2012 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Preview

Date: December 24, 2012 8:00 PM ET
Stadium: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Payout: $650,000 per team
Played: 2002-present
Former Names: N/A
Broadcasters: Carter Blackburn, Kelly Stouffer
Sideline Reporter: Kaylee Hartung

Fresno State: Fresno State signal caller Derek Carr is following in the footsteps of older brother and former No. 1 NFL Draft pick David Carr, who also played for the Bulldogs. The younger Carr threw for 3,742 yards and 36 touchdowns with just 5 picks this season. The Bulldogs average over 322 passing yards and over 40 points per game. Fresno State looks to get its first bowl win since the 2007 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl.  

Southern Methodist: Former Texas Longhorn quarterback and current SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert will make his first bowl appearance since the 2010 BCS National Championship. Gilbert passed for 2,720 yards, 14 scores, and 13 picks this season. Senior tailback Zach Line has accumulated 4,114 rushing yards and 46 touchdowns during his four-year career. The Mustangs are making a school-record fourth consecutive bowl appearance, despite a rough 2-4 start to the season.

	Fresno State			Southern Methodist
Overall Record	9-3		Overall Record	6-6
Conference Record	7-1		Conference Record	5-3
Bowl Record	10-10		Bowl Record	6-7-1
Last Bowl Win	2007 Humanitarian		Last Bowl Win	2012 BBVA Compass

All Time Series: 5-1 Fresno State
Line: Fresno State by 12

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.

Conference Realignment Summary

After chatting with some coworkers, it became apparent that many college football fans are still confused about the conference realignments in the FBS and when these moves take affect. Here is a summary.

Fall 2011
-Nebraska is playing in the Big 10.
-Colorado and Utah are playing in the Pacific-12.
-Boise State is playing in the Mountain West.
-BYU becomes an independant.

Fall 2012
-Fresno State, Nevada, and Hawaii move to the Mountain West.
-Texas Christian moves to the Big East.
-UT-San Antonio and Texas State move up from the FCS the Western Athletic Conference.
-Massachusetts moves up from the FCS into the Mid-America Conference.

WAC Home Attendance Figures

	Boise State			Fresno State
Bronco Stadium			Bulldog Stadium
S25 Oregon State	34,137		S4 Cincinnati	37,238
O9 Toledo	33,833		O2 Cal Poly	37,069
O26 Louisiana Tech	32,026		O9 Hwaii	38,494
N6 Hawaii	34,060		O16 New Mexico State	32,334
N19 Fresno State	33,454		N13 Nevada	37,116
D4 Utah State	32,101		N27 Idaho	25,965
			D3 Illinois	30,625
AVERAGE	33,269		AVERAGE	34,120
	Hawaii			Idaho
Aloha Stadium			Kibbie Dome
S2 Hawaii	44,204		S2 North Dakota	11,466
S25 Charleston Southrn	30,300		S18 UNLV	15,390
O2 Louisiana Tech	29,469		O23 New Mexico State	13,812
O16 Nevada	42,031		N6 Nevada	11,247
O30 Idaho	37,466		N12 Boise State	16,453
N20 San Jose State	30,011		D4 San Jose State	8,011
D4 UNLV	37,820
AVERAGE	35,900		AVERAGE	12,730
	Louisiana Tech			Nevada
Joe Aillet Stadium			Mackay Stadium
S18 Navy	23,122		S2 Eastern Washington	16,313
S25 Southern Miss	22,344		S11 Colorado State	18,098
O9 Utah State	16,073		S17 California	28,809
O16 Idaho	19,750		O9 San Jose State	20,636
N6 Fresno State	17,057		O30 Utah State	11,558
D4 Nevada	18,562		N20 New Mexico State	10,906
			N26 Boise State	30,712
AVERAGE	19,485		AVERAGE	19,576
	New Mexico State			San Jose State
Aggie Memorial Stadium			Spartan Stadium
S11 San Jose State	16,891		S18 Southern Utah	16,739
O2 Boise State	19,661		O2 UC Davis	17,844
O9 New Mexico	21,437		O16 Boise State	20,239
O30 San Jose State	13,117		O23 Fresno State	11,314
N13 Louisiana Tech	12,486		N13 Utah State	12,239
N27 Hawaii	11,841		N27 Louisiana Tech	8,467
AVERAGE	15,906		AVERAGE	14,474
	Utah State
Romney Stadium
S11 Idaho State	18,347
S18 Fresno State	19,059
O1 BYU	24,152
O23 Hawaii	17,111
N6 New Mexico State	14,524
N20 Idaho	14,072
AVERAGE	17,878

