TWTW Bowling: FSU Finds Way To Win In Atlanta

((HT: WSPA-TV))

EJ Manuel threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to lead Florida State to a 26-17 victory over turnover-plagued South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

The guys from Columbia had five on the night... turnovers, not points... although it felt like it...

Chris Thompson ran for 147 yards and a score. Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals for the Seminoles (now 10-4), who reached 10 wins for the first time since 2003.

Manuel took over for oft-injured Christian Ponder, who left early in the second quarter with a concussion. South Carolina lost running back Marcus Lattimore when he was hit hard on the Gamecocks' first drive by Greg Reid, and their offense was somewhat handicapped for the rest of the night.

South Carolina (now 9-5) was seeking its first 10-win season since 1984.

Here's CBS7's wrap-up from Atlanta...

OSG Sports Bowl Pick 'em....

Time to see if you are smarter than your friends at OSG Sports. We'll list all the bowl games and make our picks...for what they are worth. See if you can do better. We'd offer a prize, but since this is a part-time, love of doing it blog that doesn't make a whole lot of money, we don't have any prizes to offer other than being able to gloat that you are smarter than we are.

So here we go: There are like 500 of these games...geez!

New Mexico Bowl. How does New Mexico get a bowl? Their college football is awful. The game: UTEP 33, BYU 28

Nelson: They get a bowl since they have a Convention and Visitors Bureau that'll pay for it... BYU 34-31

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl. On the smurf turf. Good luck and happy Smurfing. The game: Fresno St. 31, N. Illinois 21


Nelson: Northern Illinois' was killed when their head coach went to Minnesota...
Get it...??? Fresno 35-17

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Or proof you just need to make up a name to sponsor a game. The Game: Troy 42, Ohio 21


Nelson: I saw an R&L Carrier the other day. It was pimping the Matt Kenseth stock car and not the bowl game... Troy 27-21

Beef O'Brady's Bowl. We'll lay off the jokes, but if you go to Beef O'Brady's...well you are taking your life in your hands. The Game: So.Miss 29, Louisville 23


Nelson: Louisville is just average... USM 31-21

MAACO Bowl Las Vegas. Uh huh. At least it's a free trip to Vegas. The Game. Boise St. 38, Utah 31


Nelson: Vegas, baby... I think this will be one of the more interesting games of the season... Boise won't cover the huge number... 42-31

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsetta. Can't this just be an acronym? Or a San Diego State extra home game? The Game: Navy 35, SDSU 28


Nelson: This one will be a blast... awesome, underrated match-up... I'll agree with Phil, 35-28 is about right...

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. The game has lost its luster but it can't be that bad a trip, can it? The Game: Hawaii 44, Tulsa 21


Nelson: Tulsa is just interested in the flight over and the perks... Hawai'i 34-26

Little Caesar's Bowl. Does the winner get a $5 Hot 'n Ready? Why go to Detroit in December? Is this a reward? The Game: Toledo 37, FIU 21


Nelson: Toledo by default... 31-21

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl. This is Karma for Ga.Tech for laughing at UGA for playing in this game last year. The Game. Ga. Tech 23, Air Force 21


Nelson: This is karma for Ga. Tech laughing at UGA for playing in this game last year... Air Force 28-17

Champs Sports Bowl. Not much funny to say here except it sucks to be Bill Stewart for the next 365 days. The Game: NC State 29, W.Va. 23


Nelson: Isn't it less than 365 days by now...??? WBGV 31-21

Insight Bowl. Maybe they'll see something better than most of us. Aw...that's not even funny dude. Insert Iowa joke here. The Game: Missouri 37, Iowa 24


Nelson: This game is in the weeds... Missouri 31-10

Military Bowl Pres. by Northrop Grumman. Huh? Can someone explain why a military contractor is sponsoring a bowl game? Anybody? Bueller? The Game. Maryland 28, E.Carolina 10


Nelson: Maryland gives Friedge an early retirement present... 27-17...

Texas Bowl. Further proof they play bowl games just to say they play bowl games...and anyone is eligible. The Game: Baylor 41, Illinois 21


Nelson: Average, avergage, average... Illinois 37-31

Valero Alamo Bowl. Yeah...Swell. The Game: Oklahoma St. 49, Arizona 28


Nelson: Will Dana Holgorsen show up...??? Arizona 31-27

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. With all due respect to the Armed Forces....Why this game? The Game: SMU 23, Army 21


Nelson: Why...? Because they can and Army had a great year... SMU 35-27

New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Yay. Just what we always wanted. A bowl game in Yankee stadium. Quick, let's all run out and buy tickets. The Game: Syracuse 31, K-State 24


Nelson: I heard that Hank Steinbrenner gets to fire the losing coach after the game... Syracuse 24-17...

