As a Red Sox fan, I have to admit that I’m a little amused that Iowa State and Rutgers will be allowed to stage an exhibition at Yankee Stadium. Who says people don’t get what they deserve?
Iowa State started the 2011 season 3-0 before losing 4 straight conference games. They responded by decimating Texas Tech, squeaking by Kansas (2-10, 0-9 in conference), then beating Oklahoma State in a game I feel had more to do with hangover from the recent school tragedy than anything else, then promptly lost out to finish 6-6. These days that’s totally good for a late December bowl.
Since Jared Barnett took over the QB position, ISU has played more competitively in conference. Nevertheless, this is an offense that tries to run the ball a lot (with limited success) and throws short passes. Defensively, the run game has been the weakness (207 ypg). That improved a little over the course of the season, but ISU also plays in a pass happy conference so the Baylor and A&M games might be more indicative of what can happen to this defense if the opposition is dedicated to running the football.
Rutgers won an impressive 8 games on the back of a non-conference schedule that included NC Central (college, not high school, we presume), Ohio, Navy, and Army. WR Mohamed Sanu is the only player on this team putting up good offensive numbers, so I guess you should watch him.
Alternatively, you should watch the replay of Baylor-Washington on ESPN3, because that game was awesome. That’s what I’ll be doing.
The Holiday Bowl has been a graveyard for disappointed teams from both the Big 12 and the Pac 10 for years, and now Cal and Texas get to settle their differences in San Diego.
Texas. Cal. Holiday Bowl. It’s tough to read those four words without thinking of the 2004 season, when Texas and Cal both finished with 1 loss apiece (to unbeaten Oklahoma/USC) and it was Texas chosen by the narrowest of margins to play in the BCS. (Keep in mind that these kids were in middle school back in 2004…)
Vince Young and the Horns went on to win one of the best Rose Bowls ever played (until, you know, their win the following year) while Aaron Rodgers and Cal were embarassed by Mike Leach’s Red Raiders in… the Holiday Bowl!
This year, both teams limp into this game at 7-5 with 4-5 records in their respective conferences. Texas has struggled mightily down the stretch, winning just one of their last 4 games, while Cal finished with a boom (3-1) with only a narrow loss to highly-ranked Stanford. But that may be a matter of schedule ordering – neither team won a game in conference against a team with more than 6 wins. Read the rest of this entry →
The teams had a common opponent this season, each losing to Boise State. The Rockets suffered a 40-15 home defeat to the Broncos on Sept. 16, and the Falcons lost 37-26 on the road Oct. 22.
Notes:
Air Force
The Falcons’ are a strong running team via the triple option; Air Force is second in the FBS in rushing at 320.3 yards a contest.
Asher Clark leads the way with 1,096 rushing yards, while Mike DeWitt has run for 543 and QB Tim Jefferson 492. DeWitt and Jefferson are tied with a team-high 10 rushing TDs, and Air Force has run for 38 scores – fourth in the FBS.
Air Force may have to rely on the pass a bit more because Toledo has been solid against the run allowing an average of 123.2 yards…but their pass defense has been terrible ranking 109th out of 120 FBS schools in pass defense at 278 ypg.
Toledo
The Rockets averaged 42.3 points this season – best in the Mid-American Conference and eighth nationally – and since the start of November they average an FBS-best 53.8.
Running a spread offense the Rockets averaged 221.2 yards rushing and 272.0 passing, one of 14 FBS schools above 200 in both categories.
WR Eric Page is third in the nation with 112 receptions for 1,123 yards and 10 TDs.
Toledo’s ground game has also excelled with Adonis Thomas amassing 648 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in his last four games. Thomas leads the Rockets in rushing with 963 yards and is tied with Morgan Williams for the team lead with 11 touchdown runs; Thomas and Williams could be poised for big games against Air Force, which ranks 113th against the run at 227.8 yards a game.
Nick’s Pick: Air Force 41 – Toledo 40
Comment: The Rockets can really light up the score board but a suspect defense playing against a very disciplined and efficient USAFA offense may be the difference. If the Rockets can eliminate turnovers and penalties they will win; they have yet to really show that sort of discipline this season against the better teams on their schedule. I expect this one to go to the wire.
Western Michigan brings a 7-5 record to Ford Field to take on the Purdue Boilermakers who finished the year at 6-6 but shocked many in the Big Ten with a 4-4 conference record. The Boilermakers won’t have an easy game though as they face the high scoring Broncos in this one. The Boilermakers finished the year third in the Big Ten Leaders division while the Broncos were third in the Mid American West.
