Sun Bowl & Liberty Bowl

Two more bowl games in the books. These two games were dreadful.  

Two words - Jacory Harris.  Just awful in the first half.  I'm not sure he knew what color jerseys his Miami team and the Notre Dame players were wearing.  Three picks and he was out for the back-up and that guy threw a pick on his first series.  Most of these games are horrendous proving that a playoff would be the way to go - not exactly news.  Put the best 32 teams in a playoff, play these bowls, winnow them down in a bracket and get a true champ.  Looked like the Hurricanes were putting cheap shots on the Notre Dame QB at the end of the half.  Didn't bother with the 2nd half and that was smart.  33-17 Irish, hope the South Bend faithful don't go to Juarez to celebrate. 

Awful.  Central Florida over Georgia 10-6  Turnovers, sluggish.  Good for Central Florida, their first bowl win.  One quarter and an occasional check in while I was watching Michigan State take on Minnesota in the Big 10 opener for the Spartans.  Spartans win 71-62 over Minnesota.  Huge comeback after scoring 23 points in the first half.  MSU has a lot to overcome to be tournament ready. 

Game Notes:
-UGA VIII had to be subbed for by UGA VII because the younger UGA was sick. UGA is the Georgia bulldog mascot in case you didn't know.  Big drama in a drama-less game.  
-The O'Jays performed at half-time.  ESPN hasn't promoted a half time act in any game in all these games.  Must be some contractual thing.  "Love Train", never get a chance to hear that.  

One more game tonight and a huge break tomorrow with the NHL Winter Classic being moved to prime time so I can manage the idiotic four game early schedule a bit easier.  Michigan State and Alabama in the Capital One Bowl gets my full attention so the boys will need to get through the other games.  I knew you would be worried.

Meineke Car Care Bowl

First of four games today - not feeling it with three more games to come.   

South Florida against Clemson - a match-up I have no interest in.  I try to avoid Clemson at all costs.  The Tigers have to be one of the biggest under-performing teams in the country.  They're always ranked to start the season and fall apart at the end.  They did give Auburn a good game back in September but you know what kind of season it is when a loss is your best game. 

All that being noted, I picked Clemson to win this game in a battle of ACC vs. Big East teams.  

Watched the mandatory one quarter and went for a nap.   Woke up, saw that Clemson lost 31-26.  Enough said.

Music City & Holiday Bowls

Still steaming after the outcome of the Pinstripe Bowl, not much in the mood for the Music City Bowl from Nashville.  (Note:  this morning, ESPN's Robert Smith and Herm Edwards both echoed my sentiments about the Pinstripe Bowl and the over officiating.  I wasn't overreacting.)

This game almost always features the Kentucky Wildcats but this year the Tennessee Volunteers are the 6-6 team from the SEC against North Carolina.  These two teams haven't played in a long, long time despite being located relatively close, much like Missouri and Iowa the other night.  I don't have any idea if the relationship between the schools and their fans was as contentious as the one between Hawkeyes and Tigers, but nonetheless, they teed it up.

Even game through a quarter, tied a7-7.  That's all I watched.  When I woke up at 3:15am to do my last day of mornings on WGRR, my wife said it was another wild finish with the Vols coming up on the wrong side of the score.  Anyone who saw Tennessee lose to LSU knows what she's talking about.  

Late, the officials ( involved again) ruled that time had run out giving Tennessee the win but then a review puts a couple seconds back on the clock, North Carolina ties it up with a field goal.  Game goes to double overtime and Volunteers are left on the short end again.  Final score 30-27.  

I did pick this game correctly in ESPN Bowl Mania, the only correct pick of the day.  I picked the next game incorrectly assuming Nebraska would destroy Washington like they did earlier in the season.

What kind of bowl game logo is that?  And what is Bridgepoint Education?  This used to be the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl and used this much better logo with a whale jumping out of the water. 

Bad logo, bad game.  As noted, I was in bed having to do the morning show so the boy picked up the first quarter of this stinker.  He didn't have much of anything to say about it other than he watched to 11:00 or so.  
Obviously Nebraska falls into the category of team that didn't care for or about their bowl game and mailed it in.  Nebraska destroyed Washington 56-21 early in the season and probably figured they didn't have anything to prove.  Washington didn't feel the same and won the game.  Huskies 19, Huskers 7.  Embarrassing for the Nebraska program - a team that was in the Big 12 championship game should not lose to a 6-6 weakling from the PAC-10. 
By the way, this game used to be one of the best bowl games of the season and even factored into the national championship before all this BCS nonsense.  Now we get this awful game.  I guess Pacific Life felt the same way.  Bridgepoint Education jumped in as sponsor - they're some non-descript online "higher education" company.  Their website is so bland it's hard to tell what they actually do. 