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. Joy. I actually covered this game many, many years ago in an Ice Storm. Yeah, it was as unpleasant as it sounds. The Game: Tennessee 34, UNC 21


Nelson: Still unpleasant... UNC 28-24...

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl. I'm getting tired of this already. Explain again why so many bowl games? The Game: Nebraska 31, Washington 30

Nelson: This should be everyone's "35" in their confidence pool. Remember, these two have already played and Washington got clocked... Nebraska 38-21...

Meineke Car Care Bowl: Wouldn't it be cool if they just fixed your car instead? The Game: Clemson 23, South Florida 13

Nelson: Actually, Belk is the sponsor next year... Coupons to everyone who shows...?
Clemson 24-14...

Hyundai Sun Bowl: For some reason, this game always has something weird and crazy attached to it. Have no idea why. The Game: Miami 27, Notre Dame 23

Nelson: This game means something... to those living in the 1980's...
They tie at 12...

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: At least the BBQ is good in Memphis. The Game: Georgia 38, UCF 28

Nelson: UGA best beware of the coach with the limp handshake...
"How we doin'?" UCF 34-24...

Chick-fil-A Bowl: This is always a good game and it always sells out. It's actually a pretty fun experience. But wouldn't any event that gives away Chick-fil-a sandwich's as the press meal? The Game: S.Carolina 34, FSU 23

Nelson: FSU will find a way to lose... if there was a "Wide straight" they'd find it... Sakerlina 30-28

Ticket City Bowl: Huh? Is this just an excuse for the old Cotton Bowl stadium to have a game or what? Texas Tech 31, Northwestern 21


Nelson: Yes, it is... Texas Tech 34-28

Outback Bowl: The people running this game are insane, but it's kinda tough to top the halftime meal. Steaks and potato's for everybody! The Game: Penn St. 21, Florida 17

Nelson: Agreed... this may be the fastest bowl game of the season... Penn State 21-10

Capital One Bowl: Never been able to figure out how this is considered a prestige game. But it is...and has been. Go figure. The Game: Alabama 31, Michigan St. 20


Nelson: I think Bama is angry enough to take out some frustrations on the Dantonios.
31-24...

Progressive Gator Bowl: Suppose it's better than the Regressive one. The Game: Miss.St. 38, Michigan 31

Nelson: This game will get Rich-Rod fired... MSU 21-17

Ladies and Gentleman....Your Corrupt BCS:

Rose Bowl presented by Vizio: Who are you? Who who who who? Who are you? Who who who who. Sorry, got distracted. This Game: TCU 41, Wisconsin 33

Nelson: Wisconsin pulls it out late... 35-31

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Kinda partial to the Lime flavored ones myself. Just sayin'. The Game: Oklahoma 43, UConn 21

Nelson: UConn is taking a bath on this one financially, and they'll do it on the field, too... 45-24...

Discover Orange Bowl: This game was much more fun when it was at the old Orange Bowl. With the killer halftime show.  The Game: Stanford 24, Va. Tech 21

Nelson: Angry Stanford does their best on Tyrod Taylor... 31-21...

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Tough to beat New Orleans for New Years...if only that was when they played the game. The Game: Arkansas 43, Ohio St. 28

Nelson: How many years in a row can TOSU get beat by an SEC squad...???
Arkansas 41-27...

More Non-BCS Crap Games:


GoDaddy.com Bowl: What are the odds Danica Patrick is here. Really that would be the only reason to go. The Game: Miami (OH) 23, MTSU 17

Nelson: No Mike Hayward means no win... Mit-Soo 24-20

ATT Cotton Bowl: I know. This isn't a crap game like say...the one above it here. The Game: LSU 24, Texas A&M 17

Nelson: This wil find a way to be a crap game... LSU 5-4...

BBVA Compass Bowl: And this was created for and sponsored by whom? The Game: Kentucky 31, Pitt. 21

Nelson: They're a bank... Kentucky 27-20 despite Dion Lewis...

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Is that anything like "Fight the Power"? Another of the why games...The Game: Nevada 34, Boston College 21

Nelson: Straight outta Compton, straight into SanFran... Neh-vad-uh 31-20

AND YOUR CORRUPT BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

This might as well be a basketball game. First one to 100 wins. It may go 5 hours...if not longer. Most of the commercial breaks will be longer than the TD drives. Really, aside from TCU you can't argue that these aren't the two best teams. I think last year's Alabama team crushes either one of them...but that's not this year. The only really lamentable part of this is that we have to wait so Frickin' long before they play it.

