College Football Week 18 – Twenty-one bowls down, 18 more to go
‘Dressed in holiday style,
Meeting smile after smile’
“There was a feeling of Christmas”
For me, every day is a holiday. Every day is a Saturday. I’ve reached that stage in life. Still, I looked upon the Monday before Christmas Monday, as the first day of the Christmas holidays.
After all, Karlene Tuttle brought over her bourbon balls on that Monday. Every year, the arrival of Karlene’s bourbon balls is the first day of the holidays for me. I pop those things like pills while I’m watching the bowl games.
But I have to admit – I still miss Judy Hansen’s rum balls. I worked with Judy for several years at Harris. I always looked forward to her rum balls at Christmas. I was really in heaven when I had both Karlene’s bourbon balls and Judy’s rum balls to snack on during the bowl games. Those were the days.
I got an email from my Lincoln, Nebraska, friend, Dave Brolhorst, saying he “thought I would have mentioned the volleyball match between Florida and Nebraska” in my last blog (CFW – Week 17).
In case you missed it, Florida and Nebraska met in the finals of the NCAA women’s volleyball championship. The Huskers beat the Gators, 3-1. I do sometimes mention other sports in my football blogs. Dave went on to say, “At least we (Nebraska) have one national championship after a terrible football season.”
Congrats to my Husker friends.
I read where targeting penalties in FBS football reached an all-time high this season. The Pac-12 and SEC had the most players flagged. There were 188 enforced targeting calls this season compared to 144 last year. The Pac-12 had a nation-high of 30 targeting calls. The SEC was next with 27 instances.
In the Pac-12, UCLA and Utah had 5 apiece. Five other FBS schools had five targeting calls – Akron, New Mexico State, Ohio State, Temple and Texas A&M. Akron cornerback Alvin Davis was flagged for targeting three times – most in the nation.
I also read where Washington State coach Mike Leach agreed to a new contract extension with the Cougars – through the 2022 season. The deal pays Leach $4 million a year. The contract includes a $750,000 bonus if Leach is still with the program following the 2020 season.
Leach took over the Washington State program in 2012. The Cougars are 38-37 in six years under Leach and 26-12 the past three years. The four years prior to Leach’s arrival, the Cougars were 9-40. He is the first coach in program history to lead Washington State to three-straight bowl games. Later today, the Cougars meet Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl.
Washington State remains without an athletic director. Bill Moos, who hired Leach to coach the Cougars, left Pullman in October to become the athletic director at Nebraska. Moos’ number one assistant at Washington State was recently named the athletic director at Northern Arizona.
Monday night, Swamp Mama and I had our friends Lyn and Colin Company over for dinner. Lyn, an American, and Colin, a Brit, live six months of the year in Spain and six months in Florida. Colin was a London Bobby for 30 years.
Before dinner, I made Irish Mules for everyone. An Irish Mule is just like a Moscow Mule (vodka, lime juice, ginger beer over crushed ice in a copper cup/mug with a lime wedge) only exchange the vodka for Jameson.
If you want a Kentucky Mule, make it the same way, but replace the vodka with Bourbon. Bootsie and Rockledge Gator went to a holiday party the other night where the host served Holiday Mules – the same as a Moscow Mule, but use half ginger beer and half cranberry juice.
For dessert Monday night, Swamp Mama made a Buche de Noel. My eyes were getting bigger – Buche de Noel and bourbon balls.
The next day, Tuesday, the day of Florida Atlantic’s bowl game against Akron, FAU coach Lane Kiffin agreed to a new 10-year deal with the Owls. Kiffin coached Florida Atlantic to a 10-3 record this season. The 10 wins are the most in program history in the Owls 13 years as an FBS school.
Kiffin’s initial deal with FAU was $950,000 for five years (2017-2021). His new deal, the same amount, runs through the 2027 season. Kiffin owns a house on the water in Boca Raton, along with a boat and two jet skis.
Tuesday night, Swamp Mama and I went to dinner at Coasters with our next-door neighbors Sandy and Russ Grunewald. When one or the other of us couples are not out of town during the fall, we alternate Saturday’s at each other’s house, watching a college football game, along with Sandy’s mother Betty “The Duchess of Indialantic” Pappas.
