Here is a list of all of Fresno State's non conference games since 2006:
9/9/06 vs Oregon 24-31 L
9/16/06 @ Washington 20-21 L
10/21/06 @ LSU 6-38 L
9/1/07 vs Sacramento St 24-3 W
9/8/07 @ Texas A&M 45-47 L
9/15/07 @ Oregon 21-52 L
11/24/07 vs Kansas St 45-29 W
12/31/07 vs Georgia Tech 40-28 W (Humanitarian Bowl)
9/1/08 @ Rutgers 24-7 W
9/13/08 vs Wisconsin 10-13 L
9/27/08 @ UCLA 36-31 W
12/20/08 vs Colorado State 35-40 L (New Mexico Bowl)
9 /5/09 vs UC Davis 51-0 W
9/12/09 @ Wisconsin 31-34 L
9/26/09 @ Cincinnati 20-28 L
12/5/09 @ Illinois 53-52 W
12/19/09 @ Wyoming 28-35 L (New Mexico Bowl)
9/4/10 vs Cincinnati 28-14 W
9/25/10 @ Mississippi 38-55 L
10/2/10 vs Cal Poly 38-17 W
12/3/10 vs Illinois 25-23 W
12/18/10 vs Northern Illinois 17-40 L (Humanitarian Bowl)
That's 4 games against the Pac-10, 2 against the SEC, 2 against the Big 12, 1 against the ACC, 3 against the Big East, 4 against the Big Ten.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
5 Bowls I'm Not At All Excited About...
... but will probably end up watching anyways.
1) Fiesta Bowl: #7 Oklahoma vs Connecticut: You know, I may actually start feeling sorry for Tostitos chips and the Fiesta Bowl soon. For years, they have been biting the bullet and taking the challenging, un-popular bowl choices - choices such as Boise State vs. TCU last year, or that epic Boise State-Oklahoma game in 2007 - and this year it seemed like they might get rewarded for their risks in the past. They get to host the BCS Championship game and the Rose Bowl agreed to select the highest non-AQ team. So what does the Fiesta Bowl get rewarded with? 8-4 Big East champion Connecticut, who get to travel more than 2,500 miles to get sacrificed to the Oklahoma Sooners. I bet that they sure wish now that they could match up Oklahoma against #3 TCU this year, or even a way to pick #4 Stanford, who at least makes more geographic sense than the Huskies.
2) Holiday Bowl: #18 Nebraska vs Washington: Normally, I am all for watching games with Pac-10 teams in them, and I usually like the Holiday Bowl, especially since it hosted the Ducks three times between 2000 and 2008. But not very many people are excited about seeing a rematch from a game played earlier this season, one where the Cornhuskers demolished UW 56-21 in Seattle. At the very least, this game should give me one more reason to hate Mel Kiper Jr.
3) Sun Bowl: Miami (FL) vs Notre Dame: The Sun Bowl, meanwhile, is thanking their lucky stars that they were able to replace their missing Pac-10 team with Notre Dame, thus setting up a rematch of the "Convicts vs Catholics" games of the late 80's. Screw that, says I. Both of these programs are bloated and overly grandiose. I hope they both lose.
4) GoDaddy.com Bowl: Miami (OH) vs Middle Tennessee: Those commercials are terrible.
5) Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl: Southern Miss vs Louisville: I needed a fifth meaningless bowl game. And this one just sounds gross.
1) Fiesta Bowl: #7 Oklahoma vs Connecticut: You know, I may actually start feeling sorry for Tostitos chips and the Fiesta Bowl soon. For years, they have been biting the bullet and taking the challenging, un-popular bowl choices - choices such as Boise State vs. TCU last year, or that epic Boise State-Oklahoma game in 2007 - and this year it seemed like they might get rewarded for their risks in the past. They get to host the BCS Championship game and the Rose Bowl agreed to select the highest non-AQ team. So what does the Fiesta Bowl get rewarded with? 8-4 Big East champion Connecticut, who get to travel more than 2,500 miles to get sacrificed to the Oklahoma Sooners. I bet that they sure wish now that they could match up Oklahoma against #3 TCU this year, or even a way to pick #4 Stanford, who at least makes more geographic sense than the Huskies.
2) Holiday Bowl: #18 Nebraska vs Washington: Normally, I am all for watching games with Pac-10 teams in them, and I usually like the Holiday Bowl, especially since it hosted the Ducks three times between 2000 and 2008. But not very many people are excited about seeing a rematch from a game played earlier this season, one where the Cornhuskers demolished UW 56-21 in Seattle. At the very least, this game should give me one more reason to hate Mel Kiper Jr.
3) Sun Bowl: Miami (FL) vs Notre Dame: The Sun Bowl, meanwhile, is thanking their lucky stars that they were able to replace their missing Pac-10 team with Notre Dame, thus setting up a rematch of the "Convicts vs Catholics" games of the late 80's. Screw that, says I. Both of these programs are bloated and overly grandiose. I hope they both lose.
4) GoDaddy.com Bowl: Miami (OH) vs Middle Tennessee: Those commercials are terrible.
5) Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl: Southern Miss vs Louisville: I needed a fifth meaningless bowl game. And this one just sounds gross.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Let's Go Zips!
