thing, but will end up doing something else. Not a knock on Fresno State which is a decent team, but moreso on Wyoming. On paper, this has the makings of a blowout. With Fresno State, you have one of the best offenses in the nation, averaging 436 yards/game and about 34 points scored. With Wyoming, you have one of the worst offenses, averaging 298 yards/game, and about 17 points scored.

#32: Little Caesar's Bowl (Marshall vs. Ohio), 12/26/2009, Noon CST, ESPN

What ranks this game here as opposed to last, is probably the fact that Marshall has a new head coach from the regular season now. Since there is a "craziness" possibility to this game, I may watch the first few series.

#31: Hawaii Bowl (Nevada vs. SMU), 12/24/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

The biggest thing this game has going for it, is that there is no College Basketball at all that night, no other College Football that night, and no NBA either. There is a Chargers vs. Titans game on the NFL Network, but that's it as far as sports go. People wanting their sports fix might be tuning into this one. Or maybe they will do something with their families on Christmas Eve (for those that celebrate it).

#30: GMAC Bowl (Central Michigan vs. Troy), 1/6/2010, 6pm CST, ESPN

This actually is a decent matchup among mid-majors. It really is. The biggest problem with this bowl is that it's sandwiched right between the Orange Bowl and the BCS Championship Game. I might watch some of it, as I wait for the Iowa State vs. Duke game, but that's about it.

#29: St. Petersburg Bowl (UCF vs. Rutgers), 12/19/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

I know Rutgers is 8-4, but they went 3-4 in the Big East. Also, this is practically a homegame for UCF. Just not a lot about this game to sell me on.

#28: EagleBank Bowl (UCLA vs. Temple), 12/29/2009, 3:30pm CST, ESPN

Can't say much about this one, other than I'm probably not going to watch it.

#27: International Bowl (South Florida vs. Northern Illinois), 1/2/2010, 11am CST, ESPN2

I don't think I've ever watched the International Bowl and this matchup isn't really changing the chances of that happening for me.

#26: Armed Forces Bowl (Houston vs. Air Force), 12/31/2009, 11am CST, ESPN

The thick of the CUSA schedule exposed Houston as a paper tiger, it could be a close game. It is an interesting matchup in Houston has the best pass offense in the nation, while Air Force has the best pass defense in the nation. There's not enough there for me to take an interest, especially if I'm in Tempe getting ready for the Insight Bowl.

#25: Alamo Bowl (Michigan State vs. Texas Tech), 1/2/2010, 8pm CST, ESPN

Michigan State is a disappointment this year. I think many thought they had an outside shot to compete for the Big 10, and instead they finish 6-6. To add insult to injury, they also suspended 8 guys and kicked 2 off the team for some off the field drama. There's no reason why Texas Tech shouldn't roll this team by 21.

#24: Meineke Car Care Bowl (Pitt vs. UNC), 12/26/2009, 3:30pm CST, ESPN

On paper, Pitt should roll UNC. I just wonder how they will play coming off that disappointing loss to Cincy. It seems like when a team gets snubbed or loses a tough championship game like that, they don't come in ready to play.

UNC is just manic with their play. Some weeks they look great and beat Virginia Tech, while others they are losing to NC-State. Overall, I see the makings of a potentially sloppy game

#23: Humanitarian Bowl (Bowling Green vs. Idaho), 12/30/2009, 3:30pm CST, ESPN

Watch the weather forecast for this one. If it's a clear, calm day, it's going to be a shootout with my man Freddie Barnes tearing it up, and I'm going to want to watch it! If it's blizzard conditions, or just a day condusive to running the ball a lot, this bowl belongs in the #34-30 range.

#22: Music City Bowl (Kentucky vs. Clemson), 12/27/2009, 7:30pm CST, ESPN

C.J. Spiller is the reason to watch this game. If you haven't seen him play before this would be a good spot to see him as I have a feeling he'll have a big game in this one. Kentucky has a bad rush defense. That said, I see this as a Clemson romp, so I'm not exactly expecting a good game from this one.

