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College Football Star Quest For Win 50: Customize his jersey at Onthefield.com to capture the monumental moment
Though it finished seventh in the final BCS College standings, Boise State will finish its College season in the Las Vegas Bowl Thursday night against Arizona State, as anything but a perfect regular season pretty much guarantees that the Broncos won’t earn a BCS bid.
Boise hopes of another perfect season and a potential shot at the national title vanished when it lost at home Nov. 12 to TCU, 36-35.
Boise State’s Kellen Moore is fifth on the all-time career passing yards list. (AP Photo)
But despite the disappointment, we get one last shot at honoring and appreciating the winningest quarterback in NCAA history in Kellen Moore, as a win against the Sun Devils would be the 50th of his career.
Moore, who surpassed Texas’ Colt McCoy earlier this year for No. 1 on the wins list by leading Boise State to a victory over UNLV, is just the sixth quarterback in NCAA College history to surpass 14,000 passing yards. He’s now fifth on the list. He’s also second on the career list in TD passes, and his 41 TD passes this season were the most by any Boise State QB in history. Those are staggering numbers for anyone. Read More >>
Not Too Many Bowls, Too Many Critics
The Too-Many-Bowls College season kicked off over the weekend with the debut of the world’s largest potato on wheels.
If they could have turned it into 50,000 orders of free french fries, a lot of people still would have turned up their noses. They believe there are way too many Famous Idaho Potato Bowls coming our way.
I say pass the potatoes. What harm do all these College bowls do?
None, except give the Too-Many-Bowls crowd needless indigestion. Nobody was holding a potato peeler to anyone’s head forcing them to watch Ohio vs. Utah State on Saturday.
And I bet those who did enjoyed the show. Ohio scored with 13 seconds left to win, 24-23. Following that was the R & L Carriers New Orleans Bowl between Louisiana-Lafayette and San Diego State.
I’ll admit I don’t have a clue what an R & L Carrier is, but I got a little carried away when the Ragin’ Cajuns kicked a 50-yard field goal on the final play to win by 32-30.
Or would you have preferred watching another installment of Texas Hold ’Em on ESPN?
College Football Preview:
Nebraska 28, Michigan 16: Two nearly identical offenses; one defense (Nebraska) significantly better than the other. Not hard to figure how Huskers keep pace in hopes of playing in the inaugural Big Ten College championship game.
Clemson 27, NC State 23: Last chance for the Wolfpack to salvage a disappointing season—and save coach Tom O’Brien’s job. Even with the College Atlantic Division championship, Clemson has plenty to play for.
Ohio State 13, Penn State 9: A big bowl of ugly—at least offensively. Getting away from State College probably helps Penn State focus, but still doesn’t overshadow the reality that the quarterback situation is a mess.
Arkansas 36, Mississippi State 14: Lost in the BCS SEC rematch talk: Arkansas could reach the BCS National Championship Game by winning out. Hogs won’t stumble here against underachieving Mississippi State with so much still out there.
LSU 41, Mississippi 10: A bad situation getting worse in Oxford, and another team clearly separating itself from everyone else. Tigers stay focused and set up huge game Nov. 25 vs. Arkansas.
Florida State 28, Virginia 16: ‘Noles can’t play for ACC title, but still can win 10 games for the second consecutive College season under coach Jimbo Fisher. That means winning here, and beating rival Florida.
UCLA 27, Colorado 23: That’s right, everyone: UCLA still controls its destiny in the Pac-12 South Division—looks more like the WAC every week. The Bruins simply can’t stumble here.
Miles to go before these bowl-bound teams will meet
So here we are, down to the final two College teams elevated above the world of BCS crazy. There’s No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Oklahoma State—the only unbeatens from the automatic-qualifier conferences—and the uncluttered road toward the BCS College National Championship Game. LSU needs victories at Ole Miss, at home against Arkansas and in the SEC Championship Game (likely against Georgia). Oklahoma State must win out at Iowa State and at home against Oklahoma. Neither of those roads are as simple as they look. LSU has lost three of the last four to rival Arkansas, and Oklahoma State has lost eight straight to Oklahoma in the Bedlam rivalry. The last Oklahoma State coach to beat the Sooners was Les Miles. Yep, the same Les Miles who has LSU poised to become the first school to win three BCS titles.
