Sports

2008 Golden Bowl Tournament: Minor Bowls Part II

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As there’s only one bowl after today that’s affected by the Golden Bowl Tournament as listed here, I’m clearing them all out right now. (And don’t you wish the Chick-fil-A Bowl was the one told of here instead of the one we got?) For whatever reason it appears SportsLine isn’t doing expected weather conditions anymore.

Outback Bowl: Ole Miss 28, Michigan State 21
Cordera Eason (43-yard TD run) and Ashlee Palmer (game-ending INT) are Mississippi state heroes.

Capitol One Bowl: Ohio State 21, Georgia 27
Big Ten haters are going to have a field day with this one.

Gator Bowl: Nebraska 30, Georgia Tech 37
The Huskers stayed in it much better than most people expected, and still had a shot to win at the end, making it into the red zone on their last possession.

Liberty Bowl: LSU 34, East Carolina 20
LSU gets more of a challenge here than they did in the real-life Chick-fil-A Bowl.

More bowls still to come!

2008 Golden Bowl Tournament: Minor Bowls (through end of 2008)

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Bowls affected by the Golden Bowl Playoffs as listed here only. If I may be allowed to rant for a bit, while I was able to calculate these games I’m astounded by the idea that people are ONLY interested in weather of the future. I was able to find the weather from SportsLine’s (aka CBS Sports) previews, but as SportsLine doesn’t link to its previews I only found out about it by a fluke, and as it’s on a PREVIEW and not on the box score I don’t know exactly how much precipitation there was or if there was any, only what the chance of any was before the game. It’s not like the weather is an important aspect of understanding the game; if we need to know it before the game, why not after? I mean, if it’s good enough for Whatifsports, why not real sports sites? And are we really more able to tell whether there will be rain than how much there will be, or if that’s not the case, are we really more interested? Anyway, onwards and upwards, with wild guesses taken on the rain:

EagleBank Bowl: Miami (FL) 27, Navy 23
Navy managed to keep a closer game of it than in the real game against an arguably better opponent, but couldn’t get the job done in the end.

New Mexico Bowl: BYU 62, Fresno State 28
The Bulldogs lost the real game to a 6-6 Mountain West team. Imagine them facing an opponent that was actually ranked.

Las Vegas Bowl: Utah 58, Arizona 20
BYU underestimated the Wildcats in the real game. Utah’s too good to make that mistake.

Motor City Bowl: Central Michigan 6, Wisconsin 42
Um… should we be glad the Golden Bowl isn’t real and we didn’t actually get these atrocious bowl matchups?

Emerald Bowl: California 42, Clemson 17
It’s the Jahvid Best show! And I didn’t even set Cal as a home team!

Independence Bowl: Kentucky 0, Wake Forest 16
Now here, we didn’t get a game between two sucky minor conference teams. Too bad it’s a freakin’ shutout!

Papajohns.com Bowl: Rutgers 64, Florida Atlantic 38
You notice a lot of these bowls look like early-season “guarantee” games. Though to be fair, Rutgers didn’t exactly set the world on fire this year, and Florida Atlantic won its “real-life” bowl. And you notice the Owls put up a lot of points on the board on their own part.

Texas Bowl: NC State 59, Rice 49
Now here’s a game that got improved by the Golden Bowl: Rice gets a BCS opponent! That alone makes it worth watching! And the game was more competitive than the real thing, as Chase Clement kept the Owls in it almost to the end.

Chick-fil-A Bowl: South Carolina 17, Virginia Tech 24
The team that actually was in the Golden Bowl tournament sneaks out of the Georgia Dome with a victory, despite a valiant comeback attempt by Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks.

In the new year I bring the rest of the minor bowls, as well as the non-semifinal BCS bowls. Watch the Rose Bowl knowing it’s more than a meaningless what-if game, but actually a national semifinal in the Golden Bowl tournament, and I’ll have the other semifinal on Friday.

2008 Golden Bowl Tournament Quarterfinals

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#9 USC v. #1 Oklahoma
The game turned out to be surprisingly boring… aside from the team that was winning.

It didn’t look to be that way at first. Mark Sanchez’s second pass attempt was picked off – but the Trojan defense forced its second straight three-and-out. The next time the Trojans got the ball, Joe McKnight broke off a 40-yard touchdown run. Then Oklahoma coughed up the ball on a fumble and USC went on another 53-yard drive for another touchdown, and the Sooner crowd was silent the rest of the way. Sanchez kept the scoring going with a long pass to Patrick Turner that he managed to take in for a score early in the second. Oklahoma went into the half without having tallied a single first down and down 28-0.

