The Michigan Daily- michigandaily.com

January 6, 2010 - 3B

20,09-110 DAILY BOWL RECAP
SUGAR BOWL TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL ROSE BOWL ORANGE BOWL
Florida 51, Cincinnati 24 Boise State 17, Texas Christian 10 Ohio State 26, Oregon 17 Iowa 24, Georgia Tech 14
VBVS VS VS
MVP: Tim "God on Earth" Tebow. In less than 1 didn't change the channel because: The Boise MVP: Ohio State sophomore quarterback Terrelle I didn't change the channel because: Dick Stock-
three quarters, Tebow broke Vince Young's BCS State Broncos outlasted the TCU Horned Frogs with Pryor. In 2009, Pryor went 5-for-13 and threw for just ton's soothing voice was good background noise for a
record for total offense with 533 yards including a stout defense and coach Chris Petersen's infamous 66 yards in the Buckeyes' loss to Texas in the Fiesta nap. You know a game is a snoozer when the FedEx
remarkable 482 yards on 31-of-35 passing. Tebow's trickery in a 17-10 victory. With a tie score for much Bowl. But a year later, Pryor had a much-needed break- Ground Performance award is given to a player, Antho-
numbers overshadowed Florida coach Urban Meyer's of the fourth quarter, neither team was able to grab out performance in which he used both his legs and ny Allen, with 21 rushing yards. The game briefly
upcoming leave of absence from his team. If Meyer momentum until Boise State punter Kyle Brotzman arm to beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Pryor threw for became interesting in the 4th quarter when Tech was
was stressed, Tebow's performance definitely quelled caught TCU sleeping and completed a 29-yard pass on 266 yards and two touchdowns while using a variety down by three and had the ball. But they went three-
his anxiety. fourth and 9. Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore con- of stiff arms, jukes and veteran-caliber plays to outlast and-out and towa's Brandon Wegher clinched the
-Ruth Lincoln tinued to march down field, and running back Doug the favored Ducks. game with a 32-yard TD run.
Martin flipped into the end zone for the go-ahead MarkBurns -Andrew Haddad
touchdown with seven minutes remaining.
-Luke Pasch

INSIGHT BOWL
Iowa State 14, Minnesota 13
VS
You knew it was over when: Minnesota freshman
quarterback MarQueis Gray - with just over four min-
utes left in the fourth quarter - fumbled the ball on a
quarterback draw to seal the Cyclones' first winning
season since 2005. The victory gave Iowa State seven
wins, a drastic turnaround from its abysmal two-win
season last year in which it beat South Dakota State and
Kent State.
-Mark Burns

OUTBACK BOWL
Auburn 38, Northwestern 35
VS
You knew it was over when: Auburn recovered a
fumble by Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka in
the first overtime and the Tigers rushed the field. But
wait ... an official review showed that he was down.
The game was over again when Northwestern kick-
er Stefan Demos missed a field goal that would have
extended the game, and Auburn stormed the field a
second time. But wait ... the Tigers were penalized for
roughing the kicker. Arguably the craziest bowl of the
season finally ended after four hours when Northwest-
ern's bizarre fake field goal fumblerooskie was stopped
to seal a 38-35 Auburn win.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL
Penn State 19, LSU 17
VS
MVP: Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark. The
senior Nittany Lion had fire in his eyes as he took the
soaking wet field in Orlando on New Years Day. Penn
State was incontrolthe entire game, even as LSU found
its offensive stride in the second half. Despite terrible
field conditions, Clark completed 18 of 35 passes for 216
yards in the final game of his collegiate career. And he
led the Nittany Lions down field late in the 4th quarter
to set up the game-winning field goal.
-Casandra Pagni

VALERO ALAMO BOWL
Texas Tech 41, Michigan State 31
SVS
I didn't change the channel because: The game
remained tight until the fourth quarter, with Michi-
gan State leading by just one point. Then, Texas Tech
junior quarterback Taylor Potts was knocked out of
the game with an injury to his non-throwing hand.
And the turning point of the game came when junior
quarterback Steven Sheffield replaced Potts. Sheffield
completed nine of 11 passing attempts and led the Red
Raiders on two more scoring drives, allowing them to
steal the lead from the Spartans.
-Brittany Shannon

