2011 Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma 48, Connecticut 20

Sooners end 5-game BCS bowl skid at Fiesta Bowl
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — No more BCS losing streak for the Oklahoma Sooners. They busted it up in a big way.
Landry Jones threw for a school bowl-record 429 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 9 Oklahoma ended a five-game BCS bowl losing streak with a 48-20 win over Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night.
Oklahoma (12-2) carried plenty of BCS baggage after losing three straight title games and two Fiesta Bowls. The Sooners avoided the setback six pack behind Jones and Ryan Broyles, who had team records of 13 catches and 170 yards to go with the sealing touchdown.
"Coming out here and winning a bowl game, especially a BCS bowl with our past and losing so many of them, to win one for the program, for coach (Bob) Stoops and all those guys, it's just a great feeling right now," Jones said. "It motivated us. We came into the same situation a couple of times and came out with some losses, and to win a game after those, it's just a great feeling."
Connecticut (8-5) at least kept close for a while in its first BCS bowl.
The hopeful Huskies steadied themselves after an initial barrage from Oklahoma and avoided a complete New Year's Day desert disaster with hard-nosed running by Jordan Todman and a handful of big plays.
Todman had 121 yards on 32 carries and Robbie Frey returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, helping UConn provide at least a glimmer of hope that it's not just a basketball school anymore.
"Our kids did a great job and now know what to strive for so they can do it each and every year," UConn coach Randy Edsall said
Oklahoma had been down this road before.
The Sooners played in the 2007 and 2008 Fiesta Bowls, so they know the town, the stadium, the routine.
They also know disappointment.
In both games, Oklahoma came into the desert favorites and left embarrassed; first to trick-playing, BCS-busting Boise State, then in lopsided fashion to West Virginia.
To shake up their mojo, the Sooners switched hotels, practice sites, everything possible to keep from getting that here-we-go-again Fiesta feeling.
It worked.
Oklahoma followed a businesslike week with a similar approach in the game, jumping out to a 14-0 lead and getting a pair of interception returns for touchdowns to pull away for its first BCS bowl win in eight years.
"I don't have all that like everyone else is talking about it," Stoops said about feeling redemption for ending the BCS losing streak. "But in the end, it's a good win and these guys did a great job."
This was all new to the Huskies.
An FBS program for just nine years, UConn was in its fourth straight bowl, getting the Bowl Championship Series nod after winning the final five games and earning the tiebreaker as co-Big East champions.
But everything about this trip was bigger, from the airport greeting to the shine of the national spotlight.
More than that, though, the Huskies had to worry about Oklahoma's speed-you-up offense.
UConn coach Randy Edsall said OU has so many talented players, it was like the little boy trying to put his fingers in all the holes in the dike. The Sooners also play fast, snapping off more plays than any team in the country while averaging over 478 yards and 36 points per game.
UConn tried a variety of speed-up tactics in practice to simulate Oklahoma's pace, but the real test was going to come in the first few series, when the Sooners pressed the gas and the Huskies tried to keep up.
They couldn't.
With former quarterback Josh Heupel calling plays for the first time, Oklahoma hit UConn with a Manny Pacquiao-esque round of punches in its opening drive for an 8-yard touchdown from Jones to James Hanna.
Next drive: boom, boom, boom, DeMarco Murray scores on a he's-bottled-up, no-he-isn't 3-yard TD run.
Then, finally, UConn got something right. Jones, after completing his first 12 passes, led a receiver too much and cornerback Dwayne Gratz picked it off, racing in 46 yards for a touchdown.
The Huskies had life.
UConn's offense got a spark after that behind Zach Frazer and the defense held Oklahoma to a pair of field goals by Jimmy Stevens, leaving the Huskies at a manageable 20-10 halftime deficit.
The Sooners looked ready to run away with it to start the third, getting a 59-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Cameron Kenney and a 55-yard interception return for a score by Jamell Fleming 1:11 later after a pass deflected off receiver Michael Smith's hands.
Trailing 34-10, the Huskies still wouldn't go away.
Frey returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, Dave Teggart hit his second field goal from 38 yards and Lawrence Wilson stripped Broyles when he appeared to be headed for a punt return touchdown.
UConn got another big play when Jerome Junior broke up a pass on a fake field goal early in the fourth quarter, but that was it.
Broyles pulled down an impressive, toe-dragging 5-yard touchdown midway through the final quarter and Tony Jefferson had a 22-yard interception return for a score to put away the impressive, long-awaited victory and send UConn home disappointed, but satisfied.
"We didn't win the game, but there's nothing negative that comes from this," Edsall said. "To be here and to compete the way these kids competed, that says it all."