The Sooners finally picked up a first down midway through the third… only to see their next punt be taken to the house. The Sooners also got on the board with a 57-yard rushing touchdown on the first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff, but by that point they were already down 35-7 and no one thought any sort of miracle comeback was anything near possible – a near 5-minute touchdown scoring drive taking up the rest of the third quarter, with the touchdown itself coming in the fourth, made sure of that. The stands were sparse for much of the second half and virtually empty for most of the fourth, as college football pundits and Sooner fans alike found themselves scratching their heads. Yes, Pete Carroll had undoubtedly motivated his squad with the indignity of having to play in the freezing snow of Salt Lake City in the first round when they all knew they had deserved a first-round home game. Most of the questions involved the Sooners: What had happened that left them vulnerable to freaking Troy, and then left them as little more than the butt for another set of Trojans to whoop, in a replay of the 2004 Orange Bowl? And how had Joe McKnight gone completely ignored in the Heisman conversation this season?
Final score: USC 55, Oklahoma 14

#7 Texas Tech v. #2 Florida
From the opening bell, it was clear this was not going to be Texas Tech’s day. That became apparent when Jeffery Demps broke open a 51-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. Florida went on to score later in the drive, then picked up a field goal on the next one. The Red Raiders proceeded to pick up their first first down, but then Graham Harrell threw one of his two picks and that resulted in a touchdown-scoring drive. Texas Tech finally picked up a touchdown on a drive that spanned into the second quarter, but the extra point was blocked, and a good kickoff return allowed Florida to drive to another field goal.

The Red Raiders defense finally stopped Florida from scoring with a three-and-out, only for Harrell to throw INT , this time returned all 48 yards for the touchdown by Joe Haden. Florida went into the half up 30-6 and the Red Raiders never scored again. Tim Tebow didn’t look like a running quarterback – he ran 17 times for only 11 yards – but Demps and Chris Rainey picked up the slack, and while Tebow went only 5-8 passing, it was for 53 yards.
Final score: Texas Tech 6, Florida 40 (I’m assuming Florida keeps running with less than 2 minutes to play, picks up the first down, doesn’t need to kick a field goal, and doesn’t try to punch it in with goal to go)

#6 Cincinnati v. #3 Texas
In by far the greatest game of the Golden Bowl tournament so far, Cincinnati proved they deserved their seed that so many called unusually high. So impressive were they that Dominick Goodman, who caught 7 passes for 153 yards, was considered the player of the game.

Why was that impressive, besides that it was a wide receiver? Read on.

An early Texas drive that looked like the landslide many pundits had predicted was cut short when Colt McCoy, after driving his team to the Bearcat 30, threw the ball into the hands of Brandon Underwood. Tony Pike then went 4-for-4, every throw for a first down, culminating with Goodman making a running catch and winning a footrace for the endzone, a 30-yard play that served as a notice to the Longhorns. Cincinnati 7: Texas 0.

Although Texas went three-and-out, anyone who dismissed that drive as a fluke probably seemed vindicated when Pike threw an interception of his own, and after Texas went three-and-out again, promptly threw another interception on his very next play, this one taken back to the end zone by Earl Thomas for the game-tying score. After that, the Bearcats kept the ball on the ground, throwing the ball only three times on the ensuing drive on the way to a field goal to retake the lead. The Longhorns promptly struck back, as McCoy drove them 46 yards before Chris Ogbonnaya picked up a 24-yard touchdown run on a draw. Cincinnati doesn’t pick up a first down for the rest of the half, and the Longhorns add a field goal of their own before the half. The pundits’ halftime analysis: the Longhorns started slow, but they will now play much more like they played in the second quarter and will put the game away.

Not so fast.

Anyone thinking the Bearcats would go down that easy were shut up when John Goebel ticked off a 48-yard run all the way to the 2, setting up a subsequent touchdown run to re-tie the game. Cincinnati’s next possession ended in a three-and-out and the ensuing punt gave the Longhorns good enough field position to re-take the lead, but Pike managed to lead the Bearcats to the endzone himself on the very next drive. The Bearcats were not going away, and they would stay in it all the way to the end.

After forcing Texas to punt, the Bearcats got the ball back on their own 17 for their first drive of the fourth quarter, and after two plays, picked up a first down when the Longhorns were flagged for encroachment – only to be set further back by a holding flag the next play. Thanks mostly to a second-down pass to Goodman, the Bearcats still picked up the first down, then crossed midfield on a 13-yard pass to Ben Guidugli. Another second-down pass picked up another first down before the Bearcats stalled, only gaining two yards on each of the first two downs before Isaiah Pead, on one of only two rushes of the day (both for losses), got nailed for a five-yard loss and forced a punt. On the clock, the quarter was already half over, and the score remained 24-24.

McCoy proceeded to break the hearts of the Bearcat faithful by running for 17 yards on second down to the Longhorn 35, then handed it off to Cody Johnson who broke open for a 64-yard run, just barely being stopped short of the end zone. After two incomplete passes and a run got stopped, Mack Brown decided to roll the dice by going for it on fourth down. Had it failed, it could have ended up endlessly questioned – but it worked, and the Longhorns retook the lead. But before the Bearcat faithful could beat themselves up for very long, Pike threw a screen to Goodman, who proceeded to make a Heisman-like dash for 65 yards down to the 12, and Jacob Ramsey punched it in the rest of the distance. Cincinnati 31, Texas 31, 4:28 to play. Texas returns the kickoff to their own 30. Play sequence: Incomplete, 1-yard pass, incomplete, punt. Cincinnati gets the ball back on their own 38, 3:33 to play, chance to win the game and shock the nation by shutting the Big 12 out of the semifinals.