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Hawaii	35,900
Fresno State	34,120
Boise State	33,269
Nevada	19,576
Louisiana Tech	19,485
Utah State	17,878
New Mexico State	15,906
San Jose State	14,474
Idaho	12,730

2010 uDrove Humanitarian Bowl Preview

December 18, 2010 5:30 PM ET

Stadium: Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho

Payout: $750,000

Played: 1997-present

Once known as: MPC Computers Bowl (2004-2006)

Broadcasters: Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard, Mike Bellotti

Sideline Reporter: Shelley Smith

Storyline: Northern Illinois went undefeated in MAC conference play but lost the MAC championship to Miami of Ohio. The Huskies’ head coach, Jerry Kill left to coach Minnesota just 12 days before the Humanitarian Bowl. Assistant coach Tom Matukewicz will lead Northern Illinois in the bowl game. The Huskies are looking to win a record 11 games in one season. Fresno State beat two BCS conference schools this season. However, one month earlier on November 19th, Fresno State was slaughtered 51-0 on the Smurf Turf at Bronco Stadium. Can the Bulldogs rebound on the same field? Both teams are looking for a strong finish. The last meeting between these two schools was 1991. Fresno State won 51-7.

All-time Series: 2-2

Line: Northern Illinois by 1

	Northern Illinois			Fresno State
Overall Record	10-3		Overall Record	8-4
Conference Record	8-0		Conference Record	5-3
Bowl Record	2-3		Bowl Record	10-9
Last Bowl Win	2004 Silicon Valley		Last Bowl Win	2007 Humanitarian

Helmet Stickers: Week 14

ACC—After starting 0-2, Virginia Tech won eleven straight games, including Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against Florida State. Virginia Tech prevailed 44-33. The Hokies’ 44 points was the most ever scored in an ACC title game. Virginia Tech was 13 for 18 on third downs and put up 101 more yards than Florida State. Hokies quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw three touchdowns and ran for another. Hokies wide receiver Danny Coale exploited a weak Seminole secondary for a career-high 143 yards. Virginia Tech has won three ACC titles in the last four years.
 

Big 12—Nebraska opened the Big 12 title game 17-0 over Oklahoma. The Sooners battled back to be down 17-20 at the half. The Sooner defense regrouped during halftime and Nebraska was held scoreless in the second half of the game. Oklahoma added two field goals to become Big 12 Champion in a 23-20 win. Although Oklahoma was only 1 for 16 on third downs, they did win the turnover battle 4 to 1. Sooner linebacker Travis Lewis accounted for three of those turnovers: an interception and two fumble recoveries.

Big East—Connecticut clinched the Big East title and a BCS bowl bid by beating South Florida 19-16 on Saturday. The Huskies’ points came off of a pick six from senior linebacker Lawrence Wilson and four field goals by kicker Dave Teggart. With 1:16 left in the game, South Florida tied the game at 16-16. UConn drove 25 yards from its own 40 yard line to get to South Florida’s 35 yard line. On 4th and 3 with 17 seconds left, Dave Teggart hit a 52-yard field goal to put the Huskies up by 3 points and shortly thereafter win the game.

C-USA—Central Florida won its second Conference USA title by defeating Southern Methodist University by a score of 17-7. Central Florida’s true freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey went 15 for 19 passing. His 78.9 percent completion percentage was a record for a C-USA championship game. The Knights defense tallied five sacks on the afternoon. Central Florida has won its second conference championship in the last four seasons. George O’Leary has this program rolling.

MAC—Miami (OH) upset Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference championship game on Friday night in Detroit by a score of 26-21. Wide receiver Armand Robinson had fourteen receptions for 176 yards. The RedHawks offense was led by freshman Austin Boucher, who was making only his third start of the year, filling in for an injured Zac Dysert. Miami went 10-3 this season after going 1-11 last season. That’s quite a turnaround. This was the first time Miami has won the conference title since 2003.

Pac-10—Arizona State capped their season by defeating in-state rival Arizona for the Territorial Cup. Arizona could have won the game if it had hit an extra point, but Arizona State defensive end James Brooks blocked it. Instead the game went into two overtimes. Both schools hit field goals in the first overtime. In the second overtime Arizona State scored a touchdown and extra point. Arizona responded with a touchdown but James Brooks blocked another Alex Zendejas extra point to win the game for the Sun Devils 30-29. A blocked point-after-touchdown to force overtime and another blocked PAT to win the game in double overtime over your in-state rival. That's big.

