2009 View - Bowl Preview

2009-2010 BOWL PREVIEW
A VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE

First bowl Game
Dec. 19, 2009
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Bow
P a s a d e n a 
Las Vegas Bowl
Bouncing Back
. The Oregon State Beavers
B C S N A T ’ L C HnA. M7 ,P2 0 1 0 have lost two consecutive
Texas - Ja years to the Oregon Ducks
Alabama vs.
with a Rose Bowl trip on the
line. Will a trip to “Vegas,
The last time the BCS national championship Baby” be enough to fire up OSU?
was determined in Pasadena, CA, it was one of Sun Bowl
the greatest bowl games of all-time. Deja vu? Gerhart’s Swan Song
Stanford’sToby Gerhart has never been
to a bowl. The bruising
ingr a m, M c Co y b a t t l e i n P as ad e na senior will have one final
show against mighty OU.
nd the 75th Heisman Trophy is 2005 Heisman race. As we all know,
“A awarded to...” With those

words, this game went from
being intriguing to, well, as Yogi Berra
the “loss” stoked Vince Young’s embers
as he led the Horns to a 41-38 win over
Bush and USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl.
Fiesta Bowl
Welcome to the Show!
TCU’s Jerry Hughes and the
once said “It’s deja vu all over again”. Can history repeat itself with third undefeated Horned Frogs
place finisher Colt McCoy, spurned for didn’t get a chance at the
the stiff arm statue for the second National championship game,
Alabama RB Mark Ingram was handed straight season? Horns fans believe so. but taking a Fiesta makes up for it.
the Heisman after a 1,500 yard/15 TD
season as he led the Crimson Tide to a
JH & LZ on radio
13-0 season and a berth in the national Ingram doesn’t come to Pasadena 1560 The Game
championship game. alone, as he brings with him the most Catch Lance Zierlein
decorated defense in the country, from 6 to 10 am
But, those wearing burnt orange and daily, alongside John
featuring five first team All-SEC
white remember when a certain Granato. Listen to
honorees. And, it’s that defense that John Harris on the
legendary quarterback who wore #10
could be the difference in the most Sean and John show,
finished second in the Heisman Trophy
anticipated BCS National with Sean Pendergast show 3 to 7 PM
balloting behind Reggie Bush in the
Championship game...since last year. daily. www.1560thegame.com
New Mexico Bowl
2009 Schedule Dec. 19, 2009 - ESPN 1:30 PM CST 2009 Schedule
W, UC Davis 51-0 W, Weber State 29-22
L, @ Wisconsin 31-34 (OT) Fresno St. (8-4) vs. Wyoming (6-6) L, Texas 10-41
L, Boise State 34-51 L, @ Colorado 0-24
L, @ Cincinnati 20-28 231.6 ypg - 7th Run Off. 128.0 ypg - 86th W, UNLV 30-27
W, @ Hawai’i 42-17 W, @ Fla. Atlantic 30-28
W, San Jose State 41-21 204.3 ypg - 79th Pass Off. 170.7 ypg - 103rd W, New Mexico 37-13
W, @ New Mex. St. 34-3 L, @ Air Force 0-10
W, Utah State 31-27 435.9 ypg - 19th Total Off. 298.7 ypg - 112th L, @ Utah 10-22
W, @ Idaho 31-21 L, BYU 0-52
L, @ Nevada 14-52 34.3 ppg - 14th Scoring Off. 16.9 ppg - 111th W, @ San Diego State 30-27
W, La. Tech 30-28 L, TCU 10-45
W, @ Illinois 53-52 212.4 ypg - 111th Run Def. 170.5 ypg - 91st W, @ Colorado State 17-16
Projected Starting Lineups 199.3 ypg - 32nd Pass Def. 225.1 ypg - 73rd Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #15 Ryan Colburn 411.7 ypg - 97th Total Def. 395.6 ypg - 83rd QB #5 Austyn Carta-Samuels
RB #21 Ryan Mathews RB #22 Brandon Stewart
FB #48 Reynard Camp 27.8 ppg - 81st Scoring Def. 27.3 ppg - 75th WR #33 David Leonard
WR #6 Chastin West WR #80 Chris McNeill
WR #2 Seyi Ajirotutu Keys to the Game WR #89 Zach Bolger
TE #49 Vince Pascoe The Rookie - The Cowboys haven’t been to a bowl game TE #14 David Tooley
LT #70 Bryce Harris since 2004, but for freshman QB Austyn Carta-Samuels, this LT #71 Ryan Otterson
LG #79 Devan Cunningham whole bowl thing is just the way it’s supposed to be, right? LG #75 Sam Sterner
C #52 Richard Paceco One year, one bowl trip - just do the math. But, suffice it to C #70 Russ Arnold
RG #69 Andrew Jackson say, the Cowboys don’t make the trip to New Mexico without RG #67 Zack Kennedy
RT #60 Kenny Wiggins the late game exploits of Carta-Samuels. Four times he led the RT #72 Clayton Kirven
Defense Cowboys to a come-from-behind wins in the fourth quarter Defense
DE #43 Chris Carter with a toughness expected from a Cowboy quarterback. The DE #98 Mitch Unrein
DT #50 Cornell Banks Bulldogs have to find a way to not let Carta-Samuels into a DT #90 Fred Givens
DT #93 Chris Lewis rhythm early in the game. A rookie with some confidence can DT #91 John Fletcher
DE #92 Kenny Borg be a scary proposition, especially in his first, but not his last LB #44 Josh Biezuns
LB #39 Shawn Plummer bowl game. LB #52 Gabe Knapton
LB #54 Ben Jacobs LB #8 Brian Hendricks
LB #55 Nico Herron Pounding the Mat - Maybe it took a while for the LB #36 Weston Johnson
CB #24 Desia Dunn Bulldogs to truly understand what, or who, was driving their CB #2 Marcell Gipson
S #3 Moses Harris offense, but since the Boise State game, it’s been clear that S #24 Chris Prosinski
S #20 Lorne Bell Ryan Mathews is the bellcow for the Bulldogs and the key in S #7 Shamiel Gray
CB #28 A.J. Jefferson this game against Wyoming. He’s had no fewer than 19 carries CB #4 Tashaun Gipson
in every game that he’s completed since the Wisconsin loss,
Scout’s Corner averaging 152.6 yards in those games. He’s not flashy, but he Scout’s Corner
RB Ryan Mathews runs hard and that’s a problem for the 91st ranked run defense LB Brian Hendricks
6’1” 225 in the nation. 6’1” 223
Runs like a beast...quick but not a Small linebacker, but active...has safety
“make you miss in space” size...made 2nd team All-MWC even
quick...powerful, but not a run over
But, you better block this beast, first - Defensive though he missed two conference
tackles are a different breed, but for most guys, you expect 6’3”
you type of back...leads the nation in games...had 23 tackles against Air
300 lbs. or something in that direction. However, first team
rushing...had his best games against Force...tackling machine...quick to the
the best teams FSU faced...averagedAll-MWC DT John Fletcher isn’t the prototype defensive ball...good instincts and reads
162 yards vs. ranked teams tackle, but at 6’6”265 he’ll be disruptive to the Bulldogs well...solid tackler
offensive blocking schemes. His quickness and ability to
penetrate gaps could be a major issue for Fresno St. in this one.
Conclusion - The Cowboys have a been a never-say-die team throughout the season, relying on Carta-Samuels to bring the
Cowboys back from behind, but even if Wyoming can slow Mathews, QB Ryan Colburn can hurt them down the field. Fresno State
should roll in this one. Expect 150+ yards from Mathews and a pair of touchdowns from Colburn in a convincing FSU win.
Fresno St. - 34 vs. Wyoming - 21

St. Petersburg Bowl
2009 Schedule Dec. 19, 2009 - ESPN 7 PM CST 2009 Schedule
L, Cincinnati 15-47 W, Samford 28-24
W, Howard 45-7 Rutgers (8-4) vs. UCF (8-4) L, @ USM 19-26
W, FIU 23-15 W, Buffalo 23-17
W, @ Maryland 34-13 138.4 ypg - 74th Run Off. 138.5 ypg - 73rd L, @ East Carolina 14-19
W, Texas Southern 42-0 W, Memphis 32-14
L, Pitt 17-24 183.4 ypg - 95th Pass Off. 209.5 ypg - 70th L, Miami 7-27
W, @ Army 27-10 W, @ Rice 49-7
W, @ Connecticut 28-24 321.8 ypg - 99th Total Off. 348.0 ypg - 83rd W, Marshall 21-20
W, USF 31-0 L, @ Texas 3-35
L, @ Syracuse 13-31 27.5 ppg - 59th Scoring Off. 26.3 ppg - 68th W, Houston 37-32
W, @ Louisville 34-14 W, Tulane 49-0
L, West Virginia 21-24 108.9 ypg - 20th Run Def. 82.5 ypg - 4th W, @ UAB 34-27
Projected Starting Lineups 203.3 ypg - 42nd Pass Def. 265.6 ypg - 112th Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #7 Tom Savage 312.2 ypg - 19th Total Def. 348.1 ypg - 46th QB #11 Brett Hodges
RB #38 Joe Martinek RB #34 Brynn Harvey
FB #19 Jack Corcoran 17.4 ppg - 15th Scoring Def. 20.7 ppg - 24th FB #43 Ricky Kay
WR #2 Tim Brown WR #5 Rocky Ross
WR #6 Mohamed Sanu Keys to the Game WR #81 Kamar Aiken
TE #3 Sharmar Graves The Deuce goes deep - Rutgers hasn’t found a ton of TE #88 Adam Nissley
LT #75 Anthony Davis success offensively against teams with a pulse, but when it has LT #77 Nick Pieschel
LG #77 Art Frost involved wide receiver Tim Brown down the field, the Scarlet LG #65 Cliff McCray
C #61 Ryan Blasczyk Knights offense has moved effectively. Considering the fact C #73 Ian Bustillo
RG #70 Desmond Wynn that UCF’s defense is one of the best against the run, but one RG #68 Theo Goins
RT #78 Kevin Haslam of the worst against the pass, Brown becomes an even bigger RT #76 Jah Reid
Defense asset. Brown has averaged 20.6 yards per catch and eight Defense
DE #31 George Johnson touchdowns. By stretching UCF vertically with Brown down DE #48 David Williams
DT #96 Charlie Noonan the field, QB Tom Savage has some room to work in the DT #95 Travis Simmons
DT #94 Scott Vallone middle of the field. Not to mention the fact that it takes the DT #98 Torrell Troup
DE #45 Alex Silvestro safeties out of run support, giving bruising back Joe Martinek DE #49 Bruce Miller
LB #44 Ryan D’Imperio fewer bodies to pinball in the secondary. The only question LB #38 Derrick Hallman
LB #17 Damaso Munoz will be whether Brown is healthy enough to make an impact LB #59 Cory Hogue
LB #50 Antonio Lowery with a bum ankle. LB #57 Lawrence Young
CB #4 David Rowe CB #20 Josh Robinson
S #26 Joe Lefeged Waiting for Hodges - Since Steven Moffett took snaps S #2 Michael Greco
S #29 Zaire Kitchen under center for UCF last in 2006, the Golden Knights have S #18 Kemal Ishmael
CB #21 Devin McCourty struggled to find the right mix at quarterback. However, Wake CB #23 Justin Boddie
Forest transfer Brett Hodges has stepped up in a big way for
Scout’s Corner UCF. Other than the Texas loss when he didn’t play, Hodges Scout’s Corner
OL Anthony Davis has been the key in the Knights last four wins. He’s averaged RB Brynn Harvey
6’6” 325 261 yards per game through the air and nearly half of his 15 TD 6’1” 205
Underachieving...sloppy season total (7 in those wins). Facing Devin McCourty and Quick in space...can make you
technique...potential to be Andre company will be a big test for Hodges, but if he can avoid miss...not the best receiver out of the
Smith type of run blocker...needs to backfield, but does have 13 catches
picks (five in his last 3 games), UCF should fare well.
move to right tackle at the next this year...productive...has been a go-
level...slow feet...explosive in the run to running back - a guy who can tote
game...solid in zone scheme...work The D stands for defense - The Rutgers linebackers, it 35 to 40 times - U of H (35) and
ethic/effort are questionable at best Ryan D’Imperio and Damaso Munoz, have been strong in the Memphis (42)...tough
middle throughout the last two years,. The two have
combined for 145 tackles this season and are the main reason
the Scarlet Knights have a chance to stop Brynn Harvey.
Conclusion - Simply put, the Golden Knights will prove to have more balance with Harvey and Hodges in a narrow, tough win.
Harvey will run for 100+ yards and Hodges will feed off of that with play action for a score over the top of Rutgers secondary.
UCF - 28 vs. Rutgers - 24

New Orleans Bowl
W, Alcorn State 52-0 L, @ Clemson 14-37
W, UCF 26-19 USM (7-5) vs. MTSU (9-3) W, Memphis 31-14
W, Virginia 37-34 W, @ Maryland 32-31
L, @ Kansas 28-35 186.3 ypg - 26th Run Off. 181.3 ypg - 34th W, @ North Texas 37-21
L, @ UAB 17-30 L, @ Troy 7-31
L, @ Louisville 23-25 232.0 ypg - 44th Pass Off. 238.1 ypg - 41st L, Miss. State 6-27
W, Memphis 36-16 W, WKU 62-24
W, Tulane 43-6 418.3 ypg - 31st Total Off. 419.3 ypg - 30th W, @ FAU 27-20
L, @ Houston 50-43 W, FIU 48-21
W, @ Marshall 27-20 33.0 ppg - 19th Scoring Off. 31.2 ppg - 29th W, ULL 34-17
W, Tulsa 44-34 W, Arkansas State 38-14
L, @ East Carolina 20-25 121.5 ypg - 32nd Run Def. 137.9 ypg - 50th W, @ ULM 38-19
Projected Starting Lineups 266.2 ypg - 113th Pass Def. 213.7 ypg - 54th Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #14 Martevious Young 387.7 ypg - 77th Total Def. 351.6 ypg - 49th QB #9 Dwight Dasher
RB #25 Damion Fletcher RB #2 Desmond Gee
FB #40 Josh Hurd 24.5 ppg - 54th Scoring Def. 23.0 ppg - 45th HB #83 Shane Blissard
WR #6 Freddie Parham WR #1 Chris McClover
WR #5 DeAndre Brown Keys to the Game WR #17 Patrick Honeycutt
TE #19 Jonathan Massey Explosive - Perhaps no quarterback in the nation is as hot as WR #80 Garrett Andrews
LT #73 Kyle Burkhart Southern Miss QB Martevious Young. He didn’t play much, or at LT #78 Mike Williams
LG #69 Micah Brown all, until the Louisville game in the middle of the season. But, LG #65 Alex Stuart
C #59 Cameron Zipp once he took over, this offense became ultra-dangerous. Now, C #72 Mark Thompson
RG #71 Ryan Hebert how hot is he actually? Well, how about in the last five games, RG #60 Brandon McLeroy
RT #70 Brennan Houston he’s thrown 12 TD passes and no interceptions? How about the RT #74 Mark Fisher
Defense fact that he’s only thrown one interception all year? He’s Defense
DE #91 Deddrick Jones averaging over 280 yards passing in his last five as well. And, he’s DE #11 Jamari Lattimore
DT #95 Anthony Gray maybe the most elusive runner on the field, although he hasn’t run DT #92 Brandon Perry
DT #90 Terrance Pope all that much (roughly nine carries in his starts). The threat of the DT #47 Dwight Smith
DE #49 Cordarro Law run, though, will be helpful, but if Young continues as hot as he DE #98 Chris McCoy
LB #56 Ronnie Thornton was when he ended the regular season, MTSU has no shot of LB #52 Antwan Davis
LB #42 Korey Williams stopping him. LB #44 Danny Carmichael
LB #32 Martez Smith LB #30 Cam Robinson
CB #20 C.J. Bailey Truly a dual threat - Not many QBs in the history of CB #6 Rod Issac
S #18 Eddie Hicks college football can say they were a 2000/1000 guy, but MTSU S #33 Kevin Brown
S #8 Justin Wilson QB Dwight Dasher is 47 yards rushing away from being in that S #20 Jeremy Kellem
CB #12 Andre Watson select club. Now, if Dasher goes absolutely ape nuts and throws CB #7 Alex Suber
for 373 yards, which is a possibility in this potential shootout, he’ll
join an even more select club - 3000/1000. Only Vince Young and
Scout’s Corner Dan Lefevour have ever done that in one season. That’s the type Scout’s Corner
RB Damion Fletcher of company Dasher has put himself in. Obviously, he’s the target QB Dwight Dasher
5’10” 178 for the USM ‘D’ and needs some help to keep his offense in the 5’10” 200
Four year workhorse for USM...as game. But, just ask Case Keenum or Patrick Pinkney, USM’s ‘D’ Dual threat who leads the team in
productive as any running back in rushing and passing...seemingly more
CUSA history...not the biggest will let you stay in the game. Dasher just has to capitalize and get
of an athlete playing QB right now,
running back in the world, but he isn’t the ball in the end zone. Let the numbers work themselves out. but can hurt you with both run and
scared of anyone...runs hard...will run
between the tackles...not a power Beast Watch - MTSU DE Chris McCoy was voted co- pass...quick as he can be...if he
escapes contain, it’s curtains...strong,
guy, nor is he a make you miss guy Defensive Player of the Year in the Sun Belt. And, if you’ve seen compact package...plays game hard.
this cat, you know what a beast he is. With seven sacks and 20
tackles for a loss, this linebacker playing defensive end is a general
menace, but he’s the perfect counter to Young’s escapability.
Conclusion - I think MTSU’s speed on defense will frustrate USM early in the game. However, once Young finds his rhythm and
then gets RB Damion Fletcher going in his last game for Southern Miss, MTSU can’t stop them. USM wins.
USM - 35 vs. MTSU - 27

Las Vegas Bowl
W, Portland State 34-7 W, Oklahoma 14-13
W, @ UNLV 23-21 Oregon St. (8-4) vs. BYU (10-2) W, @ Tulane 54-3
L, Cincinnati 18-28 L, Florida State 28-54
L, Arizona 32-37 144.2 ypg - 64th Run Off. 148.2 ypg - 60th W, Colorado State 42-23
W, @ Arizona State 28-17 W, Utah State 35-17
W, Stanford 38-28 275.3 ypg - 21st Pass Off. 288.9 ypg - 12th W, @ UNLV 59-21
L, @ USC 36-42 W, @ San Diego St. 38-28
W, UCLA 26-19 419.4 ypg - 28th Total Off. 437.1 ypg - 18th L, TCU 7-38
W, @ Cal 31-14 W, @ Wyoming 52-0
W, Washington 48-21 32.4 ppg - 22nd Scoring Off. 34.8 ppg - 12th W, @ New Mexico 24-19
W, @ Washington St. 42-10 W, Air Force 38-21
L, @ Oregon 33-37 114.3 ypg - 25th Run Def. 112.0 ypg - 23rd W, Utah 26-23 (OT)
Offense Offense
QB #5 Sean Canfield 352.9 ypg - 50th Total Def. 331.1 ypg - 35th QB #15 Max Hall
RB #1 Jacquizz Rodgers RB #45 Harvey Unga
WR #8 James Rodgers 23.4 ppg - 51st Scoring Def. 21.7 ppg - 34th FB #11 Manase Tonga
WR #80 Damola Adeniji WR #6 McKay Jacobsen
WR #25 Casey Kjos Keys to the Game WR #4 O’Neill Chambers
TE #83 Brady Camp On the spot - One of the more unheralded players in the Flex #32 Dennis Pitta
LT #77 Michael Philipp nation is Oregon State LB Keaton Kristick. He’s done LT #70 Matt Reynolds
LG #70 Grant Johnson nothing but improve since the beginning of the season. He LG #76 Braden Hansen
C #60 Alex Linnenkohl didn’t pile up all conference honors, but what you know about C #64 R.J Willing
RG #73 Gregg Peat Kristick is that he’s going to impact this defense against the RG #60 Terence Brown
RT #50 Mike Remmers run and in the passing game, ultra-important when facing this RT #72 Nick Alletto
Defense BYU attack. QB Max Hall loves to use the short passing game Defense
DE #99 Gabe Miller with his backs and tight ends, which will put Kristick in DE #84 Jan Jorgensen
DT #78 Brennan Olander coverage most of the game. He doesn’t excel there, but he’s NT # 52 Russell Tialavea
DT #54 Stephen Paea good in coverage. But, where the Oregon State defensive staff DE #92 Brett Denney
DE #19 Matt LaGrone may use Kristick in a variety of blitz packages to get in the LB #1 Jordan Pendleton
OLB #32 Keaton Kristick face of Hall. Expect #32 to be getting plenty of backfield time LB #35 Matt Bauman
MLB #45 David Pa’aluhi in this matchup. LB #42 Shawn Doman
OLB #59 Dwight Roberson LB #41 Coleby Clawson
CB #4 James Dockery Matchup alert - The Beavers offensive line looked great CB #7 Brian Logan
S #10 Lance Mitchell for three quarters against the Oregon Ducks. Man, everything S #22 Andrew Rich
S #5 Cameron Collins was clicking, but in the last 15 minutes of that game, it went S #21 Scott Johnson
CB #17 Brandon Hardin from the best of times to the worst of times in the blink of an CB #5 Brandon Bradley
eye. LT Michael Philipp is a true freshman who got an
education all in one night and now he faces a relentless pass
Scout’s Corner rusher Jan Jorgensen. Philipp has had a solid season but he Scout’s Corner
DT Stephen Paea sometimes is slow to come out of his stance and that’s where Flex TE Dennis Pitta
6’1” 288 Jorgensen can beat him. The BYU DE has 6.5 sacks on the 6’5” 247
Former rugby player...quick as a season and won’t give up on a play. Philipp must block him to Reminds me of Texans TE James
hiccup and strong as an ox...still Casey...not as strong, but a little more
learning the game...still needs to learn the whistle and keep #84 out of this game. fluid in route running...great
how to use his hands A freshman no more - In the opener this season, BYU hands...not a great blocker...must play
effectively...when he does, look an H back position...can get open
out...pass rush not a big part of his G Braden Hansen faced one of the best in the college game, against safeties just as much as he can
game...burst...powerful...learn to shed OU DT Gerald McCoy. Suffice it to say, the young man against linebackers...red zone threat
received an education that night. It won’t be any easier in Las
Vegas as he faces perhaps an even trickier opponent OSU DT
Stephen Paea. The Beaver DT is smaller than McCoy, but
quicker and even stronger at the point of attack. Hansen can’t
get rag-dolled as he did in Arlington, but that won’t be easy.
Conclusion - Knowing the Rodgers family the way I do, I know the sting of the loss to Oregon two years in a row with a
potential Rose Bowl on the line still burns James and Jacquizz. They’ll get it out of their system to play in a bowl, but BYU will pay.
Oregon St. - 31 vs. BYU - 28

Poinsettia Bowl
W, Utah State 35-17 W, Maryland 52-13
W, @ San Jose State 24-14 Utah (9-3) vs. Cal (8-4) W, Eastern Washington 59-7
L, @ Oregon 24-31 W, @ Minnesota 35-21
W, Louisville 30-14 169.4 ypg - 45th Run Off. 175.6 ypg - 37th L, @ Oregon 3-42
W, @ Colorado St. 24-17 L, USC 3-30
W, @ UNLV 35-15 220.2 ypg - 55th Pass Off. 223.4 ypg - 50th W, @ UCLA 45-26
W, Air Force 23-16 (OT) W, Wash. State 49-17
W, Wyoming 22-10 389.6 ypg - 54th Total Off. 399.0 ypg - 46th W, @ Arizona State 23-21
W, New Mexico 45-14 L, Oregon State 14-31
L, @ TCU 28-55 29.3 ppg - 47th Scoring Off. 29.3 ppg - 47th W, Arizona 24-16
W, San Diego State 38-7 W, @ Stanford 34-28
L, @ BYU 23-26 (OT) 141.3 ypg - 57th Run Def. 117.1 ypg - 27th L, @ Washington 10-42
Offense Offense
QB #3 Jordan Wynn 314.2 ypg - 20th Total Def. 378.0 ypg - 70th QB #13 Kevin Riley
RB #36 Eddie Wide RB #4 Jahvid Best
WR #9 Aiona Key 19.7 ppg - 19th Scoring Def. 24.5 ppg - 54th FB #34 Shane Vereen
WR #16 David Reed WR #1 Marvin Jones
WR #85 Jereme Brooks Keys to the Game WR #86 Verran Tucker
TE #80 Chris Joppru Say it twice - The Cal defense has been brilliant at times TE #80 Anthony Miller
LT #68 Zane Beadles this season and, well, it’s struggled at times this season. One LT #79 Mike Tepper
LG #72 Caleb Schlauderaff of the focal points in this bowl game will be on the edge where LG #75 Matt Summers-Gavin
C #77 Zane Taylor Tyson Alualu (bless you) will face All-American Zane Beadles C #54 Chris Guarnero
RG #54 Tevita Stevens and Tony Bergstrom. Now, if Alualu (bless you) has turned on RG #61 Justin Cheadle
RT # 70 Tony Bergstrom the TCU film, he’ll be licking his chops to get after freshman RT #72 Mitchell Schwartz
Defense QB Jordan Wynn. Alualu (bless you) is the prototypical 3-4 Defense
DE #90 Derrick Shelby DE - strong at the point of attack, better against the run and DE #44 Tyson Alualu
DT #98 Sealver Siliga an average pass rush threat. But, Alualu (bless you) has 7.5 NT #96 Kendrick Payne
NT #92 Kenape Eliapo sacks to lead Cal, proving he can be a major thorn in the side DE #97 Cameron Jordan
DE #41 Koa Misi of the Ute offensive tackles. TCU’s Jerry Hughes proved that LB #9 Eddie Young
LB #10 Stevenson Sylvester if you can drop the shoulder against Bergstrom, in particular, LB #10 Devin Bishop
LB #20 Mike Wright there’s a chance to really burst past him into the backfield. LB #18 Mike Mohamed
LB #59 Kepa Gaison And, that’s the goal for Alualu (bless you) this week - make LB #47 Keith Browner
CB #27 Brandon Burton Wynn throw early and force poor throws resulting in picks. CB #5 Syd’Quan Thompson
S #17 Robert Johnson S #11 Sean Cattouse
S #12 Joe Dale Will he or won’t he? Does it matter? - Many S #25 Brett Johnson
CB #25 R.J Stanford wonder whether Cal’s electric RB Jahvid Best will play in this CB #15 Bryant Nnabuife
game after the horrific fall he took scoring a TD against
Oregon State. But, in the end, it may not matter with the
Scout’s Corner emergence of Shane Vereen. All he’s done in those last three Scout’s Corner
LB Stevenson Sylvester games is average 29+ carries a game for over 140 yards per RT Mitchell Schwartz
6’2” 230 game and four touchdowns. With phone booth quickness and 6’6” 317
The Hammer...absolutely love the a toughness to match, Vereen has proven he can handle the Love this right tackle...very good
versatility/physicality/ feet...able to get to second level and
production....could honestly play a load, as he did with his 42 carries against Stanford. balance/feet to lock up
number of different positions on the Running Wide - The loss of RB Matt Asiata earlier in the linebackers...as all young right tackles
field...covers more than adequately do, needs some pass protection
for a linebacker...blitzes like a season was a massive blow for this Ute offense, but RB Eddie work...must get better handling inside
beast...could play in 3-4 or 4-3 wellWide emerged to save the Utes from a disastrous season. He pass rush, sliding laterally back inside
started in game four against Louisville and ran for 100 yards in
every game but two. One of those was the TCU game where
the Utes were behind from jump. Therein lies the rub for
Utah. If Wide is going to be a factor, the ‘D’ has to slow Cal
early and let Wide develop his identity in this game.
Conclusion - I couldn’t come to any consistent consensus on this game whatsoever. I really like Cal’s ability to pound Vereen 30
to 35 times, but I also like Wide doing the same thing for Utah. Washington hammered Cal late as did TCU to Utah. I have no
really good feel for this game, but if Jahvid Best does get on the field, I think Cal will have the only true home run hitter in this
game. Advantage Cal.
Cal - 34 vs. Utah - 30
Hawai’i Bowl
W, SF Austin 31-23 L, @ Notre Dame 0-35
W, @ UAB 35-33 SMU (7-5) vs. Nevada (8-4) L, @ Colorado St. 20-35
L, @ Wash. St. 27-30 (OT) L, Missouri 21-31
L, @ TCU 14-39 112.8 ypg - 100th Run Off. 362.3 ypg - 1st W, UNLV 63-28
W, East Carolina 28-21 W, La. Tech 37-14
L, Navy 35-38 (OT) 267.2 ypg - 28th Pass Off. 159.3 ypg - 107th W, @ Utah State 35-32
L, @ Houston 15-38 W, Idaho 70-45
W, @ Tulsa 27-13 379.9 ypg - 61st Total Off. 521.6 ypg - 2nd W, Hawai’i 31-21
W, Rice 31-28 W, @ San Jose State 62-7
W, UTEP 35-31 27.9 ppg - 54th Scoring Off. 40.6 ppg - 5th W, Fresno State 52-14
L, @ Marshall 31-34 W, @ New Mexico St. 63-20
W, Tulane 26-21 169.2 ypg - 88th Run Def. 114.7 ypg - 26th L, @ Boise State 33-44
Offense Offense
QB #2 Kyle Padron 404.0 ypg - 92nd Total Def. 398.9 ypg - 88th QB #10 Colin Kaepernick
RB #8 Shawnbrey McNeal RB #34 Vai Taua
WR #24 Aldrick Robinson 29.1 ppg - 90th Scoring Def. 27.2 ppg - 74th WR #14 Chris Wellington
WR #17 Emmanuel Sanders WR #4 Brandon Wimberly
Keys to the Game
WR #11 Cole Beasley WR #82 Tray Session
WR #18 Terrance Wilkerson Three the hard way - When you look at the box above and TE #85 Virgil Green
LT #70 Kelvin Beachum see that SMU is 88th against the run, I can’t help but think that LT #74 Steve Haley
LG #77 Josh LeRibeus Nevada is going to try to roll up 400+ yards on the ground against LG #62 John Bender
C #51 Mitch Enright the Mustangs. With three different ball carriers all having gone C #63 Kenneth Ackerman
RG #64 Bryce Tennison over 1,000 yards for the year (the first time in the history of RG #75 Chris Barker
RT #79 J.T. Brooks college football this has happened, it wouldn’t shock me in the RT #73 Alonzo Durham
Defense slightest if Nevada didn’t throw one pass. QB Colin Kaepernick Defense
DE #47 Taylor Thompson has rushed for 1,160 yards, while Vai Taua leads the Wolf Pack DE #55 Dontay Moch
NT #93 Chris Parham with 1,345 and Luke Lippincott ran for 1,034. And, while the DT #93 Zack Madonick
DE #99 Marquis Frazier Pistol offense is a sawed-off shotgun looking thing, it’s used more DT #95 Nate Agaiava
LB #45 Youri Yenga like a blunt weapon. The OL pounds on opponents and these DE #99 Kevin Basped
LB #52 Pete Fleps three can make any seam look like the parting of the Red Sea. LB LB #52 J.M Johnson
LB #9 Chase Kennemer Chase Kennemer will have his hands full stopping the 1-2-3 punch. LB #36 Mike Bethea
LB #56 Ja’Gared Davis Tackling is the key from everyone who puts a hat on in this game. LB #33 Brandon Marshall
CB #6 Bryant McCann One-on-one tackling is tough as Taua can run over you, CB #6 Doyle Miller
S #23 Chris Banjo Kaepernick by you and Lippincott around you. So, Kennemer S #25 Mo Harvey
S #10 Rock Dennis will need some safety help, in particular, to limit what Nevada’s S #49 Jonathon Amaya
CB #31 Bennie Thomas ground game can, and will do. CB #11 Antoine Thompson
Keep it quick - During the season, SMU QB Kyle Padron