BoBA 2011 ISML Predictions

Special ISML Exhibition Matches - New Year's Day 2011


ARENA 01: Ika-Musume, Yui [Index Prohibitorum, Hirasawa Yui] by <=1000
OVER/UNDER: 5000
Over

ARENA 02: Gokō Ruri, Kiriya Nozomi [Sengoku Nadeko, Holo] by >=1000
OVER/UNDER: 5100
Under

ARENA 03: [Kōsaka Kirino, Yamada Aoi] Hiiragi Kagami, Shiina Minatsu by >=1500
OVER/UNDER: 5500
Over

ARENA 04: [Tachibana Kanade, Elsea de Lute Irma] Sakagami Tomoyo, Illyasviel von Einzbern by <=1500
OVER/UNDER: 5500
Over

2011 Rose Bowl: Texas Christian 21, Wisconsin 19

January 1, 2011

Unbeaten and Unable to Do Anything More

PASADENA, Calif. — In the shadows of the San Gabriel Mountains, change can come slowly. At the Rose Bowl, where college football clings to tradition with white-knuckle fervor, fullbacks can still be in vogue, tight ends act as primary pass catchers and the punter can be valued as a skill position player.
With Texas Christian facing Wisconsin in this year’s game, college football’s most historic backdrop also proved a fitting one. The Horned Frogs of the Mountain West Conference are considered interlopers; the traditionalists, commissioners and bowl executives certainly would have preferred Stanford of the Pacific-10 playing in the Rose Bowl.
But with a 21-19 victory over No. 4 Wisconsin of the Big Ten, No. 3 T.C.U. solidified its standing as one of college football’s elite programs and made observers wonder how it would have stacked up against No. 1 Auburn or No. 2 Oregon. The victory capped a 13-0 season for the Horned Frogs and a train wreck of a day for the Big Ten. The league lost its five bowl games on Saturday by a combined score of 204-102 and left the Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee open for mockery.
Gee chided T.C.U. and Boise State, who play outside college football’s six power conferences, for competing against teams like the “Little Sisters of the Poor.”
“I’m going to New Orleans tomorrow, and Antoine’s is a great restaurant,” Gee said when reached on his cellphone Saturday night. “I think they serve crow, and I’ll be eating my portion of that. T.C.U. played a great game and they deserved to be recognized for that. Obviously T.C.U. is a great ball team.”
T.C.U. Coach Gary Patterson resisted the opportunity to retaliate against Gee, saying: “I don’t have any messages for him. I make mistakes every day.”
His Horned Frogs did not make many Saturday, as the team with the country’s top-ranked defense showed it could equalize Wisconsin’s size with speed and versatility. T.C.U. became the third program from outside the six power conferences to win a B.C.S. game, joining Utah and Boise State. It is also the first team from outside the power leagues to win the Rose Bowl since Columbia beat Stanford, 7-0, in 1934.
“Today we played for us and everyone else out there who wanted a chance,” Patterson said.
And the Horned Frogs sealed the victory, fittingly, with one last defensive stand by a player who epitomizes their program. After Wisconsin pulled within 2 points with two minutes remaining on a 4-yard touchdown run by Montee Ball, T.C.U.’s Tank Carder made the game’s defining play.
The Badgers inexplicably went to a shotgun formation for the 2-point conversion, and quarterback Scott Tolzien had tight end Jacob Pedersen wide open one step over the goal line. But Carder, who was stymied on his blitz attempt, leapt up and knocked down the ball to seal the victory for T.C.U.
“I just jumped up and swatted it away,” he said. “I can’t even explain it. It feels so good.”
The play left the Wisconsin coaching staff open to second guessing. After a dominating drive in which the Badgers used their superior size to run the ball on 9 of 10 plays, Wisconsin went away from its strength, and its roots, by lining up in the shotgun and passing the ball.
“That was something we saw on film,” Bielema said, defending the call. “And obviously the guy was open, but you’ve got to get the defender’s hands down in that situation. Hindsight is 20/20.”
It was easy to see that T.C.U. belonged on this stage, with no player showing that more than the senior quarterback Andy Dalton, who played almost flawlessly as he ran for a touchdown and threw for another. The Horned Frogs will join the Big East in 2012, and they may have planted seeds for future B.C.S. bowl wins on the Rose Bowl’s hallowed turf. Their recruiting profile will only increase, as will their access to B.C.S. bowl games.
“The truth will come out when they enter into a B.C.S. conference and play someone of those caliber of those conferences week in and week out,” Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema said. “I don’t think they’re a Cinderella story.”
Before college football had a national title game, there would have been heavy lobbying for first-place votes in the aftermath of a marquee bowl victory. While Patterson complimented his team, he resisted the urge to make any grandiose statements.
Patterson said he looked forward to watching the national title game on his couch without worrying about what blitz to dial up. He appeared more appreciative of the opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl than concerned with college football’s method of determining a national champion.
“It’s like anything else in college football or anything else you have in life,” he said. “There is a set of rules of how it is, and right now this is the way that it is. I’ve never been a whiner, I’ve never been somebody that’s been out there griping about how it is, and I’m not going to start now.”
Instead, by the time the sun set on college football’s most historic backdrop, the Rose Bowl had played host to something very untraditional — a showcase of just how parity-laden college football has become.
For all of the Big 10’s history, cable money and pride, the interlopers from the Mountain West stole the show beneath the Hollywood sign. An in this modern era of college football, few could really be surprised that T.C.U., which entered the game as a favorite, thumbed their nose at tradition.

