2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl Preview

Date: December 31, 2011 7:30 PM ET

Stadium: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

Payout: $3,967,500 (ACC), $2,932,500 (SEC)

Played: 1968-present

Former Names: Peach Bowl (1968-1997)

Broadcasters: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge

Sideline Reporter: Holly Rowe

All Time Series: 1-1

Line: Auburn by 3

	Virginia			Auburn
Overall Record	8-4		Overall Record	7-5
Conference Record	5-3		Conference Record	4-4
Bowl Record	7-10		Bowl Record	21-13-2
Last Bowl Win	2005 Music City		Last Bowl Win	2011 BCS Championship

Helmet Stickers: Week 2

ACC—North Carolina squeezed by Rutgers 24-22 after forcing the Scarlet Knights to turn the ball over on downs on their final possession with 2:32 left in the game. The Tarheel run defense was stellar, holding the Scarlet Knights to 1 yard on the ground on 25 attempts. North Carolina got four sacks, while providing perfect protection for its own signal-caller. The strangest stat of the game was that the Tarheels were -5 in turnover margin, attributed to three picks and two fumbles, yet still won the game.

Big 10—No. 8 Wisconsin pitched a shutout against Oregon State in Madison, 35-0. The Wisconsin defense held the Beavers to just 23 rushing yards on 24 rushing attempts. The Badgers forced two fumbles and gave up no turnovers of their own. The Badgers dominated every facet of the game and controlled the field position battle by capitalizing on three Beaver special teams mistakes.

Big 12—In a rematch of last year’s Alamo Bowl, the result was the same and the margin of victory was one field goal off. No. 9 Oklahoma State blasted Arizona for the second time in nine months. Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden was 42 of 53 for 397 yards. He started the game completing 22 of his first 23 passes. Cowboys wideout Justin Blackmon had his fourteenth straight appearance with at least 100 yards receiving. Oklahoma State’s defense held Arizona’s explosive offense to just two touchdowns.

Big East—South Florida was the only Big East team to win a game not over an FCS opponent, so the Bulls get a helmet sticker this week for a dominating 37-7 rout of Ball State. The Bulls forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, and Mark Joyce ran it in for a touchdown. Just 8 seconds into the game, South Florida was in control. The Bulls amassed 519 yards of total offense, using ten receivers, five rushers, and two quarterbacks.

C-USA—Rice upset Purdue 24-22 at home on Saturday. The Boilermakers drove to the Owls’ 14-yard line in the final minute and planned to kick a field goal on the final play to escape Houston with a win. Rice linebacker Justin Allen broke through Purdue’s offensive line and blocked Purdue placekicker Carson Wiggs’ 31-yard field goal attempt. This ended a 22-game streak of being a doormat to BCS conference opponents. The Rice Owls had not beaten such a team since September 8, 2001 in a contest against Duke. The last time the Owls beat a Big Ten team was in 1997 against Northwestern. This was a huge win for Rice.

MAC—Temple gets the helmet sticker for Week 2 since the Owls were the only Mid-America Conference team to beat an opponent that was not from the FCS. Temple rolled the Akron Zips 41-3. The Owls have started 2-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since the late 1960’s and have now beaten Akron five-straight times. Temple’s standout running back Bernard Pierce rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns on eighteen carries. Backup running back Matt Brown had 85 yards on sixteen carries.

MWC—Texas Christian rebounded after a loss in Week 1 to Baylor by beating Air Force 35-19. The Horned Frogs were balanced on offense, passing for 206 yards and rushing for 204 yards. TCU quarterback Casey Pachall had an 80% completion rate. The Horned Frogs had three new starters on defense. Kenny Cain, starting at strongside linebacker for the injured Tanner Brock, tallied seven tackles. Texas Christian has not lost a Mountain West conference game since 2008 and should make another run for the conference title this year despite many new faces.

Pac-12—Arizona State debuted its new logo in a Friday night game that went to overtime. The restyled Sun Devils took out the No. 21 Mizzou Tigers after scoring 7 in overtime and subsequently shutting down Missouri’s attempt to score. Sun Devils senior wideout Aaron Pflugrad had eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona State beat its first ranked opponent in the last eleven tries.