Lane Kiffin and his Owls ruled as Florida Atlantic beat Akron, 50-3, in the Boca Raton Bowl. Florida Atlantic should have had a better opponent. The Owls deserved a better opponent. FAU should have been matched in a bowl game against someone like Memphis, South Florida, Troy or Boise State.
By the way, did you see Akron coach Terry Bowden? He’s wider than he is tall. I thought maybe he had recently been in a Batman movie. He looks like Danny Devito. He looks worse than Danny Devito.
Wednesday was the first day of the new three-day early signing period. There were some interesting moves.
Five-star offensive lineman Jackson Carman, of Fairfield, Ohio, signed with Clemson instead of the favored Ohio State. Carman, who had originally committed to Ohio State, changed his mind for Clemson after Dabo Swinney convinced him that Urban Meyer’s best coaching days are behind him. Swinney said, “Urban Meyer is on the back end of his career.”
That wasn’t the only bad news for Meyer. Four-star quarterback Emory Jones flipped from Ohio State to Florida. Jones, out of Georgia, had previously committed to Ohio State. Surely Dan Mullen didn’t say anything bad about his former boss Urban Meyer?
Still, Ohio State came away pretty good. By the end of the day, the consensus was that Georgia had the No. 1 recruiting class, followed by (2) Ohio State, (3) Texas, (4) Penn State and (5) Clemson.
After visiting with their son and grandson in Atlanta, Bootsie and Rockledge Gator meandered away from Atlanta, heading towards Birmingham, where they would spend Christmas with their other son’s family.
Along the way, they stopped and browsed in a number of shops. In one shop, Rockledge Gator spotted a sign that read: “There are Four Seasons – Winter, Spring, Summer and Football” He snapped a picture and sent it to me.
That afternoon, Swamp Mama made her baked pecans. My bowl-game menu is getting better – bourbon balls, Buche de Noel and baked pecans.
Wednesday night, Louisiana Tech clobbered SMU 51-10 in the Frisco Bowl. That’s two bowl games in a row now that have been won by 41 or more points. The night before, FAU beat Akron by 47 points. That’s not exactly exciting football. Well, I guess it was exciting for FAU and Louisiana Tech.
Thursday morning, Sandy and Russ, our watching party partners, left for Atlanta, to spend Christmas with their children and grandchildren.
Next-door neighbor Deb Gum brought over a platter of baked goodies, including her Ina Garten brownies. My eyes were getting bigger. Now I had brownies to go with Karlene’s bourbon balls and Swamp Mama’s Buche de Noel and baked pecans.
My bowl-game diet may be complete. What else do I need? Do cold pizza and chili dogs go with bourbon balls, brownies, Buche de Noel and baked pecans?
Deb’s platter also included an assortment of homemade cookies and her famous German holiday stollen.
Sean Lewis was named Kent State’s new football coach. Lewis comes to Kent State from Syracuse where he was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the Orange. Lewis grew up in suburban Chicago and played college football for Wisconsin (2004-2007) as a quarterback and tight end.
Kent State’s signing of Lewis brought the coaching carousel to an end. All 20 schools that were looking for a new coach had made their hire.
Swamp Mama came home Thursday afternoon with a ukulele. I said, “Tiny bubbles, what’s going on?” Yeah, Swamp Mama bought a ukulele. She’s going to take lessons and learn to play it.
A few years ago, Swamp Mama learned to play the guitar. A year or so ago she learned to play the dulcimer. Now it’s going to be the ukulele. Maybe I should get her a hula skirt for Christmas. I’m worried she’s going to join a band and run off and leave me.
Thursday night, Conference-USA’s four-bowl winning streak came to an end. Temple beat Florida International, 28-3, in the Gasparilla Bowl.
In the first two of the bowl games, two Sun Belt teams – Troy and Georgia State – beat two C-USA teams – North Texas and Western Kentucky. But after that, C-USA teams – Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic and Louisiana Tech – won four-straight games. That improved C-USA’s bowl record to 4-2. With FIU’s loss, C-USA’s record fell to 4-3, with UAB and Southern Miss yet to play.
Make the record 4-4. In the first of two bowl games on Friday, Ohio blasted UAB, 41-6, in the Bahamas Bowl. In fact, go ahead and make the record 4-5. Ain’t no way Southern Miss is going to beat Florida State.
In the second game on Friday, Wyoming took care of Central Michigan, 37-14, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Friday evening, I picked up a pizza for Swamp Mama and me. You know what that means – cold pizza for breakfast on Saturday morning!