2011 Outback Bowl: Florida 37, Penn State 24


Game 13: And so it ends

Urban Meyer's final game as a Gators coach was not perfect, but the Gators had more talent and made more plays in defeating Penn State 37-24 in the Outback Bowl.
Penn State led 24-17 with about four minutes remaining in the third quarter, following a sloppy first half on both sides. Florida began their comeback with a Chas Henry 47-yard field goal, one of three Henry hit on Saturday. While Henry did not have an All-American punting day, he gave UF nine points that kept them in the game. Florida would take the lead on a Mike Gillisleetouchdown dive, following Brandon Hicks' interception of Penn State's Matt McGloin.
The Gators defense was why Florida won today's game. UF shutdown Penn State in the 4th quarter, leading to another field goal. For the finale, with Penn State driving to a possible winning score, Ahmad Black took his second interception of the game 80 yards to the house for the final margin. Florida forced five turnovers in the game, all interceptions.
The first 40 minutes of the game did not inspire much confidence in Florida being able to shake off the awfulness that was their 2010 offensive output. On their first offensive play, John Brantley threw an interception, as he was 6-13 for 41 yards. If Brantley is hoping for a release from his scholarship, today might have put the final signature on the letter. Trey Burton, who was used sparingly after fumbling on the goal line driving to tie the score at 7-7, had two carries, two catches and one attempted pass. The Jordan Reed Show took center stage instead, as the freshman was 8-13 for 60 yards and had 68 yards on the ground. Omarius Hines also should get some bandwagon jumpers after two badass offensive plays, including the score to tie the game at 7-7. Of course, as is typical of the mighty Steve Addazio, Hines only got four touches in the game.
If I may go off message here, I was more emotional about seeing the final game for Black and Mike Pounceythan Urban Meyer. Black and Pouncey are part of the vaunted Lakeland Dreadnaughts class, football's equivalent of the Oh Fours. Pouncey might not be able to throw a straight snap, but he demonstrated why he is an NFL prospect. Watching him pull 30 yards to make a lead block really is a thing of beauty.
As for Black, where would Florida have been without him this season? He launched himself into bigger men all season, including today when he busted his face breaking up a pass. His second interception today was the perfect ending to a very imperfect season.
Like Meyer, their Florida careers are over, but we will see them soon somewhere else. Starting tomorrow, we should hope to see more of Jordan Reed and Omarius Hines.