First play: Interception.

After an illegal motion flag against Texas, Ogbonnaya promptly breaks open a 46-yard run down to the 10. Two Foswhitt Whitaker runs later, McCoy hits Quan Cosby in the endzone. Cincinnati 31, Texas 38, 1:47 to play, Tony Pike – after a fantastic game – needing to redeem himself and not become the scapegoat.

Cincinnati gets the ball back on the 23. First play very familiar: Pike to Goodman, out of bounds, gain of 8, second down Ramsey gets a four-yard run for the first down. Bearcats call timeout, 1:32 remaining. Goebel runs east-and-west and manages to pick up a yard before going out of bounds. Pike throws… batted down. Pike completes it this time to Marcus Barnett, but he gets nailed immediately… can’t go out of bounds. Clock stops for the measurement and first down, but they have to get back to the line. Clock ticks down to 55 seconds. They run a draw to Ramsey… ends up out of bounds for another 1-yard gain. 51 seconds. Pike throws to the sideline to Charley Howard. Out of bounds, six-yard gain, 45 seconds left, they’re in Longhorn territory now. Third and 3. Pike throws it downfield to Barnett… just out of his reach. Fourth down, three to go. 38 seconds. This time the first down is most important. Pike pitches it right into the hands of Goebel.

Two yards.

Texas avoids an unmitigated disaster for the Big 12 and becomes the only Big 12 team still playing for a national championship. Cincinnati will have to settle for a trip to the Orange Bowl at least a week too early. Tony Pike and Brian Kelly will have that interception and final drive replaying in their nightmares for years. Bearcats fans are merely left to shake their heads and wonder what might have been. Dominick Goodman, though, gains a new level of respect around the country from people who might not have been paying attention to the Big East.
Final score: Cincinnati 31, Texas 38

#5 Penn State v. #4 Alabama
No sooner did the Cincinnati Bearcats get done scaring the Texas Longhorns than two of college football’s most storied teams managed to top it, in a game that proved to be surprisingly high-scoring.

Daryll Clark threw for three first downs on Penn State’s second drive of the game, and with the ball on the 25, Evan Royster – on his way to an amazing two-hundred-yard day – picked up a fourth on a 16-yard run, then proceeded to pound ahead another eight for the touchdown, the first sign that Alabama’s defense wasn’t in proper working order. Though Alabama had picked up the first first down of the game, the first sign that Penn State’s defense wasn’t working either might have been dismissed as a fluke: Glen Coffee pounding through it for 51 yards on Alabama’s second play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, only getting stopped at the three, setting up Roy Upchurch for the equalizer.

After three more runs by Royster put the Nittany Lions in Alabama territory, the Tide defense seemed to bear down and get the stop, helped in no small part by a delay of game penalty, and a long punt return to the Lion 29 set up an 18-yard run by Mark Ingram and an 11-yard touchdown by Coffee, and Alabama took the lead heading into the second quarter.

Both defenses traded stops, though both teams penetrated their opponent’s territory, but then the Nittany Lions suggested that the Tide defense still wasn’t quite working the way it should have. Clark was the star of this drive, with three decent-sized completions early before, on 2nd and 11 from the 21, handing the ball off to Royster on a draw and setting up the Lions on the 2. Derrick Williams pounded it in from there to re-tie the game. Alabama struck back, with the help of another big run by Coffee and a slightly shorter one from Upchurch. The drive stalled after a false-start flag, but Kevin Kelly still made a 47-yard field goal – his only attempt of the game – to retake the lead. Penn State went three-and-out, a Tide first down was rendered moot by holding on the next play, and Penn State got the ball back with 17 seconds left and couldn’t do anything before the half. The pundits’ consensus: If the Tide’s defense could get more consistent they can put away the Nittany Lions during the second half and turn what’s been a close game so far into a laugher, because the Lions can’t stop Glen Coffee.

But the Tide’s defense doesn’t get more consistent. Instead the Nittany Lions, namely Royster, have a fantastic third quarter. After a three-and-out, they get help from the special teams with a punt return into Tide territory, and Royster tags on a 30-yard touchdown run. Penn State’s next drive is a three-and-out but the punt pins the Tide inside the 20, but Upchurch renders that irrelevant by leaving the defense in his wake for an 87-yard touchdown run – the only Alabama drive of the quarter that isn’t a three-and-out. Royster immediately takes the challenge and takes it 79 yards for a touchdown of his own on Penn State’s first play from scrimmage. The next time Penn State gets the ball, Clark takes over and leads the team on a five-minute drive that only gets stopped on fourth and goal from the 4. Penn State 31, Alabama 24.