Saturday Swamp Mama and I departed for the North Country – but only after I had cold pizza and Buche de Noel for breakfast. Meanwhile, my bourbon balls, baked pecans and brownies were stashed away for my return. The stollen and assorted cookies made the trip with us to the North Country for Christmas with Princess Gator, Bama Gator, Gator Gabe and Gator Babe.
Yeah, bright and early Saturday morning, Swamp Mama and I traveled out 192 West to the Florida Turnpike, then North up the Turnpike, onto I-75 to Ocala. From Ocala, it was U.S. 27 Northwest over to Chiefland, where we stopped for lunch at Bar-B-Q Bill’s. After lunch, we headed up U.S. 19 North to I-10.
Then it was West on I-10. On our trips to the grandkids’ house, we keep intending to stop at Bradley’s Country Store. Bradley’s is a few miles north of Tallahassee, off of I-10. But again this time, we didn’t stop. One of these days.
After one blowout after another in the bowl games so far, we finally had a couple of good ones. Upon arriving at the grandkids’ house, I caught the end of the Birmingham Bowl. South Florida beat Texas Tech in a thriller, 38-34.
USF senior quarterback Quinton Flowers put on quite a show. He had his hand in all five of the Bulls’ touchdowns – passing for four of them and running it in for one.
And if South Florida-Texas Tech wasn’t enough excitement for you, the next game should have been. Army scored in the closing seconds to beat San Diego State, 42-35, in the Frisco Bowl. Army senior quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 180 yards, scoring two of Army’s six touchdowns.
Army coach Jeff Monken is doing an amazing job in West Point. He has the Black Knights playing respectable football.
But it was back to the blowouts in the third and final game on Saturday. Appalachian State stomped Toledo, 34-0, in the Dollar General Bowl.
Saturday, I read where Nick Saban received 264 write-in votes in the Doug Jones-Roy Moore U.S. Senate election in Alabama. I wonder how many votes Gus Malzahn got?
Christmas Eve, Fresno State beat Houston, 33-27, in the Hawaii Bowl. First-year Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford definitely did one of the better coaching jobs in the country this season.
Last year, Fresno State finished the season 1-11. The Bulldogs’ only win was over an FCS team. This year, Fresno State was picked to finish last in the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. Under Tedford, the Bulldogs finished first in the West Division. During the season, the Bulldogs beat Boise State. With the win over Houston in the Hawaii Bowl, Fresno State went from 1-11 last year to 10-4 this year.
Christmas Eve, Princess Gator fixed me the best hot chocolate. It had a sprinkling of cayenne pepper.
Christmas Day provided a break from the bowl games. Even better, it provided a time to watch the grandkids open their gifts, see their reactions – see their excitement. Christmas is for children.
At the Christmas break, the Sun Belt Conference, at 3-1, is looking the best in bowl games. The Mid-American is the worst at 1-3. After starting out impressive at 4-2, Conference USA has fallen to 4-4. The Mountain West Conference is 3-2 and the American Athletic Conference is 2-2. The Big 12 and Pac-12 are 0-1. The Independents are 1-0. The ACC, Big Ten, and SEC have yet to play. Stay tuned!
After a warm and pleasant day on Saturday (70s) when we arrived at the grandkids, the temperatures began to change on Christmas Eve – downward, not upward. Christmas Eve day was still pleasant – high in the 60s. That night, it was cold for Santa Claus – down to 36 early Christmas morning.
Christmas Day, the high was 53 – but sunny. Tuesday morning when Swamp Mama and I were packing the car to leave it was 31. Yes, Tuesday morning we left the North Country, high-tailing it back to the Warm Country. The temperature was 76 when we arrived home in Indialantic. That was a 45 degree difference from morning to afternoon.
On the way home, we stopped at the Horse and Hounds Pub for lunch. The Horse and Hounds is located on U.S. 27, about six miles northwest of Ocala. We discovered it on our last trip to the grandkids and really liked it. So, why not, we stopped again. We weren’t disappointed this time either.
Shortly after we left the Horse and Hounds, the Heart of Dallas Bowl began – West Virginia-Utah. The game was on ESPN radio and I had it on in the car. That was my mistake. I should have been listening to music.
West Virginia lost to Utah, 30-14. I’m not sure what WVU was doing playing in a bowl game. I’m not sure coach Dana Holgorsen knew what they were doing playing in a bowl game – much less what he was doing.