Scout’s Corner took over as the starter and led SMU to four wins in five games to Scout’s Corner
WR Emmanuel Sanders get them eligible to head to a bowl for the first time since 1987. RB Vai Taua
5’11” 180 The key for Padron is to keep it short and grind out the clock. 5’10” 220
How fast do you want a receiver to Defines running downhill...there’s no
be...Sanders is that fast...a true deep Wait, wait, hold on a minute. The Run and Shoot is going to dancing or east/west running with
threat if there ever was one...can grind out the clock? Yep. The best defense for the Wolf Pack is Taua...one cut runner who has
stretch you deep, but can also make to leave them right there on the sideline. Plus, Padron wants to excelled in the Pistol offense...may be
you miss in space on quick screens avoid holding the ball for long stretches of time or Wolf Pack DE ever better in a zone scheme...good
and short out/slant routes...averaged vision...powerful runner who runs
Dontay Mock and Kevin Basped will eat him for lunch. Throw
20+ yards per catch in last four wins behind his pads...runs through tackles
short to Emmanuel Sanders and out of the backfield to
Shawnbrey McNeal and keep the chains moving.
Conclusion - There may not be a better contrast between a passing team and a running team in any other bowl game. SMU head
coach June Jones is returning to the island where he spent a number of years as the head coach at Hawai’i with his new team. But, his
biggest challenge will be keeping his kids from buying into the Hawai’i bowl syndrome, not to mention that not one of his players has
ever been to a bowl game. Nevada, on the other hand, goes to Hawai’i every other year and won’t be wowed by being there. Plus, the
Wolf Pack runs the ball makes me think it’s going to be a long day for the SMU defensive front seven. Nevada should roll in 2nd half
Nevada - 45 vs. SMU - 27

Meineke Car Care Bowl
W, The Citadel 40-6 W, Youngstown State 38-3
W, @ Connecticut 12-10 North Carolina (8-4) vs. Pitt (9-3) W, @ Buffalo 54-27
W, East Carolina 31-17 W, Navy 27-14
L, @ Georgia Tech 7-24 137.2 ypg - 75th Run Off. 184.6 ypg - 29th L, @ NC State 31-38
L, Virginia 3-16 W, @ Louisville 35-10
W, Ga. Southern 42-12 174.3 ypg - 102nd Pass Off. 215.3 ypg - 62nd W, Connecticut 24-21
L, Florida State 27-30 W, @ Rutgers 24-17
W, @ Va. Tech 20-17 311.4 ypg - 107th Total Off. 399.9 ypg - 45th W, USF 41-14
W, Duke 19-6 W, Syracuse 37-10
W, Miami 33-24 24.3 ppg - 81st Scoring Off. 33.2 ppg - 16th W, Notre Dame 27-22
W, @ Boston College 31-13 L, WVU 19-16
L, @ NC State 27-28 92.8 ypg - 9th Run Def. 108.4 ypg - 17th L, Cincinnati 44-45
Offense Offense
QB #13 TJ Yates 267.8 ypg - 8th Total Def. 323.9 ypg - 26th QB #11 Bill Stull
RB #32 Ryan Houston RB #28 Dion Lewis
FB #45 Devon Ramsay 16.9 ppg - 13th Scoring Def. 20.0 ppg - 21st FB #37 Henry Hynoski
WR #8 Greg Little TE #83 Dorin Dickerson
WR #88 Erik Highsmith Keys to the Game WR #82 Jonathan Baldwin
TE #17 Zack Pianalto The Wow in this Pitt offense - Shame on you if you WR #88 Oderick Turner
LT #72 Kyle Jolly haven’t had a chance to see Pitt freshman star RB Dion Lewis. LT #77 Jason Pinkston
LG #64 Jonathan Cooper Not only is he the most electrifying player in the Big East, he’s LG #56 Joe Thomas
C #69 Lowell Dyer an absolute ball carrying beast. How many times do you see a C #64 Robb Houser
RG #70 Alan Pelc guy his size carry the stone 47 times in the biggest game of the RG #74 John Malecki
RT #66 Mike Ingersoll year as he did against Cincinnati? Never. How about 73 times RT #52 Lucas Nix
Defense total in the last two games against ranked opponents? Never. Defense
DE #92 E.J Wilson Yet, every swinger in the building knew that #28 was taking a DE #91 Greg Romeus
DT #9 Marvin Austin handoff on nearly every play in the Cincinnati and WVU DT #95 Mick Williams
DT #93 Cam Thomas games. But, those two defenses don’t hold a candle to the DT #93 Gus Mustakas
DE #42 Robert Quinn stout UNC defense. Tar Heels have one of the fastest front DE #97 Jabaal Sheard
LB #52 Quan Sturdivant sevens in the nation and are ninth in the nation stopping the OLB #38 Greg Williams
LB #48 Kevin Reddick run. But, Lewis doesn’t need much space inside to make you MLB #8 Adam Gunn
LB #54 Bruce Carter miss and get to the second level. You just have to wonder how OLB #55 Max Gruder
CB #12 Charles Brown many carries will he have in this one. 50? Maybe. He could CB #17 Aaron Berry
S #21 Da’Norris Searcy do it. SS #31 Dom DeCicco
S #27 Deunta Williams FS #18 Jarred Holley
CB #16 Kendric Burney Z to the P - I think one of the most underrated offensive CB #7 Jovani Chappel
assets this North Carolina team has is TE Zach Pianalto.
When the talented pass catcher went down with an injury
Scout’s Corner earlier this year, it about stalled out the Tar Heel offense. He Scout’s Corner
LB Quan Sturdivant played in eight games and averaged right at four catches a RB Dion Lewis
6’2” 235 game. Pitt will get a ton of pressure with its duo at DE - Greg 5’8” 185
One of the most underrated players/ Romeus and Jabaal Sheard, so QB TJ Yates will need his outlet Quick as a hiccup...best freshman
LBs in the ACC and in the back this season, although he wasn’t a
nation...excellent tackler...had 75 throughout the entire game. That’s Pianalto. big name coming into the season...has
tackles on the season...still needs The Last Game? - UNC DT Marvin Austin was one of great feet in space...doesn’t need a lot
some work reading and deciphering to make you miss...runs up inside
plays...should transition to the WLB the most ballyhooed recruits to come to Chapel Hill when he well...gets to 2nd level in a hurry
position at next level...quick and fast decided to attend North Carolina three years ago. He’s far which presents problems for LB/S.
from a finished product, but NFL personnel like the potential
they see in Austin. He’s quick and plays light on his feet, can
stack and shed but many wonder if his motor is going 100% of
the time. Well, against the Pitt’s strong interior we’ll find out.
Conclusion - I thought that we’d see UNC making an appearance in a higher profile bowl this season, but given the way the
Gator Bowl handled its selection, the Tar Heels head back to Charlotte. In the end, I think Pitt has a more balance offense, even
with Lewis carrying it 1,000 times. QB Bill Stull can make plays in the passing game that TJ Yates can’t. Pitt won’t lose a 3rd in a row
Pitt - 27 vs. UNC - 19

Emerald Bowl
W, San Jose St. 56-3 W, Northeastern 54-0
W, @ Ohio State 18-15 USC (8-4) vs. Boston College (8-4) W, Kent State 34-7
L, @ Washington 13-16 L, @ Clemson 7-25
W, Washington St. 27-6 173.3 ypg - 39th Run Off. 140.5 ypg - 70th W, Wake Forest 27-24 (OT)
W, @ Cal 30-3 W, FSU 28-21
W, @ Notre Dame 34-27 211.7 ypg - 68th Pass Off. 184.4 ypg - 94th L, @ Va. Tech 14-48
W, Oregon St. 42-36 W, NC State 52-20
L, @ Oregon 20-47 385.0 ypg - 58th Total Off. 324.9 ypg - 97th L, @ Notre Dame 16-20
W, @ Arizona State 14-9 W, Central Michigan 31-10
L, Stanford 21-55 26.7 ppg - 64th Scoring Off. 25.8 ppg - 71st W, @ Virginia 14-10
W, UCLA 28-7 L, North Carolina 13-31
L, Arizona 17-21 131.0 ypg - 42nd Run Def. 104.4 ypg - 15th W, @ Maryland 19-17
Projected Starting Lineups 211.8 ypg - 53rd Pass Def. 214.0 ypg - 55th Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #7 Matt Barkley 342.8 ypg - 43rd Total Def. 318.4 ypg - 23rd QB #15 David Shinskie
RB #4 Joe McKnight RB #2 Montel Harris
FB #31 Stanley Havili 20.4 ppg - 22nd Scoring Def. 19.4 ppg - 18th FB #87 Lars Anderson
WR #8 Ronald Johnson WR #18 Rich Gunnell
Keys to the Game
WR #18 Damian Williams WR #82 Justin Jarvis
TE #86 Anthony McCoy Still a rookie or ready to move up? - I didn’t talk much TE #81 Chris Pantale
T #71 Charles Brown about true freshman USC QB Matt Barkley throughout this LT #74 Anthony Castonzo
G #53 Jeff Byers season. I didn’t go out of my way to not talk about him, but it just LG #75 Nathan Richman
C #61 Kris O’Dowd happened that I never really felt that he was a vital component for C #65 Matt Tennant
G #76 Nick Howell this offense. But, guess what? He NEEDS to be now. It’s time RG #78 Thomas Claiborne
T #70 Tyron Smith for the Mater Dei HS graduate to make a statement against a solid RT #66 Rich Lapham
Defense defense that can put pressure on him throughout the game. It’s Defense
DE #93 Everson Griffen no longer the time to protect Barkley - coaching wise, I mean. DE #47 Brad Newman
DE #96 Wes Horton He’s got to let loose. he’s got weapons - Damian Williams is a stud DT #64 Nick Rossi
DT #44 Christian Tupou and Anthony McCoy is a MAN. But, OC Jeremy Bates has to let DT #55 Damik Scafe
DT #91 Jurrell Casey him go. Be a rookie and throw the check downs or be a next level DE #86 Jim Ramella
LB #54 Chris Galippo player and spread it out all over the field. BC’s secondary isn’t LB #53 Mike Morrissey
LB #17 Michael Morgan Florida’s or Texas’s, so give him the ball and let him sink or swim. LB #40 Luke Kuechly
LB #6 Malcolm Smith The center of attention - Kris O’Dowd didn’t pick up any LB #34 Mike McLaughlin
S #2 Taylor Mays hardware or even garner attention as the best center in America CB #9 DeLeon Gause
S #26 Will Harris this year. An 8-4 disappointing season will do that, but O’Dowd S #8 Marcellus Bowman
CB #36 Josh Pinkard was also felled by an injury out of the chute. But, in this matchup, S #45 Wes Davis
CB #15 Kevin Thomas he’ll be a key to the USC offense’s execution. With Barkley not CB #20 Roderick Rollins
quite at a level where he can carry the offense, the run game has to
be strong up inside. Now, Boston College was superb (and big)
Scout’s Corner Scout’s Corner
there last year with Ron Brace and BJ Raji, but not as much this
S Taylor Mays LB Luke Kuechly
year. USC can run right at BC with the inside zone and power/
6’3” 230 6’3” 225
Monster hitter...Intimidating in the isolation plays behind O’Dowd and the interior of the USC line. Freshman who has popped on the
middle of the field, but probably at his Pound it - When you have a longtime defensive coordinator scene and taken advantage of Mark
best when he’s around the box Herzlich’s absence due to
against run...WRs look for him on take over as the head coach, it’s hard to imagine that team cancer...quick as can be...finds the ball
pass routes...not great at all in throwing the ball all over the yard. Case in point - Boston College in a hurry...doesn’t miss tackles...leads
coverage...too fast to be wasted at LB in 2009. Former DC Frank Spaziani took over for the departed the ACC with 142...plays the pass
but needs work in coverage to stay S. Jeff Jagodzinski and turned RB Montel Harris into a star. Relying well...what a duo w/Herzlich next yr.
heavily on the run game, Spaziani wasn’t about to let his offense
put the defense in a bad spot. As such, he pounded Harris over
20+ times a game (285 carries for 1,355 yards). But, USC hasn’t
proven it can stop a smashmouth run game. Oregon State,
Stanford and Oregon ran right over USC. Can BC do it with
Harris? We’ll see, but trust me, they won’t do it any other way.
Conclusion - Barkley will be up and down throughout, but the USC run game will find success with Joe McKnight and Allen
Bradford.
USC - 21 vs. Boston College - 9

Little Caesars Bowl
W, So. Illinois 31-28 L, Connecticut 16-23
L, @ Va. Tech 10-52 Marshall (6-6) vs. Ohio (9-4) W, @ No. Texas 31-30 (OT)
W, Bowling Green 17-10 W, Cal Poly 28-10
W, @ Memphis 27-16 138.8 ypg - 72nd Run Off. 119.7 ypg - 94th L, @ Tennessee 23-34
L, East Carolina 17-21 W, @ Bowling Green 44-37
W, @ Tulane 31-10 216.5 ypg - 61st Pass Off. 204.9 ypg - 77th W, @ Akron 19-7
L, @ West Virginia 7-24 W, Miami OH 28-7
W, UAB 27-7 355.3 ypg - 78th Total Off. 324.5 ypg - 98th L, Kent State 11-20
L, @ UCF 20-21 W, @ Ball State 20-17
L, USM 20-27 21.8 ppg - 94th Scoring Off. 25.4 ppg - 75th W, @ Buffalo 27-24
W, SMU 34-31 W, NIU 38-31
L, @ UTEP 21-52 145.1 ypg - 62nd Run Def. 150.9 ypg - 71st W, Temple 35-17
L, CMU 10-20
Projected Starting Lineups 247.4 ypg - 99th Pass Def. 203.2 ypg - 41st Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #12 Brian Anderson 392.5 ypg - 80th Total Def. 354.2 ypg - 52nd QB #3 Theo Scott OR
RB #5 Darius Marshall #4 Tyler Tettleton
WR #3 Aaron Dobson 24.9 ppg - 59th Scoring Def. 21.3 ppg - 33rd RB #2 Chris Garrett
WR #26 Jamal Wilson WR #11 Terrence McCrae
WR #82 Antavious Wilson Keys to the Game WR #23 Taylor Price
TE #16 Lee Smith The return - One year after tearing an ACL and ruining WR #87 Steven Goulet
LT #78 Brandon Campbell what was supposed to be a dream season, you didn’t know TE #88 Jordan Thompson
LG #73 Ryan Tillman quite what to expect from DE Albert McClellan. The senior LT #57 Chris Rodgers
C #71 Chad Schofield from Lakeland came back this year with something to prove LG #79 A.J. Strum
RG #76 Jimmy Rogers but you could tell he’d lost a little of the burst that made him a C #58 David White
RT #79 Daniel Baldridge 2008 pre-season Defensive Player of the Year candidate. RG #77 Eric Herman
Defense However, he did rack up three sacks and 2nd team All- RT #78 Joe Flading
DE #96 Albert McClellan conference honors, proving that he can still effect the game Defense
DT #90 Michael Janac from the edge. Ohio QB Theo Scott won’t be a statue in the DE #51 Dak Notestine
DT #58 James Burkes pocket (if he plays), so McClellan will have to chase DT #95 Ernie Hodge
DE #99 Vinny Curry throughout the game. But, I think he proved that chasing is DT #62 Marcellis Williamson
LB #30 Mario Harvey what he does best. DE #36 Stafford Gatling
LB #35 Kellen Harris LB #32 Lee Renfro
LB #8 Brandon Burns LB #47 Noah Keller
CB #6 Ahmed Shakoor 2 by 2 takes on a whole different meaning - Ohio CB #22 Shannon Ballard
S #20 Ashton Hall LB Noah Keller racked up 138 tackles this season, seemingly CB #4 Idris Lawrence**
S #31 Omar Brown two at a time. Regardless, the Bobcat was second in the league S #12 Thad Turner
CB #17 DeQuan Bembry in tackles and that got him 2nd team honors? No one is more S #13 Gerald Moore
dangerous in bowl season than someone/some team with CB #20 Patrick Tafua
something to prove. Keller is as good a middle linebacker as
you’re going to find in college football. He reads plays
RB Darius Marshall exceptionally well, is a solid tackler and now has even more QB Theo Scott
5’10” 190 motivation to prove that he deserved more. Marshall RB 6’2” 210
Quicksilver...has home run hitting Ankle problems have plagued Scott as
ability if he can catch a seam in the Darius Marshall is a tough runner, but Keller will be ready. well...came in and out of the MAC
defense...but is productive as championship game...as he went, so
heck...will carry it a ton...had five did this Ohio offense...good size for a
games of 25+ carries...ankle was a Mindset - Marshall, obviously, made a bowl game for the dual threat QB...runs well and has
problem in final two games of the
first time in years and the coach was fired. It’s not a formula decent arm...when healthy, he has the
season...if healthy, he’s MU’s weapon quicks to avoid rush...is he though?
you expect, but, well, Mark Snyder was fired after the season
ended, even though Marshall is heading to Detroit. So, does
Marshall show up or pack it in? There are many in the
Huntington, WV area that think this crew packed it in three
game ago and that’s why Snyder had to go. Regardless, you’ll
know right away if Marshall’s in this one or there for the pizza.
Conclusion - I, honestly, don’t know what to expect from Marshall in this one. It’s lost three of the last four and didn’t even
compete against UTEP. Not to mention, offensively Marshall is a one man band. I think if Theo Scott can play, Ohio is going to win
Ohio - 16 vs. Marshall - 10

Music City Bowl
W, @ Miami OH 42-0 W, MTSU 37-14
W, Louisville 31-27 Kentucky (7-5) vs. Clemson (8-5) L, @ Ga. Tech 27-30
L, Florida 7-41 W, Boston College 25-7
L, Alabama 20-38 193.3 ypg - 21st Run Off. 169.6 ypg - 44th L, TCU 10-14
L, @ South Carolina 26-28 L, @ Maryland 21-24
W, @ Auburn 21-14 142.8 ypg - 114th Pass Off. 195.9 ypg - 86th W, Wake Forest 38-3
W, ULM 36-13 W, @ Miami 40-37 (OT)
L, Miss. State 24-31 336.1 ypg - 90th Total Off. 365.5 ypg - 69th W, Coastal Carolina 49-3
W, Eastern Kent. 37-12 W, Florida State 40-24
W, @ Vanderbilt 24-13 27.2 ppg - 63rd Scoring Off. 31.9 ppg - 24th W, @ NC State 43-23
W, @ Georgia 34-27 W, Virginia 34-21
L, Tennessee 24-30 (OT) 183.2 ypg - 100th Run Def. 150.3 ypg - 69th L, @ South Carolina 17-34
L, Ga. Tech (Tampa) 39-34
179.8 ypg - 18th Pass Def. 166.9 ypg - 11th
Projected Starting Lineups Projected Starting Lineups
Offense 362.9 ypg - 59th Total Def. 317.2 ypg - 22nd Offense
QB #12 Morgan Newton QB #11 Kyle Parker
RB #20 Derrick Locke 22.8 ppg - 44th Scoring Def. 21.0 ppg - 27th RB #28 C.J Spiller
FB #38 John Conner WR #6 Jacoby Ford
Keys to the Game
WR #8 Chris Matthews WR #87 Terrance Ashe
WR #18 Randall Cobb One final time - Sometimes bowl games are a little WR #21 Xavier Dye
TE #86 Ross Bogue depressing. You realize that this is the final time you’ll see that TE #86 Michael Palmer
LT #72 Zipp Duncan player you’ve loved since the first time you saw him four years ago. LT #61 Chris Hairston
LG #78 Christian Johnson This is one of those games with the great C.J. Spiller. Clemson LG #65 Thomas Austin
C #61 Jorge Gonzalez won eight games this year and it’s not a stretch to say that they’re C #55 Dalton Freeman
RG #70 Stuart Hines not even in a bowl without the exploits of the former Union RG #74 Antoine McClain
RT #75 Brad Durham County, FL star. He’s scored a touchdown in every game this year RT #72 Landon Walker
Defense and in every way imaginable. His number is already being retired Defense
DE #94 Taylor Wyndham and he’ll be a legend in Clemson lore. Here’s a guy who on a bum DE #93 DaQuan Bowers
DT #53 Ricky Lumpkin wheel ran for 233 yards and four TDs in the ACC Championship NT #99 Jarvis Jenkins
DT #91 Corey Peters game, doing everything he could to get the Tigers to the Orange DT #98 Brandon Thompson
DE #55 DeQuin Evans Bowl. And, he almost singlehandedly did it. Against Kentucky, DE #7 Ricky Sapp
LB #50 Sam Maxwell he’ll have a huge bulls eye on his chest, but you know what, he’s OLB #24 Kevin Alexander
LB #4 Micah Johnson carried one for four years. With nearly a month to get rest and get MLB #20 Brandon Maye
LB #22 Danny Trevathan healthy, Spiller has one final time to show off the entire array of OLB #33 Kavell Conner
CB #34 Paul Warford skills against an SEC opponent. CB #38 Chris Chancellor
S #33 Calvin Harrison Jack of all trades - When you watched Kentucky this year, it SS #2 DeAndre McDaniel
S #21 Winston Guy was sometimes difficult to keep up. One play you’d see Randall FS #12 Marcus Gilchrist
CB #32 Trevard Lindley Cobb at receiver. Then, you’d see him under center. Then, CB #18 Crezdon Butler
running back. Back to receiver. And, you get the point. Perhaps,
the most underrated dangerous multi-dimensional weapon in the
LB Micah Johnson DE Ricky Sapp
country, Cobb is one reason why the Clemson defense can’t get
6’2” 258 6’4” 248
Prototypical two down linebacker at comfortable in this game. He ran it 84 times this season and had One of the best athletes in the
the next level...thumper in the 37 receptions, throwing it 10 times. #18 will be all over the place ACC...I’ve got to think that NFL
middle...tough and stout against the and Clemson must limit his impact on this game. player personnel people are drooling
run, but is a pretty good athlete as over a guy like Sapp as a 3-4
well...runs through ball carriers and But, he’s still a rookie - The insertion of freshman Morgan OLB...has great burst off the
bring a little something when he Newton into the Kentucky lineup as the starting QB was perhaps ball...must learn to play from up
arrives...pass coverage about average the best move the Kentucky staff made all season long. Now, he’s position...can’t play 4-3 DE...4-3 OLB?
faced SEC defenses throughout his short career, but he has never
been in a bowl before, obviously. Clemson’s DEs, Ricky Sapp and
DaQuan Bowers are a nightmare for anyone, but a freshman? Oh
boy. Newton must stay composed and avoid mistakes throughout.
Conclusion - I remember West Virginia QB Pat White willing his Mountaineer team to a win last year in the Meineke Car Care
Bowl and can’t get that image out of my head. In Spiller’s last game, I can’t foresee the great one letting his team lose, but it’ll be
close as Kentucky’s athletic defense will frustrate Spiller early, but he’ll breakaway in the second half and finish his career properly.
Clemson - 28 vs. Kentucky - 24

Independence Bowl
W, New Mexico 41-6 L, @ Ok. State 10-24
W, Utah State 38-30 Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Georgia (7-5) W, South Carolina 41-37
W, UAB 56-19 W, @ Arkansas 52-41
L, Ark. (Arlington) 19-47 190.4 ypg - 25th Run Off. 157.1 ypg - 54th W, Arizona State 20-17
L, Oklahoma State 31-36 L, LSU 13-20
L, @ Kansas State 14-62 274.9 ypg - 22nd Pass Off. 204.8 ypg - 78th L, @ Tennessee 19-45
W, @ Texas Tech 52-30 W, @ Vanderbilt 34-10
W, Iowa State 35-10 465.3 ypg - 5th Total Off. 361.8 ypg - 73rd L, @ Florida (Jax) 17-41
L, @ Colorado 34-35 W, Tenn. Tech 38-0
L, @ Oklahoma 10-65 33.9 ppg - 15th Scoring Off. 27.7 ppg - 58th W, Auburn 31-24
W, Baylor 38-3 L, Kentucky 27-34
L, Texas 39-49 168.6 ypg - 87th Run Def. 127.6 ypg - 41st W, @ Georgia Tech 24-30
Projected Starting Lineups 262.8 ypg - 111th Pass Def. 200.8 ypg - 33rd Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #1 Jerrod Johnson 431.3 ypg - 107th Total Def. 328.4 ypg - 30th QB #14 Joe Cox
RB #32 Cyrus Gray RB #24 Washaun Ealey
FB/TE #4 Jamie McCoy 32.7 ppg - 104th Scoring Def. 26.4 ppg - 70th FB #49 Shaun Chapas
WR #8 Jeff Fuller Keys to the Game WR #12 Tavarres King
WR #17 Ryan Tannehill If it’s going to change... - One guy doth not make a WR #8 A.J Green
WR #7 Uzoma Nwachukwu Wrecking Crew, but if you had ten other Trent Hunters, the TE #81 Aron White
LT #76 Michael Shumard Aggies would be well on their way. The Aggie defense, as has been LT #60 Clint Boling
LG #65 Evan Eike well documented this season, has struggled mightily stopping LG #71 Cordy Glenn
C #63 Kevin Matthews teams with an offensive pulse - whether it’s guys out of position, C #61 Ben Jones
RG #61 Patrick Lewis players just not able to make plays or a combination of both; the RG #63 Chris Davis
RT #74 Lee Grimes one shining star on this defense is Hunter, who leads the Ags in RT #78 Josh Davis
Defense tackles with 87. But, with Hunter it’s not so much about Defense
DE #55 Matt Moss production as is it is effort. Down 65-10 at Oklahoma, he was still DE #42 Justin Houston
DT #77 Lucas Patterson hustling and sprinting to keep an OU ball carrier from the end DT #95 Jeff Owens
DT #19 Eddie Brown zone. The talent isn’t there on that side of the ball, but Hunter is DT #91 Kade Weston
Jack #40 Von Miller trying to keep it together. Tough task against Georgia, but I know DE #58 Demarcus Dobbs
LB #37 Michael Hodges one guy who’ll never quit - the pride of Katy High School Trent LB #51 Akeem Dent
LB #8 Garrick Williams Hunter. LB #35 Rennie Curran
LB #11 Jonathan Stewart LB #50 Darryl Gamble
CB #7 Terrence Frederick He’s not Knowshon, but he’ll work - Throughout the CB #2 Brandon Boykin
S #1 Trent Hunter Georgia season, the question of who would eventually fill the S #9 Reshad Jones
S #25 Jordan Pugh shoes of Knowshon Moreno never truly was answered. Until S #3 Bryan Evans
CB #22 Dustin Harris Thanksgiving. Finally, on the road at Georgia Tech, Washaun CB #23 Prince Miller
Ealey reached up and grabbed the starting spot by the horns and
wouldn’t let go. He toted it 20 times for 183 yards and put a
Scout’s Corner hurting on the #7 ranked Yellow Jackets. After missing the first Scout’s Corner
WR Jeff Fuller four games, Ealey has been consistent. He runs a lot like LB Rennie Curran
6’4” 215 Knowshon and could keep the vaunted Texas A&M offense on the 5’11” 225
Unreal skills receiver wise...has the Tough and fast...and by fast, I mean,
sideline.
best hands of any receiver I’ve seen lightning fast...has safety size and will
this year...does not have breakaway The Next Best Big 12 QB - When filling out your pre- have to move to safety at the next
speed, but will be a 12-15 yard level...unless team wants speedy
intermediate area route runner at the season All Big 12 team next season, you might as well write in pen weakside linebacker...tackles well and
next level...liken him to a bigger, less QB Jerrod Johnson. Thanksgiving night, Johnson put on a show doesn’t give up much on
talented Anquan Boldin. throwing for 324 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to 97 collision...plays w/great effort...smart
yards rushing. I don’t reckon he’ll be running much against the
Dawgs, but he’ll be slinging it for sure. There isn’t a throw that he
can’t make and he’ll mix it up against a shaken up UGA defense.
Early in the Texas game, he went deep and he may do it again to
get this offense some early momentum in this game. Once he gets
in rhythm, look out.
Conclusion - Shreveport’s last Big 12-SEC matchup is a good one. Neither team plays solid, consistent defense, but Georgia has
the capabilities to make more plays on that side of the ball. As such, it’s going to be a shootout with one play made by the UGA ‘D’.
Georgia - 41 vs. Texas A&M - 34

