2012 Schedules

Here are some interesting observations about schedules in the 2012 season:

• 22 teams have ONLY FBS opponents on their schedules
• No SEC or ACC schools are among the twenty-two teams to play this type of schedule
• Five are from Conference USA
• Four are from the Big Ten
• 97 teams have ONE game against an FCS opponents on their schedules
• 4 teams have TWO games against FCS opponents on their schedules
• Florida State
• Cincinnati
• Pittsburgh
• Texas A&M
• 1 team plays TWO FCS opponents and TWO Division 2 opponents
• UT-San Antonio, which was rushed up to the FBS level to save the WAC
• 3 teams play a 13-game regular season
• New Mexico
• UNLV
• South Alabama
• The NCAA allows teams that play Hawaii on the road to play a 13-game schedule if they chose. The extra game helps generate revenue for the school to offset the expensive travel costs of flying a team to Hawaii. Hawaii is also allowed to play a 13-game schedule every year if it chooses. Hawaii will only play 12 games in 2012.
• Only one win over a FCS program counts towards bowl eligibility. Beating two FCS programs in a season gives a FBS school no advantage in getting to bowl eligibility. In fact in might make bowl eligibility tougher since they can only lose to 5 FBS teams, opposed to 6 FBS teams if they had played one or no FCS cupcakes.

Helmet Stickers: Week 1

ACC—Maryland laid waste to Miami on Monday night in fashion, sporting new uniforms based off of the Maryland state flag. Maryland took a 26-24 lead with 1:39 left in the game via a field goal. With Miami driving, Maryland defensive back Cameron Chism picked off Miami’s Stephen Morris on fourth down and ran 54 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach with less than forty ticks left on the clock. Maryland sophomore quarterback Danny O’Brien passed for 348 yards. Maryland avenged its 20-26 loss to the Hurricanes last year. Terrapin football is back.

Big 10—Northwestern picked up a quality win over Boston College Saturday in their opener. With Dan Persa still injured from a ruptured Achilles tendon, sophomore quarterback Kain Colter stepped up and played well. Colter completed 70.8% of passes on 24 attempts. The Eagles drove into the red zone looking to tie the game at 24 in the final minutes of the game, but senior defensive lineman Vince Browne came up with a sack on the final play to end the game.

Big 12—The Baylor Bears got the best of last year’s Rose Bowl winner in a shootout. TCU’s streak of 25-straight regular-season victories came to an end as the Bears beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2004. A field goal from Aaron Jones with 1:04 left in the game sealed the 50-48 win after the Horned Frogs came roaring back scoring 25 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 48-47 lead. Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III was phenomenal, passing for 359 yards and five touchdowns. After one week of play, Robert Griffin III looks to be a legitimate Heisman candidate.

Big East—South Florida upset No. 16 Notre Dame in South Bend in a game that had two rain delays. The South Florida defense forced two fumbles and made three interceptions to win the turnover battle 5-0. USF cornerback Kayvon Webster recovered a Notre Dame fumble and ran 96 yards for a touchdown to set the tone of the game just four minutes in. Despite gaining half the yardage that Notre Dame did, the Bulls played smarter football, exploiting the Irish’s mistakes and weaknesses.

C-USA—Case Keenum started his sixth season on the Houston Cougars with a quality 38-34 win over UCLA. Keenum threw for 310 yards, and wide out Tyron Carrier had 10 grabs for 138 yards. Houston’s victory avenges a loss last season to the Bruins and has moved Kevin Sumlin’s stock up as Rick Neuheisel’s stock drops.

MAC—In a game featuring the debuts of two new head coaches, Ball State came out on top of Indiana 27-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Cardinals quarterback Keith Wenning was efficient, going 23 for 29 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Ball State rushed for 210 yards and controlled the rock for the majority of the second half. Ball State punter Scott Kovanda averaged 44.3 yards on three punts. The Cardinals have won their last two meetings against the Hoosiers.

MWC—The Broncos defeated Georgia 35-21 in Atlanta Saturday night. Boise State has taken down yet another BCS conference school and got its first victory over a SEC school. Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore went 28 for 34 passing, connecting with nine different targets. No. 5 Boise State looks to off to another great season and another BCS bowl game.

