The Wiz of Odds

Central Florida

Central Florida moves into the American Athletic Conference this fall and with it comes the realistic opportunity of playing in a Bowl Championship Series game.

The Knights advanced to the Conference USA title game, defeated Ball State in the Saint Petersburg Bowl and finished 10-4 in 2012, but playing in a lower-level conference meant that everything had break perfectly to play in a BCS game. No longer is that be the case because the AAC — the conference formerly known as the Big East — has an automatic BCS berth.

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Missouri's Trip to Central Florida Is a Winner

Wiz correspondent Greg Laughlin spent the weekend in Orlando, where he took in the Missouri-Central Florida game. The Tigers held on for a 21-16 victory at Bright House Networks Stadium before 35,835. That's about 10,000 empty seats for those of you scoring at home.

There are additional photos after the jump and you can view Greg's full gallery by clicking here.

Central Florida

Central Florida believes there is strength in numbers. That's why the team has taken poster schedule production to a new level. The Knights have seven versions of their poster for 2011, and you can view the remaining six after the jump.

Liberty Bowl

The Wiz of Odds is conducting a comprehensive study of bowl game expense reports. All of the data collected — expense reports for 56 teams and bowl surveys for 40 teams — are being posted on the site. Here is the latest installment. For an overview of the project, click here.

The Liberty Bowl, played in Memphis, Tenn., is registered as a nonprofit but run by a management company headed by Steve Ehrhart, the executive director of the bowl. The first game was played in 1959.

2010 participants: Georgia and Central Florida.

Georgia expenses: Fans were not enthused about making the trip to Memphis to watch a 6-6 team play in the Liberty. The Bulldogs sold only 3,244 tickets and had to absorb 6,756 at a cost of $337,800. Total claimed expenses: $1.44 million. Under other expenses, the school listed NCAA incidentials ($20,160), supplement and benefits ($204,296) and stadium suites ($27,000) for a total of $251,456. The school reported to the NCAA an expense allowance of only $90,400 from the Southeastern Conference. A Georgia official later told The Wiz of Odds that the allowance was $925,000.

Georgia did not complete a bowl survey. Download Georgia Expenses

Central Florida expenses: The school reported total expenses of $1.68 million. The biggest expense ($858,700 or 51 percent of total expenses) came from 16,277 absorbed tickets. No school in The Wiz of Odds’ study absorbed more tickets. UCF reported selling only 3,723 tickets. Page 3 of the pdf is a detailed breakdown of expenses that UCF mistakenly dated Feb. 21, 2010.

The Wiz of Odds did not receive a bowl survey from UCF. Download Central Florida Expenses

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

Watch as No. 58 of Central Florida throws a punch at No. 3 of Georgia at the end of Friday's Liberty Bowl, won by the Knights, 10-6. We're not sure of the identities of the players because there are two players assigned each of the numbers on the team rosters.

Update: Central Florida coach George O'Leary says Georgia player Washuan Ealey started it all. According to O'Leary, the Bulldog running back shoved Knight defensive end Troy Davis after the game.

A Trip to the Bottom of the College Football World

Wiz correspondent Greg Laughlin got a look at the entire spectrum of college football in two days.

On Friday, he attended the unforgettable Auburn-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa. On Saturday, he saw how miserable life can be for a losing team, venturing to Memphis for the Conference USA game between the hometown Tigers and Central Florida.

Few teams can match the inept level of play displayed by the Tigers, who lost to the Knights, 37-17, before an estimated 6,000 at the Liberty Bowl. As you can see from several images after the jump, 6,000 might be stretching it.

Memphis finished 1-11 in Larry Porter's first season as coach. Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal has an entertaining column on the Tigers' forgettable season.

Central Florida has reason to celebrate. It advanced to next Saturday's Conference USA title game against Southern Methodist in Orlando.

To view Greg's gallery, click here.