Champs Bowl
2009 Schedule 2009 Schedule
W, @ Florida St. 38-34
Dec. 29, 2009 - ESPN 7 PM CST W, NIU 28-20
W, Georgia Tech 33-17 Miami (9-3) vs. Wisconsin (9-3) W, Fresno State 34-31 (OT)
L, @ Va. Tech 7-31 W, Wofford 44-14
W, Oklahoma 21-20 144.4 ypg - 62nd Run Off. 206.7 ypg - 14th W, Michigan State 38-30
W, FAMU 48-16 W, @ Minnesota 31-28
W, @ UCF 27-7 268.1 ypg - 27th Pass Off. 209.2 ypg - 71st L, @ Ohio State 13-31
L, Clemson 37-40 (OT) L, Iowa 10-20
W, @ Wake Forest 28-27 412.5 ypg - 36th Total Off. 415.8 ypg - 34th W, Purdue 37-0
W, Virginia 52-17 W, @ Indiana 31-28
L, @ North Carolina 24-33 31.7 ppg - 27th Scoring Off. 32.8 ppg - 21st W, Michigan 45-24
W, Duke 34-16 L, @ Northwestern 31-33
W, @ USF 31-10 118.3 ypg - 28th Run Def. 90.5 ypg - 8th W, @ Hawai’i 51-10
Offense Offense
QB #12 Jacory Harris 321.3 ypg - 25th Total Def. 310.4 ypg - 18th QB #16 Scott Tolzien
RB #2 Graig Coopers RB #32 John Clay
FB #5 Javarris James 22.3 ppg - 40th Scoring Def. 22.4 ppg - 41st WR #6 Isaac Anderson
WR #85 Leonard Hankerson WR #1 Nick Toon
WR #47 LaRon Byrd
Keys to the Game TE #Lance Kendricks
TE #80 Jimmy Graham Foxy - He didn’t get as much run as an All-American as he TE #89 Garrett Graham
LT #64 Jason Fox probably deserved, but LT Jason Fox was as good protecting QB LT #68 Gabe Carimi
LG #74 Orlando Franklin Jacory Harris as anyone was on the left side this season. He was LG #74 John Moffitt
C #70 A.J Trump injured (irregular heartbeat) and missed the USF finale, but Fox’s C #66 Peter Konz
RG #61 Joel Figueroa performance this season was right in line with many of the draft RG #70 Kevin Zeitler
RT #65 Matt Pipho projections that have him as a first/second round draft pick. RT #78 Jake Bscherer
Defense Against Wisconsin, Fox is hugely important given two stellar pass Defense
DE #90 Steven Wesley rush DEs - O’Brien Schofield and J.J Watt. Schofield is a bit DE #50 O’Brien Schofield
DT #91 Joe Joseph quicker, but Watt is relentless. Fox has the feet and the strength DT # 45 Dan Moore
DT #92 Josh Holmes to stay with both, but he’s got to be consistent to the whistle DT #79 Jeff Stehle
DE #57 Allen Bailey when facing both guys. He shouldn’t need some help, but if the DE #99 J.J. Watt
LB #44 Colin McCarthy backs - Graig Cooper, Damien Berry and/or Javarris James - chip LB #47 Jaevery McFadden
LB #50 Darryl Sharpton on either one on their way out to a route, so be it. Fox shouldn’t LB #15 Culmer St. Jean
LB #45 Ramon Buchanon need it. LB #44 Chris Borland
CB #1 Brandon Harris Has he taken charge? - Midseason in Madison was an CB #29 Niles Brinkley
S #37 Jared Campbell interesting time. Coaches were a bit upset with the Big 10 S #2 Jay Valai
S #Randy Phillips Offensive Player of the Year John Clay because they didn’t think S #21 Chris Maragos
CB #8 DeMarcus Van Dyke he was grasping onto the starting position and locking in. Clay CB #10 Devin Smith
ran for only 75 yards against the stout Iowa defense, but after that
Scout’s Corner week, he did take charge, rushing for 100+ yards the last five Scout’s Corner
RB Javarris James weeks. Clay is an absolute load running behind Gabe Carimi and DE O’Brien Schofield
6’ 208 company, which could be a problem for a smaller, but lightning 6’2” 248
Downhill runner...doesn’t get full-time quick Miami defensive front seven. Relentless...like the energizer
carries...does a lot of what Edge did bunny...doesn’t ever quit on the
back in the day...however, Javarris isn’t A pair of tight ends - The University of Miami has play...will use his speed and effort to
as effective as a runner as Edge cultivated tight ends over the past three decades, especially in the get sacks if the QB holds the ball too
was...he runs behind his pads and 2000s. Jeremy Shockey and Kellen Winslow were brilliant, so it’s long...uses his quick first step to beat
doesn’t dance much...doesn’t quitenot surprise that Jimmy Graham and Dedrick Epps have been a tackles, but incorporate more pass
have break away speed, but who cares rush moves...moves to 3-4 LB in NFL
tough pair for opposing defenses to cover. But, Wisconsin has a
pair of tight ends to rival Miami’s. Garrett Graham and Lance
Kendricks are second and fourth, respectively, in receiving for the
Badgers. One of these four will break out and have a big game.
Conclusion - The Badgers bounced back from a demoralizing loss to Northwestern, hammering Hawai’i on the island 51-10, but
the Hurricanes are a different mountain to climb. Wisconsin hasn’t seen a quarterback with the accuracy, touch and moxie that
Jacory Harris possesses. The Hurricanes will often max protect to give Harris plenty of time to throw. With that time, he’ll throw
for 275+ yds. and three TDs in a Hurricane victory, while Epps and Graham both have touchdowns down in the red zone.
Miami - 34 vs. Wisconsin - 24

What to Watch for in Today’s Bowl Games
The Ten Things to Watch for Today December 30, 2009
1. Temple is making a bowl appearance for the first time since Jimmy Carter was still
in office (1979). In fact, this is the first winning season for them in about the same
amount of time. But, taking the field for the Eagle Bank Bowl, head coach Al Golden
will have them right where no one thought they would be. Beating a name program
like UCLA should be another recruiting boost for Golden and his up-and-coming
program.
2. The UCLA defense is one of the best in the nation, but it doesn’t get as much
credit because of the 6-6 record. Watch this bunch today.
3. Speaking of UCLA, how about the fabulous FS Rahim Moore? I love watching this
guy play and I think that you will as well. He’s a little different than most FS in
college football today - he’s better making plays on the ball and not as much filling in
run support. But, he is as good as any young player I’ve seen at doing just that.
4. Beast Watch Alert...Outland Trophy finalist Mike Iupati will finally get a national
stage. For those of you that haven’t seen him...well, that’s like 99.99% of the nation.
Tune in.
5. In the same breath and in the same game, so you can kill two birds with one stone,
proverbially of course, record setting Bowling Green WR Freddie Barnes faces an
Idaho secondary that could get torched. Expect BGSU QB Tyler Sheehan to throw to
Barnes over 20 times in this one.
6. Idaho hasn’t had the bowl track record of its state counterpart Boise State, but
head coach Robb Akey rid this program of coach-killers and bad guys and set it going
in the right direction.
7. Suh...enough said.
8. I’m a big Roy Helu Jr. fan and I love to watch him run as he runs hard. Last time
out though, he ran into the Texas defense and found 15 Longhorns ready to tackle him
every play. However, I think he can have a solid game against the athletic Arizona
defense.
9. One of the best defensive backs in the nation that no one talks about is Trevin
Wade at Arizona. He’s a lockdown corner and his matchup with Niles Paul is worth
the price of admission.
10. Last time Arizona and Nebraska hooked up in the Holiday Bowl, it was one heck
of an entertaining matchup (1998). This game doesn’t have the look of one with a ton
of points scored, but the defenses will show up and be physical. Tons of hard hitting.
Eagle Bank Bowl
W, San Diego St. 33-14 L, Villanova 24-27
W, @ Tennessee 19-15 UCLA (6-6) vs. Temple (9-3) L, @ Penn St. 6-31
W, Kansas St. 23-9 W, Buffalo 37-13
L, @ Stanford 16-24 116.4 ypg - 98th Run Off. 192.3 ypg - 23rd W, @ Eastern Mich. 24-12
L, Oregon 10-24 W, Ball State 24-19
L, Cal 26-45 222.9 ypg - 52nd Pass Off. 145.4 ypg - 112th W, Army 27-13
L, @ Arizona 13-27 W, @ Toledo 40-24
L, @ Oregon State 19-26 339.3 ypg - 88th Total Off. 337.8 ypg - 89th W, @ Navy 27-24
W, Washington 24-23 W, Miami OH 34-32
W, @ Wash. State 43-7 21.3 ppg - 99th Scoring Off. 30.3 ppg - 35th W, @ Akron 56-17
W, Arizona State 23-13 W, Kent State 47-13
L, @ USC 7-28 144.4 ypg - 60th Run Def. 108.8 ypg - 19th L, @ Ohio 17-35
Offense Offense
QB #14 Kevin Prince 338.3 ypg - 39th Total Def. 335.7 ypg - 37th QB #7 Chester Stewart
RB #42 Chane Moline RB #22 Matt Brown OR
FB #31 Trevor Theriot 21.3 ppg - 32nd Scoring Def. 21.7 ppg - 34th #30 Bernard Pierce
WR #82 Taylor Embree Keys to the Game WR #84 Michael Campbell
WR #4 Terrence Austin WR #10 Delano Green
Nothing is free when Moore is around - The free
TE #86 Logan Paulsen WR #26 Joe Jones
safety position in college football is littered with some of the best
LT #56 Xavier Su’a-Filo TE #86 Steve Maneri
players in the nation. Eric Berry. Earl Thomas. Tyler Sash. And,
LG #60 Jeff Baca LT #73 Devin Tyler
you’d better add the name Rahim Moore to that list of great
C #51 Kai Maiava LG #76 Steve Caputo
players because the ball hawk may be as good or better than any
RG #57 Jake Dean C #77 John Palumbo
of the aforementioned names on the list. The sophomore safety
RT #65 Mike Harris RG #70 Colin Madison
leads the nation with 9 interceptions, racking up five in the first
Defense RT #71 Darius Morris
two games of the season. Why is Moore a key in this game? Well,
DE #56 Datone Jones Defense
without RB Bernard Pierce, the Owls may have trouble running
DT #92 Brian Price DE #43 Adrian Robinson
the ball and have to rely on QB Chester Stewart or Vaughn
DT #90 Jerzy Siewierski DT #96 Muhammed Wilkerson
Charlton to move the chains. The two have combined for 12
DE #55 Korey Bosworth NT #2 Andre Neblett
picks this season and Moore is looking to add to his total.
LB #10 Akeem Ayers DE #56 Amara Kamara
LB #51 Reggie Carter Edge Matchup - One of the most important matchups in this LB #46 John Haley
LB #54 Kyle Bosworth game is going to be out on the perimeter with Temple’s sack LB #4 Alex Joseph
CB #22 Sheldon Price leading DE Adrian Robinson against the talented true freshman LB #40 Joran Martin
S #6 Tony Dye left tackle Xavier Su’a-Filo. Robinson has racked up 11 sacks on CB #16 Maurice Jones
S #3 Rahim Moore the season, but has only two in the last three games, including S #6 Dominique Harris
CB #1 Alterraun Verner none in the MAC East de facto championship game against Ohio. S #5 Jaiquawn Jarrett
Su’a-Filo has the ability to be a solid tackle at the next level, but CB #37 Kevin Kroboth
he’s not a finished product after 12 games. He got pushed around
a ton at the beginning of the season, but as the season progressed
DT Brian Price he improved and is growing into the position (2nd team freshman RB Matt Brown
6’2” 300 All-American). But, he’ll need some help with Robinson on 5’5” 167
Second level defensive tackle behind Smaller than your 9-year old son, but
Suh and McCoy...doesn’t have the raw occasion. tough as a firecracker...runs
size that you’d want out of a DT, but Can Pierce be replaced? - Whippet quick running back hard...doesn’t dance, but has wiggle to
not small...thick trunk...can get a push make you miss...if you have hands on
on the QB inside...pursues in the Matt Brown will have the spotlight to himself against the stout him, he doesn’t get much after
middle...has to play the ‘3’ technique UCLA defense. Bernard Pierce was gathering some national contact...nice change of pace back,
and probably can’t play 3-4 DE momentum with a brilliant start to the season, but an injury but has to be starter with Pierce out
knocked him out, presumably, for this game. Brown is quicker
than Pierce but tiny. If he finds seams in the ‘D’, he could exploit
them. But, that won’t be easy against Brian Price and company.
Conclusion - Teams that make it to a bowl after years away often struggle. This is Temple’s first bowl trip in 30 yrs. and it’s more
real seeing a national team like UCLA on the other sideline. However, the Bruins ‘D’ is better than any unit Temple faced not named
Penn St. And, some think that the Bruins are more athletic than PSU’s ‘D’. Consequently, the Bruin defense will win this one.
UCLA - 20 vs. Temple - 16

Humanitarian Bowl
W, Troy 31-14 W, @ New Mexico St. 21-6
L, @ Missouri 20-27 Bowling Green (7-5) vs. Idaho (7-5) L, @ Washington 23-42
L, @ Marshall 10-17 W, San Diego St. 34-20
L, Boise State 14-49 81.3 ypg - 114th Run Off. 160.8 ypg - 49th W, @ NIU 34-31
L, Ohio 37-44 W, Colorado St. 31-29
W, @ Kent State 36-35 310.2 ypg - 8th Pass Off. 290.6 ypg - 11th W, @ San Jose St. 29-25
W, @ Ball State 31-17 W, Hawai’i 35-23
L, Central Mich. 10-24 391.4 ypg - 52nd Total Off. 451.3 ypg - 10th L, @ Nevada 45-70
W, @ Buffalo 30-29 W, La. Tech 35-34
W, @ Miami OH 35-14 27.3 ppg - 62nd Scoring Off. 31.8 ppg - 25th L, Fresno St. 21-31
W, Akron 36-20 L, @ Boise State 25-63
W, Toledo 38-24 192.8 ypg - 103rd Run Def. 155.6 ypg - 77th L, Utah State 49-52
Offense Offense
QB #13 Tyler Sheehan 393.8 ypg - 82nd Total Def. 424.5 ypg - 105th QB #10 Nathan Enderle
RB #1 Willie Geter RB #20 Princeton McCarty
WR #7 Freddie Barnes 26.2 ppg - 65th Scoring Def. 35.5 ppg - 112th WR #22 Max Komar
WR #2 Ray Hutson WR #7 Preston Davis
WR #12 Chris Wright Keys to the Game WR #2 Maurice Shaw
WR #9 Adrian Hodges Catch me if you can - Bowling Green WR Freddie WR/TE #84 Kevin Small
LT #70 Brady Minturn Barnes has spent this past week on the banquet circuit, LT #70 Matt Cleveland
LG #75 Shane Steffy traveling to Orlando for the Biletnikoff Award announcement. LG #77 Mike Iupati
C #61 Ben Bojicic He was named to a handful of All-American teams. And, his C #69 Irvin Stevens
RG #64 Scott Albert best game probably lies ahead against the Idaho Vandal RG #62 Adam Juratovac
RT #56 Tyler Donahue defense. Barnes is THE Falcon offense, but what can Idaho do RT #79 Bryce Sinclair
Defense to slow him down? There are only six pass defenses worse Defense
DE #43 Brandon Jackson than Idaho’s, the 2nd worst pass defense for any team in a bowl DE #55 Andre Ferguson
DT #91 Chris Jones game. Barnes can hurt the Vandals anywhere on the field - DT #43 Fonomanu Sekona
DT #92 Kevin Alvarado catch it short and run, work the middle or take it deep. Idaho NT #44 Oga Famui
DE #55 Angelo Magnone has to take away one facet of Barnes repertoire and it’s the DE #95 Aaron Lavarias
LB #52 Jason Schneider quick throws that create the most problems. Can Idaho stop LB #34 JoJo Dickson
LB #4 Jerett Sanderson them and in turn, slow down Barnes? Well, my spidey senses LB #42 Paul Senescall
LB #45 Cody Basler say no. LB #1 Robert Sivaii
CB #31 Roger Williams CB #10 Shiloh Keo
S #5 P.J. Mahone The Answer - The Falcons aren’t the only team that can S #26 Brandon Artz
S #24 Jahmal Brown throw the football in this game. The Vandals are led by QB S #6 Jeromy Jones
CB #21 Adrien Spencer Nathan Enderle, who directs the 11th best passing game in the CB #2 Kenneth Patten
nation. But, Enderle doesn’t quite sit back in the pocket
Scout’s Corner drinking tea with his pinky finger out. The Falcons can get to Scout’s Corner
WR Freddie Barnes Enderle with a four man traditional pass rush as Nevada did G Mike Iupati
6’ 206 earlier this year (four sacks by the Wolf Pack in the first seven 6’6” 330
Set the college football world on its minutes of the game). In addition, the Falcons will also Smash mouth doesn’t even begin to
ear this year...138 receptions to lead disrupt Idaho’s pass rush protection by utilizing some blitz describe Iupati...Samoan descent and
the nation...did most of his damage, packages. This is the type of game that Bowling Green’s brings that attitude and passion for
though, against non-BCS foes...makes the game to the field...will hit you in
defensive staff has choices so to speak - the front four can get
all of the catches...runs good the mouth and pass protection is
routes...big target who can be good pressure, but do you want to amp it up even more - send 5, 6 or improving...probably the best guard in
on short, quick stuff & also in middle 7 to ensure that Enderle doesn’t sit in the pocket and pick the nation for 2010 NFL Draft
apart the Bowling Green secondary. Something that he’s done.
Conclusion - I don’t know that you can give Idaho head coach Robb Akey adequate credit for clearing out the mess that existed
when he took over and getting the Vandals in a bowl in three short years. The talent is evident - Iupati, Shiloh Keo, Enderle, but
stopping the Falcons passing attack is a bit too much to ask. Barnes will light up the Vandals secondary with 12+ catches and 150
yards. Sheehan will have time to throw against the Vandal front seven and he’ll find what he wants, when he wants. Falcons win.
Bowling Green - 38 vs. Idaho - 27

Holiday Bowl
W, Central Michigan 19-6
Dec. 30, 2009 - ESPN 7 PM CST W, FAU 49-3
W, Northern Arizona 34-17 Arizona (8-4) vs. Nebraska (9-4) W, Arkansas State 38-9
L, @ Iowa 17-27 L, @ Virginia Tech 15-16
W, @ Oregon State 37-32 167.4 ypg - 47th Run Off. 141.3 ypg - 68th W, ULL 55-0
L, @ Washington 33-36 W, @ Missouri 27-12
W, Stanford 43-38 240.1 ypg - 39th Pass Off. 175.9 ypg - 101st L, Texas Tech 10-31
W, UCLA 27-13 L, Iowa State 7-9
W, Washington St. 48-7 407.5 ypg - 40th Total Off. 317.2 ypg - 102nd W, @ Baylor 20-10
L, @ Cal 16-24 W, Oklahoma 10-3
L, Oregon 41-44 (OT) 29.7 ppg - 41st Scoring Off. 24.5 ppg - 80th W, @ Kansas 31-17
W, @ Arizona State 20-17 W, Kansas State 17-3
W, @ USC 21-17 111.9 ypg - 22nd Run Def. 95.5 ypg - 11th W, @ Colorado 28-20
L, Texas (Arl.) 12-13
203.9 ypg - 43rd Pass Def. 189.1 ypg - 25th
Offense 315.8 ypg - 21st Total Def. 284.5 ypg - 9th Offense
QB #8 Nick Foles QB #5 Zac Lee
RB #28 Greg Nwoko 23.2 ppg - 46th Scoring Def. 11.2 ppg - 2nd IB #10 Roy Helu Jr.
FB #37 Chris Gronkowski FB #48 Tyler Legate
WR #84 Terrell Turner Keys to the Game TE #44 Mike McNeill
WR #18 Delashaun Dean They’re not that bad, are they? - Throughout the Big WR #24 Niles Paul
TE #81 David Roberts 12 championship game, it was made quite clear that the WR #6 Khiry Cooper
LT #74 Mike Diaz Nebraska offense was on life-support. The Huskers offensive LT #65 Mike Smith
LG #54 Herman Hall line couldn’t block the eight and sometimes nine defenders LG #68 Keith Williams
C #64 Colin Baxter that were playing in the box to stop the run. The offensive C #67 Jacob Hickman
RG #70 Vaughn Dotsy line looked inept, but consider how often the numbers up RG #74 Ricky Henry
RT #78 Adam Grant front just didn’t work out for the Huskers OL. It’s a smash RT #78 Marcel Jones
Defense mouth group that’ll get a hat on a hat up front, but Roy Helu Defense
DE #44 Ricky Elmore Jr. and Rex Burkhead must get to the holes quickly. Arizona’s DE #99 Barry Turner
DT #49 Earl Mitchell speedy defense will show 8 or 9 near the box as well, but DT #93 Ndamukong Suh
NT #46 Donald Horton they’re not as physical in the front seven as Texas. Expect the DT #95 Jared Crick
DE #42 Brooks Reed Wildcats to use some run blitzes and run stunts early, but DE #95 Pierre Allen
LB #52 Sterling Lewis expect the Huskers to counter with, well, some counter and OLB #52 Phillip Dillard
LB #8 Vuna Tuihalamaka misdirection and even some QB runs with Zac Lee. MLB #51 Will Compton
LB #15 Xavier Kelley OLB #42 Sean Fisher
CB #24 Trevin Wade Lockdown - Nebraska WR Niles Paul didn’t have an CB #21 Prince Amukamara
S #20 Cam Nelson impact on the Big 12 championship game until late in the SS #4 Larry Asante
S #1 Robert Golden game. But, it’s imperative that he get involved early in this FS #33 Matt O’Hanlon
CB #6 Devin Ross game. However, Paul is going to see a lot of Trevin Wade, a CB #15 Alfonzo Dennard
first team All-Pac-10 selection (an All-American on some
Scout’s Corner teams). Wade is a brilliant cover guy who can run with anyone. Scout’s Corner
LB Xavier Kelley Paul must be physical in his route running to get free and WR Niles Paul
5’11” 215 Wade can’t get overpowered by Paul. This is a brilliant 6’1” 215
athletic...may be a bit small to stay at matchup and it’ll impact how this game turns out. Could be the most underrated
linebacker, but he can run like the receiver in the Big 12...I just wonder
wind...smart and makes plays in The Texan has found a home - Arizona QB Nick what he’d be able to do if he had a
space...physical tackler...not great in
Foles, a Michigan State transfer, has become a godsend for the Colt McCoy or a Jerrod Johnson
coverage...adequate...could be used throwing to him...physical guy
Wildcat offense this season. His moxie and toughness helped
more in the ‘Cats blitz packages...has downfield...will go up and get
lead the Cats to eight wins. But, his composure will be tested
all-around game...box safety in NFL it...needs little work on hands...strong
in San Diego. The Nebraska pass rush is without peer and
Foles must show he can handle the pressure properly. Or else.
Conclusion - Since the Iowa State loss, the Huskers have relied on their defense to win. The offense? Just don’t hurt the
defense’s chances at winning. That formula will work again as long as Big Suh is on hand. The Husker faithful would like to see
some contribution from Zac Lee, but as long as Paul makes 1 impactful winning play, the Huskers should earn bowl win #2 under
head coach Bo Pelini.
Nebraska - 21 vs. Arizona - 12

