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Are these bowl write-up's helpful or to much? I would like some feedback on suggestion for the rest of this season and next season if you guys have time.
NOTE: IF THE LINE MOVES MORE THEN 2.5 POINTS OFF THE NUMBER THAT IS POSTED THEN IT IS A NO PLAY. THAT MEANS I WILL HAVE HEDGED MY BET.
8* MY TOP PLAY...VERY RARE (23-8 ) LAST 4 YEARS IN FOOTBALL (74%)
6-7* HIGH RATED SELECTION ONLY WHEN ALOT OF GAMES ON THE CARD TO CHOSE FROM (WELL OVER 60%)
5* EXCEPTIONAL PLAY USUALLY HIGHEST WHEN ONLY A FEW GAMES
4* VERY STRONG SELECTION
3* STRONG SELECTION
2* PROBABLE COVER (MOST COMMON RATING)
1* A GAME THAT SHOULD COVER
OPINION PLAY: GAME THAT I THINK MAY WIN BUT OFTEN JUST TO WATCH A GAME OR A LEAN USUALLY 1/2 A UNIT.
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SUMMARY OF NCAA BOWL SELECTIONS:
1* MICHIGAN -10.5
1* BOSTON COLLEGE -2
1* BOSTON COLLEGE/BOISE STATE UNDER 53
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NEBRASKA (7 - 4) vs. MICHIGAN (7 - 4)
Week 15 Wednesday, 12/28/2005 8:00 PM
Alamo Bowl - Alamodome - San Antonio, TX
vs 
History
Although this is Michigan's 31st consecutive bowl game, the longest such streak in the nation, it is the first time in ten seasons that the Wolverines have been relegated to a minor bowl. The last time was right here, against Texas A&M in '95, a 22-20 loss as a six-point favorite. The Wolverines streak dates back to 1975, the first year the Big Ten Conference allowed more than one representative to play in the postseason; that season the Wolverines faced eventual national champion Oklahoma in the 1976 Orange Bowl. Michigan gained the ‘active’ uninterrupted bowl game appearance mark after Nebraska had its 35-game streak snapped last season. Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr enters the 2005 Alamo Bowl with a 5-5 record in bowl games during his first 10 seasons. The Wolverines played in 1995 Alamo Bowl game during Carr’s first season and then participated in nine consecutive New Year’s Day bowl games prior to this season’s return to the Alamo Bowl. U-M has played in three Rose, three Capital One Citrus, two Outback and one Orange. He won titles in the 1998 Rose, 2000 Orange, 2003 Outback and two Citrus bowl titles (1999 and 2001). The Wolverines will participate in just their sixth bowl game during the month of December in their 37 all-time appearances. Michigan has compiled a 2-3 record in those previous five games, with the losses coming in the 1979 Gator, 1984 Holiday and 1995 Alamo bowls. U-M claimed victories in the 1981 Bluebonnet and 1994 Holiday bowls. Michigan is 18-18 all time in bowl games and are tied for ninth in the nation in all-time bowl appearances with 36. Meanwhile, their opponent, Nebraska ranks fifth in the nation in overall bowl game appearances and has received bowl bids in 36 out of the last 37 seasons. Until the 2004 season, Nebraska had held an NCAA record of 35-straight bowl appearances from 1969 to 2003 posting a 19-16 record. The Huskers also rank fifth in the nation in all-time bowl appearances with 42. Nebraska has never lost in the Alamodome, producing a 4-0 record, including victories in the 2000 Alamo Bowl (66-17 over Northwestern) and the 2003 Alamo Bowl (17-3 over Michigan State). Nebraska also captured a pair of Big 12 titles in the building, defeating Texas A&M in 1997 and Texas in 1999.
Nebraska (7-4 overall, 4-4 Big 12 North/T2nd)
Head Coach: Bill Callahan
Career Record: 12-10 (2nd year)
Record at BC: 12-10 (2nd year)
Last Bowl:
Michigan (9-3, 7-1 WAC champions)
Head Coach: Lloyd Carr
Career Record: 102-33 (11th year)
Record at Arizona State: 102-33 (11th year)
Last Bowl:
Nebraska Leaders:
Rushing: Cory Ross (11 G, 197-721 yards, 4 TDs)
Passing: Zac Taylor (11 G, 223-399, 2,486 yards, 16 TDs)
Receiving: Nate Swift (8 G, 42-610 yards, 6 TDs)
Michigan Leaders:
Rushing: Mike Hart (7 G, 131-588 yards, 4 TDs)
Passing: Chad Henne (11 G, 202-339, 2,256 yards, 20 TDs)
Receiving: Jason Avant (11 G, 74-936 yards, 8 TDs)
MICHIGAN:
The Wolverines will face a Big 12 Conference school for the second straight bowl season. Michigan has a 16-7-2 record against the teams currently in the Big 12 Conference and are 3-1 vs. teams in the Big 12 at the time U-M played them, all during head coach Lloyd Carr’s coaching tenure. They defeated Colorado (27-3) and Baylor (38-3) during the 1997 national championship season and won 20-13 at Colorado in 1996, when members of the conference. The lone setback was last year’s 38-37 loss to Texas in the 2005 Rose Bowl.
COACHING NOTES: Head coaches Lloyd Carr and Bill Callahan have never faced one another in the head coaching realm. However, teams of both coaches’ history have faced off numerous times during both coaches’ tenures. Coach Carr’s Michigan team holds the advantage over coach Callahan’s teams (Illinois, Wisconsin), winning six of their 10 meetings. (Coach Callahan and Coach Carr were assistants at this time). Interestingly enough, in 1986, during Callahans tenure at Illinois, the Illini and Wolverines tied 3-3. Prior to coaching at Nebraska, Coach Callahan was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders (NFL).
CONFERENCE NOTES: The Big Ten has been the dominant conference in past Alamo Bowls. The conference sports a 7-4 record including Michigan’s 22-20 loss to Texas A&M in 1995. In 1993, the Big Ten’s Iowa played California in the Alamo Bowl’s inaugural game, losing 37-3, in a contest that saw a Big Ten/Pac-10 match up since the Southwest Conference didn’t have a bowl eligible team. As a conference the Big 12 has not fared well in the Alamo Bowl, winning only three times in 11 appearances (including Baylor and Texas A&M appearances as members of the Southwest Conference in 1994 and 1995). Nebraska has the conference’s only winning record (2-0). Other team records are: Baylor 0-1; Colorado 0-1; Kansas State 0-1; Oklahoma State 0-2; Texas A&M 1-1; Texas Tech 0-2. This marks the largest bowl point spread for Michigan in the Lloyd Carr Era that began back in 1995, while Nebraska takes a double-digit price for the second game in a row. This could be a problem for Michigan as they have only on double digit bowl victory in nine tries under Lloyd Carr.
GAME NOTES: This will be the sixth meeting between the two programs, with the Wolverines holding a 3-1-1 advantage in the all-time series. Michigan defeated Nebraska 27-23 in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl, the last meeting between the two schools and the only previous match-up during the bowl season. UM and Nebraska also met on the gridiron during the 1905, 1911, 1917 and 1962 seasons. Both Michigan and Nebraska rank in the top five for all-time college football wins. Michigan leads the nation with 849 wins; Nebraska ranks fourth with 793. Michigan holds the current active streak for consecutive bowl appearances (31) dating back to 1975. Nebraska holds the record for the overall longest streak of consecutive bowl appearances with a 35-year streak from 1969-2003. This is the first year that instant replay will be used in the post-season. To keep the process standard across the 28 bowl games, all replay officials will be using the Big Ten protocol.
TRENDS
NEBRASKA:
Nebraska is 2-0 SU and ATS in their last two Alamo Bowl games.
