College Football 2008: Postseason Thread (Before, During, and After)

GTPlanet, this is the thread for all postseason action for this season. After the final regular season games of 2008 are complete, this thread is all about postseason action. Bowl games in FBS and playoffs elsewhere are what this thread is about. I will come into this thread and offer all postseason news and tidbits. I'll try to make a better effort to cover FCS through Division 3 playoff action this season.





FBS Bowl Preview
The following are all the bowl games. Here is a legend:

MM/DD: Xxxxxxxx Bowl - City, State/Province, Country
(conference/team/rank vs. conference/team/rank)

or...

MM/DD:
Xxxxxxxx Bowl - City, State/Province, Country
(Opponent A vs. Opponent B)

! = conference champ





12/20/2008:
* Congressional Bowl - Washington, D.C., USA
(Navy/Army, ACC #9, or MAC)

* New Mexico Bowl - Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
(#4 in MWC vs. #3 in WAC)

* St. Petersburg Bowl - St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
(Big East vs. Conference USA)

* Las Vegas Bowl - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
(#1 in Mountain West vs. Pac-10)


12/21/2008: New Orleans Bowl - New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
(Sun Belt! vs. Conference USA)

12/23/2008: Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego, California, USA
(#2 in MWC vs. Pac-10)

12/24/2008: Hawaii/Hawai'i Bowl - Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
(WAC vs. Pac-10)

12/26/2008: Motor City Bowl - Detroit, Michigan, USA
(#7 in Big Ten vs. #1 or #2 in MAC)

12/27/2008:
* Meineke Bowl - Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
(#5, #6, or #7 in ACC vs. Big East

* Champs Sports Bowl - Orlando, Florida, USA
(#4 in ACC vs. #4 in Big Ten)

* Emerald Bowl - San Francisco, California, USA
(Pac-10 vs. (#5, #6, or #7 in ACC))


12/28/2008: Independence Bowl - Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
(SEC vs. Big XII) <<< what most people think will be the BCS Nat'l Title Game

12/29/2008:

* papajohns.com Bowl - Birmingham, Alabama, USA
(Big East at SEC)

* Alamo Bowl - San Antonio, Texas, USA
(Big Ten vs. #4 in Big XII) <<< the Michigan/Nebraska Alamo Bowl game a few years ago was poorly officiated


12/30/2008:
* Humanitarian Bowl - Boise, Idaho, USA
(#1 in WAC vs. #8 in ACC)

* Holiday Bowl - San Diego, California, USA
(#3 in Big XII vs. #2 in Pac-10) <<< I remember Texas A&M vs. California a few years ago

* Texas Bowl - Houston, Texas, USA
(Big XII vs. Big East)


12/31/2008:
* Armed Forces Bowl - Fort Worth, Texas, USA
(Conference USA vs. #3 in Mountain West)

* Sun Bowl - El Paso, TX, USA
(Pac-10 vs. (#5 in Big XII or #2 in Big East))

* Music City Bowl - Nashville, Tennessee, USA
(SEC #6 vs. (#5, #6, #7 in ACC) <<< Kentucky won this Bowl two years in a row; Clemson (2006) and Florida State (2007)

* Insight Bowl - Tempe, Arizona, USA
(#6 Big XII vs. #6 in Big Ten) <<< I remember Texas Tech's double overtime victory against Minnesota in 2006 in come-from-behind fashion

* Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl - Atlanta, Georgia, USA
(#5 in SEC vs. #2 in ACC) <<< no note; I love Chick-fil-A! ^_^


1/1/2009: (HAPPY NEW YEAR!)
* Outback Bowl - Tampa, Florida, USA
((#3 or #4 in SEC) vs. #4 in Big Ten)

* Capital One Bowl - Orlando, Florida, USA
(#2 in Big Ten vs. #2 in SEC) <<< Michigan's stellar win against Florida on New Year's Day this year comes to mind

* Gator Bowl - Jacksonville, Florida, USA
(#5 in Big XII or #2 in SEC)


* Rose Bowl - Pasadena, California, USA {BCS Bowl Game}
(BCS Pac-10! vs. BCS Big Ten!)

* Orange Bowl - Miami, Florida, USA
(BCS vs. BCS ACC!)


1/2/2009:
* Cotton Bowl - Dallas, Texas, USA
(#2 Big XII vs. (#3 or #4 in SEC)

* Liberty Bowl - Memphis, Tennessee, USA
(SEC vs. #1 Conference USA)

Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
(BCS vs. BCS SEC!)


1/3/2009: International Bowl - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(Big East vs. #3 in MAC)

1/5/2009: Fiesta Bowl - Glendale, Arizona, USA
(BCS vs. BCS Big XII!)

1/6/2009: GMAC Bowl - Mobile, Alambama, USA
(#2 in Conference USA vs. (#1 or #2 in MAC; or WAC)








And there you [finally] have it. This will be updated from time to time with more postseason info. I will also include FCS, D2, and D3 playoff info. When Selection Sunday comes for teams of those divisions, I will have the matchups lined up for you all.

Here is your postseason thread! Feel free to chat away as this season nears an end.

Disregard this post... accidentally put scores from the most recent day of college football in this thread. Disregard this post. Thank you.

Division 2 Playoffs:

* West Chester at Bloomsburg (28-21; BLOOMSBURG)
* Seton Hill at CUP (48-7; CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA)
* West Texas A&M at Abilene Christian (93-68; ABILENE CHRISTIAN) <<< are you SURE this is football?
* Tusculum at Delta State (27-19; DELTA STATE)
* Ashland at Grand Valley State (40-7; GRAND VALLEY STATE)
* Chadron State at Minnesota-Duluth (20-10; MINNESOTA-DULUTH)
* Valdosta State at North Alabama (37-10; NORTH ALABAMA)
* Pittsburg State at Northwest Missouri State (38-35; NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE)



Division 3 Scores:
I'm going to go in order here. Winners advance to next round.

