2013 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Preview

Date: January 3, 2013 8:30 PM ET
Stadium: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
Payout: $17,000,000 per team
Played: 1971-present
Former Names: N/A
Broadcasters: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge
Sideline Reporter: Holly Rowe

Oregon: The nation's leader in scoring margin, Oregon scored 50.8 points per game while giving up just 22 points per game. Oregon's offense primarily stuck to the ground, where three running backs and a quarterback combined for 3,445 yards and 40 scores. The Ducks are playing in their fourth consecutive BCS bowl game.   

Kansas State: A 52-24 loss to Baylor late in the season shattered the Wildcats' dream of a national championship.Quarterback Collin Klein has rushed for 22 touchdowns and thrown 15 more this season. Klein has scored at least once every game the last two years. Bill Snyder's team looks to get its first bowl win since the 2002 Holiday Bowl, losing their past 4 bowl appearances.

	Oregon			Kansas State
Overall Record	11-1		Overall Record	11-1
Conference Record	8-1		Conference Record	8-1
Bowl Record	10-15		Bowl Record	6-9
Last Bowl Win	2012 Rose		Last Bowl Win	2002 Holiday

All Time Series: 0-0
Line: Oregon by 8

2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Preview

Date: January 6, 2012 8:00 PM ET

Stadium: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Payout: $3,625,000

Played: 1937-present

Former Names: N/A

Broadcasters: Gus Johnson, Charles Davis

Sideline Reporter: Tim Brewster, Darryl Johnston

All Time Series: 3-1 Kansas State

Line: Arkansas by 8.5

 

	Kansas State			Arkansas
Overall Record	10-2		Overall Record	10-2
Conference Record	7-2		Conference Record	6-2
Bowl Record	6-8		Bowl Record	12-23-3
Last Bowl Win	2002 Holiday		Last Bowl Win	2009 Liberty

Helmet Stickers: Week 5

ACC—No. 21 Georgia Tech is off to its best start since it won the national championship in 1990. The Yellow Jackets are 5-0 after pasting North Carolina State 45-35 on Saturday. Georgia Tech opened the game 21-0, but let the Wolfpack climb back to within a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, the Yellow Jackets scored three touchdowns in a span of 2 minutes and 22 seconds and later a field goal. Georgia Tech safety Isaiah Johnson returned an interception for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Big 10—Michigan State came into Ohio Stadium with the No. 1 defense in the nation and played like it. The Spartans defeated the Buckeyes 10-7 and came close to shutting the Buckeyes out at home for the first time since October 2, 1982. The Spartans finally allowed Ohio State to score with 10 seconds left in the game. Michigan State tallied nine sacks and held Ohio State to 35 yards rushing on 39 attempts. The Spartans beat the Buckeyes for the first time since 1999.

Big 12—Kansas State cherry-popped No. 15 Baylor 36-35 in Manhattan Saturday. Trailing Baylor 35-33, K-State linebacker Arthur Brown dealt Robert Griffin III his first interception of the season to set up a 31-yard field goal to get the lead. Baylor had one more shot, but the Wildcats defense made them go four-and-out. Arthur Brown led the K-State defense with 8 tackles and 2 sacks in the game. The Wildcats are now 4-0 and will probably enter the Top 25.

Big East—On Thursday night, Pittsburgh gave a 4-0 No. 16 South Florida team its first loss of the season in a 44-17 decision. Pitt got a much needed win after losses to Iowa and Notre Dame, and beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2008. Panthers running back Ray Graham ran for 226 yards and two touchdowns in a breakout performance. Pitt’s conversion of 9 out of 15 third downs kept the Bulls’ defense on the field and wore South Florida out.

C-USA—The Thundering Herd came into Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and beat the Cardinals 17-13. With less than 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Marshall linebacker Tyson Gale intercepted Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater on the Louisville 30-yard line. With good field position, Marshall took the lead with 1:49 left in the game on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Rakeem Cato to tight end C.J. Crawford. On Louisville’s ensuing drive, safety Omar Brown intercepted Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater to seal the win for the Thundering Herd. Marshall outgained Louisville 353 yards to 281 yards.

MAC—Western Michigan beat UConn 38-31 in East Hartford, Connecticut. Broncos quarterback Alex Carder threw for a career-high 479 yards and five touchdowns. Three Broncos receivers had over 100-yards receiving: Jordan White (173 yards), Chleb Ravenell (123 yards), and Robert Arnheim (113 yards). Western Michigan overcame fifteen penalties for 119 yards; the Broncos had more penalty yards than offensive yards in the first quarter. Western Michigan got its first win over Connecticut, evening the all-time series to 1-1.