Nebraska is 12-1 SU and 11-2 ATS in their last 13 bowl games when they score at least 21 points.
Nebraska is 14-2 SU and 11-5 ATS against their last 16 Big Ten opponents.
Nebraska is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 bowl games.
MICHIGAN:
Michigan HC Lloyd Carr is 4-6 ATS and 2-3 ATS as chalk.
Michigan HC Lloyd Carr is 9-17 ATS line last 26 as a chalk away from Ann Arbor.
Michigan is 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS against last 4 against Big XII opponents.
Michigan is 1-15-1 ATS away as a favorite of -4 or more against winning teams last 17 tries.
CONFERENCE AND BOWL TRENDS
Big XII representatives are 5-10 ATS in Bowl games over the past two seasons.
Big XII are 2-12 ATS against opponents off a SU & ATS loss.
The underdog is 3-1 SU & ATS in the last 4 Alamo Bowl Games.
Analysis
At first glance, with the power program names of Michigan and Nebraska, you would maybe think a national championship is on the line, but these two will have to settle for a shootout in the Alamo Bowl. The Wolverines are one of this year's top disappointments. Ranked 4th nationally in the preseason, they've been put through the wringer, losing 4 games this season. In their four losses this season (Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State), Michigan has lost their games by a total of 17 points, a margin of only 4.25 points per loss and are just a mere 17 points from being 11-0. In the past seven games combined, the Wolverines have won five games and lost two. The total margin of points in the two losses was seven points. For all of Michigan’s tough losses, it should be noted that those came against the Nations second toughest in all of college football, trailing only the Oklahoma Sooners. Indeed, sixty-four percent of the Wolverines’ 11 regular-season opponents are heading into post season bowl action this season. Michigan non-conference opponent Notre Dame (Fiesta) earned a BCS bowl berth, with Big Ten opponents Iowa (Outback), Ohio State (Fiesta), Minnesota (Music City), Northwestern (Sun), Penn State (Orange) and Wisconsin (Capital One) gaining bowl slots. Northern Illinois was bowl eligible but did not get selected after losing to Akron in the Mid-American Conference title game.
Offensively, Michigan was a bit of a bully, beating up defensively-lacking teams like Eastern Michigan, Northwestern and Indiana for 43 points per game, while struggling against some of the stronger defenses it faced, such as Iowa and Ohio State. The offense is led by QB Chad Henne who didn’t come close to having as productive a year as a sophomore as he did as a freshman, and part of that regression has to be the fact that star WR Braylon Edwards went to the NFL and sr. Jason Avant was good, but only had about 60% of the yards and points Edwards contributed Last year. Despite his inconsistency, Henne continued to cement his name in the Michigan record books, reaching sixth place all-time in the history of Michigan football with 4,999 passing yards heading into the Alamo Bowl. Despite numerous injuries to his backfield and offensive line, Henne stood strong throwing for 20 touchdowns, tied for third in the Big Ten Conference. Connecting with freshman wide-out Mario Manningham on the final play against an undefeated, eighth-ranked Penn State team proved just how dangerous Henne can be. Henne found comfort in throwing to senior captain and Academic All-American Jason Avant. Avant led the Wolverines with career highs in receptions (74), receiving yards (936) and receiving touchdowns (eight) this season. He is second in the Big Ten in receptions and third in receiving yards this season and ranks among the top 25 nationally in every major receiving category. Avant combined with Manningham and senior Steve Breaston to catch 15 of Henne’s 20 touchdown passes. On the ground, the Wolverines faced an uphill battle after a string of injuries. The offensive line featured six different starting lineups, including four changes within the first four games of the season, as 16 different linemen saw action in 2005. The shuffling of linemen will continue in the bowl game as fifth-year senior left guard Leo Henige, who suffered a broken leg in the fourth quarter against Ohio State, will cause a seventh starting lineup this season. Sophomore tailback Mike Hart, who battled through several injuries throughout the season to record 588 rushing yards and four TDs, saw limited action in 2005. After gaining 1,455 yards on 282 carries (5.2 avg.) in 2004, much was expected out of the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. A leg injury in the opening half versus Notre Dame forced the Michigan coaching staff to make adjustments. In stepped bruising freshman Kevin Grady, that punched in a team leading five-rushing touchdowns and Jerome Jackson, whose one-yard touchdown plunge gave the Wolverines a 23-20 overtime win at Iowa. Max Martin is the fourth of Michigan's tailbacks with more than 225 yards rushing this season.
The Michigan defense may pose the most stringent test for Zac Taylor and the rest of the Huskers offense. The Wolverines, who rank third in the Big Ten in total defense, are the only team within the conference to have three players ranking in the top-17 in terms of total tackles. Leading U-M in tackles is senior inside linebacker David Harris with a career-best 80. Harris also contributed five tackles for loss and three pass breakups, forced two fumbles, and recovered another. On the outside is junior Prescott Burgess, third on the team with 77 tackles, while forcing two fumbles. The Wolverine secondary is led by cornerbacks, junior Leon Hall and fifth-year senior Grant Mason, who both finished in the top five in tackles on the Wolverines. They helped hold opponents to 211.5 yards per-game through the air, good for fourth in the Big Ten. Mason, whose 79 tackles were second on the team, led U-M with eight pass break-ups. Both Mason and Hall produced two interceptions as the secondary was responsible for 13 take away's on the year. The highlight of the season for Hall was earning Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the Wolverines' 33-17 victory at No. 21 Northwestern, which included a school record 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Sophomore cornerback Morgan Trent provided a speedster in nickel and dime packages.
Nebraska has come along way considering they completely revamped their offensive play book but they are still in the transition phase from moving from the option run game to the West Coast pro-style offense. Remember when Nebraska used to absolutely dominated on the ground? That certainly has changed since the arrival of Callahan a year ago and implementation of his version of the “West coast offense”. The 'Huskers have come from the 7th rated running game at 236 rushing yards per games in 2003, to 34th in 2004 (176 RYpg), to an unbelievable 110th this year at a meager 91 rushing yards per game. They also suffered thru a 3-game stretch, in which they had Rushing yard deficits of 277 to -22 (Missouri), 180-16 (Oklahoma), & 213-21 (Kansas). That's a combined rushing yard deficit of 670-35! On the ground they are led by Senior I-back Cory Ross. While Ross ranks 10th all-time on the Huskers’ career rushing chart with 2,582 yards and leads the team with 721 yards in 2005, Ross has evolved into a complete back in the West Coast Offense. He recorded 40 receptions this season, the second-best total ever for an NU running back to rank second on the squad. The Huskers own a deep stable of I-backs behind Ross. A pair of true freshmen, Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn, has provided a nice change-up for NU when the senior co-captain is off the field. Lucky is a versatile runner who sees action in a variety of situations, while Glenn, who is tied for the team lead with four rushing touchdowns, has been particularly effective in short-yardage situations. Over the land, Nebraska is led by QB Zac Taylor who checks into this contest with just 1,874 yds, 12 TDs, & 10 INTs. On the season, however, Nebraska averaged a school-record 229.5 yards per game through the air during the 2005 regular season, while their 265.8 yards per game during league play ranked second among Big 12 teams. Redshirt freshman Nate Swift was Taylor’s favorite target this season. Swift notched team-leading totals of 42 receptions (the third-best mark in school history) for 610 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore Terrence Nunn has added 39 catches for 404 yards and five scores for the NU offense, while sophomores Grant Mulkey and Frantz Hardy have notched 26 and 22 receptions, respectively.
