2013 At&T Cotton Bowl Classic Preview

Date: January 4, 2013 8:00 PM ET
Stadium: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Payout: $3,625,000 per team
Played: 1937-present
Former Names: N/A
Broadcasters: Gus Johnson, Charles Davis
Sideline Reporter: Julie Alexandria, Petros Papadakis

Texas A&M: The Aggies went 6-2 in their first season as a member of the SEC. Texas A&M was the only team to hand Alabama a loss in 2012. Quarterback Johnny Manziel netted 4,600 yards of total offense and became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy. The Aggies average 552.3 yards of offense per game. The Aggies have gone 0-6 in their last 6 Cotton Bowl appearances.

Oklahoma: The Sooners' only two losses came from Kansas State and Notre Dame, two teams who combined for a record of 23-1. Senior quarterback Landry Jones has now accumulated 16,368 passing yards and 125 touchdowns in his four years in Norman. Oklahoma has beaten Texas A&M in 8 of their last 9 meetings. The Sooners are making their 14th consecutive bowl appearance as they look to get a win over a Big 12 defector.

	Texas A&M			Oklahoma
Overall Record	10-2		Overall Record	10-2
Conference Record	6-2		Conference Record	8-1
Bowl Record	14-19		Bowl Record	27-17-1
Last Bowl Win	2011 Meineke Car Care		Last Bowl Win	2011 Insight

All Time Series: 19-10 Oklahoma
Line: Texas A&M by 3

Penn State Players Transferring

Seniors
Justin Brown (Starting Wide Receiver) to Oklahoma
Devon Smith (Starting Wide Receiver) to Marshall

Juniors
Robert Bolden (Backup Quarterback) to LSU
Khairi Fortt (Backup Linebacker) to California
Kevin Haplea (Backup Tight End) To Florida State
Silas Redd (Starting Running Back) to USC

RS Juniors
Anthony Fera (Starting Kicker and Punter) to Texas
Derrick Thomas (Backup Cornerback) to Marshall

RS Freshmen
Tim Buckley (Backup Safety) to North Carolina State
Ryan Nowicki (Backup Offensive Tackle) to Illinois

Freshmen
Jamil Pollard (Defensive Tackle) to Rutgers

2011 Insight Bowl Preview

Date: December 30, 2011 10:00 PM ET

Stadium: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Payout: $3,350,000

Played: 1989-present

Former Names: Copper Bowl (1989-1996), Insight.com Bowl (1997-2001)

Broadcasters: Sean McDonough, Matt Millen

Sideline Reporter: Heather Cox

All Time Series: 1-0 Oklahoma

Line: Oklahoma by 13.5

	Iowa			Oklahoma
Overall Record	7-5		Overall Record	9-3
Conference Record	4-4		Conference Record	6-3
Bowl Record	14-10-1		Bowl Record	26-17-1
Last Bowl Win	2010 Insight		Last Bowl Win	2011 Fiesta

Helmet Stickers: Week 6

ACC—Wake Forest has started ACC play 3-0 for the first time ever. The Demon Deacons beat the Seminoles 35-30 at home, putting up 391 yards of offense on a stout Seminole defense that was only giving up 257 yards per game prior to Saturday. Wake Forest forced one fumble and got four interceptions while giving not a single turnover to Florida State. The Demon Deacons have beaten the Seminoles in four of the last six meetings. Wake Forest is in the race for the ACC title.

Big 10—No. 14 Nebraska came back to beat Ohio State in the second half in what would become the biggest comeback in Cornhusker history. Down 21 points in the third quarter, the Huskers rallied to score 28 points and win their first Big 10 conference home game by a score of 34-27. Quarterback Taylor Martinez had his best passing percentage of the year, going 16 for 22. He also rushed for 102 yards. Running back Rex Burkhead was clutch, rushing for 119 yards and a touchdown as well as making five catches, one of which was a touchdown.

Big 12—No. 3 Oklahoma embarrassed No. 11 Texas 55-17 in the Red River Rivalry. The 38-point victory was the most lopsided since 2003, when the Sooners won by a series-record 52 points. Oklahoma had a school record eight sacks. The Sooners also had a school record with three defensive touchdowns in the game: cornerback Demontre Hurst returned an interception for 55 yards, defensive end David King returned a sack-fumble for 19 yards, and cornerback Jamell Fleming stripped a receiver and returned the ball 56 yards to the end zone.

Big East—The Scarlet Knights are 2-0 in the Big East for the second time in 21 years in the Big East. The Rutgers defense got four interceptions and picked up six sacks against Pittsburgh. Freshman Gary Nova got his first start at quarterback for the Scarlet Knights, replacing Chas Dodd. The freshman went 11 for 24, but did have two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Rutgers won the game 34-10 and is now a respectable 4-1.