#21: Papajohns.com Bowl (South Carolina vs. UConn), 1/2/2010, 1pm CST, ESPN

South Carolina really perplexes me. Spurrier is supposed to be this offensive genius, but South Carolina seems to have had sucky offenses since he took over. I'm rooting for UConn in this one. With everything they've gone through this season, how nice would it be to see the Huskies get a bowl victory?

In Part 2 of this series, I will count down the next tier of bowl games in terms of what I'm looking forward to. Look for that on Tuesday. In the meantime, feel free to join in on the conversation.

3rd Annual Rock M Nation Bowl Pick 'Em Contest

The Beef — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:00:18 -0000

UPDATE: BUMPED BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE. PICKS ARE DUE AT NOON TOMORROW.

That's right loyal readers...the Bowl Pick 'Em Contest is back for its third season.

It is simple to participate. Simply reply to this thread with your picks. You will need to pick both against the spread, as well as the over/under, so you will have two picks per game. The spreads are LOCKED, so a movement in the line will not be taken into account. The spreads are courtesy of bookmaker.com because...well...that's the one I could find (and unless otherwise noted) They also represent where the lines were when they opened, which was a week ago (had to wait for Army/Navy to be played to determine Eagle Bowl and Texas Bowl line)

Our winner from last year is FSUncensored, who went 39-27 to win by three games over The Cool Alonzo and myself. All time, MU 1839 (our first winner) holds the best two-year record at 18 games over .500 (74-56). Of the "couples" category, The Beef and Tailgate Queen came out 3 game ahead of Bill C and Bill C's wife last year, tying their annual battle at 1-1. Overall, the contest generated a won-loss record of 1066-1244 for a not so good percentage of .461. Over the two years, we currently sit at 1711-1879 for a winning percentage of .477. Yes...I've kept track.

Picks are due by noon on Saturday, December 19th (since the first games are later that evening). Picks are lined up after the jump.

As for prizes...1st prize will get you the Rock M Nation T-shirt of your choice, unless RPT (who somehow is the keeper of the purse strings around here) decides we want to pony up some additional swag.

Anyway, we had a good time with this last year with 35 participants (up from 20 the first year) and somehow I am thinking we are going to have a FEW more than that :-) Come one, come all (and that certainly includes non-Rock M regulars...anyone from SB Nation is welcome to participate)...make me work hard at this. If you were here last season and have changed names, just let me know and I will do my best to give you your two or three-season score when all is said and done as well. I will also be adding a couple set of special picks. We will have the "coin-flip" picks, where each pick will be decided by heads or tails. I will also compile the "Consensus" picks, which will be the most popular pick on each game, to see how RMN did as a community (in the majority at least).

New Mexico

Fresno State -10 1/2 vs. Wyoming

Over/Under - 55 1/2

St. Petersburg

Rutgers -2 vs. UCF

Over/Under - 44 1/2

New Orleans

Sothern Miss -3 1/2 vs. Mid Tenn St.

Over/Under - 59

Las Vegas

Oregon State - 1 1/2 vs. BYU

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Poinsetta

Cal -3 vs. Utah

Over/Under - 53 1/2

Hawaii

Nevada -14 vs. SMU

Over/Under - 73 1/2

Little Caesers

Ohio -2 vs. Marshall

Over/Under - 50

Meineke

Pitt -3 vs. UNC

Over/Under - 44 1/2

Emerald

USC -9 vs. BC

Over/Under - 45 1/2

Music City

Clemson -7 vs. Kentucky

Over/Under - 52 1/2

Independence

Georgia -7 vs. Texas A&M

Over/Under - 64

Eagle Bank (LSVC odds)

UCLA -4 vs. Temple

Over/Under - 46 1/2

Champs Sports

Miami (FL) -3 vs. Wisconsin

Over/Under - 56

Humanitarian

Bowling Green PK vs. Idaho

Over/Under - 68 1/2

Holiday

Arizona -1 vs. Nebraska

Over/Under - 41

Armed Forces

Houston -5 vs. Air Force

Over/Under - 61

Sun

Oklahoma -9 1/2 vs. Stanford

Over/Under - 56 1/2

Texas (LVSC odds)

