Best bowl game that I saw?
Has to be the Humanitarian Bowl between Bowling Green and Idaho.
I didn't see the Outback bowl between Northwestern and Auburn,which looked like a good one and the Alamo between Texas Tech and Michigan State was a close but not quite winner,so the Humanitarian it is.
Both teams had comebacks from 14 points during the course of the game,big plays and each team scoring in the last minute of the game were just a few of the highlights.
Idaho then marches down the field with just 28 seconds to go to score what looked to be the tying TD,but Idaho coach Robb Akey goes for two and gets it for the 43-42 Idaho win.
Great game between two schools that likely would not have gotten chances to play in the past.
Games like the Humanitarian are the reason that I like the smaller bowl games that others seem to delight pissing on.
So many complain about the insignificance of small bowls,but they are a big deal to the kids on the field and fans of programs that have no shot at larger bowls,let alone the BCS.
You don't like them,don't watch.
Freddie Barnes of Bowling Green was the games star with 17 catches for 219 yards and three touchdowns.
Barnes isn't as fast as NFL scouts might like,but with hands such as he possesses,he will find a roster spot somewhere,even if he isn't drafted as high as he would like.
Idaho coach Robb Akey was quite a character in his talks with Heather Cox.
Between the voice that sounded like the linebacker in the Waterboy and his playing to the camera telling fans that they were going to see some wild stuff in the second half,Akey looked like a fellow having fun with his first bowl appearance.
Last year going into the draft,the Seahawks and Browns were back to b
ack at the 4 and 5 slots.Little changes this season as again they are back to back in the 6 and 7 positions.
Seattle needs a quarterback badly and I am rooting for the Browns to get Tennessee safety Eric Berry,who I see as the Browns finally being able to answer Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed with a hitter and playmaker at safety.
No word yet on the future of Eric Mangini in Cleveland,but I would lean more towards a dismissal today.
I just don't think a Holmgren/Mangini combo is going to work and Mangini's hopes for a future top spot might be better served by walking away classily from a conflict of football philosophy and a four game win streak than keeping the job,stumbling to a bad start and being released in mid-season.
One thing that does scare me about a Mangini firing is one of the top two names mentioned as a replacement.
Marty Mornhinweg (Eagles offensive coordinator) is a known Holmgren favorite and could be one of the top choices.
This scares me as Mornhinweg was the first coach hired by noted franchise destroyer Matt Millen in Detroit and won just five of 32 games there.
Mornhinweg also is notorious for his decision to kickoff after winning an overtime coin flip.
I am not a Eric Mangini fan and I don't think he is compatible with Mike Holmgren,but given the choice between Mangini and Mornhinweg-I'll take Mangini.
Time to answer a few questions from the handful of readers here on football.
First is-why did the Seahawk coverage disappear?
Well,time became short with the increased time away at work,something had to give and sadly that was Seattle coverage.
We will have a Seattle year in review later this month and of course the draft preview.
Hopefully,this will be a temporary hiccup.
Next,How many college teams do I really like?
Well,there are a few that I root for unless they play my top teams,but overall,I would say four or five.
Ohio State rules the roost with Texas Tech and Bowling Green rounding out the top three.
I used to like Maryland and Tennessee more than I do now,but I have lost interest in ACC Football (excepting Wake Forest,who runs some option football and I like Jim Grobe,the coach there) and the hiring of Lane Kiffin at Tennessee hurt my interest in the Vols.
What conferences do I watch the most other than the Big Ten?
Big Ten football is the conference that I watch the most of,but I also watch the occasional MAC game when I can and I love the Mountain West conference as well.
The Big 12 South division games are usually high on the list as I was a big fan of the late Southwest Conference and the divisional games there brings back such good memories.
Finally,Not counting the Browns and Seahawks,what NFL teams can you root for?
This is easy,but convoluted.
Lets break down the tiers like this with the Browns and Seahawks at the top.
2) Teams that I usually hope to see win unless they play the top two
Saints,Packers,Chiefs,Titans (until Jeff Fisher leaves) and Jets (until Rex Ryan leaves)
3) Teams that I can root for,but are kinda blah for me
Colts,Cardinals,Falcons,Texans,Bills,Raiders,Lions,Rams
4) Teams that I don't hate,but rank under tier three
Chargers,Vikings,Bengals,Panthers,Jaguars,Buccaneers,Bears
5) Teams I dislike
Eagles,49ers,Broncos,Giants,
6) Teams I hate
Cowboys,Dolphins,Redskins,Patriots,,Steelers.
7) Worst of the worst
Ravens
Back later with a look at either the Rose Bowl or the Browns-Jaguars unless news on the status of Eric Mangini comes in.
Photo Credits
Barnes:BGSUFalcons.com
Berry:Harry How-Getty Images
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