As for ESPN Bowl Mania, I only picked one game correctly so I drop to 8-10.  There's some guy playing this game who has picked 17 correct.  "Chitownduk_2", you have my respect. 

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Get right to it - best bowl game of the season so far and the officials had to get involved at the end to make sure they were a part of the outcome.  For all the lousy games I've watched in the past two weeks, this one made up for it and then the officials stain it with a ridiculous call.  

Two teams that haven't been in bowl games in a while and getting to play in a first time venue like Yankee Stadium.  Just imagine if that snow had happened five days later than it had, but it didn't and everything was pretty good for a late December game in the Bronx.

The game was fun from the outset with explosive plays by both teams including a picture perfect flea flicker by Syracuse to tie the game in the first quarter.  The game was tied 14-14 at half and it just got better in the second half.  More explosive plays, slipping and sliding on the nearly frozen Yankee Stadium turf, big runs, big pass plays and then near the end, the officials inserted themselves where they didn't belong.


Syracuse up 36-28, under two minutes to go.  Kansas State gets a drive going and then bang!  Another big play down the sideline and touchdown.  A two point conversion, it's tied and overtime.  But wait, the guy who took the ball in for the score made a salute off his helmet to the crowd.  Not taunting, not excessive celebration, just a salute, like the Broncos used to do in the late 90's.  That's it.  But here comes the yellow flag for excessive celebration.  Why?  The officials became part of the game, putting Kansas State at the 18 to make a two point conversion, they didn't and Syracuse wins 36-34.

I have no horse in the race, just looking for a great game and this was the first one of all these crap games and the officials have to step in and be part of the outcome.  One would hope the NCAA would reprimand the official who made the call and the referee who didn't overrule him.  Plain foolish, let the players play and decide the game on the field, not on a yellow flag judgment call.

It was a travesty, plain and simple.  No one knows if K-State would have made the two point play but they were robbed of the chance to do so.  Watching these games as a whole you realize how few teams really care to be involved in mostly meaningless games.  These two teams were all in and in a great first time venue.  A slap in the face to the fans of these teams, football fans in general and to the organizers of this game.  Hope they keep this game around for a long time. 

Game Notes:
-Very nice to see Yankee Stadium and its crew understand how to lay out a football gridiron on a baseball field unlike the Wrigley Field game between Illinois and Northwestern in November.  That was the game where they couldn't use an end zone because it was against the outfield wall.  Yes, it could have snowed like it did five days ago but it didn't and it was a huge win for New York in bringing college football to a city that is all about pro sports.  Great cold weather game.

-Very inspiring story about the Syracuse punter who had a cancerous brain tumor removed earlier this month and needs chemo but was at the game.  One of his teammates had his number etched into his haircut and fans in the stands with signs to support him were shown.  Not some made-for-tv nonsense or pre-game fight at the sponsor luncheon.  A young guy in a bad spot with a great heart.  Sometimes ESPN can do things right. 

-I made my awesome ham salad during the second half from our leftover Christmas ham.  Good stuff.  Just ham, mayo, dill pickles and cayenne pepper.  Bring some crusty bread and I'll give you some. 

-My pick in the game was Kansas State so once again, I'm falling behind on ESPN Bowl Mania, the record now 7-9.  

Armed Forces Bowl

First of four games today starting with the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl pitting Army against SMU. 

Had to skip the first half because I was at work so I picked up in the third and caught the entire fourth quarter. Another game with a bunch of turnovers in the first half courtesy of SMU, so more of the same; a team(s) not being ready to play.  Army held the 16-0 lead at the half.  

To be honest, I had the game on and was watching but we were discussing family issues.  My daughter decided she was a computer tech and was going to replace the keyboard on her laptop.  Obviously that didn't work out like she intended.  Now she has a keyboard-less, broken laptop.  We were also discussing my wife's dog and his fondness for chewing underpants.  Apparently a lot of dogs do this.  I wish the one we owned did not.  And no, I do not throw my underwear on the ground - he got into a basket in our laundry room. 

Anyhow, SMU managed to get a couple scores but couldn't get a shot at a winning field goal and Army won its first game since Custer's Last Stand.  Okay, it probably wasn't that long ago but it's been a while.  Pretty lame loss for SMU considering this game was played on their home field. 

