Interim Coach Finally Siezes The Opportunity

With the exit of Rich Rodriquez to Michigan, it was thought that West Virginia would be hard pressed to compete with Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. It was widely thought that with the uncertainty of the coaching staff at West Virginia, would the assistant coaches have the opportunity to stay at West Virginia, would some of them have an opportunity to follow Rodriquez to Michigan, or worse yet would some of the coaches be left without a job. With the assistant coaches having so much "up in the air," how could they possibly prepare a team like Oklahoma?

Not only did they prepare for Oklahoma, but they won. And won convincingly! The coaching staff put their team, the kids that they recruited and the University first (much like Rodriquez claimed to do last year when he turned down the Alabama job to stay "home" at West Virginia). And in a classy move by the University, Bill Stewart will be named the Head Coach this morning. Coach Stewart is the only interim head coach (that I am aware of) to capitalize on their opportunity and lead their team to a bowl game victory. Fortunately, Bill Stewart is getting rewarded for his efforts. Congratulations to Coach Stewart and the rest of the Mountaineer coaching staff!

Disappointing Bowl Season for the ACC

The ACC has once again proven that it is not a power football conference. Eight teams out of the ACC made, or as of tomorrow night, will have made bowl appearances this year. The participates included, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Florida State, Maryland, Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson and Virginia Tech. All the games have been decided except for the Orange Bowl between Virginia Tech and Kansas. The ACC's has managed to only 2 of the 7 that have been played thus far. Football in the ACC has a long way to go in order to considered in the same conversation as the SEC.

A Good Listen

The Capital One Bowl, Michigan vs. Florida. I must start this post by stating that I would be hard pressed to tell you which team, Michigan or Florida, that I dislike more. The truth, I can't stand either one. But I was looking forward to watching this game, purely as a fan of good college football. Unfortuntely, or so I thought, I was unable to see the game in person. I did have the opportunity to hear a good portion of the game on the radio. Man, what a game! And what an exciting way to be a spectator. Admittedly, I was initially irritated that I could not see the game, but truthfully, it was nice to picture it through someone else's eyes. Try it sometime, I don't think that you will be disappointed.

Michigan won 41-35.

For more information on the Capital One Bowl, click here.

Chic-fil-a Bowl

For my money, the best game of the day kicks off tonight at 7:30 EST. The Chic-fil-a Bowl pits the Clemson Tigers of the ACC and the Auburn Tigers of the SEC. Both teams finished the regular season nationally ranked. Both teams boast very stout defenses. The edge offensively should go to Clemson with the dual threats of C.J. Spiller and James Davis.

Expect a hard hitting contest from the Georgia Dome.

UPDATE: Auburn is the 2007 Chic-fil-a Bowl Champions. Auburn needed extra time to pull the game out. Auburn held Clemson to a field goal in their first and only series in overtime. Auburn then converted a 4th down and less than a yard, already trailing by three points. Freshman Quarterback, Kodi Burns kept the ball on a quarterback sneak to score the final touchdown of the game.

Humanitarian Bowl

Georgia Tech is set to meet Fresno State on the blue turf in the Humanitarian Bowl this afternoon. Georgia Tech is currently favored by 6 points, but will need good play from its Quarterback, Taylor Bennett. Bennett has 9 INT with only 6 TD's.

For more information on the two programs and the Humanitarian Bowl visit FoxSports.

UPDATE: Fresno State conquered the "smurf turf" and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. With a final score of 40-28, John Tenuta becomes another winless interim head coach.

The Music City Bowl

I still expect to see a good game out of Florida State this afternoon. Florida State is depleted, missing as many as 35 players to either injury or violations of team rules. I expect, because of this, FSU will feel compelled to make a good showing.

Kentucky has a solid team, playing in arguably the toughest football conference and a quality triple OT win over LSU. They also enter this game with a Senior Quarterback, Andre' Woodson, who figures to be an early NFL draft pick.

Look for a good game. 4:00 EST kickoff on ESPN.


UPDATE: FSU lost in a valiant effort, 35-28. They had the ball with an opportunity to tie the game with a "Hail Mary" as the game clock hit double zeros. The ball was batted down by a Kentucky defensive back, giving Kentucky the win. This is Kentucky's second consecutive Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl title. Last year Kentucky beat another Bowden coached team in Clemson.

