COTTON BOWL Arkansas 29 Kansas St 16 Dome. KSU had a 19-13 FD edge but Ark a 345-260 yd edge. Joe Adams got his 4th PR TD on the yr and this one was 51 yds. AU had their first 11 win season since Lou Holtz’s 1977 team and Frank Broyles only undefeated season at Ark (1964). This was played in Jerry Jones’ (Ark alum) Dallas Cowboys Stadium. AU came in #6 in the BCS and KSU #8. AU’s first FD didn’t come until early 2Q but thanks to the PR TD they led 19-2 with KSU’s 2 pts coming on a blk’d xp ret’d for 2. It was 19-16 late 3Q when AU on 3&9 got a 9 yd td pass, 26-16 (3:57). KSU missed a 43 yd FG with 6:36 left. AU got a 30 yd FG with 3:30 left and KSU got to the AU37 but on 4&16 was int’d at the 25 and ret’d 61 yds.

SUN BOWL Utah 30 Georgia Tech 27 OT GT led Utah 24-10 into the 4Q but UT got td’s with 6:50 and 1:32 left to tie. GT missed a 48 yd FG with :02 left sending it to OT. The first time in the 77 year history of the Sun Bowl it had gone to OT. GT had earlier missed two 40 yd FG’s and GT finished with a 448-337 yd edge and 19-14 FD edge losing their 7th straight bowl appearance while Utah moved to 7-1 in bowls under Whittingham. GT’s Preston Lyons who had just 39 carries on the year, rushed for 138 yds as David Sims was out with an injury and Orwin Smith was banged up. GT got a 74 yd IR TD in the 3Q to go up 24-10. UT converted on 4&3 for their first 4Q TD and opted to punt on 4&3 from their own 25 with 2:48 left but a 31 yd PR set them up at the GT24 and the TD came on a 4&14, 28 yd pass. After GT got a FG in OT, UT on 3&gl from the 8 got an 8 yd td run by White for the win. Read more…

SUGAR BOWL Michigan 23 Virginia Tech 20 OT – VT had 377-184 yd and 22-12 FD edges and settled for 4 FG’s in regulation by 3rd string K Justin Myer as VT was without their top 2 K’s. UM was extremely fortunate to escape with the win as VT dominated the first 24:00 but were SOD on 4&1 from the UM4 with 6:51 left in the half which was one of the key plays for UM. VT went on 3 long drives in the 1H going 44/12pl, 46/12pl and 70/9pl. Meanwhile in that span UM was int’d and punted. Unfortunately for VT they settled for 37 and 43 yd FG’s. VT’s D forced another punt but roughing the P gave UM a FD and later on 3&17 UM threw it up. VT’s DB went for the ball, wiped out another VT DB while doing so and Hemingway caught it and went 45 yds for a TD and a 7-6 lead (:49 2Q). VT then fmbl’d the KO and UM settled for a FG and appeared to be stopped when their holder mishandled the snap and threw it up for grabs in a cluster of 3 VT defenders. The ball bounced off the 3 VT defenders, was caught by an OL for a FD and UM was awarded 3 more pts 2pl later and led 10-6 at the half. UM went 35/3pl after a TO for a TD to lead 17-6 (9:43). VT went on a 40/9pl drive settling for a 36 yd FG and then went on a 16pl drive for a TD to tie (10:22). VT, whose D had held UM all day, unfortunately went for a fake punt at midfield and was SOD leaving UM at the VT45 (7:21) and in scoring range and UM took advantage with a 39 yd FG. VT tied it with :02 left at the end of an 83/11pl drive. In OT VT got a TD but surprisingly it was overturned as it was not clearly an incompletion and many speculated it was a TD. VT then missed a 37 yd FG and UM got a 37 yd FG 4pl later for a fortuitous win. Read more…

HAWAII BOWL S Mississippi 24 Nevada 17 – Larry Fedora had accepted the job at N Carolina but opted to still coach this one. Fedora said about QB Davis “It wasn’t his best game. Davis hit 18-41-165 and was off most of the night but did lead a game winning TD drive in the 4Q. NV was without its top WR Rishard Matthews who was a late scratch and the game featured a Hawaii Bowl record 17 punts with the 41 combined points being the fewest in the bowl’s history. SM got a 19 yd PR to the NV31 but settled for a 50 yd FG and missed it. 2 punts. NV went 62/5pl but on 3&4 from the 13 was int’d in the EZ. 3 punts. SM blk’d a punt and rec’d it for a TD with 14:06 2Q. NV went 81/13pl and got a 5 yd TD run, 7-7. NV went 68/4pl and got a 45 yd TD run by Mark, 14-7. SM ret’ the KO to the NV36 but fmbl’d. NV was SOD on 4&1 at their own 44 but SM would settle for a 48 yd FG, 14-10 (1:21). NV fmbl’d the KO at their own 24 and SM got a 2 yd TD pass with :12 left in the half to lead 17-14. At the half NV had a 235-109 yd edge. 3Q 2 punts. SM got 1 FD and missed a 48 yd FG. 1 punt. SM went 33/8pl but was SOD on 4&6 at the NV39. SM fmbl’d the punt at their own 14 but NV settled for a 37 yd FG, 17-17 (2:44). Three 3&outs. NV got 2 FD’s to midfield and punted. SM got 1 FD to the NV44 and punted. NV went 3&out and SM went 68/7pl and got a 4 yd TD pass with 5:48 left, 24-17. NV got 1 FD and was SOD at the 50 with 3:56 left and SM would get 3 FD’s to the 16 and took a knee 3x. Read more…