Speaking of SMU, if you haven't seen the ESPN "30 for 30" documentary called "Pony Excess" about the team getting the death penalty in the 80's, catch it soon.   I had no idea how deep and audacious the rule breaking ran.  Craig James and Eric Dickerson, the Pony Express running backs from that era, were both at the game.  They should have suited up, SMU could have used the help and bending the rules has never been a problem there.  

I picked SMU to win, so my ESPN Bowl Mania record is back under .500, at 7-8.  

Texas Bowl and Alamo Bowl

After the disaster that was the Military Bowl, didn't put that much effort into the Texas Bowl. 

Illinois against Baylor down in Houston.  It was the first bowl game for the Bears since 1992 or 1994 or 96, I really didn't care enough to pay attention.  The clash of uniform colors was hard on the eyes with the Illini in their orange and white and Baylor in green and gold.  The play of Baylor was harder on the eyes.  I took in the full first quarter, watched a bit of the 2nd in bed and decided lights out was a better option.  Final score, 38-14 Illinois.  So far the Big 10 is 2-and-0 in the bowl season, hope that level of play can hold up.  


While I was watching the game I was also keeping track of the Pittsburgh Penguins game on my Blackberry.  Thought it would be a walk over against the Islanders but nope, they lost 2-1 in an overtime shoot out and Sidney Crosby's scoring streak ended at 25 games.  Rest up for the Winter Classic boys. 

The Alamo Bowl from San Antonio was the third and final game of the night and another one for the boy to catch a quarter of as my week of mornings on WGRR continues. 

Oklahoma State big over Arizona 36-10.  The boy is assembling furniture for his sister as I type this so if he has further comment it will be provided.

Boy's update:  Watched first and second quarters.  Oklahoma State's wide receiver Justin Blackmon was taunting Arizona doing some ridiculous dance after scoring following his running the length of the end zone before he scored.  He also adds that Arizona isn't very good.  At one point an Arizona fan wearing a license plate around his neck appeared to be sad.  Hey, he watched the game so mission accomplished.

ESPN Bowl Mania update, I got all three games picked correctly so my record is now 7-7.  Yeah me. 

Military Bowl

Yes, today's first offering that won't end - a terrible game between Maryland and East Carolina.  

That's actually a pretty good logo for what was last year's Eagle Bank Bowl, coming to you from antiquated RFK Stadium.  It's actually kind of cool that they didn't tear down RFK.  It's probably a dump but it was the home of the Redskins when they were good unlike their new home under Dan "How Much Is That Player In The Window" Snyder. 

Anyhow, made it through three quarters of this game - just awful.  It's ironic that it's the military bowl and the last thing you'd get from this game was military precision. A little different take on this game, I was making notes on this game as I watched and I'll share them now:  


-Pam Ward and Danny Kannell calling the game, ESPN's "D" team I guess.  You remember Danny, from Florida State and his journeyman career in the NFL.  Did you know he lead the New York Giants to the 1997 NFC East title?  See, not all Florida State quarterbacks were complete busts. 

-Battle of the big boy coaches, Ralph Friedgen for Maryland against ECU's Ruffin McNeill.  Ruffin probably wins if there were a battle of the scales- which would need to be settled at a truck weigh station.  Hello!  It's been noted that it's Friedgen's last game with the Terps because they've convinced themselves in College Park that a new coach will help them get to the next level, whatever that means.  You're Maryland, grow the hoops program and play lacrosse or soccer or whatever you do there. 

-I think I watched Maryland play a game early this season but I can't remember.  It may have been last year.
-First of many turnovers in the first half.  ECU gets the Maryland fumble and they're JACKED.  If you've watched enough college football you know what that means, personal foul. Many more of those to come.

-Northrop Grumman is sponsoring, excuse me, presenting this game which reminds me I need a new A-10 Thunderbolt. That's a sweet ride.

-Another mistake, Maryland missed the extra point on their first touchdown.  

-Another turnover, ECU gets picked off

-ESPN shows video of the players from both teams jawing with each other before the game.  It should be noted that the teams have never played. Best guest, East Carolina represents Conference USA and there was some disrespectin' of that conference's dance skills by Maryland.  If you remember this was the cause of a fight prior to the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl between Louisville and Southern Miss.  We also learn that the players fought during a bowl game luncheon.  Stay classy.  

-Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen looks like he might enjoy a drink...and a pizza...on the sidelines, right now.

-ESPN gives us a shot of an injured Maryland player on crutches and analyst Danny Kannell informs us the player was hurt in a "horrific scooter accident."  Or maybe it was that luncheon throw down.  Who uses "horrific" and "scooter" in the same sentence anyhow?

-Another ECU turnover, a fumble.  This game sucks.  

-Maryland has a field goal attempt blocked.  I told you this game sucked.

