2013 Rose Bowl Preview

Date: January 1, 2013 5:00 PM ET
Stadium: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Payout: $17,000,000 per team
Played: 1902, 1916-present
Former Names: Tournament East-West Football Game (1902, 1916-1922)
Broadcasters: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit
Sideline Reporter: Heather Cox, Tom Rinaldi

Wisconsin: The Badgers played in the Big Ten Championship, despite a third-place finish in the Leaders division, due to sanctions at Ohio State and Penn State. A 70-31 rout of Nebraska in the title game earned the Badgers their third consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin has lost to TCU and Oregon in its past two Rose Bowls. Wisconsin's head coach of seven years, Bret Bielema, bolted for Arkansas. Athletic director and former head coach Barry Alvarez will lead the team.    

Stanford: With the departure of Andrew Luck to the NFL, Stanford fell from the 22nd-ranked passing offense to 94th in the country. Despite a poor passing game, the Cardinal won their first conference championship since 1999, due to a stout defense. Stanford's run defense was the third-best in the FBS. The defense also produced 56 sacks, the most in the nation. Stanford rides a seven-game winning streak as it looks to win the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1972.

	Wisconsin			Stanford
Overall Record	8-5		Overall Record	11-2
Conference Record	4-4		Conference Record	8-1
Bowl Record	11-12		Bowl Record	10-12-1
Last Bowl Win	2009 Champs Sports		Last Bowl Win	2011 Orange

All Time Series: 4-0-1 Wisconsin
Line: Stanford by 6

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 9

ACC—Georgia Tech gave No. 5 Clemson its first loss of the year with a 31-17 defeat. Yellow Jackets quarterback Tevin Washington led the charge, rushing for 176 yards and a score. Never before has a Georgia Tech quarterback rushed for more than 151 yards in a game. The triple-option offense racked up 383 rushing yards and controlled the ball for 39 minutes in the game. The Yellow Jackets defense recovered two Clemson fumbles and picked off Tajh Boyd twice in the game. Georgia Tech ended a two-game losing streak and ended Clemson’s national title hopes.

Big 10—Minnesota upset Iowa 22-21 at TCF Bank Field to get the Golden Gophers their first conference win of the season. Minnesota lost its first three conference games by an average margin of 38 points. Minnesota quarterback Marqueis Gray passed for 193 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 62 yards and the winning touchdown. Marqueis Gray rushed for the right pylon on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line with 2:48 left in the game. Golden Gopher fans stormed the field when time expired. The win allows Minnesota to retain the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy for another year. Minnesota last defeated Iowa in consecutive years in 1999 and 2000.

Big 12—Iowa State upset a No. 19 Texas Tech team that had defeated Oklahoma the week before. Texas Tech was embarrassed 41-7 at home. Iowa State redshirt freshman quarterback Jared Barnett passed for 144 yards and rushed for 92 yards in his first start. The Cyclones rushed for 368 yards and controlled the ball for 40:09. Iowa State had not rushed for over 300 yards in a game since 2001. Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege accounted for all three of the Red Raiders turnovers. He threw two interceptions and fumbled once. Iowa State’s defense held the Red Raiders to their fewest points at home since a 56-3 Nebraska thumping in 2000.

Big East—Louisville got consecutive Big East wins for the first time since 2006 as it overpowered Syracuse 27-10. Louisville’s defense held the Orange to just 246 yards, their lowest output this season. The Orange only got past Louisville’s 35-yard line twice the whole game. Louisville freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was 17 for 24 with 198 yards and two touchdowns in his fifth start. Louisville tailback Victor Anderson rushed for 93 yards and a score. The Cardinals moved to 2-1 in the Big East and 4-4 overall.

C-USA—On Thursday night, No. 17 Houston thrashed cross-town rival Rice 73-36. Case Keenum threw nine touchdown passes in the game. His fifth touchdown pass broke the all-time FBS record for career touchdown passes, which was 134, set by Graham Harrell in 2008. Houston’s offense racked up 656 yards, 534 of which were threw the air. Wide receiver Patrick Edwards caught five touchdowns and had 318 yards receiving. Wide receiver Tyron Carrier returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, the seventh kickoff he has taken in for a touchdown in his career. Houston is undefeated at 8-0.

MAC—Western Michigan beat Ball State 45-35 to move within one game of bowl eligibility and stay undefeated at Waldo Stadium. The second quarter of the game had seven touchdowns: four consecutive touchdowns for Western Michigan and three touchdowns for Ball State. The Broncos had 610 yards in the game with 465 of them coming through the air. Wide receiver Jordan White caught 9 passes for 172 yards and became Western’s all-time receptions leader. Two other wide receivers had over 100 yards receiving: Chleb Ravenell had 9 catches for 157 yards, while Robert Arnheim had 104 yards on 8 catches.