The Tide’s defense buckles down in the fourth quarter, as both teams trade three-and-outs, and although Penn State does eventually pick up a first down, the defense sets up the Tide with what would seem to be a perfect opportunity to tie the game when Tyrone King picks off Clark and takes it to the 11. But the Nittany Lion defense is ready: after Coffee picks up six yards on a draw, they hold Upchurch to only one. On third and 3 from the 4, John Parker Wilson attempts to pass but finds no one open and ends up scrambling for a yard. Now it’s fourth and 2 from the 3, and Alabama needs the touchdown. Nick Saban calls a draw play to Coffee.

Stuffed after a yard.

One of the most memorable stops in the history of Penn State’s storied defense – if it holds. Penn State gets the ball back with 2:52 to play but on their own 2 – seemingly, with a lot of field to cover, a good chance to burn the remaining clock. A pitch to Stephfon Green gets two, then Clark – in a call that threatens to be questioned forever – throws an incompletion. Stopping the clock and gaining nothing. Finally Joe Paterno and Clark realize this situation calls for giving it to Royster (already at 200 yards) early and often, but on third and eight, a draw play only picks up one yard.

Alabama gets another chance, 1:38 to play with, and a full complement of timeouts – and the ball on the Penn State 30. The first call may seem somewhat questionable – running the ball, not with Coffee or Upchurch, but with Mark Ingram, and straight ahead instead of towards the sideline – getting only a yard and burning a timeout. Coffee gets the ball on second down and gets out of bounds after five yards. Another questionable run call, this time to Demetrius Goode, gets stuffed at the line, but this time Alabama converts on fourth down when Wilson finds Julio Jones, who strides out of bounds at the 13 with 1:02 to play. It’s the first first down Alabama has gotten since their first play of the quarter. Nittany Lions fans fear the worst – what if Saban elects to go for two?

The Lion defense quickly buckles down, and a forward flip to Marquis Maze gets nailed instantly for a two-yard loss, burning another timeout. 57 seconds left. Wilson tosses it again, this time to Travis McCall, who gets stopped at the line of scrimmage and doesn’t get out of bounds. Clock continues to run… 50… 49… 48… 47… Finally, at 35 seconds, the Tide takes the third-down snap. Wilson once again aims for McCall, but this time overthrows him. Clock stops with 31 seconds left. No more dilly-dallying: the Tide have to make fourth and 12.

Wilson takes the snap and steps back. Looks for an open receiver, in the end zone or even just short of it as long as it’s past the three-yard line or near enough. Looking… looking… he breaks out of the pocket and attempts to elude the rush. Looking… looking…

And steps out of bounds right at the line of scrimmage.

Penn State escapes with the victory despite a couple of close scares. Evan Royster is the breakout star, but despite allowing 24 points, mostly by not being able to stop Glen Coffee for the first half, the defense is the star of the game in a contest Nittany Lions fans will tell their children and grandchildren about, especially if Penn State can go on to win the championship. Nick Saban is questioned for most of the post-game press conference about some questionable calls, especially on the final drive, but truth be told, he was out of tricks after nothing else he had tried had gotten past Joe Paterno’s defense for the second half.
Final score: Penn State 31, Alabama 24

Semifinal Matchups:

Rose Bowl: USC v. Penn State
Okay, so Alabama-Penn State wasn’t the defensive battle I advertised, but USC-Penn State could be. But with Joe McKnight playing at a Heisman-caliber level, Penn State might have trouble with him for more than a half. Because this is the real Rose Bowl, I won’t be simulating it.

Sugar Bowl: Texas v. Florida
Some may call this the real national championship game. There are some similarities with the real real national championship game. This one might be a battle of the last two Heisman winners, and it pits two able offenses against each other, but while the Big 12 team’s is most impressive, Florida boasts a fantastic defense, and we’ll see if Tim Tebow can make the difference in this one. This simulation will be announced after the new year.

Non-semifinal BCS bowls:
Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma v. Alabama
Orange Bowl: Texas Tech v. Cincinnati

Running Playoff and SNF Week 17 Watch

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I lost the first version of this post. This is a quick update. Will update this post as the day progresses. Maybe.
-Colts and Ravens improved their standing, but a Colts loss next week could still bring them down to a tiebreaker. Tiebreak checks later. Dolphins and Pats both win, Jets playing Seahawks.
-Chargers took care of their half. Can the Bills beat the Broncos?
-Titans lock up the 1 seed, Steelers the 2.
-Falcons-Vikings, Eagles-Redskins on now. Bucs and Cowboys both lost, so the Redskins aren’t out yet.
-If an NFC game can be selected, don’t expect an announcement on FNIA like last year.

Broncos leading Bills, but barely. Seahawks up by a touchdown over Jets. Redskins up on Vikings but Falcons up on Vikings, which would eliminate the ‘Skins.

AFC East Tiebreakers: If Jets beat Miami next week they hold tiebreaker over Pats who hold tiebreak over Dolphins, assuming all three are tied with each other (a possibility with the Jets losing), otherwise all three are 1-1 against each of the other two. If the Dolphins and Pats win next week the division records will all be 4-2, if the Jets win they will hold the division tiebreaker, if the Pats lose and the Dolphins win the Pats lose the division tiebreaker.

