Notes From The Margin, Bowl Edition – The Las Vegas Bowl
December 20th, 2008 by Jason Roberts
In this world of electronic information, a simple search of any of the plethora of bowl games being played in the 2008 post-season reveals hit after hit of prognosticators dissecting players, trends, and statistics in hopes of coming to a safe conclusion on which team should outperform their competition and, subsequently, carry the momentum of a December / January victory into spring football, fall camps, and the 2009 college football season.
In general Notes From The Margin fashion, we buck such trends and instead take a look at the lesser known variables which could play a role in the outcome of this year’s holiday bowl season.
I will start off with the Las Vegas Bowl on December 20th and roll through a Rose Bowl matchup between two 10-1 teams that still could play a role in the outcome of a national champion being crowed, this column evaluates and asks the questions about the stories behind the stories and offers you, our readers, the opportunity to come to your own conclusion as to who should be considered a favorite in each of our covered selections.
The Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl – Las Vegas, Nevada – 8:00pm EST, ESPN
Arizona Wildcats (7-5) vs. Brigham Young Cougars (10-2)
Is Brigham Young feeling a little too “at home” in Las Vegas?
One of the biggest stories heading into Saturday night’s bowl game between the Brigham Young Cougars and Arizona Wildcats in the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl doesn’t involve any particular player or approach of either participating team. Instead, as reported by the Daily Herald, it’s all about the weather, as southern Nevada has seen more snowfall in the last five days than it has in the last 30 years, leaving some to wonder if BYU might actually find itself with an advantage over the Wildcats given that the bowl game is likely to be played in 30 degree weather and partly cloudy skies.
Aside from the weather, don’t forget to give consideration to the fact that for Brigham Young, this year’s Las Vegas Bowl appearance makes for the fourth-consecutive such post-season game played at Sam Boyd Stadium, leading some to wonder if the venue’s namesake would be better served (as suggested by the Daily Herald) by the moniker “LaVell Edwards Stadium South”. As pointed out by the Cougars’ athletic director Tom Holmoe on SBRForum.com,“The Las Vegas Bowl has been very good to BYU”; the team rides on the coattails of two previous Las Vegas Bowl wins against Pac-10 opponents (2007 – UCLA, 2006 – Oregon), leaving most fans of the Cougars to agree with Holmoe’s further contention, “We love coming to Las Vegas and playing in one of the best bowl games around.”
What influence will Sin City have on the Arizona Wildcats?
It may seem a bit far-fetched to some, but Arizona has been repeatedly accused by some in the world of sports journalism of potentially falling victim to the allure of a post-season bowl appearance in the city of Las Vegas – a circumstance only amplified by the fact that a full decade has passed sine the last time the Wildcats qualified to play in a ball game. But head coach of the Wildcats, Bob Stoops – who himself played in four bowl contest and coached in 14 others while on staff at Oklahoma, Kansas State, and Iowa – tells the Las Vegas Sun Friday, “We are there to play a football game and there are a lot of temptations to go out and be preoccupied with all the other aspects of Las Vegas, but we’ve talked a lot about it with this group. It’s been a very unique group to coach and we’ve been very mature in the way we’ve handled things all year. Hopefully that won’t change. If it does then we won’t play very well. It’s pretty simple.” Stoops continues, commenting, “You have to focus on what will make the trip memorable and that’s how you play. We have a national television audience against a great opponent, what could be better motivation?” Motivating, indeed.
Yet, unfortunately for Arizona, the desire to want to avoid distraction off-the-field failed even before it began this week, as linebacker Sterling Lewis was arrested by Tucson police at 2am Thursday morning after blowing a .15 on a breathalyzer and, in an ensuing argument, accusing officers on the scene of racial bias. Issued a misdemeanor citation on charges of “extreme DUI” (he was twice the legal limit of .08 blood alcohol level) an driving the wrong way on a divided highway, Lewis was released into the custody of friends and allowed to return home. Upon learning the news, the Arizona coaching staff obviously suspended the linebacker for an indefinite period while further investigation takes place, with Stoops commenting on the situation, “It’s obviously very disappointing and unfortunate. There will be some serious ramifications. We never want to see that. He will pay the consequences and he will be suspended for the [Las Vegas Bowl].”
Playing the waiting game – advantage Brigham Young or Arizona?
The Tucson Citizen for December 19th points out the amount of time that both teams have had off since playing their last game of the regular season. For Brigham Young, the team hasn’t seen action in nearly a month. The Wildcats, on the other hand, played their final game of their 2008 schedule against Arizona State less than two weeks ago. Some might suggest that a shorter layoff time plays into the hands of Arizona, yet to hear quarterback Max Hall of Brigham Young (and our MWC Player of the Year) say it, the limited prep time heading into the Las Vegas Bowl could actually instead be a hindrance. “Maybe [the Wildcats] feel a little rushed. Maybe they’re a little banged up,” he told reporters over this past week. The outstanding young sophomore passer for BYU acknowledges “we haven’t played a football game in a while . . . and it might take us a while to shake off the rust off.” Still, he adds, “The way we have been practicing and with our execution and the excitement we have, I don’t think we are going to see any bad effect from it at all.”
Does winning in Las Vegas postpone the inevitable for Austin Collie and Dennis Pitta?