MWC—Wyoming went into Qualcomm Stadium and defeated San Diego State 30-27 on Saturday night. The Cowboys scored all of their points before halftime, where they led 30-13, and held on in the second half after allowing SDSU to score two more touchdowns. Wyoming freshman quarterback Brett Smith threw two touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns. Wyoming had no turnovers. The Cowboys forced one turnover; cornerback Tashaun Gipson came up with an interception on the Wyoming 5-yard line, denying the Aztecs from entering the red zone mid-way through the third quarter. The Cowboys are now 2-0 in the Mountain West.

Pac-12—No. 6 Stanford survived No. 20 USC. With a tie game late in the fourth quarter, USC cornerback Nickell Robey intercepted Andrew Luck at the Stanford 33-yard line and ran 33 yards for a pick six. The Trojans led by 7 with 3:08 left in the game. Stanford regrouped and drove 76 yards to tie the game with 38 seconds left. Each team scored a touchdown and a PAT in both the first and second overtime. In triple overtime, Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor rushed for a score, and a two point conversion was made to tight end Coby Fleener. The Trojans tried to answer. A 21-yard pass to freshman wide out Marqise Lee got them to the Stanford 4-yard line. On the next play, USC tailback Curtis McNeal fumbled when Stanford’s Terrence Stephens knocked the ball loose, and Stanford’s A.J. Tarpley recovered the ball in the end zone to get the Cardinal the 56-48 win. The Cardinal have now beat the Trojans three years in a row and are 8-0 for the first time since 1951.

SEC—No. 22 Georgia took down Florida 24-20 in the game dubbed the World’s Largest Cocktail Party. Georgia has now won six straight games, and Florida had lost four straight games for the first time since 1988. The Georgia defense held Florida to just 226 net yards and -19 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs defense only allowed 32 yards and one first down in the second half. Georgia outside linebacker Jarvis Jones had four of the Bulldogs’ six sacks in the game. After leading 17-3, Florida turned the ball over on two fumbles that gave Georgia short fields of 25 and 18 yards that the Bulldogs capitalized on with touchdowns. Georgia’s offense was 3 for 3 on fourth downs.

Sun Belt—The Red Wolves beat the Mean Green 37-14 in Jonesboro Saturday to go 6-2 on the season. Arkansas State has its best record in eight games since 1986. The Red Wolves raced out to 31-0 by halftime. Arkansas State nearly doubled North Texas’s offensive output, 540 yards to 283 yards. In the second quarter, punter and placekick holder Neely Sullivent rushed for a 14-yard touchdown on a fake field goal attempt. Red Wolves quarterback Ryan Aplin passed for 322 yards and was also the team’s leading rusher in the game with 69 yards. The Red Wolves are undefeated in Sun Belt games and are bowl eligible.

WAC—Louisiana Tech beat San Jose State by ten in Ruston Saturday. After losing 14-10 halfway through the second quarter, the Bulldogs rattled off 28 straight points. Wide receiver Quinton Patton had two touchdown catches in the game on Colby Cameron passes, one of which was a 90-yard bomb. Senior running back Lennon Creer added another touchdown and led the team with 112 yards on the ground, including a 15-yard scamper. Louisiana Tech’s defense picked off the Spartans’ Matt Faulkner four times. Linebacker Jay Dudley returned one of those interceptions 36 yards for a score.

Independents—Notre Dame beat Navy 56-14 in the Irish’s best performance of the season. Notre Dame rushed for seven touchdowns in the game and only punted the ball away once. The Fighting Irish’s defense held Navy to its lowest offensive output of the year at 229 yards. Notre Dame has now beat Navy for the second time in 5 years after winning 43 straight games against the Midshipmen from 1964 to 2006. The Fighting Irish move to 5-3.

NCAA Violations

College football has been plagued by scandals over the past few years. We've seen a can of worms bust open at Ohio State, USC vacating the 2004 national championship, improper benefits at North Carolina, Camgate at Auburn, the free textbook scandal at Alabama, recruiting violations at Oregon and Tennessee, and the list goes on and on.

The question arises: Has there been any FBS programs that have not come under the scrutiny of the NCAA?

