Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen. As the title suggests, it's time for the First Annual Bowl Prediction Challenge/ Bowl Recap Banquet.Oh yes. Just imagine the possible logos for that one.
So, to review the format, we will go through each bowl one by one. The awards banquet will be divided into five sections. The first three, regular bowls. The fourth, New Year's Day type bowls, and the BCS Bowls will be taken care of in the fifth installment.
Today's Bowls:
The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|
Northern Illinois (7-6, 5-3 MAC) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
|
(22) TCU " (11-2, 6-2 MWC) |
6 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 37 |
Aside from being the coolest-ly named bowl, this bowl had the strenuous task of starting our bowl season off on a good note. Whether they accomplished that task, well, that's debatable. We did all want to see NCAA rushing leader Garrett Wolfe tear up the Horned Frog defense, but, it didn't happen. He rushed for 28 yards on 20 attempts, his longest burst coming in at a whopping 7 yards. Coming into the game, Garrett averaged nearly 160 yards a game on the ground. Do the math, he was about 130 yards short of his average. What you may not know however, is that the Horned Frogs had the 4th best run defense in the nation.
The Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|
(16) BYU " (11-2, 8-0 MWC) |
0 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
|
Oregon (7-6, 4-5 Pac-10) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
I'm sure all Beaver fans remember this on very well. The Ducks unveil some *argue amongst yourselves* grellow helmets, then get pounded by the Cougars. If you're like me, you might have found yourself in a dark corner laughing hysterically and pounding the ugly button madly with your fist after this game. As far as a recap, well, I don't think that's really necessary here. The Ducks were out gained by 288 yards.
If you're a fan of exciting headlines, here's a good one for you.
The R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|
Rice (7-6, 6-2 C-USA) |
7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
|
Troy " (8-5, 6-1 Sun Belt) |
21 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 41 |
You know you're in for a treat when a bowl is sponsored by a trucking company. With this victory, Troy earned their first bowl win in school history, since they moved to D-1A in 2002. Rice, on the other hand, hadn't appeared in a bowl game since 1961. Even though the Owls were favored, they couldn't stop Troy's Omar Haugabook, who threw for 217 yards in the air, and was also Troy's leading rusher with 92 on the ground.
The Papajohns.com Bowl
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|
South Florida " (9-4, 4-3 Big East) |
14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
|
East Carolina (7-6, 5-3 C-USA) |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
First of all, I have a problem with the name of this bowl. Naming every freaking bowl after a company, I can live with. Putting internet addresses in the name of the bowl? I don't know about that. I mean, just call it the Papa Johns Bowl then pound it up our rear ends that you can now order your pizza over the internet. Okay. End of that.
First thing I notice: USF stole the Ducks helmets. Second thing I notice: These guys can perform in the yellow helmets.
USF finished their season with a upset of West Virginia, and didn't create any doubt that they were going to win this game. It took them a minute and seven seconds to score their first touchdown, and East Carolina could never catch up. No points were scored in the second half.
The New Mexico Bowl
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|
New Mexico (6-7, 4-4 MWC) |
0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
|
San Jose State " (9-4, 5-3 WAC) |
0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
I was glad to see New Mexico go down here, because there's something suspicious about New Mexico playing in the New Mexico Bowl. But, San Jose State ended my suspicions, and put the Lobos away fairly easily. San Jose State Quarterback Adam Tafralis threw for 209 yards, going 11 of 18.
The Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|
Tulsa (8-5, 5-3 C-USA) |
0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
|
Utah " (8-5, 5-3 MWC) |
3 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 25 |
Utah added the Armed Forces Bowl trophy to their collection, the sixth bowl they've won in a row. That stint includes a victory they had over USC in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl, as well as a Fiesta Bowl win against Pittsburgh. They are tied for the longest active bowl win streak.
In the end, the passing attack of Utah was just too much for those Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa. However, things did look promising for both teams, as Tulsa had but up a touchdown, and Utah had 3 field goals, bringing the score to 9-7. Utah got things going out of the locker room, cashing in on a 74 yard drive. They would add another field goal (4th of the day) and a rushing touchdown by Eric Weddle, a guy who can play as a defensive back, a kick returner, a quarterback, a running back, and a holder. In fact, he was the holder on all 4 field goals kicked by Louie Sakoda. Tulsa could only counter with a rushing touchdown of their own late in the fourth quarter, but it was too late.
|
Results :: Through 5 Bowls |
||
|
BTD.com (Human) |
XBox (Machine) |
Coin (Inatimate Object) |
| 5 | 2 | 5 |
|
+1 Las Vegas Bowl +1 Papajohns.com Bowl +1 New Mexico Bowl +1 Armed Forces Bowl |
+1 Poinsettia Bowl +1 Papajohns.com Bowl |
+1 Poinsettia Bowl +1 Papajohns.com Bowl +1 New Orleans Bowl +1 New Mexico Bowl +1 Armed Forces Bowl |
The Coin jumps out to the early lead, but it's still anybody's game.
This concludes the first of five installments. Stay tuned for Round 2, hopefully coming tomorrow.
--JB--