Overrated
No. 4 Oregon. It’s not so much overrated as it is the classic flavor of the moment. Those who win big in late November are those who control the minds of poll voters. Been that way all 13 previous seasons of the controversial system. Oregon beat a Stanford team that hadn’t beaten anyone (and still hasn’t), but had the nation’s best NFL prospect (Andrew Luck). So by whipping Stanford—something that has become routine in this series—the Ducks jumped from No. 7 to No. 4 and are now talking about a rematch with LSU.
No. 7 Clemson. The Tigers aren’t one of the seven best teams in the nation, but they continue to win. Which has to mean something this late in the season. Frankly, it’s good to see two ACC teams (including No. 8 Virginia Tech) in the top 10.
Underrated
No. 17 Wisconsin. Somehow, a team that lost twice on the road on Hail Mary throws is lingering in the bottom half of the second 10. The reality is, if this were an SEC team that lost twice on Hail Marys, they’d be in the top 10. If the Badgers win at Illinois and at home against Penn State, they win the Big Ten Leaders Division and will play for a spot in the Rose Bowl.
BCS bowl projections
BCS National Championship Game: LSU vs. Alabama
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Wisconsin
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Stanford
Fiesta Bowl Under Fire
The Fiesta Bowl’s place within the elite Bowl College Championship Series could be impacted by the organization’s internal report of widespread financial wrongdoings.
Bill Hancock, the BCS executive director, said the organization will investigate the Fiesta Bowl’s report issued Tuesday and the bowl could be replaced in the four-bowl rotation of BCS games.
“We are deeply disappointed and troubled to learn of these findings related to the Fiesta Bowl,” Hancock said in a statement. “Unprofessional, unethical or improper behavior is unacceptable. It is expected that all parties contracted with the BCS will live up to the highest standards. We do not wish to be associated with entities that believe otherwise.”
If the Fiesta Bowl is removed from the BCS bowl rotation, bidding for the open spot would be unprecedented.
The Cotton Bowl, backed by new Cowboys Stadium, would be at the top of the list. The Chick-Fil-A Bowl and the city of Atlanta would be another major player, as would the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.
The last time the BCS opened bids for its games in the early 2000s, the Capital One Bowl had the most aggressive bid of any of the games. The bowls themselves are only accountable for a portion of the publicized $16 million payout per team (about $6 million).
The Capital One Bowl offered an addition $1 million to its bid in the early 2000s and offered the BCS a one-time guaranteed payment of $11 million to coincide with the first championship game played in Orlando.
“We were very aggressive last time,” Capital One Bowl executive director Steve Hogan told Sporting News. “I don’t want to speculate on what could happen (with the Fiesta Bowl), but we would be very aggressive again.”
One major factor in the Fiesta’s favor: The BCS desperately wants to grow and build tradition. Eliminating one of the original four bowls at this point would certainly damage the BCS brand.
Moreover, each of the bowls likely to compete for a potential open spot has issues:
Boise’s Loss Cost More Then You’d Think
When Boise State lost to Nevada on Nov. 26, everyone knew the loss cost the Broncos and the WAC a large sum of money.
The New York Times stopped to figure out how much: $8 million. “The Rose Bowl, like other Bowl Championship Series games, touts a per-team payout of $17 million,” Times reporter John Branch writes. “For teams like Boise State and others in one of the five conferences without an automatic bid, the payout is $12 million, Benson said.
Jake Locker Gets His Big Finish
In essence, Washington quarterback Jake Locker returned to Seattle for another year of College football, put his NFL draft stock and his body on the line, for this experience. 