-Andrew Haddad

HOLIDAY BOWL:
NEBRASKA 33, ARIZONA O
Youknewit was overwhen: The game started. The
Cornhuskers' defensive line, led by Ndamukong Suh,
assaulted Arizona all night, leading to a 33-0 thrashing,
the first shutout in Holiday Bowl history. And in fact,
the scariest part of the game wasn't watching the Corn-
huskers' monster defensive line, it was the halftime
fireworks that made the stadium shake to its core.
-Alex Prosperi
LAS VEGAS BOWL:
BYU 44, OREGON STATE 20
MVP: The wind. With gusts of up to 50 miles per
hour, kicking into the wind was tough in the early part
of the game for the Beavers. One Oregon State punt
went just six yards. BYU never lost its advantage, even
when the teams changed direction. The wind was so
bad that ESPN's skycam became a safety hazard, offi-
cials lost their caps and the Vegas showgirls couldn't
keep their feathers down.
-Ruth Lincoln
POINSETTIA BOWL:
UTAH 37, CALIFORNIA 27
The story: Utah was a little slow to start when they
allowed a touchdown by the Bears in the first few min-
utes of the game. When the Bears fell behind in the
third quarter, they lost a fumble after throwing back-
to-back interceptions and fell apart at the seams.
-Amy Scarano
PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL:
CONNECTICUT 20, SOUTH CAROLINA 7
You knew it was over when: Connecticut led 20-0
early in the fourth quarter. The Huskies defense com-
pletely shut down South Carolina's offense all game.
Connecticut controlled the time of possession battle
35:28 to 24:32, allowing its offense to remain on the
field and sustain drives.
-Casandra Pagni
R&L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL: MIDDLE
t TENNESSEE 42, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 32
MVP: Middle Tennessee State quarterback Dwight
Dasher, who rushed for two TDs and 201 yards -break-
ing Vince Young's record of most rush yards in a bowl
game by a quarterback. He also threw for 162 yards and
two TDs.
-Kevin Raftery
MUSIC CITY BOWL:
CLEMSON 21, KENTUCKY 13
You knew it was over when: With just over five
minutes to play, Kentucky decided to go for it on
fourth-and-eight. QB Morgan Newton came up just
inches short on a quarterback keeper, allowing Clem-
son to run out the clock from there.
The least shocking part of the game: That Clem-
son running back CJ Spiller scored a touchdown. Spill-
er had at least one touchdown in 14 straight games for
the Tigers, breaking a school record.
-Kevin Raferty
TEXAS BOWL:
NAVY 35, MISSOURI 13
Stat ofthe Game: Time of possession. Navy had the
" ball for more than double the amount of time that Mis-
souri did, dominating them 40:54 - 19:06 in the TOP
battle.
PlayeroftheGame:NavyquarterbackRickyDobbs.
Dobbs continually baffled the Missouri defense, torch-
ing them for 166 yards rushing and a total of four TDs.
-Kevin Raferty
LITTLE CAESARS BOWL:
MARSHALL 21, OHIO 17
MVP: Marshall's redshirt freshman, Martin Ward.
The Thundering Herd struck first in the game after a
huge 79-yard drive. Ward carried the ball on the final

play of the drive and broke four tackles to g
end zone. Ward continued to display his dom
running in his second touchdown of the gam
ting up the Thundering Herd, 21-0. Ward on]
carries on the game but finished with 72 yar
-Ca
COTTON BOWL:
OLE' MISS, 21 OKLAHOMA STAT
MVP: Dexter MCluster became the first
er in history with 1,000 rushing yards and 5
yards after rushing for 185 yards to help
cruise to a 21-7 victory over Oklahoma St:
was McCluster, again, who sealed the deal
minutes left as he scored a two-yard touch:
direct snap. Oklahoma State's only score ca
half back pass in the third quarter, after ru
Keith Toston completed a one-yard pass to
Wilson Youman.
INDEPENDENCE BOWL:
GEORGIA 44, TEXAS A&M 20
I didn't change the channel because:
Georgia's 13th straight bowl appearance a
straight bowl victory. Brandon Boykins
kickoff return with two minutes left in th
helped Georgia bounce back from a slow
beat Texas A&M. Bulldogs quarterback
threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
certainly doesn't show it, but Aggies quarte
rod Johnson was spectacular, throwing for
and two touchdowns.
LIBERTY BOWL:
ARKANSAS 20, EAST CAROLINA
I didn't change the channel because:.
lina senior kicker Ben Hartman missed four
three of which would have been instant gam
and one that would have put the Pirates u
points early in the fourth quarter.
NEW MEXICO BOWL:
WYOMING 35, FRESNO STATE 2
MVP: Wyoming freshman quarterba
Carta-Samuels. Most predicted Wyoming'
to Fresno State. Instead, the Cowboys decid
the air after trailing by 11 points in the fir:
sealed the game in double overtime to mak
final. Carta-Samuels threw three touchdow
yards to help the Mountain West conferenc
11-4 record in bowl games for the last four y
CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL:
WISCONSIN 20, MIAMI 14
MVP: Tailback John Clay led his powerf
sin offense to a20-14victory in the Champs S
by rushing around and through Hurricane
for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Miami sc
first play from scrimmage, but Wisconsin
next 20 unanswered points before Hurrican
back Jacory Harris pulled his team to witi
with a touchdown pass with 1:22 left in
quarter. Miami recovered the ensuing onsid
failed to convert on their last four plays.
-Step
MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL:
PITTSBURGH 19, NORTH CAROLIN
MVP: Pittsburgh running back Dion L
freshman sensation from Albany, NY, con
rise toward the top of the running back ct
ing the ball 28 times for 159 yards and a tou
help defeat North Carolina. Early on, the
Tar Heel defense managed to dosa decentjoc
ing Lewis, but as the game wore on, the ba
to become shiftier, culminating in the gam
drive late in the fourth quarter which saw
13 times. The performance increased his s