* Plymouth State at Cortland State (31-14; CORTLAND STATE)
* Franklin at Otterbein (62-45; Franklin)
* Christopher Newport at Washington and Jefferson (35-29; WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON)
* Wesley at Muhlenberg (20-0; Wesley)
* Wabash at Case Western Reserve (20-17; Wabash)
* Curry at Ithaca (26-21; Curry)
* Catholic at Johns Hopkins (18-17; Catholic)
* Kean at Delaware Valley (16-7; DELAWARE VALLEY)
* Lycoming at Hobart (33-15; HOBART)
* Randolph-Macon at Mount Union (56-0; MOUNT UNION)
* Wheaton (IL) at Trine (14-0; Wheaton- of Illinois)

These were all the playoff games for the Division 3 playoffs played on Saturday.





In my next post, I'll share the FCS playoff contenders.

FCS in the house! Here are your brackets on the road to Chattanooga:



! = #1 seed
^ = at large
*** Bracket Section A ***

--- Bracket A1 ---
* #2 Appalachian State! (CAA Champions) vs. South Carolina State (MEAC Champions) - Nov. 29
* Richmond vs Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley Champions)

--- Bracket A2 ---
* #3 Northern Iowa at Maine
* New Hampshire vs. Southern Illinois



*** Bracket Section B ***

--- Bracket B1 ---
* #1 James Madison! vs. Wofford (Southern Conference (SOCON) Champions)) - Nov. 29
* Villanova vs. Colgate (Patriot League Champions)

--- Bracket B2 ---
* #4 Montana^ vs. Texas State <<< MONT- 16th straight playoff appearance
* Weber State (Big Sky Champions) vs. California Polytechnical <<< Weber's first appearance since 1991





Cal Poly would have been seeded if they knocked off Wisconsin last night. But there are your brackets. Round 1 action can be seen on ESPNU starting at 11:00 AM CST on November 29th.

Something I've learned in the Division 2 playoffs is that all the #1 seeds lost their matches in the most recent round of playoff play. The joke was that "maybe Division 2 needs the BCS!" That even includes Grand Valley State losing. I have lots of respect for Grand Valley State, but this has been about two straight seasons where the Lakers failed to advance to the National Championship Game. They're a great team. Maybe other teams are finally figuring out how to beat GVSU.

The Division 2 National Champions are Minnesota-Duluth. Here was how the Division 2 story was won:

http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/2008/ncaa_bracket_DII_football.html



Division 3 will be decided between common foes: Mount Union College and Wisconsin-Whitewater. That game is this Saturday at 11:00 AM EST from Salem, Virginia. Friday night on ESPN2 is the FCS National Championship. Richmond's come-from-behind victory at Northern Iowa led to Richmond advancing. So either someone from Virginia or someone from Montana will win this game.

Here are the upcoming Bowl Matches:

! = undefeated heading into these matches

12/20/2008:
* EagleBank Bowl (Washington, D.C., USA) - Wake Forest vs. Navy
* New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM, USA) - Colorado State vs. Fresno State <<< Gary Kubiak's son plays for ColST
* St. Petersburg Bowl (St. Petersburg, FL, USA) - Memphis vs. South Florida
* Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV, USA) - BYU vs. Arizona

12/21/2008:
* New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA, USA) - Southern Mississippi vs. Troy

12/23/2008:
* Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA, USA) - Boise State! vs. TCU -

12/24/2008:
* Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu, HI, USA) - Hawaii vs. Notre Dame

12/26/2008:
* Motor City Bowl (Detroit, MI, USA) - Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan

12/27/2008:
* Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte, NC, USA) - West Virginia vs. North Carolina
* Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL, USA) - Wisconsin vs. Florida State
* Emerald Bowl (San Francisco, CA, USA) - Miami vs. California <<< AT&T Park converted to football stadium... looks lovely!

12/28/2008:
* Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA, USA) - Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech

12/29/2008:
* papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, AL, USA) - North Carolina State vs. Rutgers
* Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX, USA) - Missouri vs. Northwestern

12/30/2008:
* Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, ID, USA) - Maryland vs. Nevada <<< economic climate affects ticket sales here
* Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA, USA) - Oklahoma State vs. Oregon
* Texas Bowl (Houston, TX, USA) Rice vs. Western Michigan <<< while I'm not a Rice fan, I do hope they play well.

12/31/2008:
* Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX, USA) - Houston vs. Air Force <<< a rematch; AFA won last meeting; Houston never won a Bowl game since beating Nebraska in 1980.
* Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX, USA) - Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh <<< the Max Powers special (PITT)!
* Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN, USA) - Boston College vs. Vanderbilt <<< VAND's first appearance in a Bowl since 1984(?)
* Insight Bowl (Glendale, AZ, USA) - Kansas vs. Minnesota <<< in TS country
* Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA, USA) - LSU vs. Georgia Tech <<< GT is the hometown team


--- HAPPY NEW YEAR! ---

1/1/2009
* Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL, USA) - South Carolina vs. Iowa
* Capital One Bowl (Orlando, FL, USA) - Georgia vs. Michigan State <<< last year saw Lloyd Carr get his final win as coach of Michigan with a great win over Florida. I accidentally typed Michigan, but Michigan STATE will play here.
* ROSE BOWL (Pasadena, CA, USA) - Penn State vs. USCal
* ORANGE BOWL (Miami, FL, USA) - Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati

1/2/2009
* Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX, USA) - Mississippi vs. Texas Tech
* Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN) - Kentucky vs. East Carolina <<< the FoolKiller special (Kentucky)! Third-straight bowl in Tennessee for UK after back-to-back Music City Bowl wins; East Carolina was a Top 25 team earlier
SUGAR BOWL (New Orleans, LA, USA) - Utah! vs. Alabama <<< UTAH finished unbeaten in 2004(?) Fiesta Bowl beating Pittsburgh

1/3/2009
* International Bowl (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - Buffalo vs. Connecticut <<< the Studentdriver special!

1/5/2009
FIESTA BOWL (Glendale, AZ, USA) - Ohio State vs. Texas <<< third(?)-ever meeting in history

1/6/2009
* GMAC Bowl (Mobile, AL, USA) - Tulsa vs. Ball State



January 8, 2009

*+x BCS National Championship Game x+*
Miami, Florida, USA

Oklahoma
- vs -
Florida​

^ the Pupik special!





