The Poinsettia Bowl Wrap Up

Well, I came down with a pretty nasty illness of some sort so that's put me back from blogging for a bit. But I'm finally back at it now and so the big thing I'd like to talk about is the Poinsettia Bowl, a matchup between the Boise State Univesity Broncos and the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. There was another bowl game that occurred between now and then but I don't think that's really worth talking about.

The bowl featured BSU vs. TCU*

So I was actually in attendance for this one, which was pretty sweet. I'm sure it's the only bowl game I will actually attend this year (of course I don't think I've ever gone to more than one in a year anyway). It really was an impressive game. Of course I missed most of the BSU show. We had our tickets on will call and the line was ridiculous so we missed kick off. Apparently we missed some fire works as far as an intro (I mean that both literally and figuratively, there were some actual fireworks, but of course BSU got off to a pretty good start as well). The final was TCU 17 BSU 16. Really a tight game, but here are my thoughts as far as everything.

The first half looked pretty ugly for TCU. They did finally score a TD right before the half which seemed to be a great momentum shifter. TCU had 4 turnovers total: 2 INT's and 2 turnovers on downs. BSU on the other hand, had only 2 turnovers: 1 INT and 1 fumble lost. I think to some degree, that was somewhat of a surprise since these are both pretty good defenses. The BSU offense did come in quite highly touted, but that wasn't enough. BSU gained 250 total yards on the TCU defense, but the TCU offense gained 472 yards. Some bad turnovers really were the biggest difference makers for BSU. It seemed like Coach Gary Patterson for TCU did not have a whole lot of faith in his field goal kicker, since they elected to go for it 3 separate times on 4th down. The BSU kicker, Kyle Brotzman went 3-4 having a missed 38 yard field goal midway through the 3rd quarter. That really might have made the difference for the Broncos.

I think the thing I came away from the most impressed with was the TCU offensive game plan. Andy Dalton threw A LOT (22 completions on 35 attempts for 197 yards) and I'm not sure I completely agreed with that, but that might have been what opened up the rush so much. However, two of their plays seemed especially killer against the BSU defense: the speed option and what I would call a sweep pass. The speed option is employed by a lot of offenses and simply consists of a mostly traditional option play to the outside out of the shotgun formation. BSU has a lot of speed on the outside, but that really was a difficult play for BSU to handle terribly well. I suppose the close out blocks on the end by either the tackle or the tight end were probably just too good. It seemed like Dalton would typically give it to the pitch man (which is often the way the speed option seems to work, not so much as a true option but more of a stretch play to get the ball far away from the bulk of the defense with the QB as more of a decoy) and the pitch man could take it for a good 5 yards or more on most downs. However, the real play that seemed to work out great for TCU was that sweep pass. Technically by all means it was a pass play to the running back. However, in practice it was more of a designed running play that was thrown as a forward lateral by Dalton. The RB would promptly swing out on a normal swing route, but without hesitation Dalton would immediately look his way and dump it off. This is a bit more effective than a true sweep because the RB already has a much greater step on the defense, he's gotten out wide on the defense while the defense has hesitated playing the pass. Ideally this would put the RB alone against either the corner or sometimes the outside backer. Either way, he seemed to make good use of the sideline and take it for a fair bit of yards. These two plays combined were very difficult for BSU to stop. Both defenses seemed to get things together a bit more when it came close to the red zone though. BSU's defense seemed to be reasonable soft up the middle as well.

TCU's Andy Dalton Passing*

The BSU offense seemed like they really gave the TCU defense a lot of trouble, but the stats don't really show that. I think that mainly it seemed like that because BSU had a number of plays that broke for good gains. Also, the TCU defense was rather penalty prone, especially at crucial times which caused them to give up a number of first downs. The BSU rushing offense was nonexistent, even though their only TD of the game came on a 20 yard rush by Ian Johnson. The BSU wide receivers were able to play the TCU corners rather well. They often would get position and make some pretty good catches. They seemed to often find the space they needed. I was surprised to not see considerably more pressure being applied by the TCU defense than what they often sent. They did seem to play things a bit more timid often times. BSU looked like they were mostly trying to capitalize off of mismatches between their RB's and the TCU LB's, which worked out especially for a couple of pass interference calls. However, BSU just did not seem to have the punch to close out their drives. They would get close enough to score, but that just was not quite enough.