et into the of rushing yards to 1,799, breaking the Pittsburgh
ninance by freshman single-season record.
te and put- -Ben Estes
ly had nine
ds. CHICK-FIL-A BOWL:
itlin Smith VIRGINIA TECH 37, TENNESSEE 14
You knew it was over when: Virginia Tech fresh-
E 7 man running back David Wilson plunged into the end
zone from three yards out with 5:14 left in the game
SEC play- to give the Hokies an essentially insurmountable 34-14
00 passing lead. From there, Virginia Tech was able to lean on its
Mississippi defense to secure the victory. The unit held the Volun-
ate. And it teers to a measly 240 total yards for the game, includ-
with four ing only five rushing yards on 31 carries.
down off a -Ben Estes
me from a
nning back GATOR BOWL:
tight end FLORIDA STATE 33, WEST VIRGINIA 21
-Zak Pyzik You knew it was over when: legendary coach
Bobby Bowden and his Florida State squad stepped
onto the field. This was Bowden's final game as the
Seminoles' coach, giving him a 22-10-1 bowl record for
his career. Bowden was asked by Florida State to retire
This was after this season, and he accepted. The Florida State
and fourth players were not going to let Bowden lose. The Semi-
s 81-yard noles overcame an 11-point deficit in the first quarter
e first half to take the lead. From then on, Florida State was able
start and to hang on and win.
Joe Cox -Mike Laurila
The score
rback Jer- INTERNATIONAL BOWL:
362 yards SOUTH FLORIDA 27, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3
-Zak Pyzik Most surprising performance: When South Flor-
ida and Northern Illinois trotted off to their respec-
tive lock rooms at halftime, they were in the middle
17 of a tied game - a 3-3 snoozer. But junior Bulls run-
ning back Mike Ford woke up the offense as he car-
East Caro- ried the ball 20 times for 207 yards and a touchdown.
field goals, And 183 of those yards and his lone touchdown came
e winners in the second half. Northern Illinois had no chance
p by three against the Bulls balanced attack and South Florida,
led by Ford's performance, scored 24 unanswered
-Zak Pyzik second half points to win 27-3.
-Tim Rohan
28 SUN BOWL:
OKLAHOMA 31, STANFORD 27
ck Austyn
would lose I didn't change the channel because: Former
ed to go to Michigan quarterback and current Stanford head coach
st half and Jim Harbaugh wanted his senior tailback Toby Ger-
e it a 35-28 hart to bring home a victory against Oklahoma. I kept
ns and 201 watching the Sun Bowl because Gerhart and his Car-
e boast an dinal teammates ran into a formidable Sooner offense.
ears. Neither team led the game by more than seveq points
-Zak Pyzik and its back-and-forth flow made for one of the more
exciting bowl game. Gerhart bullied his way to 135
yards and two touchdowns and Oklahoma sophomore
Ryan Broyles set a school record for receptions with 13.
He also had 156 yards and three touchdowns. This game
ul Wiscon- had aslot of offense, but the Oklahoma defense showed
ports Bowl up just in time to preserve a four-point win.
defenders -Tim Rohan
:ored on its
scored the EAGLEBANK BOWL:
te quarter- UCLA 30, TEMPLE 21
hin a score
the fourth Craziest play of the game: Temple played the first
e-kick, but half of the Eaglebank Bowl like asteam that was fired
up to be playing in its first bowl game in 30 years. And
hen Nesbitt UCLA reminded the Owls why they haven't been to a
bowl game for awhile. Temple had a 21-10 lead at the
break and didn't score the rest of the game. The Bru-
A 17 ins' game-winning touchdown came on an unusually
easy play for UCLA sophomore Akeem Ayers. The
ewis. The Owls decided to runa screen pass nursing a one-point
tinued his lead facing a third down and 20 yards to go on their
rop, carry- own eight-yard line. And Temple's only problem was
chdown to that neither its offensive line nor junior quarterback
swarming Vaughn Charlton accounted for Ayers. He slipped
b contain- as the ball was snapped then regained his balance
ck seemed and ended up right in the way of Charlton's pass and
e-winning. Ayers walked into the end zone to give UCLA the lead
him rush and the win.
eason total -Tim Rohan