Who has the edge? Let’s take a look at how these teams match up for this contest.
Purdue’s offense ranked sixth in the Big Ten rushing (174.7 yards) and passing (196.8). They ranked seventh in scoring with 26.1 points per game. The running game will be a concern with Ralph Bolden missing this game due to an injury but Akeem Hunt was able to rush for 100 yards against the Hoosiers in the season finale. The passing game has been shaky all year but has improved as the season progressed. Caleb TerBush averages 150.3 yards per game and has thrown 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. The receiving leaders for Purdue are Justin Siller (430 yards) and Antavian Edison (561 yards).
Western Michigan’ offense ranked eighth in rushing (127.4), first in passing (328.8) and third in scoring with 35.6 points per game. Their passing game is ranked eighth in the nation. Led by quarterback Alex Carder, the Broncos passing attack will certainly prove to be a challenge for Purdue. Carder’s shoulder should be healed and ready to add to his 3,434 passing yards this season. Carder also has thrown 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Broncos running game is rarely seen, but when it does make an appearance you will see Tevin Drake getting the carries. This year he has carried for 570 yards and 4 touchdowns. The big threat on the field is All-American Bronco receiver Jordan White. White leads the nation in total receiving yards with 1,646 and a few other categories. He ranks second in receiving touchdowns with 16 on the year.
The Purdue defense features a defensive unit that ranked eighth in the Big Ten against the pass. The pass rush is led by Kawann Short who finished the regular season with 6.5 sacks and 53 tackles. He will need to put lots of pressure on Carder to give the Boilermakers a chance to compete in this one. Ricardo Allen will be called upon to stop White. Allen is the best one-on-one pass defender the Boilermakers have and he will probably spend the game being White’s shadow.
The Broncos defense looks pretty questionable on paper. Eighth against the pass and eleventh against the run in the MAC. Don’t let the numbers fool you though, the Broncos are an offensive minded team that will outscore you. They don’t plan on stopping you on defense, they plan on beating you with their passing attack. They do feature the MAC defensive player of the year in Drew Nowak ranks fifth in FBS in tackles per loss per game. The big defensive tackle will get after you and makes life rough on offensive linemen. The Broncos had 26 sacks this season, tied for second in the MAC. Freddie Bishop is another player that gets in there as he posted 5.5 sacks this year.
Overall, Western Michigan looks to have the advantage going into this one. They average more points per game, throw for a lot more yards per game and should be able to stretch the Purdue defense to keep the passing attack going for this one.
The Broncos rank among the national leaders in scoring (35.6 ppg) and passing (328.8 ypg).
Western Michigan has lost each of its previous four bowl appearances, most recently in 2008 to Rice in the Texas Bowl.
The Broncos are led by All-American receiver Jordan White, who leads the nation with 127 receptions for 1,646 yards. The senior has 16 touchdown catches, including nine over the last four games while averaging 163.5 yards; with 3,922 career receiving yards, White is 110 shy of becoming the MAC’s all-time leader.
QB Alex Carder will be back throwing to White after missing the Broncos’ 68-19 victory over Akron in their regular season finale with a separated shoulder. Despite missing that game, Carder ranked among the top 20 quarterbacks nationally in yards (3,434), touchdowns (28) and completion percentage (67.2).
Western ranked second-to-last in the MAC in total defense giving up 434.1 yards per game, tackle Drew Nowak was named the league’s defensive player of the year after recording 20 tackles for loss.
Purdue
The Boilermakers totaled 80 points in the final three contests, converting 52.7 percent of their third downs, after scoring 70 in the previous four while making 27.5 percent on third down.
Defensively, the Boilermakers boast one of the best interior defenders in the nation in Kawann Short. The junior ranked 13th nationally with 17 tackles for loss and was tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 6 1/2 sacks.
Purdue did give up 26.4 points per game to rank near the bottom of the Big Ten.
The Boilermakers, 8-7 in bowl games, are making their first postseason appearance since beating Central Michigan 51-48 in the 2007 Motor City Bowl at Ford Field.
Western lost at Michigan and Illinois this season and have dropped six straight to Big Ten opponents since a 23-17 win over the Illini at Ford Field on Nov. 8, 2008; Purdue and Western Michigan will match up for the third time ever; the Boilermakers won 28-24 at home in the most recent meeting in 2002.
Nick’s Pick: Purdue 41 – Western 37
Comment: Expect an offensive showdown in Detroit was the Broncos can score points; unfortunately they also give up a ton. Western can win this game but they have yet to win a bowl game in their long football history.