There is no question that the Nebraska defense is the strength of the team, as the unit finished the season ranked 25th in total defense, giving up 326 yards a game. The “Blackshirts” are led up front by a deep defensive line that has played a critical role in helping the Nebraska defensive rank first in the country with 46 sacks on the season. Junior defensive end Adam Carriker leads the team with 9.5 sacks and 18 quarterback hurries, while third-down specialist Barry Turner has added six sacks in limited playing time. Turner, a true freshman, was recently named to the Rivals.com Freshman All-America team, while Carriker was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. Junior defensive end Jay Moore joined senior defensive tackle Titus Adams in earning All-Big 12 honorable mention. Moore has 13 tackles for losses on the season, while Adams has amassed 49 tackles on the season. At linebacker, Nebraska has suffered through the injury bug, losing starters Steve Octavien in the first game of the season and Stewart Bradley in the fifth game of the year. Despite this, the unit has turned in solid performances built around a young core. Sophomore middle linebacker Corey McKeon leads the team in both tackles (87) and interceptions (3). McKeon ranks second on the team with seven sacks, and has recorded a team-leading 19 tackles in earning All-Big 12 honorable-mention honors. Sophomore Bo Ruud has filled in nicely for Octavien, ranking second on the team in tackles with 80, while senior Adam Ickes has stepped up in Bradley's place, recording 31 tackles, forcing two fumbles and adding one interception. Senior safety Daniel Bullocks, a Second-team All-Big 12 honoree, has provided experience for a Husker secondary that ranks 11th nationally in pass efficiency defense. Bullocks, a three-year starter, ranks third on the team in tackles (75) and has a team-high 10 pass breakups. Senior safety Blake Tiedtke has performed very well in his first year as a starter, recording three sacks and 64 total tackles. At cornerback, sophomore Cortney Grixby earned All-Big 12 honorable-mention honors while recording 10 pass breakups, and junior college transfer Zackary Bowman has added nine pass break-ups.
If any team is disappointed to be here, it would be the Wolverines. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr says he feels his (7-4) team was snubbed a bit by dropping to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, the Wolverines’ first non-January 1 bowl in ten years. The January 1 Outland Bowl in Tampa chose 7-4 Iowa over Michigan, even though the Wolverines beat the Hawkeyes in the regular season. However, don’t look for a Michigan letdown as Team reports are stating that HC Carr has be playing the “disrespected card” to motivate his players and assistant coaches.
Match-up wise, although the numbers for the Wolverine defense may not be as strong as they have been in past years, one must account for the dynamic offenses the unit went up against. The Wolverines' schedule was littered with high-flying arsenals. including five Top-20 units. This will surely create a fundamental match-up disadvantage for Nebraska on offense as they are not to the level of those opponents through the air and they have a tendency to be mediocre at best on the ground. So it will once again be up to the "blackshirt" Nebraska defense to stay in this contest. Nebraska will in all likelihood be playing from behind in this contest, so the question will be whether they have enough offense to stay within this double digit number.
The most recent reports out of Michigan camp speak about Michigan's attitude toward this game. Rest assured Michigan will be bound-and-determined to end their so called poor season on a winning note. Although, Henne was a good news/bad news performer for much of this ’05 season the return of TB Mike Hart from ankle woes will allow play-action to work here and that means stat-sheet stuffing games from Michigan wide receivers Jason Avant and the underrated Mario Manningham (a combined 13 TD grabs). Nebraska will discover that it’s no fun playing catch-up all night long against a high-class foe.
Forecast: Michigan 31, Nebraska 14
PLAY 1* UNIT ON MICHIGAN -10.5
BOSTON COLLEGE (8 - 3) at BOISE ST (9 - 3)
Week 15 Wednesday, 12/28/2005 4:30 PM
MPC Computers Bowl - Bronco Stadium - Boise, ID
vs 
History
Number 19 Boston College and Boise State will be meeting for the first time when they square off in the MPC Computers Bowl. Boston College has gone to bowls in each of the last six years, all under head coach Tom O’Brien, winning its last five straight. The Eagles have played in 16 bowls in their history, going 10-6-0. Meanwhile, Boise State is making its fourth straight bowl appearance. Boise State is 5-1 in bowl games since becoming a NCAA Division I school in 1996, including a perfect 3-0 in the MPC Bowl, which was previously known as the Humanitarian Bowl. Boise State beat Louisville 34-31 in the 1999 Crucial.com Humanitarian Bowl to start the impressive run of bowl success. The Broncos made it back-to-back Humanitarian Bowl wins with a 38-23 victory over UTEP in 2000. Boise State returned to the Humanitarian Bowl in 2002 and picked up its first ever win over a BCS conference team beating Iowa State 34-16. The Broncos ran their bowl record to 4-0 the next season by beating nationally ranked TCU on their home field at the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl. Last season, Boise State suffered their only bowl loss losing to Louisville 44-40 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. The Broncos are making their fourth appearance at the MPC Computers Bowl, and are 3-0 in this bowl all-time. Boston College has never played a game in the state of Idaho.
Boston College (8-3, 5-3 ACC Tie for first with Florida State in Atlantic Division)
Head Coach: Tom O’Brien
Career Record: 65-42 (9th year)
Record at BC: 65-42 (9th year)
Last Bowl: 2004 Continental Tire Bowl (Boston College 37, North Carolina 24)
Boise State (9-3, 7-1 WAC champions)
Head Coach: Dan Hawkins
Career Record: 93-21-1 (10th year)
Record at Arizona State: 52-10 (5th year)
Last Bowl: 2004 Vitalis Sun Bowl (Purdue 23, Arizona State 27)
Boston College Leaders:
Rushing: Raymell Rice (11 G, 175-1,012 yards, 5 TsD)
Passing: Ryan Hart (9 G, 131-217, 1,761 yards, 15 TDs)
Receiving: Tres Moses (10 G, 38-645 yards, 4 TDs)
Boise State Leaders:
Rushing: Keegan Herring (11 G, 139-791 yards, 6 TDs)
Passing: Sam Keller (7 G, 155-264, 2,165 yards, 20 TDs)
Receiving: Derek Hagan (11 G, 72-1113 yards, 8 TDs)
BOSTON COLLEGE:
Boston College is 10-6 in its previous 16 bowl appearances and has won five consecutive bowl games, the longest active streak in the nation. Sophomore LB Brian Toal is third on the team in tackles with 52 and also has carried the ball 21 times in short-yardage situations, he has also scored six touchdowns and has picked up 10 additional first downs on those 21 carries. Sophomore QB Matt Ryan is 4-0 as a starter this season and has the ACC’s largest offensive line averaging 6-6, 314 pounds.
BOISE ST:
Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins is coaching his final game with the Broncos. Hawkins was announced as the new head coach at Colorado on Dec. 16. It should be noted that Boise has won all three times it has appeared in the MPC Computers Bowl (formerly known as the Humanitarian Bowl). Boise has a 31-game home winning streak, the longest active streak in the nation and tied for the 16th longest in NCAA history and have has won nine of their last 10 games. Boise has won 45 of its last 46 games at home and their last three losses were against ranked opponents. With a win here, Boise is also looking to finish the season with at least 10 wins and ranked in the top 25 for the fourth consecutive year.
GAME NOTES: Boston College went 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in their first season in the league, tying for first in the Atlantic Division. Boise State earned a spot in the bowl after finishing the regular season with a 9-3 record. The Broncos won their fourth straight Western Athletic Conference Championship with a 7-1 league record. Boston College comes into this game with five All-ACC selections, including first team defensive lineman Mathias Kiwanuka. Boston College is No. 9 in the nation in scoring defense, while Boise State is eighth in scoring offense. The Eagles rank eighth nationally in rush defense, and the Broncos are No. 15 in rush offense.