LAS VEGAS BOWL Boise St  56 Arizona St 24 – Kellen Moore finished his final game with 50 career wins in the NCAA, a record that we cannot foresee being broken. He hit 26-34-293 yds. BS did get a couple of big plays to turn this into a blowout. Many questioned the attitude of ASU coming in as they had fired their HC Erickson and anointed Todd Graham as the HC. Any notions of ASU giving a huge performance for their outgoing coach probably went away on the opening KO when BS deflated ASU with a 100 yd KR TD. The next 3 poss were punts then BSU went 54/8pl for a TD. BS was int’d at the ASU25 but on their next drive went 80/8pl and got a 2 yd TD pass with 12:03 left 2Q, 21-0. 2 punts. ASU went 66/12pl but settled for a 32 yd FG. BS went 72/12pl and converted on 4&5 for a FD to the ASU5 and brought Moore out and their bkp QB handed off to Miller who threw a 5 yd TD pass with :43 left 1H, 28-3. At half BSU had a 269-111 yd edge. ASU threatened to get into it. They got a 98 yd KR by Ross to open the 3Q for a TD, 28-10. They got an int but on 4th & 4 Erickson sent the punt team in. Osweiler waved them off and went for it but his pass fell incomplete from the BS39. BSU fmbl’d and ASU went 49/7pl. They had a 1st & gl at the 5. They had 2 shotgun runs from the 1 which were both stopped and then with Erickson trying to call time-out for at least :05, the refs did not call time-out and Osweiler’s pass into the EZ which would have made it 28-17 was int’d and ret’d 105 yds for a TD and blew open what would have been an 11 pt game to a 35-10 lead. BSU took their next poss 80/10pl for a TD, 42-10 then got a 26 yd FR TD 2pl later, 49-10. ASU went 54/3pl for a 21 yd TD pass, 49-17 and then went 60/6pl but was SOD at the BSU26. BSU went 74/12pl for a TD with 2:24 left then ASU went 75/7pl getting a TD with :28 left on a 30 yd pass. Boise finished with a 460-384 yd edge.

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The Buffalo/Bowling Green game was a misleading 72 points. The two combined for just 700 yards offense. It was a very windy day, which effected the punts as there were scoring drives of 30, 66, 39 and 38 yds off punts. Off TO’s there were scores following a 42 yd IR TD, 28 yds and 28 yds (after blk’d punt).

Well, nobody really wanted to win the Pac-12 South this year. When Utah (over a 3 TD fav) lost to Colorado, UCLA clinched the P12. At night Arizona St now had nothing to play for even though it was their home finale and they needed to stop a 3 game losing streak. The Sun Devils were done in by a 4-1 TO deficit and also their D allowed Cal 484 yds. Cal actually had a 27-14 lead when ASU scored a TD on 4&10 with :52 left in the half and rec’d a fmbl’d KO and went 30/3pl for a TD to lead 28-27 at the half. Cal’s big play was a 3&4, 74 yd TD pas with 2:53 left in the 3Q to go up by 10 while ASU pulled within 41-38 after 3Q’s, Cal would get 19 and 30 yd FG’s while ASU turned it over 2x in the 4Q in their 47-38 win. Read more…

During the offseason I had just one weekend blog but each week during the season I will take a look at the Top 25 performances from the just completed week with a little analysis as well as a quick review of the past weekend. On Monday I will give you my News & Notes where I delve deeper into every game that was played this past weekend, breaking down individual drives and giving you misleading finals and other interesting tidbits.

As far as my game grades go after the 2008 season was completed I devised a power ratings system, which lets me analyze at what level each team played during an individual game. This “game grade” takes into account the yards rushing, yards passing, points scored, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed and points allowed and factors them in against the opponent played and even factors in the site the game was played at.

With all these factors taken into consideration you will see teams that lost the game having a better individual game grade than teams that beat them simply because the team they played was superior and much less was expected of them.

