2012 Military Bowl Preview

Date: December 27, 2012 3:00 PM ET
Stadium: RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Payout: $1,000,000 per team
Played: 2008-present
Former Names: EagleBank Bowl (2008-2009)
Broadcasters: Bob Wischusen, Danny Kanell
Sideline Reporter: Quint Kessenich

San Jose State: San Jose State has won 10 games for the first time since the 1987 season. The Spartans are making just their second bowl appearance since the 1990 California Raisin Bowl. Quarterback David Fales has passed for 3,798 yards. Wide receivers Noel Grisby and Chandler Jones caught 19 of Fales' 31 touchdown passes. San Jose State has a chance to win 11 games, which would be a new school record for wins in a season.   

Bowling Green: The Falcons possess a talented defense that allowed only 15.8 points per game, the top defense in the Mid-America Conference. Coach Dave Clawson's team is equally efficient against the pass and rush, surrendering 173.0 passing yards per game and 116.7 rushing yards per game. The linebacker corp of Martin, Woods, and Swan is arguably one of the best trios in the nation.

	San Jose State			Bowling Green
Overall Record	10-2		Overall Record	8-4
Conference Record	5-1		Conference Record	6-2
Bowl Record	5-3		Bowl Record	4-4
Last Bowl Win	2006 New Mexico		Last Bowl Win	2004 GMAC

All Time Series: 0-0
Line: San Jose State by 7.5

Helmet Stickers: Week 7

ACC—The Virginia Cavaliers upset No. 12 Georgia Tech 24-21 on Saturday. It was Georgia Tech’s first loss of the season. The Cavalier defense held the Yellow Jackets’ explosive triple-option offense to 296 yards. Cornerbacks Chase Minnifield and Demetrious Nicholson each intercepted the Yellow Jackets’ Tevin Washington in the game. Virginia fans stormed the field after the huge win. Mike London’s team gained a lot of confidence halting Georgian Tech’s best start since 1966.

Big 10—No. 23 Michigan State dominated in-state rival No. 11 Michigan for the fourth straight year. The Spartans’ defense held Heisman-wannabe Denard Robinson to just 42 yards rushing and put up seven sacks. Spartans safety Isaiah Lewis ran back an interception for 39 yards to secure the 28-14 victory. Kirk Cousins passed for 120 yards and had two touchdown passes to Keshawn Martin. Edwin Baker rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown. The ESPN-overhyped Wolverines were no match for a physical Spartan defense. In Michigan, the Wolverines are the Spartans’ “Little Sister”.

Big 12—No. 21 Texas A&M shellacked No. 20 Baylor 55-28. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill passed for 415 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. Wideout Ryan Swope caught four touchdowns—two of which were 68 yards—and had 206 yards receiving. The Aggies put up a season-high 681 yards of offense.  Texas A&M’s defense sacked Robert Griffin III five times, and Aggies cornerback Dustin Harris intercepted Griffin, only the second pick the Baylor signal caller has thrown this season. Texas A&M wins the Battle of the Brazos for the third straight season and the 19^th time in the last 21 meetings. The rivalry will likely not be played again anytime soon, as the Aggies head to the SEC.

Big East—Connecticut moved to 1-1 in the Big East standings as it defeated South Florida 16-10 in East Hartford. The Huskies did not score a touchdown in the victory. Kicker Dave Teggart kicked three field goals, and cornerback Byron Jones ran a Bulls fumble 10 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The turnover proved to be the game winning score. UConn forced two interceptions and two fumble and only gave up two fumbles of its own. Connecticut is 7-1 in Big East home openers and 4-1 against South Florida at home.

C-USA—Southern Methodist defeated Central Florida 38-17 on Saturday, reversing the outcome of the 2010 Conference USA Championship Game. Mustangs quarterback J.J. McDermott passed for 358 yards and two scores. Mustangs wide receiver Cole Beasley had ten catches for 134 yards and a score. Running back Zach Line rushed for 82 yards and two scores. In the second quarter, SMU cornerback Richard Crawford ran back a punt 92 yards for a touchdown. The Mustangs cruise to 3-0 in league play and 5-1 overall.

MAC—Eastern Michigan defeated rival Central Michigan on the road 35-28. The Eagles blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, allowing the Chippewas to tie the game at 28 apiece with 1:09 left, but Eagles quarterback Alex Gillett scored on a 30-yard scamper with 37 seconds left in the game to get the 35-28 win. All five of Eastern’s touchdowns came on runs. Running backs Dominque White and Javonti Greene each carried the ball nineteen times. White had 161 yards and a touchdown, while Green had 96 yards and three touchdowns. Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan meet next Saturday; the winner of that game will win the Michigan MAC Trophy.

MWC—Boise State routed Colorado State 63-13 in its first Mountain West conference game. Kellen Moore was 26 for 30, accumulating 338 yards and four passing touchdowns. Running back Doug Martin averaged 10 yards per carry and had 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker had nine grabs for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Colorado State’s defense allowed 742 yards of offense by the Broncos, a Boise State school record. Broncos backups saw significant time in the second half of the blowout.

