70-33 Yipes!

"...WVA just doesn't have the man-power to beat the Tigers."

Boy! When I'm wrong, I'm really, really wrong!

A week ago Baylor set a record for most points scored in a bowl game when they put up 67 points in the Alamo Bowl. That record didn't even last a week when West Virginia put up 70 in the Orange Bowl against Clemson last night.

Gino Smith got the MVP and was credited with throwing for 401 yards and six (!) touchdowns, but he should at least share that award with Tevon Austin who caught four of those "passes" for TDs. Three of them were not much more than little flips forward--almost like a basketball give-and-go--as wide receiver Austin sped across the field between the center and Smith. Austin's speed and ability to tight-rope walk his way down the sidelines turned even the shortest "toss" in to a long TD pass.

Austin's TDs came on plays of 8, 27, 3, and 37 yards. In addition, Geno Smith hit Stedman Bailey for a 6-yard score and Willie Milhouse for a 7-yard TD. Smith used his legs to score on a 7 yard run. And Shawne Alston acrossed the line twice as he carried the ball 20 times for 77 yards.

But the play that turned the game around--and was the second longest scoring play in Orange Bowl history--was made by Mountaineer safety Darwin Cook. With Clemson trailing 21-20 in the second quarter, Andre Ellington--who had started the games scoring with a 68 yard run--drove into a pile at the goal line as he attempted to put the Tigers back in the lead. The ball popped loose, however and boiled to the top of the scrum. Cook snatched the ball and, not hearing any whistles, took off for the other end of the field while many Clemson players stood around the heap signalling touchdown. Ninety-nine yards later it was a touchdown--for West Virginia.

The extra point made it 28-20, but that too was ephemeral. Two quick turnovers by Tahj Boyd (Clemson had four on the night), a couple of quick strikes by Smith and crew and it was 49-20 at halftime. (That too was a record: highest score by a single team and by two teams in a half.)

Watching this game was like watching a train wreck: the carnage as Clemson was destroyed on defense was a horrible sight, but you just couldn't stop watching for fear of missing a spectacular play by someone--anyone--on the West Virginia side of the ball.

Good thing there are no bowl games tonight. I need to catch my breath after this one.

Now, about those critics who keep calling it the Big Least...West Virginia was just 5-2 in conference. Please explain.

Orange Bowl:

#23 West Virginia (9-3, 5-2, 1st in the Big East) vs. #14 Clemson (10-3, 7-2, 1st ACC Atlantic Division, ACC Champions)

With freshman running back Dustin Garrison out due to a knee injury, junior Shawne Alston will have to step up his play. That might mean Geno Smith will need to kick up his game, too. If he does…well, look out Clemson! With Smith at the controls, West Virginia brings the nation’s #7 pass offense into Sun Life Stadium for the Orange Bowl. The Mountaineers average 341.8 yards per game while throwing the ball. Smith has throw 25 TD passes while giving up only 7 INTs.

Clemson has Tajh Boyd at QB and he’s no slouch either. Boyd has thrown for 31 TDs this year while tossing only 10 INTs. The Tigers are 21st in the nation in passing offense averaging 284.8 ypg.

Both teams are strong on pass defense (WVA is 28th in the nation while Clemson is 32nd).

Clemson is 56th in the nation in rush offense with 155.8 ypg while West Virginia is only 93rd with 117.8 ypg.

On rush defense it’s the opposite. WVA is the better of the two yielding just 140.8 ypg and ranking 46th in the nation as compared to Clemson giving up 176.5 ypg in 77th place.

Clemson was powering along on cruise control until the last week in October. They then lost three out of four games—all road games—to Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, and South Carolina before defeating Virginia Tech—for the second time in the season— in the ACC Championship game.

Clemson has used the time since December 3rd to get healthy--which is bad news for West Virginia.

I may be a Big East fan, and I truly hope West Virginia can prove me wrong, but I’ve little love for the Mountaineers in this game. With the injuries they've suffered, WVA just doesn't have the man-power to beat the Tigers.

Clemson 38, WVA 24

Sugar Bowl: Michigan 23, Virginia Tech 20 in OT

What an ugly game. Truly ugly. Raises the question as to why either team was here.