Mizzou -6 vs. Navy

Over/Under - 54

Insight

Minnesota -3 vs. Iowa State

Over/Under - 48

Chick-Fil-A

Va Tech -4 1/2 vs. Tenn

Over/Under - 50 1/2

Outback

Auburn -8 vs. Northwestern

Over/Under - 54 1/2

Gator

West Virginia -2 1/2 vs. Florida St.

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Capital One

Penn State -3 vs. LSU

Over/Under - 44

Rose

Oregon -3 1/2 vs. Ohio State

Over/Under - 51 1/2

Sugar

Florida -10 vs. Cincy

Over/Under - 55 1/2

International

South Fla. -6 1/2 vs. No. Illinois

Over/Under - 50

PapaJohns

South Carolina -4 1/2 vs. UCONN

Over/Under - 53

Cotton

Ole Miss -3 vs. Okie State

Over/Under -  50 1/2

Liberty

Arkansas -7 1/2 vs. East Carolina

Over/Under - 63 1/2

Alamo

Texas Tech -7 vs. Michigan St.

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Fiesta

TCU -7 vs. Boise St

Over/Under - 54

Orange

Ga Tech -4 vs. Iowa

Over/Under - 51

GMAC

Central Mich -4 vs. Troy

Over/Under - 64

BCS Champ

Alabama -5 1/2 vs. Texas

Over/Under - 45

Week Fourteen BlogPoll Ballot Draft

T Kyle King — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:52:12 -0000

The time has come to cast my final regular-season BlogPoll ballot---or, at least, I think it has; I’m assuming we’re not submitting new top 25s after next weekend’s Army-Navy game---and here is what I came up with after starting with a blank piece of paper:

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Cincinnati	2
3	Texas
4	Boise State	1
5	TCU	1
6	Florida	4
7	Oregon
8	Ohio State
9	Georgia Tech	1
10	Iowa	1
11	West Virginia	9
12	LSU	1
13	Arizona
14	Oregon State	2
15	Southern Cal
16	Virginia Tech	5
17	Stanford
18	Miami (Florida)	4
19	Pittsburgh	7
20	California	1
21	Oklahoma State	2
22	Brigham Young	1
23	Nebraska	1
24	Penn State	7
25	Wisconsin	1
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Houston (#18), Central Michigan (#25).

The Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0) are No. 1. Duh! Of the dozen Division I-A opponents beaten by Nick Saban’s squad, nine finished with winning records, including the sixth-ranked Florida Gators, the twelfth-ranked LSU Tigers, and the 16th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. The Tide’s only close calls came in rivalry games against teams who will be playing on New Year’s Eve or later.

In spite of their close call against the Pittsburgh Panthers in a game played in the snow featuring two botched extra point attempts, the Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0) captured the No. 2 spot on my ballot by virtue of seven regular-season wins over teams that finished above .500, among them the 11th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, the 14th-ranked Oregon St. Beavers, and 19th-ranked Pitt. Also, Cincy gets credit for having a logo reminiscent of Chick-fil-A's.

While I understand and respect C&F’s argument, I awarded the No. 3 ranking to the Texas Longhorns (13-0) because Mack Brown’s outfit went undefeated against a slate that included no Division I-AA schedule fodder and only four teams that posted losing ledgers. Wins over the No. 21 Oklahoma St. Cowboys and the No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers provided heft to the Big 12 standard-bearer’s resume.

I ranked the Boise St. Broncos (13-0) ahead of the TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) for a variety of reasons. Both took advantage of a Division I-AA victim and each faced five Division I-A teams with winning records, but Boise State has an additional win and Texas Christian has two close shaves (at Air Force and at Clemson) as opposed to the Broncos’ one (at Tulsa). Boise State’s second- and third-best wins (over Nevada and Fresno State) are comparable to the Frogs’ (over Utah and Clemson), but the Broncos’ marquee victory over the seven-ranked Oregon Ducks far outshines TCU’s best pelt, that of the 22nd-ranked BYU Cougars.