2011 Gator Bowl: Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14

MISSISSIPPI ST. 52, MICHIGAN 14: Mississippi State routs Michigan football team in Gator Bowl

Posted: Jan 1, 2011 at 4:05 PM [Today]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - An extra four weeks of practice, an opportunity to heal from key injuries and a change in venue.
None of it mattered Saturday.
When the Michigan football team finally took the field for the Gator Bowl, it turned in a performance reminiscent of so many others from this tumultuous season.

The offense flashed encouraging signs, including big runs from Denard Robinson on the game’s opening drive. But the Wolverines defense and special teams were dreadful.
The result was an 52-14 loss to No. 21 Mississippi State at EverBank Stadium in the team’s first bowl appearance in three years, a game that may be Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez’s last in Ann Arbor.
His future was not immediately addressed after the game, but Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon has repeatedly said he would render his evaluation of the program following the Gator Bowl.
As it turned out, he need not have waited.
The game was a carbon copy of so many others Michigan played this season - promising start, an undersized defense overpowered and special teams gaffes.
Robinson, Michigan’s MVP, threw two first-quarter touchdown passes to give the Wolverines a 14-10 lead. But Mississippi State (9-4) outscored the Wolverines, 21-0, in the second quarter and took control.
Michigan mistakes keyed their surge.
Robinson threw an interception on a third-and-13 play with 11 minutes left in the second quarter. When Mississippi State took over, their ground-oriented attack bulldozed the Michigan defense on a 12-play, 43-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown.
Earlier, Mississippi State’s Marvin Bure blocked a Will Hagerup punt. The Bulldogs capitalized with a 42-yard field goal from Derek Depasquale. By halftime, Michigan trailed 31-14.
True to their season-long form, the Wolverines tried to find their way back into the game in the third quarter.
But they wasted a 53-yard punt return from Junior Hemingway when kicker Brendan Gibbons missed a 35-yard field goal attempt.
On the season, Gibbons was 1-for-5. Overall, Michigan kickers went 4-for-14 on field-goal attempts.
Their last chance to climb back in the game came with 1:13 remaining in the third quarter. Trailing 38-14, the Wolverines charged down the field. But they again came away with no points when Robinson fired an incomplete pass into the end zone on 4th and goal from the MSU 7-yard line.
For the Wolverines, it marked a dismal end to the season. Michigan started the season on a five-game winning streak and ended it on a three-game losing streak.
For Rodriguez and Brandon, now comes the hard part.
Pete Bigelow covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2556, via e-mail at petebigelow@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @PeterCBigelow.

