Liberty Bowl Open Thread
Friday, January 02, 2009

Game: The AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Teams: Kentucky Wildcats (6-6) vs. East Carolina Pirates (9-4)
Location: Memphis, Tennessee, Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Start Time: 5PM EST (ESPN)
Network and Announcers: Mark Jones, Bob Davie, Todd Harris
Favorite: ECU (-3)
AA's Pick: ECU 24 - Kentucky 17
Labels: Bowl Games, ESPN College Football, open thread, The Liberty Bowl
Bowl Season Open Thread: The Meineke, Liberty, And Alamo Bowls
Saturday, December 29, 2007

We get another full day of Bowl Games and some pretty good matchups. I'll be in and out of this spot all day, so leave the quotes you come across in the comments and I'll update below the previews throughout the day.

#25 Connecticut vs. Wake Forest
The Meineke Car Care Bowl
1:00 PM ET, December 29, 2007
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Weather: 64 Degrees, AM Showers
Spread: Wake -3, O/U 47
AA's Pick: Wake -3 (Record 7-3-1)
Announcers: Dave Pasch, Andre Ware(ESPN)
Team Leaders
Connecticut Passing: Lorenzen- 57.3%, 2269 Yards, 13 TDs, 5 INTs
Wake Forest Passing: Skinner- 71.9%, 1936 Yards, 11 TDs, 12 INTs
Connecticut Rushing: Dixon- 160 Carries, 809 Yards, 5.1 avg, 3 TDs
Wake Forest Rushing: Adams- 200 Carries, 887 Yards, 4.4 avg, 10 TDs
Connecticut Receiving: Jeffers- 42 Catches, 571 Yards, 13.6 avg, 5 TDs
Wake Forest Receiving: Moore- 87 Catches, 899 Yards, 10.3 avg, 5 TDs
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UCF vs. Mississippi State
Liberty Bowl
4:30 PM ET, December 29, 2007
Liberty Bowl , Memphis , TN
Weather: 36 Degrees, Sunny
Spread: UCF -3, O/U 55
AA's Pick: UCF -3
Announcers: Terry Gannon, David Norrie (ESPN)
Team Leaders
UCF Passing: Israel- 59.9%, 2085 Yards, 15 TDs, 8 INTs
Mississippi State Passing: Carroll- 53.2%, 1353 Yards, 9 TDs, 6 INTs
UCF Rushing: Smith- 415 Carries, 2448 Yards, 5.9 avg, 29 TDs
Mississippi State Rushing: Dixon- 263 Carries, 980 Yards, 3.7 avg, 13 TDs
UCF Receiving: Ross- 48 Catches, 631 Yards, 13.1 avg, 2 TDs
Mississippi State Receiving: Smith- 31 Catches, 503 Yards, 16.2 avg, 3 TDs
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Penn State vs. Texas A&M
Alamo Bowl
8:00 PM ET, December 29, 2007
Alamo Dome, San Antonio, TX
Weather: Dome
Spread: Penn State -5.5, O/U 52
AA's Pick: TAMU +6, buy the half
Announcers: Chris Fowler, Doug Flutie, Craig James, Erin Andrews (ESPN)
Team Leaders
Penn State Passing: Morelli- 59.0%, 2508 Yards, 18 TDs, 9 INTs
Texas A&M Passing: McGee- 57.7%, 2147 Yards, 12 TDs, 7 INTs
Penn State Rushing: Kinlaw- 222 Carries, 1186 Yards, 5.3 avg, 10 TDs
Texas A&M Rushing: McGee- 173 Carries, 858 Yards, 5.0 avg, 5 TDs
Penn State Receiving: Butler- 43 Catches, 574 Yards, 13.3 avg, 3 TDs
Texas A&M Receiving: Bennett- 45 Catches, 541 Yards, 12.0 avg, 4 TDs
_____________________________________
"That's something you'd list as your favorite food, soy milk."- Andre Ware
"I would, and it is!"- Dave Pasch
"Tim Barnes has done a great job."- Andre Ware
"There's no question RICK Barnes has a great team."- Dave Pasch
"I was waiting for him to bust one." - Terry Gannon (Via Anon)
"There's Taylor Hicks and he dated your wife at Auburn didn't he?"- Terry Gannon
That's cold.
Labels: Bowl Games, open thread, Pam Ward Chronicles, Post Season Pammies, The Alamo Bowl, The Liberty Bowl, The Meineke Car Care Bowl
Bowl Prediction Contest Games 13 & 14- The Liberty and Insight Bowls
Friday, December 29, 2006

