(Title reference credit goes to Orson Swindle of EDSBS.)

Gruesome, gruesome injury to Southern Miss star receiver DeAndre Brown at the New Orleans Bowl. Please don't watch if you'd like to not feel physically ill.



The game is currently locked up at 27 with about 40 seconds to go and Troy is driving for a try at a score, but I mean, DAMN....and it looks like we're going to overtime in this game after a Hail Mary try...

...Southern Miss makes an FG that barely gets in after bouncing off the upright from their kicker named Barefoot...

HOLY CRAP, SOUTHERN MISS WINS ON AN FG BLOCK!

Don't know how much of the game I'll catch so I'll need some of your help. If you're watching the game please leave some quotes in the comments and you will be rewarded handsomely. Tonight's game is the New Orleans Bowl and we've got Memphis v. FAU. Here's what you need to know.....





8:00 PM ET, December 21, 2007
Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Weather: Dome
Spread: FAU -3.5, O/U 68
AA's Pick: FAU, but I'd buy the half a point (Record 1-0)
Announcers: Mark Jones, Bob Davie (ESPN2)

Team Leaders

Memphis Passing: Hankins- 60.7%, 2939 Yards, 22 TDs, 12 Ints
FAU Passing: Smith- 57.3%, 3352 Yards, 27 TDs, 8 Ints

Memphis Rushing: Doss- 154 Carries, 715 Yards, 4.6 avg, 5 TDs
FAU Rushing: Pierre- 159 Carries, 733 Yards, 4.6 avg, 7 TDs

Memphis Receiving: Calhoun- 58 Catches, 850 Yards, 14.7 avg, 5 TDs
FAU Receiving: Gent- 61 Catches, 1030 Yards, 16.9 avg, 9 TD
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"The tiger is fast, but the owl sees at night."- Mark Jones

Good one Mark.

"Santa said he was going to leave a lot of points under the tree for us in this game and if there is a Santa, which I still believe in, I think he did."- Mark Jones

Nice Mark....cause kids don't watch College Football games.

"I read they can't find HD TVs in Hawaii because of the Hawaii Rainbows."- Bob Davie

I made a joke about it earlier, but I'm pretty sure Davie was serious about them still being the 'Bows.

"Show me those legs again...I want to see those calves." - Mark Jones on FAU running back Charles Pierre (Via Asher)

Immediately followed by...

"Those aren't ankles...those are cankles."- Mark Jones

Troy (7-5) v. Rice (7-5)

Date/Time:	Dec. 22, 8 p.m. ET
Site:	The Superdome, New Orleans
Network:	ESPN

Weather: Doesn't matter because the game is being played in a Dome. But if you really care about New Orleans' weather it's going to be partly cloudy with a low of 48.

Past Results (5):

Dec. 20, 2005	Southern Miss 31, Arkansas State 19
Dec. 14, 2004	Southern Miss 31, North Texas 10
Dec. 16, 2003	Memphis 27, North Texas 17
Dec. 17, 2002	North Texas 24, Cincinnati 19
Dec. 18, 2001	Colorado State 45, North Texas 28

Player(s) to Watch: Rice's Soph Wide Receiver #81- Jarett Dillard
He's perhaps the best player you haven't heard of. He's totalled 1,176 yards (6th in D-1) on the season and has had 5 100+ yard games. Jarett leads the nation with 20 TD receptions.

Troy's Quarterback #17- Omar Haugabook
Besides having a sweet last name.......Omar is one of those typical Sun Belt Quart......okay I'll stop faking. I've never heard of this kid. But he does have a good number of rushing yards to go with 2,184 passing yards. He is prone to throwing a good number of picks though.

Deciding Factor(s): Troy's pass defense v. Jarett Dillard
Troy's pass defense has been pretty bad all season. I mean they lost to Nebraska 56-0. I can't tell you the last time Nebraska put up 50+, but it had to be when Tommie Frazier was there. Rice has one of the Nation's best receivers in Dillard, so it doesn't look good for the Trojans. Buuuuut....Rice's defense hasn't been any better. They give up 32.58 points per game, but have won ball games with takeaways (1st in C-USA). Hougabook has as many INTs as TDs this year, so look for Rice to have the ball most of the time.