The Sunshine State Saurians (12-1) slipped to sixth after their less than competitive neutral site outing against ‘Bama, as befits the nation’s lone once-beaten team, and Oregon (10-2) led the parade of two-loss teams because the Ducks fell to two quality teams on the road and made up for those setbacks with wins over three teams ranked in my top 20 (Arizona, Oregon State, and Cal).

The Ohio St. Buckeyes (10-2) earned a No. 8 ranking on the strength of wins over the tenth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, the 24th-ranked Penn St. Nittany Lions, and the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-2) rode their ~~fourth-place finish in the SEC East~~ ACC championship to the No. 9 ranking, although the Ramblin’ Wreck’s loss to the Georgia Bulldogs at home serves as a drag on a resume that includes five close calls in the Golden Tornado’s ten Division I-A wins. Only two of the Engineers’ victims finished with fewer than five losses, but one of those triumphs came over No. 16 VPI.

Iowa (10-2) carded quality victories over a trio of top 25 teams (Arizona, Penn State, and Wisconsin, all by double-digit margins) to overcome respectable losses to Ohio State and Northwestern, both of whom will be playing on New Year’s Day. (For whatever it might be worth, I would point out that the five BCS bowls pit No. 9 v. No. 10, No. 7 v. No. 8, No. 4 v. No. 5, No. 2 v. No. 6, and No. 1 v. No. 3 on my ballot. This ought to be a pretty good bowl season.)

West Virginia narrowly edged out Louisiana State in my estimation. Both teams boasted similar resumes: both finished 9-3; both won three games by a touchdown or less; both lost one game by a touchdown or less. However, as ashamed as I am to admit it, the Mountain Men’s win over Pitt counts for more this season than the Bayou Bengals’ win over Georgia. I know, it hurts me to admit that, too; visions of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino will haunt my dreams tonight.

A glut of 8-4 clubs out of the Pac-10 proved difficult to untangle, but I declared the Arizona Wildcats first among equals by awarding Mike Stoops’s troops the No. 13 ranking. Three of Arizona’s four losses came on the road, two of them were nailbiters, and only one of them was the handiwork of a team with fewer than eight wins. The Wildcats carded victories over No. 14 Oregon State, the 15th-ranked USC Trojans, and the 17th-ranked Stanford Cardinal, with Central Michigan thrown in for good measure.

The Beavers landed right behind Arizona, partly because of wins over Cal and Stanford but mostly because of a quartet of quality losses. Oregon State’s four setbacks all came against opponents sporting eight or more wins, and, of the four, only the one against the No. 2 team in the country wasn’t a close call.

I will grant that it appears somewhat strange that I placed Stanford at No. 17, two spots behind Southern California (a club the Cardinal beat handily in Los Angeles) and three spots ahead of the California Golden Bears (a squad that defeated Jim Harbaugh’s outfit at the Farm), but Stanford had no legitimate third-best victory after the Cardinal’s wins over Oregon and USC to overcome the trio of triumphs notched by the Men of Troy over Ohio State, Oregon State, and Cal. Likewise, the Bears of Berkeley had trouble overcoming the fact that all four of their losses came by margins of 17 points or more. Oddly enough, Southern California, Stanford, and California each lost to a 5-7 team on the road, but the Trojans’ loss to the Washington Huskies and the Cardinal’s loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at least had the virtue of being close.

Sandwiched amid those West Coast outfits were No. 16 Virginia Tech (9-3), which beat top 25 teams Miami and Nebraska while sustaining three respectable defeats (including two to top ten squads); the 18th-ranked Miami Hurricanes (9-3), who are able to boast of a marquee win over Georgia Tech; and 19th-ranked Pittsburgh (9-3), which sneaked ahead of California by virtue of a more forgivable set of losses. The Panthers’ three setbacks all came by close margins, with two of those coming in down-to-the-wire clashes with top eleven opponents Cincinnati and West Virginia. Pitt’s loss to N.C. State was comparable to Cal’s loss to Washington---both came on the road against 5-7 squads---but the Wolfpack won by seven and the Huskies won by 32.

