The Wiz of Odds

Bowl Game Confidential V

Trying to make sense of 35 bowl games in 24 days is a task too big for mere mortals, so we asked Mike Hlas, the award-winning Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist and force behind The Hlog, to review each of the games. Here is his fifth and final installment of Bowl Game Confidential.

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma 48, Connecticut 20. Announced attendance: 67,232. ... It was the fourth-lowest crowd ever for a BCS game. ... Oklahoma got its first Fiesta Bowl win since defeating Wyoming in 1976. ... Sooners quarterback Landry Jones threw for an OU bowl-record 429 yards. ..."The tempo — we just couldn't make some plays," UConn Coach Randy Edsall said. ...

Fun stat: UConn tied the record held by Florida State (2002 and 2005) of most losses by a BCS bowl team, with five.

Tweet: @stanfinger: So UConn is an automatic qualifier and TCU is not? Ma$$ive non$en$e, I tell ya.

Orange Bowl: Stanford 40, Virginia Tech 12. Announced attendance: 65,153. ... Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck had almost as many touchdown passes (4) as incompletions (5). ... All four TD throws went to tight ends. ... "We haven't seen a quarterback like that," Hokies linebacker Shayne Skov said. ... Virginia Tech wore orange helmets for the first time. Orange helmets didn't help the NFL's Cleveland Browns or Cincinnati Bengals this season, either.

Fun stats: Stanford will finish in the AP's top 5 for the first time since 1940. Virginia Tech fell to 1-27 against top-5 teams.

Bowl Game Confidential IV

Trying to make sense of 35 bowl games in 24 days is a task too big for mere mortals, so we asked Mike Hlas, the award-winning Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist and force behind The Hlog, to review each of the games. Here is his fourth installment of Bowl Game Confidential.

Holiday Bowl: Washington 19, Nebraska 7. Announced attendance: 57,921. ... Washington made a 47-point improvement from their September meeting in Seattle, a 56-21 Cornhusker victory. ... "It was a ridiculous performance," said Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini. About the rematch, that is.

Fun stat: Nebraska had more penalty yardage (102) than rushing yardage (91).

Tweet: @georgerapp: I'd say the #huskers laid an egg tonight, but that implies that there was actual pushing effort expended ... #fail

Meinke Car Care Bowl: South Florida 31, Clemson 26. Announced attendance: 41,122. ... It was the lowest crowd in the nine-year history of the bowl. ... More than 70,000 tickets were sold to the ACC title game in the same Charlotte stadium four weeks earlier. ... "I'm going to do everything within my power to make sure that I get us better as a football team and that this never happens again," Tiger coach Dabo Swinney said. ... Next year this becomes the Belk Bowl. Belk is a Charlotte-based department store.

Fun stat: It's the first losing season for Clemson (6-7) since 1998.

Tweet: @WesPhillips: Sorry alumni association, I'm not buying a shirt because we won the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Bowl Game Confidential III

Trying to make sense of 35 bowl games in 24 days is a task too big for mere mortals, so we asked Mike Hlas, the award-winning Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist and force behind The Hlog, to review each of the games. Here is his third installment of Bowl Game Confidential.

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Florida International 34, Toledo 32. Announced attendance: 32,431. ... It was the second-lowest crowd in the bowl's 14-year history. ... Toledo won on a last-second field goal after a hook-and-lateral barely got a first-down to keep the final drive going ... "What these men have achieved is historical," said FIU coach Mario Cristobal, whose program was playing in its first bowl.

Fun stat: It was the third consecutive year the Big Ten didn't have enough bowl-eligible teams to send a squad to the bowl. Nonetheless, the conference has extended its agreement with the bowl through 2013.

Tweet: @XavierWestside: I think Little Caesars should invent a literal Pizza Bowl. That's what I think they should do!

Independence Bowl: Air Force 14, Georgia Tech 7. Announced attendance: 39,362. ... A Georgia Tech press release said this: “Georgia Tech's special ticket offer to the Advocare V100 Independence Bowl — priced at $14 in honor of the Yellow Jackets' 14th consecutive bowl appearance — has been extended through Christmas." Face value for the tickets was $42 and $37. ... Air Force's live falcon mascot normally flies into the stadium at the start of games, but he flew out of the stadium and wandered around Shreveport. It was found later.

Fun stat: It was Georgia Tech's sixth consecutive bowl loss.

Tweet: @Pnbuker: Dept. of who can blame him? Air Force Falcon flies away before Independence Bowl in Shreveport.

Bowl Game Confidential II

Trying to make sense of 35 bowl games in 24 days is a task too big for mere mortals, so we asked Mike Hlas, the award-winning Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist and force behind The Hlog, to review each of the games. Here is his second installment of Bowl Game Confidential.

Beef O'Brady's Bowl: Louisville 31, Southern Mississippi 28. Announced attendance: 20,017. ... USM used only 3,000 of its allotted 10,000 tickets. Louisville sold all 10,000. ... Louisville wanted to avoid any bowl that would have conflicted with the Dec. 31 men's basketball game against Kentucky, which would have cut deeply into the football travel base.

Fun Stat: The much-maligned Big East is 3-0 in this bowl, all at the expense of Conference USA teams.

Tweet: @MattBellner I've seen a lot of great Beef O' Brady Bowls in my lifetime but tonight's was the best ever!

Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State 26, Utah 3. Announced attendance: 41,923. ... It was the second-largest crowd in bowl history ... The two teams didn't get along at the welcome reception at the Hard Rock. "Some pushing and shoving, some dishes broken," said Mark Wallington, the media director for the bowl. ... Utah's nine-game bowl winning streak was snapped. ... Boise State had more tackles for loss (nine) than Utah had first downs (eight). ... "It's not the way you want to leave the program," Utes senior center Zane Taylor said. "It's hard and it hurts. It hurts bad."... Boise State's Kyle Brotzman, of missed-kicks-in-Reno fame, set the Division I-A record for points by a kicker with 439.

Bowl Game Confidential

Trying to make sense of 35 bowl games in 24 days is a task too big for mere mortals, so we asked Mike Hlas, the award-winning Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist and force behind The Hlog, to review each of the games. Here is his first installment of Bowl Game Confidential.

New Mexico Bowl: Brigham Young 52, Texas El Paso 24: Announced attendance: 32,424. BYU improved to 7-6, while UTEP fell to 6-7. ... "I'm a big supporter and donor of UTEP athletics, but we have a bad habit of being embarrassed on national TV," Miners fan Lou Moreno told the El Paso Times. ... UTEP hasn't won a bowl since 1967.

Fun Stat: UTEP had minus-12 yards rushing.

Tweet: @owengood: New Mexico Bowl announces six-year tie-in pact matching up the WAC No. 4 team versus NFC West No. 1.

Humanitarian Bowl: Northern Illinois 40, Fresno State 17. Announced attendance: 25,449. The Fresno Bee estimated Fresno State sold 250 of its 3,000 allotted tickets. It gave 2,000 to charity. ... Interim NIU head coach Tom Matukewicz got the Gatorade bath. He said,  "It's cold, but it felt awesome." ... He added, "I feel sorry for Fresno State because they hit the perfect storm because I'm telling you, we would run through windows." ... Matukewicz goes back to being NIU's linebackers coach.