2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl Preview

Date: January 1, 2013 12:00 PM ET
Stadium: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Payout: $1,100,000 per team
Played: 2011-present
Former Names: TicketCity Bowl (2011-2012)
Broadcasters: Clay Matvick, Matt Stinchcomb
Sideline Reporter: Kaylee Hartung

Purdue: After dropping its first five conference games, Purdue salvaged its season by defeating  Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana to close the regular season and become bowl-eligible. The day after becoming bowl-eligible, head coach Danny Hope was canned. Receivers coach Patrick Higgins will act as the interim head coach for the Heart of Dallas Bowl.   

Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State was not as polished in 2012 without Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden. However, the Cowboys still had a prolific offense that averaged 44.7 points per game, good for third-best in the nation. Oklahoma State used 3 quarterbacks this season: J.W. Walsh, Clint Chelf, and Wes Lunt. They combined for 3,965 passing yards in 12 games.

	Purdue			Oklahoma State
Overall Record	6-6		Overall Record	7-5
Conference Record	3-5		Conference Record	5-4
Bowl Record	9-7		Bowl Record	14-8
Last Bowl Win	2011 Little Caesars Pizza		Last Bowl Win	2012 Fiesta

All Time Series: 1-0 Purdue
Line: Oklahoma State by 17

2012 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Preview

Date: January 2, 2012 8:30 PM ET

Stadium: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Payout: $17,000,000

Played: 1971-present

Former Names: N/A

Broadcasters: Sean McDonough, Matt Millen

Sideline Reporter: Heather Cox

All Time Series: 0-0

Line: Oklahoma State by 4

	Stanford			Oklahoma State
Overall Record	11-1		Overall Record	11-1
Conference Record	8-1		Conference Record	8-1
Bowl Record	10-11-1		Bowl Record	13-8
Last Bowl Win	2011 Orange		Last Bowl Win	2010 Alamo

Helmet Stickers: Week 10

ACC—NC State beat in-state rival North Carolina for the fifth straight time. The last time NC State beat North Carolina five straight times was 1988-1992.  The Wolfpack defense held the Tarheels to just 3 yards rushing and posted four sacks. North Carolina’s featured back Giovani Bernard back was held to 47 yards on 18 carries. The Wolfpack defense also knocked North Carolina starting quarterback Bryn Renner out of the game. The 13-0 game was the first time NC State has shutout North Carolina since 1960 and North Carolina State’s first shutout of an ACC opponent in a decade.

Big 10—Northwestern upset No. 10 Nebraska 28-25 on Saturday. The Wildcats were 17-point underdogs in Lincoln. Dan Persa left the game early due to a shoulder injury, leaving Kain Colter to play quarterback. Colter rushed for two touchdowns and threw a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Kain Colter connected with Jeremy Ebert on an 81-yard touchdown pass, the second longest passing play in Northwestern history. The Wildcat defense held Nebraska to a season-low 122 yards rushing. Northwestern got its first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 8 Iowa on the road on November 7, 2009.

Big 12—No. 3 Oklahoma State got by No. 14 Kansas State in Boone Pickens Stadium by a score of 52-45. Brandon Weeden threw for 502 yards in the game, a school passing record. Kansas State had three opportunities to tie the game from the Cowpokes’ 5-yard line in the final 12 seconds of the game, but came up short. Wide receivers Justin Blackmon and Tracy Moore had 205 yards and 146 yards receiving, respectively. Cowboys kicker Quinn Sharp was 3 for 3 on field goal, 5 for 5 on extra points, and averaged 51 yards per punt. Oklahoma State is now 9-0 and off to its best start since 1945 when it went undefeated. Oklahoma keeps its national title hopes alive.

Big East—Louisville went into Morgantown and beat the Mountaineers 38 to 35, ending a four-game losing streak in the series. The Mountaineers outgained the Cardinals 533 to 351 yards, but still lost the game. Louisville cornerback Adrian Bushnell blocked a West Virginia field goal attempt on the first play of the fourth quarter, and cornerback Andrew Johnson returned the ball 82 yards for a Cardinals touchdown. Freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made his sixth start and had his best performance of the season, completing 21 of 27 passes for 246 yards. Louisville is on a three-game winning streak. The Big 12 may have chosen West Virginia over Louisville in conference expansion, but the Cardinals got the last laugh.

C-USA—The Golden Hurricane defeated Central Florida 24-17 in Orlando. The Knights lost at home for the first time this season. The Golden Hurricane rushed for 251 yards on a UCF defense that was only allowing 87 yards on the ground per game. Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne completed 15 of 28 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown. Kinne also led Tulsa’s rushing attack with 92 yards. Tulsa did not have a single penalty in the game. Tulsa remains undefeated in C-USA play at 5-0.

MAC—Northern Illinois edged Toledo 63-60 in the Glass Bowl Tuesday night. Northern Illinois’s first two touchdowns were on kickoff returns of 100 and 95 yards by freshman wide receiver Tommylee Lewis.  Huskies quarterback Chandler Harnish threw six touchdown passes in the game. Northern Illinois’s offense was balanced with 265 yards passing and 267 yards rushing. Losing, 60-56 with 4:16 remaining, the Huskies put together a 66 yard touchdown drive and retook the lead with 19 seconds left in the game. The game had 123 total points, the most scored in a game since 2007 when North Texas and Navy combined for 136 points. The game was the second-highest scoring game in the history of the MAC.