Your BCS Championship Game: Auburn 64, Oregon 58

Nelson: I absolve myself of a pick because of a vested interest and partiality from TBH...

((Ed--Or abstain from picking--or recuse---or don't want to mess with it))

TWTW: Your 2010 Bowl Matchups

New Mexico Bowl
BYU vs. UTEP
Albuquerque, N.M.
University Stadium
December 18
2 p.m. ESPN

uDrove Humanitarian
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
Boise, Idaho
Bronco Stadium
December 18
5:30 p.m. ESPN

R+L Carriers New Orleans
Ohio vs. Troy
New Orleans
Louisiana Superdome
December 18
9 p.m. ESPN

Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg
Southern Mississippi vs. Louisville
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Tropicana Field
December 21
8 p.m. ESPN

MAACO Las Vegas
Utah vs. Boise State
Las Vegas
Sam Boyd Stadium
December 22
8 p.m. ESPN

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia
Navy vs. San Diego State
San Diego
Qualcomm Stadium
December 23
8 p.m. ESPN

Sheraton Hawaii
Hawaii vs. Tulsa
Honolulu
Aloha Stadium
December 24
8 p.m. ESPN

Little Caesars
Florida International vs. Toledo
Detroit
Ford Field
December 26
8:30 p.m. ESPN

AdvoCare V100 Independence
Air Force vs. Georgia Tech
Shreveport, La.
Independence Stadium
December 27
5 p.m. ESPN2

Champs Sports
West Virginia vs. NC State
Orlando, Fla.
Florida Citrus Bowl
December 28
6:30 p.m. ESPN

Insight
Missouri vs. Iowa
Tempe, Arizona
Sun Devil Stadium
December 28
10 p.m. ESPN

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman
East Carolina vs. Maryland
Washington, D.C.
RFK Stadium
December 29
2:30 p.m. ESPN

Texas
Illinois vs. Baylor
Houston
Reliant Stadium
December 29
6 p.m. ESPN

Valero Alamo
Oklahoma State vs. Arizona
San Antonio
Alamodome
December 29
9:15 p.m. ESPN

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Army vs. SMU
Dallas
Gerald J. Ford Stadium
December 30
Noon ESPN

New Era Pinstripe
Kansas St. vs. Syracuse
Bronx, N.Y.
Yankee Stadium
December 30
3:20 p.m. ESPN

Franklin American Mortgage Music City
North Carolina vs. Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
LP Field
December 30
6:40 p.m. ESPN

Bridgepoint Education Holiday
Nebraska vs. Washington
San Diego
Qualcomm Stadium
December 30
10 p.m. ESPN

Meineke Car Care
South Florida vs. Clemson
Charlotte, North Carolina
Bank of America Stadium
December 31
Noon ESPN

Hyundai Sun
Notre Dame vs. Miami
El Paso, Texas
Sun Bowl
December 31
2 p.m. CBS

AutoZone Liberty
Georgia vs. UCF
Memphis, Tennessee
Liberty Bowl
December 31
3:30 p.m. ESPN

Chick-fil-A
South Carolina vs. Florida State
Atlanta
Georgia Dome
December 31
7:30 p.m. ESPN

TicketCity
Northwestern vs. Texas Tech
Dallas
Cotton Bowl
January 1
Noon ESPNU

Outback
Florida vs. Penn State
Tampa, Florida
Raymond James Stadium
January 1
1 p.m. ABC

Capital One
Alabama vs. Michigan State
Orlando, Florida
Florida Citrus Bowl
January 1
1 p.m. ESPN

Gator Bowl
Mississippi State vs. Michigan
Jacksonville, Florida
Municipal Stadium
January 1
1:30 p.m. ESPN2

Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO
Wisconsin vs. TCU
Pasadena, California
Rose Bowl
January 1
5 p.m. ESPN

Tostitos Fiesta
Connecticut vs. Oklahoma
Glendale, Arizona
U. of Phoenix Stadium
January 1
8:30 p.m. ESPN/ESPN3D

Discover Orange
Stanford vs. Virginia Tech
Miami
Sun Life Stadium
January 3
8:30 p.m. ESPN

Allstate Sugar
Ohio State vs. Arkansas
New Orleans
Louisiana Superdome
January 4
8:30 p.m. ESPN

GoDaddy.com
Middle Tennessee vs. Miami (Ohio)
Mobile, Alabama
Ladd-Peebles Stadium
January 6
8 p.m. ESPN

AT&T Cotton
LSU vs. Texas A&M
Arlington, Texas
Cowboys Stadium
January 7
8 p.m. FOX

BBVA Compass Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky
Birmingham, Alabama
Legion Field
January 8
Noon ESPN

Kraft Fight Hunger
Nevada vs. Boston College
San Francisco
AT&T Park
January 9
9 p.m. ESPN

Tostitos BCS National Championship Game
Oregon vs. Auburn
Glendale, Arizona
U. of Phoenix Stadium
January 10
8:30 p.m. ESPN/ESPN3D

Regulators Got Tickets, Did Drugs On The Job In The Gulf

((HT: CNN))

Yeah, we know this is a news story...