-Northrup Grumman's Andros robot gets some ESPN camera time.  This is the same robot that was used in the movie "The Hurt Locker."  That movie and this game have nothing in common other than that robot.  

-Taco Bell is now selling a burrito stuffed with spicy Fritos.

That thing makes me sad although I'm guessing the coaches of these two teams may fight to the death over it.  Like their teams at that luncheon.

-Another personal foul for ECU.  There are more to come.  At some point I'm expecting a knife fight to break out.

-Constant breaking news crawl about guess who, Brett Favre.  Go away please.  For good.  

-Maryland gets a personal foul, the fourth of the first half.  More personal fouls than scores at this point. 

-ECU turns it over again late in the 2nd quarter and I turn this off.

Okay, I picked it back up in the second half and the blow out was on.  No need to keep picking on ECU at this point.  Probably due to the heavy amount of penalties and turnovers, this game is clocking in at around four hours.  Final, 51-20 Maryland over ECU.  Time for ECU's Ruffin McNeill to drown his sorrows in a dozen of those things from Taco Bell.

 

Bowl Quest Day 11

Moving into multiple games, ramping up each day until the Bowl-gasm on Saturday.  Tuesday night we were treated to two upsets, neither of which I predicted correctly for the ESPN Bowl Mania game so my record is now a horrible 4-7. That's good for about middle of the pack nationally.  You'd think that for someone who watches so much college football I could pick these games better but apparently not.

The Champs Sports Bowl had North Carolina State taking on West Virginia.  It was a reward for N.C. State to be in this game while it was probably not the game West Virginia expected to be in as they were favorites to win the Big East.  They were such favorites that despite their 9-3 record going into the game their coach Bill Stewart is being replaced.  The Wolfpack was obviously more motivated, coming out on top 23-7 for coach Tom O'Brien.  I checked out of this one at halftime which turned out to be a good decision.



Game Notes:
-Turnovers were the name of the game again.  West Virginia had five including four fumbles.  Lots of fumbling going on in the bowl games so far.  
-West Virginia must have the same agreement for uniforms that Oregon has with Nike.  The Mountaineers wear a different uni for every game and the ugly gray motif they wore for this game reflected their overall attitude.  Dismal looking on them and on the field.
-ESPN spent a lot of time talking to WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck about the coaching change and his son Andrew the Heisman runner-up who is the quarterback at Stanford.  At least they were talking to Luck when WVU scored their only touchdown so he could do a fist pump on the air.  
-I've always like NC State coach Tom O'Brien when he was with Boston College and he looks to have the Wolfpack program headed in the right direction.  The win was O'Brien's 100th as a head coach.

Didn't watch this one because of the late start at 10pm.  The boy said he had it covered and would get at least one quarter.  I have no idea if he did or not but he was asleep on the couch when I left at 3:30 this morning so I'm guessing he did.  I tried calling home to ask him but the home phone was unplugged.  I then tried calling any one of the three cell phones I pay for (wife, son 1, son 2) and no one answered those either.  Glad I'm shelling out money every month for all these phones. 


12:14pm update:  The boy, on his cell phone, just texted that in the quarter he watched there was a "home run" play and then not much else happened.  He's not as wordy as I am and he also used the phrase "home run" on purpose as he knows I can't stand it when football broadcasters use it.  If it were a home run, then it would be baseball.  As football doesn't have a "home plate" it cannot be a home run, instead it's an end zone play, touchdown play or for God's sake, come up with something original.  One of many of the football announcer's lazy cliches and a huge pet peeve of mine just like when they say "reverse" when it's an end around.



Iowa surprised No. 12 Missouri 27-24.  We may be getting some guest blogging by an Iowa fan later today.


5:30pm:  Here's the update from Hawkeye fan Bobby Hansen, it's a lot, you've been warned.


Left Charlotte at 11:30PM Tuesday night and was going thru Cincy around 6AM this morning. Tried to call with a bowlquest update. You sounded good. Was able to listen live for a couple hours this morning. Got back home this afternoon at 2:30 Eastern Time, 1:30 Iowa Time. Below is a bowlquest for you... maybe a little wordy... but an exciting game.

You knew that a Black & Gold/Yellow team would win this game... both teams sport the same colors. Iowa looking to redeem it's self after falling apart late in the season. Missouri was looking for a SOLID win to complete it's season and get an 11 win season. Even though both Campuses are within 250 miles of each other, both schools haven't played each other since 1910. Back then, the 12-game rivalry was plagued by dirty play, riots and racial discrimination ended following a particularly brutal game in 1910.