Right now the following scenarios are possible: If the Jets lose today:
-Jets win, Patriots lose. Three-way tie goes to Jets for division. Pats and Dolphins go to common games. More on that later.
-Jets win, Patriots win. Pats win division outright. Jets win tiebreak over Dolphins.
-Dolphins win, Patriots win. Pats and Dolphins go to common games for division. Jets to 7 losses and probably out of playoffs.
-Dolphins win, Patriots lose. Dolphins win division outright. Pats first choice of NFC East for wild card spot with six losses. Jets to 7 losses and probably out of playoffs.
The Seahawks appear to be wrapping up the game.

Pats-Dolphins common games: Pats 7-1, Dolphins 7-1 outside division. Dolphins would hold conference tiebreaker.

If Colts lose next week, Ravens, Dolphins, Pats win, Colts-Ravens-Pats three-way, one team must be eliminated to determine wild card. Indy beat both teams so they win the head-to-head sweep and are in the playoffs. No Titans-Colts next week on SNF. Ravens would hold the conference games tiebreak over Patriots, but are still vulnerable to a loss next week.

Seattle beats the Jets. Buffalo leading Denver by a touchdown. Washington leading by a touchdown but Atlanta running away with it over the Vikings.

If Pats lose next week Dolphins-Jets is for division. If current score holds Chargers-Broncos will also be for division. If NFC game can’t be selected it will be one of those two. My pick is Dolphins-Jets, because of the Favre factor and because they’re better teams.

Vikings are in big trouble unless the Packers win Monday night. Bucs can’t win division but the dream is still alive for the Falcons to continue the last-one-year-first-the-next trend. Assuming the Falcons go on to win, the Redskins are out and they will have been in the process of eliminating the Eagles as well, and a Packers win would eliminate the Bears entirely.

Falcons may be clinching themselves a playoff spot, in all practicality. The schedule breaks down such that I think they are cinching up the common games tiebreaker over the Bucs. Even if Dallas wins next week, which would mean they would likely have a conference games tiebreaker, the Falcons would be in by virtue of that tiebreaker – assuming the Bears lose.

If current scores hold, not even Cowboys-Eagles may look as attractive as NBC would like, if the Eagles are already out of the playoffs, and if the Bears lose I think that would lock up a playoff spot for the Cowboys, a risk NBC can’t take if they have to make their pick before MNF. Giants-Vikings has the same pitfall, and if current scores hold the Vikings will have lost and won’t have a bye to play for.

Buffalo knocks off Denver, but it’s the other two games I’m watching for SNF/NFC purposes.

Atlanta knocks off Minnesota. That essentially locks up a playoff spot for them and puts the Bucs in big trouble, and it eliminates the Redskins. The Eagles MIGHT still be alive for a playoff spot, as they would still be only a half game behind the Cowboys and Bucs. Beat the Boys and hope for a Bucs loss, and the Eagles are in the playoffs.

Philly making one last push – if they win this it would actually be worse for Cowboys-Eagles as the Eagles would be playing for nothing. They fail. But if the Bears win two straight it could render Cowboys-Eagles irrelevant by the end of the day. Two Bears wins put them at 10-6, and the best the Eagles could hope for is 9-6-1. We could see a Bears-Falcons-Cowboys three-way tie, though, and Cowboys would win the conference tiebreaker for the first spot.

Honestly, the Favre factor means Dolphins-Jets could be selected even if the NFL can select an NFC game. Especially if the Bears win on Monday Night and create the possibility that the Eagles won’t have anything to play for by Sunday night. With six losses, the Jets will still have something to play for even if the Patriots win next week. The Ravens could lose, and the Jets would have the conference games tiebreaker. Or the Ravens could win, and the Jets really would have nothing to play for. Giants-Vikings is probably out with the Vikings having no chance to steal the 2 seed, meaning the Giants will have nothing to play for no matter what happens tonight, and the Vikings will have nothing to play for if the Packers win Monday night.

Final prediction: Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets, but I would be far from surprised to see Cowboys-Eagles selected.

Actual selection: Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers. Huh? Either NBC and the NFL really don’t want to put the Dolphins on or they’re really scared about the game being rendered irrelevant for at least one team by game time. If the latter, we still don’t know if NBC could have selected an NFC game.

College Football Schedule: Bowls

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Rankings reflect my College Football Rankings. This week’s rankings only (not past weeks) reflect a correction: Stanford’s game against San Jose State was being counted as being against San Diego State. It shouldn’t affect anything at the top and certainly not anything in the Golden Bowl, but it does affect three conferences’ ratings, and as a direct result the Mountain West has retaken the lead over the MAC, implying they may have been almost always ahead all along. SDSU has been a constant in the Bottom 10, though its ranking in it isn’t affected. Lineal titles also updated. All times Eastern.