The only time West Virginia was ever in the game was when the score was 0-0 before the kickoff. Somehow I managed to listen to the game without having a wreck.
Swamp Mama and I arrived home shortly before the West Virginia-Utah game ended. I utilized the time to unpack the car.
In the next game, Duke beat Northern Illinois, 36-14, in the Quick Lane Bowl. The Dookies were just too quick in the lane for the Huskies.
In Tuesday’s nightcap, Kansas State downed UCLA, 35-17, in the Cactus Bowl. After much speculation – would he or wouldn’t he – Bruins’ quarterback Josh Rosen didn’t play. He was held out of the game because of recent concussions. Actually, Rosen’s replacement – Devon Modster – played pretty good. Modster was 21-34-0, passing for 295 yards and two touchdowns. But UCLA had no running game.
Now Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is the big question. Will he or won’t he coach the Wildcats next season? It’s up to the 78-year-old Snyder whether he will retire or not. He’s done amazing things for the K-State football program – that’s for sure.
One good thing about the day – I was 3-0 in my picks. After a disastrous 4-10 start, I improved to 7-10. Oh, and another good thing – the bourbon balls, brownies and baked pecans are holding up well, thank you.
I said ain’t no way Southern Miss was going to beat Florida State and I was right. Yesterday, the between-coaches Noles added some Eagle feathers to their collection, downing Southern Miss, 42-13.
Speaking of Florida State, new FSU coach Willie Taggart is talking to former Seminole player Deion Sanders about Sanders becoming the defensive backs coach for the Noles. Stay tuned!
The Southern Miss-FSU game was Wednesday’s first of four games.
In the second game yesterday, Iowa beat Boston College, 27-20, in the Pinstripe Bowl from Yankee Stadium. The Hawkeyes took advantage of three BC turnovers.
Bootsie and Rockledge Gator returned home from Birmingham.
The Foster Farms Bowl was up next, featuring Purdue against Arizona. I wondered if my Purdue friends Kim Mallory, Steve Klingberg and Roger Schenk would be watching the game. They should have been. The Boilers beat Arizona in a thriller, 38-35.
It’s nice to see Purdue playing good football again. First-year coach Jeff Brohm has changed the culture there. He has the Boilers believing in themselves.
Reports out of Baton Rouge say that LSU coach Ed Orgeron will sever ties with his offensive coordinator Matt Canada after the Tigers’ Citrus Bowl game against Notre Dame. Apparently, Orgeron and Canada have been at odds with each other since early in the season.
Canada is the highest paid offensive coordinator in the country, making $1.5 million. He has two years left on his contract. Canada came to LSU after just one season at Pitt. Orgeron is expected to make his tight ends coach Steve Ensminger the new offensive coordinator at LSU.
In the final game of the day yesterday, Texas beat Missouri, 33-16, in the Texas Bowl. Tom Herman is a hero again.
Twenty-one bowls down and 18 bowls to go. I ran out of bourbon balls, but I still have lots of baked pecans and brownies. Looking best after 21 bowls is the Big Ten at 2-0 and the Sun Belt at 3-1. The ACC is 2-1. On the bottom looking up is the MAC at 1-4 and the Pac-12 at 1-3.
Meanwhile, I’m 10-11 on my picks. I may need some cold pizza and chili dogs to go with my baked pecans and brownies.
Russ and Sandy will be arriving home from Atlanta today.
It was good to hear from Ken Burger, Brian Smith, Dave Brolhorst, Bob Spiker, Fern Musselwhite, Bob Willey, Larry Brewer, Bob Darden and Tim Muth last week.
The next CFW, CFW – Week 19, will be posted on Tuesday, January 2.
Happy New Year!