The University of Akron has won its first ever NCAA championship. The Zips defeated Louisville 1-0 in the men's soccer final earlier today in Santa Barbara. This is a huge boon to Akron's sports program. When I visited Akron over Thanksgiving, their American football team was the only winless team in the FBS division - they went on to finish 1-11. In addition, the university recently opened brand new, $300 million InfoCision stadium, a 27,000 seat venue whose construction required that "several dormitories had to be demolished and the properties of local tenants were acquired using eminent domain. In order to house the displaced students, the University spent $22.6 million to purchase Quaker Square, a former Quaker Oats Company oat silo that was converted into a hotel."
It's hard to fill that stadium with a 1-11 football team. Maybe they can with a national champion futbol team?
Also, when I was in Akron, someone told me about a time that they were talking to a native Arabic speaker, who was confused why anyone would call their university team the "Zips," because "Zip" is a slang word for "cock" in Arabic.
Go Zips.
It's hard to fill that stadium with a 1-11 football team. Maybe they can with a national champion futbol team?
Also, when I was in Akron, someone told me about a time that they were talking to a native Arabic speaker, who was confused why anyone would call their university team the "Zips," because "Zip" is a slang word for "cock" in Arabic.
Go Zips.
5 Bowl Games I'm Actually Excited About Watching...
... other than the BCS game, I mean.
With the dearth of exciting match-ups this bowl season, it's getting harder and harder for me to be looking forward to New Year's Day. But, always the optimist, I think I'll list five bowl games that I plan to go out of my way to watch. (Other than the BCS game, I mean. Go Ducks.) Maybe later I will post five games that I will go out of my way to avoid. Like Miami, OH vs Middle Tennessee in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Yeah, don't need to see that one.
1) Rose Bowl - No. 3 TCU vs No. 5 Wisconsin, Jan. 1: Would I be happier if either Stanford or Boise State were in the Rose Bowl? Yes, of course. But if the Grand Daddy of Them All had to pick a year to host a non-AQ team, this is a good one. No one has been better than the Badgers the last four weeks, beating Northwestern 70-23 and Indiana 83-20! Wisconsin has done this damage mostly behind an absurdly good running trio of James White (1,029 yds, 14TDs), John Clay (936 YDs, 13 TDs), and Montee Ball (864 YDs, 17TDs). TCU's defense is no slouch, though; they've held seven of their 12 opponents to seven points or less, and that includes BYU, Air Force, and No. 19 Utah.
2) Las Vegas Bowl - No. 10 Boise State vs No. 19 Utah, Dec. 22: I'm actually sad because I believe that I will be in flight from Chicago to Portland, Oregon while this game is on. Still, I'm glad that the Broncos were able to cut a deal letting them get out of playing in the Kraft Hungry Bowl. This will be a match-up of the two original BCS busters, and Utah's final game before joining the Pac-12. There is some talk about a conspiracy to prevent Boise State from ever getting to play an AQ team in a bowl game, but really, this is a better venue for them than beating up on 7-5 Boston College from the ACC would be.
3) Orange Bowl - No. 4 Stanford vs No. 13 Virginia Tech, Jan. 3: Pac-10 teams are 3-0 all time in the Orange Bowl, and this will be Stanford's first ever trip to this game. (Although this will change next season, because Colorado is 2-3 all time in the Orange Bowl.) Virginia Tech, meanwhile, is going to their third Orange Bowl in four years. They will be trying to extend their winning streak to 11 after opening the season with losses against Boise State and James Madison. No matter who wins, the real loser will be Discover Credit Cards and the city of Miami. If Stanford had finished one spot lower in the final BCS rankings, they could have picked Ohio State or maybe Nebraska instead and really filled the seats of Sun Life Stadium. Go Cardinal.
4) Capital One Bowl - No. 9 Michigan State vs No. 16 Alabama, Jan. 1: Ah, the credit card wars continue. Score one for Capital One, as this game should get higher TV ratings than any of the BCS games. It will be an interesting match-up of the overachieving Michigan State, who won a share of the Big Ten title and yet still got shut-out of the BCS, and under achieving Alabama, who was picked by everyone to be in the National Championship, but managed to finish 9-3 and in 4th place in the SEC. Go Spartans.
5) Texas Bowl - Baylor vs Illinois, Dec. 29: OK, so maybe nobody cares about this game outside of Ft. Worth and Champaign-Urbana. But guess what? The Baylor Bears were one of the feel good stories of the season, beating Texas before dropping their last three games of the season and finishing 7-5. Still, they will be going to their first bowl game since 1994. The Illini, meanwhile, can have some kind of closure on a heart-wrenching season that included losing 65-67 in triple OT to Michigan, a 34-38 loss to Minnesota on a last second touchdown, and a 23-25 loss to Fresno State to end the season. Still, it's a lot better than their 3-9 record last year. Go Illini.
With the dearth of exciting match-ups this bowl season, it's getting harder and harder for me to be looking forward to New Year's Day. But, always the optimist, I think I'll list five bowl games that I plan to go out of my way to watch. (Other than the BCS game, I mean. Go Ducks.) Maybe later I will post five games that I will go out of my way to avoid. Like Miami, OH vs Middle Tennessee in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Yeah, don't need to see that one.
1) Rose Bowl - No. 3 TCU vs No. 5 Wisconsin, Jan. 1: Would I be happier if either Stanford or Boise State were in the Rose Bowl? Yes, of course. But if the Grand Daddy of Them All had to pick a year to host a non-AQ team, this is a good one. No one has been better than the Badgers the last four weeks, beating Northwestern 70-23 and Indiana 83-20! Wisconsin has done this damage mostly behind an absurdly good running trio of James White (1,029 yds, 14TDs), John Clay (936 YDs, 13 TDs), and Montee Ball (864 YDs, 17TDs). TCU's defense is no slouch, though; they've held seven of their 12 opponents to seven points or less, and that includes BYU, Air Force, and No. 19 Utah.