MWC—Air Force retained the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy after beating Army 24-14 in Falcon Stadium Saturday afternoon. Air Force beat Navy in overtime in October. Air Force went into the half losing 14-0 to Army. The Falcons regrouped and scored 24 unanswered points in the second half on two touchdowns, one followed with a 2-point conversion, and three field goals. Air Force forced Army to turn the ball over five times and stopped the Black Knights from converting on fourth down three times, including a fourth-and-goal on Air Force’s 1-yard line.

Pac-12—UCLA beat No. 19 Arizona State 29-28 in Pasadena and took control of the Pac-12 South after Arizona State missed a 46-yard field goal on the final play of the game. After blowing a 9-point lead early in the third quarter, the Bruins were able to retake the lead with 49 seconds in the game on a Derrick Coleman 1-yard touchdown run. During the drive, the Bruins converted on third-and-29 with a 33-yard pass to senior wide receiver Nelson Rosario. Rosario had 151 yards off of five catches. Coleman has 119 yards on seventeen carries. The win was Rick Neuheisel’s biggest conference victory in his four years as the UCLA head coach.

SEC—No. 1 LSU defeated No. 2 Alabama 9-6 in overtime in a game billed as The Game of the Century. The defenses of both teams controlled the flow of the game. Neither team scored a touchdown. All points were from field goals. Alabama squandered its opportunities, missing four field goals in the game, including a 52-yarder in overtime, and allowing LSU to get a goal-line interception to prevent a touchdown. The game was 6-6 after regulation, and LSU kicker Drew Alleman only needed to connect on a 25-yard field goal to win the game after Alabama went scoreless in its overtime possession. Alleman was 3 for 3 on field goals, and LSU punter Brad Wing had a 73-yard punt in the game. LSU moves to 9-0 and is the frontrunner for the national championship game, where strangely enough, it could possibly face Alabama again.

Sun Belt—Louisiana-Lafayette got by rival Louisiana-Monroe 36-35 at Cajun Field Saturday. The Warhawks led 35-24 with 3:08 left. The Ragin’ Cajuns scored two touchdowns, separated by a successful onside kick, in the final two minutes to get a 1-point victory: a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darryl Surgent and a 3-yard run from running back Alonzo Harris. Two-point conversions on both touchdowns were unsuccessful. Quarterback Blaine Gautier had 355 yards passing and four touchdowns. The Ragin’ Cajuns were 50% on third down conversions. UL-Lafayette goes to 8-2 on the season. The last time the program had 8 wins in a season was 1993.

WAC—Utah State was losing to Hawaii 28-7 in Honolulu at halftime. The Aggies rallied in the second half, outscoring the Warriors 28-3, to get a huge 4-point road win on the islands. The Aggies took the lead for the first time in the game on a Robert Turbin 1-yard touchdown run with just 14 seconds left in the game. Running back Robert Turbin averaged 6.4 yards per carry and has scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of his last thirteen games. Utah State only made 15 first downs compared to Hawaii’s 28. The Aggies were 2 for 2 on fourth downs, while the Utah State defense stopped the Warriors on all 3 of their fourth down conversion attempts.

Helmet Stickers: Week 2

ACC—North Carolina squeezed by Rutgers 24-22 after forcing the Scarlet Knights to turn the ball over on downs on their final possession with 2:32 left in the game. The Tarheel run defense was stellar, holding the Scarlet Knights to 1 yard on the ground on 25 attempts. North Carolina got four sacks, while providing perfect protection for its own signal-caller. The strangest stat of the game was that the Tarheels were -5 in turnover margin, attributed to three picks and two fumbles, yet still won the game.

Big 10—No. 8 Wisconsin pitched a shutout against Oregon State in Madison, 35-0. The Wisconsin defense held the Beavers to just 23 rushing yards on 24 rushing attempts. The Badgers forced two fumbles and gave up no turnovers of their own. The Badgers dominated every facet of the game and controlled the field position battle by capitalizing on three Beaver special teams mistakes.

Big 12—In a rematch of last year’s Alamo Bowl, the result was the same and the margin of victory was one field goal off. No. 9 Oklahoma State blasted Arizona for the second time in nine months. Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden was 42 of 53 for 397 yards. He started the game completing 22 of his first 23 passes. Cowboys wideout Justin Blackmon had his fourteenth straight appearance with at least 100 yards receiving. Oklahoma State’s defense held Arizona’s explosive offense to just two touchdowns.

Big East—South Florida was the only Big East team to win a game not over an FCS opponent, so the Bulls get a helmet sticker this week for a dominating 37-7 rout of Ball State. The Bulls forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, and Mark Joyce ran it in for a touchdown. Just 8 seconds into the game, South Florida was in control. The Bulls amassed 519 yards of total offense, using ten receivers, five rushers, and two quarterbacks.