Neither seemed to want to win it. Neither team played up to their hype. Both made errors galore. Some even started long before kickoff.

Virginia Tech’s starting field goal kicker got arrested for B & E and was told to stay home. His replacement broke curfew and was given a bus ticket home. So, of course, the game came down to the toe of the third string, senior kicker, Justin Meyer. Let me repeat that “third string, senior kicker”. i.e. someone unable to beat out two other kickers.

For a good long while the kid did fine. Meyer did all the scoring the Hokies managed in the first three quarters as he connected on field goals of 37, 43 and 36 yards. And, in the fourth quarter, after Logan Thomas scored on a 1 yard run and passed for a 2-point conversion, Meyer kicked a 25-yarder to tie the game.

So the kid made four field goals, scoring 12 of Virginia Tech’s 20 points in regulation. Will he be celebrated for doing that? No. He’ll probably be vilified for missing a 37-yard attempt in OT that allowed Michigan to escape with a victory after Brendan Gibbons drilled his 37-yard field goal down the middle a few moments later.

Virginia Tech had just 377 yards net offense but even that was double Michigan’s 184 yards. And while Michigan’s defense stiffened in the red zone, hence the four Meyer field goals, it was bad play on special teams, of all things, that cost Frank Beamer’s Hokies dearly.

Michigan succeeded on a fake field goal, had a drive kept alive on a roughing the punter, forced a fumble on a kick return and blew up a VT attempted fake punt late in the game.

The Wolverines’ Denard Robinson was just 9 of 21 passing for 117 yards with one TD. He also had just 13 yards on 13 carries. Quite possibly it was his worst outing this year.

Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas was 19 of 28 for 214 yards. He had 53 yards rushing on 16 carries but they all seemed to convert big third downs and one of those yards was for a TD.

I picked the winner correctly, but this was a loser of a game as far as entertainment is concerned.

Aerie Report, January 03, 2012

One of the coldest mornings of this winter. It dropped to 8 degrees this morning before starting to climb back into the double digits. The steady breezes made it feel even colder. Since those winds continue out of the north-northwest, we're getting a few lake effect snow showers today and tonight. The temperatures will drop even lower over Tuesday night and may approach 0 degrees early Wednesday morning.

******

Terry's feeling better and seems to have gotten over the flu she contracted last Friday.

Meanwhile my head cold continues unabated. I've more congestion than I-80 headed to the GW Bridge at 7:30 AM on a weekday. Yeah, I'm officially and literally a mouth breather.

Hell of a way to start the new year.

The Sugar Bowl

Tonight’s Sugar Bowl will see #13 Michigan (10-2, 6-2, 2nd Big Ten Legends Division) against #17 Virginia Tech (11-2, 7-2, 1st in ACC Coastal Division).

The two teams appear to be pretty well matched—-on paper. The Wolverines have the nation’s 11th best rushing offense (235.7 yards per game) while the Hokies have the 13th best rushing defense (107.8 ypg). Conversely, the Virginia Tech is 28th in rushing offense while Michigan is 31st in rushing defense (129.1 ypg).

The Hokies are better in the passing offense being 64th in the nation with 227.1 ypg while the Wolverines are 87th with 187.4 ypg. Michigan has an edge in passing defense. They are 15th in the nation yielding just 188.5 ypg compared to the Hokies 36th position with 206.2 ypg.

Michigan has Denard Robinson (“only” 2056 yards passing on 133 completions but 1163 yards rushing on 209 carries). Virginia Tech has David Wilson (266 carries for 1627 yards).

The difference is VT plays in the ACC while Michigan played in the Big Ten. And this time it DOES make a difference. Michigan will stop David Wilson. VT will not stop Denard Robinson.

Michigan will win this one 31-17.

Just a 50-50 kind of day.

Well, I didn’t do so well on Monday. Of the six games played I got only half the winners correct. I did get two of the scores spot on, but for the wrong teams. I said the Rose Bowl would be 45-38 and the Fiesta Bowl would be 41-38 and they were. Only problem was I thought the Badgers and Cardinal would win and it turned out to be the Ducks and the Cowboys.


