Month: December 2010 (Page 5 of 52)

      Orange Bowl Preview: Stanford vs. Virginia Tech

      December 29, 2010 /

      2011 BCS Bowl Previews: BCS National Championship | Fiesta Bowl | Rose Bowl | Orange Bowl | Sugar Bowl

      Date: Monday, January 3 2011
      Time: 8:30PM ET
      TV: ESPN

      Why Watch: The Hokies became the first program in FBS history to win 11 straight games after starting their season 0-2. Frank Beamer’s squad could have folded after losing to FCS school James Madison but instead it rallied, winning 11 in a row in impressive fashion. VA Tech largely flew under the radar while knocking off ACC opponents with relative ease and then crushing Florida State in the conference championship game. Now the Hokies look to put a bow on their season with a win against arguably the best one-loss team in the nation. Stanford had one of the best seasons in school history, losing only to an undefeated Oregon team in early October. They have a Hesiman finalist at quarterback in Andrew Luck, who would probably go No. 1 in the NFL draft if he decides to go pro next season. The Cardinal also employs one of the hottest head coaches in the nation in Jim Harbaugh.

      Game Facts Stanford is 9-11-1 all-time in bowl play and will be playing in the postseason for the second consecutive year following an eight-year absence. Oklahoma beat the Cardinal 31-27 in last year’s Sun Bowl. The Hokies will be playing in their fourth BCS bowl in the last seven seasons. They’re 9-14 all-time in bowl games and they’ll be making their 17th straight bowl appearance. Under Beamer, they’re 8-9 in bowl games, which includes 37-14 win over Tennessee in last year’s Chick-fil-A Bowl.

      Key Player: Steven Friday, Virginia Tech.
      They say the key to any good pass defense is a good pass rush and for Virginia Tech, that starts with Friday. The senior defensive end had 8.5 sacks to lead the Hokies this season. He’s incredibly quick off the edge and if he can harass quarterback Andrew Luck, the Hokies could slow down the possible No. 1 pick and the Cardinal offense.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Rose Bowl Preview: TCU vs. Wisconsin

      December 29, 2010 /

      2011 BCS Bowl Previews: BCS National Championship | Fiesta Bowl | Rose Bowl | Orange Bowl | Sugar Bowl

      Date: Saturday, January 1 2011
      Time: 4:30PM ET
      TV: ESPN

      Why Watch: This will be the Badgers first trip to Pasadena in 11 seasons, while the Horned Frogs will become the first team from a non-AQ league in the BCS era to play in the Rose Bowl. Both teams scored 520 points this year, which was tied for the fourth most in the nation. This will be a classic strength vs. strength matchup, as TCU allowed an average of just 11.4 points, 126.3 passing yards and 215.4 total yards per game this year, which were all tops in the FBS. They also held opponents to 89.2 rushing yards per game, which was the third-fewest in the country. The Badgers, meanwhile, were tied for fourth with 43.3 points per game (the same as TCU) and employ a three-headed monster in running backs James White (1,061 yards), John Clay (952) and Montee Ball (881). Can TCU’s speedy defense matchup with Wisconsin’s big bodies on the offensive line?

      Game Facts: Wisconsin has won its last three Rose Bowl appearances, while this will be TCU’s first-ever trip to Pasadena. The Badgers are 11-10 all-time in bowls and they’ll be making their ninth-straight bowl appearance. They beat Miami 20-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando last season. The Frogs are 11-14-1 all-time in bowls, but are 7-4 in bowl games under current head coach Gary Patterson. After winning their previous four bowl games, TCU was largely dominated by Boise State at last year’s Fiesta Bowl, even though the final score was, 17-10.

      Key Player: Wayne Daniels, TCU.
      Want to know if TCU can play with the big boys? We’ll learn a lot by watching Daniels try and get around 6-foot-7 beast of a man and Outland Trophy winner Gabe Carimi. Daniels was an All-American himself, and led TCU with 6.5 sacks this season. If Carimi is able to do to him what he’s been able to do to everyone else he’s gone up against this season (which is destroy them), then TCU might be in for a long day because that likely means Wisconsin won’t have trouble moving the ball. Daniels doesn’t necessarily have to win this battle, but he has to at least hold his own if TCU is going to win.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Fiesta Bowl Preview: Connecticut vs. Oklahoma

      December 29, 2010 /

      2011 BCS Bowl Previews: BCS National Championship | Fiesta Bowl | Rose Bowl | Orange Bowl | Sugar Bowl

      Date: Saturday, January 1 2011
      Time: 8:30PM ET
      TV: ESPN

      Why Watch: Because it’s Bob Stoops and Oklahoma – anything could happen. This is definitely the biggest mismatch of the five BCS bowl games, but Stoops has a five-game losing streak in BCS bowl games, which includes the Sooners’ shocking loss to Boise State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The Huskies are also sixth in the nation in kickoff returns and Oklahoma has allowed three kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, including one in each of their losses. UCONN running back Jordan Todman finished second in the nation in rushing, averaging 143 yards per game. Considering Oklahoma allowed 151 rushing yards per contest in the regular season, maybe the Huskies can play keep away from Landry Jones and the Sooner offense. Just when everyone thinks a blowout is inevitable, the opposite happens so don’t give up on this one.