A few minutes
with...
Nebraska DT
Ndamukong
Suh
S&J: Ndamukong, we were talking the other day about championship was 2006, and unfortunately we had at
how we don’t know that we’ve ever seen a defensive the helm we had to deal with Oklahoma and we lost,
player control a game from the defensive side of the ball that was Gerald’s freshman year, not sure if he played or
the way you did on Saturday, certainly we’ll talk about not, but that was a sour taste in my mouth, and
the season, and congratulations on a great season being obviously 2007 was horrible, and 2008 we just missed
a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award. But, talk out by a game or so, didn’t take care of business, so we
about your season; you’re a name that a lot of people had to wait till the 2009 season. Obviously, we got there
knew coming in to the year, but then we started to see and unfortunately didn’t capitalize on the opportunity
during the Missouri game midway through the season with the heartbreaking ending, but something that we’ll
where you started to hear your name mixed into the definitely learn from and not be happy with, but we’re
Heisman talk and things like that. Do you pay any looking forward to taking out our frustration on
attention to any of that stuff and how does this week Arizona.
feel? You’re traveling all over the place right now.
S&J: Now you grew up and played high school ball in
SUH: Yea, sometimes I do pay attention to it, mostly the Portland area. Talk about your journey and how you
because of my sister. She follows me a lot and always ended up at Nebraska.
gives me a text or a phone call saying ‘you’ve got
Heisman hope’ and everything of that sort, so she SUH: Funny journey. I went to Grant High School, my
definitely keeps me up to date but from my own sister went to Mississippi State, she was in college there,
personal looking forward, I really try to keep it out of a guy named John Blake was a coach there, and after the
my main focus and pay attention to school and football, 2003 season he moved up with Coach Callahan at
things that got me there. So those are the main two Nebraska, and my sister and Coach Blake had a good
things I try and focus on, but I definitely hear it, and relationship, and she had always talked about him, I
obviously my teammates give me crap about it, ‘Mr. didn’t knew too much about him other than fact that he
Heisman’ and all that stuff. was her boyfriend’s coach and he started to recruit me. I
grew to like him and had a great relationship and still to
S&J: How can you not hear it? You’ve got 75,000 this day we have a good relationship. He actually called
people chanting ‘Suuuuuuh’ every time you make a me today, and I missed it because we were hanging out
tackle. That’s gotta feel pretty cool. with the kids at the hospital, so I will have to give him a
call later on after this banquet. Other than that, I
SUH: Yea, it’s one of the best feelings in college wanted to play for Coach Callahan. Saw him at the
football that I think everybody should have an Raiders. Always been a good coach to me in my eyes,
opportunity to experience, and unfortunately if you and I had a great relationship with him before he left. I
don’t play for Nebraska you don’t get to experience it, mean, Nebraska has a great tradition. Everyone knows
but it’s tremendous. It’s 86,000 actually, sorry. that. For me, school-wise, they have a great engineering
program which I plan to graduate on the 19th of
S&J: (ashamed, now) Well I was thinking in Dallas the December.
other night, because every time, you didn’t even have to
look up, you just heard “Suh”, alright, Suh made another S&J : Earlier this year we saw the story on ESPN a
tackle. We’ve talked about that game last night, and you story about you and soccer. The first either/or question
mentioned to me, “Look, I was just doing my job, and a that we asked this morning was “would you rather do:
championship was at hand, and I was just going out and Win the Heisman or score a goal in the World Cup”?
doing my job and it was the Big 12 championship, yea I And you said…
was amped up but it was just another opportunity to go
out and make plays,” and that’s what Saturday was SUH: Score a goal in the World Cup
against Texas.
S&J: What did soccer mean to you as a football player?
SUH: Yea, definitely is, and obviously, like you said, I Because you used to play soccer until you were in 8th
was a little more amped up just because we were playing grade. What did soccer mean to you?
for a huge championship, last time I was in the Big 12
Suh...(Cont’d)
SUH: To me, soccer meant a tremendous amount. I SUH: Yeah, center mid was too much for me. A
think that’s why I’m succeeding in football right now; majority of the time, I played goalie and forward. I liked
because of soccer. My dad didn’t necessarily push me to to score, and like to help people not score.
play soccer, but obviously it was a family sport. My dad
played European soccer, and played very high in division S&J: I’m trying to picture the poor sweeper back there
over there. My sister, she played for the Cameroon with Suh baring down on it
national women’s team in 2008. It’s something I’ve
always loved. I’ve been playing it since I was three. I S&J: I didn’t even think about this; it’s your last game
think my footwork and agility all come from soccer, just in Nebraska. Could you possibly kick a field goal or kick
being able to mess with the soccer ball, running around, an extra point?
and not really knowing what I’m doing until I got a little
older. I think it helped me tremendously with football. SUH: No. We have a tremendous kicker over here. I
feel he should be down in Orlando with me tomorrow,
S&J: Everybody says “what makes Suh different?” And I but unfortunately there are some other great kickers out
say “watch him play the screen”. Watch how he redirects there that will beat him out to it, but we have some
and when he recognizes a screen. Because you do that great kickers that definitely take care of business for us.
better than anyone I’ve ever seen. You will realize, “Wait
a second, this is a screen”, and head off and make a play S&J: Before we let you go, what is your favorite part of
unlike anybody I’ve ever seen, and that comes from the college experience?
redirecting your feet which I guess you learned from
soccer. SUH: My favorite part of the college experience,
especially being in Nebraska, is the fans and the people
SUH: Yea, definitely. I definitely agree with that. Those that run that town. I mean, it’s one of a kind. I
coaches though, those coaches are the greatest. I mean, remember when I was being recruited; people just
they give us formations. They give us everything like a knowing how to say my name and asking me how you
DB, and not just telling us “this is our gap” and “take pronounce it so they could say it and saying “thank you
care of business” and that’s it. And I appreciate those for coming down and visiting. I hope to see you next
coaches so much for that because it’s made me grow as a fall. We hope you can come out and play for the
football player tremendously. Me being a guy that Huskers”. I mean, it is unique. Football is life there.
started playing football in the 8th grade, I needed that.
That’s definitely what I needed, and I’m still trying to S&J: Even opposing teams say that Nebraska fans are
soak up, even though everybody sees me as a decorated the best football fans, and they’re the best visiting fans
football player, I still have a lot of football knowledge I also. If you’re a visiting fan at Lincoln, they make the
need to learn. opposing fans feel right at home.
S&J: I come from a soccer family. I gotta know this: SUH: Exactly. That’s what I like about them. They’re
what position did you play? mean, but they’re not nasty. They’re going to help our
team, and they’re always helping our team. The way they
SUH: I played everything except for midfield. I travel; the way they came out at Cowboys Stadium with
couldn’t play midfield. us, and I expect them to do the same exact thing when
we go out to San Diego. I mean, it’s like having a home
S&J: Lots of running back and forth? game every single game.
S&J: How did we do saying your name?
SUH: Very well!
S&J: Alright! The studying paid off!
The Ten Things to Watch for Today December 31, 2009
1. I don’t know if there’ll be a better matchup today than Heisman Trophy runner-up
Toby Gerhart against the stout front seven of the Oklahoma Sooners, led by Rotary
Lombardi Award finalist Gerald McCoy. The last time #7 was on the field, he lit up
the porous Notre Dame defense for 205 yards and three touchdowns. The Sooners,
unfortunately for the Cardinal, are not the Irish. This one will be funky fresh!
2. At the end of the season, Houston QB Case Keenum decided to send in his
paperwork to the NFL to “test” his potential draft status. Now, I thought I would
have another year to get to watch Case fire away in Dana Holgorsen’s offense at U of
H, but if this is the last time, I’ve had a blast watching him and getting to know him
for the past three years.
3. Along those lines, if you haven’t seen the Cougars receiving corps, you’ve missed
out. Tyron Carrier, James Cleveland, Patrick Edwards and running backs Charles Sims
and Bryce Beall are as talented a pass catching group as there has been in quite some
time.
4. Option football is just inherently fun to watch. And, if it’s a service academy
running it, forget it - precise, sharp and potentially explosive. Service Academies have
the option down to a science by this time in the year. If Houston and Missouri aren’t
prepared and don’t play disciplined option responsible football, Air Force and Navy
could put up big numbers.
5. Missouri’s decorated LB Sean Weatherspoon will be playing his last college game,
but not his last game in an NFL stadium. Appreciate how good #12 has been
throughout his career.
6. I’m excited/anxious to see how the Tennessee Vols come out in the Chick-Fil-A
Bowl against Va. Tech. Lane Kiffin has been around the block for bowl games, but
now as the head man how does he handle this situation?
7. Dadgum, I wish Minnesota’s Eric Decker was playing against Iowa State
8. Va. Tech RB Ryan Williams is worth the price of cable and with sophomores
winning the Heisman the last three years, he could carve out some run for him in the
2010 Heisman candidate team picture with a solid performance against the Vols.
9. Eric Berry for Tennessee is a bona-fide top five pick - if you’re a fan of the Rams,
Bucs, Browns, Lions or Bills, you may want to take a look at your future.
10. Of course, the New Year’s ball will be dropping, so there’s that.
Armed Forces Bowl
2009 Schedule Dec. 31, 2009 - ESPN 11 am CST 2009 Schedule
W, NW State 55-7 W, Nicholls St. 72-0
W, @ Ok. State 45-35 Houston (10-3) vs. Air Force (7-5) L, @ Minnesota 13-20
W, Texas Tech 29-28 W, @ New Mexico 37-13
L, @ UTEP 41-58 131.2 ypg - 83rd Run Off. 273.6 ypg - 3rd W, San Diego St. 26-14
W, @ Miss. State 31-24 L, @ Navy 13-16 (OT)
W, @ Tulane 44-16 450.0 ypg - 1st Pass Off. 82.3 ypg - 118th L, TCU 17-20
W, SMU 38-15 W, Wyoming 10-0
W, Southern Miss. 50-43 581.2 ypg - 1st Total Off. 355.9 ypg - 77th L, @ Utah 16-23 (OT)
W, @ Tulsa 46-45 W, @ Colorado St. 34-16
L, @ UCF 32-37 43.9 ppg - 2nd Scoring Off. 28.3 ppg - 53rd W, Army 35-7
W, Memphis 55-14 W, UNLV 45-17
W, Rice 73-14 213.1 ypg - 112th Run Def. 136.1 ypg - 45th L, @ BYU 21-38
L, @ ECU 32-38
229.6 ypg - 77th Pass Def. 148.7 ypg - 1st
Offense 442.7 ypg - 108th Total Def. 284.8 ypg - 10th Offense
QB #7 Case Keenum QB #7 Tim Jefferson
RB #5 Charles Sims 28.8 ppg - 88th Scoring Def. 15.3 ppg - 9th TB #17 Asher Clark
WR #83 Patrick Edwards FB #42 Jared Tew
WR #35 Tyron Carrier Keys to the Game WR #15 Jonathan Warzeka
WR #19 James Cleveland Short and Quick...that’s what she said - WR #83 Kevin Fogler
WR #82 Chaz Rodriguez Throughout the 2009 season, if you blinked, you often missed TE #81 Sean Quintana
LT #74 Roy Watts t h e Ho u s to n C o u g a r s s co r i n g a n o t h e r to u c h d o w n . LT #59 Ryan Gonzales
LG #73 Jordan Shoemaker Wha...missed another one? Not really, but the point is that LG #57 Nick Charles
C #57 Carl Barnett the Houston offense is a quick strike offense that often uses C #65 Michael Hampton
RG #70 Chris Thompson the “shorter is better” concept. Meaning? Meaning that QB RG #62 Peter Lusk
RT #75 Jarve Dean Case Keenum often throws short and his receivers take it long. RT #60 Chris Campbell
Defense That doesn’t mean Keenum can’t or won’t throw the ball Defense
DE #90 Zeke Riser downfield, but what Keenum does best is throw darts all over DE #51 Myles Morales
NT #97 Isaiah Thompson the field - quick slants, short crossers and anything else that DT #93 Ben Garland
DT #95 David Hunter exhibits Case’s quick release. The Cougar receivers are so DE #90 Rick Ricketts
DE #43 Tyrell Graham good in space that it’s a marriage that works immensely well. LB #43 Justin Moore
SLB #42 Phillip Steward Throw quick, throw accurately and watch it fly. Can Air Force LB #45 John Falgout
MLB #55 Marcus McGraw slow down the quick air attack? The Falcons are 1st in the LB #58 Wale Lawal Jr.
WLB #40 C.J Cavness nation in pass defense, but they haven’t faced the Cougars, this LB #36 Andre Morris
CB #21 Brandon Brinkley year anyway. They tackle well, but this is a tall order. CB #5 Anthony Wright
SS #23 Carson Blackmon S #8 Reggie Rembert
FS #41 Nick Saenz Pull it and flip it - The option is simple, but how do you S #34 Chris Thomas
CB #32 Jamal Robinson stop it? One, vary up the responsibilities. Make the Falcons CB #6 Jon Davis
Scout’s Corner feel like they don’t have a clue who is responsible for what. Scout’s Corner
LB Marcus McGraw Take Jared Tew out. Not injure him, but take away his impact. FB Jared Tew
6’ 210 The Houston offense can help out in that vein, but the 6’1” 225
Small but productive...speedy, but Cougars interior must eliminate him early. Tackle well in The prototype fullback in the AFA
often doesn’t read well or as well as space. And, force QB Tim Jefferson to have to pitch late. No spread option attack...a downhill
he should to be middle running beast...no wiggle at all...just
keeps. Make him pitch it, but make him do it late. By forcing
linebacker...better served playing runs it hard but can take a
outside to take advantage of his him to pitch late, it takes the ball out of the hands of the most pounding...if the Falcons have a lead in
quickness...lost in passing game, but dangerous Falcon. But, it also allows for the Cougar secondary the fourth quarter, Tew will see the
can run sideline to sideline. to get involved in run support. FS Nick Saenz was sorely ball nearly every play...smart & tough
missed in the CUSA championship game and his ability to
come up and make plays will be huge in this game
Conclusion - I know that the Cougars lost three times during the season, but with some time off to get rested on both sides of
the ball, I don’t see them slowing down. The Cougars have scored no fewer than 29 points in every game this season and Air Force
hasn’t been tested like they will be in Fort Worth. Keenum will throw for 400+ and four TDs in one of his best efforts of the year.
Houston - 41 vs. Air Force - 27

Sun Bowl
2009 Schedule Dec. 31, 2009 - CBS 11 am CST 2009 Schedule
W, @ Washington St. 39-13 L, BYU (Arl.) 13-14
L, @ Wake Forest 17-24 Stanford (8-4) vs. Oklahoma (7-5) W, Idaho St. 64-0
W, San Jose St. 42-17 W, Tulsa 45-0
W, Washington 34-14 224.3 ypg - 11th Run Off. 140.9 ypg - 69th L, @ Miami 20-21
W, UCLA 24-16 W, Baylor 33-7
L, @ Oregon State 28-38 217.1 ypg - 59th Pass Off. 278.5 ypg - 17th L, Texas (Dallas) 13-16
L, @ Arizona 38-43 W, @ Kansas 35-13
W, Arizona St. 33-14 441.4 ypg - 13th Total Off. 419.4 ypg - 28th W, Kansas State 42-30
W, Oregon 51-42 L, @ Nebraska 3-10
W, @ USC 55-21 36.2 ypg - 10th Scoring Off. 31.1 ppg - 30th W, Texas A&M 65-10
L, Cal 28-34 L, @ Texas Tech 13-41
W, Notre Dame 45-38 144.5 ypg - 61st Run Def. 88.6 ypg - 7th W, Oklahoma St. 27-0
Projected Starting Lineups 252.0 ypg - 105th Pass Def. 184.9 ypg - 22nd Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #12 Andrew Luck OR 396.5 ypg - 85th Total Def. 273.5 ypg - 7th QB #12 Landry Jones
#14 Tavita Pritchard RB #29 Chris Brown
RB #7 Toby Gerhart 26.2 ppg - 65th Scoring Def. 13.5 ppg - 7th FB #34 Matt Clapp
FB #48 Owen Marecic WR #6 Cameron Kenney
WR #8 Ryan Whalen Keys to the Game WR #24 DaJuan Miller
WR #81 Chris Owusu The Hammer - I don’t know that I’ve seen a running back TE #83 Brady Eldridge
TE #83 Jim Dray with the power and balance that Stanford RB Toby Gerhart LT #71 Trent Williams
LT #73 Jonathan Martin possesses. Defenders have struggled getting clean shots on LG #77 Stephen Good
LG #71 Andrew Phillips him at all this season. And, if they had, Gerhart has often C #61 Ben Habern
C #72 Chase Beeler powered through arm tackles and kept his balance if a RG #72 Tavaris Jeffries
RG #52 David DeCastro linebacker or safety caught him. It’s not pretty but when he RT #69 Erik Mensik
RT #63 Chris Marinelli carries it one play after another, it’s like a hammer shot on Defense
Defense your brain. Oklahoma tackles as well as any team Stanford has DE #44 Jeremy Beal
DE #94 Thomas Keiser faced this season, but when the Sooners fatigued late in games DE #33 Auston English
DT #92 Sione Fua (i.e. Miami, BYU), tackling became an issue. The Hammer DT #93 Gerald McCoy
NT #54 Ekom Udofia won’t let up, so the tackling must be on point. Or else. DT #86 Adrian Taylor
DE #93 Chase Thomas LB #4 Ryan Reynolds
LB #42 Will Powers Growing up right before our eyes - We all expected LB #28 Travis Lewis
LB #44 Nick Macaluso to see OU QB Landry Jones take over in 2010 for the departed LB #22 Keenan Clayton
LB #11 Shayne Skov Sam Bradford, but we got an advanced viewing this season and CB #2 Brian Jackson
CB #27 Johnson Bademosi it’s not been as bad as some would expect. Stanford’s S #20 Quinton Carter
S #26 Delano Howell secondary has better run defenders than cover people. The S #27 Sam Proctor
S #22 Bo McNally Cardinal are 105th against the pass and it’s the right tonic for CB #1 Dominique Franks
CB #9 Richard Sherman young Landry. Expect OU to use some quick throws, bubble
Scout’s Corner screens early to get Jones on track early. Scout’s Corner
LT Jonathan Martin CB Dominique Franks
6’6” 291 Block Beal - With QB Tavita Pritchard potentially starting 6’ 195
Smart...freshman left tackle on a line for the first time since 2008, protecting him is of the utmost Good ball skills...decent man
that prides itself on hitting teams in coverage abilities...solid football
importance. Now, OU DT Gerald McCoy will get a ton of
the mouth...pass protection needs a instincts...breaks on the ball very
little work, but you can tell he’s got attention, but the Cardinal better find a way to slow down DE well...not the most physical corner,
the feet...can get up and pull Jeremy Beal. Jonathan Martin and Chris Marinelli are solid in but he’ll come up and make tackles in
smoothly and when he does, he finds the run game, but blocking Beal on the edge may take some space (Gerhart, though? Different for
someone to hit...has great future help. Expect some max protect to slow down sack leader Beal everyone)...coming back for final yr.
Conclusion - Of all of the non-BCS bowl games, this one is triggering the meter more so than any other, including all of the New
Year’s Day games. El Paso typically doesn’t get as lucky as to have a traditional power and the Heisman runner-up, but 2009 is a
different year. Without QB Andrew Luck, I’m not sure Stanford can find the balance it needs to knock off Oklahoma. With
Quinton Carter consistently floating around the box and shadowing Gerhart, Stanford will have trouble moving it effectively.
Oklahoma - 24 vs. Stanford - 20

A few minutes
with...OU DT
Gerald McCoy
S&J - We’re joined right now by Gerald McCoy, No 93 positive energy around the locker room, on the practice
Oklahoma Sooners, a Lombardi Award finalist. Gerald, field, before the game, and I think that’s a lot of the
welcome to the show. reason we were able to bounce back. And Coach V, he’s
just an energizer bunny (all laugh)…
Gerald McCoy - Thanks for having me.
S&J – He is (laughs)
S&J - Congratulations on being a finalist for this
prestigious award…2009 season for Oklahoma, GM - He just…He always stays energized, and he’s
obviously a lot of things went differently than you guys always just wired up, you don’t’ even think he sleeps, he’s
had drawn up on the chalkboard. Through all that like a bat.
adversity, the defense still played really, really well, what
did you learn about yourself and your team this season? S&J – Do you ever see him without his wristband on
his arm? Is he ever anywhere without the wristband?
GM - That we know how to finish even when we face a
lot of adversity. Seeing that even when we get knocked GM - No, never, even when he’s working out…we’ll be
down we know how to get up and keep fighting, and the like Coach V, why you going over calls…(impression) we
defense just had to pick up the pieces. It’s not gotta get it done! And Coach Shipp, he’s just , he’s a
something we’re not used to…two sides of the ball, team great motivator, stays on top of us, doesn’t accept
game, our offense wasn’t doing so well, because of mediocre…only accepts perfection, or being the best,
injuries or whatever the reason, so we knew we had to you know those three coaches have had a huge impact
step up and make some plays to keep us in these games on me.
and keep our season going.
S&J – I know when people talk about Sam Bradford,
S&J – Have you rethought your whole stance about and him coming back this year, they talk about well its
playing for the Dallas Cowboys? always been…his dream was never…he wants to play in
the NFL certainly…but his dream was always to be an
GM - Yeah. Oklahoma Sooner…now you’re a guy that grew up in
S&J – Have you changed your mind? Oklahoma…was it always your dream to be an OU
GM - Earlier I was asked and I said the Houston Sooner as well?
Texans.(laughs...because he said Dallas Cowboys)
GM - Yeah, I thought about it…I used to go down to
S&J- (laughs) We had a breakfast this morning, he got the scrimmages, and I went to the camps and I was
asked that question. We played either or today, and you always involved with the University of Oklahoma, I told
know, Gerald said he wanted to play for the Dallas my father I said, well actually I was twelve years old, I
Cowboys. And I said well, when you become a Houston told him, I’m gonna play on this field one day, and
Texan we ‘ll revisit this whole thing. But you want to during recruiting, you just wanna have your options
play for the Dallas Cowboys…you know Gerald we’ve open, and I went and visited different schools, but in
talked the past couple of nights and talked about this the end, it was Oklahoma for me.
season and the difficulties obviously offensively. But talk
about your coaching staff…Coach Stoops, Coach Shipp, S&J – Gerald, this morning at the breakfast, and I hope
guys that kept you motivated, Coach Venables, that kept you don’t mind me telling this story, we were talking
you guys motivated. Talk about the impact that those about some people that are heroes, and you were asked
coaches had on you this season. the question what you will do with your money. I
thought your answer was an interesting one, just based
GM - Coach Stoops of course, the head coach, has had a on your history. If you don’t mind sharing that, I’d like
great run at OU, knows what he’s doing, always stays for you to share with our listeners what you said this
positive, he’s one of those positive energy guys, he tries morning at the breakfast, what you will do one day
to keep positive energy all the time, while we were on when you to go the NFL and you do have that money,
campus, in the locker room, he makes sure there’s and talk about one of those goals that you have and why.
McCoy (Cont’d)
GM - Oh, well, I simply just said, two years ago, before S&J - …so its gotta be here
my mother passed away, she wanted to open... GM - Alright
S&J – Appreciate it, congratulations Gerald, on a great
S&J - A transitional home, for somebody that has been season.
evicted, moving on to a different home. GM - Thank you.
S&J – You broke my heart in about 93 places when you
GM - Things like that, she wanted to do that. She chose not to go to Notre Dame, just gonna tell you right
talked to me about it and that’s something she always now.
wanted to do, she was working on that before she passed
away, but…just because that’s something she always
wanted to do, I figure, If I get a little bit of money, I’m
gonna just go ahead and do that for her, and try to put it
in her name, and also I want to open up a day care and a
community center.
S&J – That’s fantastic.

S&J – Can you imagine a parent walking in, and
dropping his/her kids off, and the kid is like, uh Mr.
McCoy…
S&J – I’d feel pretty safe, with that guy hanging out
there, …
S&J – Absolutely would feel pretty safe…
S&J – Feel real safe (laughter)…before we let you go

Gerald, obviously you had some teammates that went
through a similar decision making process last year,
choosing to come back to OU, now you still have some
eligibility left, but you’re also looking at a possibility of
maybe moving on…is that a decision you’re going to sit
down with your family and Coach Stoops and think
about here in the very near future?
GM - Yeah, well, reason I came back in the first place is

because I wanted to graduate. That’s also a promise I
made to my mother, I told her I would graduate and
I’m on the verge to do that Dec. 18th, I’ll be graduating.
And now that I’ve got my degree, I’m moving on to the
next level, probably a high possibility.
S&J – Yeah…does that count as breaking the story?

S&J – Um, I don’t know, not 100 percent
S&J – (laughs) high possibility
S&J – Gerald, appreciate the time, I know you’ve got

plenty of things you gotta take off and go do, so
obviously you’re done with us, good luck, and any story
that breaks you gotta come with us, cause we broadcast
OU games right here on 1560…
S&J – that’s right that’s true we do…
Texas Bowl
W, @ Illinois 37-9
Dec. 31, 2009 - ESPN 2:30 PM CST L, @ Ohio State 27-31
W, Bowling Green 27-20 Missouri (8-4) vs. Navy (9-4) W, La. Tech 32-14
W, Furman 52-12 L, @ Pittsburgh 14-27
W, @ Nevada 31-21 132.2 ypg - 81st Run Off. 272.5 ypg - 4th W, Western Kent. 38-22
L, Nebraska 12-27 W, Air Force 16-13 (OT)
L, @ Ok. State 17-33 285.0 ypg - 13th Pass Off. 71.4 ypg - 120th W, @ Rice 63-14
L, Texas 7-41 W, @ SMU 38-35 (OT)
W, @ Colorado 36-17 417.2 ypg - 32nd Total Off. 343.9 ypg - 84th W, Wake Forest 13-10
L, Baylor 32-40 L, Temple 24-27
W, @ Kansas State 38-12 30.3 ppg - 33rd Scoring Off. 27.5 ppg - 60th W, @ Notre Dame 23-21
W, Iowa State 34-24 W, Delaware 35-18
W, Kansas (KC) 41-39 96.4 ypg - 12th Run Def. 126.5 ypg - 38th L, @ Hawai’i 17-24
W, Army 17-3
QB #11 Blaine Gabbert QB #4 Ricky Dobbs
RB #24 Derrick Washington 24.6 ppg - 56th Scoring Def. 19.9 ppg - 20th SB #33 Bobby Doyle
WR #81 Danario Alexander SB #28 Marcus Curry
WR #8 Wes Kemp Keys to the Game FB #47 Vince Murray
WR #29 Jerrell Jackson Long, lean and mean - Missouri wide receiver Danario WR #81 Nick Henderson
TE #87 Andrew Jones Alexander spent the past few seasons in the shadow for WR #84 Greg Jones
LT #72 Elvis Fisher dynamic Jeremy Maclin. But, in 2009, QB Blaine Gabbert LT #61 Jeff Battipaglia
LG #66 Austin Wuebbels needed a go-to guy and he found one in Alexander. And, by LG #79 Osei Asante
C #62 Tim Barnes go-to receiver, I mean, go-to him ALL the time. All Alexander C # 71 Eric Douglass
RG #78 Kurtis Gregory did was catch 107 passes for 1,644 yards and 13 TDs, turning in RG #66 Curtis Bass
RT #77 Dan Hoch an All-American season when the Tigers needed one in the RT #70 Matt Molloy
Defense worst way. The Tigers won four of the last five to get to 8-4 Defense
DE #85 Aldon Smith and Alexander was the driving force in those victories. The DE #98 Jabaree Tuani
DT #90 Dominique Hamilton problem, though, for the Navy corners is not Alexander’s NT #93 Chase Burge
NT #96 Jaron Baston numbers, it’s his size. At 6’4”, he’s got at least four or five DE #59 Matt Nechak
DE #2 Brian Coulter inches on either Blake Carter or a banged up Kevin Edwards. LB #34 Ram Vela
LB #12 Sean Weatherspoon Missouri won’t exploit the size mismatch, but will get LB #51 Ross Pospisil
LB #32 Will Ebner Alexander the ball in space quickly. Navy DBs must limit the LB #50 Tony Haberer
LB #6 Andrew Gachkar yards after catch or they’ll be seeing #81 in the rear view LB #49 Craig Schaefer
CB #19 Earl Gettis mirror. CB #1 Blake Carter
S #11 Jarrell Harrison S #8 Wyatt Middleton
S #9 Jasper Simmons Stop this? Try that! - Stopping the Navy offense is little S #7 Emmet Merchant
CB #20 Kevin Rutland like putting your finger in a hole in the dike. Put the finger in CB #15 Kevin Edwards
Scout’s Corner one hole, more water squirts out another hole. Put another Scout’s Corner
DE Aldon Smith finger in that hole...and you get the point. Well, what’s my FB Vince Murray
6’2” 240 point? Nearly every interested bystander will tell you that 6’1” 217
Productive as he could be...although defenses have to stop the down-the-line veer triple option or Smash mouth...tough between the
Sean Weatherspoon is more than Navy will hammer you. But, once you do that, you’re tackles...speed to get to the second
likely the team’s MVP on defense for level and put pressure on
vulnerable in the middle and the midline will crush you. Don’t
all that he does, Smith is its most linebackers...average pass
outstanding defensive player...long believe me, just ask Ohio State or Notre Dame. Stop one blocker...doesn’t fumble...strong
arms...has innate ability to get pads thing, get ready to face something else, be it the midline or lower half...no wiggle..straight ahead
under tackles...quick burst for DE counter option. QB Ricky Dobbs is a wizard running all facets runner who can run away from DBs
of this offense.
Conclusion - Navy is such a tough bowl matchup for anyone, much less for a defense that gave up an average of 24 points a game
over the last five games. But, Missouri has Sean Weatherspoon in the middle of the defense and he should keep the Tiger defense on
its option responsibilities. Gabbert will struggle early to get his offense in rhythm, but in the second quarter, he’ll get going in a MU
win. The Tigers will keep the Midshipmen from the 10 to 14 play drives that drive teams crazy and the offense will take control.
Missouri - 35 vs. Navy - 28

Insight Bowl
W, North Dakota St. 34-17
Dec. 31, 2009 - NFL Net. 5 PM CST W, @ Syracuse 23-30 (OT)
L, Iowa 3-35 Iowa St. (6-6) vs. Minnesota (6-6) W, Air Force 20-13
W, @ Kent State 34-14 L, Cal 21-35
W, Army 31-10 177.3 ypg - 36th Run Off. 97.6 ypg - 112th W, @ Northwestern 35-24
L, Kansas St. 23-24 L, Wisconsin 28-31
L, @ Kansas 36-41 182.1 ypg - 97th Pass Off. 198.3 ypg - 82nd W, Purdue 35-20
W, Baylor 24-10 L, @ Penn State 0-20
W, @ Nebraska 9-7 359.4 ypg - 75th Total Off. 295.8 ypg - 113th L, @ Ohio State 7-38
L, @ Texas A&M 10-35 W, Michigan State 42-34
L, Oklahoma State 8-34 21.1 ppg - 102nd Scoring Off. 21.6 ppg - 98th L, Illinois 32-35
W, Colorado 17-10 W, South Dakota St. 16-13
L, @ Missouri 24-34 169.3 ypg - 89th Run Def. 146.7 ypg - 64th L, @ Iowa 0-12
Projected Starting Lineups 245.0 ypg - T-95th Pass Def. 217.6 ypg - 60th Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #4 Austen Arnaud 414.3 ypg - 99th Total Def. 364.3 ypg - 61st QB #8 Adam Weber
RB #33 Alexander Robinson RB #6 Kevin Whaley
WR #82 Marquis Hamilton 22.6 ppg - 43rd Scoring Def. 24.6 ppg - 56th FB #35 Jon Hoese
WR #83 Jake Williams WR #83 Da’Jon McKnight
WR #6 Darius Darks Keys to the Game WR #11 Troy Stoudermire
TE #84 Derrick Catlett Mountain Man - When you see Iowa State LB Jesse TE #48 Nick Tow-Arnett
LT #72 Kelechi Osemele Smith without his jersey and helmet on, you can’t help but LT #76 Dom Alford
LG #77 Alex Alvarez think you’re looking at a Mountain Man from Appalachia. LG #68 Jewhan Edwards
C #73 Reggie Stephens Not only is that not accurate, you’re actually looking at one of C #53 D.J. Burris
RG #63 Ben Lamaak the best linebackers in the Big 12. He finished the season with RG #73 Matt Carufel
RT #51 Scott Haughton 128 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss and two interceptions and a RT #71 Jeff Wills
Defense first team All-Big 12 spot. He’s a solid tackler and facing an Defense
DE #91 Patrick Neal offense that’ll need to run the ball effectively without WR DE #89 Barrett Moen
DT #62 Nate Frere Eric Decker. Expect Smith to be all over the place, making DT #99 Garrett Brown
NT #85 Bailey Johnson plays against the Gopher running attack. DT #98 Eric Small
DE #55 Christopher Lyle DE #55 C McKinley
LB #54 Jesse Smith When opportunity knocks... - Sitting at 3-3 and LB #21 S Lawrence
LB #16 Josh Raven heading to Lincoln with a backup QB about to start for the LB #30 Lee Campbell
LB #43 Fred Garrin first time, a potential bowl trip looked like a pipe dream. But, LB #32 Nate Triplett
CB #7 Kennard Banks after forcing nine turnovers by the Nebraska Huskers, the CB #1 Michael Carter
S #1 David Sims Cyclones found themselves smack dab in the Big 12 North S #27 Kyle Theret
S #2 James Smith championship discussion. The offense put up only nine points S #3 Kim Royston
CB #23 Leonard Johnson that day, but in this game, if the Gophers turn the ball over, CB #2 Ryan Collado
expect the Cyclones to do more with it than nine points.
LB Jesse Smith Gamebreaker needed...ANY ONE??? - If LB Nate Triplett
6’ 234 Minnesota is going to have a chance to stay in this game, 6’3” 247
Tough minded, physical someone has to emerge as the Gophers game breaker. WR/ This guys is a THUMPER...he’ll knock
player...prototypical college middle you into next week...physical as all get
KR Troy Stoudermire has 23 catches on the season but has the
linebacker...not the best athlete, but out...perfect guy to have playing
he’s quicker to the ball than most explosive abilities to be a downfield threat. QB/AP MarQueis between the tackles...fills gaps well
because of his ability to read and Gray has run for 231 yards, caught a TD and thrown for a TD. and isn’t slow...his game though is
close on the ball...solid If there’s any way to get him out on the field more against the about running through ball carriers,
tackler...makes plays in pass coverage Cyclones, the Minnesota offensive staff must find a way. not playing a sideline to sideline game
Conclusion - I’d like to think that the warm weather will bring out the offensive weapons, but don’t count on it. Minnesota is as
far from those Glen Mason zone running/dominating units that could score on anyone as it could be. Iowa State could use both Troy
Davis and his brother, cloned a few times, to give the Cyclones a shot. As it is, the Gophers just can’t win this without Eric Decker.
Iowa State is too good defensively to be run over by the 112th best running game in the nation. Cyclones win, Cyclones win!
Iowa St. - 17 vs. Minnesota - 14