Those are your Bowl Game matchups. Anyone want to offer any predictions on how they'll end up?

Tonight is the match to determine the FCS National Champions. It's Richmond vs. Montana (not Hannah Montana, mind you). Spiders and Grizzlies. Ooooh...

The economic recession is going to make this holiday season not very fun. All kinds of cost-cutting and stuff. No matter what the economic impact is, you can't put a price on talent. And two teams have that and more. Who got it done? Read on, enthused ones!





No Appalachian State here. They were ousted someplace in one of the rounds. No dynasty will continue for App. State. So the field is wide open. Meet the two opportunistic sons of guns trying to snag one of those NCAA trophies. Richmond didn't have to travel too far to get to Chattanooga, though they've traveled long enough to get here. All they can hope for is that they can tame some Grizzlies from Montana, who had to travel much further to get to this game. Talk about the long road home... every FCS team has arachnophobia because the Spiders spooked Montana quite well. "Itsy Bitsy Spider" played in Montana's ears as they could do very little to supress Richmond.

FINAL SCORE:
Richmond - 24
Montana - 7





Bowl season begins Saturday. But if you fancy playoffs more than bowl games, there's always the Division 3 National Championship game between two usual suspects. We got Mount Union seeking revenge over Wisconsin-Whitewater for the D3 championship. FCS is done. D2 is done. D3 is about to end. And as for FBS? Rest over. Time to play again!

I will make two posts. This one involves the Division 3 National Championship game. Mount Union wants to re-establish themselves as a D3 dynasty.




Mount Union wants their championship back after Wisconsin-Whitewater's been gloating all last year. The Purple Raiders are ready to show the Warhawks how this Ohio-based powerhouse does football in D3. Mount Union has now won one D3 championship in a row. You want to be a champion? Take down Mount Union College.

FINAL SCORE:
Wisconsin-Whitewater - 26
Mount Union - 31





Coming up, Bowl Season highlights!

Goodbye, Fall/Autumn... hello Winter! The final day of Fall/Autumn is today as we welcome a new season of Bowl games. Let's get it, GTPlanet!






The inaugural EagleBank Bowl takes place in our nation's capital. The biggest school in Washington D.C. is the religious basketball powerhouse known as Georgetown University. The Hoyas have a football team, but they are... rather lacking. With George W. Bush turning over his Presidential duties to President-Elect Barack Obama, two teams are ready to make their campaign to become the first winners of the EagleBank Bowl. The Demon Deacons never made Bowl Games for a while until a few years ago. Trying to stop them is a team that is somewhat the home team- Annapolis, Maryland's United States Naval Academy. The Midshipmen look ready to sing a pretty big battleship here at the former home of the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. Navy was in control until Wake Forest was purely motivated to whack Navy for all they were worth in the second half.

FINAL SCORE:
Wake Forest - 29
Navy - 19




New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment. Prepare to be enchanted and wowed by this matchup. New Mexico themselves aren't in this, but a fellow Mountain West team is. That would be Colorado State. The Rams will lovingly be ready to pound some jive turkeys into the ground. Those turkeys could be Fresno State. After all, the Bulldogs are battle-hardened and thinking denial of Colorado State's offense. The Rams ran all over Fresno State despite Fresno State's efforts to overtake Colorado State.

FINAL SCORE:
Colorado State - 40
Fresno State - 35




Tropicana Field (also known as "The Trop") is the home of the 2008 AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays. This stadium was converted to a football field in hosting a match between Memphis and South Florida. South Florida used to be a member of Conference USA, but for a few years now, the Bulls are Big East card carriers. The blue attack is Memphis. The Memphis Tigers bring their vibrant blue colors to The Trop in hopes of shutting down (and up) South Florida. This is essentially a home game for South Florida as this Tampa Bay outfit is ready for action. "Home" field advantage... gotta love it! The first ownage of Bowl season 2008.

FINAL SCORE:
Memphis - 14
South Florida - 41




I've never been to any city outside of Texas in my entire life. One of those cities is Las Vegas. One would imagine that you can never be able to have a quality education in a city as vibrant and as lively as Las Vegas, right? Wrong. The University of Nevada-Las Vegas lends its football stadium for a little football match. While their sorry football team can't beat San Diego State to go to the postseason, two winning teams will clash. It used to be that the BYU Cougars were unbeaten and perhaps the best chance of a team possibly becoming a BCS Buster. Those dreams were soon dashed starting with their loss to Texas Christian University. Arizona was a sorry school until the Wildcats finally learned how to win games. So an improvement will meet a somewhat disappointing MWC team. So let's see who takes this match. From the first ownage... to the first upset. Arizona wouldn't be denied in pulling off a win like this.

FINAL SCORE:
#17 Brigham Young - 21
Arizona - 31





That's all from me! Tomorrow is the New Orleans Bowl between Southern Mississippi and Troy. I'd like to close out this report with a sad note. Rest in peace, RCA Dome:

* http://www.indystar.com/article/20081220/LOCAL/812200404/1004/SPORTS

The Indianapolis Convention Center will get an expansion in place of the former RCA Dome. Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful weekend.

One Southern Mississippi player had a very nasty injury. Trying to catch a ball into the end zone, he doesn't get hit. However, he lands pretty bad and ends up with a nasty injury. It looked like the shin to his left leg either broke or looked absolutely awkward. The guy was down on the turf understandably in great pain. The rest of his body was fine including his right leg, but that injury was just really uncomfortable to watch. I'll have results as to how his Golden Eagles squad fared against Troy. So far, it's 7-7 with 6:56 left in the First Quarter.

The big Sunday Night game is tonight! Yeah... Southern Mississippi at Troy. What were you expecting, Carolina at the New York Giants? Perhaps you've forgotten what thread this is. While that's a big game in its own right, I've got a good college match for you.