The inclusion of Oklahoma State (9-3) attested to the fact that next year’s BlogPoll should rank only 20 teams instead of 25---which the Associated Press poll did prior to 1989, by the way---but somebody had to be No. 21, so the Pokes were as qualified as anyone. Why was Les Miles’s old team ranked nine spots behind Les Miles’s current team when both have identical records and both count a win over the ‘Dawgs among their most impressive conquests? Simple: LSU lost to three teams with a combined 33-5 record by a combined 62-41 margin, while OSU lost to three teams with a combined 30-8 record by a combined 113-49 margin.

BYU (10-2) had absolutely no business being ranked after getting positively smoked by TCU and the hapless Florida St. Seminoles, but Brigham Young beat the Oklahoma Sooners and the Utah Utes, which counts for something. Nebraska (9-4) did little to impress me in the win column---the ‘Huskers beat only two teams with winning records---but, since all of the Big Red Machine’s losses were to teams that finished .500 or better and three of those were by razor-thin margins, I gave Bo Pelini’s team the benefit of the doubt.

The fact that Penn State (10-2) and Wisconsin (9-3) made the grade proves that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel; both the Nittany Lions and the Badgers lost convincingly to the Big Ten’s two top ten teams and neither beat more than two Division I-A teams that finished above .500, but the dearth of quality squads at the bottom of my ballot allowed a PSU team whose best win was against Temple and a Wiscy unit whose best win was against Fresno State to sneak undeservedly into the top 25.

Consideration was also given to the Boston College Eagles and the Mississippi Rebels. I’d like to tell you that I took a look at the Central Michigan Chippewas, East Carolina Pirates, Houston Cougars, Missouri Tigers, Navy Midshipmen, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern Wildcats, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, but, if I said so, I’d be lying.

I watched the Oregon-Oregon State game on Thursday, the Central Michigan-Ohio (Ohio) game on Friday, and a Saturday slate consisting primarily of the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh, Alabama-Florida, and Clemson-Georgia Tech games, with bits of the Nebraska-Texas and Hawaii-Wisconsin tilts sprinkled in for variety.

As always, I actively solicit your input with respect to what is, after all, a draft ballot. Feel free to register your disagreement or lobby for or against particular teams in the comments below.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Special Friday Night Open Thread: UCLA Bowl Prospects

Nestor — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:13:16 -0000

More photos » by Al Goldis - AP

Let's scout the Chippewas (just in case). GO BRUINS.

Browse more photos »

Well a heartbreaker for our women's soccer team who were just eliminated in the NCAA college cup by Stanford. Bruins showed heart against undefeated Stanford team by tying up the game after falling behind in second half. Unfortunate it was Stanford's night who move on to the finals. Congrats to them but more importantly congrats to our women for another outstanding season. They will get that championship sooner or later and they look like they have enough young talent on the team (Leroux was amazing to watch) to make another run season.

For now though let's shift our attention to back to football. orlandobruin laid out the bowl scenario earlier today. Looks like our prospects got even better as Notre Dame has officially decided to back out of a bowl game (HT hicalliber). If we do get to a bowl, one of our likely destination will be the GMAC Bowl, where we might take on Central Michigan University. Well CMU is on ESPN2 right now taking on Ohio Bobcats in the MAC Championship game.

If you are watching it, why don't you use this thread to give us some early info, just in case we need to gather notes.

Fire away.

GO BRUINS.