BOWL Teams LOCATION DATE/ TIME/ CHANNEL
TOP 25 TEAMS
FedEx BCS National Championship Game Florida Miami Jan. 8, 2009, 8 p.m.
Princeton-Yale/2004 Auburn-Utah Unif. Oklahoma Dolphin Stadium FOX
Tostitos Fiesta Ohio State Glendale, Ariz. Jan. 5, 2009, 8 p.m.
Texas University of Phoenix Stadium FOX
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi Penn State Pasadena, Calif. Jan. 1, 2009, 4:30 p.m.
USC Rose Bowl ABC
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia TCU San Diego Dec. 23, 8 p.m.
For Creation of 2008 Boise State Title Boise State Qualcomm Stadium ESPN
Allstate Sugar Utah New Orleans Jan. 2, 2009, 8 p.m.
2006-7 Boise State Title Alabama Superdome FOX
AT&T Cotton Texas Tech Dallas Jan. 2, 2009, 2 p.m.
Mississippi Cotton Bowl FOX
GMAC #25 Tulsa Mobile, Ala. Jan. 6, 2009, 8 p.m.
#12 Ball State Ladd-Peebles Stadium ESPN
Valero Alamo Northwestern San Antonio Dec. 29, 8 p.m.
Missouri Alamodome ESPN
Outback South Carolina Tampa, Fla. Jan. 1, 2009, 11 a.m.
#14 Iowa Raymond James Stadium ESPN
Capital One Michigan State Orlando, Fla. Jan. 1, 2009, 1 p.m.
#15 Georgia Florida Citrus Bowl ABC
Pacific Life Holiday Oklahoma State San Diego Dec. 30, 8 p.m.
#20 Oregon Qualcomm Stadium ESPN
Meineke Car Care #18 North Carolina Charlotte, N.C. Dec. 27, 1 p.m.
#22 West Virginia Bank of America Stadium ESPN
Pioneer Las Vegas #19 BYU Las Vegas Dec. 20, 8 p.m.
Arizona Sam Boyd Stadium ESPN
Brut Sun Oregon State El Paso, Texas Dec. 31, 2 p.m.
#21 Pittsburgh Sun Bowl CBS
FedEx Orange #23 Virginia Tech Miami Jan. 1, 2009, 8:30 p.m.
Cincinnati Dolphin Stadium FOX
Champs Sports Florida State Orlando, Fla. Dec. 27, 4:30 p.m.
Wisconsin Florida Citrus Bowl ESPN
OTHER POSITIVE B POINT TEAMS
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Houston Fort Worth, Texas Dec. 31, Noon
Air Force Amon G. Carter Stadium ESPN
BOWL SUBDIVISION
EagleBank Bowl Wake Forest Washington, D.C. Dec. 20, 11 a.m.
Navy RFK Stadium ESPN
New Mexico Colorado State Albuquerque Dec. 20, 2:30 p.m.
Fresno State University Stadium ESPN
St. Petersburg South Florida St. Petersburg. Fla. Dec. 20, 4:30 p.m.
Memphis Tropicana Field ESPN2
R+L Carriers New Orleans Southern Miss New Orleans Dec. 21, 8:15 p.m.
Troy Superdome ESPN
Sheraton Hawaii Hawaii Honolulu Dec. 24, 8 p.m.
Notre Dame Aloha Stadium ESPN
Motor City Central Michigan Detroit Dec. 26, 8 p.m.
Florida Atlantic Ford Field ESPN
Emerald California San Francisco Dec. 27, 8 p.m.
Miami (FL) AT&T Park ESPN
Independence Louisiana Tech Shreveport, La. Dec. 28, 8:15 p.m.
Northern Illinois Independence Stadium ESPN
Papajohns.com Rutgers Birmingham, Ala. Dec. 29, 3 p.m.
NC State Legion Field ESPN
Roady’s Humanitarian Nevada Boise, Idaho Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m.
Maryland Bronco Stadium ESPN
Texas Central Michigan Houston Dec. 30, 8 p.m.
Rice Reliant Stadium NFL Network
Gaylord Hotels Music City Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m.
Boston College LP Field ESPN
Insight Kansas Tempe, Ariz. Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m.
Minnesota Sun Devil Stadium NFL Network
Chick-fil-A LSU Atlanta Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.
Georgia Tech Georgia Dome ESPN
Konica Minolta Gator Nebraska Jacksonville, Fla. Jan. 1, 2009, 1 p.m.
Clemson Jacksonville Municipal Stadium CBS
AutoZone Liberty Kentucky Memphis, Tenn. Jan. 2, 2009, 5 p.m.
East Carolina Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium ESPN
International Connecticut Toronto Jan. 3, 2009, Noon
Buffalo Rogers Centre ESPN2

Sunday Night Football Flex Scheduling Watch and Playoff Watch: Week 15

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NBC’s Sunday Night Football package gives it flexible scheduling. For the last seven weeks of the season, the games are determined on 12-day notice, 6-day notice for Week 17.