BSU's Ian Johnson for the Broncos' only TD*

I think what really was the deal breaker for BSU was their decision to go for a field goal late in the game instead of continuing to pursue a touchdown. With a little under 5 minutes left on the clock, Coach Chris Petersen elected to kick a field goal while down 17-13. I think this really was the key decision of the game, which cost Boise the game. They faced a 4th and 12 on the TCU 16, so it was a rather difficult first down and a chip shot of a field goal. Conventional wisdom tells you, kick the field goal. However, I've learned that these new clock rules are really not your friend at all from about 5 minutes on. It's amazing how quickly the pre-2 minute clock gets eaten away. Against TCU's heavy rushing offense, especially with how much stronger they had been going late in the game, this didn't seem like the best idea. If you made the field goal, you were still down 3 requiring another score anyway. If you hit the touchdown, that would require TCU to score a TD in a rather low scoring affair. If you did not convert, they were still left in rather lousy field position and you had 3 times outs. Coach Petersen went with the field goal and the TCU offense only took the ball for about 25 yards to roughly the 50 yard line. TCU punted and it was downed on the 17 yard line. The next play, QB Kellen Moore threw his only interception of the game, which pretty much closed it out for the game. It's hard to know that would have happened, but BSU would have had their work cut out for them to get that final score even still. They had just under 2 minutes left against a rather stingy defense and they were down to 1 timeout. It was certainly doable, but difficult to say the least. It's easy to second guess the decision now, but either way, that field goal really didn't change much of anything except to make the game seem a bit closer.

Late interception by TCU's Stephen Hodge*

I will say I was thoroughly impressed with Coach Petersen's clock management. Coaches still do not understand how to best use their timeouts and manage the clock. Unfortunately, with the new clock rules requires a new strategy to clock management. Using time outs is all about getting the most time conservation for your timeout. Well, in the final 2 minutes of each half the clock works like standard football time. That means it's best to use timeouts when the clock is rolling under non-standard conditions (which is kind of a misnomer now with the fact the majority of the game is played under these conditions). Coach Petersen gets this, so he used his timeouts before the 2 minute mark. I'd recommend getting down near the 2 minute mark ideally, but really you need to make sure you're saving yourself period. Also, it isn't smart to use those timeouts after a first down unless there's no other option. The play clock isn't as long after a first down so save them for a later down. That's how to maximize clock conservation.

Overall this was a really great game though. I had a great time in the stands. Unfortunately we left a little bit early so we didn't get a chance to see the BSU desperation attempt at the end. For a good rundown of the game, read Dr. Saturday's contribution.

I did have a couple of other observations relative to my experience, but that weren't necessarily football oriented entirely. First, if you don't like idiots, don't go to sporting events. I think everybody should have the right to enjoy sports without having to deal with morons. Wouldn't that being wonderful? That being said, it's not going to happen in this life. The crowd is filled with people called fans and that name was given for a reason. Keep in mind, fan is short for fanatic. That's what you often find in the crowd and sometimes those people can be obnoxious. Of course, I think often times the really obnoxious one's aren't the one's who are these type, but more of the social sports fan.

At the game, a group of rather loud and rowdy young men were sitting not far from my group. I'd guess these guys were probably in their late teens, so either still in high school or they had barely started college. I didn't notice them drinking is one of the big tip offs I'd say. Most of the individuals sitting near our seats were BSU fans. These boys, however, were cheering on what they referred to as LT-U (and making moronic signs with their hands to show it). I think nobody was paying them much notice until they happened to get their hands on some purple thundersticks. Well, they really went to town with those thundersticks and undeniably, they were smacking them around in part just to be absolutely obnoxious. Well, it started getting a number of the BSU fans a bit upset. Part of the problem I'm sure was the fact they were rooting on TCU, rather than their precious Broncos. Well, that got a pretty good rise out of the BSU fans which I'm sure the kids loved, but they did decide to behave better. I can't deny I got a pretty good laugh out of it too because frankly I think people are just too uptight about a lot of things. Anytime TCU did well, these boys took their opportunity to get loud and proud, much to the chagrin of the BSU fans but they started using the thundersticks during appropriate times so it was hard for the BSU fans to object. But just to restress the idea: If you don't like idiots, don't go to sporting events! In this case we were all lucky that these boys weren't inebriated because that only intensifies the problem. Honestly, if you're looking for a good, well cultured, calm experience, a sporting event isn't where you're going to find it, except to some degree at BYU. But even at BYU, you have so many fans that have absolutely no idea what is even going on to drive anybody who knows even a little bit insane.