Pac-12—California picked up a solid win over Fresno State. It was the first time Cal beat Fresno State in three meetings. Cal quarterback Zach Maynard and wide receiver Keenan Allen are half-brothers. They connected for 112 yards through the air. The Golden Bears defense picked up 4 sacks. Despite 11 penalties, the Golden Bears were 7 yards short of doubling the Bulldogs’ modest 210 yards of total offense.

SEC— Two top 5 teams faced off on the opening weekend of college football, and LSU came out the winner over a stacked Oregon team 40-27. With starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson suspended because of a preseason brawl, backup Jarrett Lee did enough to lead the Tigers to victory. Oregon turned the ball over four times and the Tigers took advantage of the breaks, converting three Oregon fumbles into three touchdowns. LSU’s running backs Spencer Ware and Michael Ford outplayed Oregon’s star-studded tailbacks. LSU has won 34 straight nonconference games, the longest such streak in the nation.

Sun Belt—The Golden Panthers went to 1-0 in Sun Belt play after beating North Texas in their opener. FIU scored 28 points in the first quarter, a record for the program. Senior wide receiver had 283 all-purpose yards from receptions, rushes, punt returns, and kickoffs. Running backs Dariet Perry and Kedrick Rhodes each ran for two touchdowns. The Golden Panthers look to be a contender for the Sun Belt title.

WAC—Hawaii was the only WAC team to win in Week 1. The Warriors ran over Colorado 34-17 behind good quarterback play from senior signal-caller Bryant Moniz. Moniz, known as a passing quarterback, unleashed another dimension to his game by running for 121 yards in the opener, more yards than he rushed for all of last season. Hawaii cornerback Mike Edwards averaged 35.5 yards on two kickoff returns. Hawaii is the frontrunner to win the WAC this season.

Independents—In its first game since leaving the Mountain West Conference, BYU defeated Ole Miss in a close game by a score of 14-13. The Cougars trailed by a score of 0-13 in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Ross Apo pulled in a touchdown catch with 9:52 left. With 5:09 left the Cougars defense forced Ole Miss’s quarterback to fumble, and linebacker Kyle Van Noy jumped on top of the ball in the end zone to give BYU a one point lead and the eventual win.

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 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Preview

December 24, 2010 8:00 PM ET

Stadium: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii

Payout: $750,000

Played: 2002-present

Once known as: N/A

Broadcasters: Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham

Sideline Reporter: Shelley Smith

Storyline:  The Hawaii Bowl is guaranteed to be an offensive shootout with the 5^th and 8^th most potent offenses facing off: Tulsa and Hawaii. Tulsa’s pass defense is ranked 119^th in yards allowed, which is a huge mismatch when playing the top passing attack in the country. Hawaii’s defense leads the nation with 33 forced turnovers, but is still prone to giving up big plays and should have problems with Tulsa’s spread attack. Hawaii will be playing in its home stadium and will have the vast majority of the crowd behind it. Turnovers and which team has the last possession could be the deciding factors in this matchup.

All-time Series: 5-3 Hawaii

Line: Hawaii by 10.5

	Hawaii			Tulsa
Overall Record	10-3		Overall Record	9-3
Conference Record	7-1		Conference Record	6-2
Bowl Record	5-4		Bowl Record	7-9
Last Bowl Win	2006 Hawaii		Last Bowl Win	2008 GMAC

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.

Helmet Stickers: Week 8

ACC—Clemson finally beat Georgia Tech after losing four straight times to the Yellow Jackets. The Tiger defense held Georgia Tech to their lowest point total of the season, 13. Yellow Jackets’ quarterback Joshua Nesbitt was harassed all day, only passing for 83 yards and running for 2 yards. Clemson’s 27-13 victory gets them back to .500 in ACC play.

Big 12—There were three undefeated Big 12 teams heading into Week 8. Missouri was the only one to stay perfect. Mizzou knocked off Oklahoma, 36-27 at home. The Tiger offense and defense outperformed the Sooners in all aspects of the game, controlling the ball for over thirty-eight minutes. The sellout crowd of 71,004 stormed the field and took down the goal posts. This is the first 7-0 start for the Tigers since 1960. Gary Pinkel got his first win against the Sooners, and Missouri beat Oklahoma for the first time since 1998.