Time to take a stroll down to the Big Easy for some football. This is the eighth year of the New Orleans Bowl. New Orleans is home to two NCAA universities- Tulane University and (non-football) the University of New Orleans. Tulane is a C-USA school while UNO is a non-football Sun Belt school. This New Orleans Bowl is kind of like a conference rivalry of its own involving the same two conferences. The Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi chose to wear their gold colors rather than their Away colors, so they'll lose a timeout. Meanwhile, the Troy Trojans won the Sun Belt Conference ready to hand some golden fowl an Alabama beating. Border states collide, but the match is in Louisiana. So let's get it! The most uncomfortable moment of the match was watching a Southern Miss player have a nasty spill in the end zone. He ended up with a lower leg fracture on his left knee. It was absolutely horrible to watch. This nonwithstanding, the game was quite entertaining. Even declining to wear road colors, the Golden Eagles still finished golden by being better than the Trojans in a great game.

FINAL SCORE (Overtime):
Southern Mississippi - 30
Troy - 27





John's Student Lounge
Fall Classes have ended at GTPlanet University, but there's still plenty of stuff happening with the Winter Mini. Here's something I saw at a Sam's Club once. Here is a link:

* http://www.quasimoto.com/arcade-station-efx

I seen one of those upright cabinets that offer this unreal ability to play classic games in an upright position. Crazy gift idea if you have $1,200 to burn. The next Bowl is the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl between #9 Boise State and #11 TCU. Thanks for reading this report. I may do an Extra for Monday. Take care!

Tonight is one of the better bowl matchups. It's unbeaten #9 Boise State taking on #11 Texas Christian. The action will take place in the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. It's the only match tonight.

Tonight's match is the longest title for a bowl game this season. How about we get this deal started proper?






The San Diego Chargers lend their stadium to the sorry Aztecs of San Diego State. Two winners will clash in this one. The Horned Frogs of TCU are 10-2 and looking for a great finish. They'll be looking up at some boys in blue. The Broncos of Boise State are ready to show they should have been to a BCS bowl than Utah. TCU thought that Boise State was a one-trick pony as the Horned Frogs pulled away to a win in a tight fit.

FINAL SCORE:
#9 Boise State - 16 <<< finishes with one loss
#11 Texas Christian - 17





That does it for this report. Join me tomorrow night for Notre Dame's tussle with Hawaii in a glorified home game. Friday, see Florida Atlantic's Owls try to take down Central Michigan's Chippewas in their home state as the Motor City Bowl lights up Detroit. Saturday has three bowl games. Check out the Meineke Car Car Bowl from Charlotte, NC when West Virginia meets North Carolina, the Champs Sports Bowl kicks off in Orlando as Wisconsin and Florida State go at it, and the day's action ends in beautiful San Francisco when the Miami Hurricanes take on the Bay Area's own California Golden Bears in the Emerald Bowl.

For now, get ready for the final Bowl game before we all find out what Christmas gifts you all got. Take care, everyone!

Hawaii takes on Notre Dame at the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Notre Dame has lost nine straight bowl games (an NCAA record). Over 89 teams have won bowl games since Notre Dame's losing streak in bowl games (excluding my hometown Houston Cougars). Here's a curious read for you all:

http://fans25.com/post.cfm?ArticleID=94

If you're reading this, what do you make of the above link?

From me to you, I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas! It will be an even more merry Christmas for one of two teams set to clash in Hawaii. Let's see who won this deal.






Welcome to the capital city of Hawaii- Honolulu. This is the Hawaii Bowl. But rather than go surfing or enjoy warm weather apart from the horribly frigid weather, it's a business trip. If anything, a trip to Hawaii is supposed to be a trip to paradise. Paradise for one team would be a coach getting a win in a Bowl Game since 1994. That would be the enviable task for Mr. Charlie Weis and his Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Looking to negate this effort are the hosting [Rainbow] Warriors of Hawaii. This was more a paradise trip for Notre Dame than for the Hawaiian hosts. Notre Dame never trailed.

FINAL SCORE:
Hawaii - 21
Notre Dame - 49





That's all. No teams play on Christmas, so come back on Friday to see how the Motor City Bowl goes.

Hope all of you had a Merry Christmas. I didn't do much special than just watch four NBA games (or at least tried to). I hope you are ready for some college football because we have some Sunshine State boys taking on one of Michigan's best non-BCS schools.






Earlier this month, the big three automakers got that multi-billion dollar lifeline on one condition. That condition is that they can restructure efficiently. The thing about this game? Some of the players from the two teams playing this match MAY be a bailout plan needed for the Detroit Lions. They have one last chance to win a game. If they win their game, then you can damn well imagine they'll celebrate like they won the Super Bowl. Unlike the Detroit Lions, two teams come into Ford Field thinking Bowl victory. That would be the Owls of Florida Atlantic trying to take care of a talented Chippewa unit of Central Michigan. Florida Atlantic managed to hang on despite a late rally by Central Michigan.

FINAL SCORE:
Florida Atlantic - 24
Central Michigan - 21





John's Student Lounge
So even though I had some Christmas cheer with my family on midnight Christmas, I didn't really do anything like go to a dinner or anything. What I ended up wanting for Christmas was a SanDisk Sansa Fuze. I told my mom that I'd a 4GB Sansa Fuze in black, but blue is also nice. Another color I liked for it was red. So I got a red Sansa Fuze with 4 GB of memory. The best thing about this is that the Sansa Fuze can be upgradable by way of a microSD card. Not sure how far you can go, but you could have the top-of-the-line 8 GB Sansa Fuze + a 32 GB microSD card, and you'll have as much memory as the PC I'm on- 40 GB! I was thinking iPod Nano just to join the "kids with iPod" crowd. But I've since cancelled those plans and just got me something better (at least to me). It is a very lovely MP3 player. This is the first MP3 player I've gotten since the blue 2 GB Sansa Clip I had since January (until it stopped working sometime after Hurricane Ike). I'm still coming to grips with it, but it's a great little MP3 player and really matched the level of anticipation and promise I was hoping for this thing.