Armed Forces Bowl:
Air Force 47, Houston 20
MVP: The entire Air Force secondary. With the
threat of cannon-armed Case Keenum looming from
the Houston huddle, Air Force's top-ranked pass
defense absolutely obliterated any hopes of a Hous-
ton win. Keenum was picked off a career-high six
times And for a guy who managed nearly 6,000 yards
through the air this season, holding Keenum to just
over 200 was an enormous victory. Keenum looked vis-
ibly frustrated out there, and for good reason. Houston
never had a chance. And to think, Keenum was an early
favorite for the Heisman Trophy.
. -Ryan Kartje
HAWAII BOWL:
SMU 45, NEVADA 10
You knew it was over when: SMU coach June
Jones stepped out of the plane in Hawaii. After leav-
ing the paradise to rejuvenate a scarred football pro-
gram at SMU, Jones knew that a return to Hawaii
would serve up only good karma for a coach that saw
so much success in the state before. The Nevada run
game, which boasted three 1,000-yard rushers, was
relatively shut down, and quarterback Colin Kae-
pernick couldn't get it going. The victory serves as
a stepping stone that looks like it might bring SMU
back from the proverbial dead in terms of college
football. June Jones has shown that he is definitely
capable of turning around this program, and don't be
surprised if in a year or two Jones gets a new, shiny
job offer from a big school. Maybe then he won't have
to go to the Hawaii Bowl ... again.
-Ryan Kartje
EMERALD BOWL:
USC 24, BOSTON COLLEGE 13
MVP: Matt Barkley, USC. Though this was USC's
first non-BCS bowl in what seems an eternity, the
Trojans finished fifth in the Pac-lO, and the team was
experiencing off-the-field issues with Joe McKnight
and three other's academic ineligibility, USC played a
very solid bowl game and came away with a victory. It
began a nervy affair for Matt Barkley, the Trojan quar-
terback, but as the game progressed, his influence was
made known. Even after two interceptions, he threw a
48-yard bomb to receiver Damian Williams and scored
on the next play.
-Zell Zoerhoff
ROADY'S HUMANITARIAN BOWL:
IDAHO 43, BOWLING GREEN 42
I didn't change the channel because: This game
was the ultimate shootout between two teams that
like to sling the ball. The schools combined for 990
yards of total offense. With four seconds left in the
game, Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle threw a
16-yard pass to Max Komar to notch the score at 42
apiece.
MVP: With the score tied at 42 late in the fourth
quarter, that's when Idaho coach Robb Akey decided
not to kick the customary extra point and go to over-
time. Instead, Akey went for it all in the waning sec-
onds with a two-point conversion attempt. Enderle
performed a three-step drop and threw a rope to the
middle of end zone to clinch the win.
-Mark Burns
St. Petersburg Bowl:
Rutgers 45, Central Florida 24
I didn't change the channel because: MTV's
"Jersey Shore" wasn't on, and I wanted to re-connect
with my New Jersey roots. But seriously ... It was
worth watching just to see how brutal the beatdown
would be. Rutgers was pretty much in control from
the start of the game, and the only "yikes" moment
came in the second quarter when Central Florida
pulled within four points. But when a backup defen-
sive back has a pick-six, and when a freshman quar-
terback puts up a Peyton Manning-esge 294 passing
yards, it's honestly a blow out (like The Situation's
hairdo).
- Nicole Auerbach