The Auto Zone Liberty Bowl
(Get in the ZONE!.....The boring ass matchup Zone!)
Memphis, TN- Memorial Stadium
Houston (10-3) v. South Carolina (7-5)

Weather: Mostly Cloudy 64 Degrees, 30% Chance of Rain
Past Results (A ton....Bowl began in 1959):
Last 10.....
| Dec. 31, 2005 | Tulsa 31, Fresno State 24 |
| Dec. 31, 2004 | Louisville 44, Boise State 40 |
| Dec. 31, 2003 | Utah 17, Southern Mississippi 0 |
| Dec. 31, 2002 | TCU 17, Colorado State 3 |
| Dec. 31, 2001 | Louisville 28, BYU 10 |
| Dec. 29, 2000 | Colorado State 22, Louisville 17 |
| Dec. 31, 1999 | Southern Mississippi 23, Colorado State 17 |
| Dec. 30, 1998 | Tulane 41, BYU 27 |
| Dec. 31, 1997 | Southern Mississippi 41, Pittsburgh 7 |
| Dec. 27, 1996 | Syracuse 30, Houston 17 |
Player(s) to Watch: Houston's QB #4-
One of those "guy's you should have heard of, but probably haven't heard of" guys. Only has 3 picks on the year to 27 TDs.....and is arguably more accurate than Colt Brennan (67.7%).
South Carolina's Sophomore Wide Receiver #4- Sidney Rice
The dude is just a man-child. It seemed too obvious to pick him, but screw it. No one else on SC can hold his jock. If he only had a good QB he'd be tops in the nation.
Deciding Factor(s): The Cocks lost some flexibility when they went back to Blake Mitchell. Houston's defense isn't that bad.......USC's is bad against the run.......Houston runs the ball well......yada yada yada
Spread: South Carolina -5.5, O/U 56
AA's Pick and Analysis: Taking yet another underdog in this one. I can't for the life of me understand why USC is favored in this one. Must be the SEC bias. Houston will run the ball all over a young USC defense, and end this one early.
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The Insight, Insight Bowl
Tempe, AZ- Sun Devil Stadium


Texas Tech (7-5) v. Minnesota (6-6)
Weather: Mostly Cloudy 52 Degrees, 10% Chance of Rain
Past Results (17):
| Dec. 27, 2005 | Arizona State 45, Rutgers 40 |
| Dec. 28, 2004 | Oregon State 38, Notre Dame 21 |
| Dec. 26, 2003 | California 52, Virginia Tech 49 |
| Dec. 26, 2002 | Pittsburgh 38, Oregon State 13 |
| Dec. 29, 2001 | Syracuse 26, Kansas State 3 |
| Dec. 28, 2000 | Iowa State 37, Pittsburgh 29 |
| Dec. 31, 1999 | Colorado 62, Boston College 28 |
| Dec. 26, 1998 | Missouri 34, West Virginia 31 |
| Dec. 27, 1997 | Arizona 20, New Mexico 14 |
| Dec. 27, 1996 | Wisconsin 38, Utah 10 |
| Dec. 27, 1995 | Texas Tech 55, Air Force 41 |
| Dec. 29, 1994 | BYU 31, Oklahoma 6 |
| Dec. 29, 1993 | Kansas State 52, Wyoming 17 |
| Dec. 31, 1992 | Washington State 31, Utah 28 |
| Dec. 31, 1991 | Indiana 24, Baylor 0 |
| Dec. 31, 1990 | California 17, Wyoming 15 |
| Dec. 31, 1989 | Arizona 17, North Carolina State 10 |
Player(s) to Watch: Texas Tech's WR #8- Joel Filani
One of the Nation's top receivers that benefits from the Run N' Gun Texas offense. He got held in check his last two games against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Look for him to get hot early.
Minnesota's Sophomore RB #4- Amir Pinnix
Everyone is usually on QB Bryan Cupito's jock, but I personally think he's very overrated. Minnesota is going to have to run the football if they want to keep up.
Deciding Factor(s): Stopping the Red Raiders once they get momentum.
When Texas Tech scores they score in bunches. If Minnesota can weather the storm early they might be able to pull off the victory.
With that said.......it's not happening. Red Raiders Roll (alliteration baby!).
Spread: Texas Tech -6, O/U 63
AA's Pick and Analysis: Red Raiders offense will be too much for an up and down Minny team.
Prediction Texas Tech 31-23
Labels: Pick Em', The Insight Bowl, The Liberty Bowl


