2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl Preview

Date: January 2, 2013 8:30 PM ET
Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Payout: $17,000,000 per team
Played: 1935-present
Former Names: N/A
Broadcasters: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman
Sideline Reporter: Quint Kessenich

Louisville: Louisville started the season 9-0, then lost 2 of their last 3 games. Louisville was dealt a serious blow when running back Senorise Perry was lost for the season in their loss to Syracuse. Jeremy Wright has gained just 89 yards on 48 carries, an average of 1.9 yards per rush, since Perry's injury. The Cardinals are heavy underdogs. A win over Florida would send shockwaves through college football.

Florida: A dominant defense that finished in the top 15 against both the pass and rush and surrendered the third-fewest points in the nation has delivered the Gators a trip to their 22nd consecutive bowl game. Florida defeated four teams that finished in the top 12 of the BCS standings. Its only loss came from rival Georgia. The Gators are back in a BCS bowl for the first time since 2009.

	Louisville			Florida
Overall Record	10-2		Overall Record	11-1
Conference Record	5-2		Conference Record	7-1
Bowl Record	7-8-1		Bowl Record	20-19
Last Bowl Win	2010 Beef 'O' Brady's		Last Bowl Win	2012 Gator

All Time Series: 2-0 Florida
Line: Florida by 14

Most Returning Starters

Teams with the most returning starters for the 2012 season.

Tennessee 18
Derek Dooley may be on the hot seat, but with nine starters coming back on each side of the ball, it looks like he may be able to turn around Volunteer football. The offensive line comes into the season with ninety-nine combined starts.

UT-San Antonio 18
The Roadrunners have only played one season in their entire history. Start-up programs usually have a tough time, especially when moving up to the FBS in their second year of playing football. Eighteen returning starters should help the Roadrunners win some games. Most starters are only sophomores and juniors.

Florida 17
Florida was average last season. With alot of experienced talent returning, the Gators should be in the SEC East race. Ten starters return on a defense that was 8th nationally last season. Florida's defense will be really good.

FIU 17
Florida International looks set up to best last season's eight wins with eight starters returning on offense and nine starters coming back on defense. T.Y. Hilton may be gone, but the balance of FIU's top five receivers from last season are back. Mario Cristobal is building a beast in Miami. Did Pitt or Rutgers think they had a chance at getting him to leave?

2012 Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl Preview

Date: January 2, 2012 1:00 PM ET

Stadium: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Florida

Payout: $2,700,000

Played: 1946-present

Former Names: N/A

Broadcasters: Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham

Sideline Reporter: Jeannine Edwards

All Time Series: 1-0 Florida

Line: Florida by 2.5

	Ohio State			Florida
Overall Record	6-6		Overall Record	6-6
Conference Record	3-5		Conference Record	3-5
Bowl Record	20-22		Bowl Record	19-19
Last Bowl Win	2011 Sugar		Last Bowl Win	2011 Outback

Urban Meyer Is Back

Last January I put together a short "obituary" for Urban Meyer when he retired from college football to stabilize his health and spend time with his family. For some reason I never posted it. I guess I thought Urban Meyer would be returning to the coaching ranks at some point. Here is what I had written and saved in a Word file last January:

"Urban Meyer’s retirement from college football on January 2, 201 is a loss of one of the best coaches in the game but a good decision for Urban Meyer’s health and family. It became apparent after Meyer’s leave of absence in December 2009 that the stress of being a head coach at a big time program had taken its toll. College football is life, but not worth dying over. Meyer won two national championships in his six seasons, compiling a 65-15 record in Gainesville. The Pontiff was 36-13 in SEC games. Meyer was 5-1 in bowl games at Florida and 7-1 in bowl games throughout his 10 seasons as a head coach. The numbers say it all: great college football coach. Urban Meyer will remain involved in college football by working as an analyst at ESPN."

It is ludicrous that Urban Meyer blamed his departure on health and family, when he will once again be a head coach. He will be stressed out and spending long hours away from his family trying to bring back one of college football's premier programs. There is as much pressure to win in Columbus as there was in Gainesville. If Meyer's health really went into decline at Florida, it will surely do so again with Ohio State. Either he was lying to the Gators fanbase or he has a deathwish. Did Meyer leave Florida because he saw the program was headed for a downswing? Did Meyer return to college football because the Buckeyes are bound to rise back to the top? Did he lie about health and family to prevent his coaching record to be blemished with subpar seasons at Florida?

I think Ohio State will rebuild under Urban Meyer and contend for the Big Ten Championship again in a couple years. He may be a good coach, but his resignation from Florida smelled of bullshit. If things do go sour at Ohio State, will he duck and run again under the disguise of personal issues? I question his integrity and loyalty.

Helmet Stickers: Week 3

ACC—Clemson ended No. 21 Auburn’s 17-game winning streak and avenged its overtime loss to Auburn last year. The Clemson Tigers’ 624 yards was the most the program has ever put up on a SEC school. Clemson beat Auburn after losing the last fourteen meetings. It has been sixty years since the Clemson Tigers have beaten the Auburn Tigers. At one point, Clemson converted ten-straight third downs, going 13 for 18 overall on the day.

Big 10—Illinois got by an improved No. 22 Arizona State squad 17-14, despite putting up 240 yards of offense and giving up 362 yards to the Sun Devils. The Illini defense stepped up when it had to, tallying 6 sacks and 2 picks against Sun Devil quarterback Brock Osweiler. Illinois led 10-7 before the first quarter was over. Early in the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils took the lead 14-10 on a 14-yard quarterback rush. A 16-yard touchdown pass to Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins put Illinois back on top 17-14 and was enough to get a big victory for a program that has struggled since going to the 2008 Rose Bowl.