MWC—Air Force beat fellow service academy Navy by a score of 35-34 in overtime. The Midshipmen scored six in overtime and then had their extra point attempt blocked by the Falcons. The Falcons proceeded to score a touchdown and an extra point to get a one-point win over their rival. Air Force linebacker Brady Amack had 23 tackles in the game. If Air Force can beat Army on November 5^th, it will retain the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy for another year.

Pac-12—Southern California outlasted Arizona in a shootout. The Trojans won 48 to 41 in a game that did not see much defense from either team. Matt Barkley set a school-record passing for 468 yards. Barkley threw four touchdowns and rushed for another. Robert Woods had 255 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Trojan safety T.J. McDonald had two interceptions. The Trojans are undefeated in the Los Angeles Coliseum this year (4 games). USC has beaten the Wildcats in 9 of the two teams last 10 meetings.

SEC—No. 18 Arkansas erased an 18-point deficit at halftime and beat No. 14 Texas A&M by a score of 42-38. The Razorback defense regrouped and only allowed a field goal in the second half. Quarterback Tyler Wilson passed for a school-record 510 yards. Wide receiver Jarius Wright set a school-record for receiving yards with 281 yards. The Razorbacks proved the Aggies are not ready for the SEC. The Aggies have not beaten an SEC team in sixteen years.

Sun Belt—Troy got by UAB 24-23 in Troy, Alabama Saturday. Going into the fourth quarter, Troy was losing by 9 points. After hitting a field goal with 5:18 left, Troy cornerback Jimmie Anderson intercepted a pass on the next series and took it to UAB’s 12 yard line. Troy’s D.J. Taylor ran in the ball from 2 yard out with 4:07 remaining to get the go-ahead score for Troy. D.J. Taylor rushed for a total of three touchdowns in the win over the Blazers.

WAC—New Mexico State beat in-state rival New Mexico in Albuquerque Saturday by a score of 42-28. The Aggies beat the Lobos by their largest margin of victory since 1968. NMSU quarterback Matt Christian threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown. NMSU running back Kenny Turner rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown. The Aggies have now beat the Lobos three straight times, which the program has not done in over forty years.

Independents—Army routed Tulane 45-6 in West Point. Tulane scored a touchdown on its first possession of the game, followed by Army scoring 45 unanswered points. Eleven different Black Knights had rushing touches in the game. Army punter Chris Boldt averaged 55 yards per punt. Army has now beaten Tulane in four of the last five meetings between the schools. Army left Conference USA after the 2004 season.

Helmet Stickers: Week 4

ACC—No. 21 Clemson knocked off No. 11 Florida State 35-30, giving the Tigers their first 4-0 start since 2007. The Tigers have beaten the Seminoles five-straight in Death Valley. It was Clemson’s fourth game this season with 455 yards or more. Clemson freshman Sammy Watkins had 141 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions. After beating two ranked opponents in consecutive weeks, Clemson looks like the dominant team in the ACC.

Big 10—No. 22 Michigan picked up a solid win over San Diego State in the weekend before Big 10 conference games begin. It was the Aztecs first loss of the season. Denard Robinson rushed for three touchdowns in the first half and ended the game with 200 yards on the ground. The Wolverines were very one-dimensional running for 320 yards and passing for 93 yards. Brady Hoke is the third coach in UM history to defeat the team he coached the previous season.

Big 12—Kansas State snuffed Miami’s Jacory Harris on a fourth down run on the K-State goal line with 49 seconds left to end any chance the Hurricanes had of defeating the Wildcats. Miami had the ball on the Kansas State 2-yard line on first down, but threw an incompletion. On second and third down, the Wildcats defense stopped rushing attempts. The Kansas State offense was just as good. Wildcats running back John Hubert ran for 167 yards, averaging 9.2 yards per carry. In 145 of the last 150 games where the Wildcats led at the half, they won. That is called finishing.

Big East—On Thursday night, the Cincinnati Bearcats blasted the North Carolina State Wolfpack 44-14, avenging last year’s loss. Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros threw two touchdowns and rushed for two more. Bearcats running back Isaiah Pead ran for 167 yards and accounted for two scores—one on the ground and another on a catch. The Cincinnati defense put up six sacks, forced three turnovers, and gave the Wolfpack -26 yards rushing. The Bearcats have not lost a nonconference game at Nippert Stadium since 2003.