So I had a good Christmas. Hope you all did too. For the final weekend of 2008, THREE bowl games coming up for Saturday. Check out the Meineke Car Care Bowl piting West Virginia and North Carolina in Charlotte, NC. Up next from that is the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando between Wisconsin (who beat California Polytechnical in Overtime) and Florida State playing as the home state team. And the nightcap- the Miami Hurricanes will go into the Bay Area to take on the kings of the Bay Area- the Golden Bears of California in the Emerald Bowl from beautiful AT&T Park. Maybe the loveliest baseball park to make a good football stadium. Check in on Saturday or early Sunday morning to find out who won these three matches. Have a GREAT weekend! Go see a college football game. You deserve it!

The final weekend of 2008 brings us three bowl games. Why don't we find out who won these games?






We're in the heart of NASCAR country as college football is ready to get revved up for a day of college football. You can go up to Concord to see or race at Charlotte (Lowe's) Motor Speedway. North Carolina is known as a basketball power, especially in college. You probably miss the Charlotte Hornets if you're an NBA fan. There's a lot to do in North Carolina and Charlotte. West Virginia can stay on the East Coast and just head south for the Mountaineers to take care of some home state boys. North Carolina football has finally caught up with most of their other sports. The Tar Heels are still not in the same league in ACC football as they are in most other sports. Beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina is ready for some football, even if it isn't seeing the Powder Blue Wrecking Crew known as the Carolina Panthers. No college team calls Bank of America Stadium home (unless North Carolina-Charlotte (or just Charlotte)) starts up football in FBS and decides to call Bank of America Stadium their home. So let's see what blue team will win. Pat White becomes the first ever starting QB to win four Bowl Games. This was a tremendous accomplishment in a close fight.

FINAL SCORE:
West Virginia - 31
North Carolina - 30






The Citrus Bowl will be used again some time later this Bowl season. But for now, the lovely folks at Champs Sports present this bowl game to host a Big Ten team against an ACC team. The Big Ten representative is Division 1's only Wisconsin school- the Wisconsin Badgers. This was a team that played a close game against California Polytechnical, just edging them out in Overtime. Wisconsin has long been the bridesmaid, but never could surpass Penn State or Ohio State or Michigan State. Florida State played in the crazy ACC conference. The Seminoles from Tallahassee go from Seminole land to Disneyland to do a little pimp slapping to Wisconsin. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are watching their TVs to see how college football goes from the Champs Sports Bowl. Mickey and Minnie Mouse would rather watch the old Steamboat Willie cartoon rather than this Florida State beatdown.

FINAL SCORE:
Wisconsin - 13
Florida State - 42






Because Monster Park is too dull a venue to showcase college football, AT&T Park converts from a baseball field to a football field. Most of you who look at the Baseball forum on GTPlanet know that I love AT&T Park. Look at AT&T Park on a sunny, blue sky day when the San Francisco Giants take the field for some daytime baseball. BEAUTIFUL view with highly manageable temperatures. I'd love to go to San Francisco myself. Only if I get over my fear that I'd die in an earthquake if I were in California. What makes AT&T Park an ideal venue is that the San Francisco/Oakland area is officially known as the San Francisco Bay Area. So it would make a bit of sense to showcase San Francisco Bay for a college football vield. You can look across the bay to see Alameda, California. Now if only a decent-size football stadium can be built within the rather small confines of San Francisco, and maybe one along San Francisco Bay, we may see a proper football field showcasing the lovely San Francisco Bay as beautifully as what AT&T Park provides. Some boys from Miami want to play in this game. So the Hurricanes are ready to make an impact in San Francisco. For the University of California's flagship campus in Berkley, this is essentially a home game for them. The Golden Bears of California wear their beautiful blue and gold colors with pride as they defend the honor of the Bay Area. Miami's getting better, but California was the better team as they batted a home run to end their season on a high.

FINAL SCORE:
Miami - 17
California - 24





That was my update for Saturday. Independence Bowl coverage coming up in my next report. Take care, everyone!

From lovely Charlotte, to the fantastic city of Orlando, to beautiful San Francisco... quite a Saturday! Now we head down south. Shreveport, Louisiana to be exact. Declare your independence because tonight is a bowl game that celebrates indepenence- the Independence Bowl!






Welcome to Shreveport, Louisiana! It's the Independence Bowl. No college team calls this stadium their home. Centenary College (which is based in Shreveport) doesn't have a football team. So this is just a stadium independent of others. Now let's meet the two teams. L.T. for NFL fans means the amazing LaDanian Tomlinson. L.T. for collegiate types mean Louisiana Tech, and their Bulldog attack. Just make sure that NIU's Huskies don't prove they are the better pack of dogs. Welcome to the Dog Pound, baby! Louisiana Tech proved they were the better dogs by ripping a win in a close fight.

FINAL SCORE:
Northern Illinois - 10
Louisiana Tech - 17





The papajohns.com Bowl is going on at present. I'll have those results as well as the Alamo Bowl from San Antonio in my next post. Take care, everyone!

The year 2008 is almost over. Bowl season (which goes into 2009), however, ISN'T over. Two more games are on the fight card for Monday. So let's see who won.






Birmingham, Alabama is known as the Magic City. The winner of this game will be a team in scarlet and white. Problem is... BOTH of them wear scarlet and white! North Carolina State is still looking for their former glory. The Wolfpack would love a win over one of the first-ever teams to play college footbal. Rutgers played the first-ever college football game 135+ years ago. The Scarlet Knights of today still hold the credence and honor of being one of the oldest teams to ever play the sport. Both teams had to rally to get to the postseason. So a win here will mean a glittering accomplishment. That glittering win goes to Rutgers as they won a fairly close game against the Wolfpack.

FINAL SCORE:
North Carolina State - 23
Rutgers - 29






San Antonio is considered a romantic city. Well, there won't be much love in this match. Take a stride along the San Antonio Riverwalk, then head to the Alamodome to see two BCS schools tussle. The memorable Alamo Bowl for me is what poorly-officiated game involving Michigan and Nebraska. And despite putting on a Music City Miracle going by Michigan, Nebraska still won as Michigan finished to 6-7. Will the Missouri Tigers stand strong, or will Northwestern's Wildcats win their first bowl game in 60-something years? Missouri forced Overtime and won with a money touchdown. Chase Daniel and his boys got it done in San Antonio.