Second, if you're looking for good Mexican food don't go to a place called Roberto's Very Mexican Food. I can't deny, the food in the pictures for their website look reasonable authentic and good, but if a restaurant has to reassure you that their food is "very Mexican" it's probably not all that Mexican. I didn't actually try this place, I just saw it in passing as we were riding in the trolley. If there's one thing that gets me worked up in life it's crummy Mexican food and places like that just scream wannabe so I avoid them like the plague.

*All photos were taken from the Idaho Statesman's Poinsettia Bowl photo gallery

Poinsettia Bowl - TCU v. BSU

Well, I've been a bit lazy with the blog over the past couple of days. I haven't done a rundown of Saturday's games, but mostly because that was a pretty big let down day for me with losses by both BYU Basketball and Football. I should do wrap ups of those games from Saturday, but at this point it probably wouldn't matter. Apparently the game from Sunday was pretty good as well. Also, I'll be missing out on a preview for the game tonight, but I'll be in attendance. Maybe I'll do a rundown after I get back tonight. If you would like a preview, check out ESPN. Also, Dr. Saturday will be running a live blog during the game tonight. I'm a big fan and highly recommend checking it out. Anyway, go Horned Frogs!

Mid Day of Day One

So the first quarter of the New Mexico bowl is halfway through and this is looking like it's going to be a high scoring game. It's already 14-7, Fresno State. Might be a long game and ugly. But as far as the rest of my day, I probably won't blog much other than some previews/picks at the end of the day. There's a BYU basketball game on this afternoon and I care about the BYU football game, os that's going to draw my attention. Maybe I'll do some wrap ups or something. All I know is I won't be looking at these games too in depth, at least in a live manner. Hopefully these games turn out to be decent today, but other than the Las Vegas Bowl, don't hold your breath.

Preview: The Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl - BYU v. University of Arizona

OK, so if you know me at all, you already know my pick. It's not just because I'm a BYU homer either. This offense is really rather impressive. Although I want to gouge my eyes out watching Max Hall play. He has no clue what he is doing, it's completely the great offensive weapons he has. I hope I don't have to endure another season of watching his poor decision making and favoring of Austin Collie and Dennis Pitta. I understand completely, those guys are great players. That being said, that means everybody else should be wide open because honestly there's a number of other players that are pretty darn good on this offense as well. I really don't know a lot about Arizona. There's a lot of comparison of their offense with BYU, which certainly is what defines BYU. But BYU is 2-0 on Pac-10 teams this season (although they were two of the worst). I suppose this game comes down to whoever has their defense show up. I think both offenses are going to show up to play and score a lot of points. The over-under is set at 59, I'd take the over.

My pick: BYU. The Cougar offense is just going to be a little too much for Arizona. While the Wildcats' offense will probably echo BYU for a large part, I expect the BYU defence to rally behind a successful offense.

Here's a list of previews for the game: ESPN, Yahoo/Rivals.com, SI.com.

Preview: The magicJack St. Petersberg Bowl - Memphis v. South Florida

First of all, can anybody tell me what on earth magicJack is? I sure don't know.

Wow, this looks like another game that really is pretty bad. I didn't know Memphis even did anything outside of basketball. South Florida had two rather strong seasons but this year has really turned out to be a complete disappointment. I haven't seen much of either of these teams and don't think I want to. That being said, South Florida has quietly played some rather good defense ranking 13th in yards per game. Normally I'd say that's nothing to sneeze at in the Big East because the Big East plays pretty good offense. However, the Big East has done absolutely nothing. It's an ugly conference that can't even play offense anymore.

My pick: South Florida. The Bulls have a history of playing pretty strong so I don't expect the Tigers to really even put up a fight. While I do discount the USF defense quite a bit, I still think it will be enough to overpower Memphis. Also, this is virtually a home game for the Bulls. That should make a difference.

Here's a list of previews for the game: ESPN, Yahoo/Rivals.com, SI.com.