Crazy Stat: New Rice coach Todd Graham brought in former Texas QB Major Applewhite to run a more balanced spread offense. In one season the Owls went from 103 passing yards per game to 206.5 yards.

Spread: RICE -4, O/U 54.5

AA's Pick and Analysis: I think this is one of the easiest games to call. Rice has won it's last 6 games and has put up a good number of points in the process (besides an 18 point outing against ECU). Troy is not a very dynamic team, so I expect there to be a lot of turnovers, and yet another blowout this early Bowl Season (just under the posted total of 54.5).

Prediction: Rice 36-17.

Good luck to all. Thanks for playing the game and stop by later for analysis of the game and the announcing.
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So Troy has come out like gang-busters, but Rice just scored on a nice catch to cut the lead to 14-7.

Exciting stuff I know.

Wait! Shane Falco got the TD??? I thought he played for Ohio State and hasn't played since that fateful Sugar Bowl!

Hougabook looks all-world early with three touchdowns. Rice keeps trying to run the ball with little success. 21-7 Troy.

Forgot to tell you the announcers again...silly me. They are Chris "I envision my wife and kids rape and death to play better and aggressive football" Spielman and Sean McDonough....good team actually.

It's 28-10 Troy at half.....it's Friday, so I'm heading out into the world. Most likely to go see Night at the Museum by myself, but hey....it's something right. Enjoy your night, and we'll see you tomorrow for a full days worth of games. GO OWLS!

BYU (10-2) v. Oregon (7-5)

Date/Time:	Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET
Site:	Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas
Network:	ESPN

Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Low of 35 Degrees

Past Results (14):

Dec. 22, 2005	California 35, BYU 28
Dec. 23, 2004	Wyoming 24, UCLA 21
Dec. 24, 2003	Oregon State 55, New Mexico 14
Dec. 25, 2002	UCLA 27, New Mexico 13
Dec. 25, 2001	Utah 10, Southern California 6
Dec. 21, 2000	UNLV 31, Arkansas 14
Dec. 18, 1999	Utah 17, Fresno State 16
Dec. 19, 1998	North Carolina 20, San Diego State 13
Dec. 20, 1997	Oregon 41, Air Force 13
Dec. 19, 1996	Nevada 18, Ball St. 15
Dec. 14, 1995	Toledo 40, Nevada 37 (OT)
Dec. 15, 1994	UNLV 52, Central Michigan 24
Dec. 17, 1993	Utah St. 42, Ball St. 33
Dec. 18, 1992	Bowling Green 35, Nevada 34

Player(s) to Watch: Oregon's Soph Running Back #28- Jonathan Stewart
Has tailed off near the end of the season, but finished with 94 yards and 3TDs vs. Oregon State. Also posted 144 Yards and a TD vs. Oklahoma earlier in the year.

BYU's Quarterback- John Beck & Tight End- Johnny Harline
Beck is one of the top passers in Div-1 this year. He's ranked 6th in Passing Yards and Tied for 5th (with Troy Smith) for Passing TDs. Johnny Harline is his main target, and leads all Div-1 TEs with 11 TDs on the season.

Deciding Factor(s): This is by far one of the toughest games to call. Both QB's are very accurate and pick up a ton of yards. Both defenses are very average. Oregon's Run Defense is actually pretty bad, but their pass defense makes up for the deficiency. BYU's defense hasn't had a real test outside of Utah. They crush teams early in games, and offenses have to break out of their gameplans early. I think the difference maker is going to be Stewart in this one. If he puts up Oklahoma numbers and gets this into a shootout Oregon might be able to pull it out. If Jonathan puts up Cal numbers (18 rushes-25 yards) this will be over quick.

Crazy Stat: The Cougars have outscored their opponents 138-15 in the first quarter this season.

Spread: BYU-3, O/U 62

AA's Pick and Analysis: I have a strong feeling that this one is going to be a shootout, and will possibly head into overtime. I am basing this pick solely on guess work as these teams are too damn close to decide between. BYU is probably scared to death that they are in hedonous Las Vegas for the week. The University has most likely imposed curfew after curfew on these kids. The only attractions they've probably seen is some Cirque D'Soelielielie Crap and the Pirate Show outside of Treasure Island. That and they haven't played in 4 weeks.