FINAL SCORE (Overtime):
#25 Missouri - 30
#22 Northwestern - 27





That will do it. Please be sure to check in for results from the three Tuesday bowl matches. And I apologize for being so slow with my updates.

This will be my final report of 2008 (unless I'm quick with the New Year's Eve games. Check these out:






Roady's is a truck stop service. In this stretch of three bowl games, our first stop is in Boise. While Green Bay has the Frozen Tundra, Boise has the blue turf. The Maryland Terrapins are thinking of ending this season on a positive note. Nevada wears blue, but the Wolfpack wear a different blue. Perhaps they think they can win because they wear blue on a blue field. Well... that didn't exactly work. Maryland motored on down the highway with a win.

FINAL SCORE:
Maryland - 42
Nevada - 35






The "San" I'd like to visit is San Francisco. I don't know too much about San Diego to say I'd love to visit San Diego. Qualcomm Stadium is home to this matchup. You know, the stadium that San Diego State constantly loses games at? The Holiday Bowl is one of the best non-BCS bowl games. Most memorable one was in 1980 when QB Jim McMahaon of BYU had the "Cougar Comeback" to beat SMU 46-45. The Oregon Ducks want to beat Oklahoma State so bad it hurts. The Cowboys come into San Diego thinking win. We'll see if they'll get it in far southern California. Oregon picked up a feel-good win as they got it done against Oklahoma State in the 619.

FINAL SCORE (Overtime):
#13 Oklahoma State - 31
#15 Oregon - 42






Finally, I take you all to my constantly-hated hometown of Houston, Texas. Hurricane Ike may have caused damage to houses and lives, our spirit still lives on. Our determination remains strong. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. For Rice, they are looking for one of their best-ever seasons to come to a happy ending. Just so long as the Owls can take down the Western Michigan Broncos. Rice ends up with a great win. Denied the shutout, Rice rocketed their way to a victory.

FINAL SCORE (Overtime):
Western Michigan - 14
Rice - 38





My next report will showcase five games. Be sure to stick around to find out how the final five bowl games of the year shaped up. See you all next year (or if I can get it all done before 2009 (CST))!

Fireworks in Houston or Harris County are illegal. Yet, I've still heard some fireworks around my way. I guess they want pocketbooks to be empty. Christmas is over so fast- from super-happy... to being back to normal. New Year's Eve and New Year's seem to last longer than Christmas. Enough complaining from me... time for college football. You all want some scores? I got 'em, and they're yours to read and comment! Happy new year, players!






This is a rematch here. When Hurricane Ike came along, Houston had to move up to SMU to take on Air Force. On September 13, 2008; Houston lost 31-28 to Air Force in Dallas. Now the Cougars will return to the Dallas/Fort Worth area to take on Air Force again. This isn't baseball, so don't think there will be a rubber match anytime soon. The Cougars haven't won a bowl game since 1980 when they beat Nebraska. You have to think Houston would be the bad guys since they're taking on Air Force... in a bowl game saluting our armed forces. The Falcons of the United States Air Force Academy want to end 2008 with a victory by taking on those Coogs from Houston. Houston managed to pull this game out and keep the Falcons grounded. Considering what UH been through, this was a great win for this program. This is the first Bowl victory for Kevin Sumlin as part of the Houston Cougars. He did as a coach what Art Briles (and I love Art Briles) couldn't do at Houston- win a bowl game.

FINAL SCORE:
Houston - 34
Air Force - 28

OFF-TOPIC:
John salutes all the proud men and women that defend our land, seas, and air.






From the Armed Forces Bowl... to a city with a good military presence. It's El Paso, Texas. Far western Texas is in the house and enjoying the sunlight. The Sun Bowl takes place at... the Sun Bowl. UTEP's football home is turned over to Oregon State and Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Panthers would love to make GTP's Max Powers a happy fellow. Oregon State wants to show they can beat anybody. After all, the Beavers beat USCal earlier this season! Only one team did things the right way- Oregon State. This game was a blowout... if you're a hockey or soccer fan.

FINAL SCORE:
#24 Oregon State - 3
#18 Pittsburgh - 0






This is basically a home game for Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt University has been disappointments, bridesmaids, such unfulfilling. Not this time! The Commodores did pretty well in making the postseason. Now they have a chance to win a Bowl for the first time in decades. Only problem? An Eagle invasion by Boston College. Shake hands and fight clean! Vanderbilt won a tight one. Storybook ending in a way...

FINAL SCORE:
#?? Boston College - 16
Vanderbilt - 14






Time to go into TS country now. This is the Insight Bowl, usually home to the Arizona State Sun Devils. Enter the heat of Phoenix, but don't get burned. Minnesota knows full well of this as they once played Texas Tech. TTU's huge comeback would lead them past Minnesota in double(?) overtime. Now the Golden Gophers will take on a different-colored team. They wear blue. Their coach led them to a magical season. They are the defending men's Division 1 basketball champions. They are the school of GTP's High-Test... the Kansas Jayhawks! Rock chalk Jayhawk KU! Minnesota didn't stand a chance.

FINAL SCORE:
Kansas - 42
Minnesota - 21






I guess it's now just the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. It's been known as the Peach Bowl for a very long time. It's the final college football game of 2008, and it takes place in the A-T-L. The Atlanta Falcons usually call this place home. They'll be playing in the playoffs with a great turnaround. Great turnarounds are what the LSU Tigers are looking for. This one's for Kent, who is an LSU fan. They love coming to the Georgia Dome because they do so well here. I guess LSU forgot to realize... this is Georgia Tech's home town LSU stepped into. The Yellow Jackets don't take too kindly to strangers. Let's see who felt the sting. Not showing up can do many things. I guess Georgia Tech were so happy to celebrate 2009 that they forget to show up both in the end zone and in this game period.

FINAL SCORE:
Louisiana Tech - 38
Georgia Tech - 3





The first of the games that really matter begin on New Year's Day. Check into this thread for BCS Bowl action! Thanks for reading, everyone! Take care and have a great 2009!

When I do my full report, the BCS Bowl Games will be shown last. This includes the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl. My full report will be available when I complete it.

