2012-12-26 11:26

Ho Ho Ho. The second wave of Bowls are through.

Nice games there.

Interesting side note: Boise State is meant to join the Big East Conference next year.
NOW they are negotiation for staying in the Mountain west Conference?
They seem to try to have the home TV rights of their own, which is not common for any conference football team.
We will see, how this will turn out.

The BLOCK OF GRANITE BOWLS FROM LAST WEEKEND

SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL: BYU vs San Diego State
This game is a good example of playing well prepared against playing sloppy.
San Diego State did play bad and they made turnovers at the wrong time at the wrong place.
BYU did win this in the fourth quarter, when SDSU did collapse and had basically a blackout in playing.
6-23 -> Jacks Bowl Score: 2-1

BEEF 'O' BRADY'S BOWL ST. PETERSBURG: Ball State vs UCF
This on the other hand was basically over when the half time was up.
Ball State did not play good enough to keep up with Central Florida.
The Cardinals were three scores behind and that margin was held.
17-38 -> Jacks Bowl Score: 3-1

R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL: East Carolina vs Louisiana Lafayette
I said it would be a close game.
Well, are 9 points close?
It looked close, before LLU did score big in the second.
It looked close, when East Carolina did tie the game, in the middle of the third quarter.
And it still looked close in the middle of the fourth quarter, when LLU ahead up by 6 points.
But East Carolina was not able to move the ball and so did the Ragin' Cajuns score another field goal and the won.
Lots of scoring in this game.
34-43 -> Jacks Bowl Score: 3-2

MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS: Washington vs Boise State
Then is was Boise State time and they did play good.
Until the middle of the second quarter. They led 18-3 at that point.
The Huskies did score and score again and it was suddenly 18-17 to the half.
The Broncos did score first in the second half and Washington did score again, but failed the 2 point conversion.
25-23 for the Broncos beginning of the fourth quarter.
Washington missed a field goal at the beginning of the quarter and was not able to score, so Washington did reach FG-range again and hit it.
Boise State behind now by one point.
But in that situation they did come back and hit a FG by themself and won the game.
26-28 -> Jacks Bowl Score: 4-2

SHERATON Hawai'i BOWL: Fresno State vs SMU
OK, that one was so wrong anticipated by me ... by a mile.
SMU did play like a beast and Fresno State looked like a puppy.
That offensive line was so bad by the Bulldogs.
At the end, the Mustangs did win by a mile, instead of my predicted win by Fresno State.
10-43 -> Jacks Bowl Score: 3-3

And now let’s take a look at the upcoming games.

The BLOCK OF GRANITE BOWLS FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS

Now do those Bowl game come in big numbers, so I will cover them with that entry here until Thursday.

LITTLE CAESARS BOWL: Western Kentucky vs Central Michigan
This is played on Wednesday.
The once Motor City Bowl is played in Detroit at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions.
The Bowl itself is played since 1997.
This is played between a MAC team (very often the MAC Champion) and a Big Ten team, if enough teams are eligible.
If not, a Sun Belt Team can be chose, which is what happend this year.
Each team gets around 600.000$.
Western Kentucky was in the hunt for the SBC championship, but lost to Louisiana Monroe and after that it went downhill.
Still the performance was enough to play in a Bowl with a 7-5 record and to give the coach a better paid job at South Florida.
So the Hilltoppers will have an interims coach here.
Central Michigan is 6-6 this season and more or less stumbled into this Bowl, with a win on the last gameday.
If not for the missing coach, I would pick WKU without a doubt. But that coaching changes can go either way.
The team can say: That was our season, not yours and play like the devil, or they can be frustrated and play like a bunch of pancies.
I still think WKU should win this, but it could get close.


MILITARY BOWL - PRESENTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN: #24 San Jose State vs Bowling Green
This is played Thursday.
Since 2008 this Bowl is played and has yet to find some kind of tradition.
It is meant to team up teams from the ACC versus CUSA or Navy, Army or Air Force.
If not enough teams of those conferences and service academies are eligible, they can chose other teams.
That's how this year a MAC team does face a WAC team.
It's played in the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington D.C. and each team gets around 1.000.000$.
The Spartans are 10-2, the Falcons are 8-4 and by any book, San Jose State is the favourite here.
Even if the headcoach did run away to become the new Colorado head coach (good luck with that, you will need it).
So I expect a nice high scoring game here with a Spartans win at the end.

BELK BOWL: Cincinnati vs Duke
This is played Thursday at the Bank of America Stadium at Charlotte, home of the Carolina Panthers.
It's played since 2002.
The ACC (around #5) should face up against #3 of the Big East.
Each team gets around 1.600.000$.
OK, this is a joke. The Blue Devils are basically not Bowl worthy, and not for this one.
Yes, they won 6 games but the also lost 6 and 5 of them in a row.
The Bearcats on the other hand are 9-3 and they should win this.
A Blue Devils win would be a surprise here.

BRIDGEPOINT EDUCATION HOLIDAY BOWL: Baylor vs #17 UCLA
This is played Thursday at the Qualcomm Stadium at San Diego, home of the San Diego Chargers.
It's played since 1978.
The Big 12 should face up against a PAC 12 team.
Each team gets around 2.350.000$.
I'm really currious to see them facing off here.
Baylor had a good season with 7-5 and the year one after RG III.
UCLA had a fantastic season (9-4) in year one of Jim Mora Junior as new coach.
I'm here for the Bruins, I think Mora will prepare them the best he can and that will be enough to beat a reloading Baylor team.
It's also in California, so a bit of a home game for the Bruins, too.

‘Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

Tags: Block of Granite