Huskies win Holiday Bowl 19-7

Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP Chris Polk

Click here for 2010 Holiday Bowl Preview.

As I sit here on a cold New Year’s Eve in Arizona in my Washington Huskies Holiday Bowl sweatshirt, I am quite happy that the same team (Nebraska) didn’t embarrass the Huskies twice in one season and once in a bowl game. This time, the Huskies flexed their muscles and beat the Cornhuskers 19-7.

Earlier in the season Taylor Martinez and the rest of the Nebraska football team beat the Huskies 56-21. However, that one game did not stop the Huskies in their first bowl game since 2002. Everyone loves a comeback, now especially Husky fans.

Washington sophomore tailback Chris Polk rushed for only 55 yards in the first meeting between these two teams in September. On a cold Thursday night in San Diego, Polk had one of the best games of his short career at Washington with 177 yards rushing with a touchdown and 22 yards receiving. Those stats helped him lock the Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP Award. Quarterback Jake Locker did not have a good outing in September against Nebraska but did not have an outstanding game in the Holiday Bowl but was able to do what he was known for in his early years on Montlake Boulevard, running the ball. Locker rushed for 83 yards and added the other touchdown in the game. Passing was not necessary for this victory.

Along with the offense stepping up, the defense improved tenfold. They recovered one fumble and caught one interception as well as forcing “star” quarterback Taylor Martinez to leave the game. The Washington defense also drew a holding in the end zone against Nebraska to give the Huskies 2 points on the safety. The defense held Nebraska to 189 total yards (98 passing/91 rushing) and had a great game from Holiday Bowl Defensive MVP linebacker Mason Foster. With everything going great for the Huskies, something had to go wrong. Kicker Eric Folk missed two field goals, both to the left with one hitting the goal post.

The Huskies finished this great year with a 7-6 record, much better than their 0-12 record from two years ago. They will hope to have another successful year next year without their star players Locker and Foster. There will also be some competition for the quarterback position between Keith Price, who played against then #1 ranked Oregon and in the Holiday Bowl when Locker got hurt, and Nick Montana, the name explains everything.

Click here for photos from the 2010 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California.

2011 BCS Championship Game

On January 10, 2011, Auburn and Oregon will play in Glendale, AZ to find out who is the best team in the country. The BCS Championship game this year features 2 of the 3 undefeated teams (Oregon, Auburn, TCU) in college football. The game features Heisman winner, the $200,000-man, Cam Newton for Auburn and Heisman candidate LaMichael James who finished 3rd in the voting. The game is sure to be a good one and nobody is quite sure who will win. Vote in the poll below for who you think will win the BCS National Championship Game…

Washington Huskies 2010 Holiday Bowl

Since their season two years ago, people knew the Washington Huskies football team couldn’t get any worse. In 2008, they had the worst record in college football at 0-12 and fired their coach. They got a new coach from USC, Steve Sarkisian, and had a respectable 5-7 record last season. Quarterback Jake Locker had the opportunity to leave college football and be the #1 (or top-5 at least) pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Instead, Locker decided to come back to Seattle for his senior season so he could experience something new to him, a bowl game.

At the beginning of the 2010 season, many people had high hopes for Jake Locker and the Huskies. Locker was projected to be a Heisman candidate and lead the Huskies to an unlikely Rose Bowl appearance. In week 1 however, the Huskies lost an easily winnable game to BYU 23-17. Locker’s Heisman hopes were erase after he failed to lead his team to a late victory. The next week the Huskies rebounded to beat Syracuse and looked forward to a good game against Nebraska. The game did not go in the favor of Washington. The then #8 ranked Cornhuskers won 56-21 and limited Jake Locker to completing only 4 of his 20 passes and 2 interceptions. The game was a nail in the proverbial coffin of Locker’s hopes of being one of the best quarterbacks in college football. The Huskies were able to give #18 USC their first loss of the season the next week. The 2-2 Huskies lost 4 of their next 5 games. After their bye week, the Huskies won a nationally televised Thursday night game against UCLA and needed to win their next two games to be bowl eligible. Jake Locker, broken ribs and all, was able to lead his team to victories over California and Washington State, sealing their bowl hopes.

The Huskies clinched a berth in the 2010 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California against… NEBRASKA. The Huskies wish to avoid another terrible loss in their first bowl game since 2002. Since the loss to Nebraska in September, the Huskies have begin to rely less on quarterback Jake Locker and give sophomore running back Chris Polk more opportunities to shine. He finished the year with 1238 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. For Nebraska, quarterback Taylor Martinez hasn’t been as good as he was against Washington earlier and the season and has been plagued by injuries. Currently, Nebraska is a 14 point favorite to win the game on December 30th. However, Washington is going to give Nebraska a run for their money and try for a win in Jake Locker’s last collegiate game.

New Year’s Day Sports

January 1: A great day for Sports

Professional sports are never late to start. The Winter Classic, the NHL’s outdoor hockey game, and many premier college bowl games will be played on the first day of the year.

