Posts tagged ‘BCS’

January 3, 2012

Chris Polk to enter NFL Draft

Chris Polk wanted to own all of Washington’s records for running backs by the time he left school.

He doesn’t have every one, but he’s got plenty of accolades to put on his resume for NFL teams…Washington made the expected announcement on Monday that Polk will forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft, leaving the Huskies as the No. 2 rusher all-time in school history trailing only Napoleon Kaufman.

Polk’s career ended last Thursday night in the Alamo Bowl when he posted his 21st 100-yard rushing game, one of his many school records. Polk ran for 147 yards on 30 carries and one touchdown in the Huskies’ 67-56 loss to Baylor.

”Chris had a terrific career at Washington and deserves the opportunity to move on to the next level,” Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said in a statement. ”We wish him nothing but the best in what I’m sure will be a great professional career.”

Polk finished with 4,049 yards rushing, barely behind Kaufman’s 4,106 set in the 1990s. Polk also holds the career school records for carries (799) and average per game (101.2). He had the second-best rushing game in school history in the 2010 Apple Cup against Washington State when he ran for 284 yards.

Polk had said last week before the Alamo Bowl that he was still trying to decide to return for a fifth year at Washington – he received a medical redshirt after a shoulder injury in his freshman year. But Polk already has turned 22 and earned his bachelor’s degree in American ethnic studies.

He ran for 1,488 yards as a junior, the second-best single-season in Washington history. He went for 1,415 yards as a sophomore and 1,113 as a redshirt freshman in 2009.

The decision to come out early might also have to do with a thin draft class at running back. Polk is considered among the top tier of running back potentially available in the draft, and is projected to likely be selected on the second day in the second or third rounds.

The departure of Polk means Washington will turn to either Jesse Callier or freshman Bishop Sankey as its main ball carrier next season. Callier ran for 260 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per carry this season, while Sankey in spot duty ran for 187 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per rush. The Huskies also may get back Johri Fogerson, who missed most of this season with a knee injury and Deontae Cooper, a highly regarded recruit who has yet to play in two seasons on campus due to a pair of knee injuries.

December 30, 2011

Alamo Bowl turns into a point Expolosion 67-56 Baylor

If that really was Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III’s final college game, what an incredible way to go out.

Just ask him.

”We went out in style!” Griffin shouted to his teammates.

It was amazing the Baylor quarterback had any breath left at all. Not after a record-shattering Alamo Bowl that might not only be remembered as the highest-scoring regulation bowl game in history, but also possibly as Griffin’s last addition to his legacy in Waco.

The AP Player of the Year wasn’t dazzling Thursday night, but he didn’t need to be as No. 15 Baylor still pulled out an incredible 67-56 victory over Washington.

If it was RG3′s final showcase before jumping to the NFL, it was a gripping goodbye to watch. One of the nation’s most electrifying players was upstaged by an even more exciting nail-biter that shattered the previous record for points in regulation set in the 2001 GMAC Bowl.

Fans showered Griffin with chants of ”One more year! One more year!” as he paraded the Alamo Bowl trophy around the field. He stopped at the front-row stands and showed off his prize to his mother, who has already been looking at her son’s NFL draft prospects.

Griffin said he’ll start looking, too, soon enough.

For now, there was still the craziness of this game to sort through.

”I want Baylor nation to enjoy this,” Griffin said. ”It’s not about me. I’ve got about two weeks. I’ll enjoy this the next day, and then the next day, and then I’ll make it.”

The previous bowl record for a regulation game was 102 points in the 2001 GMAC Bowl between Marshall and East Carolina. That game went to double overtime and ended with a combined 125 points, which still stands as the overall bowl record.

Baylor, which a bowl game for the first time since 1992, and Washington (7-6) also set a bowl record for total offense with 1,397 yards…”We just knew we needed to score,” Washington quarterback Keith Price said. ”We needed to score fast, just to give our defense a boost.”….Blown out in four other games against ranked opponents this season, the Huskies finally made one interesting. Not that it started that way after Baylor ran up 245 yards of offense alone in the first quarter – awful even by the standards of Washington’s defense, which is among the nation’s worst.

Price, a sophomore who threw a school-record 29 touchdown passes in his first year as the starter, began cutting into a 21-7 deficit with a 12-yard scoring strike to James Johnson. Seven minutes later, Washington tied it when Devin Aguilar somersaulted over the goal line after catching a 1-yard lob.

The overwhelming crowd of Baylor fans – decked in green-and-gold Heisman shirts and armed with signs such as ”Superman wears RG3 socks” – stood in stunned silenced. That gave way to disbelieving gasps on the next series, when the typically sure-handed Griffin fumbled after getting popped by Andrew Hudson.

After that, it was practically a free-for-all of big plays.

A 56-yard touchdown dash by Chris Polk. An 80-yard touchdown catch by Washington’s Jermaine Kearse two plays into the second half. An 89-yard scoring rumble Ganaway. Kearse again, catching and darting for 60 yards before getting dragged down, setting up Price’s fourth touchdown toss the next play.

Back and forth, back and forth. One after another. In all, five plays covered 50 or more yards, three of them for scores.

”That was crazy,” Baylor coach Art Briles said.