The Seminoles finally get a win at Georgia Tech

Senior Jason Rich made his last shot at Alexander Memorial Coliseum count. This is the first time the Rich has experienced a win at Georgia Tech. His jumper with 4.3 seconds left, propelled the Seminoles to a 66-64 win. Florida State is now 1-0 in ACC conference play and 11-4 overall, Georgia Tech dropped to 0-1 and 6-6 overall.

Carolina 13-0

Another solid win for North Carolina last night. The Tarheels beat the Valparaiso Crusader's 90-58. Valparaiso weathered an early North Carolina onslaught and a 13-0 deficit to tie the game at 37 early in the second half. Carolina proved to be to much with a 27-2 run over an 8 1/2 minute stretch in the second half. Kent State will visit the Smith center Wednesday night to finish a very successful non-conference run. With the beginning of ACC play, the Tarheels will be tested night in and night out, beginning this coming Sunday when North Carolina travels to Clemson for a 7:30 tip.

Wolfpack, One Up and One down

The NC State Wolfpack (8-3) men's basketball team got a much needed win for their program last night, defeating Seton Hall(8-3) 79-73. Seton Hall had been previously unbeaten at home. The NC State Wolfpack needed a big game from Gavin Grant, and they got it. Grant was 8 of 14 from the field and 6 of 8 from the line, leading all scores with 23.

The Nevada Wolfpack (7-5) , however, did not fair as well. They traveled to Chapel Hill to take on the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tarheels (12-0). It was a close game with the tarheels even trailing at one point during the first half. But the last twenty-three minutes of the game told a much different story. Defensive intensity by North Carolina became the story of the game. The final score was 106 - 70. North Carolina did suffer a huge loss in junior guard Bobby Frasor, who tore his ACL with 9:47 left in the second half.

Great Basketball at Madison Square Garden

Great basketball returned to Madison Square Garden last night. Unfortunately for Knicks fans, it was between two college basketball teams, the Duke Bluedevils and the Pittsburgh Panthers. It was a great game that required one overtime period to determine the outcome. After trailing by 12 at the half, the Panthers came roaring back to upset Duke 65-64. Prior to last night, Duke had not lost a game in the month of December since loosing to Stanford in 2000. Eventhough the Panthers won the game, they may have come up on the short end of the stick. Mike Cook, a senior Forward and East Carolina transfer, left the game with an undetermined knee injury just one minute into the overtime period. Hopefully Cook's injury is not serious and he will be able to make his 49th consecutive start.

In other Tar Heel News: 3 UNC Football Players Assaulted (by Women)

Its almost too disturbing and weird to recap, so I'll just link to the N&O article here. Definitely not your typical story of college athletes in trouble. Its sad, really.

Are the Tarheels Vulnerable?

Last night, Carolina improved their record to 9 -0. They beat Nicholls State 88 - 78. Nichols State was able to keep the game much closer than it should have been because they were able to make shots from behind the three point line. Carolina was not! Nicholls State shot a combined 14 of 28 from behind the three point line, whereas Carolina only made 3 of 12. I know that I am stating the obvious, but until Carolina is able to capitalize from behind the arc, they will continue to be vulnerable to a consistent three point shooting team.

Congratulations to Wake Forest Soccer!

I realize that I am three days late with this, but hats off to Wake Forest University and the WFU Men's Soccer team. 2007 NCAA Champions!

Florida State and Bobby Bowden's future?

In no way am I trying to downplay the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the Florida State academic cheating scandal, but couldn't the athletes involved have chosen a subject other than Music History. I do remember my days in college and the music appreciation course that I took, the History of Jazz. I will grant you that it was not the easy course that I was expecting; but if I were going to risk cheating on an exam, the History of Jazz would have been way down on my list.

It is a real shame that the athletes involved do not have more respect for their university, their athletic programs and their coaches. The cheating athletes were not only football players, but the football program is certainly the center of attention. And rightfully so! As many as 23 players face suspensions. It is a shame that Bobby Bowden, in the waning years of his coaching career, has to deal with something like this. He is already dealing with an unexcited fan base due to Florida State's less than impressive record over the past few years. Hopefully this latest incident does not force Coach Bowden to step away from a game and a program that he has given so much to over the years.