Pac-12—USC won its eighth straight game against its in-state rival California on Saturday night at AT&T Park. The Trojans defense forced five turnovers. Linebacker Dion Bailey had two of the three interceptions. The USC defense held Cal to just 1.3 yards per rush for a total of 35 rushing yards. The Trojans had a 23-0 lead until late in the third quarter. Kyle Negrete averaged 42 yards on his five punts. Freshman kicker Andre Heidari was perfect, going 3 for 3 on both field goals and extra points. Despite criticisms, USC moves to 5-1 and 3-1 in Pac-12 play.

SEC—Alabama made a statement by beating OIe Miss 52-7. The Crimson Tide outgained the Rebels 615 to 141. Mississippi scored a touchdown on their opening drive, but after that, the game belonged to Alabama. The Crimson Tide scored 52 unanswered points and did not turn the ball over a single time in a very lopsided game. The 52 points amounted to Ole Miss’s worst loss since a 1981 49-3 loss to Florida and Bama’s largest accumulation of points in a SEC game since 1990. Trent Richardson averaged 10.8 yards per carry and also had four touchdown runs.

Sun Belt—Louisiana-Monroe got its second straight victory over Troy in a 38-10 win on the road. The Warhawks were down 10-3 in the third quarter before scoring 28 unanswered points. The Warhawks’ defense played lights out, holding a potent Troy offense to just 126 yards (140 passing yards, -14 rushing yards). Linebacker Cameron Blakes and safety Isaiah Newsome each intercepted Troy’s Corey Robinson. UL-Monroe’s offense put up 523 yards. Warhawks quarterback Kolton Browning had 275 passing yards and three touchdown throws. Warhawks wideout Tavarese Maye had 161 receiving yards, which included a 38-yard touchdown catch.

WAC—San Jose State bested Hawaii 28-27 in a sloppy Friday night game at Spartan Stadium that saw twelve turnovers. Both the Warriors and the Spartans had three interceptions and three fumbles. Matt Faulkner connected with sophomore wide receiver Chandler Jones on a 37-yard touchdown strike with just 36 seconds left in the game to get the go-ahead score. Fans stormed the field as the Spartans beat Hawaii at home for the first time since 1997. San Jose State has won three of their last four games after going 1-12 last season. Mike McIntyre is turning things around in San Jose.

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.

FBS Attendance

An institution classified in Football Bowl Subdivision shall meet all the Division I membership

requirements set forth in NCAA Division I Bylaws 20.9.1 through 20.9.5 and in addition, shall:

1. Sponsor a minimum of 16 varsity intercollegiate sports, including football, based on the

minimum sports sponsorship and scheduling requirements set forth in Bylaw 20.

Sponsorship shall include a minimum six sports involving all male teams or mixed teams

(males and females), and a minimum of eight varsity intercollegiate teams involving all

female teams. Institutions may use up to two emerging sports to satisfy the required eight

varsity intercollegiate sports involving all female teams. [Bylaw 20.9.7.1]

2. Schedule and play at least 60 percent of its football contests against members of Football

Bowl Subdivision. Institutions shall schedule and play at least five regular season home

contests against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. [Bylaw 20.9.7.2]

3. Average at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home football contests over a

rolling two-year period. [Bylaw 20.9.7.3]

4. Provide an average of at least 90 percent of the permissible maximum number of overall

football grants-in-aid per year over a rolling two-year period. [Bylaw 20.9.7.4-(a)]

5. Annually offer a minimum of 200 athletics grants-in-aid or expend at least four million

dollars on grants-in-aid to student-athletes in athletics programs. [Bylaw 20.9.7.4-(b)]

This means that the home game attendance at any given FBS school from any two consecutive years should average at least 15,000 fans. Six MAC programs, two WAC programs, and two Sun Belt programs have failed to meet the home attendance requirement over the past two seasons.

School	2009	2010	Average
San Jose State	14,474	15,344	14,909
Buffalo	12,981	15,960	14,471
Western Kentucky	14,577	14,103	14,340
Akron	10,185	17,382	13,784
Bowling Green	13,306	14,044	13,675
Miami (OH)	15,519	11,810	13,665
Florida International	16,545	10,204	13,375
Idaho	12,730	12,546	12,638
Eastern Michigan	15,885	5,016	10,451
Ball State	8,947	10,888	9,918

Over the 2009-2010 rolling period, ten teams failed to meet the attendance requirement. Over the 2008-2009 rolling period, six teams failed to meet the attendance requirement. The economy is definitely not getting better. Interestingly, five schools--Bowling Green, Miami (OH), Florida International, Idaho, and Eastern Michigan--have failed to meet NCAA bylaw 20.9.7.3 over the 2008-2009 rolling period and the 2009-2010 rolling period. Miami (OH) and Florida International both won bowl games this past season and should draw a bit better next year.

Should more FCS teams be allowed to move up into the Football Bowl Subdivision when 1/12 of the existing teams in the FBS cannot even meet the FBS attendance requirement? It appears the NCAA does not enforce this rule, which makes some sense: demoting schools would cause even more conference chaos and it is demoralizing for an FBS program to be demoted to the Football Championship Division. But still, rules are rules, and it's seen as favoritism when some rules are strictly enforced by NCAA and others are ignored.

Reference

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