Touchdown Tom
December 28, 2017
Review of the Bowls
King Lane (in the Boca Raton Bowl) – Florida Atlantic 50, Akron 3 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida Atlantic 37, Akron 23). FAU’s offense racked up 582 total yards, while the Owls defense held Akron to less than 100 yards passing (77 yards) and rushing (69 yards). FAU had 29 first downs to 12 for the Zips. FAU’s Devin Singeltary rushed for 124 yards. The Owls Jason Driskel was 19-25-0, passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Florida Atlantic finished its season at 11-3. Attendance in Boca Raton: 25,912
And what did Chad Morris leave? (in the Frisco Bowl) – Louisiana Tech 51, SMU 10 (Touchdown Tom said: SMU 36, Louisiana Tech 29). The score was 42-10 at the break. Both teams quit at halftime. Well, I guess SMU quit before the game started. The Mustangs suffered from six turnovers. Louisiana Tech had none. Louisiana Tech finished its season at 7-6. Attendance in Frisco: 14,419
Doom (in the Gasparilla Bowl) – Temple 28, Florida International 3 (Touchdown Tom said: Temple 28, Florida International 25). After a scoreless first quarter by both teams, Temple scored in each of the last three quarters, twice in the fourth, to reach its 28 points. The Owls had a balanced attack – 141 yards rushing and 254 passing for 395 total yards. Temple’s defense held FIU to 88 yards rushing. Temple quarterback Frank Nutile was 18-28-0, passing for 254 yards and one touchdown. Temple finished its season at 7-6. Attendance in St. Petersburg: 16,363
It was better for the Bobcats in the Bahamas (in the Bahamas Bowl) – Ohio 41, UAB 6 (Touchdown Tom said: UAB 24, Ohio 23). Ohio finished its season at 9-4. Ohio had a balanced attack of 249 rushing yards and 210 passing yards for 459 total yards. The Bobcat defense held UAB to 99 yards rushing. The Blazers got a field goal in the first half and a field goal in the second half, but never scored a touchdown. Ohio’s Dorian Brown rushed for 152 yards. Ohio finished its season at 9-4. Attendance in Nassau: 13,585
Baked Chipps (in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) – Wyoming 37, Central Michigan 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Wyoming 25, Central Michigan 24). Central Michigan had an unbelievable eight turnovers in the game – four fumbles and four interceptions. The Chippewas also only had 18 yards rushing. But they did have 346 yards passing. In fact CMU had more total yards than Wyoming – 364 yards to 275. But the Cowboys held onto the ball. Wyoming was turnover free. Wyoming finished its season at 8-5. Attendance in Boise: 16,512
The Bulls sent Flowers – (in the Birmingham Bowl) – South Florida 38, Texas Tech 34 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas Tech 45, South Florida 42). This was a close game throughout. The score was tied four times at 3-3, 10-10, 17-17 and 24-24. The lead changed hands no less than four times in the fourth quarter. With 1:31 to go in the game, Texas Tech scored to take a 34-31 lead. But USF came back and scored the winning touchdown with 16 seconds left in the game. The teams combined for 1,110 total yards. Tech controlled the ball for more than 35 minutes. South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers was 17-34-0, passing for 311 yards and four touchdowns. Flowers also rushed for 106 yards, scoring another touchdown. Red Raiders quarterback Nic Shimonek passed for 416 yards. South Florida finished its season at 10-2. Attendance in Birmingham: 28,623
Ah! (in the Armed Forces Bowl) – Army 42, San Diego State 35 (Touchdown Tom said: San Diego State 38, Army 36). This game was also tied four times and neither team ever had more than a 7-point lead. But Army clearly dominated the stats – 446 total yards to 280 for San Diego State; 31 first downs to only 11 for the Aztecs, and Army controlled the ball for 46 minutes. Trailing 35-28, Army scored with 0:18 on the clock and made its 2-point conversion. As time expired, the Cadets, holding a 1-point lead, recovered a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown. Army’s Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 180 yards. San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny rushed for 221 yards. Army finished its season at 10-3. Attendance in Fort Worth: 35,986
Happy Appy – (in the Dollar General Bowl) – Appalachian State 34, Toledo 0 (Touchdown Tom said: Toledo 31, Appalachian State 36). Appalachian State had 458 total yards to 146 for Toledo. The Little Mountaineers’ defense held the Rockets to 22 yards rushing. App State also had 23 first downs to only 8 for Toledo. App State’s Jalin Moore rushed for 125 yards. Appalachian State finished its season at 9-4. Attendance in Mobile: 28,706