The first year, no game was listed in the Sunday Night slot, only a notation that one game could move there. Now, NBC lists the game it “tentatively” schedules for each night. However, the NFL is in charge of moving games to prime time.

Here are the rules from the NFL web site (note that this was written with last season in mind):

  • Begins Sunday of Week 11
  • In effect during Weeks 11-17
  • Only Sunday afternoon games are subject to being moved into the Sunday night window.
  • The game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday night during flex weeks will be listed at 8:15 p.m. ET. (Note: Last year, NBC listed a tentative game for Week 17; they are not doing so this year.)
  • The majority of games on Sundays will be listed at 1:00 p.m. ET during flex weeks except for games played in Pacific or Mountain Time zones which will be listed at 4:05 or 4:15 p.m. ET.
  • No impact on Thursday, Saturday or Monday night games.
  • The NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX, NBC) and announce as early as possible the game being played at 8:15 p.m. ET. The announcement will come no later than 12 days prior to the game. The NFL may also announce games moving to 4:05 p.m. ET and 4:15 p.m. ET.
  • Week 17 start time changes could be decided on 6 days notice to ensure a game with playoff implications.
  • The NBC Sunday night time slot in “flex” weeks will list the game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday night. (Note: Again, excluding Week 17.)
  • Fans and ticket holders must be aware that NFL games in flex weeks are subject to change 12 days in advance (6 days in Week 17) and should plan accordingly.
  • NFL schedules all games.
  • Teams will be informed as soon as they are no longer under consideration or eligible for a move to Sunday night.
  • Rules NOT listed on NFL web site but pertinent to flex schedule selection: CBS and Fox each protect games in five out of six weeks, and could not protect any games Week 17 last year. Unless I find out otherwise, I’m assuming that’s still the case this year, especially with no tentative game listed Week 17, and that protections were scheduled after Week 4.
  • Three teams can appear a maximum of six games in primetime on NBC, ESPN or NFL Network (everyone else gets five) and no team may appear more than four times on NBC. A list of all teams’ number of appearances is in my Week 4 post.

Here are the current tentatively-scheduled games and my predictions:

Week 17 (December 28 Playoff Positioning Watch):

  • Note that not only is there no longer an NBC tentative game, there’s no NFL Network game. Apparently the league learned their lesson from last year’s Patriots-Giants debacle.
  • AFC East: Jets (v. Miami)-Patriots (@Bills)-Dolphins three-way tie, Bills out.
  • AFC North: The Steelers and Ravens are the only two teams still in it, and the Ravens are out on a tiebreaker (lost to the Steelers both times).
  • AFC South: The Titans are running away with it, with the Colts the only other team with a shot, and they lose the common games tiebreaker.
  • AFC West: Chargers (v. Denver) hanging by the division tiebreaker, and the team they play is the division leader. Hmm. But again, the Chargers would need to win out and the Broncos lose out – but for that to matter, it only needs to happen this week.
  • AFC Wild Card: The Colts (v. Titans) and either the Ravens (v. Jacksonville) or one of the AFC East losers would get the nod if the season ended today. The AFC East losers are a game back. Texans hanging by a tiebreak, and would need the Ravens, Patriots, and eventual Dolphins-Jets loser to all lose two games. Jets would beat the Patriots in the divisional record tiebreaker, Dolphins-Patriots would come down to strength of victory or beyond. Texans can’t have Dolphins winning strength of victory because that would give Ravens head-to-head sweep; otherwise, Ravens conference record would eliminate the Texans anyway.
  • AFC Playoff Positioning Among Division Winners: Titans have the lead over the Steelers (v. Cleveland) for the , but only one game, and they play each other this week in a game that pretty much is for the unless the Steelers win that game, then lose the next week and the Titans win it. Steelers have a two-game lead for the over the eventual AFC East winner, and beat the Pats outright, and the other two have at least four conference losses each to Pittsburgh’s one.
  • NFC East: The Giants have a three-game lead over the Cowboys, with the Eagles out by half a game, and the Cowboys lose the common games tiebreaker.
  • NFC North: Vikings (v. NY Giants) lead, Bears (@Texans) a game back. If Bears lose to Packers on MNF it cinches the North for the Vikings by giving them the division tiebreaker, but they still need to tread lightly because their record against the NFC South loses them the common games tiebreaker.
  • NFC South: Panthers (@New Orleans) have a two-game lead over the Bucs (v. Oakland) and Falcons (v. St. Louis). All three season series split, all three division records would be 3-3, all three would have 7-1 records against other common opponents, Bucs and Falcons would both eliminate Panthers with better conference records.
  • NFC West: Cardinals clinched.
  • NFC Wild Card: Any two of the Bucs, Cowboys (@Philadelphia), or Falcons would get the nod if the season ended today. Eagles a half-game back, Bears a full game back, Redskins (@San Francisco) and Saints both hang on tiebreakers. If Bucs and Falcons both lose out, that would come down to strength of victory or beyond; Saints lost more than one game to the common opponents so they’re out. A Redskins-Cowboys tiebreaker scenario would involve the Cowboys losing to the Eagles and the Redskins beating them, putting the Eagles at 9-6-1 compared to the Cowboys’ and Redskins’ 9-7 records and forcing the Bucs and Falcons to both lose out for the Redskins to have a remote shot, although they would win the conference tiebreaker over Dallas and whoever won the strength of victory tiebreaker between the Bucs and Falcons. I don’t have time to consider how the Bears would factor into the tiebreakers.
  • NFC Playoff Positioning Among Division Winners: Giants and Panthers tied, so this weekend’s Sunday night game is for the seed. The loser of that game currently holds a two-game edge over the Vikings, who beat Carolina and would have to beat New York.
  • Analysis: Through next week, there have been 22 games that would have been on Fox aired instead on one of the three primetime partners, compared to 19 for CBS. A recent dispute between Newsday columnist Neil Best and Dallas Morning News columnist Barry Horn may have brought to light yet another rule I haven’t accounted for: the idea that the NFL must take a game from CBS this week. It makes no sense that this would only come to light now, as it necessitates only two or three balances: 21-21, or 22-20 one way or the other. For a game that matters in terms of putting both teams in the playoffs, Dolphins-Jets, Cowboys-Eagles, and depending on what happens this weekend, Chargers-Broncos would seem to be the smart plays, and Cowboys-Eagles would be a shoo-in if this alleged rule were in place. If NBC just wants good teams, Giants-Vikings and a replay of Colts-Titans are also in play; if things break down right next week, Giants-Vikings may be a more impressive NFC game. Based on behavior last year, if NBC has to select an AFC game Colts-Titans is very promising, assuming the Colts don’t find themselves in the playoffs already, and if the Pats win this week NBC may run scared from them potentially winning again next week (even though a tiebreak might still be in play) and run to the potentially more attractive Colts-Titans game. I’ll live-blog on Sunday again this year, but I probably won’t be able to catch another announcement on “FNIA”.