Don't Bet On It!: National Games of Interest

T Kyle King — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:00:44 -0000

Needless to say, it has been a busy week in Bulldog Nation, which is why I’m a bit behind schedule in bringing you this week’s special dual SEC/national edition of "Don’t Bet On It!" Reversing the typical trends, I went 4-2 in last week’s national games of interest and 2-4 in last week’s conference picks, bringing me to 68-16 for the season in SEC contests and 32-30 in other outings. In other words, I’m now utterly unreliable in every category, which is all the more reason why you should believe me when I tell you . . . Don’t Bet On It!

Here are this week’s important outings, which will be played on Saturday, December 5, unless indicated otherwise:

East Carolina Pirates v. Houston Cougars: Obviously, I am using the broadest possible definition of "national games of interest" here, but there is a conference title on the line. All right, fine, it’s just the Conference USA title, but, still, that’s something. (Quick question . . . at the end of the Conference USA championship game, do fans of the winning team begin chanting "U-S-A" the way Southeastern Conference fans chant "S-E-C"? Because I think that would be rather presumptuous of them.) I know better than to side with any coach named Holtz unless it’s flagrantly obvious that he’s cheating his hindquarters off, and, since Skip seems to be going about his duties with honesty and integrity, there’s no way I’m taking his team over Houston.

Central Michigan Chippewas v. Ohio Bobcats (Friday, Dec. 4): Central Michigan (Michigan) faces Ohio (Ohio) to settle the MAC championship. This probably only matters to you if you live in Michigan or Ohio, follow college football, and aren’t a fan of the Big Ten. There can’t be more than twenty people who fit that description, can there? Assuming that the quality of football in the two states is roughly equal, it is worth noting that the Bobcats are not the best college football team in Ohio but the Chippewas are the best college football team in Michigan. Therefore, I’m picking Central Michigan.

West Virginia Mountaineers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights: I once asked whether Les Miles was the new Danny Ford, but now I’m wondering whether Bill Stewart is the new Les Miles . . . namely, the head coach everyone is just sure is an ignorant bozo promoted beyond his level of competence, who somehow manages to win in spite of what we all perceive to be his shortcomings. I thought about that for a while and I came to the following conclusion: naaaaaaah. I’m going with Greg Schiano’s Scarlet Knights at home.

(Obligatory photograph of Rutgers alumna Kristin Davis.)

Cincinnati Bearcats at Pittsburgh Panthers: The power vacuum created by the departures of Miami (Florida), Virginia Tech, and, later, Rich Rodriguez made the Big East an intriguing league in which almost every team had a shot at contending. This has made for some wild and wacky upsets, and I expect this to be one of them. Pitt is hopping mad after wetting the bed in the Backyard Brawl, Cincy is distracted by the increasingly credible speculation about Brian Kelly becoming the next head coach at Notre Dame, and the Panthers have both home field advantage and a history of knocking conference rivals out of potential national championship contention. I’m sticking with Pittsburgh this week.

Oregon State Beavers at Oregon Ducks (Thursday, Dec. 3): I’m sorry, did you just say the Battle of the Webbed Feet will settle the Pac-10’s Rose Bowl berth? When did that happen? Oh, right . . . somewhere between the time Pete Carroll whined that Jim Harbaugh went for a cheap late score against him and the time Pete Carroll went for a cheap late score against Rick Neuheisel. With everything on the line in Eugene, the Civil War will be much more akin to warfare than to civility, but I’m not betting against Autzen Stadium when the chips are down, particularly when such other orange-clad contenders as Clemson and Oklahoma State have been getting embarrassed in season-ending in-state rivalry games. Oregon State will come up short in a game of Duck, Duck, Duck, lose.

Nebraska Cornhuskers v. Texas Longhorns: There was a time when the Big 12 title tilt was good for at least one epochal upset every couple of years. One of those came in 1996, when James Brown delivered on his pregame prediction that the ‘Horns would beat the ‘Huskers and announced afterwards, "Get on up! Hit me! Ow!" (All right, not that James Brown. Sorry.) Lately, though, it’s been all South Division, all the time. That won’t change this weekend, as Texas will take care of business.