TRENDS
BOSTON COLLEGE:
Boston College is 5-0 SU & ATS last 5 bowl games.
Boston College is 9-2 ATS in their last 11 bowl games.
Boston College is 2202 SU against non-conference foes in their last 24 meetings.
BOISE ST:
Boise State is 31-0 SU on the blue carpet.
Boise State is 5-1 ATS last 6 on the blue carpet.
Boise State is 4-1 ATS in bowl games played since 1999.
Boise State is 12-0 ATS last 12 as an underdog on the blue carpet.
CONFERENCE AND BOWL TRENDS
Western Athletic Conference Bowlers are 1-5 ATS against opponents of an SU double digit win.
Analysis
This should be a war, as the Eagles of Boston College are one of the best bowl squads in the nation, winning by a whooping 35-21 points per game edge and covering by 15.3 points per game against the spread in their last 5 bowl games. Boston College was welcomed into the ACC this year, tying Florida State atop the Atlantic Division. Despite losing to Florida State this season, they still won the numbers game as the Eagles had a 24-14 first down edge and a 380-256 total yards edge. Nevertheless, that loss is the reason Boston College is playing on December 28th and not in a BCS Bowl game this season. Boston College is one of the Nations most physical teams in all of NCAA football as their field one of the nations best defenses, ranking them 8th against the run, and 9th in the nation in points allowed, allowing opponents 15.5 points per game. The Boston College’s offense is lead by QB Ryan Hart who has completed 64.2% of his passes, while running backs Whitworth & Callender are a formidable ball-toting duo, with 1,400 yds between them. The Eagles scored 30 points or more five times this season using a balanced game plan, averaging 146.6 rushing yards and 241.5 passing yards per game. Boston College’s offensive line is one of the best in the country as all five started have returned from last year and have played together in ever single game this season, The unit is led by senior left tackle Jeremy Trueblood. BC’s offensive line has paved the way for 146.8 rushing yards per game against formidable ACC competition, and they've pass protected even better, allowing just 13 quarterback sacks (1 quarterback sack every 29.2 pass attempts).
Their opponent, Boise St has emerged as a steady power since 1999, with a home record of 44-2 SU, covering by an average over of 28-10. This season, the Broncos have outscored their opponents 282-110 in six home games this season and have not lost at Bronco Stadium since a 41-20 defeat to Washington State on Sept. 8, 2001. Scoring plenty of points has become a tradition in Boise. Since Hawkins became coach in 2001, the Broncos have averaged 41.9 points per game, most in the nation. Junior quarterback Jared Zabransky leads the Boise State offense. Zabransky completed 59.3 percent of his passes in the regular season for 2,283 yards and 17 touchdowns (although he does have 14 picks this season). He also ran for 10 scores. Zabransky spreads the ball around as ten different Boise State receivers caught at least one touchdown pass this season. However, against the “elite” competition this year, Boise has faltered as they were absolutely destroyed at Georgia and Fresno, with combined 75-20 point, and 1,087-586 yard deficits.
Clearly the venue of this game on paper, favors the “home” Broncos of Boise State. Indeed, Boise State has won 31 in a row on this field, the longest home winning streak in the nation and they won those convincingly by an average of 48-16. However, a deeper look inside this amazing streak is warranted. A closer examination reveals that only one of those wins came against a team that was .700 or better, a win came against a Hawaii team (who was off back to back road contests traveling over 6,000 miles in two weeks. This years Boston College team is easily the best team to play Boise on this field since Washington State in September of 2001, Boise's last loss on this field. The Eagles are no strangers to ending streaks, just ask Notre Dame, and they are more physical than any team Boise has seen this season. On the season, the Eagles have wins at BYU, at Clemson, and at Maryland, in addition to home wins over bowlers Virginia and NC State. Boise’s home wins this year have not been against anything close to an elite opponent as they defeated Bowling Green, Portland State, San Jose State, Nevada, New Mexico State, and Idaho. Against opponents in bowls Boise allowed 509 yards per game, BC permitted bowlers only 333 yards. It should also be noted that since Boston College plays in New England, the cold weather certainly won't intimidate the Eagles.
Boston College clearly has superior talent, and has played a significantly tougher schedule than the WAC-residing Broncos. But many believe motivation might be a factor in this contest as the Eagles are disappointed to have slipped to this lower tier bowl after a very good season. Indeed, Boston College was ranked in the AP Top 25 in all but two weeks. That was BC's most consistent poll showing since being ranked every week in 1984, Doug Flutie's Heisman Trophy season. How, then, did BC wind up playing in a bowl game that is supposed to take the No. 6 team from the conference, and is located in Boise, Idaho? "Let's face it," said BC head coach Tom O'Brien during a conference call. "Bowls have always been and will be about selling tickets." Passed over by the Peach, the Champs Sports, and even the Meineke Car Care Bowl, which BC played a year ago, when it was called the Continental Tire Bowl - BC wound up in the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, where they will take on the hometown Boise State Broncos. O'Brien noted the factor of BC being a northern school playing in a southern conference as hurting its chances of receiving a more attractive bid. Fears that the BC fan base will not travel well to the bowl site may have also lead to what occurred as many of the 56 bowl bids were handed out Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, BC’s HC O'Brien's did state that his team goal is to win, wherever the team is sent to play. "There's really no such thing as going to a bad bowl," remarked O'Brien, adding, "It is an opportunity to win our ninth game, which is the most important thing for this team." As BC holds the nation's longest bowl winning streak (five), O'Brien stressed that the Eagles would play inspired football. "There's a lot on the line," O'Brien noted. "If we can get to six, that's awfully special." In summary, although the Eagles may be disappointed that the No. 19 football team has to play in an “un-sexy” bowl game, it is also equally clear that BC is also happy just to make a bowl game for the seventh consecutive season. "If we have to go play in a parking lot," O'Brien said, "we will!" Boston College is not the only team with potential motivational problems, as Boise coach Dan Hawkins is leaving Boise to replace Gary Barnett at Colorado. Hawkins will be coaching this game but that hardly means business as usual. A level of continuity is assured with offensive coordinator Chris Petersen, but it is possible only two other assistants will stick around, while several are leaving for Colorado, and others will not be hired at either place, which means lots of distractions for both coaches and players.
The Broncos' home field advantage and deception-style offense, which Boston College is unaccustomed to defending, can get them their moments, but if Boston College is motivated, it won't be enough. Fundamentally, Boise State will have a very difficult time matching up with Boston College on either side of the ball. BC’s defensive front has held opponents to just a shade more than 96 rushing yards per game this season, which is terrible news for a Boise State club that must establish their running game to be effective. The Broncos will have to find a way to run it because if they can't, the Boston College pass rush, which registered 32 sacks this season, will pressure and rattle quarterback Jared Zabransky. On defense, Boise will have to contend with one of most dominating offensive lines ever to step on a college football field. This group will be extremely difficult for Boise State to contend with, especially after they were dominated by the two best offensive lines they faced this season in Georgia and Fresno State. Under the guidance of HC Hawkins, Boise has averaged 41.9 points per game. Nevertheless, Boston College did not allow 31 points in any game this season. This is not good news for the Bronco’s as they have never covered as a home favorite when the Broncos were held to under 31 and is just 1-7 ATS as chalk when failing to reach 31 points. BC has the clear advantage in talent as Boise probably doesn't have more than three or four players who would start for BC. Though BC is disappointed in their bowl slot, they are clearly better, and Boise is disappointed and distracted with the loss of their longtime head coach.