CougarBlue.com lays out on the table the difficult question many among Provo, Utah are asking about the future of the Brigham Young Cougars football program once this year’s Las Vegas Bowl game has been played and preparations for the 2009 season begin: will next year’s squad feature the nation’s leading receiver in Austin Collie and one of the best tight end’s in the country in Dennis Pitta? Speculation is that both players, juniors at BYU, will throw their names in the hat for a run at playing in the NFL in Sundays come next fall. Yet, quarterback Max Hall thinks that the opposite will happen; he tells local media this week, “From what I can gather, I think everybody is sticking around. Some guys were exploring their options to see what’s out there for them, but BYU is a special place and I think they want to stick around for as long as they can.”
The power of prime-time for Arizona . . .
Just how important is the exposure that a prime-time bowl game – the first post-season appearance in ten years for the Arizona Wildcats – provides for Mike Stoops’ team? Plenty – or this according to UA’s head coach, who tells the website AZCentral.com Friday, “The exposure we get is very significant. It shows progress. It is a prime time. There is a lot that can help carry us to another level. It is great exposure for the university, and the [Pac-10] conference.” Stoops continues on, explaining, “It can help you for the 2009 season. You always hope it does to gain some momentum.”
Arizona reminds him of . . .
Stand out wide receiver for the Brigham Young Cougars, Austin Collie, who is currently on a ten-game streak with 100 yards or better receiving in a single game, tells the website AZCentral.com this week that the team Arizona most reminds him off in terms of defensive secondary is the Mountain West’s own Texas Christian University. The Horned Frogs, readers may recall, came about as close to shutting down the outstanding junior wideout as is humanly possible, surrendering 116 yards in a 32-7 loss for the Cougars, but keeping Collie out of the endzone for the entire game. Collie says of the Wildcats defensive backfield, like TCU, “The fly to the ball and make plays. It is going to be a challenge and a dog fight.” And if anyone understands just how much of a test Saturday’s bowl game against Arizona could be for BYU’s receiving corps, it’s the native of El Dorado Hills, California; remember, after all, that Brigham Young opened the 2007 season against Mike Stoops’ squad at home in Provo, and though winning that contest 20-7, Collie was held to just four catches for 41 yards for the day.
Using the run to set up the pass for Arizona . . .
What is the main focus of the Arizona Wildcats going to be on offense Saturday night? According to AZCentral.com, it begins and ends with the newfound ability this season for UA to run the ball effectively – something its done extremely well in 2008, given that sophomore Nicolas Grigsby and freshman Keola Antolin have combined for almost 1600 yards and 22 touchdowns on the year. Grigsby tells the website to expect a similar trend as the Wildcats prepare to take on the Brigham Young Cougars, noting, “It is really important to put a lot of pressure on them to stop the run so we can then get our passing game going.” He continues, “If we have the balance then we can dictate a lot more what we can do. It is going to be harder for them to figure out what is going to hit them. Our running game will push our offense up another notch.” That Arizona will be able to do just that shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, particularly given that the Cougars currently rank 65th in the country in total rush defense. As such, expect that both Grigsby and Antolin see their fair share of carries against BYU and plenty of corresponding production on the ground. Subsequently, Arizona ought to find itself capable of controlling time of possession, and, in turn, keep the Cougars’ own outstanding gunslinger, sophomore quarterback Max Hall, off the field for the maximum amount of time.
Stoops and the inevitable contract extension talks
Don’t think that Stoops leading Arizona to a win over Brigham Young Saturday night doesn’t have a major effect on the status of his pocketbook come the 2009 season. The Arizona Republic offers readers the interesting insight that the university has informed the Wildcats’ head coach that any possible contract extension talks (Stoops’ current contract takes him to 2010) will be put on hold until after the Las Vegas Bowl has been played. Stoops ducked questions from reporters on the subject this week, only commenting, “All coaches want contract [extensions],” but any inquiries on the state of his future employment with the Arizona Wildcats would need to be directed to athletic director Jim Livengood. Livengood has responded previously that he “absolutely” has given consideration to extending Stoops’ time in Tucson, but as of now is focused on what the team needs to do in light of winning its first bowl game in ten years. Livengood’s reasoning is sound enough, but rumors emerged mid-week, according to the Republic, that Iowa State University is interested in speaking with Stoops about taking over the position formerly held by Gene Chizik, the new head coach at Auburn University. Arizona vehemently denies that the school as been contacted by ISU in order to request permission to speak with Stoops; Livengood explained to local media, “Our coaches and our staff certainly have people who want to talk to them. It’s flattering,” but the fact remains that any discussion of Stoops heading to Iowa State at this point was simply speculative.
The David Hasselhoff Effect
Okay, so we’re not necessarily saying that any team gets a boost off of this one (coaches, in our opinion, would be wise to hide their players deep with the confines of their respective locker rooms . . . not to mention any team cheerleaders which travelled to Las Vegas with them), but spectators at this year’s Las Vegas Bowl will be treated to the sweet sounds of David Hasselhoff performing the National Anthem for Saturday night’s game. Of course, given as the Sporting News points out late this week that Hasselhoff has a daughter that attends the University of Arizona, don’t be overly surprised to see the former television sex-symbol (is it safe to say “former”?) serenading the Wildcats’ sideline prior to kickoff in hopes of further motivating (demotivating?) Arizona to a win over Brigham Young.
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