Chick-fil-A Bowl
L, Alabama (ATL) 24-34 W, Western Kentucky 63-7
W, Marshall 52-10 Va. Tech (9-3) vs. Tennessee (7-5) L, UCLA 15-19
W, Nebraska 16-15 L, @ Florida 13-23
W, Miami 31-7 206.4 ypg - 15th Run Off. 169.8 ypg - 43rd W, Ohio 34-23
W, @ Duke 34-26 L, Auburn 22-26
W, Boston College 48-14 181.8 ypg - 98th Pass Off. 225.6 ypg - 47th W, Georgia 45=19
L, @ Georgia Tech 23-28 L, @ Alabama 10-12
L, North Carolina 17-20 388.3 ypg - 55th Total Off. 395.4 ypg - 48th W, South Carolina 31-13
W, @ East Carolina 16-3 W, Memphis 56-28
W, @ Maryland 36-9 31.4 ppg - 28th Scoring Off. 30.6 ppg - 32nd L, @ Ole Miss 17-42
W, NC State 38-10 W, Vanderbilt 31-16
W, @ Virginia 42-13 138.7 ypg - 52nd Run Def. 142.9 ypg - 58th W, @ Kentucky 30-24 (OT)
Offense Offense
QB #5 Tyrod Taylor 300.1 ypg - 14th Total Def. 308.8 ypg - 17th QB #8 Jonathan Crompton
RB #34 Ryan Williams RB #2 Montario Hardesty
FB #42 Kenny Jefferson 15.8 ppg - 11th Scoring Def. 21.0 ppg - 27th FB #45 Kevin Cooper
WR #81 Jarrett Boykin WR #4 Gerald Jones
WR #19 Danny Coale Keys to the Game WR #6 Denarius Moore
TE #8 Greg Boone The kid is good - After watching Alabama sophomore TE #88 Luke Stocker
LT #77 Ed Wang running back Mark Ingram win the Heisman, the third LT #79 Chris Scott
LG #70 Sergio Render straight sophomore to do so, Virginia Tech fans have to be LG #69 Cory Sullins
C #60 Beau Warren licking their chops that Ryan Williams has a legit shot at C #66 Cody Sullins
RG #68 Jaymes Brooks winning the Heisman in 2010. Regardless, the whippet quick RG #65 Jacques McClendon
RT #62 Blake DeChristopher rookie has been the basis of this offense since Darren Evans RT #78 Aaron Douglas
Defense was lost to an ACL tear in fall camp. Williams is as quick as Defense
DE #6 Jason Worilds any back the Volunteers have faced. He’s got the quickness of DE #99 Ben Martin
DT #91 John Graves Florida’s Jeff Demps and the burst of Ole Miss’s Dexter DT #55 Dan Williams
DT #95 Cordarrow Thompson McCluster. That combination was successful against DT #94 Wes Brown
DE #47 Nekos Brown Tennessee’s defense. And, for Virginia Tech to win this game, DE #84 Chris Walker
LB #26 Cody Grimm Williams must have a similar impact. Keep an eye on Williams LB #5 Rico McCoy
LB #52 Barquell Rivers squirting out the backside on cutback runs with the aggressive LB #48 Greg King
LB #39 Lyndell Gibson Tennessee defense sprinting to the ball. LB #34 Herman Lathers
CB #21 Rashad Carmichael CB #36 Anthony Anderson
S #17 Kam Chancellor He’s come a long way - At mid-season, sports talk radio S #14 Eric Berry
S #2 Davon Morgan in Knoxville went pretty much like this “Crompton stinks” or S #41 Dennis Rogan OR
CB #27 Stephan Virgil “Get rid of him”. But, after a stellar performance against #15 Janzen Jackson
Georgia, Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton quelled the calls CB #25 Art Evans
Scout’s Corner for his head. But, the key for Crompton was Lane Kiffin’s Scout’s Corner
DE Jason Worilds using him on bootlegs and roll-outs. Getting Crompton out DT Dan Williams
6’2” 262 on the edge took the pressure off of him, because he throws 6’3” 311
Edge rush speed is off the well on the run. But, it also impacted the back seven rotation Kind of that next level of defensive
charts...plays the angles well...doesn’t in coverage. Va. Tech MUST keep Crompton in the pocket. tackle...if Suh and McCoy are the
round his pass rush...when he has head of the class, Williams and Brian
tackle beat, he redirects to take a Price from UCLA are in the next
direct line to the quarterback...once A Sumo match - Perhaps the best 1-on-1 in this game is Va. class...plays more like a nose, but has
he has sights on QB, he’s a blur...not
Tech guard Sergio Render facing Tennessee DT Dan Williams. good feet for big guy...decent with his
exceptional against run, but not bad
Render is the best run blocker the Hokies have, but he may hands...possibly a nose in 3-4
need some help to get Williams out of the designed run hole.
If Williams holds strong, the Vol LBs should have a huge game.
Conclusion - Of the 34 bowl matchups, this one probably has the least sexiness of any bowl game. But, of all of the 34
matchups, this one will be one of the top three physical matchups. And, that plays into the hands of...both teams. The difference
will be at the QB position where Va. Tech QB Tyrod Taylor will ‘create’ offense, while the Va. Tech ‘D’ will frustrate Crompton.
Va. Tech - 20 vs. Tennessee - 14

The Ten Things to Watch for Today January 1, 2010
1. The Rose Bowl game is actually intriguing even without the annual visit from USC.
The Ducks spread option attack against the smashmouth Ohio State defense. The
Buckeyes haven’t been back since 1997 when David Boston caught the game winner
against Arizona State. The Ducks haven’t seen Pasadena, as a Rose Bowl participant,
since 1995.
2. Ohio State S Kurt Coleman vs. Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli is a tremendous

matchup and one of the chess match-ups to keep an eye on this afternoon.
3. I love watching Ben Tate from Auburn, the “other” running back in the state of
Alabama. Now that Mark Ingram has the Heisman, he’ll carry a ton of hype, but Tate
is fun to watch and faces a Northwestern defense, he could shred for 125+ yards.
4. NFL types love Northwestern DE Corey Wootton and what’s not to love - 6’7”,
280 lbs and, well, one potentially gimpy knee. He’s the prototype 3-4 defensive end,
but coming back from an ACL tear in the Alamo Bowl has been tough.
5. Penn State and LSU are facing each other for only the second time in their great
histories in perhaps the most high profile non-BCS bowl game. Keep an eye on LSU S
Chad Jones in this one, along with PSU LB Navorro Bowman, who’s healthy and
teams well with Sean Lee.
6. Not many people talk about Northwestern QB Mike Kafka, but he’s had a strong
season - 2,898 yards passing, 12 TDs, 265 yards rushing and seven TDs. He won’t strike
fear in the hearts of Auburn fans and players alike, but when he’s healthy he’s a
maestro of this fast paced attack with a bunch of supposed nobodies at receiver.
7. West Virginia’s RB Noel Devine with a month to get healthy.
8. Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor with a month and a half to learn how to be a better QB
9. Cincinnati’s WR/KR/PR Mardy Gilyard pissed off at Brian Kelly and looking to
take it out on the Gators.
10. This story is one you’ll hear for the next few weeks over and over and over again -
Bobby Bowden coaching his last game just a stone’s throw from my former house in
Jacksonville. The sad thing, as it was for Bear Bryant - the Gator Bowl is fine, but it’s
not the Orange Bowl or the grand stage he deserved. Bryant ended his career with a
trip to the Liberty Bowl to face Illinois. He deserved the Sugar Bowl, but he just
didn’t have that team. Bowden’s team isn’t even in that 1982 ‘Bama class. I just hope
we don’t get a Woody Hayes ending - uh, on second thought, I wouldn’t bet that ever
happening with the classy Bowden on the sidelines.
Outback Bowl
2009 Schedule Jan. 1, 2010 - ESPN 10 am CST 2009 Schedule
W, La. Tech 37-13 W, Towson 47-14
W, Miss. State 49-24 Auburn (7-5) vs. Northwestern (8-4) W, Eastern Mich. 27-24
W, West Virginia 41-30 L, @ Syracuse 34-37
W, Ball State 54-30 213.8 ypg - 13th Run Off. 119.9 ypg - 93rd L, Minnesota 24-35
W, @ Tennessee 26-22 W, @ Purdue 27-21
L, @ Arkansas 23-44 218.5 ypg - 56th Pass Off. 266.1 ypg - 29th W, Miami OH 16-6
L, Kentucky 21-14 L, @ Michigan St. 14-24
L, @ LSU 10-31 432.3 ypg - 21st Total Off. 386.0 ypg - 57th W, Indiana 29-28
W, Ole Miss 33-20 L, Penn St. 13-34
W, Furman 63-31 32.9 ppg - 20th Scoring Off. 25.2 ppg - 76th W, @ Iowa 17-10
L, @ Georgia 24-31 W, @ Illinois 21-16
L, Alabama 21-26 161.7 ypg - 80th Run Def. 123.5 ypg - 36th W, Wisconsin 33-31
Offense Offense
QB #12 Chris Todd 353.5 ypg - 51st Total Def. 344.3 ypg - 44th QB #13 Mike Kafka
RB #44 Ben Tate RB #20 Scott Concannon
FB #27 Mario Fannin 26.9 ppg - 73rd Scoring Def. 23.3 ppg - 48th TE/HB #9 Drake Dunsmore
WR #81 Terrell Zachery Keys to the Game WR #85 Zeke Markshausen
WR #89 Darvin Adams WR #5 Sidney Stewart
TE #5 Tommy Trott
A poor man’s Tebow - Although the Auburn Tigers didn’t WR #12 Andrew Brewer
play the Florida Gators this season, they did face some solid dual
LT #73 Lee Ziemba LT #75 Al Netter
threat QBs. But, the best one they’ll have faced all year will be
LG #66 Mike Berry LG #63 Keegan Grant
the one on the other sideline in this game - Mike Kafka. He took
C #50 Ryan Pugh C #65 Ben Burkett
over full-time this season and hasn’t disappointed in the slightest
RG #57 Byron Isom RG #64 Doug Bartels
- nearly 2,900 yards passing, 15 TDs and 7 TDs rushing. He’s
RT #75 Andrew McCain RT #79 Neal Deiters
improved as a passer this season, but still retained his wheels and
Defense Defense
escapability. Against Auburn, Kafka has to put pressure on the
DE #52 Antonio Coleman DE #99 Corey Wootton
Auburn linebackers by getting out of the pocket and throwing on
DT #93 Mike Blanc DT #98 Corbin Bryant
the run. He’ll get they’re attention when he scrambles, so expect
DT #91 Jake Ricks DT #79 Adam Hahn
Northwestern receivers to get open in that 12-15 yard range
DE #45 Antoine Carter DE #94 Vince Browne
downfield, if LBs vacate. If Kafka is consistently making plays
LB #46 Craig Stevens LB #32 David Arnold
out of the pocket, Auburn could be in major trouble.
LB #17 Josh Bynes LB #57 Nate Williams
LB #21 Eltoro Freeman LB #41 Quentin Davie
CB #6 Walter McFadden What’s good for the goose... - During the Alabama game, CB #26 Jordan Mabin
S #25 Daren Bates Auburn scored early in the game on a reverse that Terrell Zachery S #17 Brad Phillips
S #14 Demond Washington took the distance. Why is that important in this game? Well, S #10 Brian Peters
CB #15 Neiko Thorpe Northwestern doesn’t flow to the football as quickly as Alabama CB #24 Sherrick McManis
does, but if the threat of reverse/misdirection does its job,
Auburn should find what it wants to its liking on the playside. If
Scout’s Corner Northwestern is causing mayhem with its defensive team speed, Scout’s Corner
Auburn LB Josh Bynes expect OC Gus Malzahn to counter with, well, counter/ DE Corey Wootton
6’2” 234 lb. misdirection/reverses. 6’7” 280
Hitter...sometimes undisciplined...will ACL injury in the Alamo Bowl last
run underneath blocks, but when year brought him back to
protected, he’s a sideline to sideline Always last, never first - Auburn’s Lee Ziemba is often Northwestern this year...the injury
player...doesn’t do a great job of overlooked as one of the young tackles with an NFL future. has taken some of his explosiveness
getting off of blocks, but then again, However, he’ll have a great opportunity to up his profile with a away...still has prototype size/
that’s not a great trait of many at this attributes for 3-4 DE...don’t think he
level...not great in pass coverage. strong game against Corey Wootton and the Northwestern DL. has the burst to be 4-3 end...smart
Ziemba is a nasty sort with a right tackle future. But, he’ll hit you
in the face and is going to be a big factor in Auburn’s run game vs.
Northwestern.
Conclusion - Many thought that the Outback would feature Auburn and Wisconsin, but with Northwestern upsetting
Wisconsin in Evanston earlier this year, the Wildcats are back in a New Year’s Day bowl. If you haven’t seen Kafka, you’ll be in for a
nice surprise. Unfortunately, too much Ben Tate will be a problem for the gritty NU defense. He runs for 125+ yards and 2 TDs.
Auburn - 31 vs. Northwestern - 23

Capital One Bowl
2009 Schedule Jan. 1, 2010 - ABC 12 PM CST 2009 Schedule
W, Akron 31-7 W, Washington 31-23
W, Syracuse 28-7 Penn State (10-2) vs. LSU (9-3) W, Vanderbilt 23-9
W, Temple 31-6 W, ULL 31-3
L, Iowa 10-21 173.6 ypg - 38th Run Off. 129.6 ypg - 84th W, @ Mississippi St. 30-26
W, @ Illinois 35-17 W, @ Georgia 20-13
W, Eastern Illinois 52-3 238.9 ypg - 40th Pass Off. 180.1 ypg - 99th L, Florida 3-13
W, Minnesota 20-0 W, Auburn 31-10
W, @ Michigan 35-10 412.5 ypg - 36th Total Off. 309.7 ypg - 108th W, Tulane 42-0
W, @ Northwestern 34-13 L, @ Alabama 15-24
L, Ohio State 7-24 29.7 ppg - 41st Scoring Off. 25.5 ppg - 74th W, La. Tech 24-16
W, Indiana 31-20 L, @ Ole Miss 23-25
W, @ Michigan State 42-14 93.9 ypg - 10th Run Def. 134.2 ypg - 44th W, Arkansas 33-30 (OT)
Offense Offense
QB #17 Daryll Clark 277.1 ypg - 8th Total Def. 326.6 ypg - 28th QB #9 Jordan Jefferson
RB #22 Evan Royster RB #34 Stephen Ridley
WR #2 Chaz Powell 11.8 ppg - 4th Scoring Def. 16.0 ppg - 12th FB #48 Thomas Parsons
WR #5 Graham Zug WR #1 Brandon LaFell
Keys to the Game
WR #6 Derek Moye WR #80 Terrance Toliver
TE #10 Andrew Quarless Ridley me this, Batman - LSU has suffered through an TE #18 Richard Dickson
LT #73 Dennis Landolt injury plagued year, especially in the backfield. But, where there LT #70 Ciron Black
LG #50 DeOn’tae Pannell is inury, opportunity is presented and for Stephen Ridley that’s LG #68 Josh Dworaczyk
C #61 Stefan Wisniewski definitely the case. Late in the Arkansas game, Ridley got his C #53 T-Bob Hebert
RG #77 Lou Eliades chance to make plays when the Tigers desperately needed it. He RG #65 Lyle Hitt
RT #79 Ako Poti had a couple of key catch-and-runs for first downs, putting LSU RT #78 Joseph Barksdale
Defense in position to kick the game tying field goal. With a month or Defense
DE #5 Jerome Hayes more to prepare, the Tigers have to find a way to allow Ridley to DE #84 Rahim Alem
DT #91 Jared Odrick impact this game. He has good speed to the edge, but good DT #97 Al Woods
DT #85 Ollie Ogbu vision for cutback lanes, which will be important against a fast DT #91 Charles Alexander
DE #81 Jack Crawford flow Penn State defense. But, more importantly, the LSU DE #95 Pep Levingston
LB #11 Navorro Bowman offensive line must find a way to get movement from guard to LB #11 Kelvin Sheppard
LB #45 Sean Lee guard for Ridley, something that has been absent this year. LB #56 Perry Riley
LB #43 Josh Hull However, that would mean... LB #24 Harry Coleman
CB #1 A.J. Wallace O does not stand for Offense - ...blocking the coaches CB #7 Patrick Peterson
S #18 Nick Sukay selection for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Jared Odrick. S #3 Chad Jones
S #28 Drew Astorino The Tigers struggled blocking a bunch of average, middling S #15 Brandon Taylor
CB #8 D’Anton Lynn players, much less a disruptive force like Odrick. The Penn State CB #29 Chris Hawkins
defensive tackle is a lot like Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska in
that he can do more than just plug a gap inside. With his
LB Navorro Bowman quickness, the Tigers can only hope to get a hat on him, but most FS Chad Jones
importantly, keep a hat on him. Take him where he wants to go
6’1” 230 6’3” 225
The difference maker for the Penn and hope Ridley reads it properly. Good luck with that against He may want to be a pitcher in the
State defense with apologies to Jared the Big Ten’s best. major leagues (thanks for signing him
Odrick up front...nasty Astros or not), but has a wonderful
disposition...runs exceptionally Corner’s on lockdown - Penn State’s receivers are gaining future at FS...an explosive
well...blitzes like a mother...tackles experience by the boatload this season. Graham Zug, Chaz playmaker...hitter...plays well in the
through ball carriers...also has the Powell and Derek Moye have become reliable threats for QB alley...needs a bit of work playing the
speed to run down ball carriers Daryll Clark. But, wait until they get a load of Patrick Peterson. middle, floating in the middle...tough
His cover skills are tremendous and his physical nature will be a
problem for the Penn State receivers. Peterson’s done it to the
best in the SEC, these three are just added notches on his belt.
Conclusion - The LSU speed on defense will limit RB Evan Royster and frustrate Daryll Clark. The defense wins this for LSU.
Whenever LSU has had time to prepare under Les Miles, it’s awfully tough to beat. Jordan Jefferson will let it loose with 250 yds/2
TDs.
LSU - 23 vs. Penn State - 20

Gator Bowl
W, Liberty 33-20
Jan. 1, 2010 - CBS 12 PM CST L, Miami 34-38
W, East Carolina 35-20 West Virginia (9-3) vs. Florida St. (6-6) W, Jacksonville St. 19-9
L, @ Auburn 30-41 W, @ BYU 54-28
W, Colorado 35-24 183.5 ypg - 32nd Run Off. 143.2 ypg - 66th L, USF 7-17
W, @ Syracuse 34-13 L, @ Boston College 21-28
W, Marshall 24-7 198.1 ypg - 83rd Pass Off. 278.8 ypg - 16th L, Georgia Tech 44-49
W, Connecticut 28-24 W, @ North Carolina 30-27
L, @ USF 19-30 381.6 ypg - 60th Total Off. 421.9 ypg - 27th W, NC State 45-42
W, Louisville 17-9 L, @ Clemson 24-40
L, @ Cincinnati 21-24 26.6 ppg - 65th Scoring Off. 29.8 ppg - 39th W, @ Wake Forest 41-28
W, Pittsburgh 19-16 W, Maryland 29-26
W, @ Rutgers 24-21 118.4 ypg - 29th Run Def. 203.3 ypg - 108th L, @ Florida 10-37
Offense Offense
QB #16 Jarrett Brown 330.0 ypg - 34th Total Def. 443.5 ypg - 110th QB #3 EJ Manuel
RB #7 Noel Devine RB #38 Jermaine Thomas
WR #14 Brad Starks 20.8 ppg - T-25th Scoring Def. 30.8 ppg - 98th FB #24 Lonnie Pryor
WR #9 Jock Sanders Keys to the Game WR #86 Rod Owens
WR #82 Alric Arnett WR #80 Jarmon Fortson
Lost - Throughout the legendary career of defensive
TE #89 Tyler Urban TE #88 Beau Reliford
coordinator Mickey Andrews, he’s had some of the best
LT #64 Don Barclay LT #67 Andrew Datko
defensive backs the college game has ever seen. Deion. Terrell
LG #77 Josh Jenkins LG #62 Rodney Hudson
Buckley. Leroy Butler. Samari Rolle. The names are many,
C #61 Eric Jobe C #60 Ryan McMahon
way too many to mention all of them here. What makes it so
RG #74 Joe Madsen RG #79 David Spurlock
frustrating for FSU fans/coaches/players is the dearth of
RT #66 Selvish Capers RT #77 Zebrie Sanders
secondary players that FSU has this season. In fact, it’s so bad
Defense Defense
that the back four has often seemed lost throughout the
DE #93 Scooter Berry DE #95 Kevin McNeil
season. S Korey Mangum has been at the forefront of the Lost
NT #90 Chris Neild DT #93 Everett Dawkins
crew. Whether it was blowing a coverage badly against Miami
DE #97 Julian Miller NT #90 Moses McCray
or not understanding whether to take the pitch or TE so he
LB #31 Pat Lazear DE #98 Markus White
took neither against Florida, Mangum has epitomized the
LB #30 J.T. Thomas LB #36 Dekoda Watson
cluelessness with which the secondary has played this season.
LB #47 Reed Williams LB #29 Kendall Smith
West Virginia’s spread attack isn’t going to make FSU
CB #22 Brandon Hogan LB #13 Nigel Bradham
followers jump with joy. Can the FSU secondary be found in
S #11 Sidney Glover CB #15 Ochuko Jenije
time? Uh, what do you think?
S #2 Robert Sands S #20 Jamie Robinson
S #12 Nate Sowers Lucky number seven - West Virginia’s running game has S #22 Korey Mangum
CB #8 Keith Tandy been purely a measure of how much Noel Devine can carry on CB #21 Patrick Robinson
his shoulders. With a month off to get his body right, Devine
should be a major factor in this game against FSU. The
Seminole defense proved in the Florida game that even when
RB Noel Devine it gets to the ball, there’s no guarantee that the defense can LB Dekoda Watson
5’8” 176 make the tackle. And, that’s twice as dangerous for a guy like 6’2” 226
Quicker than he is fast...but, boy, has Looks physically like a traditional FSU
he got a burst to get to the second Devine who has the power to break tackles in space. But, linebacker, however, he doesn’t play
level...stronger than he most importantly, if the Seminoles can’t get defenders to the like one...slower to read than guys
appears...catches the ball adequately ball quickly enough, Devine is going to be making house calls like Sims, Brooks, Bush, etc...does run
out of the backfield...tougher than he throughout the day. FSU’s defense has always been an well and can get to the ball...not a
looks...powerful and hard to get complete linebacker...should be a
hands on...can break weak tackles aggressive, read on the run defense, but it could run itself more impactful player
straight out of plays involving Devine.
Conclusion - It’s hard to believe that since I’ve been watching college football, Bobby Bowden held the title as head coach for
the FSU Seminoles. Until the morning after this game. With this being Bowden’s last game, the Seminoles don’t want to let the man
down, but let’s be honest, this defense hasn’t stopped anyone all season long. And, this WVU offense is as dynamic, if not more so
than any unit the ‘Noles have faced. Devine will get his, but QB Jarrett Brown will be able to throw deep downfield when he wants.
Too much for backup QB EJ Manuel to overcome.
West Virginia - 38 vs. FSU - 21

Rose Bowl
W, Navy 31-27
Jan. 1, 2010 - ABC 3:30 PM CST L, @ Boise State 8-19
L, USC 15-18 Ohio State (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-2) W, Purdue 38-36
W, Toledo 38-0 W, Utah 31-24
W, Illinois 30-0 198.9 ypg - 19th Run Off. 236.1 ypg - 6th W, Cal 42-3
W, @ Indiana 33-14 W, Washington State 52-6
W, Wisconsin 31-13 165.9 ypg - 106th Pass Off. 188.6 ypg - 91st W, @ UCLA 24-10
L, @ Purdue 18-26 W, @ Washington 43-19
W, Minnesota 38-7 364.8 ypg - 71st Total Off. 424.7 ypg - 25th W, USC 47-20
W, NMSU 45-0 L, @ Stanford 42-51
W, @ Penn State 24-7 29.3 ppg - 47th Scoring Off. 37.7 ppg - 7th W, Arizona State 44-21
W, Iowa 27-24 (OT) W, @ Arizona 44-41 (OT)
W, Michigan 21-10 83.4 ypg - 5th Run Def. 126.7 ypg - 39th W, Oregon State 37-33
Offense Offense
QB #2 Terrelle Pryor 262.5 ypg - 5th Total Def. 329.4 ypg - 32nd QB #8 Jeremiah Masoli
RB #1 Dan ‘Boom’ Herron RB #21 LaMichael James
FB #44 Zach Boren 12.2 ppg - 5th Scoring Def. 23.6 ppg - 52nd WR #10 D.J. Davis
WR #8 Devier Posey WR #80 Lavasier Tuinei
Keys to the Game
WR #12 Dane Sanzenbacher WR #23 Jeff Maehl
TE #86 Jake Ballard The Fifth Ward - One of the toughest areas in all of Houston TE #83 Ed Dickson
LT #64 Jim Cordle (where I reside) is the Fifth Ward. Things don’t come easy there LT #69 Bo Thran
LG #65 Justin Boren for anyone. Well, when facing Oregon’s defense, running into FS LG #77 Carson York
C #50 Michael Brewster T.J. Ward is a lot like that. Hard times. Ward’s presence on this C #54 Jordan Holmes
RG #70 Bryant Browning defense was definitely felt through the first six games of the RG #79 Mark Asper
RT #76 J.B. Shugarts season as he missed with an ankle injury. But, with a month to get RT #68 C.E. Kaiser
Defense healthy and prepare, Ward should be a menace for the Buckeyes to Defense
DE #90 Thaddeus Gibson deal with in Pasadena. Last year, he turned the Holiday Bowl on a DE #39 Will Tukuafu
DT #84 Doug Worthington dime with his hit on Ok. State QB Zac Robinson and it could DT #88 Brandon Bair
DT #92 Todd Denlinger happen here as well. Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor loves to get DT #90 Blake Ferras
DE #97 Cameron Heyward out of the pocket and scramble, but one shot from Ward and it DE #58 Kenny Rowe
LB #36 Brian Rolle could force him “back inside for the winter”. Ward’s ability to LB #35 Spencer Paysinger
LB #51 Ross Homan close on the line of scrimmage is hugely important against the LB #55 Casey Matthews
LB #38 Austin Spitler Ohio State running backs ‘Boom’ Herron and Brandon Saine. LB #11 Eddie Pleasant
CB #5 Chimdi Chekwa Keep an eye on #2 Ward. CB #3 Cliff Harris
S #21 Anderson Russell Sanzenbacher rolls right off the tongue - He’s caught S #14 Javes Lewis
S #4 Kurt Coleman deep balls this year but he’s not a huge deep threat. He’s caught S #2 TJ Ward
CB # 10 Devon Torrance bubble screens and ran after the catch but he’s not a make-you- CB #37 Talmadge Jackson
miss dynamo in space. But, Ohio State WR Dane Sanzenbacher is
Scout’s Corner a guy who can have a massive impact on this game, especially Scout’s Corner
DE Cameron Heyward catching the ball at the chains for first downs. The more times he WR Jeff Maehl
6’6” 287 can get open and get a first down, the more confident Pryor will 6’5” 200
What a specimen...the size, the get. Oregon will give #12 open areas in the field and he’ll find Long, lean and lanky...competitive and
quickness, the DNA...it’s all them. can go up and get it when he needs
there...son of former NFL FB Safety dance - After watching Oregon’s offense spin Oregon to...a next level deep threat...also a
“Ironhead” Heyward...however, it’s guy who can work the middle as he’s
not all there...missing that next level State FS Lance Mitchell around like a top, I couldn’t help but tough for a taller receiver...runs away
‘it’ factor...has the size to be 3-4 DE think about Ohio State’s S Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell. from defensive backs...can catch quick
or 4-3 DE or even 4-3 ‘3’ technique No position is as important as safety against this Oregon defense. game throws and make things happen
Bite on the option and the option pass will kill you. Take the QB
and he’ll flip it out to a RB on the option pitch. No one has a
bigger burden to stop this Masoli-led spread attack than these two
Conclusion - The more that I’ve thought about this Rose Bowl, the more excited I actually get. I hope that Oregon can jump
out in front, because it’ll force Jimmy Sweatervest to open up the game plan. But I don’t think Ohio State can handle the entire
Duck ‘O’ package.
Oregon - 31 vs. Ohio State - 28