Forecast: Boston College 24, Bois State 17
PLAY 1* UNIT ON BOSTON COLLEGE -2
PLAY 1* UNIT ON BOSTON COLLEGE/BOISE STATE UNDER 53
NOTE: IF THE LINE MOVES MORE THEN 2.5 POINTS OFF THE NUMBER THAT IS POSTED THEN IT IS A NO PLAY. THAT MEANS I WILL HAVE HEDGED MY BET.
8* MY TOP PLAY...VERY RARE (23-8 ) LAST 4 YEARS IN FOOTBALL (74%)
6-7* HIGH RATED SELECTION ONLY WHEN ALOT OF GAMES ON THE CARD TO CHOSE FROM (WELL OVER 60%)
5* EXCEPTIONAL PLAY USUALLY HIGHEST WHEN ONLY A FEW GAMES
4* VERY STRONG SELECTION
3* STRONG SELECTION
2* PROBABLE COVER (MOST COMMON RATING)
1* A GAME THAT SHOULD COVER
OPINION PLAY: GAME THAT I THINK MAY WIN BUT OFTEN JUST TO WATCH A GAME OR A LEAN USUALLY 1/2 A UNIT.
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SUMMARY OF NCAA BOWL SELECTIONS:
1* MICHIGAN -10.5
1* BOSTON COLLEGE -2
1* BOSTON COLLEGE/BOISE STATE UNDER 53
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NEBRASKA (7 - 4) vs. MICHIGAN (7 - 4)
Week 15 Wednesday, 12/28/2005 8:00 PM
Alamo Bowl - Alamodome - San Antonio, TX
vs History
Although this is Michigan's 31st consecutive bowl game, the longest such streak in the nation, it is the first time in ten seasons that the Wolverines have been relegated to a minor bowl. The last time was right here, against Texas A&M in '95, a 22-20 loss as a six-point favorite. The Wolverines streak dates back to 1975, the first year the Big Ten Conference allowed more than one representative to play in the postseason; that season the Wolverines faced eventual national champion Oklahoma in the 1976 Orange Bowl. Michigan gained the ‘active’ uninterrupted bowl game appearance mark after Nebraska had its 35-game streak snapped last season. Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr enters the 2005 Alamo Bowl with a 5-5 record in bowl games during his first 10 seasons. The Wolverines played in 1995 Alamo Bowl game during Carr’s first season and then participated in nine consecutive New Year’s Day bowl games prior to this season’s return to the Alamo Bowl. U-M has played in three Rose, three Capital One Citrus, two Outback and one Orange. He won titles in the 1998 Rose, 2000 Orange, 2003 Outback and two Citrus bowl titles (1999 and 2001). The Wolverines will participate in just their sixth bowl game during the month of December in their 37 all-time appearances. Michigan has compiled a 2-3 record in those previous five games, with the losses coming in the 1979 Gator, 1984 Holiday and 1995 Alamo bowls. U-M claimed victories in the 1981 Bluebonnet and 1994 Holiday bowls. Michigan is 18-18 all time in bowl games and are tied for ninth in the nation in all-time bowl appearances with 36. Meanwhile, their opponent, Nebraska ranks fifth in the nation in overall bowl game appearances and has received bowl bids in 36 out of the last 37 seasons. Until the 2004 season, Nebraska had held an NCAA record of 35-straight bowl appearances from 1969 to 2003 posting a 19-16 record. The Huskers also rank fifth in the nation in all-time bowl appearances with 42. Nebraska has never lost in the Alamodome, producing a 4-0 record, including victories in the 2000 Alamo Bowl (66-17 over Northwestern) and the 2003 Alamo Bowl (17-3 over Michigan State). Nebraska also captured a pair of Big 12 titles in the building, defeating Texas A&M in 1997 and Texas in 1999.
Nebraska (7-4 overall, 4-4 Big 12 North/T2nd)
Head Coach: Bill Callahan
Career Record: 12-10 (2nd year)
Record at BC: 12-10 (2nd year)
Last Bowl:
Michigan (9-3, 7-1 WAC champions)
Head Coach: Lloyd Carr
Career Record: 102-33 (11th year)
Record at Arizona State: 102-33 (11th year)
Last Bowl:
Nebraska Leaders:
Rushing: Cory Ross (11 G, 197-721 yards, 4 TDs)
Passing: Zac Taylor (11 G, 223-399, 2,486 yards, 16 TDs)
Receiving: Nate Swift (8 G, 42-610 yards, 6 TDs)
Michigan Leaders:
Rushing: Mike Hart (7 G, 131-588 yards, 4 TDs)
Passing: Chad Henne (11 G, 202-339, 2,256 yards, 20 TDs)
Receiving: Jason Avant (11 G, 74-936 yards, 8 TDs)
MICHIGAN:
The Wolverines will face a Big 12 Conference school for the second straight bowl season. Michigan has a 16-7-2 record against the teams currently in the Big 12 Conference and are 3-1 vs. teams in the Big 12 at the time U-M played them, all during head coach Lloyd Carr’s coaching tenure. They defeated Colorado (27-3) and Baylor (38-3) during the 1997 national championship season and won 20-13 at Colorado in 1996, when members of the conference. The lone setback was last year’s 38-37 loss to Texas in the 2005 Rose Bowl.
COACHING NOTES: Head coaches Lloyd Carr and Bill Callahan have never faced one another in the head coaching realm. However, teams of both coaches’ history have faced off numerous times during both coaches’ tenures. Coach Carr’s Michigan team holds the advantage over coach Callahan’s teams (Illinois, Wisconsin), winning six of their 10 meetings. (Coach Callahan and Coach Carr were assistants at this time). Interestingly enough, in 1986, during Callahans tenure at Illinois, the Illini and Wolverines tied 3-3. Prior to coaching at Nebraska, Coach Callahan was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders (NFL).
CONFERENCE NOTES: The Big Ten has been the dominant conference in past Alamo Bowls. The conference sports a 7-4 record including Michigan’s 22-20 loss to Texas A&M in 1995. In 1993, the Big Ten’s Iowa played California in the Alamo Bowl’s inaugural game, losing 37-3, in a contest that saw a Big Ten/Pac-10 match up since the Southwest Conference didn’t have a bowl eligible team. As a conference the Big 12 has not fared well in the Alamo Bowl, winning only three times in 11 appearances (including Baylor and Texas A&M appearances as members of the Southwest Conference in 1994 and 1995). Nebraska has the conference’s only winning record (2-0). Other team records are: Baylor 0-1; Colorado 0-1; Kansas State 0-1; Oklahoma State 0-2; Texas A&M 1-1; Texas Tech 0-2. This marks the largest bowl point spread for Michigan in the Lloyd Carr Era that began back in 1995, while Nebraska takes a double-digit price for the second game in a row. This could be a problem for Michigan as they have only on double digit bowl victory in nine tries under Lloyd Carr.
GAME NOTES: This will be the sixth meeting between the two programs, with the Wolverines holding a 3-1-1 advantage in the all-time series. Michigan defeated Nebraska 27-23 in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl, the last meeting between the two schools and the only previous match-up during the bowl season. UM and Nebraska also met on the gridiron during the 1905, 1911, 1917 and 1962 seasons. Both Michigan and Nebraska rank in the top five for all-time college football wins. Michigan leads the nation with 849 wins; Nebraska ranks fourth with 793. Michigan holds the current active streak for consecutive bowl appearances (31) dating back to 1975. Nebraska holds the record for the overall longest streak of consecutive bowl appearances with a 35-year streak from 1969-2003. This is the first year that instant replay will be used in the post-season. To keep the process standard across the 28 bowl games, all replay officials will be using the Big Ten protocol.
TRENDS
NEBRASKA:
Nebraska is 2-0 SU and ATS in their last two Alamo Bowl games.