Since I haven't really worked on it, let me just cut right to the BCS Bowl Games with more material on those games. The state of Florida's going to get LOTS of love as only one bowl will not take place in Florida. Guess which one!






This will be the stadium where this season's Super Bowl will take place. Today, however, the stadium will host another Outback Bowl game. This is the studentdriver special in which his Gamecocks will uphold the honor of the SEC as they take on Iowa. Iowa's been disappointing for a few years, but the Iowa Hawkeyes are willing to cook up some Gamecock meat to enjoy for New Year's Day. I'm sure Outback Steakhouse won't be offering any specials on South Carolina or Iowa at their restaurants. Iowa = disappointing? Not in this beatdown!

FINAL SCORE:
South Carolina - 10
Iowa - 31






Up next is a trip to northeastern Florida. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium is the home of the Gator Bowl for this one. The Cornhuskers are ready to tussle with some Tigers. One South Carolina team lost... will their rivals lose too? The Tigers of Clemson University are trying to rediscover their past glory. Maybe the 1981 Clemson Tigers should have started this game because the Nebraska Cornhuskers tamed the Tigers.

FINAL SCORE:
Nebraska - 26
Clemson - 21






The most entertaining non-BCS matchup in involves Georgia and Michigan State. This is a bigger match at the Citrus Bowl than that Champs Sports Bowl match last year. I tend to recall Citrus Bowl for past bowls best. For example, I can recall when Iowa upset LSU in 2005 or 2006. I remember watching last year's game when Michigan took down Florida. Will Georgia's Bulldogs and Michigan State's Spartans provide another memorable match? Michigan State got frustrated and couldn't do much of anything to tame Georgia, especially late.

FINAL SCORE:
#16 Georgia - 24
#19 Michigan State - 12





Now let's go into BCS Bowl action!

*+x The Rose Bowl Presented by Citi x+*
Rose Bowl - Pasadena, California, USA​

#6 Pennslvania State {Nittany Lions}
~ vs. ~
#5 USCal (Southern California) {Trojans}​

Welcome to the only non-Florida bowl game today. One of my favorite football stadiums is the Rose Bowl. While it's the stadium where lowly UCLA plays their home games at, it is one of the lovliest stadiums anywhere in America. So much history has transpired at this lovely stadium. This year's match will be the 95th rendition of this classic bowl game. We don't have USCal vs. Texas, but we WILL have USCal vs. Penn State. This is USCal's 33rd-ever appearance in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans want to be the first to win three-straight BCS bowl games. They'll need to take on Penn State to do this. The Nittany Lions of Penn State have the amazing Joe Paterno as the head coach. He's sick of media types paying more attention to him than his team. Why don't we learn who won the 95th Rose Bowl? USCal motored away to a victory despite Penn State's lack of consistent offense.

FINAL SCORE:
#6 Pennsylvania State - 24
#5 Southern California - 38

*+x The FedEx Orange Bowl x+*
Dolphin Stadium - Miami, Florida, USA​

#12 Cincinnati {Bearcats}
~ vs. ~
#21 Virginia Tech {Hokies}​

Miami is the place to be for the BCS National Championship game. But for now, it's the home of the Orange Bowl. Cincinnati has been National Champions before. However, this is their first-ever BCS bowl game. Cincinnati has always been a very good team even in their Conference USA days. The Bearcats now have reason to believe that they are better than ever. They'll be going up against a team that's no stranger to BCS Bowls- Virginia Tech. The Hokies are ready to bring Beamer Ball to the Cincy boys. Who brought it? Let's find out! Cincinnati may have made the first score, but it was all Virginia Tech the rest of the way.

FINAL SCORE:
#12 Cincinnati - 7
#21 Virginia Tech - 20





That's the end of the report. Next up for BCS Bowls will be the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Will Utah finish unbeaten? All they have to do is beat Alabama. Last year, Hawaii got smashed by Georgia. Will Utah fare any better against Alabama? Find out in my next report. Whether or not I get this report in time depends on a potential thunderstorm risk here in Houston between early morning Saturday and late morning Saturday. Take care!

FoolKiller's boys are on tap for today's games. Three bowls will take place including a BCS tussle in Atlanta. Here's the report:

There will now be only one Bowl for each day between today and January 8th. Today's match is in Toronto.






Toronto is such a cosmopolitan city. I'd personally love to go to Toronto if I were ever to go to Canada. The Toronto Blue Jays play their baseball in the same stadium Buffalo and Connecticut will tussle in. What do you give the team that knocked off Ball State and their unbeaten run? You give the Buffalo Bulls the UConn Huskies, of course. How can a 7-5 team beat down an unbeaten Ball State? No matter what the answer, studentdriver has an ear-to-ear smile all the while. There was no smiling for Buffalo as Connecticut continually pounded away at the Bulls.

FINAL SCORE:
Buffalo - 20
Connecticut - 38





John's Student Lounge
I have some high blood pressure. High blood pressure is such a "silent killer." If you have high blood pressure, get it checked and find ways to avert high-blood pressure.

The final BCS Bowl before the BCS National Championship Game will involve #10 Ohio State and #3 Texas. That will be the Fiesta Bowl. Tuesday is the final non-BCS bowl involving #23 Ball State and Tulsa. Then Thursday- the big match: #1 Florida vs. #2 Oklahoma. So I can take a break from my reports for Sunday (or at least offer a preview). Thank you for reading.

JohnBM01

The [50th Anniversary of the] AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl - Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Kentucky {Wildcats} vs. East Carolina {Pirates}​

Time now for the final game of FoolKiller's alma mater. The University of Kentucky will be in Memphis to end their season with a win against East Carolina. The Wildcats had a little tussle with East Carolina before the game.. I heard that as "My Old Kentucky Home" was playing, the Pirates were chanting purple and gold. Personally, I like "My Old Kentucky Home" better than ECU's fight song.

Click to expand...

If they had broken the legs of the ECU players during that it would have been well deserved. "My Old Kentucky Home" is not our fight song (that's "On, On, UK"), but it is our state anthem. To Kentucky residents singing something else over that is the equivalent of someone singing something over the National Anthem. You just don't do it. You show an ounce of respect.