2) Las Vegas Bowl - No. 10 Boise State vs No. 19 Utah, Dec. 22: I'm actually sad because I believe that I will be in flight from Chicago to Portland, Oregon while this game is on. Still, I'm glad that the Broncos were able to cut a deal letting them get out of playing in the Kraft Hungry Bowl. This will be a match-up of the two original BCS busters, and Utah's final game before joining the Pac-12. There is some talk about a conspiracy to prevent Boise State from ever getting to play an AQ team in a bowl game, but really, this is a better venue for them than beating up on 7-5 Boston College from the ACC would be.
3) Orange Bowl - No. 4 Stanford vs No. 13 Virginia Tech, Jan. 3: Pac-10 teams are 3-0 all time in the Orange Bowl, and this will be Stanford's first ever trip to this game. (Although this will change next season, because Colorado is 2-3 all time in the Orange Bowl.) Virginia Tech, meanwhile, is going to their third Orange Bowl in four years. They will be trying to extend their winning streak to 11 after opening the season with losses against Boise State and James Madison. No matter who wins, the real loser will be Discover Credit Cards and the city of Miami. If Stanford had finished one spot lower in the final BCS rankings, they could have picked Ohio State or maybe Nebraska instead and really filled the seats of Sun Life Stadium. Go Cardinal.
4) Capital One Bowl - No. 9 Michigan State vs No. 16 Alabama, Jan. 1: Ah, the credit card wars continue. Score one for Capital One, as this game should get higher TV ratings than any of the BCS games. It will be an interesting match-up of the overachieving Michigan State, who won a share of the Big Ten title and yet still got shut-out of the BCS, and under achieving Alabama, who was picked by everyone to be in the National Championship, but managed to finish 9-3 and in 4th place in the SEC. Go Spartans.
5) Texas Bowl - Baylor vs Illinois, Dec. 29: OK, so maybe nobody cares about this game outside of Ft. Worth and Champaign-Urbana. But guess what? The Baylor Bears were one of the feel good stories of the season, beating Texas before dropping their last three games of the season and finishing 7-5. Still, they will be going to their first bowl game since 1994. The Illini, meanwhile, can have some kind of closure on a heart-wrenching season that included losing 65-67 in triple OT to Michigan, a 34-38 loss to Minnesota on a last second touchdown, and a 23-25 loss to Fresno State to end the season. Still, it's a lot better than their 3-9 record last year. Go Illini.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
5 Reasons Why Auburn Will Win the BCS Championship
1) Cam Newton is the most dominant player in the country - This is not exactly a revelation. Newton leads the SEC in passing efficiency, rushing yards per game, total offense per game, and points. In the SEC Championship game, South Carolina's defense sold out to try and stop Newton running, and got burned in the air to the tune of 355 yards and four touchdowns. He's big and he's fast, and will be able to go around, over, and through anyone on Oregon's defense.
2) Auburn's offensive line will control the game - The average weight for an Auburn offensive line man is 301 lbs., compared to 246 lbs. for the average Oregon defensive line man. Behind this line, Newton will be able to maintain possession and control the tempo of the game. The blueprint for beating the Ducks is simple enough: Keep their offense off of the field. Auburn can and will do that.
3) Auburn's defense will contain the Ducks running game - The big question mark for Auburn going to the championship game is their defense, which has given up more than 30 points four times this season, not including 26 to lowly Arkansas State and 24 to even lowlier Chattanooga. But the Tigers' defensive backs are faster than anyone else the Ducks have faced this season. They will be fast enough to meet the Ducks' running backs at the ends, and will force to Oregon to become a passing team to generate any offense. And that's when Oregon will start making mistakes.
4) The Ducks will make mistakes - Oregon is 48th in the nation in turnovers, with 22, and 17th in penalties, with 95 for a total of 815 yards. In addition, Auburn's defense is one of the best at causing turnovers, forcing an opponent's turnover in 12.5 percent of all possessions this season. Against weaker teams, Oregon was able to compensate for those mistakes and make comebacks in the second half. They won't be able to do that against Auburn.
5) It's the SEC, Jack - There's a reason why Les Miles said that the SEC champion should automatically get to go to the BCS Championship game. In the last four games, the SEC has outscored their opponents 160-73. The conference simply plays better football than anyone else in the country, and that trend will continue this year once again.
(Next Time... 5 Reasons Why Oregon Will Win)
2) Auburn's offensive line will control the game - The average weight for an Auburn offensive line man is 301 lbs., compared to 246 lbs. for the average Oregon defensive line man. Behind this line, Newton will be able to maintain possession and control the tempo of the game. The blueprint for beating the Ducks is simple enough: Keep their offense off of the field. Auburn can and will do that.
3) Auburn's defense will contain the Ducks running game - The big question mark for Auburn going to the championship game is their defense, which has given up more than 30 points four times this season, not including 26 to lowly Arkansas State and 24 to even lowlier Chattanooga. But the Tigers' defensive backs are faster than anyone else the Ducks have faced this season. They will be fast enough to meet the Ducks' running backs at the ends, and will force to Oregon to become a passing team to generate any offense. And that's when Oregon will start making mistakes.