C-USA—Houston dominated East Carolina by a score of 56-3 on Saturday night. Case Keenum completed 30 of 37 passes for 304 yards. Of eleven receivers catching passes, Patrick Edwards led with 133 yards and two touchdowns. Case Keenum is second in NCAA all-time passing yards with 15,895 yards. He is also second in NCAA all-time touchdowns with 124. Houston’s defense was just as dominant as its offense. The Cougars had four interceptions and nine sacks against the Pirates. The Cougar defense also held ECU to just 21 yards on the ground.

MAC—Miami (OH) defeated Army 35-28 to get their first win of the 2011 season. The RedHawks racked up 501 yards of offense on Army’s young defense. RedHawks quarterback Zac Dysert had 342 passing yards, while wide receiver Nick Harwell had ten catches for 186 yards. Dysert threw four touchdowns, two of which were caught by Harwell, and ran 1 yard for another. Don Treadwell picked up his first win as a head coach.

MWC—No. 5 Boise State blasted former conference rival Fresno State in its own stadium on national television Friday night by a score of 57-7. Boise State had scored 30 points before it allowed the Bulldogs offense to cross midfield. Kellen Moore threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Boise State wide receiver Geraldo Boldewijn returned from suspension and caught two touchdowns in the second quarter. Freshman wide receiver Matt Miller had a touchdown catch in the first quarter. The Broncos’ running game accounted for another five scores. Boise State had a +4 turnover margin.

Pac-12—Oregon State picked up its first win of the season by beating Arizona 37-27 in Corvallis. The Beavers snapped a six-game losing streak dating back to last season. After a scoreless first quarter, Oregon State scored 27 of their 37 points in the second quarter. Midway through the third quarter, the Beavers had a 30-6 lead that they nearly squandered. The Wildcats scored 21 unanswered points before Oregon State scored again with 5:22 left. Oregon State won the turnover battle 4-2.

SEC—South Carolina smashed Kentucky 54-3 Saturday in Columbia, their biggest margin of victory in a SEC game since joining the conference in 1992. The Wildcats scored a field goal on their first possession of the game, but after that the game was all Gamecocks.  The Gamecocks tallied 639 yards of offense. Connor Shaw got his first start of the season at quarterback. Shaw threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns. The Gamecocks defense was just as good, holding the Wildcats to just 96 yards of offense. The South Carolina defense only allowed four completions and made four interceptions.

Sun Belt—UL-Lafayette took down perennial Sun Belt favorite Troy Saturday night at Cajun Field. The Ragin’ Cajuns ended Troy’s four-game winning streak over UL-Lafayette and are now 3-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. Wide Receiver Javone Lawson had eight grabs for 131 yards. Senior cornerback Melvin White intercepted a pass from Troy’s Corey Robinson and ran it 89-yards for a pick-six. UL-Lafayette commands first place in the Sun Belt standings.

WAC—Utah State beat Wyoming Saturday night in Logan with a 63-19 landslide. The Aggies amassed their highest point total since 1963! Surprisingly, the game started with Wyoming winning 12-0. Freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton threw five touchdowns. Running back Robert Turbin ran for 109 yards and a touchdown; he also caught a 19-yard touchdown pass. Turbin has rushed for 100-plus yards in each of the Aggies’ last four games. Utah State went 8 for 11 on third downs.

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 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Preview

January 1, 2011 8:30 PM ET

Stadium: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Payout: $17,000,000

Played: 1971-present

Once known as: N/A

Broadcasters: Sean McDonough, Matt Millen

Sideline Reporter: Heather Cox

Storyline: Oklahoma is a 16.5 point favorite over Connecticut. Many critics believe the Huskies don’t deserve being in a BCS bowl even if they did win a weak Big East. UConn will be playing in its fourth consecutive bowl game and by far the biggest one in the 10-year FBS history of Huskies football. The Huskies are 8-4, with two losses coming from team that aren’t even in bowls. The one thing that can be said about Connecticut is that they do find ways to win games. Its best player, tailback Jordan Todman, averages 143.1 yards per game, which is good enough to be the second-best rusher in the FBS. Oklahoma won the Big 12 title and will be appearing in its 12^th straight bowl. Seven of those twelve bowl appearances were BCS bowl games. One positive for UConn is that despite going to the big games, the Sooners have lost their last five BCS bowls. Oklahoma is the third best passing team, averaging 351.7 yards per game. The Sooners have five players with at least 26 receptions this season. They are led by wide receiver Ryan Broyles. Broyles has 118 receptions for 1,452 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Huskies will look to tell the nation that they belong in the BCS with a big upset over Oklahoma. Even keeping the game close will be a moral victory. The Sooners are in a lose-lose situation. If they lose, they are the laughing stock of college football. If they win, they beat up on an 8-4 squad from a weak Big East Conference. The Sooners need to put this game away by the half and bury their BCS-game losing streak.

All-time Series: 0-0

Line: Oklahoma by 16.5

	Connecticut			Oklahoma
Overall Record	8-4		Overall Record	11-2
Conference Record	5-2		Conference Record	6-2
Bowl Record	3-1		Bowl Record	25-17-1
Last Bowl Win	2009 Papajohns.com		Last Bowl Win	2009 Sun

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