The royal blue colors from the Lexington, KY-based University of Kentucky can only mean one thing- Wildcat country. The Bluegrass State's flagship university is ready to lay some hits on once-promising East Carolina. The first half, however, was hits being put on Kentucky as they trailed 16-3. Sara Evans performed at halftime in Graceland. And if you're a fashion person, she was sporting some high-waisted pants that looked pretty nice on her. After the half and Sara Evans' stylish high-waist pants, Kentucky went coast-to-coast with a kickoff for a touchdown to start the second half. But afterwards, the extra point was blocked. They'd score again to make it 16-16. Kentucky's third quarter rally led toa victory over the Pirates. Kentucky wins three-straight bowl games in school history.

FINAL SCORE:
Kentucky - 25
East Carolina - 19

Click to expand...

That was the sloppiest first half of football I have seen from my cats this season. Brooks' halftime comments were dead on. They failed at every single fundamental. And while he couldn't repeat what he said in the locker room, it was all well deserved. They look like crap.

Here is hoping we can find a better starting quarterback next season. Cobb doesn't show up in practice the way he does in games, so he was second-string for half the season. Then once he began getting some real playing time and starts he got injured.

All I know is that Mike Hartline has two reactions to pressure: 1) Throw the ball up in the air and pray it lands near a teammate. 2) Turn and run the other way.

OFF-TOPIC/PERSONAL COMMENTARY
I just want to say that I'm proud for Kentucky. The past three years have been years of change for Kentucky football. I've said for some time that they aren't a true football school. But to me, the only direction Kentucky football can go is up. Kentucky has to keep playing inspired and be sure to compete in the double-tough SEC. I've been more than happy to cover Kentucky Wildcats' football for my GTP friend FoolKiller. Hope the 2009 season is as productive and as impressive as the past three, maybe being a dark horse to win their SEC division or even the SEC itself.

Click to expand...

As long as the SEC keeps going the way it is I doubt Kentucky will win any conference awards, but it means that when we go into these half-decent bowls we are underestimated. For the past three years local haters have said that Kentucky didn't deserve their bowl bid, and all three years we proved that we did.


Side note: Yeah, I know I haven't participated in the sports threads much this year but I haven't been paying attention to much this year either.

So, I'm assuming that you don't think Hartline isn't the guy to lead Kentucky under center then, right, FoolKiller?

Tonight's match is Ohio State vs. Texas. The Fiesta Bowl is coming up later tonight! Full report when I complete it.

Are you ready for some football? It's the big Monday night game- Ohio State vs. Texas! So what if college players aren't a bunch of whiny pro players that want to mooch for every last dollar bill they can get? No matter what, maybe it's a good thing colleges don't play for money because you can't put a price tag on talent and heart. Never graduate! Be a college fan! And remember... never forget where you came from.

The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
University of Phoenix Stadium - Glendale, Arizona[/B]​

#10 Ohio State {Buckeyes}
~ vs. ~
#3 Texas {Longhorns}​

Let me make a mock ESPN college football commercial...

Ohio State: "Every Buckeye wants to prove critics wrong."
Texas: "Every Longhorn loves to shine on a major stage."
"Every game has led to this."

And yes... each game led to this. Glendale, Arizona is where the game is held. University of Phoenix Stadium is where this game takes place. This is where Boise State upset Oklahoma on a Hook 'n Ladder/Statue of Liberty play. This is where the New York Giants knocked off an unbeaten New England Patriots to give Eli Manning a Super Bowl ring. Many people have said that Ohio State is overrated as crap and that Texas should run all over Ohio State. The game saw no touchdowns after one half as the Texas Longhorns trailed by a baseball score of 6-3. Texas would respond with a pair of touchdowns to lead 19-7 sometime later. Only that the Longhorns would be threatened with an Ohio State touchdown. Then in the "two-minute warning," Texas needed a two-minute offense to potentially win the game down 21-17. Maybe not the Vince Young-style performance in the 2006 Rose Bowl, but Colt McCoy tried to be the real McCoy of the Longhorns' offense. Texas came out with a wicked play to cash in a touchdown with sixteen seconds left. Even with the Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Ohio State needs a field goal to tie, or a touchdown to win with the score now 24-21. Ohio State has only eleven seconds left to score. Can't win the big one... Ohio State was 5-0 against Big XII teams, but the Big XII came through as Texas survived the heat of the desert.

FINAL SCORE:
#10 Ohio State - 21
#3 Texas - 24





My congratulations to Colt McCoy. Great win for him and his 'Horns. Tomorrow is the final non-BCS Bowl game as Ball State and Tulsa will have themselves a great tussle in the GMAC Bowl tomorrow. And of course, Thursday, Florida and Oklahoma will play to become the National Champions of the 2008 season. Thanks for reading, GTPlanet! May God bless all of you.

JohnBM01

So, I'm assuming that you don't think Hartline isn't the guy to lead Kentucky under center then, right, FoolKiller?

Click to expand...

That would be correct.If it weren't for a decent receiving core he would have been taken out a long time ago. He can't throw accurately for over 15 yards, so he is unlikely to step up for a needed big play. He freaks under pressure, so all teams have to do is try to blitz. And he is so antsy about it that they only need to blitz four and manage to keep every receiver still covered. On the occasion that he does manage a long pass the ball is wobbly (not a spiral) and not accurate. Our receivers have had to make one-handed dives to attempt to catch balls that weren't flying smooth. And I have even seen him multiple times fail to properly lead his receiver so that it practically falls into the defender's hands.

Cobb, on the other hand, looks horrible in practice. He is a big game guy. Where Hartline can throw just fine with no pressure in practice, Cobb steps up when the pressure is on. He looks bored in practice, but when the game is going he looks like he had been playing in the NFL for three years. He steps up, holds his composure, ducks a sack, and you can see his eyes methodically checking every receiver. And if a play breaks down he doesn't get confused, he looks for the guy that the defense had let slip by. Oh, and Cobb can run too.

No, Hartline should not be behind center, and had Cobb not been injured I definitely feel that Hartline would have watched at least half the game from the bench.