Iowa starts off solid like it has all year and races out to a 17-3 lead behind the rushing of true Freshman Runningback Marcus Coker. Due to injuries, suspensions, and players leaving the team, this looked to be Iowa's weak spot but Coker rushed for over 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Missouri wasn't going to play dead and scored a touchdown late in the 2nd Qtr to close to within a touchdown at 17-10 and looked to tie the game right before half-time, but an interception by the Iowa Defense stopped Missouri deep in Iowa territory. Half-time score Iowa 17 Missouri 10.

The 3rd Qtr kicks off and Iowa was able to stop Missouri's opening drive & was able to score a Field Goal halfway thru the 3rd Qtr to pull ahead to a 20-10 lead. Missouri was having no problem with their passing game putting up over 400 yards passing and raced back with 2 touchdowns, one in the 3rd and another one starting the 4th Qtr. Missouri now leads 24-20 over Iowa. Iowa, like it has so many times this season couldn't get the Offense clicking in the 2nd half and Senior QB Ricky Stanzi was not in his rhythm and it looked like Missouri had control of this game with the ball and moving down the field with about 4 1/2 minutes to go when Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert gets picked off by Iowa's Micah Hyde (who's older brother plays for Michigan St.). Hyde weaves his way down field from side to side and takes the interception 72 yards for the score and re-ignites the Iowa Team and fan base.

Missouri has one last attempt and starts moving the ball back down field until an Iowa "Bend but don't Break" defense stop Missouri on a 4th down & 7 at the Iowa 33. The play was ruled a completed pass initially.. but after further review, Missouri's TJ Moe had bobbled the ball and then going out of bounds and the play was overruled. Iowa takes over on downs and on a 3rd and 3 with just over a minute left, Stanzi connects with TE Alan Reisner and Reisner scrambles to the Missouri 1 yard line where Iowa now takes a knee and runs out the clock.

Unlike the rest of the season, Iowa takes the win late in the game and defeats Missouri 27-24 in the Insight Bowl.


Good Luck Sparty Saturday in Orlando!!! 


Thanks Bobby, that was way more than we needed but who isn't excited about the Insight Bowl and being able to guest blog for Bowl Quest V.  Good history lesson too, who knew the hatred ran so deep.  "My plow's better than your plow."  "Like fun Show Me boy!"  "Jeepers corn head, them's fightin' words!"  And then it came to blows and a race riot evidently.  Nice Big 10 win for Iowa. 


Note to ESPN - don't start games at 6:30 followed by a 10:00 game.  I know the Insight Bowl is in Arizona but unless you're going to have west coast teams in the game no one cares for the very late start.  These games could have easily been scheduled for 5:00 and 8:30. 


Three games today starting at 2:30 with the Military Bowl, then the Texas Bowl and finishing with the Alamo Bowl.  The Texas Bowl used to be on the NFL Network but they are out of the bowl game business.

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl

The "true" start to bowl week with 20 games through Saturday, the bulk of the Bowl Quest challenge.  Monday was the annual game from Shreveport, Louisiana. 

It was a match-up of teams with similar style offenses, Georgia Tech and Air Force, both running the triple option.  The game lived up to its billing of nearly all running plays and a low score, with Air Force coming out on top 14-7.  Air Force was a little more willing to throw passes which was the difference in the game, and the Georgia Tech punt returner having oven mitts on his hands and fumbling twice.  It didn't help that the Yellow Jackets starting quarterback was out with an injury and the back-up didn't have much of a grasp on the what little passing they do use.  His interception late in the game proved that. 

At times both teams seemed to be stubbornly running the ball instead of throwing a pass to gain yardage.  Georgia Tech stuck to the ground even at the end of the game when they needed to control the clock and get a score to tie the game.  I have no idea how a BCS conference team can run the option and be taken seriously by its fans or prospective players.  And yes, I know Georgia Tech was in the Orange Bowl last year but that speaks more to the mediocrity of the ACC than the sense it makes to run this antiquated, small school offense for a major program.  Okay, down from the soapbox.  


Game notes:
-The biggest drama of the game involved the Air Force's mascot, their falcon, Sid.

Intending for him to fly around the stadium at the beginning of the game, the little guy took off for downtown Shreveport and we kept getting updates from the ESPN announcers as to the ongoing search.  The falcon did return at the end of this extremely dull game so maybe he knew more than any of us watching.  The falconer looked relieved to get the bird back.  


-AdvoCare is a company that produces health supplements and energy products.  They sell the products through multi-level marketing similar to Amway.  Drew Brees is their spokesperson and you saw him a lot during this game.  I mean every commercial break.  Maybe the falcon that went missing uses the products since he had the energy to keep flying around for three hours. 