The NCAA classifies violations as being either major or secondary. Major violations are ones that give a school an extensive recruiting or competitive advantage. Football and men's basketball are the two sports involved in most cases of rule-breaking. There are 17 schools in the FBS that have never been found to have committed a major violation in any sport since 1953, the year rule violations started being tracked. Those schools are Boston College, Northwestern, Penn State, Stanford, Air Force, Boise State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Kent State, North Texas, Ohio, Rice, Troy, UAB, and Western Michigan. Only 4 are BCS conference schools. Boise State may be leaving the list soon as it is currently under investigation by the NCAA's infractions committee in five sports.

2011 Discover Orange Bowl Preview

January 3, 2011 8:30 PM ET

Stadium: Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Payout: $17,000,000

Played: 1935-present

Once known as: N/A

Broadcasters: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski

Sideline Reporter: Michelle Tafoya

Storyline: Jim Harbaugh has turned around the Stanford football program in just four years. The Cardinal are appearing in consecutive bowls for the first time since 1995-1996. Stanford has had three shutouts and is averaging 40.3 points per game. Stanford’s only loss was to Oregon of October 2^nd. Heisman candidate Andrew Luck has completed 70.2% of his passes and thrown 28 touchdowns. While the Cardinal are playing in their first Orange Bowl, the Hokies are playing in their third Orange Bowl in four years. Virginia Tech won the ACC title and has won eleven straight games since starting the season 0-2. Virginia Tech’s 15^th ranked defense is second in the nation in interceptions with 22. The Hokies offense is commanded by dual-threat quarterback Tyrod Taylor who has thrown for 2,521 yards and rushed for 823 more. Stanford looks to get its first bowl win since the 1996 Sun Bowl, while Virginia Tech looks to get its twelfth straight win.

All-time Series: 0-0

Line: Stanford by 3.5

	Stanford			Virginia Tech
Overall Record	11-1		Overall Record	11-2
Conference Record	8-1		Conference Record	8-0
Bowl Record	9-11-1		Bowl Record	9-14
Last Bowl Win	1996 Sun		Last Bowl Win	2009 Chick-fil-A

Pac-10 Home Attendance Figures

	Arizona			Arizona State
Arizona Stadium			Sun Devil Stadium
S11 The Citadel	54,814		S4 Portland State	43,238
S18 Iowa	57,864		S11 Northern Arizona	49,043
S25 California	51,906		S25 Oregon	60,326
O9 Oregon State	56,054		O30 Washington State	44,903
O23 Washington	56,244		N13 Stanford	45,592
N13 USC	54,722		N26 UCLA	44,555
D2 Arizona State	56,253
AVERAGE	55,408		AVERAGE	47,943
	California			Oregon
Memorial Stadium			Autzen Stadium
S4 UC Davis	58,040		S4 New Mexico	59,104
S11 Colorado	55,440		S18 Portland State	58,086
O9 UCLA	61,664		O2 Stanford	59,818
O23 Arizona State	51,599		O21 UCLA	59,372
N13 Oregon	65,963		N6 Washington	60,017
N20 Stanford	67,793		N26 Arizona	59,990
N27 Washington	44,613
AVERAGE	57,873		AVERAGE	59,398
	Oregon State			Stanford
Reser Stadium			Stanford Stadium
S18 Louisville	45,379		S4 Sacramento State	30,626
O2 Arizona State	45,409		S18 Wake Forest	39,061
O30 California	45,439		O9 USC	51,607
N13 Washington State	45,389		O23 Washington State	36,679
N20 USC	44,969		N6 Arizona	43,506
D4 Oregon	46,469		N27 Oregon State	38,775
AVERAGE	45,509		AVERAGE	40,042
	UCLA			USC
Rose Bowl			Los Angeles Coliseum
S11 Stanford	56,931		S11 Virginia	81,375
S18 Houston	54,407		O2 Washington	82,796
O2 Washington State	62,072		O16 California	72,386
O30 Arizona	53,408		O30 Oregon	88,726
N6 Oregon State	64,330		N6 Arizona State	68,744
D4 USC	71,105		N27 Notre Dame	85,417
AVERAGE	60,376		AVERAGE	79,907
	Washington			Washington State
Husky Stadium			Martin Stadium
S11 Syracuse	62,418		S11 Montana State	26,356
S18 Nebraska	72,876		S25 USC	24,310
O9 Arizona State	65,685		O9 Oregon	24,768
O16 Oregon State	65,235		O16 Arizona	23,955
O30 Stanford	69,020		N6 California	17,648
N18 UCLA	62,347		D4 Washington	30,157
AVERAGE	66,264		AVERAGE	24,532

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

USC	79,907
Washington	66,264
UCLA	60,376
Oregon	59,398
California	57,873
Arizona	55,408
Arizona State	47,943
Oregon State	45,509
Stanford	40,042
Washington State	24,532