4) The Ducks will make mistakes - Oregon is 48th in the nation in turnovers, with 22, and 17th in penalties, with 95 for a total of 815 yards. In addition, Auburn's defense is one of the best at causing turnovers, forcing an opponent's turnover in 12.5 percent of all possessions this season. Against weaker teams, Oregon was able to compensate for those mistakes and make comebacks in the second half. They won't be able to do that against Auburn.
5) It's the SEC, Jack - There's a reason why Les Miles said that the SEC champion should automatically get to go to the BCS Championship game. In the last four games, the SEC has outscored their opponents 160-73. The conference simply plays better football than anyone else in the country, and that trend will continue this year once again.
(Next Time... 5 Reasons Why Oregon Will Win)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Bankers Bowl?
SCENE: Joel is watching the Auburn-South Carolina football game on TV. The large, blue and gold SEC logo is on the screen. Robyn enters.
Robyn: SEC? The Securities and Exchange Commission?
Joel: Haha, no. The Southeastern Conference.
Robyn: Oh. Cause I was wondering what the SEC had to do with college football.
Joel: Yeah, I always get it confused the other way around. I'll be reading the Times, and will be like, "Why is the SEC trying to regulate Wall Street? Will Lehman Brothers be playing Merrill Lynch in the Sugar Bowl?" and then I'm all, "Well, no duh we're in an economic depression! We left a football conference in charge of our financial industry!" and so forth.
Robyn: Actually, now I am thinking of financiers playing football for our pleasure, as some form of Mad Max-style punishment. The next step in reality programming.
Joel: Like "Blood Bowl"?
Robyn: I don't know what that is. But we could make them wear their suits and ties, and they could carry their suitcases, and they would be allowed to hit each other with their suitcases during the game.
Joel: I would pay to see that.
Robyn: SEC? The Securities and Exchange Commission?
Joel: Haha, no. The Southeastern Conference.
Robyn: Oh. Cause I was wondering what the SEC had to do with college football.
Joel: Yeah, I always get it confused the other way around. I'll be reading the Times, and will be like, "Why is the SEC trying to regulate Wall Street? Will Lehman Brothers be playing Merrill Lynch in the Sugar Bowl?" and then I'm all, "Well, no duh we're in an economic depression! We left a football conference in charge of our financial industry!" and so forth.
Robyn: Actually, now I am thinking of financiers playing football for our pleasure, as some form of Mad Max-style punishment. The next step in reality programming.
Joel: Like "Blood Bowl"?
Robyn: I don't know what that is. But we could make them wear their suits and ties, and they could carry their suitcases, and they would be allowed to hit each other with their suitcases during the game.
Joel: I would pay to see that.
Robyn: A lot of people would. If someone had brought that up in the Senate hearings, they probably would have made it mandatory. And then in the next season you could have the survivors play the cast of Jersey Shore.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Bowl Predictor - Dec. 5
BCS National Championship - No. 1 Auburn vs No. 2 Oregon
Rose Bowl - No. 3 TCU vs No. 5 Wisconsin
Fiesta Bowl - No. 9 Oklahoma vs Connecticut
Sugar Bowl - No. 6 Ohio State vs No. 7 Arkansas
Orange Bowl - No. 4 Stanford vs No. 15 Virginia Tech
Cotton Bowl - No. 18 Texas A&M vs No. 10 LSU
Capital One Bowl - No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 16 Alabama
Chik-fil-A Bowl - No. 19 South Carolina vs. No. 21 Florida State
Outback Bowl - No. 22 Mississippi State vs. Iowa
Gator Bowl - Penn State vs Florida
Holiday Bowl - No. 13 Nebraska vs No. 23 Arizona
Sun Bowl - No. 11 Boise State vs Maryland
Insight Bowl - No. 14 Oklahoma State vs Illinois
Alamo Bowl - No. 12 Missouri vs Washington
Dallas Football Classic - Northwestern vs Baylor
Liberty Bowl - Georgia vs UCF
Meineke Car Care Bowl - No. 24 West Virginia vs Miami (FL)
Pinstripe Bowl - Kansas State vs Syracuse
Armed Forces Bowl - SMU vs Army
Champs Sports Bowl - North Carolina State vs Pittsburgh
Music City Bowl - Boston College vs Tennessee
Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego State vs Navy
Texas Bowl - No. 18 Texas A&M vs Michigan
New Mexico Bowl - Brigham Young vs UTEP
Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl - Texas Tech vs Miami (OH)
Humanitarian Bowl - No. 25 Northern Illinois vs Fresno State
Hawaii Bowl - Hawaii vs Tulsa
New Orleans Bowl - Middle Tennessee vs Clemson
Independence Bowl - Air Force vs Kentucky
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl - South Florida vs Southern Mississippi
Las Vegas Bowl - No. 20 Utah vs Idaho
Military Bowl - Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame
GoDaddy.com Bowl - Ohio vs Troy
BBVA Compass Bowl - Louisville vs Temple
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - Nevada vs North Carolina
Rose Bowl - No. 3 TCU vs No. 5 Wisconsin
Fiesta Bowl - No. 9 Oklahoma vs Connecticut
Sugar Bowl - No. 6 Ohio State vs No. 7 Arkansas
Orange Bowl - No. 4 Stanford vs No. 15 Virginia Tech
Cotton Bowl - No. 18 Texas A&M vs No. 10 LSU