Top 25 Game Grades (Team Performances) Week 13

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During the offseason I had just one weekend blog but each week during the season I will take a look at the Top 25 performances from the just completed week with a little analysis as well as a quick review of the past weekend. On Monday I will give you my News & Notes where I delve deeper into every game that was played this past weekend, breaking down individual drives and giving you misleading finals and other interesting tidbits.

As far as my game grades go after the 2008 season was completed I devised a power ratings system, which lets me analyze at what level each team played during an individual game. This “game grade” takes into account the yards rushing, yards passing, points scored, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed and points allowed and factors them in against the opponent played and even factors in the site the game was played at.

With all these factors taken into consideration you will see teams that lost the game having a better individual game grade than teams that beat them simply because the team they played was superior and much less was expected of them.

Top 25 Game Grades (Team Performances) Week 12

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LSU QB Jefferson started his 1st gm TY. He hit 8-14-168 yds and was tkl’d for safety. At the half LSU only led 14-7 with WKU even missing a 49 yd FG. It was 21-7 when WKU was SOD on 4&gl at the 1 with 6:46 left in the 3Q. LSU scored TD’s on 3 consecutive poss, plus one more with 5:45 left to give them some margin and WKU’s last threat was SOD at the LSU36.

Mississippi figured to be charged up for Louisiana Tech for a couple of reasons. First, Houston Nutt was fired during the week and second, they were an underdog to a WAC school that was actually in a WAC sandwich coming off a big win vs Fresno St with a bigger game vs Nevada on deck. UM played better than the final score as a couple of key plays changed this game. The Rebels appeared in control taking their 2nd drive 78/8pl for a TD (8:53). LT fmbl’d at their own 41 but MSU, 7pl later, missed a 36 yd FG (4:23). LT went 58/15pl. On 4&1 they were SOD but a face mask gave them a FD. They missed a 40 yd FG 4pl later. 2 punts. UM fmbl’d at their own 22 but LT missed a 35 yd FG. 3 punts. With UM punting from their own 7, LT got a 12 yd PR and went 37/4pl for a TD with 3:32 left 1H, 7-7. UM got 2 FD’s and punted with :35 left. LT was pinned at their 5 and just handed off to Lee but he took it 48 yards so they opted to go for a score and got 1 more FD and nailed a 43 yd FG to give them momentum at the half, 10-7 and that 70 yard drive gave them a 227-129 yd edge at the half. The 3Q opened with 3 punts. UM went 30/11pl but missed a 52 yd FG (5:46). LT got a 47 yd pass and 4pl later a 35 yd FG, 13-7 (4:38). LT then got a 33 yd FR TD 2pl later, 20-7 (3:49). LT blk’d a punt and recovered at its own 39 and went 39/10pl but was int’d at the 1. Two plays later LT got a 26 yd IR TD, 27-7 (11:08). UM was SOD at the LT39 and SOD at the 50. Read more…

During the offseason I had just one weekend blog but each week during the season I will take a look at the Top 25 performances from the just completed week with a little analysis as well as a quick review of the past weekend. On Monday I will give you my News & Notes where I delve deeper into every game that was played this past weekend, breaking down individual drives and giving you misleading finals and other interesting tidbits.

As far as my game grades go after the 2008 season was completed I devised a power ratings system, which lets me analyze at what level each team played during an individual game. This “game grade” takes into account the yards rushing, yards passing, points scored, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed and points allowed and factors them in against the opponent played and even factors in the site the game was played at.

With all these factors taken into consideration you will see teams that lost the game having a better individual game grade than teams that beat them simply because the team they played was superior and much less was expected of them. Read more…

Tough loss for Alabama to LSU. Bama’s first possession got to the LSU27 but they missed a 44 yd FG. Bama’s 2nd poss got to the LSU23 but they lost 10 yds then missed a 50 yd FG. Bama got to the LSU24 but they lost 7 yds and brought in their short kicker to attempt a 49 yd’r but it was blk’d. Bama got to the LSU17 but settled for a 34 yd FG to lead 3-0. At this point Bama had a 181-55 yd edge but only led 3-0 and LSU, thanks to an offsides on 3&1 and a defensive holding on an incomplete pass on 3&4, would get a 19 yd FG on the final play of the half to tie it. LSU was int’d and ret’d to their 4 but a penalty brought it back to the 35 and Bama settled for a 46 yd FG, 6-3. LSU got a 33 yd IR to the UA15 setting up a 2 yd “drive” for a 30 yd FG to tie (14:13 4Q). Richardson ripped off a 24 yd run to the LSU28 and Bama had a great call. Maze, out of the shotgun, threw deep and the TE caught the ball, came down on his back with it at the 1 yd line but the LSU DB wrestled the ball away from him and amazingly it was ruled an int and LSU got off a 73 yd punt with 9:00 left but neither crossed the 50 and the game went to OT. In OT Bama took a sk and missed their FOURTH FG of the game, a 52 yd’r and LSU got a 25 yd FG for the win. Read more…