C-USA—A 2-1 Southern Miss team defeated a 2-1 Virginia squad 30-24 Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles avoided giving the ball back to Virginia with less than 3 minutes left and a three-point lead when Austin Davis connected with Tracy Lampley with a 41-yard completion on third and 23. Golden Eagles quarterback Austin Davis threw for 313 yards and all three of Southern Mississippi’s touchdowns. The Golden Eagles defense had three picks. Both teams had 374 yards of offense. Southern Miss has beaten Virginia in the last two meetings.

MAC—Temple defeated Maryland 38-7 in College Park. Temple had never beaten the Terrapins before or any other ACC team for that matter. Maryland was previously 6-0 against Temple, including winning the last two games by a combined 54 points. The Owls controlled the clock for 41:01 and outgained Maryland 425 to 240. Owls running back Bernard Pierce had a school-record five rushing touchdowns. Temple wide receiver Rod Streator blocked a Maryland punt in the first quarter. Maryland had not had a punt blocked in 139 consecutive games, dating back to 1999. Maryland did not score until garbage time at the end of the fourth quarter.

MWC—Colorado State punted, losing 21-13, with 2:17 left in its game against Utah State in Logan. When Utah State fumbled the punt return, Colorado State recovered the ball and punched in a touchdown four Chris Nwoke-runs later. A two-point conversion pass to Crockett Gillmore tied the game at 21-21, forcing overtime. Both teams rushed for touchdowns in the first overtime to get to 28-28. Colorado State scored 7 points in the second overtime off a 7-yard pass to tight end Crockett Gillmore. Utah State’s Robert Turbin answered with a touchdown, but Utah State elected to go for a two-point conversion for the win. The Aggies rushed Robert Turbin on the two-point conversion attempt, but the Rams defense got the stop and the 35-34 victory.

Pac-12—Arizona State downed No. 23 Southern California 43-22 at Sun Devil Stadium, ending an 11-game losing streak to the Trojans. The Sun Devils forced four turnovers and the Trojans forced none of their own. Standout middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict had an interception, and outside linebacker Shelly Lyon returned an interception for a score late in the fourth to end any hopes the Trojans could get back in the game. Brock Osweiler threw two scores and Cameron Marshall rushed for three scores after an ankle injury in last Saturday’s game against Illinois.

SEC—No. 2 Louisiana State made a mockery out of No. 16 West Virginia on primetime with a 47-21 victory. The LSU defense stopped a high-octane Mountaineer attack. The Tigers won the turnover battle 4-0. LSU punter Brad Wing averaged 48.7 yards per punt. LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne ran back a kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. The Tigers have made a case for being No. 1 after beating No.3 Oregon, No. 25 Mississippi State, and No. 16 West Virginia all away from home in just the first four weeks of the season.

Sun Belt—North Texas got its first win of the season at home this Saturday over BCS-conference foe Indiana by a score of 24-21. Mean Green running back Lance Dunbar accumulated 152 receiving yards and 127 rushing yards, despite fumbling twice. Mean Green quarterback Derek Thompson threw for 201 yards, all three of North Texas’ touchdowns, and one pick-six in the fourth quarter. The Mean Green led 24-0 before the Hoosiers stormed back in the fourth quarter behind their backup quarterback Dusty Kiel. North Texas recovered an onside kick with 1:05 left to secure its first win.

WAC—San Jose State ended a thirteen-game losing streak by beating New Mexico State 34-24 Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Spartan Brandon Rutley rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first player at SJSU to rush for over 200 yards in a game in seven years. Spartan quarterback Matt Faulkner threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns, both caught by tight end Ryan Otten. SJSU played a clean game, only committing one penalty for 5 yards. The Spartans got their first win since beating Southern Utah on September 18, 2010.

2010 New Era Pinstripe Bowl Preview

December 30, 2010 3:20 PM ET

Stadium: Yankee Stadium, New York, New York

Payout: $2,000,000

Played: 2010

Once known as: N/A

Broadcasters: Bob Wischusen, Brian Griese

Sideline Reporter: Eamon McAnaney

Storyline: The inaugural Pinstripe Bowl brings back college football to the Bronx for the first time in 48 years, the last year of the Gotham Bowl. The game will be inside Yankee Stadium and feature teams that will be playing each other for the third time in the postseason since 1997—Kansas State won the 1997 Fiesta Bowl, while Syracuse won the 2001 Insight Bowl. Both teams looked to be on their way to great seasons when K-State started 5-1 and Syracuse started 6-2. Things went sour as Kansas State won two of its last six games and Syracuse won one of its last five games. The Wildcats and Orange both have poor run defenses, which could make for a lot of scoring. Orange running back Delone Carter ran for 1,035 yards during the season, while Wildcats standout Daniel Thomas had 1,495 yards in twelve games. Both teams rely on their running games more than their passing games, but Syracuse is closer to balanced. Whoever wins the first Pinstripe Bowl will put an end to their dismal second half of the season and win the rubber game in the Wildcats-Orange bowl history.