Capital One Bowl - No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 16 Alabama
Chik-fil-A Bowl - No. 19 South Carolina vs. No. 21 Florida State
Outback Bowl - No. 22 Mississippi State vs. Iowa
Gator Bowl - Penn State vs Florida
Holiday Bowl - No. 13 Nebraska vs No. 23 Arizona
Sun Bowl - No. 11 Boise State vs Maryland
Insight Bowl - No. 14 Oklahoma State vs Illinois
Alamo Bowl - No. 12 Missouri vs Washington
Dallas Football Classic - Northwestern vs Baylor
Liberty Bowl - Georgia vs UCF
Meineke Car Care Bowl - No. 24 West Virginia vs Miami (FL)
Pinstripe Bowl - Kansas State vs Syracuse
Armed Forces Bowl - SMU vs Army
Champs Sports Bowl - North Carolina State vs Pittsburgh
Music City Bowl - Boston College vs Tennessee
Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego State vs Navy
Texas Bowl - No. 18 Texas A&M vs Michigan
New Mexico Bowl - Brigham Young vs UTEP
Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl - Texas Tech vs Miami (OH)
Humanitarian Bowl - No. 25 Northern Illinois vs Fresno State
Hawaii Bowl - Hawaii vs Tulsa
New Orleans Bowl - Middle Tennessee vs Clemson
Independence Bowl - Air Force vs Kentucky
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl - South Florida vs Southern Mississippi
Las Vegas Bowl - No. 20 Utah vs Idaho
Military Bowl - Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame
GoDaddy.com Bowl - Ohio vs Troy
BBVA Compass Bowl - Louisville vs Temple
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - Nevada vs North Carolina
Oregon-Oregon St: Second Half
4:43 pm - Oregon 23, Oregon St. 7.
I love it when I go to the bathroom and come back to find that the Ducks have scored.
4:52 pm - Oregon 23, Oregon St. 10.
Another big defensive stand by the Ducks. My TV screen just went black - I may have killed it. (It's an old TV). I hate irony. (Actually, it's not ironic. It just sucks.)
5:18 pm - Well, shit. The TV screen is dead. I'm gonna wait a few minutes to see if it decides to change it's mind; if not, oh well, what the hell. The Ducks are up 30-13. I would be OK with the universe if I have to sacrifice a television to the football gods in exchange for a victory today.
5:34 pm -I'm listening to the TV right now, like it's a, um, what's that thing, with the dials, you know... FDR... a radio! The Ducks just got another interception. If they hold on to win, the defense should get the game ball. Meanwhile, Auburn 28, South Carolina 14. That Pac-10 vs SEC championship game is getting closer and closer.
First and goal, Ducks.
Oregon 37, Oregon St. 13. Four minutes and twenty-seven seconds left!
5:50 pm - The gatorade has spilled! They're in! Final! 37-20! Go Ducks!
Also, it's not ironic that both Chip Kelly and Gene Chizik are second-year coaches.
I love it when I go to the bathroom and come back to find that the Ducks have scored.
4:52 pm - Oregon 23, Oregon St. 10.
Another big defensive stand by the Ducks. My TV screen just went black - I may have killed it. (It's an old TV). I hate irony. (Actually, it's not ironic. It just sucks.)
5:18 pm - Well, shit. The TV screen is dead. I'm gonna wait a few minutes to see if it decides to change it's mind; if not, oh well, what the hell. The Ducks are up 30-13. I would be OK with the universe if I have to sacrifice a television to the football gods in exchange for a victory today.
5:34 pm -I'm listening to the TV right now, like it's a, um, what's that thing, with the dials, you know... FDR... a radio! The Ducks just got another interception. If they hold on to win, the defense should get the game ball. Meanwhile, Auburn 28, South Carolina 14. That Pac-10 vs SEC championship game is getting closer and closer.
First and goal, Ducks.
Oregon 37, Oregon St. 13. Four minutes and twenty-seven seconds left!
5:50 pm - The gatorade has spilled! They're in! Final! 37-20! Go Ducks!
Also, it's not ironic that both Chip Kelly and Gene Chizik are second-year coaches.
The Civil War Continues...
3:23 pm - Oregon's defense is carrying the team against the Beavers right now. They just intercepted Katz again, and ran the ball back to the seven or eight yard line. Now if only the offense could settle down and put some points on the board...
9-7 Ducks. Meanwhile, South Carolina just tied Auburn 7-7 in the SEC Championship game. If both Auburn and Oregon survive, I would love to see the Ducks have a go at this Tiger secondary.
3:34 pm - Another big stop for the Ducks defense on 4th and 6. People don't think about how good their defense is, but it's improvement is probably the biggest reason why the Ducks are better this year than last. Linebacker Casey Matthews is a finalist for defensive player of the year.
"A lot of people probably thought the score would be 30-20 by now." Yeah. A lot of people who haven't watched the Ducks all season.
Touchdown, LaMichael James. 16-7 Ducks.
Touchdown, Cam Newton. 14-7 Tigers.
3:52 pm - "The Ducks don't need to fly, they're doing it on the ground." Again, a statement tat shows ignorance of Oregon's style of play. All for the sake of a bad pun. Fortunately, the color commentator corrected him.
Missed field goal, another missed opportunity for the Ducks, 16-7 at halftime. Huge stop for the Beavers. Meanwhile, Auburn looks like their pulling away from the Gamecocks, leading 21-7 in the 1st quarter.