SEC—Auburn absolutely destroyed South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference championship game 56-17. Cam Newton locked up the Heisman with a performance that included four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Auburn wideout Darvin Adams was also spectacular, catching seven passes for 217 yards. Auburn's 56 points is the most scored in an SEC title game and the 39-point margin of victory was the largest in an SEC championship game. Auburn finished the season a perfect 13-0 and will now have an opportunity to win the BCS National Championship.

Sun Belt—In its final game of the season, Middle Tennessee State became bowl-eligible. The Blue Raiders beat a formidable Florida International team 28-27. Middle Tennessee was able to put the game away after linebacker Corey Carmichael recovered a fumble on the Blue Raiders’ 35 yard line with FIU moving into field goal range and 3:43 left in the fourth quarter. Blue Raiders quarterback Dwight Dasher hit nine different targets for 244 yards on the day.

WAC—Fresno State upset Illinois 25-23 on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium. Bulldogs quarterback Ryan Colburn threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns. The climax of the game came in the fourth quarter when Fresno State was trying to run out the clock. Pat Hill ordered his offense to go for it on 4th and 1 in his own territory. Running back A.J. Ellis barely converted, but the success of the call allowed Fresno State to finish draining the clock out and win the game. Fresno State moves to 8-4 and has claimed yet another automatic-qualifying-conference victim. Pat Hill is not afraid of “BCS schools”.

Conference Realignment and Coaching News

--The WAC announced it will add UT-San Antonio, Texas State, and the University of Denver as new members in all sports for the 2012 season. The University of Denver does not have a football team.

--Hawaii is close to signing off on joining the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member. All other sports would move to the Big West. With the Western Athletic Conference being depleted of its best teams (Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada) over the next two seasons, Hawaii would have little competition if it remained in the WAC. Travel expenses for Mountain West teams to and from Honolulu may be the issue holding up the move. Hawaii is currently the senior member of the Western Athletic Conference, having joined in 1979.

--Kent State head coach Doug Martin is resigning after the Golden Flashes’ final game on Friday. Doug Martin is 28-53 after seven seasons as head coach. The Golden Flashes did not go to a bowl game during his tenure and never finished better than second in the MAC East (2006).

--Mike Haywood may be the coach of the year, turning around the Miami (Ohio) program. Last season the RedHawks were 1-7 in MAC play. This season the RedHawks are 7-1 in MAC games. Last season the program was 1-11, while this year it finished 8-4. Miami (Ohio) will represent the MAC East in the conference championship game if Kent State upsets Ohio on Friday.

--Minnesota is looking at San Diego State’s Brady Hoke, Air Force’s Troy Calhoun, Temple’s Al Golden, and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen to possibly be the next head coach in Minneapolis. I’d like to think Dan Mullen would be comfortable staying in the SEC, but all three other candidates would likely upgrade to the Big Ten if given the opportunity.

Big East Expansion and Conference Realignment News

--The Big East is looking to expand its football membership to ten members. Villanova is at the top of the list for candidates as it is already a Big East member in its other sports. The Villanova Wildcats are one of the better FCS football programs; the Wildcats won the FCS national championship in 2009. Villanova should be a done deal for the Big East. But who will be the tenth program to join Big East football? TCU and UCF are two other schools being seriously considered. Central Florida would be a natural rival to South Florida. The Knights are currently in first place in the C-USA East Division. TCU would be a misfit travel-wise for the Big East, but would definitely open the door to Big East teams recruiting out of Texas high schools. The Big East is not interested in adding another conference member to its other sports, so UCF and TCU would need to remain in their current conferences for all of their other sports. It is unlikely the Mountain West would let TCU remain in conference if it moved its football program. A fourth option that could meet the demand for a football only member is Temple. Temple has evolved into a legitimate football program in the Mid-America Conference while playing all of its other sports in the Atlantic 10. The Owls are geographically in the heart of Big East country.

--Nevada and Fresno State will not leave the Western Athletic Conference for the Mountain West Conference until the 2012 season. Both schools wanted to commence playing in their new conference by the 2011 school year, but have reached an agreement with the WAC where if they stay in the conference an extra year, their exit penalty will be reduced from $5 million to $900,000.