For an Alamo Bowl short on drama and light on matchups in recent years, it was a thrilling scoring spree that overshadowed the mere novelty of featuring the Heisman winner. And that in itself was a rarity for a bowl of this stature. Not since Ty Detmer took BYU to the Holiday Bowl in 1990, had a Heisman winner played in a bowl before New Year’s Day.

 

December 28, 2011

Oregon Ducks Rose Bowl Uniforms

Click here to access more pics

December 20, 2011

Complete Bowl Schedule 2011-12

For complete Bowl Schedule Click Here

 

December 12, 2011

…and the Heisman goes to…

1.Robert Griffin III, Baylor QB 1,687 (405)

2. Andrew Luck, Stanford QB 1,407 (247)

3. Trent Richardson, Alabama RB 978 (138)

4. Montee Ball, Wisconsin RB 348

5. Tyrann Mathieu, LSU DB/PR 327

 

The junior quarterback known as RG3 became the first Heisman winner from Baylor on Saturday night by a comfortable cushion over the Stanford star…Griffin started the season on the fringe of the Heisman conversation, a talented and exciting player on a marginal team, while Luck was already being touted as a No. 1 NFL draft pick.

Draft day might very well still belong to Luck, but Griffin diverted the Heisman to Waco, Texas, to a school that has never had a player finish better than fourth in the voting – and that was 48 years ago.

Right before his name was called, Griffin took a deep breath. When it was announced he broke into a bright smile. Then it was hugs all around, for his coaches, his parents, his sister and his fiance.

He took a few long strides up to the stage and let out a laugh when he got there, making a joke about the Superman socks – complete with capes on the back – he was wearing before going into his acceptance speech.

”This is unbelievably believable,” he said. ”It’s unbelievable because in the moment we’re all amazed when great things happen. But it’s believable because great things don’t happen without hard work.

Griffin received 405 first-place votes and 1,687 points.

”Everybody associated with Baylor has a reason to celebrate tonight,” he said.

Luck received 247 first-place votes and 1,407 points to become the fourth player to be Heisman runner-up in consecutive seasons and first since Arkansas running back Darren McFadden in 2006 and `07.

He was also first to congratulate Griffin….”Very much well deserved,” Luck said.

 

December 9, 2011

BCS may be the only way to settle things????

Click here to read article about the BCS and a proposed playoff system…..intresting

December 8, 2011

The New Big East???

The Big East introduced Boise State, San Diego State, Houston, SMU and Central Florida as its new members, effective 2013.

”The Big East conference is the first truly national college football conference,” Commissioner John Marinatto said Wednesday during a teleconference with the university leaders from the new members….Boise State President Bob Kustra said his school was ”proud to be aboard.”

The Big East, depleted by the planned departures of Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, is trying to rebuild as a 12-team football conference with a western division.

Boise State and San Diego State, which currently play in the Mountain West Conference, will join the Big East only for football. Houston, SMU and UCF will be leaving Conference USA and joining the Big East in all sports.

”We have ambitious plans, and this expansion is a great stride toward reaching them,” Marinatto said.

The Big East has also been pursuing Air Force and Navy as football only members, but those schools have yet to commit.

Boise State has reportedly worked out a deal to have its other sports teams compete in the Western Athletic Conference, where its football team dominated for 10 seasons. San Diego State is reportedly finalizing a deal to have its other teams compete in the Big West.

The Big East has only five football members committed to the conference beyond this season: Connecticut, Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers and USF. It also has seven schools that do not play major college football and Notre Dame, which competes in the Big East in everything but football.

 

December 7, 2011

DIRTY DOZEN PRE-BOWL POWER RANKINGS UPDATED

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHO LANDS WHERE IN THIS WEEK’S DIRTY DOZEN

December 6, 2011

Heisman Trophy Finalists

Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Tyrann Mathieu and Montee Ball are the Heisman Trophy finalists….The group, announced Monday on ESPN, includes the preseason favorite – Stanford quarterback Luck – and at least one player, Mathieu, who was low profile when the season began.

Luck is a finalist for the second straight season, while the other QB on the list, Griffin, is the first Baylor player to get an invitation to the Heisman dinner in New York. The school has never had a player finish better than fourth in the Heisman voting.

Richardson is the second Alabama running back to be a finalist in the last three years. Former teammate Mark Ingram won the Heisman in 2009.

Ball has scored 38 touchdowns for Wisconsin and needs one more to match Barry Sanders’ NCAA record.

Mathieu, the LSU defensive back nicknamed Honey Badger, has made numerous game-changing plays for the top-ranked Tigers.

The Heisman Trophy will be presented Saturday night.

The quarterback called RG3 by Baylor fans leads the nation in passer rating (192.3), with 3,998 yards and 36 touchdowns. He has also run for 644 yards and nine touchdowns. And much like Luck, Griffin has led a long-struggling program to its greatest success in decades. Baylor is 9-3 this season, its first nine-win season since 1986.

The best showing a Baylor player has ever had in the Heisman voting was quarterback Don Trull’s fourth-place finish in 1963.

 

December 5, 2011

BCS BOWLS SET….REMATCH INCLUDED

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE BOWL SCHEDULE

 

HUSKIES VS. BAYLOR 12-30-11

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