In the Film Room
at the Rose Bowl
Oregon’s Zone Read Option
FS
SS CB
CB
$B LB
LB
DT DT DE
DE
24
21
8
Oregon’s “Zone Read Option” w/slot as Pitch man
Although the Zone read has been in vogue for the past eight to ten years, it’s really become fashionable since Vince Young
utilized the “zone read” in the Texas Longhorns 2005 national championship season.
Oregon’s Chip Kelly has taken the zone read concepts to a different level and that was evident in the de facto Pac-10
championship game against Oregon State. Throughout the game, the Ducks’ fine signal caller Jeremiah Masoli, alongside
whippet quick RB LaMichael James, conducted the zone read to a T.
Now, the concept of the zone read is quite easy - traditional zone concepts for the OL. The defensive end crashes, the
QB pulls the ball. As you can see above, if the defensive end (in the blue dotted circle) crashes down the line on James
(#21) as he takes a potential zone read handoff, Masoli pulls the ball and makes a bee line downfield where that DE had
vacated, running into wide open space.
Teams started taking Masoli away though when the defensive end “crashed” down the line by having the backside
linebacker/nickel back stay home and wait for Masoli to run right back to him.
So, Kelly, being a spread offense guru put in the wrinkle that you see above - the zone read with an option pitch to the
slot wide receiver.
The play starts as it always does and looks exactly like the traditional zone read. When the defensive end crashes, Masoli
pulls the ball and starts downfield. As the nickel back/linebacker takes a dead run to Masoli, #24 Kenjon Barner
“moonwalks” back into pitch relation with Masoli, something the nickel back/linebacker doesn’t see. Masoli flattens out a
bit to make sure he has that relationship with Barner. When the backer darts to Masoli, the QB flips the ball to a wide
open Barner. This play accounted for a first down every time the Ducks ran it against the Beavers. Ohio State has a
tough challenge ahead, trying to stop the three prong attack of the Ducks zone read.
Sugar Bowl
W, Charleston So. 62-3
Jan. 1, 2010 - Fox 7:30 PM CST W, @ Rutgers 47-15
W, Troy 56-6 Florida (12-1) vs. Cincinnati (12-0) W, SEMO 70-3
W, Tennessee 23-13 W, @ Oregon State 28-18
W, @ Kentucky 41-7 225.2 ypg - 10th Run Off. 143.9 ypg - 65th W, Fresno State 28-20
W, @ LSU 13-3 W, @ Miami OH 37-13
W, Arkansas 23-20 217.2 ypg - 58th Pass Off. 320.3 ypg - 6th W, @ USF 34-17
W, @ Miss. State 29-19 W, Louisville 41-10
W, Georgia 41-17 442.4 ypg - 12th Total Off. 464.3 ypg - 6th W, @ Syracuse 28-7
W, Vanderbilt 27-3 W, Connecticut 47-45
W, @ South Carolina 24-14 34.7 ppg - 13th Scoring Off. 39.8 ppg - 6th W, WVU 24-21
W, FIU 62-3 W, Illinois 49-36
W, Florida State 37-10 101.6 ypg - 13th Run Def. 141.0 ypg - 56th W, @ Pitt 45-44
L, Alabama (Atlanta) 13-32
151.5 ypg - 3rd Pass Def. 209.3 ypg - 50th
QB #15 Tim Tebow QB #15 Tony Pike
RB #2 Jeff Demps 11.5 ppg - 3rd Scoring Def. 20.8 ppg - T-25th RB #23 Isaiah Pead
WR #11 Riley Cooper WR #1 Mardy Gilyard
WR #6 Deonte Thompson
Keys to the Game WR #80 Armon Binns
WR #83 David Nelson The Last Game - The main story line in this game will be WR #3 DJ Woods
TE #81 Aaron Hernandez this is the last time that we see Tim Tebow. With all due respect, TE #19 Ben Guidugli
LT #73 Xavier Nixon I think Cincinnati is going to miss its QB Tony Pike just as much LT #71 Jeff Linkenbach
LG #57 Carl Johnson as UF misses ‘ol #15. Sure, Zach Collaros will step in during 2010, LG #60 Jason Kelce
C #56 Maurkice Pouncey but Pike has grown more as a QB this season than anyone could C #56 Chris Jurek
RG #55 Mike Pouncey have expected. He’s turned into a guy who can make all the RG #59 Alex Hoffman
RT #76 Marcus Gilbert throws, with touch, accurately, with zip when needed. The RT #66 Samuel Griffin
Defense Gators haven’t been challenged this season by a guy with the Defense
DE #94 Justin Trattou ability to attack them like Pike. When they’ve faced someone DE #90 Ricardo Mathews
DT #92 Terron Sanders similar, say Ryan Mallett at Arkansas, it almost ended up in a loss. DT #95 Derek Wolfe
DT #99 Omar Hunter Alabama’s Greg McElroy had all kinds of success against Florida’s DE #4 Alex Daniels
DE #49 Jermaine Cunningham vaunted secondary and Pike can, too. OLB #98 Curtis Young
LB #41 Ryan Stamper ILB #37 JK Schaffer
The Last Game, part 2 - Although Florida LB Brandon
LB #51 Brandon Spikes ILB #50 Andre Revels
Spikes has received numerous accolades and honors throughout
LB #40 Brandon Hicks OLB #54 Walter Stewart
the season, I know he’s got to be stewing about the year he’s
CB #5 Joe Haden CB #25 Brad Jones
NOT had and the way the defense was humiliated in Atlanta. On
S #35 Ahmad Black SS #26 Drew Frey
the surface, you’d think this isn’t a game Spikes would have a big
S #21 Major Wright FS #17 Aaron Webster
impact upon, but keep in mind, he’s as good playing in pass
CB #1 Janoris Jenkins CB #9 Dominique Battle
coverage as he is stuffing the run. Cincinnati must be cognizant
Scout’s Corner of crossing routes and “high/low” read routes when Spikes is in Scout’s Corner
CB Joe Haden the area. He breaks on the ball well and can take it the distance if WR/KR Mardy Gilyard
6’1” 205 he does pick it. Spikes has one last time to make it right in NO. 6’ 195 lb.
Plays corner as if he’s the baddest What a wonderful next level
dude on the block...doesn’t feel like The New Breed - Before this season started, Florida TE player...tough...good route
any WR can beat anywhere on the Aaron Hernandez was thought to be a major weapon for the runner...able to get separation...makes
field...ultra-confident...great all-around Gators. But, I’m sure not many people thought to this extent. the tough catch in traffic or deep
skills...solid tackler...football IQ is Not only has he proven to be a valued weapon for Tebow’s downfield up and over corners/
tremendous and has understanding of safeties...not a huge receiver, but
whole field...strong hip turn/ball skills offense, he’s proven to be THE weapon in this offense. strong enough to go over middle
Cincinnati can take him away with some bracket coverage and
safeties in man, but Florida uses the middle TE shovel pass so
well that Cincinnati could get burned in a big way with that play.
Conclusion - My only pet peeve during bowl season is that teams often aren’t at full strength due a coach leaving or a player
being ineligible or both. In the case of the Bearcats, it’s the loss of its leader Brian Kelly for the bowl game. Now, West Virginia
sacked up two years ago when RichRod left them, but Florida is a tad better than that OU team was. Expect a big game from Tebow,
Hernandez and Jeff Demps who has the type of quickness that hurt Cincinnati in its loss to Pitt and Dion Lewis. UF wins #13.
Florida - 38 vs. Cincinnati - 27

In the Film Room
at the Sugar Bowl
Cincinnati “Nod” Route
FS
SS
CB
LB LB CB
LB
DE DT DT DE
15
Cincinnati “Nod” Route down in the Red Zone

During the USF game earlier in the season, QB Tony Pike hurt his wrist after being sacked, reinjuring the same wrist that
was operated on during 2008. His absence forced the Bearcats to get away from one of their best red zone plays. For
lack of a better name, I’ve called it Cincinnati’s “nod” route. Why? Here goes.
The “nod” route is best used down in the red zone against halves or quarters coverage, most importantly against zone
coverage. From the formation that is used above, it’s imperative that QB Tony Pike get rid of the ball quickly and to a
point at the back of the end zone.
The key on this play is the strong safety, or the defensive back to the three receiver side of the formation. On the snap
the strong safety to that side is conscious to stay on top of all three wide receivers, so he starts to get to a point
“middling” the three receivers. The outside receiver stays short and the #2 receiver darts across the formation to hold
the linebackers and potentially the safety/DB on the other side. The #3 receiver starts directly at the safety making him
think that he’s heading to the back pylon in the end zone. Once he has the safety on his heels, he gives a “nod” to the
corner, then breaks his route back inside to the inside upright on the goal posts. Pike keeps the ball on that hash as to
not allow the backside DB to get involved in the play. But, the “nod” to the corner gives that inside receiver, most times
DJ Woods, the room to get back inside of the defensive back to make the catch for the touchdown.
The Bearcats offense has been so tough to stop, but facing the Gators secondary will be the sternest test for Pike and the
Bearcat receivers. But, with the use of the “nod” route and the accuracy of Pike, they’ll have a chance.
International Bowl
2009 Schedule Jan. 2, 2010 - ESPN 11 am CST 2009 Schedule
W, @ Wisconsin 20-28 W, Wofford 40-7
W, Western Ill. 41-7 No. Illinois (7-5) vs. USF (7-5) W, @ W. Kentucky 35-13
W, @ Purdue 28-21 W, Charleston So. 59-0
L, Idaho 31-34 202.4 ypg - 17th Run Off. 169.4 ypg - 45th W, @ Florida St. 17-7
W, Western Mich. 38-3 W, @ Syracuse 34-20
L, @ Toledo 19-20 151.7 ypg - 109th Pass Off. 192.8 ypg - 90th L, Cincinnati 17-34
W, @ Miami OH 27-22 L, @ Pitt 14-41
W, Akron 27-10 354.1 ypg - 79th Total Off. 362.3 ypg - 72nd W, West Virginia 30-19
W, Eastern Mich. 50-6 L, @ Rutgers 0-31
W, Ball St. 26-20 30.8 ppg - 31st Scoring Off. 26.4 ppg - 67th W, Louisville 34-22
L, @ Ohio 31-38 L, Miami 10-31
L, @ Central Mich. 31-45 119.4 ypg - 31st Run Def. 137.8 ypg - 49th L, @ Connecticut 27-29
Offense Offense
QB #12 Chandler Harnish 324.0 ypg - 27th Total Def. 328.8 ypg - 31st QB #7 BJ Daniels
RB #28 Chad Spann OR RB #3 Mo Plancher
#8 Me’co Brown 21.2 ppg - 30th Scoring Def. 21.2 ppg - 30th FB #43 Richard Kelly
WR #10 Willie Clark WR #2 Carlton Mitchell
WR #80 Landon Cox Keys to the Game WR #89 Jessie Hester
WR #11 Marcus Lewis Same old, same old - Since the days of Michael “the TE #82 Ben Busbee
TE #83 Reed Cunningham Burner” Turner, the NIU Huskies have been an old school, LT #63 Jamar Bass
LT #62 Trevor Olson smash mouth run oriented football team. Guess what? 2009 LG #55 Jeremiah Warren
LG #65 Jason Onyebuagu featured an old school, smash mouth run oriented football led C #62 Sampson Genus
C #50 Eddie Adamski by one of the smallest, yet strongest, players around. RB RG #79 Chaz Hine
RG #72 Joe Pawlak Chad Spann tops the scales at 5’9”, but that’s perfect to be a RT #64 Jake Sims
RT #74 Adam Kiel big-time runner at this level. With 19 touchdowns, he’s been Defense
Defense the go-to guy this season, but facing the Bulls can he have DE #95 George Selvie
DE #56 Brandon Bice similar success? The Bulls defense is predicated on speed and NT #46 Cory Grissom
DT #98 D.J. Pirkle quickness to the ball, but if they start over-pursuing running DT #91 Keith McCaskill
NT #92 Brian Lawson plays, Spann can gash them on cutbacks and have a big game. DE #90 Jason Pierre-Paul
DE #54 Jake Coffman LB #11 Sabbath Joseph
LB #37 Alex Kube Free as a bird - A guy with an NFL future is Bulls FS Nate LB #42 Kion Wilson
LB #53 Pat Schiller Allen. He’s got the size, the temperment and the football IQ LB #49 Chris Robinson
LB #26 Cory Hanson to play safety at the next level. He was 2nd on the team with CB #2 Quenton Washington
CB #33 Patrick George 79 tackles, but added four interceptions as well to lead the S #1 Jerrell Young
S #25 Tracy Wilson team. Stopping Spann will be of the utmost importance, given S #5 Nate Allen
S #4 David Bryant the fact that the Huskies are one of the worst passing teams in CB #3 Jerome Murphy
CB #5 Chris Smith the nation. As such, expect Allen to be creeping toward the
Scout’s Corner line of scrimmage throughout the game ready to make plays. Scout’s Corner
RB Chad Spann DE Jason Pierre-Paul
5’9” 197 Finish strong - When BJ Daniels took over for former 6’6” 265
Tough guy to tackle...wins leverage starter Matt Grothe earlier this season, Daniels was thrust Quick off the ball...reminds me of
battles...quick in between the holesinto the spotlight in the most apropos locations - his home in Jevon Kearse...love the
and often is hard to find behind burst...incredibly long arms...only
behemoth offensive linemen...cuts onTallahassee, FL. He fared well in that win over FSU, but it’s played one year at Division 1 level
now time to take that next step as a Division 1 QB. He’s cut after spending time at JUCO...as
a dime...doesn’t handle the full load
for NIU, but at the next level, he down on the picks (one in his last three games), but now he such, still learning, but often has
could be a 3rd down back/return guy has to face a physical defense and execute better than he has athleticism to beat tackles/TE...raw
this year. We know he can run (798 yds. rushing), but can he
throw the ball effectively for a team that needs to challenge
for the Big East title in 2010? That needs to happen here.
Conclusion - The key will be the athletic USF defense generating short fields for Daniels and the offense. Daniels will thrive in
those situations, while NIU will scratch, claw and fight to stay in this game. A hard fought win for the Bulls north of the border.
USF - 24 vs. NIU - 23

Cotton Bowl
2009 Schedule Jan. 2, 2010 - Fox 1 PM CST 2009 Schedule
W, Georgia 24-10 W, @ Memphis 45-14
L, Houston 35-45 Ok. State (9-3) vs. Ole Miss (8-4) W, SELA 52-6
W, Rice 41-24 L, @ South Carolina 10-16
W, Grambling 56-6 191.8 ypg - 24th Run Off. 182.8 ypg - 33rd W, @ Vanderbilt 23-7
W, @ Texas A&M 36-31 L, Alabama 3-22
W, Missouri 33-17 184.5 ypg - 93rd Pass Off. 222.8 ypg - 53rd W, UAB 48-13
W, @ Baylor 34-7 W, Arkansas 30-17
L, Texas 14-41 376.3 ypg - 62nd Total Off. 405.6 ypg - 42nd L, @ Auburn 20-33
W, @ Iowa State 34-8 W, No. Arizona 38-14
W, Texas Tech 24-17 30.2 ppg - 37th Scoring Off. 30.3 ppg - 35th W, Tennessee 42-17
W, Colorado 31-28 W, LSU 25-23
L, @ Oklahoma 0-27 87.6 ypg - 37th Run Def. 140.3 ypg - 55th L, @ Miss. State 27-41
Projected Starting Lineups 242.3 ypg - 93rd Pass Def. 179.0 ypg - 16th Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #11 Zac Robinson 329.9 ypg - 33rd Total Def. 319.3 ypg - 24th QB #4 Jevan Snead
RB #5 Keith Toston RB #22 Dexter McCluster
FB #37 Bryant Ward 21.8 ppg - T-36th Scoring Def. 18.6 ppg - 17th FB #43 Andy Hartmann
WR #84 Hubert Anyiam WR #3 Shay Hodge
WR #81 Justin Blackmon
Keys to the Game WR #21 Lionel Breaux
WR #80 DeMarcus Conner Superman - Now, Superman in the future is going to have to TE #80 Gerald Harris
LT #76 Russell Okung find a different way to change as phone booths will be a thing of LT #78 Bradley Sowell
LG #77 Noah Franklin the past. However, the phone booth analogy is apropos for Ole LG #71 Reid Neely
C #54 Andrew Lewis Miss RB/WR/AP Dexter McCluster, who could make you miss in C #72 Daverin Geralds
RG #68 Lane Taylor a phone booth. Well, that’s one of my favorite sayings and it’s his RG #77 John Jerry
RT #72 Andrew Mitchell quickness and slippery nature that makes this matchup ultra- RT #79 Bobby Massie
Defense difficult for the Cowboys defense. McCluster can hurt you in so Defense
DE #91 Ugo Chinasa many different ways, but when he has the ball in his hands, you’d DE #92 Marcus Tillman
DT #98 Derek Burton better be gap responsible or he’ll exploit you for six. One guy six NT #57 Jerrell Powe
NT #90 Swanson Miller inches too far up field, too far left or right and McCluster can slip DT #96 Lawon Scott
DE #97 Jermiah Price a one-on-one tackle and make a 2-yard gain a 62-yard TD run. DE #40 Kentrell Lockett
LB #20 Andre Sexton Keep the feet hot, eyes on his midsection and go belly to belly. LB #7 Patrick Trahan
LB #4 Patrick Lavine Wrap him up and bring a bunch of dudes to help. LB #51 Jonathan Cornell
LB #42 Justin Gent LB #9 Allen Walker
Do you see him? - One of the main things I like about this
CB #16 Perrish Cox CB #24 Cassius Vaughn
Ole Miss defense is the way the Ole Miss defensive staff moves
S #31 Lucien Antoine S #1 Kendrick Lewis
around safety Kendrick Lewis. Defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix
S #10 Markelle Martin S #20 Johnny Brown
will move him up the line of scrimmage and he isn’t afraid to send
CB #23 Terrance Anderson CB #8 Marshay Green
him on the old school safety blitz. If Ok. State QB Zac Robinson
can’t see him, he’s going to get knocked silly (again) or he’ll throw
Scout’s Corner a pick. Either way, Robinson must avoid the catastrophic play Scout’s Corner
CB Perrish Cox when the Rebels blitz Lewis off the edge or in the A gaps. G/T John Jerry
6’ 198 Who knew? - Before the season, Oklahoma State running 6’6” 335
Overshadowed by many of the higher Can play guard or tackle, which can
profile corners in college football, but back Kendall Hunter was named to a number of pre-season All- be both a blessing or a curse at the
has skill set right up with the best of American teams and was thought to be the best RB in the Big 12. next level...wants and needs to be in
them...GREAT ball skills...has acute But, an ankle injury against Houston limited Hunter for the rest smashmouth run scheme...don’t think
awareness of where he is on of the year. However, RB Keith Toston stepped in and did a he’ll be tremendously successful as
field...can turn and go and match WR zone blocking tackle, but as guard fits
routes...some thought best cover guy wonderful job and the Cowboy run game didn’t miss a beat. well...good fit in man/power scheme
Toston will get hit in the face by a physical Ole Miss run defense,
but he’s proven that he gets stronger with more carries.
Conclusion - I think the main difference in this matchup is going to be turnovers. Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead hasn’t been able to
avoid the turnover bug throughout the season and the offense has stagnated due in large part to those TOs. Oklahoma State doesn’t
have Dez Bryant to make a play and change the game, so Toston has to be consistent on the ground with the 20-25 carries he gets.
Robinson hasn’t had the best season but a solid outing against a tough Ole Miss defense will soothe the pain.
Oklahoma St. - 31 vs. Ole Miss - 20

Papa John’s Bowl
2009 Schedule Jan. 2, 2010 - ESPN 2 PM CST 2009 Schedule
W, @ NC State 7-3 W, @ Ohio 23-16
L, @ Georgia 37-41 South Carolina (7-5) vs. U Conn (7-5) L, North Carolina 10-12
W, FAU 38-16 W, @ Baylor 30-22
W, Ole Miss 16-10 125.0 ypg - 91st Run Off. 172.8 ypg - 41st W, Rhode Island 52-10
W, SC State 38-14 L, @ Pitt 21-24
W, Kentucky 28-26 234.3 ypg - 43rd Pass Off. 225.7 ypg - 46th W, Louisville 38-25
L, @ Alabama 6-20 L, @ West Virginia 24-28
W, Vanderbilt 14-10 359.3 ypg - 76th Total Off. 398.4 ypg - 47th L, Rutgers 24-28
L, @ Tennessee 13-31 L @ Cincinnati 45-47
L, @ Arkansas 16-33 21.8 ppg - 96th Scoring Off. 32.1 ppg - 23rd W, @ ND 33-30 (OT)
L, Florida 14-24 W, Syracuse 56-31
W, Clemson 34-17 137.0 ypg - 46th Run Def. 137.6 ypg - 48th W, South Florida 29-27
Offense Offense
QB #5 Stephen Garcia 304.7 ypg - 15th Total Def. 382.4 ypg - 72nd QB #10 Zach Frazer
RB #10 Brian Maddox RB #23 Jordan Todman
FB #47 Patrick DiMarco 20.4 ppg - 22nd Scoring Def. 25.0 ppg - 60th FB #49 Anthony Sherman
WR #1 Alshon Jeffery WR #29 Marcus Easley
WR #9 Moe Brown Keys to the Game WR #82 Kashif Moore
TE #88 Weslye Sanders WR #3 Brad Kanuch
LT #68 Kyle Nunn
Up to his old tricks - I remember watching the 1997 LT #71 Mike Ryan
Florida-FSU game, jaw slightly agape for a full three hours
LG #77 Garrett Chisolm LG #66 Mathieu Olivier
plus. Florida coach Steve Spurrier alternated plays with his
C #57 Lemuel Jeanpierre C #57 Moe Petrus
starter and some backup nicknamed the Fat Dog. In and out,
RG #55 T.J. Johnson RG #78 Zach Hurd
in and out for the entire game against the #1 team in the
RT #66 Hutch Eckerson RT #79 Mike Hicks
nation. When the Gators pulled out a 32-29 win over FSU,
Defense Defense
ruining FSU’s national title hopes, I was incredulous. So, why
DE #96 Clifton Geathers DE #91 Jesse Joseph
then when I was watching South Carolina against Clemson was
DT #95 Nathan Pepper DT #99 Kendall Reyes
I the slightest bit surprised when I saw two different #5s for
DT #91 Ladi Ajiboye DT #4 Twyon Reyes
South Carolina at QB in that win? I shouldn’t have been, but
DE #83 Cliff Matthews DE #9 Lindsey Witten
it wasn’t something Spurrier had pulled out in a while. But, it
LB #40 Eric Norwood LB #28 Jory Johnson
may have given the offense the kick start it needed.
LB #16 Shaq Wilson LB #32 Scott Lutrus
Throughout the season, #5 Stephon Gilmore played
LB #26 Antonio Allen LB #8 Lawrence Wilson
cornerback, but went back into the shotgun in the
CB #5 Stephon Gilmore CB #5 Blidi Wreh-Wilson
“Wildcat” (so it would be Wild Cock offense?) and gave
S #17 Chris Culliver S #33 Robert Vaughn
Clemson a look it hadn’t seen this year. At that point, #5
S #24 Darian Stewart S #15 Jerome Junior
Stephen Garcia could get instructions from the sideline from
CB #3 Akeem Auguste CB #42 Robert McClain
Spurrier, as Doug Johnson did so many year ago. U Conn has
now seen it, but can they stop it?
Donald Brown he isn’t, but he’s good - Casual
OLB Eric Norwood LB Scott Lutrus
college football fans didn’t think this U Conn ball club would
6’1” 252 6’3” 244
Versatile...can rush the passer have a chance offensively to succeed. You lose a Donald Tough as nails...love his ability to drop
effectively as former DE...can drop in Brown and you can forget it. But, as Brown left, Jordan into coverage...tackling
pass coverage ably as OLB...projects Todman picked right up where he left off. His burst and machine...reads very well and gets to
to an incredibly agile 3-4 OLB at next power have made him extremely tough to tackle, but against ball because of it...could play the
level...has played with his hand on the South Carolina’s physical defense, he’s going to take a middle at the next level with a few
ground and has played an up more pounds packed on or could stay
position...good rush skill set/moves pounding. But, Todman has been as valuable as any Husky outside...runs well, but not a blazer
down the stretch and will have a definite impact on this game.
Conclusion - The Huskies have been as resilient as any team could possibly be after dealing with the untimely death of former
starting corner Jasper Howard. U Conn has lost five games by a total of 15 points, yet with all that adversity, they powered through
with seven wins. With some time off to reflect, it’ll be interesting how U Conn responds. South Carolina needs bowl retribution,
though, after last year’s debacle in Tampa. I think they’ll get it based on a tremendous defensive performance. This one will be as
competitive as any bowl game outside the BCS, but the Gamecocks will slow U Conn’s best weapon (Todman) and win this game.
South Carolina - 28 vs. U Conn - 27