But with an entire ecosystem going down the tubes in Louisiana, the HQ figured you might want to know about your government at work... or not at work...

Federal inspectors overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf accepted meals and tickets to sporting events from companies they monitored, according to the Interior Department's inspector general.

Some accepted tickets to the 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. One inspector told an office clerk, "Everyone has gotten some sort of gift before at some point," while another admitted that it was okay that they went because they were a big LSU fan...

This was the game held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta because of Hurricane Katrina...

An inspector in the Minerals Management Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana, conducted inspections of four offshore platforms while negotiating a job with the company. Others let oil and gas company workers fill out their inspection forms in pencil, with the inspectors writing over those entries in ink before turning them in.

Let's just say that the MMS is at the center of a big joke right now that has nothing- and everything- to do with British Petroleum...

Brian Todd was on patrol in Washington, DC

TWTW: Vols Heading To Chick-fil-A...???

((HT: WVLT-TV/Knoxville))

Smelling blood in the water, our friends at VolunteerTV decided to track down the President of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Gary Stokan, to feel out the process and see if he would commit to saying anything about the match-up...

As Stokan is very good at doing, he gives a lot of details without giving any details- if that makes any sense...

Here's their interview with one of the more powerful people in the college football business...

Tuesday Bowl Carousel: Let The Cycle Begin

Here's what we know...

Central Florida has accepted a bid to travel all the way from Orlando to St. Pete to play at The Juice Box against an as-of-yet-unknown opponent... could be Rutgers, UConn, or South Florida...

SMU accepted its first bowl bid in 25 years. They're going to the Hawai'i Bowl to take on an unknown opponent...

Looks like the Outback has Auburn and Wisconsin on New Year's Day. But Northwestern has a shot there as well.

The Gator is leaning toward the Bowden back-To-The-Future Bowl with Florida State and West Virginia on New Year's... the ACC is currently finagling that one...

Navy is heading to the Texas Bowl on New Year's Eve to take on a Big 12 opponent.

Jerry World gets Oklahoma State and Ole Miss for the Cotton Bowl...

Tennessee and Virginia Tech have the Chick-fil-A bowl on New Year's Eve...

Georgia gets to travel to Shreveport for the Independence Bowl, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta and the Athens Banner-Herald newspaper...

While the bowl executive director would not commit one way or the other on the Dawgs, Missy Setters acknowledged UGA and South Carolina are on their radar. Missouri, Iowa State, and Texas A&M are rumored from the Big 12 side.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal has Arkansas heading to the Liberty Bowl to take on the Conference USA champ- either East Carolina or Houston. They also have LSU headed to the Citrus to play Penn State.

That means that the Music City gets Kentucky to play either Miami or North Carolina, and the Pizza Bowl in Birmingham gets South Carolina to play a Big East opponent.

Got all that...???
There's a test later...

Teeing it Up

OSG Sports got the opportunity yesterday to attend an event that can only be described as "Interesting". We were in attendance yesterday at the 3rd annual "Chick Fil-A Bowl Coaches Golf Tournament". Unfortunately for Chick Fil-A, this year attendance was down to 5 groups of 4.

It's always intersting to us to see a gathering of College Football Coaches and particularly one like this where it is mostly coaches, a few odd boosters and even fewer members of the media. They generally seem to enjoy the event, put on at Reynolds Plantation in Middle of Nowhere, Georgia and if you looked carefully, there was actually some bonding going on.

We saw Steve Spurrier and Jim Grobe yucking it up on the course along with the Johnson's, Paul and Bobby who were paired together. Seeing Nick Saban and Houston Nutt eating lunch and visiting for a long while also struck us as interesting, but a good thing.

While it would be nice for regular Joe's to get opportunities to play in Charity Golf Tournaments such as this one, for once it was actually nice to see these guys getting along off of the field and some of them are actually pretty good golfers. We saw Paul Johnson hit a 100 yard approach inside of 3 feet on 16. Your winners, for the 2nd year in a row, the 'Ol Ball Coach and his playing partner, Sterling Sharpe.