All-time Series: 1-1

Line: Pick

	Kansas State			Syracuse
Overall Record	7-5		Overall Record	7-5
Conference Record	3-5		Conference Record	4-3
Bowl Record	6-7		Bowl Record	12-9-1
Last Bowl Win	2002 Holiday		Last Bowl Win	2001 Insight.com

Big 12 Home Attendance Figures

	Baylor			Colorado
Floyd Casey Stadium			Folsom Field
S4 Sam Houston State	42,821		S18 Hawaii	47,840
S11 Buffalo	40,853		O2 Georgia	52,855
O2 Kansas	35,405		O16 Baylor	48,953
O23 Kansas State	40,057		O23 Texas Tech	47,665
N13 Texas A&M	45,089		N13 Iowa State	42,722
N20 Oklahoma	36,034		N20 Kansas State	41,147
AVERAGE	40,043		AVERAGE	46,864
	Iowa State			Kansas
Jack Trice Stadium			Memorial Stadium
S2 Northern Illinois	43,116		S4 North Dakota State	48,417
S25 Northern Iowa	48,874		S11 Georgia Tech	46,907
O2 Texas Tech	43,162		S25 New Mexico State	46,719
O9 Utah	43,195		O14 Kansas State	47,561
O30 Kansas	46,485		O23 Texas A&M	44,239
N6 Nebraska	51,159		N6 Colorado	40,851
N20 Missouri	41,776		N20 Oklahoma State	39,261
AVERAGE	45,395		AVERAGE	44,851
	Kansas State			Missouri
Bill Snyder Stadium			Faurot Field
S4 UCLA	51,059		S11 McNeese State	55,582
S11 Missouri State	48,672		S18 San Diego State	56,050
S25 UCF	50,586		S25 Miami (OH)	60,329
O7 Nebraska	51,015		O9 Colorado	62,965
O30 Oklahoma State	50,831		O23 Oklahoma	71,004
N6 Texas	46,734		N13 Kansas State	63,310
AVERAGE	49,816		AVERAGE	61,540
	Nebraska			Oklahoma
Memorial Stadium			Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
S4 Western Kentucky	85,555		S4 Utah State	85,151
S11 Idaho	85,732		S11 Florida State	85,630
S25 South Dakota State	85,573		S18 Air Force	84,332
O16 Texas	85,648		O16 Iowa State	84,024
O30 Missouri	85,907		O30 Colorado	84,173
N13 Kansas	85,587		N13 Texas Tech	85,116
N26 Colorado	85,646
AVERAGE	85,664		AVERAGE	84,738
	Oklahoma State			Texas
Boone Pickens Stadium			Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
S4 Washington State	48,692		S11 Wyoming	101,339
S11 Troy	48,820		S25 UCLA	101,437
S18 Tulsa	51,778		O23 Iowa State	100,142
S30 Texas A&M	48,284		O30 Baylor	100,452
O23 Nebraska	55,935		N13 Oklahoma State	100,659
N6 Baylor	50,741		N20 Florida Atlantic	99,799
N27 Oklahoma	51,164		N25 Texas A&M	100,752
AVERAGE	50,773		AVERAGE	100,654
	Texas A&M			Texas Tech
Kyle Field			Jones AT&T Stadium
S4 Stephen F. Austin	81,287		S5 SMU	57,528
S11 Louisiana Tech	77,579		S18 Texas	60,454
S18 FIU	79,069		O16 Oklahoma State	60,454
O16 Missouri	83,453		N6 Missouri	55,667
O30 Texas Tech	84,479		N20 Weber State	55,083
N6 Oklahoma	81,392		N27 Houston	53,461
N20 Nebraska	90,079
AVERAGE	82,477		AVERAGE	57,108

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Texas	100,654
Nebraska	85,664
Oklahoma	84,738
Texas A&M	82,477
Missouri	61,540
Texas Tech	57,108
Oklahoma State	50,773
Kansas State	49,816
Colorado	46,864
Iowa State	45,395
Kansas	44,851
Baylor	40,043