2011 CapitalOne Bowl: Alabama 49, Michigan State 7

al.com

Alabama 49, Michigan State 7, final: Tide finishes with a flourish

Published: Saturday, January 01, 2011, 3:17 PM     Updated: Saturday, January 01, 2011, 3:21 PM
Don Kausler Jr./Tuscaloosa Bureau, The Birmingham News, Press-Register, and The Huntsville Times By Don Kausler Jr./Tuscaloosa Bureau, The Birmingham News, Press-Register, and The Huntsville Times 
Lester_interception_Almond.jpgAlabama defensive back Robert Lester (37) returns an intercepted pass while Michigan State offensive guard Chris McDonald (62) closes in during the first quarter the Capital One Bowl at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011. (The Birmingham News/ Mark Almond)
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Alabama Crimson Tide saved its best for last, and its best was something to behold.
The offense clicked, the defense sticked, and all in all, a team with three losses looked much like the undefeated team that won the 2009 national championship -- if not better -- as it dismantled Michigan State 49-7 today in the Capital One Bowl.
With the victory over a team that shared the Big Ten Conference championship, Alabama finished the season with a 10-3 record. The Crimson Tide set a Southeastern Conference with its 36th victory over a three-year stretch.
The 42-point margin of victory is a Capital One Bowl record.
Alabama coach Nick Saban was victorious over the team he coached from 1995-99.
An Alabama defense that came into the game with only 22 sacks in 12 games had five sacks and held Michigan State (11-2) to minus-48 yards rushing. The Spartans only had 219 yards in total offense.
Alabama compiled 546 yards of total offense and was balanced nearly perfectly with 275 yards rushing and 271 yards passing.
Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw, who had five solo tackles, three for a loss (including two sacks) was named the game's most valuable player.
Alabama scored on its first four possessions and took a 28-0 halftime lead.
Michigan State answered the Tide's game-opening 13-play, 79-yard touchdown drive with a drive of its own as deep as Alabama's 29-yard line, but free safety Robert Lester snuffed it with his eighth interception of the season.
Michigan native Mark Ingram ran 12 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which broke Shaun Alexander's school record of 41 career touchdown runs. The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner also caught one pass for a dazzling 30-yard gain.
In his final game as the Tide's starting quarter, Greg McElroy ran his career record to 24-3 by completing 13 of 17 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown, a 37-yard pass to Marquis Maze early in the third quarter. McElroy also threw the key block on wide receiver Julio Jones' 35-yard touchdown run on a second-quarter reverse.
Eddie Lacy scored on two second-half TD runs, including a 62-yard run, and finished as Alabama's leading rusher with five carries for 86 yards.
© 2011 al.com. All rights reserved.

2011 TicketCity Bowl: Texas Tech 45, Northwestern 38

Texas Tech beats Northwestern in TicketCity Bowl

Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts (12) scrambles with the ball in the second quarter of the TicketCity Bowl NCAA football game against Northwestern in Dallas, Saturday Jan. 1, 2011.
Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts (12) scrambles with the ball in the second quarter of the TicketCity Bowl NCAA football game against Northwestern in Dallas, Saturday Jan. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)
By Jaime Aron
AP Sports Writer / January 1, 2011

DALLAS—Taylor Potts threw four touchdown passes and scored another on a trick play, and Eric Stephens ran 86 yards for a TD to carry Texas Tech to a 45-38 victory over Northwestern in the inaugural TicketCity Bowl.
The Red Raiders (8-5) led by 22 points early in the second half, then had to sweat it out.
The Wildcats (7-6) got within a touchdown twice in the fourth quarter, with freshmen quarterbacks Evan Watkins and Kain Colter combining to lead three straight touchdown drives and Jordan Maybin returning an interception 39 yards for a score with 5:37 left.
The game wasn't decided until the final play, a heave by Watkins that was intercepted.
Northwestern remains winless in a bowl since 1949. The Wildcats have lost eight in a row, including three straight close ones.
The game was played at the Cotton Bowl, site of more bowl games than any stadium but the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The building was empty last bowl season because the namesake game moved to Cowboys Stadium. Attendance was announced as 40,121, well under half of capacity; the actual crowd was several thousand less. Not even a game sponsored by a ticket-seller could lure folks other than fans of both schools to an 11 a.m. kickoff on a windy New Year's morning with temperatures in the 30s.
It turned out to be quite a contest -- 927 yards of total offense and an inspired comeback by the Wildcats.
There were all sorts of oddities and game-changing plays, from a flubbed hold on an extra-point kick to Tech coach Tommy Tuberville trying an onside kick while leading 38-17 late in the third quarter. Soon, Northwestern was within 38-31.
Potts held them off, though, going 43 of 56 for 369 yards. He ran twice for 19 yards, 13 coming when he threw the ball to Austin Zouzalik on the right side of the field and Zouzalik threw it back to him. Potts scored easily behind a convoy of blockers. The throwback was ruled a lateral, so it went down as a rushing play.
Stephens became Tech's main running back because of an injury to Baron Batch. He ran 14 times for 128 yards.
His big play was the second-longest in a bowl game at this stadium, topped only by the 95-yarder in the 1954 Cotton Bowl that was awarded when Alabama's Tommy Lewis came off the bench to tackle Rice's Dickie Maegle.
Stephens also contributed to the dramatic finish by failing to gain enough first downs to let Tech run out the clock.
Lyle Leong caught 10 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Watkins, a redshirt freshman who took over when Dan Persa tore an Achilles' tendon in mid-November, was 10 of 21 for 76 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a 13 yards and a touchdown.
Colter, his smaller, speedy substitute, ran 18 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw for 36 yards.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Northwestern safety Hunter Bates -- son of former Dallas Cowboys standout Bill Bates -- broke a leg and had to be carted off the field.
Northwestern scored its most points of the season against a Tech defense run by line coach Sam McElroy. He took over following the departure of coordinator James Willis earlier this week. His unit was solid in the first half, then gave up scores on the first four drives it faced in the second half.