Big 12—No. 1 Oklahoma’s resume for the BCS Championship Game is looking good after a 23-13 victory over No. 5 Florida State in Tallahassee. The Sooners defense was phenomenal: 6 sacks and held the Seminoles to 27 rushing yards on 26 attempts. Oklahoma defensive back Javon Harris had two interceptions, while linebacker Tom Wort added another. Florida State tied the game at 13-13 in the fourth quarter, but the Sooners added a touchdown and field goal in the final minutes to get the W.

Big East—Louisville took out rival Kentucky 24-17 on Saturday. Louisville last beat the Wildcats in 2006. Louisville quarterback Will Stein left the game early in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. True freshmen Teddy Bridgewater came in to replace him and completed 10 of 18 passes for two touchdown and no interceptions. The Cardinals are 2-1 and have two weeks to get ready for Marshall at home.

C-USA—UTEP prevailed over New Mexico State 16-10 in the Battle of I-15. UTEP kicker Dakota Warren had most of the Miners’ points: field goals of 42, 47, and 37 yards. The Miners only touchdown was set up by a 60-yard run off of a fake punt. UTEP’s defense played a great game, getting 6 sacks and holding NMSU to 16 yards rushing on 29 carries. The Miners have now beaten the Aggies three straight years.

MAC—Western Michigan routed in-state rival Central Michigan 44-14. Broncos wide receiver Jordan White had 13 catches for 177 yards, while quarterback Alex Carder threw for 355 yards, going 28 for 37. The Broncos have lost to the Chippewas each of the last five seasons. If Western Michigan can go on to defeat Eastern Michigan later in the season, it will win the Michigan MAC Trophy.

MWC—UNLV pulled a huge upset over Hawaii Saturday evening at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Rebels beat the Warriors 40-20, despite the Vegas line favoring Hawaii by 17.5 points. UNLV running back Tim Cornett ran in an 80-yard touchdown, the longest touchdown run for the Rebels in 22 years. The Rebels defense was opportunistic, recovering all four of Hawaii’s fumbles. The Rebels got their first win of the season and the biggest of the Bobby Hauck era.

Pac-12—Utah absolutely destroyed BYU in the latest installment of the Holy War. The Utes put up 54 points on the Cougars, while only allowing 10 points and 11 rushing yards with stout defense. The Utes forced the Cougars to turn over the football a whopping seven times. Young was embarrassed on its home field. Utes running back John White IV rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns. After losing 10-7 in the second quarter, Utah scored 47 unanswered points in the blowout.

SEC—Florida beat Tennessee for the seventh straight time Saturday in a 33-23 decision. Florida senior running back Chris Rainey was the MVP of the game. He rushed for 108 yards, caught for 104 yards, and blocked a punt. The Florida rush defense totally shut down the Volunteers run game. The Vols rushed for -9 yards in the contest. Luckily, solid play was able to overcome the Gators’ 150 yards of penalties.

Sun Belt—Florida International gets the Sun Belt helmet sticker for the third straight week. FIU was the only Sun Belt team to get a win over a FBS opponent, which was Central Florida this past Saturday. The Golden Panthers got by the Knights without stud wide out T.Y. Hilton. Hilton was injured. FIU is 3-0 for the first time in school history. The Panther defense put up six sacks on Central Florida’s Jeff Godfrey. One of those sacks came from FIU cornerback Tevin Blanchard late in the first half. It resulted in a fumble that was picked up by FIU defensive end Isame Faciane and returned 51 yards for the score.

WAC—Nevada defeated conference foe San Jose State by a score of 17-14. The Spartans were poised to get the go-ahead touchdown with 1:10 remaining in the game, but Nevada safety Duke Williams intercepted the Spartans’ third down pass into the end zone to clinch the victory for the Wolf Pack. Running back Mike Ball rushed for 124 yards and scored both of the Wolf Pack’s touchdowns.

Independents—The Black Knights got a quality 21-14 win over Northwestern, their first win of the season. All but 6 yards of Army’s offense came on the ground. Army quarterback Trent Steelman scored all three of the Black Knights’ touchdowns on runs, the third of which gave Army the lead with less than 3 minutes left. Victory was sealed after the defense stopped the Wildcats on 4^th and 1 on the Army 33-yard line. The Black Knights controlled the clock for over 40 minutes with their triple-option offense.

2011 Outback Bowl Preview

January 1, 2011 1:00 PM ET

Stadium: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Payout: $3,100,000

Played: 1986-present

Once known as: Hall of Fame Bowl (1986-1995)

Broadcasters: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden

Sideline Reporter: Suzy Kolber

Storyline: The teams that will be facing off in Tampa are similar. Both Penn State and Florida are teams with rebuilding offenses. Both Urban Meyer and Joe Paterno have won a pair of national championships. The Gators and Nittany Lions have shuffled quarterbacks: Robert Bolden and Matt McGloin for Penn State, John Brantley, Jordan Reed, and Try Burton for Florida. It is unclear which two will start in the Outback Bowl. The Gators are coming off of a loss to Florida State. Penn State is coming off a loss to Michigan State. Florida looks to get a bowl win in Urban Meyer’s last game. Penn State looks to go 4-0 in the Outback Bowl. No team has ever won the Tampa bowl four times.

All-time Series: 2-0 Florida

Line: Florida by 7

	Florida			Penn State
Overall Record	7-5		Overall Record	7-5
Conference Record	4-4		Conference Record	4-4
Bowl Record	18-19		Bowl Record	27-13-2
Last Bowl Win	2010 Sugar		Last Bowl Win	2010 Capital One

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