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
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