9-7 Ducks. Meanwhile, South Carolina just tied Auburn 7-7 in the SEC Championship game. If both Auburn and Oregon survive, I would love to see the Ducks have a go at this Tiger secondary.
3:34 pm - Another big stop for the Ducks defense on 4th and 6. People don't think about how good their defense is, but it's improvement is probably the biggest reason why the Ducks are better this year than last. Linebacker Casey Matthews is a finalist for defensive player of the year.
"A lot of people probably thought the score would be 30-20 by now." Yeah. A lot of people who haven't watched the Ducks all season.
Touchdown, LaMichael James. 16-7 Ducks.
Touchdown, Cam Newton. 14-7 Tigers.
3:52 pm - "The Ducks don't need to fly, they're doing it on the ground." Again, a statement tat shows ignorance of Oregon's style of play. All for the sake of a bad pun. Fortunately, the color commentator corrected him.
Missed field goal, another missed opportunity for the Ducks, 16-7 at halftime. Huge stop for the Beavers. Meanwhile, Auburn looks like their pulling away from the Gamecocks, leading 21-7 in the 1st quarter.
It's The Final Countdown!
2:00 pm - It's still snowing here in central Illinois. I slept in today and, um, have a headache. Also, my clothes are all soaked from slipping around in the slush last night. Right now we're watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Let me check on some of the games going on - and, then, 30 minutes to the biggest Civil War Game of all time! Let's go Ducks!
2:05 pm - Oh no! The Illini lost to Fresno State last night! ("Fresno fucking State," says Robyn, "Go back to your orange groves.") Fortunately, Illinois already has secured a bowl game for themselves. Meanwhile, it looks like West Virginia has taken care of business against Rutgers, up 35-7 in the 4th quarter. (Whoops! 35-14... maybe I spoke too soon?) If they hold on to win, then the pressure will be on Connecticut to win tonight against South Florida with a BCS bowl - likely the Fiesta Bowl - on the line.
2:25 pm - The first bowls are being set. Brigham Young from the Mountain West will play UTEP from C-USA in the New Mexico Bowl, and Kansas State from the Big 12 will play Syracuse from the Big East in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
2:30 pm - Game time! ("Hey!" says Robyn, "I like the spider scene!")
2:40 pm - Ooooh... Katz is down. Bad auspices for the Beavers. Also, is it just me, or does OSU's uniforms make them look like the Cleveland Browns? Casey Matthews is awesome.
2:43 pm - D'oh! Oregon fumble on the punt return. Those turnovers can be killer. And why is Oregon-Oregon State The Civil War game? Interception!
2:53 pm - Another fumble! Dammit Ducks. I'm going back to Harry Potter.
2:58 pm - Oregon State just converted a huge 4th and 1.
My point is that every intrastate rivalry has an equal claim to the title "Civil War Game." Why Oregon-Oregon State?
The Beavers are in the Red Zone. Also, Harry Potter is fighting the basilisk.
3:04 pm - Touchdown Beavers. My Uncle John sent me this link about the Ducks in the New York time. The basilisk is dead.
3:14 pm - 7-6 Oregon State. The Beavers are making all of those hustle plays, recovering fumbles and blocking extra points.
I just got a close-up of Oregon's helmets. Those stripes are crazy. I like them.
Here is a game-by-game history of the Civil War Game from the Oregonian. My favorite passage, from 1896:
2:05 pm - Oh no! The Illini lost to Fresno State last night! ("Fresno fucking State," says Robyn, "Go back to your orange groves.") Fortunately, Illinois already has secured a bowl game for themselves. Meanwhile, it looks like West Virginia has taken care of business against Rutgers, up 35-7 in the 4th quarter. (Whoops! 35-14... maybe I spoke too soon?) If they hold on to win, then the pressure will be on Connecticut to win tonight against South Florida with a BCS bowl - likely the Fiesta Bowl - on the line.
2:25 pm - The first bowls are being set. Brigham Young from the Mountain West will play UTEP from C-USA in the New Mexico Bowl, and Kansas State from the Big 12 will play Syracuse from the Big East in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
2:30 pm - Game time! ("Hey!" says Robyn, "I like the spider scene!")
2:40 pm - Ooooh... Katz is down. Bad auspices for the Beavers. Also, is it just me, or does OSU's uniforms make them look like the Cleveland Browns? Casey Matthews is awesome.
2:43 pm - D'oh! Oregon fumble on the punt return. Those turnovers can be killer. And why is Oregon-Oregon State The Civil War game? Interception!
2:53 pm - Another fumble! Dammit Ducks. I'm going back to Harry Potter.
2:58 pm - Oregon State just converted a huge 4th and 1.
My point is that every intrastate rivalry has an equal claim to the title "Civil War Game." Why Oregon-Oregon State?
The Beavers are in the Red Zone. Also, Harry Potter is fighting the basilisk.
3:04 pm - Touchdown Beavers. My Uncle John sent me this link about the Ducks in the New York time. The basilisk is dead.
3:14 pm - 7-6 Oregon State. The Beavers are making all of those hustle plays, recovering fumbles and blocking extra points.
I just got a close-up of Oregon's helmets. Those stripes are crazy. I like them.