      Game Facts: This will be the Huskies’ fourth-straight bowl appearance under head coach Randy Edsall. They pulled off an upset against South Carolina in last season’s PapaJohns.com Bowl in which they held the Gamecocks to only a touchdown in a 20-7 win. That victory improved UCONN’s all-time bowl record to 3-1. The Sooners are 25-17-1 all-time in bowls, but have lost in their last three appearances in the Fiesta Bowl. They’re also 5-6 overall in bowls under Stoops, who has his team playing in a BCS Bowl for the eighth time in 12 seasons.

      Key Player: Zach Frazer, Connecticut
      If Connecticut has any chance at pulling off an upset, Frazer better play at another level. None of this “playing within himself” or “not making mistakes” nonsense – he’s going to have to play the best game of his life. Oklahoma is going to stack the box to take away Jordan Todman, which is exactly what a defense should do against a starting quarterback who has a 102.1 rating and has thrown for only five touchdowns all season. He needs to prove that Oklahoma even needs to use defensive backs in this game. Otherwise, we’re in for the snoozer that we all expect.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Top 5 Biggest Pro Bowl Snubs

      December 29, 2010 /

      If you’re looking for cliff notes on the 2011 Pro Bowl rosters, here they are:

      – Michael Vick will start opposite Tom Brady assuming both quarterbacks aren’t playing each other in the Super Bowl the following week.

      – The Falcons have the most representatives at seven.

      – The Patriots had six representatives, while the Eagles, Ravens, Packers and Cowboys had five apiece.

      – Four rookies will be making the trip to Honolulu, including Lions’ behemoth Ndamukong Suh.

      – Altogether, there were seven first-timers on the NFC squad and 14 for the AFC.

      – The Bills, Bengals, Seahawks and Bucs were the only teams not represented. I think it’s telling that Seattle could win the NFC West and not have a single player go to the Pro Bowl.

      To view complete rosters for both conferences, click here. If you’re looking to spice things up a little on your Wednesday morning, proceed below.

      Top 5 Biggest Pro Bowl Snubs:

      1. Tamba Hali, Chiefs, OLB
      There’s an argument to be made that Hali deserves consideration for Defensive Player of the Year. So the fact that he was left off the Pro Bowl roster is saying something. He has 12 sacks this season and is a big reason why the Chiefs will be playing behind this week. The problem is that if you put Hali on the roster, whom are you going to take off? Cameron Wake leads the league in sacks and while Hali has one more QB-takedown than Harrison and Suggs, both of those players have more tackles. Harrison is more of a complete player than Hali and Suggs has 18 more tackles. Hali deserves to be on the roster but that doesn’t mean that Wake, Harrison and Suggs don’t.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Favre to be disciplined in Sterger case?

      December 29, 2010 /

      According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a decision on the Jenn Sterger case involving Brett Favre is expected to come in the next 48 hours. And per the report, Favre will be disciplined.

      The league has been investigating allegations that Favre sent inappropriate photos and phone messages to Sterger in 2008, when he was the quarterback for the New York Jets and she was a game hostess for the team.

      Sterger’s manager, Phil Reese, has said his client would like the league to “implement a program” to prevent unwanted advances similar to those she is alleging Favre made.

      Reese said Sterger wants the league to discipline Favre before his career ends. “It’s not a money story,” Reese said, adding his client’s goal is some acknowledgment that Favre was in the wrong.

      Unless they fine him an inordinate amount of money, this won’t be a very big win for Sterger. The Vikings were knocked out of the playoffs weeks ago and he’s not expected to play in their season finale this Sunday. So what’s the worst that can happen to him? He gets suspended for a game he wasn’t going to suit up for anyway?

      That said, there will be some embarrassment that comes along with any punishment that Favre receives. This could very well be his last season in the NFL and he’s going to go out severing a fine for sending inappropriate text messages to a sideline reporter. Talk about your anti-victory lap.

      Of course, as always with Favre, there’s never a guarantee that he’ll walk away.

      Update: Favre has been fined $50,000 for his lack of cooperation during the NFL’s investigation into his relationship with Sterger. Seeing as how he made $16 million this season, I don’t he’ll lose sleep over the one percent he lost with his fee. He won’t be suspended, as the league decided that he didn’t violate any rules.

      External Sports, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