Liberty Bowl
2009 Schedule Jan. 2, 2010 - ESPN 4:30 PM CST 2009 Schedule
W, Missouri State 48-10 W, Appalachian St. 29-24
L, Georgia 41-52 Arkansas (7-5) vs. East Carolina (9-4) L, @ West Virginia 20-35
L, @ Alabama 7-35 L @ North Carolina 17-31
W, Texas A&M 47-19 136.0 ypg - 78th Run Off. 149.6 ypg - 59th W, UCF 19-14
W, Auburn 44-23 W, @ Marshall 21-17
L, @ Florida 20-23 303.3 ypg - 10th Pass Off. 218.0 ypg - 57th L, @ SMU 21-28
L, @ Ole Miss 17-30 W, Rice 49-13
W, Eastern Michigan 63-27 439.3 ypg - 14th Total Off. 367.6 ypg - 68th W, @ Memphis 38-19
W, South Carolina 33-16 L, Virginia Tech 3-16
W, Troy 56-20 37.3 ppg - 8th Scoring Off. 27.8 ppg - 56th W, @ Tulsa 44-17
W, Mississippi State 42-21 W, UAB 37-21
L, @ LSU 30-33 (OT) 150.1 ypg - 67th Run Def. 123.3 ypg - 35th W, Southern Miss 25-20
W, Houston 38-32
QB #15 Ryan Mallett QB #15 Patrick Pinkney
RB #29 Broderick Gren 25.8 ppg - 62nd Scoring Def. 22.1 ppg - 39th RB #24 Dominique Lindsay
FB #44 Van Stumon RB #31 Giavanni Ruffin
WR #85 Greg Childs Keys to the Game WR #17 Dwayne Harris
WR #3 Joe Adams Underrated - Maybe this goes for the entire East Carolina WR #81 Darryl Freeney
TE #45 D.J Williams squad, but against the Houston Cougars, DE C.J. Wilson TE #45 Kevin Gidrey
LT #73 Ray Dominguez played a solid, if unspectacular, game. He didn’t register a sack LT #69 Willie Smith
LG #71 Wade Grayson and had a couple of QB hurries, but he made U of H QB Case LG #74 Terence Campbell
C #60 Seth Oxner Keenum move out of the pocket a number of times. Now, the C #54 Sean Allen
RG #66 Mitch Petrus problem, in some sense, is that Keenum is a little better RG #75 Cory Dowless
RT #65 DeMarcus Love throwing on the run than Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett. As such, RT #66 D.J. Scott
Defense Wilson’s ability to beat tackle Ray Dominguez and DeMarcus Defense
DE #91 Jake Bequette Love is paramount to stopping, or slowing down, the Arkansas DE #95 C. J. Wilson
DT #61 Zach Stadther offense. Rhythm and timing are of the utmost to Bobby DT #90 Jay Ross
DT #96 Malcolm Sheppard Petrino and any movement out of the pocket will reduce DT #97 Linval Joseph
DE #18 Adrian Davis Mallett’s accuracy. Meaning that C.J. Wilson is of huge DE #53 Scotty Robinson
LB #34 Jerry Franklin importance to ECU and a guy Arkansas has to slow down OLB #49 Jeremy Chambliss
LB #10 Wendel Davis MLB #44 Nick Johnson
LB #31 Jerico Nelson Short and different - The Cougars completed a number OLB #19 Chris Mattocks
CB #26 Ramon Broadway of passes against ECU in the championship game in the short/ CB #13 Travis Simmons
S #9 Elton Ford intermediate area. Now, the Cougs did it with crossing SS #1 Levin Neal
S #39 Matt Harris receivers and backs, but the Hogs will counter with TE D.J FS #4 Van Eskridge
CB #4 Rudell Crim Williams, one of the more underrated players at his position. CB #38 Emanuel Davis
He’s third on the team with 31 catches, but as the receiving
Scout’s Corner corps has emerged, Mallett sort of ‘forgot’ about Williams. Scout’s Corner
DT Malcolm Sheppard But, the success that Houston had in those areas has to be S Van Eskridge
6’2” 291 exploited. And, it can be done with Williams. 6’ 195
Reminds me of Amobi Okoye for the More and more impressed with
Houston Texans...quick feet and A Harris by any other name - Quite simply, Dwayne Eskridge as I watch more film...decent
disruptive, but he’s tiny, relatively Harris is one of the best dual threat receivers in college range at the safety position...has an
speaking...has to play the three football. Never heard of him? Shame on you. If there’s a poor all-around game, although he doesn’t
technique/under tackle totally excel at any one thing...has five
position...needs to be better stacking man’s Percy Harvin out there, it’s Harris. With 79 receptions, picks this year...tackles well in
and shedding...possibly be 3-4 DE Harris leads the Pirates, but he gets a bunch of those on space...fills in the alley with oomph
bubble screens or variations of. He’s a glorified RB and when
he gets his hands on the ball, you better come up to tackle him
like a running back. If not, well, just ask U of H what happens
Conclusion - This is a completely underrated matchup that has “last team with the ball wins” sort of vibe. ECU’s defense saw a
passing attack of the highest order, so it’ll be prepared. However, I think Mallett will have more success deeper down the field. He’ll
utilize Williams short early, but then he’ll find success at the 18-20 yard range downfield and take chunks of yardage in a Hogs win.
Arkansas - 38 vs. ECU - 31

Alamo Bowl
W, Montana St. 44-3
Jan. 2, 2010 - ESPN 7 PM CST W, North Dakota 38-13
L, Central Mich. 27-29 Michigan St. (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (8-4) W, Rice 55-10
L, @ Notre Dame 30-33 L, @ Texas 24-34
L, @ Wisconsin 30-38 135.9 ypg - 79th Run Off. 81.1 ypg - 115th L, @ Houston 28-29
W, Michigan 26-20 (OT) W, New Mexico 48-28
W, @ Illinois 24-14 271.2 ypg - 26th Pass Off. 380.7 ypg - 2nd W, Kansas St. 66-14
W, Northwestern 24-14 W, @ Nebraska 31-10
L, Iowa 13-15 407.1 ypg - 41st Total Off. 461.8 ypg - 7th L, Texas A&M 30-52
L, @ Minnesota 34-42 W, Kansas 42-21
W, Western Mich. 49-14 29.6 ppg - 44th Scoring Off. 36.7 ppg - 9th L, @ Oklahoma St. 17-24
W, @ Purdue 40-37 W, Oklahoma 41-13
L, Penn State 14-42 112.8 ypg - 24th Run Def. 125.0 ypg - 37th W, @ Baylor 20-13
Projected Starting Lineups 251.6 ypg - 103rd Pass Def. 223.8 ypg - 72nd Projected Starting Lineups
Offense Offense
QB #8 Kirk Cousins 364.3 ypg - 62nd Total Def. 348.8 ypg - 47th QB #15 Taylor Potts OR
RB #4 Edwin Baker #1 Steven Sheffield
FB #45 Andrew Hawken 25.1 ppg - 61st Scoring Def. 21.8 ppg - T-36th RB #25 Baron Batch
WR #25 Blair White WR#11 Tramain Swindall
WR #16 Chris D. Rucker Keys to the Game WR #6 Austin Zouzalik
TE #83 Charlie Gantt At least, he’s still around - Michigan State is coming into WR #86 Alex Torres
LT #57 Rocco Cironi this game as undermanned as any other bowl team. Eight players WR #19 Lyle Leong
LG #67 Joel Foreman have been suspended and are not expected for the bowl game. LT #70 Chris Olson
C #65 Joel Nitchman However, the good news is that MLB Greg Jones is still around, LG #78 Lonnie Edwards
RG #64 Brendon Moss ready to strap it up in the middle one more time in 2009. The C #51 Shawn Byrnes
RT #59 D.J. Young Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year has been a tackling machine, RG #76 Brandon Carter
Defense but he’s done most of his damage against Big 10 offenses. No RT #67 Marlon Winn
DE #58 Trevor Anderson offense, but those units are a tad different than the one that Defense
DT #99 Jerel Worthy MSU is facing in San Antonio. Jones, however, will have a dual DE #92 Brandon Sharpe
NT #70 Oren Wilson role. One, he’ll drop into coverage and must eye up crossers DT #99 Richard Jones
DE #89 Colin Neely throughout the night. Two, he should be an A gap blitzing fiend DT #93 Colby Whitlock
LB #53 Greg Jones to force the Tech QB, whoever it may be, to get rid of the ball DE #53 Daniel Howard
LB #43 Eric Gordon quickly. If he gets caught in space against the Tech receivers, he MLB #57 Brian Duncan
LB #34 Brandon Denson just has to morph into the same tackling machine he was this SLB #20 Bront Bird
CB #9 Jeremy Ware season. WLB #39 Marlon Williams
S #33 Danny Fortener A Batch ‘o fun - If the Michigan State coaching staff doesn’t CB #3 Jamar Wall
S #39 Trenton Robinson have “stopping Baron Batch” as priority #1 for this bowl game, S #16 Cody Davis
CB #37 Ross Weaver they’re going to be in a world of hurt. Perhaps no development S #26 Franklin Mitchem
meant more to the Red Raiders than that of Batch. He finished CB #28 LaRon Moore
Scout’s Corner the season with 784 yards on the ground and with a little over Scout’s Corner
LB Eric Gordon 200 yards...okay, so that won’t happen, but what he’s done this G Brandon Carter
6’ 228 season deserves respect. But, where he can kill MSU is out on 6’7” 344
Often overshadowed by the great screens, getting matched up on Jones, Gordon and Denson in With his size, he should be attractive
middle linebacker Greg space. That’s trouble for MSU. at the next level...has played guard in
Jones...extremely disruptive with his a pass heavy offense, could transition
ability to blitz...good tackler out in First team All-Defense? Really? - Ask anyone to right tackle at next level...nasty and
space...drops into coverage throughout the country about Texas Tech and “fast paced best in run scheme...moves well - has
adequately...like his hitting offense” is the first thing out of most people’s mouths. But, DE had to pull a bunch with the Tech
ability...runs well...small but quick running game...perfect OL disposition
Brandon Sharpe proved that the Red Raiders may have had the
most underrate defensive unit in a BCS conference. Sharpe had
15 sacks and tore through the Big 12 like a sheath. Michigan State
is going to fall behind in this game and have to throw and that’s
when Sharpe will drop the hammer. Uh oh.
Conclusion - With the suspensions taking away from a 6-6 football team, it’s hard to make an argument for Michigan State
winning this game. When Tech was on, it was the second best team in the Big 12. Expect Batch to have a massive game in a TT win.
Texas Tech - 35 vs. MSU - 17

Fiesta Bowl
W, @ Virginia 30-14 W, Oregon 19-8
W, Texas State 56-21 TCU (12-0) vs. Boise St. (13-0) W, Miami OH 48-0
W, @ Clemson 14-10 W, @ Fresno State 51-34
W, SMU 39-14 256.5 ypg - 5th Run Off. 194.5 ypg - 20th W, @ Bowling Green 49-14
W, @ Air Force 20-17 W, UC Davis 34-16
W, Colorado St. 44-6 212.6 ypg - 67th Pass Off. 266.0 ypg - 30th W, @ Tulsa 28-21
W, @ BYU 38-7 W, @ Hawai’i 54-9
W, UNLV 41-0 469.1 ypg - 4th Total Off. 460.5 ypg - 8th W, San Jose State 45-7
W, @ SDSU 55-12 W, @ La. Tech 45-35
W, Utah 55-28 40.7 ppg - 4th Scoring Off. 44.2 ppg - 1st W, Idaho 63-25
W, @ Wyoming 45-10 W, @ Utah State 52-21
W, New Mexico 51-10 80.5 ypg - 3rd Run Def. 126.9 ypg - 40th W, Nevada 44-33
W, New Mexico St. 42-7
Offense 233.3 ypg - 1st Total Def. 299.6 ypg - 13th Offense
QB #14 Andy Dalton QB #11 Kellen Moore
RB #24 Joseph Turner 12.4 ppg - 6th Scoring Def. 17.7 ppg - 16th RB #27 Jeremy Avery
WR #13 Antoine Hicks Keys to the Game FB #47 Dan Paul
WR #85 Jeremy Kerley WR #4 Titus Young
WR #88 Jimmy Young
This isn’t how we remember him - When these two WR #34 Tommy Moore
teams met last season, TCU QB Andy Dalton was just starting to
TE #84 Evan Frosch TE #85 Tommy Gallarda
come into his own. But, many on the Boise State sideline, or
LT #70 Marshall Newhouse LT #73 Nate Potter
even those watching at home, would argue that he was just
LG #72 Kyle Dooley LG #59 Will Lawrence
managing the game with a capable run game and a dominant
C #76 Jake Kirkpatrick C #66 Thomas Byrd
defense. Flash forward to 2009. Boise State is going to be
RG #78 Josh Vernon RG #62 Kevin Sapien
horrified to see the progress that Dalton has made in this
RT #61 Marcus Cannon RT #57 Garrett Pendergast
offense. He was the MWC Offensive POY and ran this TCU
Defense Defense
offense the way a spread attack is supposed to be run. As more
DE #98 Jerry Hughes DE #98 Ryan Winterswyk
asset this season, Dalton is more adept at recognizing what
DT #57 Cory Grant DT #90 Billy Winn
defenses want to take away. He’s got a quick release, so he’s
NT #69 Kelly Griffin NT #97 Chase Baker
perfect for the quick/bubble screens and he’s got some scoots to
DE #96 Wayne Daniels DE #92 Shea McClellin
get out the way of the pass rush. If there’s one difference from
LB #41 Daryl Washington MLB #52 Derrell Acrey
‘08 to ‘09, it’s him.
LB #43 Tank Carder WLB #36 Aaron Tevis
CB #10 Rafael Priest Bruise Brothers - Throughout CFB, it’s been evident why S #23 Jeron Johnson
SS #28 Colin Jones teams have finished the year undefeated. With the exception of S #8 George Iloka
WS #9 Alex Ibiloye Cincinnati, check out the secondaries on every undefeated team. N #17 Winston Venable
FS #3 Tejay Johnson Wow! BSU’s is right there with any back four (or five) you want CB #1 Kyle Wilson
CB #20 Nick Sanders to throw out there, but it’s the hard hitting safeties - George CB #13 Brandyn Thompson
Iloka and Jeron Johnson - who set the tone in the back. The
physical nature with which these two play, unleashes a consistent
LB Tank Carder RB Jeremy Avery
fury in the back that ripples through the entire defense. If TCU
6’1” 225 6’3 201 lb.
Physical and looks good on the WRs want to come into the middle, fine. They’ll pay a severe The perfect balance for the Boise
hoof...former BMX champion at age price. The quick screens? Iloka and Johnson close extremely fast State run game...Doug Martin
10...great tackler...drops into pass
and often limit those short throws to, well, short gains. provides the power and Avery the
coverage and had key pick six against jets...speed defines his game...but
Utah...good blitzing in the A Who can block him? - It’s hard to imagine the 2008 MWC doesn’t shy away from running
gaps...doesn’t get out of position, yet Defensive Player of the Year could improve, but that’s exactly inside...stays true to the blocking
he’s aggressive to the ball carrier. what Jerry Hughes did in this 2009 season. Boise State slowed scheme...good hands...2nd level burst
him a little bit last year, but when the Broncos fell behind,
Hughes pinned his ears back and crushed the pocket. If Boise
State chooses to single him, it’s curtains, as he’s even quicker off
the edge this season. Just ask Utah...BYU...Colorado State...Wy..
Conclusion - Well, we do know that a non-AQ team will walk out of a BCS bowl with a win (and well, a loss too). Scared its
BCS teams would lose twice, the powers that be set up a non-AQ championship game featuring two of the five best teams in
America. I think Dalton will be the difference, throwing for 250+ yards and a couple of touchdowns to Jeremy Kerley in a TCU win
TCU - 26 vs. Boise State - 16

In the Film Room
at the Fiesta Bowl
TE seam out of “Special” formation
FS
SS
CB
CB
LB LB
LB
DE DT DE
57 85
11
Boise State’s TE Seam out of ‘Special’ formation.
The basic premise of football is that you have to have seven guys on the line of scrimmage. Doesn’t matter where you
line them up or who is lined up out there, but you just have to have seven on the line of scrimmage. Well, Boise State
uses that concept to throw off the coverage of the secondary.
Right tackle #57 Garrett Pendergast lines up in a wide receiver position, yet still on the line of scrimmage. A WR lines up
next to him on the ball, making Pendergast ineligible. But, Boise State doesn’t need for Pendergast to be eligible, just
make the defense react to his presence.
What they really want is for the secondary to adjust to the “bodies”, not who’s eligible. When they do adjust to the
formation #85 Tommy Gallarda is open down the seam for a big play. Speaking as a former secondary member, it’s awfully
difficult to find an eligible receiver lined up right next to the guard. However, with two receivers off the ball to the right,
Gallarda lines up next to the guard and is often ‘hidden’. The big part is he’s eligible because the two outside receivers are
off the ball. Often times, the secondary rolls coverage to the two receivers but doesn’t ‘see’ the TE lined up at the tackle
position.
On the snap, Gallarda just fires right down the seam as Moore looks off the free safety to ensure Gallarda plenty of area
in the middle of the field to get open. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like the type of play that would be effective, but
because safeties often lose sight of the ‘hidden’ TE, this play works like a charm. Just ask Nevada, who gave up a TD to this
very play in the second half of its 44-33 loss to Boise State.
A few minutes
with...TCU DE
Jerry Hughes
Sean & John: Congratulations and welcome home right? S&J: If you had to use one word to describe your game and
compare yourself to one player that plays professionally right
Jerry Hughes: Thank you for having me. now who would it be?
S&J: We also found this out last night, you got a phone call from JH: Dwight Freeney. He is somebody that I really idolize. Just
somebody last night. Tell everybody what that phone call was the way on how he plays the game. He plays the game with just
about. one speed, and that’s fast. He comes out there moving fast,
JH: Oh absolutely. Ted Hendricks called me last night and running on that edge and just using his speed and quickness to
wanted to just congratulate me on winning this award and I make plays.
politely said thank you and we just kind of talked it up, because S&J: Coach Bumpas is going to be here tonight, your defensive
you know he used to be a defensive end so we just talked it up a coordinator, talk about what he has meant to you. Obviously
bit. we’ve talked about that transition from running back to defensive
S&J: Ted Hendricks award winner sitting across from us, end, there has to be a guy pushing you and that has to be Coach
Mountain West Conference Defensive player of the year...and a Bumpas. Talk about his impact on you throughout your entire
running back in High School? Now when Coach Patterson was career at TCU.
recruiting you to come to TCU was defensive end ever JH: He has had a tremendous impact on me. The whole
mentioned? Was that something that you guys had talked about transition from running back to defensive end, he has always
before you got there? been there. He has always told me to come in early and watch
JH: Yes, we had talked about it a little bit because there was a film, kind of study film with him so I can understand the whole
former player by the name of Tony Blake that had kind of made defensive concept. He stayed after practice constantly to show
that same transition but you know we talked about it just a little me different pass rush moves that I could use to help me out, or
bit, it was kind of in the back of my mind. I was mentally really just how to get off of a run block - things that I really never
focused on just playing running back but as you started coming in thought about and had no idea how to do. He is the whole
towards summer workout. That conversation kind of sparked up reason I am where I am right now. He has sat down and taught
a little more and we kind of started talking about it then, and the me the whole basics and fundamentals of the game.
rest is history. S&J: How well prepared do you feel you are for the next phase
S&J: Can you put into words this season? I’m sure the goals of your career, now moving forward, both on the field and off the
coming into this season obviously were, in a sense to be where field. How has TCU prepared you for that?
you are now. You won all your games; you handled your business. JH: TCU has done a tremendous job - they have a great
As you went through and you started to creep into that top 5, top education department. We are out there learning, and we are in
4 - what was this past Saturday like? Were you watching those our books, studying. So the whole preparation for getting us to
games? that next level, TCU does a great job. And also Coach Patterson,
JH: Oh you know it was unbelievable just to see TCU to finish coaching us, does a great job of getting us ready week in and
in the top 5. It was great for the program, all the players and all week out, he kind of breaks down the film so that we understand,
the fans were all excited. We were just happy about that. And he preps us, and he forces us to work hard, which is something
then to hear ourselves actually having a chance to play for the that you really admire in a coach.
National Championship was just another great aculeate. Even S&J: Two words we haven’t used in this interview Jerry, Fiesta
though we came up one second short, it was still just great to be Bowl. Talk about going to play in Glendale, seeing familiar folks,
mentioned in that same sentence. Boise State, saw them last year at the Poinsettia Bowl in San
S&J: Jerry the guys around here, they’ve all had Gameday, Diego, seeing them again. Talk about the opportunity to meet
they’ve all had that atmosphere on campus, at TCU that hadn’t Boise again.
happened until this year. Gameday came down to visit for the JH: Well it is going to be a lot of fun we are going to be on that
Utah game November 14th. They billed it as the biggest game in national stage playing in the Fiesta Bowl. Everyone is excited,
TCU history, or in the last 50 years or so. What was that including me. We got Boise State who is a great team. They are
atmosphere like when Utah came to town, after beating you 13 to 13-0, we are 12-0, its going to be a battle of the unbeaten teams,
10 last year, they come this year, Gameday is on campus, you guys so both teams are going to come out with their A game and put
are undefeated, you guys want revenge. Talk about the on a great show.
atmosphere on campus that night, November 14th.
S&J: We stuck up big for you guys this year comparing TCU to
JH: Oh you know it was a tremendous atmosphere, all the Texas, so if any Longhorn fans come after me tonight, you got my
students were all excited about it, that’s all they talked about all back?
week, fans were excited, especially the players you know, we
wanted to get back at them, we had revenge on our mind, so that JH: I got your back! Thanks for that.
whole week of preparation everybody was just ready to go. And
then to kind of turn on TV and see all the fan support we had, S&J: Jerry Hughes joining us, Jerry congratulations on a great
hearing the stories about the kids and local people staying over season, on a great career and good luck at the next level and good
night in anticipation for Gameday. It was great and we were able luck tonight.
to just feed off that energy. JH: Alright thank you very much. Thanks for having me.
Orange Bowl
W, Jacksonville St. 37-17 W, Northern Iowa 17-16
W, Clemson 30-27 Georgia Tech (11-2) vs. Iowa (10-2) W, @ Iowa State 35-3
L, @ Miami 17-33 W, Arizona 27-17
W, North Carolina 24-7 307.2 ypg - 2nd Run Off. 109.4 ypg - 103rd W, @ Penn State 21-10
W, @ Miss. State 42-31 W, Arkansas State 24-21
W, @ Florida State 49-44 135.5 ypg - 115th Pass Off. 221.3 ypg - 54th W, Michigan 30-28
W, Virginia Tech 28-23 W, @ Wisconsin 20-10
W, @ Virginia 34-9 442.7 ypg - 11th Total Off. 330.8 ypg - 93rd W, @ Michigan State 15-13
W, @ Vanderbilt 56-31 W, Indiana 42-24
W, Wake Forest 30-27 (OT) 35.3 ppg - 11th Scoring Off. 23.1 ppg - 86th L, Northwestern 10-17
W, @ Duke 49-10 L, @ Ohio State 24-27
L, Georgia 24-30 150.1 ypg - 67th Run Def. 122.0 ypg - 33rd W, Minnesota 12-0
W, Clemson (Tampa) 39-34
206.9 ypg - 47th Pass Def. 164.7 ypg - 8th Projected Starting Lineups
Projected Starting Lineups Offense
Offense 357.0 ypg - 54th Total Def. 286.7 ypg - 11th QB #16 James Vanderberg OR
QB #9 Josh Nesbitt #12 Ricky Stanzi
BB #21 Jonathan Dwyer 24.9 ppg - 58th Scoring Def. 15.5 ppg - 10th RB #32 Adam Robinson
SB #18 Anthony Allen FB #36 Brett Morse
Keys to the Game
SB #20 Roddy Jones WR #15 D. Johnson-Koulianos
WR #8 Demaryius Thomas Angrier and Angerer - Isn’t a linebacker supposed to have a WR #86 Trey Stross
WR #84 Tyler Melton name like Angerer? Angerer at middle linebacker. Yep, that fits, TE #81 Tony Moeaki
LT #60 Brad Sellers that’s for sure. Iowa middle linebacker Pat Angerer has been the LT #79 Bryan Bulaga
LG #70 Joseph Gilbert tone setter for the Hawkeye defense throughout this entire LG #78 Dace Richardson
C #79 Sean Bedford season. 135 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss and first team All-Big Ten C #52 Rafael Eubanks
RG #71 Cord Howard honors, even garnering some Defensive Player of the Year RG #63 Julian Vandervelde
RT #75 Nick Claytor consideration. But, if anyone is in the spotlight down in Miami, RT #60 Kyle Calloway
Defense it’s the Hawks man in the middle. Georgia Tech’s option attack is Defense
DE #91 Derrick Morgan predicated on a couple of things. One of them is to make sure DE #91 Broderick Binns
DT #96 Logan Walls down linemen are blocked sufficiently before heading off to the DT #46 Christian Ballard
DT #90 T.J. Barnes second level. Against Clemson, the Tigers linebackers were often DT #95 Karl Klug
DE #41 Anthony Egbuniwe unblocked and free to make plays. But, it’s the “right” play that DE #94 Adrian Clayborn
LB #34 Steven Sylvester Angerer must stop. What that play is will change and it’ll LB #43 Pat Angerer
LB #51 Brad Jefferson determine what the Yellow Jackets offense runs throughout the LB #42 Jeremiah Hunter
LB #54 Sedric Griffin night. If Angerer and the DTs are stopping the dive on the triple LB #49 A.J Edds
CB #37 Jerrard Tarrant option, Paul Johnson will call the midline. Stop the midline, here’s CB #19 Amari Spievey
Rover #1 Morgan Burnett the counter. See, it changes and that means Angerer must morph S #9 Tyler Sash
FS #33 Maric Edwards and change throughout the night as well. S #30 Brett Greenwood
CB #2 Mario Butler Can you handle the Ocho? - Iowa’s secondary has played CB #28 Shaun Prater
well this season, but it’s biggest test will be stopping WR
Demaryius Thomas deep downfield. Thomas’ ability to make
DE Derrick Morgan LT Bryan Bulaga
plays over the heads of the Iowa safeties and corners is a major
6’4” 272 6’6” 312
2009 ACC Defensive player of the concern. If the option is hurting the Hawks, forcing Brett Missed a few games earlier in the
year...productive and disruptive...good Greenwood and Tyler Sash into option responsiblity, the prospect season with an illness...back to form
against the run as a 4-3 end...TEs of DT pulling in a deep ball or two is not only real, but probable. though...should be a first round pick,
can’t block him...must prove he can but may have to move to right
hold his own on the run against No burning Burnett - The Georgia Tech field general isn’t tackle...has decent feet to stay on left
tackles...works in straight going to be on the spot as he was against Clemson, chasing C.J. side...stays awkwardly upright...strong
lines...doesn’t “loop” his rush...smart Spiller all over the yard. However, GT Morgan Burnett must be as ox..will be good in zone scheme
involved in stopping the Hawks running game, so he can get back
to making plays in the passing game, where he excels. He’s had
four picks this year and often makes plays floating into the
intermediate areas of the field where Iowa wants to find Tony
Moeaki or slant routes to DJK or Marvin McNutt.
Conclusion - GT QB Josh Nesbitt has truly been overshadowed this season. When the nation was paying attention earlier this
season, he struggled mightily throwing the ball. But in the season’s 2nd half, he was a maestro. Expect more of that in a GT win.
Georgia Tech - 27 vs. Iowa - 21

