Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley
Eight of the 34 bowl game losers—or approximately 25 percent—lost by 20 or more points, none worse than Nevada's 45-10 drubbing at the hands of the rising Southern Methodist University Mustangs in the Hawaii Bowl. For SMU coach June Jones, it was homecoming all over again.
Jones coached the Hawaii Warriors for 9 years prior to becoming SMU's coach. At Hawaii, Jones inherited a team that had lost 18 straight games. He left Hawaii with a 76-41 season record, took the Warriors to 6 Bowl games and won 4, had three 9-win seasons, and one each 10-win, 11-win and 12-win season while competing in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference).
Jones inherited a dismal SMU program that was so bad that even this year 91% of football fans picked them to lose the Hawaii Bowl. Despite the fact that June Jones suffered through a tough 1-11 first season, his Mustangs finished this year at 8-5 and in a tie with Houston for 1st place in Conference USA's West Division title race.
Southern Methodist was so dominate in the Hawaii Bowl that the Mustangs led 31-0 at the half. SMU's freshman quarterback Kyle Padron racked up a school-record 460 yards, going 32-for-41 with 2 touchdowns. Mustang Emmanuel Sanders had 7 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown, and Aldrick Robinson caught another 9 passes for 176 yards. Padron won the Hawaii Bowl's Most Valuable Player Award.
SMU's Shawnbrey McNeal gained 63 yards on 12 carries (5.25 yards per carry) and scored 3 times on the ground. Both teams ended the season with 8-5 records.
Jones was used to competing in bowl games while coaching at Hawaii, and his leadership took SMU to its first bowl game in 25 years. The Mustangs, a 12-point underdog going into the Hawaii Bowl, will not likely be rated so low next time around, and knowing June Jones, there will be a next time for SMU and the Mustangs.
No. 20-ranked Nebraska not only beat 22nd-ranked Arizona, but shutout the Wildcats 33-0 to record the first shutout in the 32-history of the Holiday Bowl. Coach Bo Pelini's Cornhuskers made history of their own as the shutout was the first for Nebraska in 46 bowl appearances.
Bo knows defense, and his defense has been led all season by tackle Ndamukong Suh, the AP College Football Player of the Year and a Heisman finalist. Nebraska was so dominate on defense that Arizona did not get into the Cornhuskers' side of the field until the 3rd quarter. Nebraska held the Wildcats to 6 first downs, 109 total yards of offense and 51 plays, forcing Arizona to punt 9 times.
No one should be surprised by Nebraska's superb defensive effort in this bowl game. The Cornhuskers ranked 7th in the nation in total defense (among 120 teams) and first in scoring defense, allowing only 10 points per game. Nebraska ended the year at 10-4, notching its first 10-win season since 2003. Arizona was 8-5.
Unlike Alabama a year ago, Florida knew how to overcome a devastating loss. A year ago, the Crimson Tide lost to Florida in the SEC Championship game, and Florida went on to win the BCS National Championship game against Oklahoma, 24-14. Alabama then played Utah in the Sugar Bowl and got their butts kicked, 31-17.
This year Alabama beat Florida in the SEC Championship game, 32-13, and then went on to win the BCS National Championship game against Texas, 37-21. Florida met unbeaten Cincinnati (12-0) in the Sugar Bowl and upset the Bearcats, 51-24. There was no letdown for the Gators.
Tim Tebow, Florida's all around superstar and the best-known college football player in the nation, had arguably the best game of his career. Tebow passed for a career-high 482 yards and rushed for another 51 to compile 533 total yards of offense, breaking Vince Young's BCS record of 467 yards set against Southern California in the 2005 Rose Bowl. The awesome Florida offense finished the day with 659 yards of offense.
The Bearcats had forced Tebow to win the game by passing as they stacked the line of scrimmage—a tactic that Alabama had used to beat Florida in the SEC title game, but Cincinnati did not have the same caliber of defensive players as Alabama and the Bearcats failed miserably.
Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy winner, completed 31 of 35 passes and threw touchdown passes to Aaron Hernandez, Deonte Thompson and Riley Cooper. He also ran for a touchdown. Florida's senior class players officially became the most successful senior class in SEC history, winning 2 national championships in 2006 and 2008, and compiling a 48-6 record during 4 seasons for a 89% winning percentage.
The win was the 13th of the year for Florida (13-1), making it the first major college team in history to win 13 games in consecutive seasons. The loss was the second straight for Cincinnati in BCS bowl game competition; the Bearcats lost to Virginia Tech 20-7 in last year's Orange Bow.
In fairness to the Cincinnati players, their coach Brian Kelly quit the team in early December to take the coaching job at Norte Dame. Kelly had called plays all season for the Bearcat offense and his absence was noted. Interim coach Jeff Quinn was left to prepare the team for its biggest game ever, and the loss meant Cincinnati's unbeaten season came to a screeching halt.
(Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-Part Article.)