Alabama Crimson Tide v. Florida Gators: I don’t know which image I find more revolting . . . Urban Meyer hoisting another crystal football while rocking his natty Members Only jacket or Tim Tebow weeping openly after a Gator loss while ESPN films him through the same gauzy lens typically reserved for Doris Day movies or Barbara Walters specials and Thom Brenneman somberly intones, "Every time Tim Tebow sheds a tear, an angel gets its wings." Actually, as sick at my stomach as I get whenever the sports media get all starry-eyed over His Royal Tebowness, I just can’t stand the idea of Florida winning another . . . well, anything, really: national title, conference championship, game, whatever. I’m going with my heart instead of my head and picking ’Bama.

There you have them, ladies and gentlemen . . . the last slate of picks for the 2009 regular season! If you haven’t figured out by now that I’m bad at this, you probably never will, but, just in case, I’m going to warn you one more time: Don’t Bet On It!

Coming Soon: ~~National~~ Championship Game of Disinterest.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Weekly Look at the Latest College Football top 25 Polls

Jeremy Mauss — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:15:09 -0000

The top six stayed the same and the race for number two if Texas slips up stays the same as well with Cincinatti and TCU both gaining the same amount of points from last week to this week. BYU made a jump to 13th in the coaches poll which means when the final BCS standings come out next week they will be in the top 14 and available as an at-large BCS team. That is quite a feat for a two loss non-BCS team; now they will not be choosen but still a good situation.

Utah hangs in the coaches poll at 25 which is a surprise, but a good surprise since that most likely means they will be in the final BCS top 25. This will be the second year in a row that the Mountain West has three teams in the top 25 of the final BCS standings. The only scenarios where Utah will get bumped is if Central Michigan crushes Ohio in the MAC final or if Clemson beats Georgia Tech in the ACC final

USA Today Coaches' Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS	PVS
1	Florida (53)	12-0	1468	1
2	Texas (3)	12-0	1394	2
3	Alabama (3)	12-0	1380	3
4	TCU	12-0	1285	4
5	Cincinnati	11-0	1231	5
6	Boise State	12-0	1197	6
7	Ohio State	10-2	1104	8
8	Oregon	9-2	1061	10
9	Penn State	10-2	975	11
10	Iowa	10-2	889	13
11	Virginia Tech	9-3	831	14
12	Georgia Tech	10-2	774	7
13	Brigham Young	10-2	680	15
14	LSU	9-3	674	17
15	Pittsburgh	9-2	631	9
16	Oregon State	8-3	607	18
17	Miami (FL)	9-3	509	21
18	Houston	10-2	473	20
19	USC	8-3	361	22
20	Nebraska	9-3	335	23
21	Oklahoma State	9-3	309	12
22	California	8-3	210	NR
23	West Virginia	8-3	163	NR
24	Stanford	8-4	154	NR
25	Utah	9-3	120	19

Dropped from rankings: Clemson 16, North Carolina 24, Mississippi 25

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS	PVS
1	Florida (46)	12-0	1483	1
2	Alabama (7)	12-0	1416	2
3	Texas (7)	12-0	1414	3
4	TCU	12-0	1316	4
5	Cincinnati	11-0	1249	5
6	Boise State	12-0	1216	6
7	Oregon	9-2	1104	10
8	Ohio State	10-2	1103	9
9	Iowa	10-2	920	13
10	Penn State	10-2	897	12
11	Virginia Tech	9-3	860	14
12	Georgia Tech	10-2	820	7
13	Oregon State	8-3	719	16
14	Pittsburgh	9-2	642	8
15	LSU	9-3	614	17
16	Brigham Young	10-2	610	18
17	Miami (FL)	9-3	572	19
18	Houston	10-2	400	25
19	California	8-3	398	21
20	USC	8-3	365	24
21	Nebraska	9-3	289	NR
22	Oklahoma State	9-3	269	11
23	Stanford	8-4	266	NR
24	West Virginia	8-3	225	NR
25	Clemson	8-4	87	15

Dropped from rankings: Mississippi 20, Utah 22, North Carolina 23