SEC—Auburn needed last minute heroics once again to preserve the longest unbeaten streak in the nation. After barely getting by Utah State last week, the Tigers stopped No. 16 Mississippi State, barely, on the final play of the game. Backup safety Ryan Smith stopped Bulldogs quarterback Chris Relf at the goal line to give the Tigers the 41-34 win. It was Smith’s fourth tackle of his career, and Auburn’s 17^th consecutive victory. Auburn is still a legitimate contender without Cam Newton or Nick Fairley.

Sun Belt—Florida International gets the Sun Belt helmet sticker again after defeating Louisville 24-17 on the road. This was the program’s first victory over a BCS conference team and the first time the team has started a season 2-0. The Golden Panthers were all about the big play. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton had touchdown catches of 74 and 83 yards. Linebacker Winston Fraser returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown. Mario Cristobal has to be a candidate for the next big head coach job opening based on what he has done at FIU.

WAC—New Mexico State picked up a 28-21 win over Minnesota in Minneapolis Saturday. The Aggies were 22.5 point underdogs. This was NMSU’s first win over a BCS conference school since 1999, when it beat Arizona State. DeWayne Walker got his first signature win as head coach against the school he played cornerback at, and the Aggies got their first win ever over a Big Ten team. With 20 seconds left in the game Minnesota head coach Larry Kill had a seizure. DeWayne Walker’s Aggie team was full of class when it gathered to pray for Larry Kill while he was being stabilized and taken to the hospital.

Least Returning Starters

Teams with the least returning starters for the 2011 season.

Auburn 5
After winning the national championship last season, the Tigers return the fewest starters in the nation--a paltry 5. However, the Tigers compensate a lack of experience with talent. They recruited the #1 class for 2011 and their 2010 recruiting class was ranked #6. Still, don't expect back-to-back national titles.

TCU 6
The Horned Frogs have only 2 starters returning on offense and 4 starters coming back on defense. Texas Christian's talent level and favorable schedule should get the program to a bowl game but there are lots of questions surrounding the 2011 TCU football team.

Fresno State 6
The Bulldogs are young and inexperienced. They play California, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Boise State in nonconference games. With a lack of experience and leadership, they could easily go 0-4 in those games.

Memphis 7
The Memphis Tigers look to be in big trouble with only 7 starters coming back and not too much hype surrounding the program after going 1-11 last year. Analysts predict Memphis to go 1-11 again and finish last in Conference USA.

NCAA Violations

College football has been plagued by scandals over the past few years. We've seen a can of worms bust open at Ohio State, USC vacating the 2004 national championship, improper benefits at North Carolina, Camgate at Auburn, the free textbook scandal at Alabama, recruiting violations at Oregon and Tennessee, and the list goes on and on.

The question arises: Has there been any FBS programs that have not come under the scrutiny of the NCAA?

The NCAA classifies violations as being either major or secondary. Major violations are ones that give a school an extensive recruiting or competitive advantage. Football and men's basketball are the two sports involved in most cases of rule-breaking. There are 17 schools in the FBS that have never been found to have committed a major violation in any sport since 1953, the year rule violations started being tracked. Those schools are Boston College, Northwestern, Penn State, Stanford, Air Force, Boise State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Kent State, North Texas, Ohio, Rice, Troy, UAB, and Western Michigan. Only 4 are BCS conference schools. Boise State may be leaving the list soon as it is currently under investigation by the NCAA's infractions committee in five sports.

2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Preview

January 10, 2011 8:30 PM ET

Stadium: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Payout: $17,000,000

Played: 2007-present

Once known as: N/A

Broadcasters: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit

Sideline Reporter: Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi

Storyline: Oregon and Auburn will face off for the BCS National Championship on Monday night. These two run-heavy teams have owned the #1 and #2 spots in the BCS rankings since late October. Oregon has never won a national title, while Auburn has won one national title in 1957. The Ducks boast a 12-0 record, Pac-10 title, and the 2^nd best offense in the nation, averaging 537.2 yards per game. The Ducks’ only scare came on November 13^th when they beat California by only 2 points. The Tigers went 13-0, won the SEC title, and have the 7^th best offense in the nation, averaging 497.7 yards per game. The Tigers had to come-back in eight of their games, four of which they were down by double digits. Oregon has had the better defense, allowing 18.4 points game (14^th), while Auburn has allowed 24.5 points per game (54^th). However, Auburn has played a tougher schedule, playing five teams ranked 18^th, while Oregon has only beaten one team ranked 18^th or higher. Auburn looks to get the SEC its fifth consecutive national title, while Oregon looks to become the first Pac-10 team other than USC to win a national championship in the BCS era.