Locker and the Huskies are headed to a bowl game.
“It’s really cool just to be able to be in there and have them explain this kind of stuff and look up at a schedule that in the past has been ‘OK, this is when you guys can go home and this is when the quarter starts and we start winter workouts again,’” Locker said Sunday. “To be able to look at it and go, ‘We are going to have practices here, these days are going to be off, you’ll get money for this, we are going to visit these places while we are down there,’ it just puts a smile on my face.”
Washington (6-6) rallied to win three straight games and earn the program’s first bowl berth since 2002. The Huskies faced down three straight elimination games and came away each time with a win they had to have.
They ended up with a third-place finish in the Pac-10 with USC, tied at 5-4. Now they are headed for the Holiday Bowl in San Diego and a rematch with Nebraska, which came to Seattle on Sept. 18 and dominated Washington 56-21. Nebraska finished the season 10-3.
But the Huskies are the ones with something truly momentous to celebrate. Two years ago on Monday, Steve Sarkisian met his team for the first time. They were coming off an Apple Cup loss and an 0-12 season, the program’s first winless record in 119 years. At 6-6, Washington is not yet a winning football program. It is, in reality, only one win better than Sarkisian’s first season last year. But the Huskies have come a long way. Certainly a long way from the 3-6 hole Washington was looking at in mid-November.
Now the Washington seniors get the send-off they hoped for.
Read More >>
Wisconsin Smells Roses
College Football isn’t pretty in Wisconsin. In some ways, the Badgers could be considered boring if you enjoy, say, passing or trickery.
Wisconsin isn’t shy about what it likes to do. It’ll run. And run. And run. It’ll recruit big offensive linemen to block and pull and have waves of white helmets with red ‘Ws’ run straight into defensive lines.
It won’t pass much, even if it has an accurate quarterback in Scott Tolzien. It’ll stick to its principles.
And in the world of the fast-tempo spread offense and facing one of its gurus in Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, Wisconsin showed that old-fashioned football can still dominate.
“We’re not the spread,” Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. “So we’re not sexy and it’s not on the front of everyone’s wish list but I’ll tell you what, 48 points is fun.”
Yes, Wisconsin had a lot of fun Saturday trouncing Michigan, 48-28. It had a lot of fun throwing up 83 points on an Indiana Hoosiers team whose defense rivals the Wolverines’ for the worst in the Big Ten.
Read More >>
Kyle Whittingham Breathes A Sigh of Relief for Pac-12 Move
As Utah coach Kyle Whittingham walked into the visitors tunnel of Falcons Stadium, he let out a giant sigh of relief.
“Frick,” he muttered as he shook his head and wandered into the locker room.
It was one of those games for Whittingham, whose Utes barely escaped the Air Force Academy with a 28-23 win to preserve their undefeated record.
“I’ve been in this game maybe 21 times (as an assistant and head coach) and I need a break from it,” said Whittingham, whose team moves to the Pac-12 college conference next year and has no future dates with Air Force. “So now we’re getting a break from it and that’s why I was breathing a sigh of relief. Read More >>
A Rose Bowl Dilemma
The site bcsfootball.org is always a compelling read, but even more so this season.
If you click onto the site’s “Selection Procedures” link, there’s a sentence worth remembering within Item 3 beneath the “Team selection procedures” heading.
The sentence, in full, reads, “For the games of January 2011 through 2014, the first year the Rose Bowl loses a team to the NCG (National Championship Game) and a team from the non-AQ (Automatic Qualifier) group is an automatic qualifier, that non-AQ team will play in the Rose Bowl.”
In short, should the Big Ten or Pac-10 champion finish among the top two teams in the final BCS standings — at least a 50 percent proposition at this point, given the lack of a dominant Big 12 team — a berth would open up in Pasadena. Should Boise State finish 12-0, there is certainly the chance that it would not play in the BCS Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz., on January 10. Read More >>
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