Film history is littered with bad sequels to fantastic movies – Godfather, Caddyshack and The Matrix come to mind as examples of producers who didn’t know when to stop.
You have no doubt seen this analogy heading in to the 2012 BCS Title Game between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide but it has two flaws – 1) the original game was not entertaining nor played at a high level, and 2) there is always the chance we will get a “Wrath of Khan” or a “Dark Knight” followup.
Defense. Honey Badger. Trent Richardson. The verbal stylings of Les Miles. Here is the SportsCentral Preview:
GoDaddy.com Bowl, Arkansas State (10-2) vs. Northern Illinois (10-3), Mobile, Alabama Ladd Peebles Stadium- Kickoff 2100 ET (9pm)
Arkansas State
Sun Belt offensive player of the year Ryan Aplin is a dual threat QB passing for 3,235 yards with 18 touchdowns and running for a team-high 605 with nine scores for the Red Wolves. ASU has averaged over 38-points per game over the past six contests.
Aplin’s favorite target is senior Dwayne Frampton, who set a school record with 1,125 receiving yards on 90 catches.
Sun Belt defensive player of the year Brandon Joiner ranks among the national leaders with 12 sacks. The senior defensive end paces a unit that gives up 19.3 points per game.
The Red Wolves hope to continue their success without coach Hugh Freeze who left to take the head coaching job at Mississippi. While former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was named Arkansas State’s next coach last month current assistant coach David Gunn will guide the team in Mobile.
Northern Illinois
NIU features versatile QB Chandler Harnish, the MAC offensive player of the year who owns 20 school records. Harnish completed 63% of his passes for a career-high 2,942 yards while rushing for 1,382 and having his hand in 37 touchdowns – 11 rushing and 26 passing.
The Huskies rank 10th nationally with 481.8 yards per game and ninth with an average of 247.6 rushing yards.
Three Huskies receivers have caught at least 39 passes, led by senior Nathan Palmer, who set career highs with 46 receptions, 683 yards and seven TDs.
The Huskie defense has had its share of problems ranking in the bottom third of the nation allowing 31.1 points per game. However, they did not give up a second-half point in rallying from 20 down to beat Ohio 23-20 in the MAC championship game
NIU has a 4-7 bowl record while ASU is 0-1; these teams have met seven times with NIU holding a 6-1 edge winning most recently in 1996 31-30.
Comment: This will be a fun game to watch after the low-scoring NFL Playoffs. Considering their recent ASU coach change give the edge to NIU and pushing the MAC to an unprecedented 4-1 bowl record this year.
Remember that all the college football bowl games are de facto exhibition games – that should not dampen your enthusiasm, in fact it is not every year that you get a matchup like the 2012 Fiesta Bowl.
Elite WR Justin Blackmon leads the high-scoring Oklahoma State attack (Icon SMI)
Glendale AZ hosts the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Stanford Cardinal on Monday January 2 at 8pm ET, and in any other year this would be a fantastic BCSMNC (BCS Mythical National Championship).
Heck, one could well argue that the Cowboys deserved to be in the title game but that nasty loss at Iowa State “left it to the judges”.
Nonetheless, a great consolation prize and a true 3-4 matchup for bragging rights. Two respected coaches leading their alma mater to heights previously not known for the programs. Two of the best quarterbacks in the sport. And fans can enjoy the football for football sake.
Expect a close contest where both the Temple Owls and the Wyoming Cowboys want to be in this bowl and both want to win and build momentum for 2012.
Temple RB Bernard Pierce tore up the 2009 Eagle Bowl, can he enchant the New Mexico Bowl 2011? (Icon SMI)
Somehow you have to figure that when the game is on the line, Temple’s Bernard Pierce will be the guy to pull them through.
Notes:
Temple
Temple posted a school-record three straight seasons of at least eight victories.
RB Bernard Pierce finished third in the FBS with a single-season school record 25 TDs and 13th with 1,381 rushing yards.
Pierce, who could be playing in his final game before going pro, seems likely to find plenty of running room against a Cowboys defense that’s surrendering 230.1 rushing yards per game – sixth worst in the nation.
Temple’s defense ranks third in the nation with 13.8 points allowed per game.
The Owls are participating in the fourth bowl game in school history.
Wyoming
The Cowboys rank fourth in the country in turnover margin at 1.25 and allowed only 11 sacks – tied for 11th.
Wyoming is headed back to the New Mexico Bowl for the second time in three seasons behind Mountain West freshman of the year QB Brett Smith who finished third in the conference with a 126.2 rating after throwing for 2,495 yards along with 18 TDs and eight interceptions.
Wyoming has split its 12 previous bowl appearances, winning two in a row following six consecutive defeats.
The Cowboys won the only meeting in this series 38-23 in 1990.
Expect the USU defense to hold Ohio in check on “Smurf Turf.”
Notes:
Ohio
Ohio’s run defense which ranked third in the MAC, allowing 126.4 yards per game, and kept two of its last four opponents under 70.
Ohio is appearing in a bowl for a third straight year for the first time in school history but has yet to win one; the Bobcats’ 0-5 mark in postseason play includes three defeats under Frank Solich.
QB Tyler Tettleton threw for 3,082 yards and 26 touchdowns and is a threat on the ground after rushing for 627 yards and nine scores.
The only meeting between these teams came in 1994, when Utah State won 5-0 at Ohio.
Utah State
Finished second in the WAC and is riding a five-game winning streak averages 277.5 yards rushing per game which ranks to ranks 6th in the FBS.
Robert Turbin is 10th in the nation with 118.0 rushing yards per game, including seven 100-yard efforts, and was named the WAC offensive player of the year.
Utah State features the WAC’s top-ranked defense, having allowed 368.0 yards per game.
The Aggies are 1-5 all-time in bowl games with their only win coming over Ball State in the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl.