All-time Series: 0-0

Line: Auburn by 2.5

	Oregon			Auburn
Overall Record	12-0		Overall Record	13-0
Conference Record	9-0		Conference Record	8-0
Bowl Record	9-14		Bowl Record	20-13-2
Last Bowl Win	2008 Holiday		Last Bowl Win	2010 Outback

SEC Home Attendance Figures

	Alabama			Arkansas
Bryant-Denny Stadium			Razorback Stadium, War Memorial Stadium*
S4 San Jose State	101,821		S4 Tennessee Tech	69,596
S11 Penn State	101,821		S25 Alabama	76,808
O2 Florida	101,821		O23 Mississippi	73,619
O16 Mississippi	101,821		O30 Vanderbilt	70,430
N13 Mississippi State	101,821		N13 UTEP	67,330
N18 Georgia State	101,821		N27 LSU*	55,808
N26 Auburn	101,821
AVERAGE	101,821		AVERAGE	68,932
	Auburn			Florida
Jordan-Hare Stadium			Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
S4 Arkansas State	83,441		S4 Miami (OH)	90,178
S18 Clemson	87,451		S11 South Florida	90,612
S25 South Carolina	87,237		S25 Kentucky	90,547
O2 UL-Monroe	80,759		O9 LSU	90,721
O16 Arkansas	87,451		O16 Mississippi State	90,517
O23 LSU	87,451		N13 South Carolina	90,885
N6 Chattanooga	87,451		N20 Appalachian State	90,119
N13 Georgia	87,451
AVERAGE	86,087		AVERAGE	90,511
	Georgia			Kentucky
Sanford Stadium			Commonwealth Stadium
S4 UL-Lafayette	92,746		S11 Western Kentucky	66,584
S18 Arkansas	92,746		S18 Akron	64,014
O9 Tennessee	92,746		O9 Auburn	70,776
O16 Vanderbilt	92,746		O16 South Carolina	67,955
N6 Idaho State	92,746		O23 Georgia	70,884
N27 Georgia Tech	92,746		N6 Charleston Southern	61,884
			N13 Vanderbilt	60,391
AVERAGE	92,746		AVERAGE	66,070
	LSU			Mississippi
Tiger Stadium			Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
S18 Mississippi State	92,538		S4 Jacksonville State	55,768
S25 West Virginia	92,575		S18 Vanderbilt	51,667
O2 Tennessee	92,932		S25 Fresno State	55,267
O16 McNeese State	92,576		O2 Kentucky	55,344
N6 Alabama	92,969		O30 Auburn	61,474
N13 UL-Monroe	92,518		N6 UL-Lafayette	53,144
N20 Mississippi	92,915		N27 Mississippi State	58,625
AVERAGE	92,718		AVERAGE	55,898
	Mississippi State			South Carolina
Davis Wade Stadium			Williams-Brice Stadium
S4 Memphis	56,032		S2 Southern Miss	70,438
S9 Auburn	54,806		S11 Georgia	80,974
S25 Georgia	56,721		S18 Furman	73,681
O2 Alcorn State	50,439		O9 Alabama	82,993
O23 UAB	56,423		O30 Tennessee	79,336
O30 Kentucky	54,168		N6 Arkansas	75,136
N20 Arkansas	56,406		N20 Troy	74,117
AVERAGE	54,999		AVERAGE	76,668
	Tennessee			Vanderbilt
Neyland Stadium			Vanderbilt Stadium
S4 Tennessee-Martin	99,123		S4 Northwestern	37,210
S11 Oregon	102,035		S11 LSU	36,940
S18 Florida	102,455		O9 Eastern Michigan	33,107
S25 UAB	95,183		O23 South Carolina	33,425
O23 Alabama	102,455		N6 Florida	33,848
N13 Mississippi	96,044		N20 Tennessee	37,017
N27 Kentucky	101,170		N27 Wake Forest	21,338
AVERAGE	99,781		AVERAGE	33,269

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Alabama	101,821
Tennessee	99,781
Georgia	92,746
LSU	92,718
Florida	90,511
Auburn	86,087
South Carolina	76,668
Arkansas	68,932
Kentucky	66,070
Mississippi	55,898
Mississippi State	54,999
Vanderbilt	33,269