Nebraska is 12-1 SU and 11-2 ATS in their last 13 bowl games when they score at least 21 points.
Nebraska is 14-2 SU and 11-5 ATS against their last 16 Big Ten opponents.
Nebraska is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 bowl games.
MICHIGAN:
Michigan HC Lloyd Carr is 4-6 ATS and 2-3 ATS as chalk.
Michigan HC Lloyd Carr is 9-17 ATS line last 26 as a chalk away from Ann Arbor.
Michigan is 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS against last 4 against Big XII opponents.
Michigan is 1-15-1 ATS away as a favorite of -4 or more against winning teams last 17 tries.
CONFERENCE AND BOWL TRENDS
Big XII representatives are 5-10 ATS in Bowl games over the past two seasons.
Big XII are 2-12 ATS against opponents off a SU & ATS loss.
The underdog is 3-1 SU & ATS in the last 4 Alamo Bowl Games.
Analysis
At first glance, with the power program names of Michigan and Nebraska, you would maybe think a national championship is on the line, but these two will have to settle for a shootout in the Alamo Bowl. The Wolverines are one of this year's top disappointments. Ranked 4th nationally in the preseason, they've been put through the wringer, losing 4 games this season. In their four losses this season (Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State), Michigan has lost their games by a total of 17 points, a margin of only 4.25 points per loss and are just a mere 17 points from being 11-0. In the past seven games combined, the Wolverines have won five games and lost two. The total margin of points in the two losses was seven points. For all of Michigan’s tough losses, it should be noted that those came against the Nations second toughest in all of college football, trailing only the Oklahoma Sooners. Indeed, sixty-four percent of the Wolverines’ 11 regular-season opponents are heading into post season bowl action this season. Michigan non-conference opponent Notre Dame (Fiesta) earned a BCS bowl berth, with Big Ten opponents Iowa (Outback), Ohio State (Fiesta), Minnesota (Music City), Northwestern (Sun), Penn State (Orange) and Wisconsin (Capital One) gaining bowl slots. Northern Illinois was bowl eligible but did not get selected after losing to Akron in the Mid-American Conference title game.
Offensively, Michigan was a bit of a bully, beating up defensively-lacking teams like Eastern Michigan, Northwestern and Indiana for 43 points per game, while struggling against some of the stronger defenses it faced, such as Iowa and Ohio State. The offense is led by QB Chad Henne who didn’t come close to having as productive a year as a sophomore as he did as a freshman, and part of that regression has to be the fact that star WR Braylon Edwards went to the NFL and sr. Jason Avant was good, but only had about 60% of the yards and points Edwards contributed Last year. Despite his inconsistency, Henne continued to cement his name in the Michigan record books, reaching sixth place all-time in the history of Michigan football with 4,999 passing yards heading into the Alamo Bowl. Despite numerous injuries to his backfield and offensive line, Henne stood strong throwing for 20 touchdowns, tied for third in the Big Ten Conference. Connecting with freshman wide-out Mario Manningham on the final play against an undefeated, eighth-ranked Penn State team proved just how dangerous Henne can be. Henne found comfort in throwing to senior captain and Academic All-American Jason Avant. Avant led the Wolverines with career highs in receptions (74), receiving yards (936) and receiving touchdowns (eight) this season. He is second in the Big Ten in receptions and third in receiving yards this season and ranks among the top 25 nationally in every major receiving category. Avant combined with Manningham and senior Steve Breaston to catch 15 of Henne’s 20 touchdown passes. On the ground, the Wolverines faced an uphill battle after a string of injuries. The offensive line featured six different starting lineups, including four changes within the first four games of the season, as 16 different linemen saw action in 2005. The shuffling of linemen will continue in the bowl game as fifth-year senior left guard Leo Henige, who suffered a broken leg in the fourth quarter against Ohio State, will cause a seventh starting lineup this season. Sophomore tailback Mike Hart, who battled through several injuries throughout the season to record 588 rushing yards and four TDs, saw limited action in 2005. After gaining 1,455 yards on 282 carries (5.2 avg.) in 2004, much was expected out of the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. A leg injury in the opening half versus Notre Dame forced the Michigan coaching staff to make adjustments. In stepped bruising freshman Kevin Grady, that punched in a team leading five-rushing touchdowns and Jerome Jackson, whose one-yard touchdown plunge gave the Wolverines a 23-20 overtime win at Iowa. Max Martin is the fourth of Michigan's tailbacks with more than 225 yards rushing this season.
The Michigan defense may pose the most stringent test for Zac Taylor and the rest of the Huskers offense. The Wolverines, who rank third in the Big Ten in total defense, are the only team within the conference to have three players ranking in the top-17 in terms of total tackles. Leading U-M in tackles is senior inside linebacker David Harris with a career-best 80. Harris also contributed five tackles for loss and three pass breakups, forced two fumbles, and recovered another. On the outside is junior Prescott Burgess, third on the team with 77 tackles, while forcing two fumbles. The Wolverine secondary is led by cornerbacks, junior Leon Hall and fifth-year senior Grant Mason, who both finished in the top five in tackles on the Wolverines. They helped hold opponents to 211.5 yards per-game through the air, good for fourth in the Big Ten. Mason, whose 79 tackles were second on the team, led U-M with eight pass break-ups. Both Mason and Hall produced two interceptions as the secondary was responsible for 13 take away's on the year. The highlight of the season for Hall was earning Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the Wolverines' 33-17 victory at No. 21 Northwestern, which included a school record 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Sophomore cornerback Morgan Trent provided a speedster in nickel and dime packages.
Nebraska has come along way considering they completely revamped their offensive play book but they are still in the transition phase from moving from the option run game to the West Coast pro-style offense. Remember when Nebraska used to absolutely dominated on the ground? That certainly has changed since the arrival of Callahan a year ago and implementation of his version of the “West coast offense”. The 'Huskers have come from the 7th rated running game at 236 rushing yards per games in 2003, to 34th in 2004 (176 RYpg), to an unbelievable 110th this year at a meager 91 rushing yards per game. They also suffered thru a 3-game stretch, in which they had Rushing yard deficits of 277 to -22 (Missouri), 180-16 (Oklahoma), & 213-21 (Kansas). That's a combined rushing yard deficit of 670-35! On the ground they are led by Senior I-back Cory Ross. While Ross ranks 10th all-time on the Huskers’ career rushing chart with 2,582 yards and leads the team with 721 yards in 2005, Ross has evolved into a complete back in the West Coast Offense. He recorded 40 receptions this season, the second-best total ever for an NU running back to rank second on the squad. The Huskers own a deep stable of I-backs behind Ross. A pair of true freshmen, Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn, has provided a nice change-up for NU when the senior co-captain is off the field. Lucky is a versatile runner who sees action in a variety of situations, while Glenn, who is tied for the team lead with four rushing touchdowns, has been particularly effective in short-yardage situations. Over the land, Nebraska is led by QB Zac Taylor who checks into this contest with just 1,874 yds, 12 TDs, & 10 INTs. On the season, however, Nebraska averaged a school-record 229.5 yards per game through the air during the 2005 regular season, while their 265.8 yards per game during league play ranked second among Big 12 teams. Redshirt freshman Nate Swift was Taylor’s favorite target this season. Swift notched team-leading totals of 42 receptions (the third-best mark in school history) for 610 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore Terrence Nunn has added 39 catches for 404 yards and five scores for the NU offense, while sophomores Grant Mulkey and Frantz Hardy have notched 26 and 22 receptions, respectively.