2010 Chick-Fil-A Bowl: Florida State 26, South Carolina 17


Florida State Knocks Out South Carolina, 26-17


All season, the Florida State Seminoles relied on their offense to carry the 'Noles to victory.  But with four offensive linemen already down for the season, a left tackle with two shoulders needing surgery unable to pass protect, and a three-year starter at quarterback down early in the game with elbow trouble, FSU leaned on its defense and special teams to beat the South Carolina Gamecocks, 26-17.
The biggest player of the night for the Seminoles was 5'8" sophomore cornerback Greg Reid.  On the sixth play of the game, South Carolina flipped the ball to All-American Tailback Marcus Lattimore.  It would be the last time Lattimore touched the ball all night as Reid crushed Lattimore, knocking him out and causing a fumble which would be recovered by FSU's Kendall Smith. The play set the tone for the night as the 'Noles would force five turnovers on the night, including four in the first half.  Reid finished with four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and three excellent plays in the return game.  And he did it in front of his father who hadn't seen him play since his freshman season due to a prison stint.
FSU's defense was determined to stop the big play, hoping to force South Carolina into impatient mistakes.  It worked, as South Carolina failed to hit the big play for much of the night and was not sharp.  The 'Noles repeatedly gave up short and intermediate gains, but those gains were usually met with big hits.  A young and thin defensive line that had repeatedly worn down over the backstretch of the season clearly benefited from the time off and gave the 'Noles a chance to fight South Carolina's high-powered offense.  
Florida State's offense couldn't do much on the night.  Christian Ponder had reportedly looked great in practice leading up to the game but was quite ineffective and had to be pulled after just a few series.  Backup EJ Manuel came in, and the offense still couldn't get much going.  But one thing the 'Noles did not do was repeatedly turn the ball over.  FSU eventually ran the ball with some effectiveness, had three tremendous punts of more than 45 net yards off the leg of Shuan Powell, and gave South Carolina poor field position for much of the night.  
EJ Manuel was a safe and efficient 11-15 for 84 yards with a TD and no interceptions.  With the inability to pass protect due to injury and inexperience on the offensive line, FSU rarely tested the Gamecocks deep.  But he was quite special with his legs and his handoffs, scrambling for 46 of Florida State's 212 rushing yards.  Only Auburn rushed for more against the Gamecocks.  
Florida State won 10 games for the first time since 2003.  For first-year head coach Jimbo Fisher, it was a storybook season and perhaps the start of something very special in Tallahassee as FSU is the odds-on favorite to land the top recruiting class in the entire country.