Ticket City Bowl: Houston 30, Penn State 14
(I picked Houston)

The Houston Cougars rolled to a 30-14 victory over the Nittany Lions of Penn State in the Ticket City Bowl. The Cougars had 600 yards of net offense—most of it coming via the arm of Case Keenum who completed 45 of 69 passes for 532 yards and three TDs. Two of those TDs—-40 yards and 75 yards—-went to receiver Patrick Edwards who finished the day with 10 catches for 228 yards. Justin Johnson—-12 catches for 148 yards—-had the other TD.

Keenum had 227 first-quarter passing yards. That set the record for most passing yards in one quarter in any bowl game. The previous record was 223 yards by Louisville’s Browning Nagel vs Alabama in the first quarter of the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.

A touchdown by PSU’s Stephfon Green on a 6-yard run late in the first half, stiffened defense and 69-yard TD pass from Rob Bolden to Justin Brown in the second half kept this from being a blowout on the scoreboard as well as on the field.

Matt Hogan hit field goals of 35, 38 and 22 yards for Houston.

******

Gator Bowl: Florida 24, Ohio State 17
(I had Florida)

Last year, Urban Meyer coached the Florida Gators. Next year, Urban Meyer will coach the Ohio State Buckeyes. Yesterday, Meyer’s former team manhandled Meyer’s future team, 24-17. Don’t let the score fool you. It wasn’t that close.

Florida’s Andre Debose returned a kickoff 99 yards for a TD and Chris Rainey blocked a punt that Graham Stewart picked up and returned 14 yards for a TD.

Ohio State’s freshman Braxton Miller completed 18 of 23 passes for 162 yards and two TDs, but hat second one came with just 57 seconds left in the game. But then the Buckeyes failed to recover the onsides kick and that was all she wrote.

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Capital One Bowl: South Carolina 30, Nebraska 13
(I had South Carolina)

Alshon Jeffery had four catches for 148 yards and a TD on a spectacular 51-yard Hail Mary as time ran out in the first half of the Capital One Bowl. That catch put South Carolina ahead of Nebraska 16-13 at the break.

But, in the third quarter Jeffery got himself ejected along with the Cornhuskers’ cornerback Alfonso Dennard when they traded punches after a play.

No matter. The second half saw Kenny Miles score on a 9-yard pass and a 3-yard run while the Gamecock defense shut out the Cornhuskers to cement a 30-13 victory.

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Outback Bowl: Michigan State 33, Georgia 30 in 3OT
(I picked Georgia.)

Down 16-0 at halftime, Michigan State managed to tie the Georgia Bulldogs 27 all in regulation and win the Outback Bowl 33-30 in the third overtime period when they blocked a Blair Walsh field goal attempt that could have kept the game going…and going…and going…

Kirk Cousins, who engineered the MSU comeback, was 27 of 50 for 300 yards, one TD, and three INTS. Le'Veon Bell scored on short runs of 8 and 1 yard.

Aaron Murray was 20 of 32 for 288 yards, two TDs—including an 80-yarder to Tavarres King—and two INTs for the Bulldogs.

Brandon Boykin, one of the few players in the game to line up on both sides of the ball as well as special teams scored on a safety in the first quarter, returned a punt 92 yards for a TD and caught a 13-yard TD pass for Michigan State.

******

Rose Bowl: Oregon 45, Wisconsin 38
(right score-wrong team)

The Oregon Ducks’ Darron Thomas completed 17 of 23 passes for 268 yards and three TDs while De'Anthony Thomas scored on TD runs of 91 and 64 yards—his only two carries of the game and LaMichael James had 159 yards and a TD on 25 carries.

For the Wisconsin Badgers, Russell Wilson was 19 of 25 for 296 yards and a TD with another score on a 4 yard run and Montee Ball had 164 yards and a TD on 32 carries. Louis Nzegwu returned a fumble 33 yards for a TD.

It all added up to a 45-38 Rose Bowl win for Oregon. It was the first Rose Bowl win for Oregon in 95 years and the highest ever point total by both teams in this storied bowl.

******

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State 41, Stanford 38 in OT
(another correct score but the wrong team)

After one bowl game (the Outback Bowl) went to triple overtime and another (the Rose Bowl) had the highest point total in its history, it was going to be tough for the Fiesta Bowl to prove more entertaining than any of the other games played on Monday…but it did.