There is no question that the Nebraska defense is the strength of the team, as the unit finished the season ranked 25th in total defense, giving up 326 yards a game. The “Blackshirts” are led up front by a deep defensive line that has played a critical role in helping the Nebraska defensive rank first in the country with 46 sacks on the season. Junior defensive end Adam Carriker leads the team with 9.5 sacks and 18 quarterback hurries, while third-down specialist Barry Turner has added six sacks in limited playing time. Turner, a true freshman, was recently named to the Rivals.com Freshman All-America team, while Carriker was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. Junior defensive end Jay Moore joined senior defensive tackle Titus Adams in earning All-Big 12 honorable mention. Moore has 13 tackles for losses on the season, while Adams has amassed 49 tackles on the season. At linebacker, Nebraska has suffered through the injury bug, losing starters Steve Octavien in the first game of the season and Stewart Bradley in the fifth game of the year. Despite this, the unit has turned in solid performances built around a young core. Sophomore middle linebacker Corey McKeon leads the team in both tackles (87) and interceptions (3). McKeon ranks second on the team with seven sacks, and has recorded a team-leading 19 tackles in earning All-Big 12 honorable-mention honors. Sophomore Bo Ruud has filled in nicely for Octavien, ranking second on the team in tackles with 80, while senior Adam Ickes has stepped up in Bradley's place, recording 31 tackles, forcing two fumbles and adding one interception. Senior safety Daniel Bullocks, a Second-team All-Big 12 honoree, has provided experience for a Husker secondary that ranks 11th nationally in pass efficiency defense. Bullocks, a three-year starter, ranks third on the team in tackles (75) and has a team-high 10 pass breakups. Senior safety Blake Tiedtke has performed very well in his first year as a starter, recording three sacks and 64 total tackles. At cornerback, sophomore Cortney Grixby earned All-Big 12 honorable-mention honors while recording 10 pass breakups, and junior college transfer Zackary Bowman has added nine pass break-ups.
If any team is disappointed to be here, it would be the Wolverines. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr says he feels his (7-4) team was snubbed a bit by dropping to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, the Wolverines’ first non-January 1 bowl in ten years. The January 1 Outland Bowl in Tampa chose 7-4 Iowa over Michigan, even though the Wolverines beat the Hawkeyes in the regular season. However, don’t look for a Michigan letdown as Team reports are stating that HC Carr has be playing the “disrespected card” to motivate his players and assistant coaches.
Match-up wise, although the numbers for the Wolverine defense may not be as strong as they have been in past years, one must account for the dynamic offenses the unit went up against. The Wolverines' schedule was littered with high-flying arsenals. including five Top-20 units. This will surely create a fundamental match-up disadvantage for Nebraska on offense as they are not to the level of those opponents through the air and they have a tendency to be mediocre at best on the ground. So it will once again be up to the "blackshirt" Nebraska defense to stay in this contest. Nebraska will in all likelihood be playing from behind in this contest, so the question will be whether they have enough offense to stay within this double digit number.
The most recent reports out of Michigan camp speak about Michigan's attitude toward this game. Rest assured Michigan will be bound-and-determined to end their so called poor season on a winning note. Although, Henne was a good news/bad news performer for much of this ’05 season the return of TB Mike Hart from ankle woes will allow play-action to work here and that means stat-sheet stuffing games from Michigan wide receivers Jason Avant and the underrated Mario Manningham (a combined 13 TD grabs). Nebraska will discover that it’s no fun playing catch-up all night long against a high-class foe.
Forecast: Michigan 31, Nebraska 14
PLAY 1* UNIT ON MICHIGAN -10.5
BOSTON COLLEGE (8 - 3) at BOISE ST (9 - 3)
Week 15 Wednesday, 12/28/2005 4:30 PM
MPC Computers Bowl - Bronco Stadium - Boise, ID
vs History
Number 19 Boston College and Boise State will be meeting for the first time when they square off in the MPC Computers Bowl. Boston College has gone to bowls in each of the last six years, all under head coach Tom O’Brien, winning its last five straight. The Eagles have played in 16 bowls in their history, going 10-6-0. Meanwhile, Boise State is making its fourth straight bowl appearance. Boise State is 5-1 in bowl games since becoming a NCAA Division I school in 1996, including a perfect 3-0 in the MPC Bowl, which was previously known as the Humanitarian Bowl. Boise State beat Louisville 34-31 in the 1999 Crucial.com Humanitarian Bowl to start the impressive run of bowl success. The Broncos made it back-to-back Humanitarian Bowl wins with a 38-23 victory over UTEP in 2000. Boise State returned to the Humanitarian Bowl in 2002 and picked up its first ever win over a BCS conference team beating Iowa State 34-16. The Broncos ran their bowl record to 4-0 the next season by beating nationally ranked TCU on their home field at the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl. Last season, Boise State suffered their only bowl loss losing to Louisville 44-40 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. The Broncos are making their fourth appearance at the MPC Computers Bowl, and are 3-0 in this bowl all-time. Boston College has never played a game in the state of Idaho.
Boston College (8-3, 5-3 ACC Tie for first with Florida State in Atlantic Division)
Head Coach: Tom O’Brien
Career Record: 65-42 (9th year)
Record at BC: 65-42 (9th year)
Last Bowl: 2004 Continental Tire Bowl (Boston College 37, North Carolina 24)
Boise State (9-3, 7-1 WAC champions)
Head Coach: Dan Hawkins
Career Record: 93-21-1 (10th year)
Record at Arizona State: 52-10 (5th year)
Last Bowl: 2004 Vitalis Sun Bowl (Purdue 23, Arizona State 27)
Boston College Leaders:
Rushing: Raymell Rice (11 G, 175-1,012 yards, 5 TsD)
Passing: Ryan Hart (9 G, 131-217, 1,761 yards, 15 TDs)
Receiving: Tres Moses (10 G, 38-645 yards, 4 TDs)
Boise State Leaders:
Rushing: Keegan Herring (11 G, 139-791 yards, 6 TDs)
Passing: Sam Keller (7 G, 155-264, 2,165 yards, 20 TDs)
Receiving: Derek Hagan (11 G, 72-1113 yards, 8 TDs)
BOSTON COLLEGE:
Boston College is 10-6 in its previous 16 bowl appearances and has won five consecutive bowl games, the longest active streak in the nation. Sophomore LB Brian Toal is third on the team in tackles with 52 and also has carried the ball 21 times in short-yardage situations, he has also scored six touchdowns and has picked up 10 additional first downs on those 21 carries. Sophomore QB Matt Ryan is 4-0 as a starter this season and has the ACC’s largest offensive line averaging 6-6, 314 pounds.
BOISE ST:
Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins is coaching his final game with the Broncos. Hawkins was announced as the new head coach at Colorado on Dec. 16. It should be noted that Boise has won all three times it has appeared in the MPC Computers Bowl (formerly known as the Humanitarian Bowl). Boise has a 31-game home winning streak, the longest active streak in the nation and tied for the 16th longest in NCAA history and have has won nine of their last 10 games. Boise has won 45 of its last 46 games at home and their last three losses were against ranked opponents. With a win here, Boise is also looking to finish the season with at least 10 wins and ranked in the top 25 for the fourth consecutive year.
GAME NOTES: Boston College went 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in their first season in the league, tying for first in the Atlantic Division. Boise State earned a spot in the bowl after finishing the regular season with a 9-3 record. The Broncos won their fourth straight Western Athletic Conference Championship with a 7-1 league record. Boston College comes into this game with five All-ACC selections, including first team defensive lineman Mathias Kiwanuka. Boston College is No. 9 in the nation in scoring defense, while Boise State is eighth in scoring offense. The Eagles rank eighth nationally in rush defense, and the Broncos are No. 15 in rush offense.
TRENDS
BOSTON COLLEGE:
Boston College is 5-0 SU & ATS last 5 bowl games.