In the Film Room
at the Orange Bowl
“The Midline Option”
FS
SS
CB
CB
LB LB
LB
DE DT DT DE
9
18 20
21
Georgia Tech’s Midline Option out of the Spread
The Midline is one of the greatest option inventions since Emory Bellard came up with the wishbone way back in 1968.
Born out of necessity as all great inventions are, the midline makes the biggest, strongest and baddest defensive lineman
the focus...and we don’t block him.
#20 Roddy Jones will come in short motion as he would on traditional triple option to the left, but he won’t go all way
across the formation. #21 Jonathan Dwyer dives into the A gap to either take a handoff from QB #9 Josh Nesbitt or be a
huge decoy. Nesbitt will then read the unblocked DT (in blue dotted circle). If he jumps on Dwyer, Nesbitt pulls the ball
and follows Jones into the B gap, running scott free. If the DT flies straight up field, penetrating due to being unblocked,
Nesbitt gives the ball to Dwyer who is running behind a center/LG double team with the penetrating DT way up field.
Defensive ends are more adept at slow playing the QB on the option because, well, that’s what they’re schooled to do.
Defensive tackles, on the other hand, don’t have a clue how to play “this option” because most options are perimeter
based, not interior based. But, the midline is the perfect interior option and if you’re going to stop Georgia Tech, you
better have an idea of what you’re seeing first, then come up with a plan to stop it.
GOOD LUCK!!!
The Orange Bowl’s
“Ultimate 22”
When I was growing up, my buddies and I would never play strat-o-matic or microleague baseball the right way...so
to speak. We would stay up nights and have these elaborate drafts - studying cards, looking at stats, holding our own
combine and conducting a little our own one-man war rooms. We never played with the Tigers or the Cardinals or
the Brewers, but we always played with the team we had crafted. It became our ultimate nine players or in football
our ultimate 22. With that concept in mind, I have come up with my Ultimate 22 for the Orange Bowl for the past
30 years. Why 30? Well, I tried to come up with the players that I had actually watched, so I started watching this
game about 30 or so years ago, hence the 30 years.
QB - Charlie Ward, Florida State 1993-1994 - two DL - Darrell Reed, Oklahoma 1986-1988 - Reed
time MVP, lead the Seminoles on last minute drive for made 3 trips to the Orange Bowl and received the Def.
the 1994 OB win over Nebraska for National Champ. MVP award in a losing effort in 1988 vs. Miami
RB - Shaun Alexander, Alabama 2000 - Ran for 161 DL - Amobi Okoye, Louisville 2007 - the current
yards and three touchdowns against Michigan in 2000. Houston Texan had his best game ever in a win against
RB - Ahman Green, Nebraska 1995, 1997 - Ran for 52 Wake Forest - 6 tackles, 3 TFLs and 2 sacks
yards as a sophomore in 1996 win over Virginia Tech, DL - Warren Sapp, Miami 1995 - Besides Suh’s
but in 1998 he set a bowl record with 206 yards rushing performance against Texas in the Big 12 championship
and 2 TDs. game, Sapp’s 1995 Orange Bowl was one of the top
AP - Raghib Ismail, Notre Dame 1990-1991 - as games ever (of course until Tommie Frazier showed up)
MVP in 1990, he led the Irish with 108 yards rushing. DL - Chris Zorich, Notre Dame 1990-1991 - Again,
But, in losing effort in 1991, he led all receivers with 57 in a losing effort, Zorich was flat out dominant against
yards receiving and one of the all-time punt returns in the Colorado Buffaloes in 1991, even more so than he
CFB history (only to be called back). was against the Buffs the previous season.
WR - David Terrell, Michigan 2000 - MVP effort LB - Bernard ‘Tiger’ Clark, Miami 1988 - In the #1
against Alabama in 2000 tilt. He finished the game vs. #2 matchup with Oklahoma in the ’88 game, Clark
with ten receptions for 150 yards and three TDs. filled in for starter George Mira Jr. and ended up as the
WR - Steve Smith, USC 2005 - Having returned for game’s MVP. He had 14 tackles and a fumble recovery
the bowl after missing significant time that season for LB - Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma 1986 - In the
injury, Smith stunned everyone with seven catches for national championship game against Penn State,
113 yards and three touchdowns in 55-19 win over OU. Bosworth handled the Penn State run game with 13
TE - Glen Dennison, Miami 1984 - He only had three total tackles
catches in the famed 1984 classic, but two of them were LB - Torrance Marshall, Oklahoma 2001 - The 2001
TDs and helped put the Canes out front 17-0 in a 31-30 Orange Bowl MVP was all over the place against the
classic finish. defending national champs FSU. Marshall finished with
OL - Tim Grunhard, Notre Dame 1990 - On the final a key first half interception and six tackles.
offensive drive of the ’91 game, the Irish essentially ran CB - Aqib Talib, Kansas 2008 - With a huge 60 yard
out the clock by running behind Grunhard. pick six in the first half, Talib led the Jayhawks to an
OL - Anthony Phillips, Oklahoma 1986-1987 - The Orange Bowl win - Kansas first BCS bowl win ever to
All-American helped the OU run game pile up 228 yards conclude a 12-1 season.
rushing in 1986 and 366 in 1987. S - Bud Hebert, Oklahoma 1980 - After registering
OL - Dean Steinkuhler, Nebraska 1982 - 1984 - three interceptions against Florida State in 1980,
Scored the first TD for the Huskers in 1984 game on Hebert was handed the defensive MVP trophy. He still
Fumblerooski - most importantly was leader for holds the record for interceptions in an OB game.
Nebraska line for three OB classics. S - Sean Taylor, Miami 2004 - In the win over Florida
OL - Chris Samuels, Alabama 2000 - He paved the State, Taylor had four tackles and a key pick as Miami
way for Alexander’s brilliant night in 2000 against held FSU to 206 total yards offense.
Michigan. CB - Ralph Brown, Nebraska 1997-1998 - In 1998,
OL - Aaron Taylor, Nebraska 1995, 1997 - led the way the Huskers, led by Brown, held the great Peyton
for Green in 1997 as Huskers ran for 409 yards against Manning to 134 yards passing, one year after a 41-21 win
#3 ranked Tennessee over Virginia Tech.
GMAC Bowl
2009 Schedule Jan. 6, 2010 - ESPN 6 PM CST 2009 Schedule
L, @ Arizona 6-19 L, @ Bowling Green 14-31
W, @ Michigan St. 29-27 Central Mich. (11-2) vs. Troy (9-3) L, @ Florida 6-56
W, Alcorn State 48-0 W, UAB 27-14
W, Akron 48-21 172.2 ypg - 42nd Run Off. 147.5 ypg - 61st W, @ Arkansas St. 30-27
W, @ Buffalo 20-13 W, MTSU 31-7
W, Eastern Mich. 56-8 244.8 ypg - 36th Pass Off. 331.0 ypg - 4th W, @ FIU 42-33
W, @ Western Mich. 34-23 W, North Texas 50-26
W, @ Bowling Green 24-10 416.9 ypg - 33rd Total Off. 478.5 ypg - 3rd W, ULM 42-21
L, @ Boston College 10-31 W, @ WKU 40-20
W, Toledo 56-28 33.2 ppg - 17th Scoring Off. 33.1 ppg - 18th L, @ Arkansas 20-56
W, @ Ball State 35-3 W, FAU 47-21
W, NIU 45-31 119.3 ypg - 30th Run Def. 140.2 ypg - 54th W, @ ULL 48-31
W, Ohio 20-10
QB #13 Dan Lefevour QB #12 Levi Brown
RB #2 Bryan Schroeder 17.2 ppg - 14th Scoring Def. 28.6 ppg - 86th RB #20 Shawn Southward
WR #1 Kito Poblah WR #10 Tebairus Gill
WR #27 Antonio Brown Keys to the Game WR #4 Andrew Davis
WR #7 Bryan Anderson Torched - For the past four years, CMU QB Dan Lefevour WR #86 Patrick Cherry
TE #82 David Blackburn has been the “most underrated QB in the nation”. Can we TE #45 Travis Boyd
LT #73 Jake Olson stop all of that nonsense? Dude is just good. Pure and simple. LT #70 James Brown
LG #66 Jeff Maddux Whether it’s on the ground or through the air. But, mostly in LG #58 Tyler Clark
C #63 Colin Miller this matchup, it’s going to be through the air. CMU has a C #75 Danny Franks
RG #64 Allen Ollenburger distinct advantage with its receiving corps of Antonio Brown, RG #73 Steven Adams
RT #78 Rocky Weaver Bryan Anderson and Kito Poblah. In combination with RT #77 Kyle Winborn
Defense Lefevour could have a record setting bowl day facing the worst Defense
DE #95 Larry Knight pass defense for a team in a bowl game. The Trojans have been DE #91 Brandon Lang
DT #54 Sean Murnane shredded this season giving up 278 yards per game through the DT #98 Kevin Dixon
NT #94 John Williams air, even though they have one of the nation’s most disruptive DT #99 Eugene Kinlaw
DE #98 Frank Zombo pass rushers in Brandon Lang. Lefevour is typical with his DE #90 Cameron Sheffield
LB #43 Nick Bellore spread attack in that he does use the quick screens when a LB #48 Bear Woods
LB #46 Matt Berning “toss play” is needed, but with his athletic receivers, he’ll LB #2 Boris Lee
LB #17 Tim Brazzel throw the ball into every area on the field. Unfortunately, Troy LB #39 Daniel Sheffield
CB #31 Kirkston Edwards may not be ready for it. CB #13 Chris Bowens
S #44 Dannie Bolden S #22 Willard Ross
S #12 Eric Fraser You sling it, we sling it - Troy QB Levi Brown isn’t one S #18 Courtland Fuller
CB #19 Josh Gordy to take a backseat to anyone, especially throwing the football. CB #26 Bryan Willis
Three times this season, Brown threw for over 400 yards in a
Scout’s Corner game. He had three 3 touchdown outings and one 4 Scout’s Corner
LB Nick Bellore touchdown outings, but what makes this game a little different DE Brandon Lang
6’1” 241 for Troy is who he did that damage against. Now, CMU isn’t 6’4” 256
Just a football player...not overly Florida, but Florida held Brown to 66 yards. Arkansas forced Speed, speed and more
quick, not overly fast, not overly speed...another in a long line of Troy
athletic, but this guy can play...sixth in three Brown interceptions and Bowling Green held him to one defensive ends with some giddy up off
the MAC in tackles with just over 9 touchdown and two interceptions. Against the toughest the ball...solid first step quickness...as
per game...makes plays sideline to competition Troy has faced all season, Brown struggled. The such, pass rush abilities are not in
sideline...effective in pass coverage Chippewa defense is an active and aggressive bunch who’ll question...may project at his size to
and does a nice job blitzing the QB 3-4 LB...needs set of pass rush moves
keep Brown moving and throwing off rhythm. If Brown is on,
he’ll be tough to stop. If not, CMU will win in a walk.
Conclusion - This matchup features some bona-fide NFL talent on both sides of the ball. Lang, Lefevour, Brown, Anderson and
Bellore to name a few, but unfortunately for the Trojans, most of that talent resides on the other sideline. Regardless, Troy will get a
bit of pressure on Lefevour early, but once CMU connects with its quick screen game and lets Brown and the other WR make plays
in space, CMU will roll. If Brown does find success early and CMU has to throw in a comeback mode, this could be exciting.
Central Mich. - 44 vs. Troy - 34

BCS Nat’l Champ.
2009 Schedule Jan. 7, 2010 - ABC 7 PM CST 2009 Schedule
W, Virginia Tech 34-24 W, ULM 59-20
W, FIU 40-14 Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0) W, @ Wyoming 41-10
W, North Texas 53-7 W, Texas Tech 34-24
W, Arkansas 35-7 215.9 ypg - 12th Run Off. 152.7 ypg - 55th W, UTEP 64-7
W, @ Kentucky 38-20 W, Colorado 38-14
W, @ Ole Miss 22-3 197.9 ypg - 84th Pass Off. 279.7 ypg - 14th W, Oklahoma 16-13
W, South Carolina 20-6 W, @ Missouri 41-7
W, Tennessee 12-10 413.8 ypg - 35th Total Off. 432.4 ypg - 20th W, @ Ok. State 41-14
W, LSU 24-15 W, UCF 35-3
W, @ Miss. State 31-3 31.7 ppg - 26th Scoring Off. 40.7 ppg - 3rd W, @ Baylor 47-14
W, Chattanooga 45-0 W, Kansas 51-20
W, @ Auburn 26-21 77.9 ypg - 2nd Run Def. 62.2 ypg - 1st W, @ Texas A&M 49-39
W, Florida (Atlanta) 32-13 W, Nebraska (Arl.) 13-12
163.8 ypg - 7th Pass Def. 188.9 ypg - 23rd
Offense 241.7 ypg - 2nd Total Def. 251.1 ypg - 3rd Offense
QB #12 Greg McElroy QB #12 Colt McCoy
RB #22 Mark Ingram 11.0 ppg - 1st Scoring Def. 15.2 ppg - 8th RB #23 Tre Newton
TE/FB #85 Preston Dial WR #8 Jordan Shipley
TE #84 Colin Peek
Keys to the Game WR #11 James Kirkendoll
WR #8 Julio Jones Suh, Cody...same thing, right? - Uh, no, not in the WR #9 Malcolm Williams
WR #4 Marquis Maze slightest, but it truly doesn’t matter because the damage done by TE #4 Dan Buckner
Suh in the Big 12 championship game brought to light the biggest
LT #77 James Carpenter LT #74 Adam Ulatoski
weakness this Texas team has - guard to guard on the offensive
LG #78 Mike Johnson line. Charlie Tanner, Chris Hall and Michael Huey were turned LG #52 Charlie Tanner
C #73 William Vlachos around and upside down by Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and C #71 Chris Hall
RG #75 Barrett Innes many feel that Terrence “Mount” Cody will do the same. I’m not RG #63 Michael Huey
RT #79 Drew Davis as concerned about Cody because he’ll let you tie him up with one RT #64 Kyle Hix
Defense blocker and he’s not on the field but for 60% of the game. But, Defense
DE #97 Lorenzo Washington regardless of who plays at that defensive tackle/nose tackle DE #2 Sergio Kindle
NT #62 Terrence Cody position, the Texas trio inside must find a way to keep Cody et. al DT #91 Kheeston Randall
DE #95 Brandon Deaderick from disrupting what the Horns can do inside. One thing the DT #33 Lamarr Houston
offensive staff can do is run some more zone read and try to use
LB #13 Cory Reamer DE #81 Sam Acho
the misdirection to stunt the impact the Alabama interior can
LB #25 Rolando McClain have on this game. Let me repeat, Suh isn’t Cody, but the Texas LB #18 Emmanuel Acho
LB #32 Eryk Anders threesome is still, well, you know the rest. LB #38 Roddrick Muckelroy
LB #35 Nico Johnson LB #1 Keenan Robinson
CB #28 Javier Arenas
When his best is needed - Texas LB Roddrick Muckelroy CB #3 Curtis Brown
retur ned to Texa s for this. One shot at the national
S #4 Mark Barron championship. An even bigger shot at the Heisman Trophy S #21 Blake Gideon
S #27 Justin Woodall winner Mark Ingram. Muckelroy has improved his game S #12 Earl Thomas
CB #3 Kareem Jackson throughout the season and has been so much more fundamentally CB #4 Aaron Williams
sound in 2009. But, fundamentals really mean nothing if he, and
the Texas defense, can’t tackle Ingram. And, that’s rub, Texas is
WR Julio Jones going to know where Alabama is and vice versa, but can Texas CB Aaron Williams
6’4” 215 physically stop Ingram? Most of that is on #38 in the middle. 6’1” 190
As physical a receiver as there is in Soon to be a rich man...great ball
college football...hasn’t proven that We have one, you don’t - Although Texas has made due...I skills...breaks on the ball extremely
he’s highly successful in the middle of would say so with a 13-0 season, there have been times when it has well...good hands for a DB, could
the field where he’ll need to be at the missed TE Blaine Irby, out since early 2008 with an injury. But, as even be a WR with his
next level...runs well after the the season developed, the Alabama offense started utilizing its TE hands...matches cuts and doesn’t have
catch...deep threat...good Colin Peek. Not only has Peek been more utilized, he’s been a go- to clutch and grab to stay with
concentration on deep throws..tough receivers...can play man or zone well
to money maker, so to speak, for QB Greg McElroy in the red
zone. He can truly hurt the Longhorn LB in coverage and he may
demand a safety to cover him. Keep an eye on #84 Peek.
Conclusion - I’d like to think the BCS got this one right with two of the most storied college football programs of all-time. If I
hear about 2005 any more, though, I’m going to be ill. This is a different Texas team, although it still does rely heavily on its All-
American signal caller Colt McCoy. More importantly, the Longhorns are facing a defense better than any one ‘D’ that it has faced
this season. Alabama’s quickness/strength up front keeps LB Rolando McClain clean, while the secondary cleans up any mistakes. It
won’t be a pretty win, but Alabama will get a defensive score and stay out in front until having to hold off Colt in the 4th quarter.
Alabama - 23 vs. Texas - 17

2009 Heisman Trophy Winner
Alabama RB Mark Ingram
2009 Doak Walker finalist
2009 SEC Offensive Player of the Year
2009 First Team All-SEC
2009 First Team Walter Camp All-American
2009 First Team FWAA All-American
Most rushing yards (Season) - Alabama record
Third most rushing yards (game) - vs. S. Car.
Third sophomore to win award (2nd true soph.)
First Alabama player to win Heisman
Mark Ingram’s 2009 Season

Game 1: Virginia Tech - 26 carries 150 yards 1 TD
Game 2: FIU - 10 carries 56 yards 1 TD
Alabama’s Closest Heisman Game 3: North Texas - 8 carries 91 yards 1 TD
Game 4: Arkansas - 17 carries 50 yards 1 TD
Finishes Game 5: Kentucky - 22 carries 140 yards 2 TDs
Game 6: Ole Miss - 28 carries 172 yards 1 TD
1937 Joe Kilgrow 5th (Winner: Clint Frank) Game 7: South Carolina - 24 carries 246 yards 1 TD
1945 Harry Gilmer 5th (Winner: Doc Blanchard) Game 8: Tennessee - 18 carries 99 yards
1947 Harry Gilmer 5th (Winner: Johnny Lujack) Game 9: LSU - 22 carries 144 yards
1961 Pat Trammell 5th (Winner: Ernie Davis) Game 10: Miss. State - 19 carries 149 2 TDs
1962 Lee Roy Jordan 4th (Winner: Terry Baker) Game 11: Chattanooga - 11 carries 102 yards 2 TDs
1971 Johnny Musso 4th (Winner: Pat Sullivan) Game 12: Auburn - 16 carries 30 yards
1972 Terry Davis 5th (Winner: Johnny Rodgers) Game 13: Florida - 28 carries 113 yards 3 TDs
1993 David Palmer 3rd (Winner: Charlie Ward) Rushing Totals: 249 carries 1,542 yards 15 TDs
1994 Jay Barker 5th (Winner: Rashaan Salaam Receiving Totals: 30 receptions 322 yards 3 TDs
In the Film Room
at the BCS Nat’l Champ. Game
I never took Nick Saban for a “jump at the hottest thing/fad” type of coach, but we do know the man will do just
about anything to win a football game. That being said, Saban and his offensive coaching staff realized early in the
season that Mark Ingram taking snaps from center in the oft-misdiagnosed Wildcat formation may be considered a
fad, but it was highly effective. The true Wildcat is a tackle over look that makes things tough for a defense because
of the tackles on the same side. What Alabama uses, at times, is a standard two tight end, two WR - what I call
“Tech” formation - but with Ingram taking a direct snap. Let’s take a look below.
2
3
1
22
Alabama’s “Single Wing/Wildcat” with Mark Ingram

In 2003, when Nick Saban was coaching at LSU, he came on the radio weekly with John and Lance. One morning, I was
on with Lance while John was out and he asked me if I wanted to stay and interview Coach Saban. At that point, LSU was
using bruising tailback Alley Broussard to pound on teams. Saban had little else offensively, but Broussard and a strong RB
core. I jokingly mentioned that I’d like to see Broussard just get in the single wing, so Saban wouldn’t have to use a QB.
Flash forward to 2009 and, well, the man can thank me later. One Alabama’s key sets this year is the new fangled Wildcat
formation, which is just a derivation of the single wing that I mentioned earlier. The Crimson Tide used this formation
liberally while QB Greg McElroy struggled a bit during the middle part of the season.
Similar to the Wildcat formations throughout the landscape of football, Mark Ingram lines up behind center as a sole
back, with a myriad of skill players throughout the formation. Typically, a WR, Julio Jones most times, goes in motion
toward Ingram, so the back can fake or give the ball to the receiver in motion. 99% of the time, Ingram has kept the ball,
so during the BCS National Championship game, expect Ingram to give it to him on reverse action. Regardless, the
offensive line zone blocks to the motion as noted above. If Ingram pulls the ball he has three different actions to take - he
can follow the line and Jones on path #1, he can find an interior hole on the playside on path #2 or he can cut it back
behind the zone blocking to the backside if the defense aggressively over pursues.
With no QB, the Tide can put two tight ends in the game to balance out the defense and also get both Colin Peek and
Chris Smelley out on the field. Single wing it isn’t, but dadgum it’s close.
2-Time Heisman Trophy Finalist
Texas QB Colt McCoy
2008 and 2009 Maxwell Award winner
2008 and 2009 Walter Camp Player of the Year
2008 Heisman runner-up
2009 Heisman finalist (3rd)
2009 Davey O’Brien winner
2008 and 2009 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Yr.
2008 Sporting News Player of the Year
2008 Chevrolet NCAA Off. Player of the Year
NCAA record for most wins as starter (45)
NCAA single-season record cmp. % (76.7 - 2008)
2009 Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP
2007 Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP
2006 Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP
Holds nearly 50 Texas passing records
Colt McCoy’s 2009 Season

Game 1: ULM - 21-29, 317 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Game 2: Wyoming - 30-47, 337 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Colt’s Top Ten Games Game 3: Texas Tech - 24-34, 205 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
1. 2009 - Texas A&M - 304 yds. passing, 175 yds rushing, 5
Game 4: UTEP - 28-35, 286 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
total TDs
Game 5: Colorado - 32-39, 265 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
2. 2009 UCF - 470 yds. passing, 2 TDs
Game 6: OU - 21-39, 127 yds, 1 TD, I INT
3. 2008 Ohio State - 41-58, 414 yds, 2 TDs Game 7: Missouri - 26-31, 269, 3 TD, 1 INT
4. 2008 Ok. State - 38-45, 391 yds, 2 TDs Game 8: Ok. State - 16-21, 171, 1 TD
5. 2008 Missouri - 29-32, 337 yds, 3 TDs Game 9: UCF - 33-42, 470 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
6. 2008 Oklahoma - 28-35, 277 yds, 1 TD Game 10: Baylor - 23-34, 181 yds, 2 TD
7. 2007 Texas Tech - 21-30, 268 yds, 4 TDs Game 11: Kansas - 32-41, 396 yds, 4 TD
8. 2007 Ok. State - 20-28, 282 yds, 1 TD, 106 yards rushing Game 12: Texas A&M - 24-40, 304 yds, 4 TDs
Game 13: Nebraska - 20-36, 184 yds, 3 INT
9. 2006 Iowa - 26-40, 308 yds, 2 TDs
Passing Totals: 330-486, 3,512 yds, 27 TD, 12 INT
10. 2006 Baylor - 21-32, 275 yds, 6 TDs
Rushing Totals: 128 attempts, 348 yds, 3 TD
Harris’ End-of-season
CFB Award Spotlight
Offensive Player of the Year Toby Gerhart
Running Back
Senior
6’1” 235 lb.
Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year

Doak Walker Award Winner
Heisman runner-up
Walter Camp All-American
Led the nation in rushing touchdowns with 26
1st in nation in total rushing yards with 1,736 yards
2nd All-Time rusher in Stanford history with 3,387 yards rushing
Harris Says: It’s not a total stretch for Stanford to play in a bowl - it’s been
done before. Yeah, well, the last time was in 2001. So, does that help you
understand what an impact #7 had this season? He had three 200 yard
rushing performances, ten 100 yard performances, nine multi-TD games and
had 13 TDs in his last four games (wins over Oregon, USC and Notre Dame
included). The most outstanding and most valuable offensive player in 2009.
Defensive Player of the Year

Ndamukong Suh
Defensive Tackle
Senior
6’4” 305
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

First team All-Big 12
Walter Camp All-American
Heisman Trophy finalist
Lombardi, Outland, Nagurski and Bednarik Award winner
Led the Huskers in tackles with 82
12.5 sacks and 19.5 TFLs
4.5 sacks and 12 tackles in Big 12 championship game vs. Texas
Harris Says: When you ask college football historians about transcendent
peformances, 99.9% of those asked will respond with an offensive showing. But,
ask them that question after the 2009 season and without question, they’ll
mention Ndamukong Suh’s domination against Texas in the Big 12 championship
game. But, if that’s what you know about Suh and his 2009 season, you missed
out. He finished the season with 19.5 tackles for a loss and 12.5 sacks and ate up
offensive fronts in the Big 12 throughout the season. Ask NFL scouts and they’ll
tell you that Suh is most NFL-ready defensive lineman they’ve seen in years. Get
ready NFL, here comes Suh! Or, as they say in Lincoln “SUUUUUUUUUHHH”!
Offensive All-American Team
QB - Case Keenum, Houston - The junior from Abilene has been superb this season
leading the Cougars to a 10-3 record and a berth in the CUSA championship game. He’s
thrown for 5,410 yards, 43 TDs and only 9 interceptions, while rushing for 4 TDs
RB - Mark Ingram, Alabama - The Trophy took over for last year’s All-SEC first teamer
Glen Coffee and made people forget Coffee existed. He’s rushed for 1,542 yards and 15
TDs, while accumulating 322 yards and 3 TDs through the air. He had six 100 yard games.
RB - Toby Gerhart, Stanford - What Gerhart did for the Cardinal this season goes above
making an All-American team. He rushed for 1,736 yards and 26 TDs to lead the nation in
touchdowns. But, most importantly, he led the Cardinal to eight wins and a bowl. Wow!
WR - Golden Tate, Notre Dame - Many going into the season thought that Tate’s
teammate was the best receiver in the nation (count me in on that). But, Tate shone in
Michael Floyd’s absence - 93 receptions, 1,496 yards and 15 TDs, second in the nation.
WR - Jordan Shipley, Texas - All Shipley did in his 6th and final season was shatter
nearly every reception record at UT. He had 106 receptions for 1,363 yards and 11 TDs. He
holds the game (15) and season (106) records for catches and is two off the career best.
WR - Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati - The senior out of Florida may have been relatively
unknown going into this season, but the Big East knew all about him. The first team All-
Big East selection had 80 catches for 1,150 yards and 11 TDs (3 return TDs as well).
T - Bryan Bulaga, Iowa - The 1st team All-Big 10 selection missed a few games earlier in
the season, but once back, the Iowa offense found success running behind him the rest of
the way. He’s a bona fide 1st rounder and helped lead Iowa to 10 wins and the Orange Bowl
G - Mike Johnson, Alabama - The Tide offense was a lot of Mark Ingram, sprinkled in
with a little Trent Richardson, which meant a lot of running behind Johnson, a first team
All-SEC selection. Terrence Cody said he’s the best he faced this year - I believe it.
C - Maurkice Pouncey, Florida - The trigger man for the Gator offense has been a three
year starter and first team All-SEC selection this season. He handles all of the offensive
calls for the offensive line and helped lead the Gators to 12 wins and the SEC East title.
G - Cord Howard, Georgia Tech - The Jackets offense was 2nd in the nation in rushing
utilizing Paul Johnson’s option attack and Howard was the leader up front for this
offensive line. A masher with a nasty disposition, Howard was a 1st-team All ACC pick.
T - Marcus Cannon, TCU - The Horned Frogs offense ran throughout the season behind
right tackle Cannon, a first-time All-MWC selection. TCU was fifth in the nation in
rushing and fourth in total offense due to the work of Cannon, a road grader.
Defensive All-American Team
DE - Jerry Hughes, TCU - Hughes was named the Mountain West Conference Defensive
Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and also received the Ted Hendricks
Award for being the top defensive end in the nation. 11.5 sacks and 15 TFLs did the trick.
DT - Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska - The unquestioned player of the year on the defensive
side of the ball. Suh led Nebraska with 82 tackles, had 12 sacks, 19.5 TFLs, 10 PBUs, forced
one fumble, had 21 QB hurries and an interception. Oh yeah, he was 4th in the Heisman.
DT - Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma - After watching McCoy in the opener against BYU, he
made a believer out of me. Not that I was skeptical, but his performance that night
opened everyone’s eyes. McCoy was first team All Big 12 and finished with 14.5 TFLs.
DE - Derrick Morgan, Ga. Tech - The ACC Defensive Player of the Year isn’t as well
known as his defensive line compadres, but he’s quite deserving of his spot on this team.
A sure-fire first round pick, Morgan was sixth in the nation with 12.5 sacks on the season.
DE/LB - Von Miller, Texas A&M - The Aggie defense struggled throughout the year, but
it wasn’t for a lack of effort from Miller, arguably the nation’s best pass rushing linebacker.
He led the nation in sacks with 17 and 21 tackles for a loss in his junior campaign.
LB - Pat Angerer, Iowa - The defensive leader for the 10-2 Orange Bowl-bound
Hawkeyes, Angerer finished the season with 135 tackles (5th in the nation) and four tackles
for a loss and a sack. The 1st team All-Big 10 selection finished his career with 248 tackles.
LB - Rolando McClain, Alabama - The Butkus and Lambert award recipient is arguably
the best defensive player in the SEC. He finished the season with 101 tackles, 12.5 tackles
for a loss and four sacks for the SEC champion Crimson Tide.
CB - Joe Haden, Florida - Arguably the best season any University of Florida defensive
back has ever had. Haden dominated the corner in a way no one else did this season. He
finished the season with 4 picks and most teams decided to throw away from him.
S - Eric Berry, Tennessee - The Vols were off the national radar for much of the season,
but Berry still had a tremendous season in Knoxville. Berry finished the season with 83
tackles, 6 tackles for a loss and two interceptions for the Chick-fil-A Bowl bound Vols.
S - Earl Thomas, Texas - If not for Ndamukong Suh, Thomas would’ve been the Big-12
Defensive Player of the Year. Thomas was tied for second in the nation in interceptions
with eight, including two picks sixes. He also recorded 59 tackles and 4.5 TFLs.
CB - Perrish Cox, Oklahoma State - One of the best pure cover guys in the nation, Cox
forced teams to think long and hard about throwing in his direction. He finished the
season with four picks and first team All-Big 12 honors.

2009 View - Bowl Preview

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2009-2010 BOWL PREVIEW

A VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE

“A awarded to...” With those

Fresno St. - 34 vs. Wyoming - 21

UCF - 28 vs. Rutgers - 24

USM - 35 vs. MTSU - 27

Oregon St. - 31 vs. BYU - 28

Keep it quick - During the season, SMU QB Kyle Padron

Nevada - 45 vs. SMU - 27

Pitt - 27 vs. UNC - 19

USC - 21 vs. Boston College - 9

Ohio - 16 vs. Marshall - 10

Clemson - 28 vs. Kentucky - 24

Georgia - 41 vs. Texas A&M - 34

Miami - 34 vs. Wisconsin - 24

UCLA - 20 vs. Temple - 16

Bowling Green - 38 vs. Idaho - 27

Nebraska - 21 vs. Arizona - 12

Houston - 41 vs. Air Force - 27

Oklahoma - 24 vs. Stanford - 20

S&J – That’s fantastic.

S&J – Feel real safe (laughter)…before we let you go

GM - Yeah, well, reason I came back in the first place is

S&J – Yeah…does that count as breaking the story?

S&J – Gerald, appreciate the time, I know you’ve got

Missouri - 35 vs. Navy - 28

Iowa St. - 17 vs. Minnesota - 14

Va. Tech - 20 vs. Tennessee - 14

2. Ohio State S Kurt Coleman vs. Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli is a tremendous

7. West Virginia’s RB Noel Devine with a month to get healthy.

Auburn - 31 vs. Northwestern - 23

LSU - 23 vs. Penn State - 20

West Virginia - 38 vs. FSU - 21

Oregon - 31 vs. Ohio State - 28

Florida - 38 vs. Cincinnati - 27

Cincinnati “Nod” Route down in the Red Zone

USF - 24 vs. NIU - 23

Oklahoma St. - 31 vs. Ole Miss - 20

South Carolina - 28 vs. U Conn - 27

Arkansas - 38 vs. ECU - 31

Texas Tech - 35 vs. MSU - 17

TCU - 26 vs. Boise State - 16

Georgia Tech - 27 vs. Iowa - 21

Central Mich. - 44 vs. Troy - 34

Alabama - 23 vs. Texas - 17

Mark Ingram’s 2009 Season

Alabama’s “Single Wing/Wildcat” with Mark Ingram

Colt McCoy’s 2009 Season

Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

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