The Ducks on the other hand are stumbling into the Bowl Season after losing their last three games (USC, AZ, OSU).

So with that said, I'm heading to the Special Teams since I think this one will be decided by a FG, or in the return games. Oregon's kickers are flat out Awful. Their punter shanks left and right and averages 39 yards per attempt. And their Kicker is 16-25 on the year and has a range of about 40 yards. BYU's Kicking game has been much better as of late. McCaughlin has hit 8 of 9 since a poor showing against BC with the one miss being a 53 yarder.

Prediction BYU 36-30. You can't vote for a team that will be wearing these helmets......



Ducks Get Head Start On Bowl Season (Oregonian)

Good luck to all. Thanks for playing the game and stop by for analysis of the game and announcing.
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BYU (10-2) v. Oregon (7-5)

Date/Time:	Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET
Site:	Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas
Network:	ESPN

Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Low of 35 Degrees

Past Results (14):

Dec. 22, 2005	California 35, BYU 28
Dec. 23, 2004	Wyoming 24, UCLA 21
Dec. 24, 2003	Oregon State 55, New Mexico 14
Dec. 25, 2002	UCLA 27, New Mexico 13
Dec. 25, 2001	Utah 10, Southern California 6
Dec. 21, 2000	UNLV 31, Arkansas 14
Dec. 18, 1999	Utah 17, Fresno State 16
Dec. 19, 1998	North Carolina 20, San Diego State 13
Dec. 20, 1997	Oregon 41, Air Force 13
Dec. 19, 1996	Nevada 18, Ball St. 15
Dec. 14, 1995	Toledo 40, Nevada 37 (OT)
Dec. 15, 1994	UNLV 52, Central Michigan 24
Dec. 17, 1993	Utah St. 42, Ball St. 33
Dec. 18, 1992	Bowling Green 35, Nevada 34

Player(s) to Watch: Oregon's Soph Running Back #28- Jonathan Stewart
Has tailed off near the end of the season, but finished with 94 yards and 3TDs vs. Oregon State. Also posted 144 Yards and a TD vs. Oklahoma earlier in the year.

BYU's Quarterback- John Beck & Tight End- Johnny Harline
Beck is one of the top passers in Div-1 this year. He's ranked 6th in Passing Yards and Tied for 5th (with Troy Smith) for Passing TDs. Johnny Harline is his main target, and leads all Div-1 TEs with 11 TDs on the season.

Deciding Factor(s): This is by far one of the toughest games to call. Both QB's are very accurate and pick up a ton of yards. Both defenses are very average. Oregon's Run Defense is actually pretty bad, but their pass defense makes up for the deficiency. BYU's defense hasn't had a real test outside of Utah. They crush teams early in games, and offenses have to break out of their gameplans early. I think the difference maker is going to be Stewart in this one. If he puts up Oklahoma numbers and gets this into a shootout Oregon might be able to pull it out. If Jonathan puts up Cal numbers (18 rushes-25 yards) this will be over quick.

Crazy Stat: The Cougars have outscored their opponents 138-15 in the first quarter this season.

Spread: BYU-3, O/U 62

AA's Pick and Analysis: I have a strong feeling that this one is going to be a shootout, and will possibly head into overtime. I am basing this pick solely on guess work as these teams are too damn close to decide between. BYU is probably scared to death that they are in hedonous Las Vegas for the week. The University has most likely imposed curfew after curfew on these kids. The only attractions they've probably seen is some Cirque D'Soelielielie Crap and the Pirate Show outside of Treasure Island. That and they haven't played in 4 weeks.

The Ducks on the other hand are stumbling into the Bowl Season after losing their last three games (USC, AZ, OSU).

So with that said, I'm heading to the Special Teams since I think this one will be decided by a FG, or in the return games. Oregon's kickers are flat out Awful. Their punter shanks left and right and averages 39 yards per attempt. And their Kicker is 16-25 on the year and has a range of about 40 yards. BYU's Kicking game has been much better as of late. McCaughlin has hit 8 of 9 since a poor showing against BC with the one miss being a 53 yarder.

Prediction BYU 36-30.

Good luck to all. Thanks for playing the game and stop by for analysis of the game and announcing.
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