Eight of the 34 bowl game losers—or approximately 25 percent—lost by 20 or more points, none worse than Nevada's 45-10 drubbing at the hands of the rising Southern Methodist University Mustangs in the Hawaii Bowl. For SMU coach June Jones, it was homecoming all over again.
Jones coached the Hawaii Warriors for 9 years prior to becoming SMU's coach. At Hawaii, Jones inherited a team that had lost 18 straight games. He left Hawaii with a 76-41 season record, took the Warriors to 6 Bowl games and won 4, had three 9-win seasons, and one each 10-win, 11-win and 12-win season while competing in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference).
Jones inherited a dismal SMU program that was so bad that even this year 91% of football fans picked them to lose the Hawaii Bowl. Despite the fact that June Jones suffered through a tough 1-11 first season, his Mustangs finished this year at 8-5 and in a tie with Houston for 1st place in Conference USA's West Division title race.
Southern Methodist was so dominate in the Hawaii Bowl that the Mustangs led 31-0 at the half. SMU's freshman quarterback Kyle Padron racked up a school-record 460 yards, going 32-for-41 with 2 touchdowns. Mustang Emmanuel Sanders had 7 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown, and Aldrick Robinson caught another 9 passes for 176 yards. Padron won the Hawaii Bowl's Most Valuable Player Award.
SMU's Shawnbrey McNeal gained 63 yards on 12 carries (5.25 yards per carry) and scored 3 times on the ground. Both teams ended the season with 8-5 records.
Jones was used to competing in bowl games while coaching at Hawaii, and his leadership took SMU to its first bowl game in 25 years. The Mustangs, a 12-point underdog going into the Hawaii Bowl, will not likely be rated so low next time around, and knowing June Jones, there will be a next time for SMU and the Mustangs.
No. 20-ranked Nebraska not only beat 22nd-ranked Arizona, but shutout the Wildcats 33-0 to record the first shutout in the 32-history of the Holiday Bowl. Coach Bo Pelini's Cornhuskers made history of their own as the shutout was the first for Nebraska in 46 bowl appearances.
Bo knows defense, and his defense has been led all season by tackle Ndamukong Suh, the AP College Football Player of the Year and a Heisman finalist. Nebraska was so dominate on defense that Arizona did not get into the Cornhuskers' side of the field until the 3rd quarter. Nebraska held the Wildcats to 6 first downs, 109 total yards of offense and 51 plays, forcing Arizona to punt 9 times.
No one should be surprised by Nebraska's superb defensive effort in this bowl game. The Cornhuskers ranked 7th in the nation in total defense (among 120 teams) and first in scoring defense, allowing only 10 points per game. Nebraska ended the year at 10-4, notching its first 10-win season since 2003. Arizona was 8-5.
Unlike Alabama a year ago, Florida knew how to overcome a devastating loss. A year ago, the Crimson Tide lost to Florida in the SEC Championship game, and Florida went on to win the BCS National Championship game against Oklahoma, 24-14. Alabama then played Utah in the Sugar Bowl and got their butts kicked, 31-17.
This year Alabama beat Florida in the SEC Championship game, 32-13, and then went on to win the BCS National Championship game against Texas, 37-21. Florida met unbeaten Cincinnati (12-0) in the Sugar Bowl and upset the Bearcats, 51-24. There was no letdown for the Gators.
Tim Tebow, Florida's all around superstar and the best-known college football player in the nation, had arguably the best game of his career. Tebow passed for a career-high 482 yards and rushed for another 51 to compile 533 total yards of offense, breaking Vince Young's BCS record of 467 yards set against Southern California in the 2005 Rose Bowl. The awesome Florida offense finished the day with 659 yards of offense.
The Bearcats had forced Tebow to win the game by passing as they stacked the line of scrimmage—a tactic that Alabama had used to beat Florida in the SEC title game, but Cincinnati did not have the same caliber of defensive players as Alabama and the Bearcats failed miserably.
Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy winner, completed 31 of 35 passes and threw touchdown passes to Aaron Hernandez, Deonte Thompson and Riley Cooper. He also ran for a touchdown. Florida's senior class players officially became the most successful senior class in SEC history, winning 2 national championships in 2006 and 2008, and compiling a 48-6 record during 4 seasons for a 89% winning percentage.
The win was the 13th of the year for Florida (13-1), making it the first major college team in history to win 13 games in consecutive seasons. The loss was the second straight for Cincinnati in BCS bowl game competition; the Bearcats lost to Virginia Tech 20-7 in last year's Orange Bow.
In fairness to the Cincinnati players, their coach Brian Kelly quit the team in early December to take the coaching job at Norte Dame. Kelly had called plays all season for the Bearcat offense and his absence was noted. Interim coach Jeff Quinn was left to prepare the team for its biggest game ever, and the loss meant Cincinnati's unbeaten season came to a screeching halt.
(Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-Part Article.)
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