Led by two stellar quarterbacks, the Stanford Cardinal and Oklahoma State Cowboys played one whale of a game Monday night. While Andrew Luck engineered a more balanced, methodical attack for most of the game, Brandon Weeden hit Justin Blackmon three times for long, quick strikes.

Luck finished the night 27 of 31 for 347 yards and two TDs while Weeden was 30 of 43 for 425 yards and three TDs (all three to Blackmon were 43, 67, and 17 yards) plus one TD on the ground.

Luck also had the help of Stepfan Taylor who carried the ball 35 times for 177 yards and two TDs.

Stanford ran 81 plays for 590 yards net offense compared to Oklahoma State’s 57 plays for 412 yards. Stanford had 27 first downs to Oklahoma State’s 15. The time of possession was equally lopsided: 41:47 for Stanford but just 18:13 for Oklahoma State. In baseball it would be like watching a team of singles hitters against a squad of homerun sluggers. Not that Luck can’t swing for the fences when he needs to. He hit Ty Montgomery for a 53-yard TD in the first quarter.

The Cardinal got off to a 14-0 start before Weeden unlimbered the big guns and brought the Cowboys back to a 21-21 tie at the half. The Cowboys fell behind again in the second half but tied the score at 38 all with 2:35 to go in the game. An eternity to these two teams.

Luck marched the Cardinal down the field to the OSU 18 yard line. With three seconds left it was up to redshirt freshman Jordan Williamson. Williamson had missed just three field goals all season but had already missed one in this game. He missed this 35-yard attempt, hooking it to the left and the game went into overtime.

Williamson missed another field goal, this one from 42 yards out. OSU’s Jordan Sharp made good on a 22-yard chip shot a few moments later and the Cowboys were Fiesta Bowl Champs.

A Big Day on the Gridiron

Today, Monday January 2nd, we’ll see six bowl games being played with the first kickoff right after the Rose Parade.

Unfortunately, three of them kickoff at the same time and one will have only barely begun when they do. So keep those remotes well oiled and fingers spry!

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The Ticket City Bowl starts at Noon in Dallas, Texas with #20 Houston (12-1, 8-1, 1st in Conference USA West) vs #24 Penn State (9-3, 6-2, 2nd in the Leaders Division of the Big Ten) (on ESPNU).

Houston has the nation’s #1 pass offense with Case Keenum having completing 71.7% of his passes for 5099 yards, 45 touchdowns and only five interceptions. The Cougars only loss came in their final game of the year. They dropped the C-USA Championship game to Southern Mississippi 49-28.

Penn State is operating under a cloud. They have no university president, no athletic director, no head coach, and no idea who will be in those positions next month. Currently, Tom Bradley is acting as interim head coach. He is being interviewed for the top spot but so are others. Since the fit hit the shan back in November, the Nittany Lions have struggled on the field. They dropped two of their last three games losing to Nebraska and Wisconsin. They’ve had players fighting in the locker room. (A quarterback was injured and may have to sit out this game. A wide receiver was left home.) Things are not all that well in Happy Valley.

The Cougars average 443.8 yards per game passing offense. Penn State is 5th in the nation in pass defense yielding just 162.2 yards per game. The average score of Houston’s 12 victories was 53-21. Twice they scored 73 points in a game. They won’t score that many against Penn State, but they should still manage to win.

Houston 35, Penn State 17.

******

The Capital One Bowl, beginning at 1 PM in Orlando, Florida, pits #10 South Carolina (10-2, 6-2, 2nd in the SEC East) vs #21 Nebraska (9-3, 5-3 3rd in the Big Ten Legends Division) (on ESPN).

The Gamecocks lost Marcus Lattimore, a certified Heisman candidate, in mid season yet still averaged 198 yards rushing per game (24th in the nation). The Cornhuskers average 223.9 yards per game (14th in the nation). Neither is particularly strong in passing offense (92nd and 98th). So this game will come down to defense.

South Carolina is 2nd in pass defense and 4th overall. Nebraska’ s defense is 35th. ‘Nuff said.

South Carolina wins this one 31-17.

******

The Gator Bowl also starts at 1 PM in Jacksonville, Florida with Ohio State (6-6) facing Florida (6-6) (on ESPN2).