McMary Christmas (in the Hawaii Bowl) – Fresno State 33, Houston 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Houston 27, Fresno State 19). This game was tied on three occasions. But when Fresno State scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, it was all over for Houston. The Fresno State defense held Houston to 72 yards rushing. Bulldogs’ quarterback Marcus McMaryion passed for 342 yards. Fresno State finished its season at 10-4. Attendance in Honolulu: 20,546
Chug A Lug (in the Heart of Dallas Bowl) – Utah 30, West Virginia 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Utah 30, West Virginia 18). West Virginia only had 6 first downs and 153 total yards – just 29 yards rushing. Utah controlled the ball for more than 38 minutes. WVU quarterback Chris Chugunov only completed 32% of his passes. Utah’s Zack Moss rushed for 150 yards. Utah finished its season at 7-6. Attendance in Dallas: 20,507
How ’bout them Dookies! (in the Quick Lane Bowl) – Duke 36, Northern Illinois 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Duke 21, Northern Illinois 19). Early in the second quarter, this was a good ballgame. The score was tied 14-14. But Northern Illinois never scored again, while Duke scored 22 more points. The Dookies had a balanced attack, passing for 252 yards and rushing for 213 yards. Duke’s defense held NIU to 65 yards rushing. The Cookies controlled the clock for more than 38 minutes. Duke quarterback Daniel Jones was 27-40-0, passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Duke finished its season at 7-6. Attendance in Detroit: 20,211
Reversal of fortune (in the Cactus Bowl) – Kansas State 35, UCLA 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Kansas State 27, UCLA 24). A reversal of halves – UCLA led 17-7 at the break; K-State outscored the Bruins 28-0 in the second half. The Wildcats only had 79 yards passing, but had 344 yards rushing. Conversely, UCLA only had 69 yards rushing, but had 295 yards passing. K-State controlled the ball for more than 35 minutes. Wildcats’ quarterback Alex Delton ran for 158 yards and running back Alex Barnes rushed for 117 yards. Kansas State finished its season at 8-5. Attendance in Phoenix: 32,859
We don’t need no Jimbo (in the Independence Bowl) – Florida State 42, Southern Miss 13 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida State 33, Southern Miss 16). Except for a lapse here and there, Florida State pretty much had its way with Southern Miss. The Noles had 25 first downs to 12 for the Eagles; 452 total yards to 260 for Southern miss. FSU also controlled the ball for more than 37 minutes. Florida State finished its season at 7-6. Attendance in Shreveport: 33,601
Field of Dreams (in the Pinstripe Bowl) – Iowa 27, Boston College 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Iowa 23, Boston College 20). With the score tied 20-20, Iowa scored a touchdown with 3:09 left in the game and hung on t win. Boston College had the upper hand in the first half, outscoring Iowa in each if the first two quarters – 7-3 and 10-7. But the Hawkeyes came back and took the upper hand in the second half, outscoring BC in each of the final two quarters – 7-0 and 10-3. Iowa finished its season at 8-5. The Hawkeyes didn’t have a lot of offense in the game – only 200 total yards – 101 rushing and 99 passing. BC had three turnovers. The Eagles’ A.J. Dillon rushed for 157 yards. Attendance in New York City: 37,667
Break out the whiskey and beer (in the Foster Farms Bowl) – Purdue 38, Arizona 35 (Touchdown Tom said: Arizona 34, Purdue 27). Trailing 35-31, Purdue scored on a 38-yard touchdown pass, with 1:44 left in the game. Then the Boilers held on to win, intercepting a Khalil Tate pass. Less than two minutes earlier, Arizona went up on Purdue 35-31 on a 24-yard touchdown pass, with 3:21 on the clock. Earlier, it looked like Purdue was going to run away with the game. The Boilers led at halftime, 31-14. But Arizona rallied to make the game exciting. Purdue racked up 555 total yards, mostly on the passing of Elijah Sindelar – 396 yards. Arizona’s Tate threw five touchdown passes. Purdue ended its season at 7-6. Attendance in Santa Clara: 28,436
Beefy (in the Texas Bowl) – Texas 33, Missouri 16 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas 27, Missouri 24). Texas jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead. But Missouri came back and trailed the Longhorns 23-16 at the end of the third quarter. Texas put the game away in the fourth quarter. Missouri had more total yards – 403 to 285. But the Longhorns controlled the clock for more than 33 minutes. Texas ended its season at 7-6. Attendance in Houston: 67,820
Last 16 Bowl Game Picks: 9 correct picks, 7 fumbles (56.3 percent)
Total Bowl Game Picks: 10 correct picks, 11 fumbles (47.6 percent)
Superlatives
Impressive Passers:
Texas Tech’s Nic Shimonek – 32-59-2 for 416 yards; Purdue’s Elijah Sindelar – 33-53-1-396; Fresno State’s Marcus McMaryion 33-48-1-342; South Florida’s Quinton Flowers – 17-34-0-311, and Arizona’s Khalil Tate – 17-26-1-302.