-My wife was ready for this one to go off after one quarter but nope, we watched the entire game.


-Air Force may win the Best Uniforms award for this year's Bowl Quest.  Instead of their usual blue and white, it was red, white and blue with a stars and stripes lightning bolt on the helmet.  

This was the best picture I could find - mostly just their head coach happy for the win and the return of the falcon. 


-Today, we ramp up to two games.  First up, the Champs Sports Bowl with West Virginia taking on North Carolina State followed by the Insight Bowl with Missouri taking on a disappointing Iowa squad.  I like the Mountaineers and Tigers to win.  (One of the boys is going to have to take a quarter of that Insight Bowl, it doesn't start until 10pm.  See Bowl Quest rule #2.)

-My ESPN Bowl Mania record is now 4-5 with the Air Force win.

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl

Not much to say about this one - I'm doing the morning show fill-in on WGRR while my regular show is on vacation so that means early to bed. 

The Toledo Rockets taking on the Florida International University Golden Panthers in another unnecessary game on the bowl schedule.  "Hey everyone, let's all head up to Detroit for Christmas weekend!"  At least Toledo fans are only about an hour away.


The Rockets jumped out to the early lead and I turned the game off as soon as the first quarter was over.  Evidently Toledo could not hang on as FIU won 34-32 but the real winners were the fans who get this awesome "buy one get one" deal from Little Caesars.


www.littlecaesarspizzabowl.com


It's only good through Tuesday, December 28th so get on it pizza lovers.


Game Notes:
-After some really great NFL games I was in no mood for this game.  Honestly, how you drum up interest in this game is beyond me - MAC and Sunbelt also-rans.  At least they had the good fortune of the NFL wimping out and moving the Eagles/Vikings game to Tuesday night because of the snow in Philadelphia.


-Speaking of the MAC, here they go again, losing another one.  The conference is now 1-2 in the 2010 bowl season.  The Rockets gave up 65 and 57 points in a couple games and lost 41-2 to Arizona, not exactly bowl game credentials.  And FIU was nothing to write home about starting the season 2-5 before finishing 6-6.


-Monday's game, the Independence Bowl from beautiful Shreveport, Louisiana with Georgia Tech taking on Air Force.  I'm picking Air Force on ESPN's Bowl Mania game, in which I'm doing horribly at 3-5 so far. This one is for fans of the running game - the two teams combined only passed the ball 299 times this season.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Just like "It's A Wonderful Life" and the non-stop showing of "A Christmas Story" it's the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl from beautiful Honolulu.  This is always a  one quarter and done game because it's Christmas Eve.  Why they don't play this game on Christmas Day is beyond me.  Put it on at 7pm when everyone is tired of kids, gifts, relatives and egg nog.

Watched the first quarter between Hawaii and Tulsa - what a mess and no indication of what was to come.  The quarterback of the No. 24 Hawaii Warriors threw two picks and the punter had a kick go 8 yards from his own end zone.  10-0 and we switched to "Love Actually" on DVD, a Christmas timed movie my wife loves with every under 50 English actor on the planet.  (It's actually a pretty good movie if you've never seen it.)

Evidently when we turned the movie on both team's defenses went in to watch a movie as well.  The final was 62-35 Tulsa over Hawaii.  Read the recap and evidently Tulsa scored with a touchdown pass with a minute to go.  I guess Santa can deliver the Tulsa coach some sportsmanship for Christmas.


Game Notes:


-Tulsa is a pretty good team that puts up a lot of points.  The win was their 10th of the season and will probably get them into the post season Top 25. 


-Hawaii had six turnovers in the first half.  Not sure how you do that at this point of the season.  The Warriors record is 3-3 in their home bowl game.


-Bowl game break today.  Sunday night, the Little Caesars Bowl from lovely Detroit, Michigan with Florida International taking on Toledo.  Hey, who doesn't want to be in Detroit the day after Christmas?

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

Not much interest in this one between Navy and SDSU with pro sports and some time with the family tonight.

I'm from Pittsburgh and the Penguins were playing the Captials and Steelers taking on the Panthers so my attention wasn't into the Midshipmen taking on the Aztecs. We were also playing Apples to Apples for the first time and it was far more fun than this bowl game.


Fortunately I chose to watch the 2nd quarter of the game following the first period of the hockey game.  The quarter had Navy at least being competitive scoring twice followed by two San Diego State scores.  The field was wet following monsoon like conditions on the west coast so lots of sliding and slipping around which probably didn't help Navy's triple option running attack. Navy never saw the end zone again losing 35-14.  