Here is a game-by-game history of the Civil War Game from the Oregonian. My favorite passage, from 1896:
With the game tied a 4-4 (touchdowns were four points then), an Oregon ball carrier, H.S. Templeton, fumbles near the goal line. Charles Osburn apparently recovers for OAC, but referee F.O. Burckhard changes his mind and returns the ball to Oregon. According to the Corvallis Times, an OAC substitute, Pat Kelsey "told Buckhard it was a peculiar decision. Burckhard replied, 'The man who don't like the decision is a s-- of a b--.' Kelsey thought it proper to resent the insult and struck at the referee, but missed, whereupon the latter rushed at Kelsey with several blows, when he received a blow in the face from Kelsey." The two were quickly separated and Kelsey was ejected. Oregon scored and won 12-8.I bet that H.S. Templeton had a bangin' waxed moustache.
Friday, December 3, 2010
BCS Bowl Predictor
BCS Championship Game - No. 1 Auburn vs No. 2 Oregon
A lot of my Duck friends complained this week when Auburn jumped Oregon in the BCS standings. Assuming that both teams win tomorrow - and my high school math teacher always toold me that "assuming makes an ass of you and me" - then Auburn's lead in the BCS standings will widen, because the Tigers will get more credit for a win over No. 19 South Carolina than the Ducks will over undranked Oregon State.
Rose Bowl - No. 3 TCU vs No. 5 Wisconsin
The Badgers will get the Big Ten's automatic Rose Bowl berth based on being higher in the BCS rankings than either Ohio State or Michigan State. TCU will be Oregon's replacement, because of the Rose Bowl's "one time only" rule of selecting the highest non-AQ team to replace someone who is in the national championship game. This should be an awesome game; can TCU's hyperspeed defense slow down Wisconsin's White Clay Ball?
Fiesta Bowl - No. 13 Nebraska vs Connecticut
The Fiesta Bowl gets last pick among the BCS bowls this year because they are the "host" for the NC game played a week later. Nebraska has to beat no. 9 Oklahoma tomorrow in the Big 12 Championship to get in, and UConn has to win at South Florida to become the first unranked BCS team. If they lose, then no. 24 West Virginia will be in with a win at Rutgers. If both the Huskies and the Mountaineers lose, then Pitt will get in with a Cincinnati. If all three lose, then UConn gets in. Stranger things have happened.
Sugar Bowl - No. 6 Ohio State vs No. 7 Arkansas
This is a tough one to predict. The Sugar Bowl is set to lose Auburn to the BCS game, and probably will want to replace them with the next highest SEC team, which is Arkansas. The Sugar Bowl doesn't like ths; they would make a lot more bling hosting no. 10 LSU or no. 16 Alabama. To compensate, they will probably give Ohio State an at-large berth. The Buckeyes have a much larger fan base than any of the other BCS teams this year. Of course, all of this is moot if South Carolina upsets Auburn and gets the SEC's automatic berth.
Orange Bowl - No. 4 Stanford vs No. 15 Virginia Tech
If Stanford ends in the top 4 in the BCS - and they should at this point because they've finished their season - then they must go to a BCS game. The Orange Bowl should then be faced with the unenviable task of choosing between Stanford and Connecticut for their at-large selection. In football. Men's football. The Orange would be much happier if no. 21 Florida State manages to upset the Hokies to win the ACC and fill up the stands in Miami. They might also pick West Virginia over Stanford if UConn loses, thereby sending the Cardinal to the Fiesta Bowl - which would attract way more Pac-10 fans because it is played in Arizona - to play the Big 12 Champions.
A lot of my Duck friends complained this week when Auburn jumped Oregon in the BCS standings. Assuming that both teams win tomorrow - and my high school math teacher always toold me that "assuming makes an ass of you and me" - then Auburn's lead in the BCS standings will widen, because the Tigers will get more credit for a win over No. 19 South Carolina than the Ducks will over undranked Oregon State.
Rose Bowl - No. 3 TCU vs No. 5 Wisconsin
The Badgers will get the Big Ten's automatic Rose Bowl berth based on being higher in the BCS rankings than either Ohio State or Michigan State. TCU will be Oregon's replacement, because of the Rose Bowl's "one time only" rule of selecting the highest non-AQ team to replace someone who is in the national championship game. This should be an awesome game; can TCU's hyperspeed defense slow down Wisconsin's White Clay Ball?
Fiesta Bowl - No. 13 Nebraska vs Connecticut
The Fiesta Bowl gets last pick among the BCS bowls this year because they are the "host" for the NC game played a week later. Nebraska has to beat no. 9 Oklahoma tomorrow in the Big 12 Championship to get in, and UConn has to win at South Florida to become the first unranked BCS team. If they lose, then no. 24 West Virginia will be in with a win at Rutgers. If both the Huskies and the Mountaineers lose, then Pitt will get in with a Cincinnati. If all three lose, then UConn gets in. Stranger things have happened.
Sugar Bowl - No. 6 Ohio State vs No. 7 Arkansas
This is a tough one to predict. The Sugar Bowl is set to lose Auburn to the BCS game, and probably will want to replace them with the next highest SEC team, which is Arkansas. The Sugar Bowl doesn't like ths; they would make a lot more bling hosting no. 10 LSU or no. 16 Alabama. To compensate, they will probably give Ohio State an at-large berth. The Buckeyes have a much larger fan base than any of the other BCS teams this year. Of course, all of this is moot if South Carolina upsets Auburn and gets the SEC's automatic berth.