Ohio State had a mediocre year. Their offense…well…stunk! They were 26th in passing but 112th in rushing for an overall 101 ranking. Defense was better. The Buckeyes ranked 23rd overall. They lost their last three games (@Purdue, home against Penn St., and @Michigan).

The Gators also had an up and down year. They won their first four, lost their middle four, and split their final four (W, L, W, L). Their offense is ranked 95th in the nation. Their defense, however, ranked 9th overall.

The game is being played in the Gator’s backyard. I see Florida winning this one 24-17.

******

The Outback Bowl is the third game starting at 1 PM in Tampa, Florida #12 Michigan State (10-3, 7-2, 1st in the Big Ten Legends Division) will play #18 Georgia (10-3, 7-2, 1st in the SEC East) (on ABC).

Both teams have top five defenses but the Georgia Bulldogs have an offense just slightly better than the Spartans.

Michigan State won four of their last five losing only to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship—42-39. After losing their first two games, to Boise State and South Carolina, the Georgia Bulldogs ran off 10 straight wins before losing in the SEC Championship game to LSU.

Look for Georgia to win this one 31-28.

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Now we get to first two of the BCS games.

The Rose Bowl kicks off at 5PM in Pasadena, California and has #5 Oregon (11-2, 9-1, 1st in the PAC 12 North and PAC 12 Champion) playing #9 Wisconsin (11-2, 7-2, 1st in the Leaders Division of the Big Ten and Big Ten Champ) (on ESPN).

The Oregon Ducks have the 4th ranked offense in the nation. Their rush offense is stronger with the likes of LaMichael James leading the way. Their two losses were to LSU back on opening day and to USC in mid November.

Russell Wilson quarterbacks the Wisconsin Badgers’ potent offense. He’s thrown 31 TDs and only 3 INTs. He’s also got Montee Ball in the backfield carrying the ball (1759 yards and 32 TDs on the ground and 6 via the air).

There’s one thing for sure about this game: Points will be scored. Wisconsin wins 45-38.

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Finally, the Fiesta Bowl begins at 8:30 PM in Glendale, Arizona with #3 Oklahoma State (11-1, 8-1,1st Big 12) vs #4 Stanford (11-1, 8-1, 2nd in the PAC 12 North) (on ESPN).

Oklahoma State Cowboys have Brandon Weeden (72.6 % completion, 4328 yards, 34 TD, but 12 INT) and Joseph Randle (1193 yards rushing and 23 TDs). The Cowboys offense is ranked 3rd in the nation—42nd in rushing, 2nd in passing. But their defense is only 101st—79th against the rush and 99th against the pass.

The Stanford Cardinal have Andrew Luck (70%, 3170 yards, 35 TDs, and just 9 INTs) and Stepfan Taylor (1153 yards rushing and 8 TDs).Stanford’s Offense is ranked 10th in the nation. Its defense is ranked 24th (5th against the rush, 75th against the pass).

Stanford will prevail in this one, although it won’t be easy—or low scoring. Cardinal 41-38.

******

So there are my winners: Houston, South Carolina,Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin and Stanford.

Sick. Sick. Sick.

Terry (who got a flu shot) has flu-like symptoms: temperature, aches, diarrhea, etc.

I (who got no flu shot) have got one heck of a head cold: congestion, runny nose(How can it be both?), cough, sneezing.

No idea were or when we contracted these bugs, but I wish they would go away!

One heck of a way to end the Old and start the New Year.

I went 3-2 yesterday.

I managed to get three out of five correct yesterday.

As expected, Texas A&M; defeated Northwestern in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, 33-22. However, after the Aggies blew double digit half time leads 5 (or was it 6?) times this year , I confess to holding my breath as the Wildcats put 15 points on the board in the fourth quarter. (Seems like it was every single game they lost they had a double digit lead at the half.)

Ryan Tannehill threw for 329 yards and a TD, Ben Malena scored twice on the ground and Randy Bullock had field goals of 24, 40, 47, and 31 yards for the Aggies. The Aggies were playing under the guidance of interim coach Tim DeRuyter after the firing of coach Mike Sherman at the end of the season. DeRuyter is heading to Fresno State as their new head coach. They also had to deal with the death of offensive lineman Joseph Villavisencio in a car accident on December 22.