Boston College is 9-2 ATS in their last 11 bowl games.
Boston College is 2202 SU against non-conference foes in their last 24 meetings.
BOISE ST:
Boise State is 31-0 SU on the blue carpet.
Boise State is 5-1 ATS last 6 on the blue carpet.
Boise State is 4-1 ATS in bowl games played since 1999.
Boise State is 12-0 ATS last 12 as an underdog on the blue carpet.
CONFERENCE AND BOWL TRENDS
Western Athletic Conference Bowlers are 1-5 ATS against opponents of an SU double digit win.
Analysis
This should be a war, as the Eagles of Boston College are one of the best bowl squads in the nation, winning by a whooping 35-21 points per game edge and covering by 15.3 points per game against the spread in their last 5 bowl games. Boston College was welcomed into the ACC this year, tying Florida State atop the Atlantic Division. Despite losing to Florida State this season, they still won the numbers game as the Eagles had a 24-14 first down edge and a 380-256 total yards edge. Nevertheless, that loss is the reason Boston College is playing on December 28th and not in a BCS Bowl game this season. Boston College is one of the Nations most physical teams in all of NCAA football as their field one of the nations best defenses, ranking them 8th against the run, and 9th in the nation in points allowed, allowing opponents 15.5 points per game. The Boston College’s offense is lead by QB Ryan Hart who has completed 64.2% of his passes, while running backs Whitworth & Callender are a formidable ball-toting duo, with 1,400 yds between them. The Eagles scored 30 points or more five times this season using a balanced game plan, averaging 146.6 rushing yards and 241.5 passing yards per game. Boston College’s offensive line is one of the best in the country as all five started have returned from last year and have played together in ever single game this season, The unit is led by senior left tackle Jeremy Trueblood. BC’s offensive line has paved the way for 146.8 rushing yards per game against formidable ACC competition, and they've pass protected even better, allowing just 13 quarterback sacks (1 quarterback sack every 29.2 pass attempts).
Their opponent, Boise St has emerged as a steady power since 1999, with a home record of 44-2 SU, covering by an average over of 28-10. This season, the Broncos have outscored their opponents 282-110 in six home games this season and have not lost at Bronco Stadium since a 41-20 defeat to Washington State on Sept. 8, 2001. Scoring plenty of points has become a tradition in Boise. Since Hawkins became coach in 2001, the Broncos have averaged 41.9 points per game, most in the nation. Junior quarterback Jared Zabransky leads the Boise State offense. Zabransky completed 59.3 percent of his passes in the regular season for 2,283 yards and 17 touchdowns (although he does have 14 picks this season). He also ran for 10 scores. Zabransky spreads the ball around as ten different Boise State receivers caught at least one touchdown pass this season. However, against the “elite” competition this year, Boise has faltered as they were absolutely destroyed at Georgia and Fresno, with combined 75-20 point, and 1,087-586 yard deficits.
Clearly the venue of this game on paper, favors the “home” Broncos of Boise State. Indeed, Boise State has won 31 in a row on this field, the longest home winning streak in the nation and they won those convincingly by an average of 48-16. However, a deeper look inside this amazing streak is warranted. A closer examination reveals that only one of those wins came against a team that was .700 or better, a win came against a Hawaii team (who was off back to back road contests traveling over 6,000 miles in two weeks. This years Boston College team is easily the best team to play Boise on this field since Washington State in September of 2001, Boise's last loss on this field. The Eagles are no strangers to ending streaks, just ask Notre Dame, and they are more physical than any team Boise has seen this season. On the season, the Eagles have wins at BYU, at Clemson, and at Maryland, in addition to home wins over bowlers Virginia and NC State. Boise’s home wins this year have not been against anything close to an elite opponent as they defeated Bowling Green, Portland State, San Jose State, Nevada, New Mexico State, and Idaho. Against opponents in bowls Boise allowed 509 yards per game, BC permitted bowlers only 333 yards. It should also be noted that since Boston College plays in New England, the cold weather certainly won't intimidate the Eagles.
Boston College clearly has superior talent, and has played a significantly tougher schedule than the WAC-residing Broncos. But many believe motivation might be a factor in this contest as the Eagles are disappointed to have slipped to this lower tier bowl after a very good season. Indeed, Boston College was ranked in the AP Top 25 in all but two weeks. That was BC's most consistent poll showing since being ranked every week in 1984, Doug Flutie's Heisman Trophy season. How, then, did BC wind up playing in a bowl game that is supposed to take the No. 6 team from the conference, and is located in Boise, Idaho? "Let's face it," said BC head coach Tom O'Brien during a conference call. "Bowls have always been and will be about selling tickets." Passed over by the Peach, the Champs Sports, and even the Meineke Car Care Bowl, which BC played a year ago, when it was called the Continental Tire Bowl - BC wound up in the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, where they will take on the hometown Boise State Broncos. O'Brien noted the factor of BC being a northern school playing in a southern conference as hurting its chances of receiving a more attractive bid. Fears that the BC fan base will not travel well to the bowl site may have also lead to what occurred as many of the 56 bowl bids were handed out Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, BC’s HC O'Brien's did state that his team goal is to win, wherever the team is sent to play. "There's really no such thing as going to a bad bowl," remarked O'Brien, adding, "It is an opportunity to win our ninth game, which is the most important thing for this team." As BC holds the nation's longest bowl winning streak (five), O'Brien stressed that the Eagles would play inspired football. "There's a lot on the line," O'Brien noted. "If we can get to six, that's awfully special." In summary, although the Eagles may be disappointed that the No. 19 football team has to play in an “un-sexy” bowl game, it is also equally clear that BC is also happy just to make a bowl game for the seventh consecutive season. "If we have to go play in a parking lot," O'Brien said, "we will!" Boston College is not the only team with potential motivational problems, as Boise coach Dan Hawkins is leaving Boise to replace Gary Barnett at Colorado. Hawkins will be coaching this game but that hardly means business as usual. A level of continuity is assured with offensive coordinator Chris Petersen, but it is possible only two other assistants will stick around, while several are leaving for Colorado, and others will not be hired at either place, which means lots of distractions for both coaches and players.
The Broncos' home field advantage and deception-style offense, which Boston College is unaccustomed to defending, can get them their moments, but if Boston College is motivated, it won't be enough. Fundamentally, Boise State will have a very difficult time matching up with Boston College on either side of the ball. BC’s defensive front has held opponents to just a shade more than 96 rushing yards per game this season, which is terrible news for a Boise State club that must establish their running game to be effective. The Broncos will have to find a way to run it because if they can't, the Boston College pass rush, which registered 32 sacks this season, will pressure and rattle quarterback Jared Zabransky. On defense, Boise will have to contend with one of most dominating offensive lines ever to step on a college football field. This group will be extremely difficult for Boise State to contend with, especially after they were dominated by the two best offensive lines they faced this season in Georgia and Fresno State. Under the guidance of HC Hawkins, Boise has averaged 41.9 points per game. Nevertheless, Boston College did not allow 31 points in any game this season. This is not good news for the Bronco’s as they have never covered as a home favorite when the Broncos were held to under 31 and is just 1-7 ATS as chalk when failing to reach 31 points. BC has the clear advantage in talent as Boise probably doesn't have more than three or four players who would start for BC. Though BC is disappointed in their bowl slot, they are clearly better, and Boise is disappointed and distracted with the loss of their longtime head coach.
Forecast: Boston College 24, Bois State 17
PLAY 1* UNIT ON BOSTON COLLEGE -2
PLAY 1* UNIT ON BOSTON COLLEGE/BOISE STATE UNDER 53
It's always noon somewhere! 
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