Final Bowl Blog.

Fiesta Bowl
Boise State 17 TCU 10 January 4, 2010, Glendale, AZ

The results of this game came from  a combination of two factors.  First, Boise State's coaching staff and players were well prepared for the game, where the TCU staff was not.  Second, TCU had a bad game with poor execution on offense.  The TCU defense played it's game well--except for the drive where the fake punt led to a BSU touchdown.

The game did not have the magic that either BSU's win over Oklahoma had four seasons ago, nor did it have the magic that Utah's win over Alabama had last year.  The overall game was kind of a dud.

This does not mean that TCU will not be the conference favorite going into the 2010 season.  It depends on how many of the Frog Stars decide to enter the NFL draft.  It will still be the big 3 with the rest of the conference attempting to catch up.  However, my conference favorite for next season is Utah, which means that BYU will win it. As for Boise State, they are still miles and miles ahead of the rest of the WAC.

FCS Championship Game

Villanova 23 Montana 21
Congratulations to Villanova on their win over Montana.  The Wildcats showed the country how to beat the Grizzlies.  They made Chase Reynolds a non-factor and forced Andy Selle to win the game by himself.  That he almost did, but the Grizz could not recover the on-side kick at the end.

New Mexico Bowl

Wyoming 35 Fresno State 28
This was supposed to be a party for Ryan Matthews.  He was supposed to impress the heck out of all of the NFL scouts.  But 24,000 people in Albuquerque, most clad in prairie gold and brown ,witnessed a coming out party for Austyn Carta-Samuels and the Wyoming Cowboys.  When the game was on the line, when the Bulldogs were up by three in the final third of the fourth quarter, Ryan Matthews was forced to cough up the football.  What followed was a gutsy drive by Carta-Samuels and company, where they converted 3 fourth downs on the way to kicking the game tying field goal.  In  the OT, the Wyoming defense held on for the win

Las Vegas Bowl
BYU 44 Oregon State 20
The difference in this game is that Max Hall and BYU could handle the wind, but Oregon State could not.  Even when the wind was at their back, the Beavers had trouble.  That was where the game turned around.  Whether the wind caught the ball, or it was a planned lateral, the fumble return turned the game around for good and OSU could not get on track until the fourth quarter.

Poinsettia Bowl
Utah 37 vs California 27
Jordan Wynn looked a little shaky at first, but bounced back nicely.  Shaky is an understatement.  It was a near disaster at the beginning.  Before you could sit down with your nachos and Coke, Cal had a 14-0 lead.  There was no panic in Wynn, he settled down and had the best game of his young collegiate career, do date.  The Utes had little trouble putting the Bears away at the end.  Stevenson Sylvester put away Cal for good in the fourth quarter.


Hawaii Bowl
SMU 45 Nevada 10
June Jones returns to Aloha Stadium, but it was the Ponies that ran away with this one and not the Wolfpack.  Nevada only turned the ball over once, and that led to SMU's last touchdown.  The Mustang defense held the Wolfpack rushers to just 137 yards on the ground.  If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed that Luke Lippincott and Via Taua would not be playing and I would have predicted it differently.


Armed Forces Bowl
Air Force 47 Houston 20
The Air Force pass defense is back!  They rebounded from a disappointing season finale to force one of the best quarterbacks in the country into 6 interceptions.  And do not take anything away from the way that Jared Tew and Asher Clark played on offense.  This game was a complete Air Force victory.


Humanitarian Bowl
Idaho 43 Bowling Green 42
This stands out, so far, as the best bowl game of the season.  Idaho and BG trading scores in the waning moments of the game, with a gutsy two-point conversion call at the end to give the Vandals the victory.  That was also a 3-play drive in just 28 seconds, if you were keeping track.  Way to go, Idaho.

Swagger Awards for the Post-Season:
Big Sky
Offensive Player of the Post-Season: Montana RB Chase Reynolds
Defensive Team of the Post-Season: Montana vs Stephen F. Austin--earned a shutout.
Special Teams Player of the Post-Season: Montana K Brody McKnight-perfect on extra points in four post-season playoff games.
Game of the Post-Season: Montana 61 South Dakota State 48--FCS Quarterfinals

WAC
Offensive Player of the Post-Season: Idaho RB DeMaundray Woolridge
Defensive Team of the Post-Season: Boise State
Special Teams Player of the Post-Season: Boise State P Kyle Brotzman-Completed a fake punt pass in the 4th quarter of the Fiesta Bowl
Game of the Post-Season: Idaho 43 Bowling Green 42--Humanitarian Bowl

MWC
Offensive Players of the Post-Season: Air Force RB Jared Tew; Utah QB Jordan Wynn
Defensive Team of the Post-Season: Air Force
Special Teams Player of the Post-Season: BYU P Riley Stephenson-Many successful punts into the wind in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Game of the Post-Season: Wyoming 35 Fresno State 28--New Mexico Bowl