No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State, Monday, Jan. 2, 5:30 p.m. ESPN @@http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/_/id/24/stanford-cardinal@@
Fiesta Bowl@@see previous@@
In what amounts to be the National Championship consolation game, two of the nation’s top quarterbacks (Andrew Luck@@CE@@ of Stanford and Brandon Weeden@@http://www.okstate.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/weeden_brandon00.html@@ of Oklahoma State) will battle. Both teams have elite offenses — Stanford is fifth nationally in scoring, Oklahoma State is second@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1028@@ — but although Stanford’s defense is better than Oklahoma State’s on paper, the Cowboys’ 44-10 shellacking of then-No. 10 Oklahoma in Bedlam gives them plenty of momentum.@@http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=313370197@@
Washington vs. No. 15 Baylor, Thursday Dec. 29, 6 p.m. ESPN @@http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/_/id/264/washington-huskies@@
Alamo Bowl@@see previous@@
One of the unintended consequences of USC’s bowl ban is that lower-ranked Pac-12 teams are forced to move up a notch in the conference’s pecking order. Washington, which has lost three in a row and four of its past six,@@http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/wash-m-footbl-sched.html@@ must try to contain Heisman Trophy candidate Robert Griffin III@@http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/griffiniii_robert00.html@@ and an explosive Baylor offense as a result. The Bears have won their last five games@@http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/bay-m-footbl-sched.html@@ and have the nation’s sixth-ranked scoring offense.@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1028@@ That could spell trouble for a Husky scoring defense that’s ranked 99th in the nation, allowing an average of 33.3 points per game.@@http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/_/id/264/washington-huskies@@
Texas vs. Cal, Wednesday Dec. 28, 5 p.m. ESPN@@http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/_/id/25/california-golden-bears@@
Holiday Bowl
In 2004, with a top-five Cal team set to play in the Rose Bowl, Texas head coach Mack Brown@@http://www.texassports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/brown_mack00.html@@ played the role of master politician. He railed against the Bears’ BCS candidacy and paved the way for the Longhorns to play in the Rose Bowl, a snub that still stings Cal fans to this day. In order to get revenge this year, Bear quarterback Zach Maynard,@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/maynard_zach00.html@@ who has played well in leading his team to three wins in their past four games,@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/cal-m-footbl-sched.html@@ must avoid the mistakes that plagued him in the season’s first half. If Maynard, who ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in quarterback efficiency,@@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/Football/2011-Stats/HTML/confldrs.htm#conf.wi2@@ doesn’t add to his interception count (he’s thrown 11 on the season),@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/maynard_zach00.html@@ the Bears will have a good chance to exact revenge.@@to exact revenge? more sports lingo?@@
UCLA vs. Illinois, Saturday Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. ESPN
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl@@include kraft?@@
When UCLA and Illinois faced one another in 1984,@@http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/31086/ucla-will-face-illinois-in-kraft-fight-hunger-bowl@@ Bruin quarterback Rick Neuheisel@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/neuheisel_rick00.html@@ led his team to a 45-9 shellacking of the Illini on a national stage.@@see previous espn link@@ In this go-round, a matchup with zero national implications and two interim head coaches, a repeat performance is unlikely to occur. Although neither team is playing well (Illinois has lost six games in a row,@@http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/ill-m-footbl-sched.html@@ UCLA three of four),@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/ucla-m-footbl-sched.html@@ the Illini finished second in the Big Ten in total defense (291.8 yards per game),@@http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/confldrs.html@@ and should be able to contain UCLA’s pedestrian offense.
Arizona State vs. No. 8@@espn says 7, but ncaa says 8@@ Boise State, Thursday Dec. 22, 5 p.m. ESPN @@http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/_/id/9/arizona-state-sun-devils@@
Maaco Bowl Las Vegas@@see previous@@
After a strong start to the season, Arizona State has crumbled down the stretch, costing coach Dennis Erickson@@http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7291074/arizona-state-sun-devils-fire-dennis-erickson@@ his job in the process. If the Sun Devils don’t play at a higher level against Boise State, they could easily suffer their fifth-consecutive loss.@@http://www.thesundevils.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/asu-m-footbl-sched.html@@ Bronco quarterback Kellen Moore@@http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/232560/kellen-moore@@ is one of the nation’s best, and at No. 7 in the last BCS rankings,@@http://www.bcsfootball.org/@@ Boise State could easily be playing in a BCS bowl instead of traveling to Las Vegas. The Broncos, who rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1028@@ and scoring defense,@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1043@@ have a statistical advantage over Arizona State in nearly every meaningful category.
Utah vs. Georgia Tech, Saturday Dec. 31, 11 a.m. CBS @@http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls@@
Sun Bowl
After starting their inaugural Pac-12 season 0-4 in conference, Utah won four of its final five games to clinch a bowl berth.@@http://utahutes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/utah-m-footbl-sched.html@@ The Utes have relied on a scoring defense ranked 18th in the nation@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1043@@ to carry them into the postseason. Georgia Tech’s unconventional triple-option offense could pose problems for the Utes, however. The Yellow Jackets are ranked No. 19 nationally in scoring offense@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1028@@ and third in rushing yards per game.@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1025@@ Utah will need to have an above-average offensive showing (Utah is 78th nationally in scoring offense)@@http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/_/id/254/utah-utes@@ to put itself in position to notch the victory.
Around the Pac-12: bowl edition
Daily Emerald
December 6, 2011
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