Wrap up: EagleBank Bowl Wake Forest Defeats Navy 29-19

So we have a final score of 29-19 Demon Deacons. Looks like my pick was right, although I got lucky on a garbage time TD by Wake. I'll get into that with more detail later. First a run down of the 4th quarter.

Navy had a rather impressive drive for a touchdown. The rushing game opened back up very well. I guess that's to be expected late game, but it was looking unlikely for a while.  For some reason when they were inside the 5 they decided to pass and there wasn't anything there at all. I almost wonder if it shouldn't have been intentional grounding, but Kaipo may have been outside of the pocket. The touchdown rush was pretty good, Navy was definitely looking strong. Can I just say, Navy's attempt at a 2 point conversion was one of the lamest things I've seen all game. First of all, you're a rushing team and you just had a rush for a TD, why do you pass? Why do you think you're capable of something you're not? I mean I don't mind the trickery, but wow... Anyway, Kaipo threw a decent ball to Shun White, it looked pretty nice. However, it was into double coverage and it was actually directly into the arms of the Wake defender. It should have been another interception, but the defender dropped it. Of course the pick wouldn't have done any good, he wasn't going to take it anywhere anyway.

Great scoring drive by Wake. It did look a little iffy on a 3 and 7, but Skinner bought some time with his feet and found his tight end open down field for a big gain. They pass for the TD and the 2-point conversion. What have I been saying about passing? Yeah, that's what I thought. Navy had a costly holding penalty on the return after the Wake touchdown. It was pretty flagrant and it was right by the ball carrier, so it was really the block that sprang Shun White for the great return. After that failed series, the Wake Forest punt return man had a rather entertaining punt return. Not much really happened, but I laughed at his pointing at his man upfield a little ways from him because he was standing around as a wall of Navy defenders were charging downfield. The pointing didn't do any good and the return man was run out of bounds.

The final drive by Navy was pathetic. I think Wake knew perfectly well that: A. Navy was going to rush pretty much irrespective of circumstances, so they stacked the box; and B. The Navy passing game was just too awful to be much of a potent threat. Navy didn't do much on 1st and 2nd downs, so they decided to pass on 3rd and 4th down, fumbling on both. They recovered on 3rd, but gave it to the defence on 4th, not that it mattered much either way. Kaipo nearly took it for a first down on his run on 4th, but still would have been a bit short without the fumble. Just seems a bit too conservative of play calls when Navy desperately needed the score. The turnover resulted in a quick offensive series by Wake for a touchdown. The Navy defence just looked demoralized as they let up a 35 yard rush for a touchdown to a guy who really did not look like he was moving very fast. They don't call it garbage time for nothing though. Rich Belton decided to dive into the end zone, earning a personal foul penalty. That gave Navy pretty good position on their next drive. Of course it didn't avail them anything. They went for an early field goal in hopes of getting the score and having another possession, but that didn't work out. The field goal missed and Wake took a knee to finish the game.

In the long run this turned out to be a pretty decent game. Although, both teams looked pretty ugly for the most part. I don't get it, Navy seemed like they were passing too much (and unwisely at that) and Wake seemed like they should have passed more. Skinner went 11-11 for 166 yards. The dude didn't miss, how could you not pass more? Of course, they go the win and you can't criticize a 10 point victory much. Navy just couldn't seem to keep their rushing game going. It makes me wonder if they had gone with their backup QB (who is the better passer) and tried out their passing game if they might have had some better success. Kaipo just doesn't present enough of a passing threat to keep defences honest. I was a little sad to see not a great product overall. I was really expecting a fun game, especially with the opportunity to watch Shun and Riley, but neither one looked over impressive. Shun had his moments of explosiveness, but overall didn't seem to have an overly productive day 14 attempts for 71 yards, a 5.1 yard average. Definitely some decent production, but it didn't seem like he necessarily came up with things when he needed to. Of course it seemed like Kaipo ended up with the ball most of the time when things were on the line. Maybe that was poor decision making by Kaipo. I don't know. Skinner had 7 rushing attempts for 29 yards, a 4.1 yard average. Just more for my argument of why I think he should have been passing more, he didn't run on designed rushes all that often. I think the real star today was actually Kevin Harris. He ran for 136 yards on 24 attempts, a 5.7 yard average, and 2 receptions for 36 yards, an 18 yard average, although one of those was for 36 yards. No TD for Harris though, go figure. The touchdown vulture, Josh Adams, ate up two of Wake's 4 TD's while only rushing for 13 yards total. Overall though, rather impressive showing for Harris.