Double dose of the Random Internet Discovery of the Week! Yay!

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If you’re interested in fancying yourself a Jackson Pollock and creating your own work of “art”, have at it. There’s something more profound I need to get to.

This post (link courtesy Awful Announcing) takes a look at how the blog market could be affected by the present recession. It’s mostly written from a sports blog perspective, especially paid sports blogs, but it has implications for everyone else who blogs, paid or not, employed by a third party or merely doing it themselves, whether for fun or profit.

It takes an interesting perspective: Although some, like the blog collective Gawker, think ad revenue is likely to decline in the current recession, the post itself talks to several bloggers and draws its own conclusion based on a study, and they seem to all agree that the recession could help blogs. Some people might decide that, needing to cut costs, the Internet might be one of the first things to go, but AA’s own proprietor suggests the Internet might be one of the last things to go, because it has become so important to job searches – and thus could increase in importance to many people. Some of the bloggers talked to suggested that the blog population could rise as newspapers cut traditional journalists, making room for cheaper bloggers, and as laid-off workers of all stripes look for new lines of work.

Regardless of whether it becomes Great Depression II, this could be one of, if not the, most important recession in our history.

If some of these reactions are true, this recession could greatly accelerate the rate at which the Internet becomes the chief way people get their news, information, and entertainment. At the moment, the Internet is big enough that “old media” – newspapers and TV – are concerned about the impact of losing their audience to it, but not big enough that they’re comfortable with making money off it. If it ever can get that big – and this recession could greatly hasten the day that it happens – newspapers and television as we know them could become as antiquated as the telegraph.

And as the Internet and blogging grows, it has the potential to change the very way we live. We may well look back on the first decade of the new millenium as a time of great flux and transition, when the Internet was still in its relative infancy, or at least childhood and was still taking shape, still taking the form that would shape the twenty-first century. One thing I neglected to mention when I listed a number of ideas I have and might like to work on was a book coming out of my continual wonder at how dramatically the Internet has already changed our lives, and how it holds the potential to change our lives even more, affecting everything from the  news to entertainment to politics to even the very underpinning of our economic system. I had been thinking about holding off on writing it until I had enough of a name that I would have any credibility whatsoever, but recent events – not least of which being the coming recession – have convinced me that right now is a unique moment in history in the evolution of the Internet, and “the fierce urgency of now” – to borrow a phrase from our president-elect – would seem to dictate that I get such a book written in the next couple of years, and preferably starting as soon as possible.

There’s supposed to be a second part coming out today, “focus[ing] on reactions from bloggers who blog as a hobby (i.e. for free) and from readers whose blog-reading habits may be affected by the economy,” and the post elicits reactions from anyone that would fall in either or both of those categories. I’ve sent this post to the blogger in question, but I want to hear from anyone that would have a voice in all of this, anyone who might use the Internet on a regular basis as an outlet, from YouTubers to webcomickers – not to mention, if possible, any advertisers who I imagine count for a significant amount of revenue. Send an e-mail to mwmailsea at yahoo dot com, or if you want to take it directly to him (and his second post encourages it), use the address on the sidebar of that page.