Game notes:
-Apparently the grounds crew pumped out 1.5 million gallons of water to get the field in playable condition so they should probably get the MVP award for the game.


-It was San Diego State's first bowl win since 1969 and their coach Brady Hoke has made it no secret he covets the University of Michigan head coaching job.  Rich Rodriguez might want to beat Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl to avoid having the folks in Ann Arbor looking west. 


-After my mandatory Bowl Quest full quarter, it was switching back and forth between Pens and Steelers.  Pens win in overtime shootout and the Steelers cruised over Panthers.

-If you've never played Apples to Apples, it was a lot of fun.  My youngest son is 12 and he's probably at the bottom end of the age group that can play the game because of the pop culture involved.  Highly recommended if you have teenagers and are looking for an activity for the family - lots of interaction and anyone can win as my 16 year old son did twice. 


-Tonight, the Hawaii Bowl with a home game for Hawaii taking on Tulsa in a game that always gets the minimum of one quarter and then a break from the games for Christmas Day.

Maaco Bowl Las Vegas

Bowl Quest game 5, one of the dopier named bowl games, just doesn't roll off your tongue.    

Nice crowd of over 40,000 for two schools from the region, both that probably should have been playing after Christmas, especially Boise State that lost a grand total of one game (in overtime).  Both Utah and BSU were chippy before the game and had to be separated by coaches.  Not sure why, but they were ready to go - and then they kicked off.

What a sloppy, poorly played game.  The first quarter was nothing but turnovers and neither team scoring as they probably realized it was the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas.  Boise then ripped off 16 points with a 2nd quarter yardage advantage of 217-to 32.  Thanks for playing Utah, see you next year.  Might want to shut your yap with the pre-game trash talk.

Checked back in after halftime and saw that BSU was in command and was told by the wife to give up the remote.  We switched over to Showtime for a comedy special with Kathleen Madigan. Funny lady. 

The game was 26-3 with about eight minutes left once the comedy special ended.  Nothing left to see so I went to bed.  


Game notes:
-Two of the head honchos from Maaco introduced the game enthusiastically.  I like it when the sponsors get involved.  They're happy to be there and want you to know it.  Papa John, the pizza guy, is really good at this but the bowl he sponsored the last couple years must not have panned out financially.  Papa John's is no longer sponsoring a game.  Too bad, he really enjoyed it, so much so he delivered pizza to the ESPN booth one year.  Papa John's note - they have a pretty good steak sandwich that's not on their menu but available if you ask for it. (At least they do at the store in my office complex.)


-Utah has a player named Shaky Smithson.  He lived up to his name by dropping a sure touchdown pass as did another Utah player.  Might have had their attention distracted by the Vegas showgirls on the field or showgirls of another kind the night before.   


-The Boise State kicker who missed the field goal to keep the Broncos from being undefeated had an up and down night.  He made a field goal in the 2nd quarter to be come the NCAA all time points leader but had one blocked and dropped a pass on a fake punt. 


-Announcers said Boise State missed out on a $7 million payday with their one loss and getting bounced from the BCS.  Maybe they took their Maaco Bowl winnings and put it on the roulette table. 


-Tonight's game, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl with Navy taking on San Diego State.  I always like watching Navy's triple option offense, nothing like it anywhere else in college football.  As of last night, the field was under water from the heavy rain on the west coast.  The ESPN guys made a joke about Navy being a good choice for the game.  Ha ha.

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl

Fourth game of the quest, with a Louisville team looking for a winning season against high scoring Southern Miss in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

I thought this would be an easy win for Southern Miss and it started out that way with the Golden Eagles scoring two touchdowns in the first five minutes.  But the Cardinals pulled themselves together and had the game tied at 21 by halftime. Louisville went behind again but a kick-off return tied it up, their defense showed up in the final quarter and a field goal sealed the deal.  Special teams won it for the Cardinals who finished 7-6, a nice start to the Charlie Strong era at Louisville.


There were a number of Brett Favre mentions as expected although I forgot to count them.  Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis passed Favre's record for touchdown passes.  The game was called by the ESPN studio crew including Lou Holtz.  If you think he's unintelligible in the studio, you should hear him call a game.


Game side notes:
-Beef 'O' Brady's is a chain of family oriented sports bars with three locations in the Cincinnati area.  Looks like a sportier version of O'Charley's with an extra apostrophe next to the O.  Despite the Beef in the name, wings are their most popular item according to voting done on their website. Look pretty good to me, never been to a Beef 'O' Brady's.