This game was a bit of a let down, but a decent ending. I can't deny it was a bit anti-climactic because Navy just seemed so flat for a while and couldn't get anything going at all late game. Well done Wake.

Live Blogging: End of the 3rd Quarter EagleBank Bowl

Well, well, well we're getting ourselves a football game here. The score is 14-13 Wake. I'm still not going to pretend that it's been pretty, but it's looking better. Navy really hasn't been passing much (if at all) since the interception. Why do something you don't need to and isn't really your game especially when you're not capable of it? Graham Harrell my eye. Wake had another great scoring drive, which was capped off by another Josh Adams rushing TD and some good rush plays, but with some key passing plays. Go figure. At the end of the quarter Riley Skinner is 7-7 for passing. Those 7 passes have only netted 97 yards, so the average is pretty low, but my goodness, he's hitting everything. Let the boy throw! This conservative coaching by Jim Grobe really seems like it might come back to haunt him, but we'll see. The Wake defence has looked decent most of the day and has rallied even more after the impressive showing by Wake. I don't quite understand the final series run by Wake at the end of the quarter, the play calling was nothing but rushing and didn't seem to work out terribly well. But I guess we'll see how they do. Should be a good 4th quarter.

Live Blogging: End of the 1st Half EagleBank Bowl

So we've gone into the half with a score of 13-7 Navy. That's a little more like it, although it was still a frustrating quarter. Neither team looked terribly impressive during the majority of this half. Wake had a missed field goal that hit the side bar. For a while that was looking like the story of the game for Wake, until late in the half. Navy was driving on Wake, but decided to stick to their pass game. Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada threw the pass, which was a decent ball, but he overthrew his receiver by a good 5 yards right into the hands of Wake defender. His passing has looked pretty lousy most of the game, most of the time it isn't on target and their quite the ducks. Wake put together quite the impressive drive for the score off of that interception. Of course, even that had a bit of a story. There was a play ruled originally as a fumble returned for a TD by Navy that was reviewed and rightfully overturned. The ballcarrier was clearly down. Wake opened up their passing game and drove the field well. When they first entered the red zone though, they were sent back with a holding penalty that looked like it might have caused a problem. However, Skinner threw a great pass to D.J. Boldin (probably the key player on this drive) to get them in position for the score. After two consecutive rushes by Josh Adams, he took it in for a touchdown.

Surprise, surprise, Wake decides to open up their passing game and they score. Hopefully coach Jim Grobe has finally woken up. The commentators keep mentioning that the pass finally is working out for Wake, but that isn't the issue. Skinner isn't being given the opportunities, or at least wasn't until the end of the first half. We'll see how the play calling goes from here.

Live Blogging: End of the 1st Quarter EagleBank Bowl

OK, so this has been some pretty ugly football. I guess I shouldn't completely be surprised. Neither one of these teams is terribly good and strong running games that are purely strong running games often can be. The score is currently 10-0 Navy. I think the biggest disappointment, other than the coverage which I'll get to, has been Wake's lack of a passing game. It's not that they have been poor at passing, they just haven't done it. I believe there's been 3 passing plays from wake: 1 screen, 1 scramble, and a decent pass to the middle of the field on a hitch. Riley Skinner really is something impressive, why are they not passing? The Navy rushing game has been looking decent. It's mostly been big plays or bust. The first score came off a series where not much happened other than a Shun White 39 yard rush. They're doing an OK job of moving the ball normally, but they just can't quite close it. The only TD came off a strip by the Navy defence that they ran back for the score. We'll see how things go next quarter.