Big East—Just when it looked like one team in the Big East was the leader of the pack, West Virginia got upset by a scrappy Syracuse team. Syracuse turned three interceptions into 9 points as the Orange shocked the Mountaineers 19-15. Syracuse had five sacks and prevented the Mountaineers from scoring except for two first quarter touchdowns. The Orange ended an eight-game losing streak to West Virginia and gained possession of the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy.

Big Ten—Wisconsin followed up its big upset over Ohio State last week with another big win. The Badgers defeated the Hawkeyes 31-30 in Iowa City. With Wisky down 30-24 and facing fourth down, Badger punter Brad Nortman ran 17 yards on a fake punt to keep the go-ahead drive alive. Badger running back Montee Ball scored on an 8-yard run with 1:06 left in the game. The Hawkeyes were driving at the end of the game, but just ran out of time.

C-USA—Tulane got a much-needed win over UTEP on the road, 34-24. With 13:39 left in the game, the Miners tied the Green Wave 24-24. The Green Wave responded by scoring a touchdown and a subsequent field goal after regaining possession off an interception. Tulane had 461 yards of total offense while UTEP had 286 yards.

MAC—The Ohio Bobcats took the Miami (OH) RedHawks to the woodshed, 34-13, in a game that would decide the top dog in the MAC Eastern Division. Ohio’s defense was phenomenal, getting five sacks, four interceptions, and recovering two fumbles. The Bobcat defense also halted the RedHawks’ running game to just 11 yards. Despite committing 10 penalties for 105 yards, the Bobcats silenced 17,144 at Yager Stadium. Ohio is now 4-1 in conference play.

MWC—TCU routed Air Force 38-7 in Fort Worth to stay undefeated. Sophomore running back Ed Wesley rushed for 209 yards. The Horned Frogs held Air Force to just 184 yards rushing. Air Force was the top rushing team in the nation coming into the scrimmage, averaging 346 yards per game. The Horned Frogs outgained the Falcons 562 to 231.

Pac-10—With Nick Foles out due to injury, there were questions whether backup quarterback Matt Scott could lead the Wildcats to victory. Scott went 18 for 22 through the air, including two touchdowns. Scott had 233 yards passing and 65 yards rushing; Arizona didn’t miss Foles, nor miss a beat as it walloped Washington 44-14. The Wildcats are 6-1, their best start since 1998.

SEC—In the battle of two unbeatens, Auburn bested LSU by a touchdown. Auburn established their run game and didn’t look back. The Auburn Tigers ran for 440 yards, the most the LSU Tigers have allowed in a game in their entire history. Cam Newton had 217 of those rushing yards in addition to throwing for 86 yards. Newton now has the record for most rushing yards by a SEC quarterback in a season with 1,077. Auburn is the only undefeated team left in the SEC.

Sun Belt—Western Kentucky ended the nation’s longest losing streak by beating Louisiana-Lafayette 54-21 on the road. The Hilltoppers had lost 26 straight games before Saturday. The win also marks the Hilltoppers first win since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2009. Western Kentucky quarterback Kawaun Jakes was 18 for 22 with 262 yards and a touchdown. The Hilltoppers were 75% on third down conversions.

WAC—The Warriors of Hawaii routed the Aggies of Utah State 45-7 in Logan, Utah. Warrior quarterback Bryant Moniz passed for 389 yards, while running back Alex Green ran for 172 yards and four touchdowns. The Warrior defense had a coming-out party, holding the Aggies to just 181 yards of offense. Hawaii is now 4-0 in Western Athletic Conference games and 6-2 overall. Hawaii just might be a team that can give Boise State trouble on November 6th.

Independents—The Navy Midshipmen came up with a big victory over rival Notre Dame by a score of 35-17. Most of Navy’s production was on the ground; the Midshipmen only passed twice the entire game. Navy also did not have a single penalty. Navy lost forty-three straight meetings to the Fighting Irish between 1964 and 2006, but has now won three of the last four meetings. Navy has Notre Dame’s number.