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I got the Sun Bowl wrong. I didn’t expect the Utes to be able to handle the Georgia Tech option…and they didn’t. The Yellow Jackets had 311 yards rushing on 56 plays. Preston Lyons had 138 yards on 18 carries and Tevin Washington had 96 yards on 20 carries.

What I didn’t expect was that Utah would employ a road grader at fullback named Shawn Asiata to pave the way for their own rushing game. Following Asiata and taking advantage of some of the big holes he opened, John White gained 115 yards on 26 carries. Asiata also seemed to be there when the Utes needed to get that big first down. He only caught 5 passes for 57 yards but every one seemed to be for a first down. Asiata caught a 1 yard pass from Jon Hayes in the first quarter for a TD and opened a path to the end zone for White in overtime to end the game. In between, Hays tossed TD passes to Kendrick Moeai and DeVonte Christopher. The former with 6:50 remaining in the fourth quarter and the latter tied the score in regulation with just 1:32 left on the clock.

Quayshawn Nealy returned an interception 74 yards for a TD in the third quarter to put the Georgia Tech ahead 24-10. While Justin Moore kicked field goals of 32 and 34 yards—the latter putting Tech ahead in overtime—he missed two 42 yarder tries and a 48 yard attempt as regulation ended. Any one of them could have sent Georgia Tech home a winner. Instead, the Utes came away with the 30-27 OT victory.

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In the Fight Hunger Bowl, neither team feasted on offense. This was a game between two teams that should have been playing on the Island of Misfit Toys. Illinois had a six game losing streak, UCLA had a losing record (6-7). Both teams’ head coach had been fired after the season ended and would play under the leadership of interim coaches who will be elsewhere this week.

But the Illinois defense seemed to be hungry. The Fighting Illini held UCLA to a mere 18 yards rushing and Terry Hawthorne returned an interception 39 yards for a TD in the third quarter.

Kevin Prince did throw two TD passes for the Bruins, but the second came in the final minute of play with the Illini leading 20-7.

The new coaches, Tim Beckman at Illinois and Jim Mora at UCLA, have got a lot of work ahead of them. At least Illinois can savoir the 20-14 bowl win as they prepare for next year.

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The Liberty Bowl saw Cincinnati defeat Vanderbilt 31-24.

Zach Collaros played for the Cincinnati Bearcats for the first time since he broke his ankle back in early November. He looked tentative and rusty as he took the snaps. He “ran” 8 times (for minus 8 yards as most of these were sacks) and he only completed 12 of 29 passes for 80 yards and one TD. He also threw two INTs. BUT—and it’s a big one—the Bearcats won anyway.

They won because Isaiah Pead carried the ball 28 times for 149 yards and a TD. They won because George Winn carried the ball 6 times for 78 yards including a 69-yard beauty for a TD. They won because Ralph Abernathy returned a kickoff 90 yards for a TD.

Vandy’s Chris Boyd scored on a 68-yard catch and run from Larry Smith.

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The Chick-fil-A Bowl is the other game I got wrong Saturday. A team that has suspended its star running back for violation of team rules and that loses its starting QB in the first quarter should not be able to do what Auburn did as it beat Virginia 43-24. I guess home field advantage was worth more than I thought.

That and Onterio McCalebb and Barrett Trotter. McCalebb rushed for 109 yards on 10 carries and one TD. He also caught two passes for 53 yards and one TD. Trotter (who lost the starting roll to Clint Moseley mid-season) completed 11 of 18 for 175 yards and the one TD to McCalebb.

Oh, and don’t forget the special teams. They recovered an onsides kick and blocked two punts. One of those blocks set the Tigers up on the 16 yard line and—two plays later—resulted in a TD. The other resulted in a safety.

Michael Rocco completed 26 of 41 pass attempts for 312 yards for the Cavaliers. He connected with Kris Burd on a pair of TD passes that gave Virginia a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter—just before Auburn went on a 21-0 spree to take command of the game.

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No college football for me today! No sir!

It's pros only today anyway. No college games scheduled. Which seems strange for a January 1st. No Rose Parade either.