Impressive Rushers:
San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny – 221 yards; Army’s Ahmad Bradshaw – 180 yards; Kansas State’s Alex Delton – 158 yards, and Boston College’s A.J. Dillon – 157 yards.
Also, Ohio’s Dorian Brown – 152 yards; Utah’s Zack Moss – 150 yards; Appalachian State’s Jalin Moore – 125 yards, and Florida Atlantic’s Devin Singletary – 124 yards.
Quotes of the Week
“I’m at peace coaching at Florida Atlantic. I can go wherever I want and not many people recognize me, and who wouldn’t love living in Boca?” FAU coach Lane Kiffin.
“There’s no entitlement with these kids. They’re hungry, and every time we win, it’s like they just won the Super Bowl. That’s a great feeling, seeing them get what they deserve. There’s a brotherhood that we’ve created here, and I think we’ve got a chance to be even better next year,” Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin.
“Auburn hasn’t seen any speed like we have here. They are in for a rude awakening,” UCF running back Adrian Killins, on the upcoming Peach Bowl between UCF and Auburn.
“Trash talk is a lot but it’s not much,” Auburn safety Stephen Roberts, responding to UCF’s Adrian Killins.
“Auburn should dust UCF in the Peach Bowl,” Paul Finebaum.
“No one outside the SEC footprint really cares what he has to say. I don’t listen to Paul Finebaum because unless you’re an SEC fan, he doesn’t have much to say that you like,” former UCF and new Nebraska coach Scott Frost, responding to Paul Finebaum.
“That hasn’t been decided yet,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, on whether he’ll coach next year or retire.
“There will be a time. I really think there will be a time that it will be appropriate for me to speak about all of that. When I do, it will be good,” Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, on his short-lived coaching deal with Tennessee.
Touchdown Tom
P.S.
Not exactly college football related, but sadly there were four passings of note last week – Dick Enberg, Bruce McCandless, Johnny Bower and Larry Libertore.
Dick Enberg, the celebrated sportscaster who for decades delivered play-by-play of major American sports, often with his “Oh my!” catchphrase, died last week. He was 82. Enberg called 42 NFL seasons, 28 Wimbledon tennis tournaments, 15 NCAA basketball title games, 10 Super Bowls, nine Rose Bowls and the 1982 World Series. He won 14 Emmy awards, nine Sportscaster of the Year awards and worked for NBC, CBS and ESPN. Enberg last worked for baseball’s San Diego Padres, retiring in 2016. He was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan in 1935. Enberg played baseball for Central Michigan University. He earned master’s and doctorate degrees from Indiana University. For a time, Enberg called Indiana Hoosiers football and basketball games. He also did play-by-play for baseball’s California Angels and the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. Enberg called UCLA basketball games during the 1960s and 1970s.
Bruce McCandless, the astronaut who became the first person to fly untethered in space, died last week. He was 80. McCandless took his maiden voyage in February 1984. He was one of 19 people selected by NASA to become astronauts in April 1966. McCandless was a former U.S. Navy captain. During his second space shuttle mission in 1990, McCandless helped deploy the Hubble Space Telescope. By the end of his career, he logged more than 300 hours in space. Bruce McCandless was born on June 8, 1937, in Boston. He received a bachelor of science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. McCandless later received two master’s degrees – one in electrical engineering from Stanford and another in business administration from the University of Houston.
Johnny Bower, a beloved former Maple Leaf goalie who helped Toronto win its last Stanley Cup, died earlier this week. He was 93. Bower, known as the China Wall, joined the Maple Leafs in 1958. He played 475 regular season games and won four Stanley Cups for the Maple Leafs before playing his final game as a 45-year-old in 1969.
Larry Libertore, a former Florida state representative, Polk County commissioner, real estate developer and University of Florida quarterback, died earlier this week. He was 78. In 2005, Libertore was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame. He was a star quarterback, safety and punt returner for the Gators from 1960 through 1962. Libertore was born on November 18, 1939 in Canton, Ohio. His family moved to Miami when he was in the ninth grade. After graduating from Florida in 1963, he settled in Lakeland.
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