NHL Winter Classic

The Boston Bruins will host the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park in Boston. The third Winter Classic will host one of the most famous rivalries in the NHL. The Bruins hope to stop the recurring tradition of the Away team winning the past games, including the predecessor to the Winter Classic, the Heritage Classic. This will be the first time that Ty Conklin is not on the outdoors ice. He played as an Oiler in Alberta in 2003, a Penguin in Orchard Park, NY, and as a Red Wing in Wrigley Field in Chicago in 2009. It will be 33° in Boston, perfect outdoor hockey weather.

Rose Bowl

The PAC-10 Champion, Oregon Ducks, will take on The Ohio State University Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will try and lead the Ducks to victory in their 4^th Rose Bowl apperance. My Pick: Ducks win

Sugar Bowl

The Florida Gators will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. The game will be Tim Tebow’s last college game and coach Urban Meyer’s last before he takes his famous leave of absence. The Gators will be playing inspired football and would want to win a game for one of their best quarterbacks of all time. My Pick: Gators win

Texas Tech fires head coach Mike Leach

Leach was fired for the treatment of an injured player

“I don’t believe Leach should have been fired. There are more aggressive coaches in college football…”

Texas Tech fired their football coach, Mike Leach, after he sued the school about his suspension from the team. Leach would have received $800,000 bonus in his contract. Texas Tech suspended Leach from coaching the Red Raiders against the Michigan State Spartans in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, TX.

The controversy arose when Leach sent WR Adam Jones into a shed during practice because Jones had a mild concussion. Leach apparently said he would kick Jones off the team if he left the shed. Texas Tech said if Leach did not apologize, in writing, by December 28, he would be fired. Leach refused to do so and so Texas Tech took action and suspended Leach. Then, Leach sued the school looking to coach his team in the Alamo Bowl. Texas Tech fired Leach due to “a defiant act of insubordination.” Defensive Coordinator, Ruffin McNeill, will coach the team in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday. Players have since come out and said that Leach has been abusive with players before. The controversy will play-out well into 2010.

I don’t believe Leach should have been fired. There are more aggressive coaches in college football that may have done worse things. Leach is just one of the few to get caught. Sure, the situation could have been managed better. Leach shouldn’t have made Jones sit in a shed one time and an electrical closet the next. There are better places to send atheletes with concussions. Whether this takes place at other schools, high school or college, or even with NFL teams, we will find out.

Last February, Leach signed a 5-year contract extension with Texas Tech.

Urban Meyer Changes his Mind

*From original Blogspot Blog. Original Date 12-27-2009

The University of Florida recently unveiled a new major – Flip-Fliopping 101 with Professor Billy Donovan and Student-teacher Urban Meyer.

Yesterday, UF football coach Urban Meyer says he will take an indefinite leave of absence rather than resign. Meyer will coach the team in the Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati on January 1. In the offseason and the next year, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio will coach the Gators until Meyer is fit to return.

Gators men’s basketball coach Billy Donovan had a similar incident. In 2007, Donovan accepted the head coaching position with the Orlando Magic. He decided, 5 days later, that he would like to coach the Florida Gators than a professional basketball team.

I am tired with people in sports who cannot make a straight decision and stick to it a la Brett Favre. But, I never really liked the University of Florida.

Urban Meyer steps Down as Florida Head Coach

*From original Blogspot Blog. Original Date: 12-26-2009

Urban Meyer, the coach who lead the University of Florida to two national football titles, is stepping down due to health concerns. Meyer checked into a hospital after the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta which Florida lost to Alabama.

Meyer first began his career as a head coach at Bowling Green in 2001. After going 17-6 in two years, he left to coach at the University of Utah. It was there where he had the opportunity to coach the future 1st overall NFL Draft pick, Alex Smith. He was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in his first year with a 10-2 record. He then received acknowledgement for his own type of offense with produces quarterbacks that are not fit for the NFL. (ex: Tim Tebow) His offense is said to be an offshoot of Bill Walsh’s West Coast Offense. In 2004, the Utah Utes beat Pittsburgh in the BCS Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ, which gave Utah its first perfect season (12-0) since 1930.

In 2005, he signed a 7-year contract with the University of Florida. He signed several contract extensions which would not be necessary due to his resignation. His history with Florida is one you all should know. Meyer lead his team to 2 National Championship games, winning both of them. He has a 5-1 Bowl Game Record*. (*Florida play Cincinnatti in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2010.) He produced a Heisman award winner in Tim Tebow during his time in Gainesville.

His legacy as a winning coach will be remembered, but he does not have a legacy of creating professional-quality quarterbacks like Pete Carrol at USC. Alex Smith (Utah) has not had a successful career with the San Francisco 49ers and Chris Leak (UF) had a short career in the NFL, being on the Chicago Bears’ 2006 post-Super Bowl team.

Meyer is the winningest coach with the highest winning percentage (84.1%) of any coach with a minimum of five years at a Football Bowl Subdivision program. I believe that Urban Meyer is a high quality coach that any college football team would want if they wish to have a successful football program. If he decides to return to coach, any school will benefit from him.