((photos courtesy of: Brant Sanderlin/AJC.com))

New Years Eve = Bowl Bonanza

5 bowl games on New Years Eve. No reason to leave your lazy boy recliner today. Grab a bag of chips and dip plus a cold beverage of your choice and watch the football day unfold. Here's what's on the docket and the perks.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl - December 31 - Amon G. Carter Stadium, Ft. Worth, TX
Air Force vs Houston (I'm leaning toward the Cougars)

What's In The Prize Box?: Players from both teams receive a flip video recorder, an official bowl watch, a commemorative football, a rolling suitcase, a mini-helmet with bowl logo, an ESPN t-shirt and a luggage tag with bowl logo.

The flip video recorder sounds good but the rest, give it away. An ESPN t-shirt, PLA - leese.

SWAG Meter: 5

Bowl Event: Team Kickoff Luncheon and the Armed Forces Adventure. The bowl always tries to have an inspirational speaker and this year is no exception. Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, who lost both legs to a bomb in Iraq and has served as an inspiration for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, was the featured speaker

Final Analysis: Not a bad match-up for non-BCS schools that fly under the radar (pardon the pun). Should be an entertaining game. It's worth a serious look because both teams love offense.

Brut Sun Bowl - December 31 - Sun Bowl Stadium - El Paso, Texas
Oregon State vs Pittsburgh (I'll take the Panthers to win)

Swag Me: Players from both teams receiver a Sony DVD Handycam, a Timely Watch Co. silverstone watch, an Armor Gear Dolly Liama Travel Bag. a Majestic Therma Fleece Pullover, a Brut hair dryer, a VP Sports Stone cap and an official Brut Sun Bowl souvenir cup.

A HAIR DRYER!!!! Both teams will be well groomed for this one. Other than that and a coin the gift haul is not bad.

SWAG Meter: 7 (The hair dryer and coin really effected this score)

Bowl Event: A Day with the Troops. Players will have an opportunity to get an up close look at what the U.S. Army does. They will get a rare look many pieces of military equipment and check out U. S. Army training simulators. Really cool.

Final Analysis: 2 teams I'm really not the crazy about. I may sit this one out. If you do watch I suspect this game will be a grid with Pitt winning because of their stingy defense.

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl - December 31 - LP Field, Nashville, TN
Vanderbilt vs Boston College (I like the Eagles)

Gifts That Keep On Giving: Today is the day the Vanderbilt players learn about bowl swag. Did they have swag 27 years ago, the last time the Commodores went bowling. Players from each team get a Music City Bowl Fossil watch, a Sony Electronics package that includes noise cancelling headphones and MP3 player, an Addias fleece jacket and an Armor Gear backpack.

You have to love the Sony package and the watch isn't bad either.

SWAG Meter: 9

Bowl Event: Rib eating contest between Vandy and B.C. 4 player from both teams try to eat as many ribs as they can in 2 seconds. Boston College won a close one 29-28 to take the rib eating title.

Final Analysis: This should be a good match up so for me it's a must see. Boston College's defense is stout and should carry the day in Nashville. The game probably won't be as close as the rib eating contest. By the way, Vanderbilt waits 27 years to play in a bowl game and the Commodores can't leave town. They stay in Nashville. Unbelievable.

Insight Bowl - December 31 - Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ
Kansas vs Minnesota (KU should win this one by 2 TD's)

What Do They Win Dan Pardo?: Well players from each school will receive a Vizio 26" LCD HD television, a Bulova Insight Bowl watch, a snack pack and a game hat.

Small gift package but pretty darn good

SWAG Meter: 8 (You get an HD TV and you score high)

Bowl Event: Block party in downtown Tempe. Its combined with the Fiesta Bowl. This year Styx is performing.

Final Analysis: The outcome of this game will be a secret since it's being shown on the NFL Network. Read your morning paper for results.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl - December 31 - Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
LSU vs Georgia Tech (I pick the Yellow Jackets)

This Isn't Chicken Scratch: Players on both teams will get a $300 Best Buy gift card, a travel bag, a commemorative watch and a Chick-Fil-A football and gift card

Disappointing. This is one of the best bowls BCS or non-BCS but it's player gifts rank with the New Orleans Bowl. I guess the players can eat more chicken.

SWAG Meter: 2

Bowl Event: The Georgia Power Football Feud. Think Family Feud with very large men.

Final Analysis: I love this match up. I can't wait to see how Georgia Tech's offense does against LSU's NFL caliber defense. The Tigers still have athletes but I think the Jackets may be disciplined enough on offense to get by, but it will be a close one.