C-USA—Rice upset Purdue 24-22 at home on Saturday. The Boilermakers drove to the Owls’ 14-yard line in the final minute and planned to kick a field goal on the final play to escape Houston with a win. Rice linebacker Justin Allen broke through Purdue’s offensive line and blocked Purdue placekicker Carson Wiggs’ 31-yard field goal attempt. This ended a 22-game streak of being a doormat to BCS conference opponents. The Rice Owls had not beaten such a team since September 8, 2001 in a contest against Duke. The last time the Owls beat a Big Ten team was in 1997 against Northwestern. This was a huge win for Rice.

MAC—Temple gets the helmet sticker for Week 2 since the Owls were the only Mid-America Conference team to beat an opponent that was not from the FCS. Temple rolled the Akron Zips 41-3. The Owls have started 2-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since the late 1960’s and have now beaten Akron five-straight times. Temple’s standout running back Bernard Pierce rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns on eighteen carries. Backup running back Matt Brown had 85 yards on sixteen carries.

MWC—Texas Christian rebounded after a loss in Week 1 to Baylor by beating Air Force 35-19. The Horned Frogs were balanced on offense, passing for 206 yards and rushing for 204 yards. TCU quarterback Casey Pachall had an 80% completion rate. The Horned Frogs had three new starters on defense. Kenny Cain, starting at strongside linebacker for the injured Tanner Brock, tallied seven tackles. Texas Christian has not lost a Mountain West conference game since 2008 and should make another run for the conference title this year despite many new faces.

Pac-12—Arizona State debuted its new logo in a Friday night game that went to overtime. The restyled Sun Devils took out the No. 21 Mizzou Tigers after scoring 7 in overtime and subsequently shutting down Missouri’s attempt to score. Sun Devils senior wideout Aaron Pflugrad had eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona State beat its first ranked opponent in the last eleven tries.

SEC—Auburn needed last minute heroics once again to preserve the longest unbeaten streak in the nation. After barely getting by Utah State last week, the Tigers stopped No. 16 Mississippi State, barely, on the final play of the game. Backup safety Ryan Smith stopped Bulldogs quarterback Chris Relf at the goal line to give the Tigers the 41-34 win. It was Smith’s fourth tackle of his career, and Auburn’s 17^th consecutive victory. Auburn is still a legitimate contender without Cam Newton or Nick Fairley.

Sun Belt—Florida International gets the Sun Belt helmet sticker again after defeating Louisville 24-17 on the road. This was the program’s first victory over a BCS conference team and the first time the team has started a season 2-0. The Golden Panthers were all about the big play. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton had touchdown catches of 74 and 83 yards. Linebacker Winston Fraser returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown. Mario Cristobal has to be a candidate for the next big head coach job opening based on what he has done at FIU.

WAC—New Mexico State picked up a 28-21 win over Minnesota in Minneapolis Saturday. The Aggies were 22.5 point underdogs. This was NMSU’s first win over a BCS conference school since 1999, when it beat Arizona State. DeWayne Walker got his first signature win as head coach against the school he played cornerback at, and the Aggies got their first win ever over a Big Ten team. With 20 seconds left in the game Minnesota head coach Larry Kill had a seizure. DeWayne Walker’s Aggie team was full of class when it gathered to pray for Larry Kill while he was being stabilized and taken to the hospital.

2010 Valero Alamo Bowl Preview

December 29, 2010 9:15 PM ET

Stadium: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Payout: $2,225,000

Played: 1993-present

Once known as: N/A

Broadcasters: Rece Davis, Craig James, Jesse Palmer

Sideline Reporter: Jenn Brown

Storyline: The Alamo Bowl is sure to feature a lot of passing as Oklahoma State, the #2 passing team in the FBS, faces off with Arizona, the #8 passing team in the FBS. The Cowboys have the #1 offense in the country in terms of total yards. The Cowboys are averaging 537.6 yards per game behind the power-trio of Justin Blackmon, Brandon Weeden, and Kendall Hunter. Oklahoma State just missed going to the Big 12 championship game after losing to Oklahoma in its finale. Oklahoma State looks to get its first 11-win season with an Alamo Bowl win Wednesday. Meanwhile, Arizona started the season a promising 7-1 and climbed to #9 in the rankings, but then lost its last four games. While the Wildcat offensive attack was consistent throughout the season, the defense played sloppily down the stretch. The Wildcats gave up 456 yards per game in November. If Arizona expects to stop the top offense in the nation, it needs to step up big time. Arizona needs to win the Alamo Bowl or the Wildcats will go into the offseason with a fifth-straight loss and their heads down. This game has the potential of being a shootout or a blowout in favor of the Cowboys. The wildcard will be the Wildcat defense. Whatever the outcome, both teams will have chances for revenge as a home-and-home series between the two schools is slated to begin next season.

All-time Series: 3-3

Line: Oklahoma State by 5

	Oklahoma State			Arizona
Overall Record	10-2		Overall Record	7-5
Conference Record	6-2		Conference Record	4-5
Bowl Record	12-8		Bowl Record	6-8-1
Last Bowl Win	2007 Insight		Last Bowl Win	2008 Las Vegas

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