As a note as far as the coverage, TERRIBLE! Wow, it's been a while since I've seen anything this bad. I really think the coverage is worse on this than the mtn. That's saying a lot. The camera work has been shoddy at best. It appears they've only got like 2 cameras going. That was an issue on the fumble. I'm not positive it was a fumble because first of all, they didn't even bother showing a replay originally before going to commercial. I've never seen that before. It was so dumb. Also, they didn't show more than one angle. That's it. How on earth do you look at a fumble from one angle, especially when the "fumble" that occurred happened while the ball carrier was behind another player so you can't even see the ball pop out. Terrible. The commentary has been pretty bad as well. My favorite: They bring up how one of the Navy defenders was giving Riley Skinner pressure on a pass play, the only problem was it was a screen. That's the whole point of a screen, he's supposed to get past the offensive line and "give" the QB pressure. Wow dumb. The color guy seems to fall over his words in general and can't keep the teams straight. I think there's at least 3 times in just the first quarter alone that he's struggled to keep the teams straight. Also, I heard one of the commentators liken Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, the Navy QB, to Graham Harrell of Texas Tech. I'm sorry the only thing that those two have in common: they're both quarterbacks, and Kaipo that's only on a technicality because that's what the position that takes the ball after the snap is traditionally called. You can't tell me an option quarterback is ANYTHING like a guy who throws the ball 40+ times a game. Wow dumb.

Hopefully things get better in general, but I'm not holding my breath.

Preview: New Mexico Bowl - Colorado State v. Fresno State

Wow, really unexcited for this game. Fresno State has been an exciting team to watch at times, just not this year. Colorado State is a pretty bad team. Frankly I'm shocked they're bowl eligible. Of course it's hard to find a team that was as disappointing as Fresno State this season. I think they were probably the favorite as the potential BCS buster, but they didn't even come close. Who would have thought I'd mention the word BCS in a post about such a lousy bowl game. Apparently the Bulldogs have been plagued with injuries this season, but the Rams really aren't pretty either.

My Pick: Fresno State. I think this game will be reasonably tight, but I can't see CSU coming away with a victory.

Here's a list of previews for the game: ESPN, Yahoo/Rivals.com, SI.com.

Preview: EagleBank Bowl - Wake Forest v. Navy

I've seen a bit of both of these teams and I'm not going to lie, I love watching Riley Skinner. This quarterback for Wake Forest really is something special. There's something about the way he does everything, it just always seems magical and fantastic. I get a similar feeling watching him to my days of watching Doug Flutie in the pros. His play just reminds you that football is a very fun sport and that's why it's so enjoyable to watch. Of course Navy has a pretty special guy to watch as well, Shun White. Shun is incredible! I love watching a strong running game and Shun definitely brings that. He's a very explosive back with great strength. Navy led the nation in rushing yards per game, thanks mostly to this young man. Expect a big game out of him because he always brings a big game.

This game is a rematch, which is an usual circumstance for a bowl game. Navy won that contest 24-17. It was a rather ugly game for the Demon Deacons as Reilly Skinner threw 4 interceptions, he only has 7 on the season. Obviously a bit of a fluke, but there certainly is the potential that the Midshipmen have his number. I think this Wake offense is going to prove too powerful for Navy in the long run and I don't expect them to repeat the mistakes they made the first time around.

My pick: Wake Forest. I don't really expect this to be as tight of a game as it was last time. I'm thinking it will be a double digit victory for Wake. It should still be a lot of fun, but the Demon Deacons will give the Midshipmen hell.

Here's a list of previews for the game: ESPN, Yahoo/Rivals, SI.com.

My Gut Picks

Okay, so obviously there's quite a few bowl games (34 to be exact), but one of my big goals is to make predictions relative to all of them on this blog. That's a bit taxing on my time and such, so we'll see how I do. However, I've already made some "gut" picks for the ESPN College Bowl Mania contest. The main idea of the competition is just pick the winners. Simple enough and we'll see how I do. You can also rate your confidence on your picks, but with 34 overall picks, I just figured that was overly tedious and didn't bother. I really didn't research anything other than my typical reading I do relative to all of my sports info in general (see my blog roll and just ask me about the various RSS Feeds I subscribe to). But here's the picks in no particular order:

Guess we'll see how I do.

It's the Hap-Happiest Season of All

So I decided to finally divorce sports from my original blog because it seemed like most people that were interested in my blog were uninterested in sports, go figure. But now that it's mid-December we are entering the greatest time of the year! It's Bowl Season! Currently the blog title and such reflects that, but I don't know if that title will stick. I guess a lot of that depends on what exactly I do choose to do with this blog, especially since I am also undertaking my new Apartment 203 Blog as well (still working on a title). Currently I can say one thing absolutely for sure about this blog: It will be devoted to all sorts of information relative to the bowl games! Shocking, I know. So lets kick this bad boy off and let the good times roll.