  There was a Beef's set-up at the game behind the Southern Miss bench with people sitting at tables at Tropicana Field.  Every time the people at the on field Beef's were shown, they looked completely disinterested in the game so I'm guessing they won a contest to be there. 


-The news before the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl was the fight between the two teams at a beach party dance contest.  Has to be the weakest venue for a pre-game skirmish in football history. Here's how it went down:


  Someone said something disrespectful, did a little jawing after the dance contest… it’s all good,”   said Louisville linebacker Dexter Heyman. It’s “just a little too close to game time, ya know?”.
…
“They started talking trash about us being in Conference USA, [that] we can’t dance… it was stupid. We’ll do our talking on the field,” uttered one Golden Eagle who refused to be identified. “A friendly dance competition and they take it all serious? It’s ridiculous.”

Maybe the Big East and Conference USA can have a dance fight like the Jets vs. the Sharks in West Side Story to settle it for once and all.


-It was only the first Bowl Quest game watched at home and already my wife is mentioning that the only reason I do this is to take over the TV for the three weeks.  Hey lady, we have two other TV's, watch your Kardashians all you like.  Of course, there are games every day and night the next couple of weeks except for Christmas Day. 


-Tonight, the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl with Utah taking on Boise State. Man, did Boise State get screwed over.  They go from being in the national title hunt to the Maaco Las Vegas bowl with one loss, to a good team too.  Some Utah players are trash talking already so maybe they'll also have a dance fight. 

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Ah, the tradition, when Troy and Ohio University get together.

Nonetheless, the last of three games Saturday.  My dad seemed really happy to be bowl questing even though this game stunk.  Just to have football of any kind on TV instead of the shows my mother watches was a welcome relief, albeit short as we were leaving Monday.

Troy dominated Ohio U 48-24.  Troy jumped out to an early lead and cruised.  I fell asleep during the first quarter (Chinese food and bourbon reaction) but did reach my Bowl Quest requirement by watching the 2nd and 3rd quarters completely. I think dad stayed up to finish this one off.  Like I said, he was into it - more so than the approximate 2,000 fans in attendance inside the Super Dome.

Also, this is where I usually make some smart ass remark about the MAC having too many teams in bowl games but what choice do we have when there needs to be 70 teams to fill the bowl schedule.  Also, Northern Illinois played well in Boise so I'll give the MAC a break for now.  

Next game:  Beef O'Brady's Bowl Tuesday night with Louisville taking on Southern Miss.  It will be interesting to see how many Brett Favre mentions the ESPN commentators make following Favre's possible last game on Monday Night Football and his having played at Southern Miss.  I'm going with 9, probably conservative.

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl

The absolute minimum on this game as there was some protesting from my mom about watching another game plus we needed to eat dinner.  (Chinese take out, not bad.)

The Northern Illinois Huskies against the Fresno State Bulldogs.  Huskies vs. Bulldogs (insert Michael Vick joke), and it wasn't close with Northern Illinois winning 40-17.  I thought Fresno would win because at the beginning of the season, college football "experts" always claim the coach of Fresno State could coach somewhere more impressive but chooses to stay put.  They've been saying this for 10 years.  Anyhow, nice effort by NIU, I guess.  Only watched the first quarter.

uDrove is some sort of company that is involved in the trucking industry, just in case you were wondering.

New Mexico Bowl

First bowl game of the Quest, a duel between Brigham Young and UTEP.  Important to note that the first three games are being watched at my parents house in Pittsburgh as we're visiting for the holidays.  My dad was kind of getting into it because it meant my mom could not watch QVC or Simmons Family Jewels while I was there Saturday.  (He may be a closet Bowl Quest-er, who knew?)

The game, a real yawner with BYU getting out in front of UTEP 24-3 early in the 2nd quarter.  Final score 52-24 with the Miners putting up a bit of a fight for a completely over-matched team.  BYU tried the Gatorade bath on their coach but mostly missed, appropriately, as it was THE NEW MEXICO BOWL.  The game does have a pretty cool looking trophy.

Back for 2010, it's Bowl Quest V, my attempt to watch all the college bowl games.  Why?  Because like a mountain, it's there.  Had some trepidation about doing it again this year because the number of games has grown to 35 and most of them stink.  But upward and onward.  Also, it is important to note that you must have the NFL Network to accomplish Bowl Quest as the network carries a couple games.

Bowl Quest rules - just two of them:
1.  You must watch one live quarter of every college bowl game.  Must be one full quarter. 

2.  A boy (son) can assist by watching a game.  Occasionally the games are on late and I have to do mornings on WGRR as well as multiple games on at the same time.