Orange Bowl - No. 4 Stanford vs No. 15 Virginia Tech
If Stanford ends in the top 4 in the BCS - and they should at this point because they've finished their season - then they must go to a BCS game. The Orange Bowl should then be faced with the unenviable task of choosing between Stanford and Connecticut for their at-large selection. In football. Men's football. The Orange would be much happier if no. 21 Florida State manages to upset the Hokies to win the ACC and fill up the stands in Miami. They might also pick West Virginia over Stanford if UConn loses, thereby sending the Cardinal to the Fiesta Bowl - which would attract way more Pac-10 fans because it is played in Arizona - to play the Big 12 Champions.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Why the Pac-10 Has No Bowls
I hate to admit this, as someone who has grown up in the Pac-10, as someone with close familial ties to seven different Pac-10 schools, as someone who generally gets more excited each year about the Rose Bowl than any ol' "BCS" game, but it may just be time to come out and say it:
Maybe the Pac-10 just isn't very good.
This nagging thought arose within me last year in Manhattan, on the day before New Year's Eve, when I was at a restaurant in Midtown, watching Arizona just get crushed 33-0 by Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. This was part of a dismal 1-5 Bowl Season for the Pac-10, which essentially spent any and all of the goodwill that the conference had been able to build up across the country for the past two or three seasons.
But that was last year, right? Not this year, when the conference is being led by 11-0 Oregon, who is No. 2 in the BCS, and No. 1 in all three of the human polls? When the conference could possibly have two BCS berths for the first time since 2001? Right?
Well, I guess so. But not really.
The biggest concern for the Pac-10 is this: Going into the final weekend of the regular season, the conference has only three - yes, three - bowl eligible teams: No. 2 Oregon (11-0), No. 4 Stanford (11-1), and No. 23 Arizona (7-4). By comparison, six of the eight Big East teams - the very essence of mediocrity - are already bowl eligible. The Pac-10 currently has contracts with six different bowls (Rose, Alamo, Sun, Maaco [nee Las Vegas], Holiday, and Kraft Hungry). But if Oregon goes to the NC, and if Stanford gets selected by a different BCS game, then it is possible that only one of those games would actually end up hosting a team from the Pac-10.
Now, of course, there are many big caveats to this situation. The first, obviously, is the bowl ban on USC, who would otherwise already be eligible with a record of 7-5. The second, nobly, is that the Pac-10 schedules harder non-conference games than any of the other major conferences. The obvious example is 5-6 Oregon State, who had to play both Boise State and TCU this year. Switch either of those teams for, say, Wyoming or Utah State, and the Beavers have six wins and are going to the Maaco Bowl. A similar story could be said for Arizona State, who came within a field goal of beating No. 5 Wisconsin, but are now instead 5-6, and will not be going to a bowl game. On the flip side of this is the fact that the Pac-10 has had more marquee wins than any other conference: UCLA beat Texas, Arizona beat Iowa, Stanford beat Notre Dame, Oregon beat Tennessee. However, the other teams were punished for their ambition and are now going to suffer.
So there are at least some asterixes to the Pac-10's woeful win-loss percentages and lack of bowl invitations. But the simple fact is that the vast majority of teams underperformed this season, and that no one outside of Oregon and Stanford were able to gain anything resembling consistency. The Beavers would already be bowl eligible if they hadn't lost by 17 at home to Washington State. Meanwhile, Wazzu was the only road win for Cal all season long; as a result, they'll be ending up one win short of a bowl. And Arizona State would have gone bowling, too, if it were not for having an extra point blocked by USC in the fourth quarter of a game they lost by one point. However, none of these teams managed to come up big when they needed to. Four teams in the Pac-10 finished with conference records of 4-4; in fact, only Oregon and Stanford have winning records within the conference.
Coming in to this weekend, two Pac-10 teams will still have a chance to become bowl eligible: Oregon State and Washington. While I'd bet that everyone from Spokane to Pasadena will be rooting for the Beavers to pull off the upset this Saturday, I'm certain that Larry Scott, the Pac-10 commissioner, will be wearing green. That leaves the Huskies as the conference's great purple hope, and their last chance to salvage Jake Locker's senior season, and to secure a fourth bowl birth for the conference.
Addendum: For a more positive outlook, read Stewart Mandel's column here. I still don't think that he addresses the issue of none of the Pac-10's 4th through 8th teams being able to show any kind of consistency through the season.
Coming in to this weekend, two Pac-10 teams will still have a chance to become bowl eligible: Oregon State and Washington. While I'd bet that everyone from Spokane to Pasadena will be rooting for the Beavers to pull off the upset this Saturday, I'm certain that Larry Scott, the Pac-10 commissioner, will be wearing green. That leaves the Huskies as the conference's great purple hope, and their last chance to salvage Jake Locker's senior season, and to secure a fourth bowl birth for the conference.
Addendum: For a more positive outlook, read Stewart Mandel's column here. I still don't think that he addresses the issue of none of the Pac-10's 4th through 8th teams being able to show any kind of consistency through the season.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Good Ol' Shaq
I was out of town and -gasp! - out of reach of the internet over Thanksgiving. And, yes, I have lots of thoughts about Boise State. But in the meantime, and because apparantly I have to go to work, here is a fact:
Everybody Loves Shaq
Kevin Garnett Waxes Poetic About Shaq
Shaq Shows He Can Still Dominate Around a Basket of Fries
Everybody Loves Shaq
Kevin Garnett Waxes Poetic About Shaq
Shaq Shows He Can Still Dominate Around a Basket of Fries
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