News Nuggets, 12.31.04
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
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Compiled from staff reports
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Offensive juggernauts collide in Liberty Bowl
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
12.30.04: Boston
College tests ACC waters in Tire Bowl ... Syracuse reverses
field, ousts Pasqualoni...
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12.29.04: Petrino
flirts with LSU on eve of Liberty Bowl ... Power indexes:
Conference ratings... Team ratings...
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12.28.04: Utah
carries banner of have-nots into Fiesta Bowl ... Tampa
slaying perplexes victim's friends ...
More... |
12.27.04: Vanderbilt
football star slain by gunfire in Tampa ... Tulsa coach
resigns with C-USA on horizon ...
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12.26.04: Tulane
rewards Scelfo with contract extension ... Big Ten pushes
for instant replay for all of I-A ...
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12.25.04: Chang,
Hawaii spoil UAB's bowl debut in shootout ... Memphis bumps
West up to $800K per year ...
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12.24.04: BCS
produces sequel to 'Night of the Living Dead' ... Cincy
torches Herd in frigid Ft. Worth Bowl ... UAB makes bowl
debut against prolific Warriors ...
More... |
12.23.04: Bowling
Green shakes off Memphis in GMAC Bowl ... Primetime bowl
preview: Bearcats vs. Herd ... Tranghese: BCS not interested
in playoff ...
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12.22.04: Up-and-coming
programs tangle in GMAC bowl ... Petrino hits jackpot with
new pact at U of L ... College basketball power indexes ...
More... |
12.21.04: Cold,
hard facts about health swayed Majerus ... Basketball panel
tinkering with RPI formula ...
More... |
12.20.04: GMAC
Bowl history sets stage for Tigers-Falcons shootout ...
Memphis reinstates Banks after one game ... Mounting
attrition challenges Pitino, Cards ...
More... |
12.19.04: Houston
AD livid with Nebraska over cancellation ... Duke cans
offensive coordinator Galbraith ... Majerus retreats back to
TV booth ...
More... |
12.18.04: Wolfpack's
Hodge not short on self-esteem ,,, James Madison rushes to
I-AA championship ...
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12.17.04: Nebraska
icon Osborne irked with aloof AD's ... William & Mary QB
captures Payton Award ...
More... |
12.16.04: Pirates
hawking hoops tickets with a twist ... Majerus ditches TV
gig to rescue Trojans ...
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12.15.04: Bowl
season kicks off with Southern Miss victory ... Marshall
linebacker suspended for bowl game ...
More... |
12.14.04: Preview:
USM, North Texas kick off bowl season ... Former ECU
assistants McFarland, Brindise land jobs ... McLendon to
bolt Wolfpack for NFL draft ...
More... |
12.13.04: Musical
chairs at full tilt as coaches change jobs ... List of
Division I-A coaching changes ... Heisman Trophy chronology
1935-2004 ...
More... |
12.12.04: Title
game of the Heismans set ... All-time Heisman winners list
... Blue- Gray Classic scratched again ...
More... |
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LIBERTY BOWL
DEC. 31, 2004, 3:30 PM
TELEVISION: ESPN
MATHCUP BY THE NUMBERS
2004 RESULTS
BOISE STATE (11-0)
65 Idaho 7
53 Oregon St. 34
47 at UTEP 31
28 BYU 27
38 SMU 20
45 at Tulsa 42
33 Fresno St. 16
69 Hawaii 3
56 at San Jose St.,2OT 49
55 Louisiana Tech 14
58 at Nevada 21
LOUISVILLE (10-1)
28 Kentucky 0
52 at Army 21
55 at Tulane 7
34 at North Carolina 0
59 East Carolina 7
38 at Miami 41
41 South Florida 9
56 at Memphis 49
55 TCU 28
65 at Houston 27
70 Cincinnati 7
--------------------------------------
Rushing Offense
Car Yds Yds Pg
Boise St. 558 2670 242.7
Louisville 484 2676 243.3
--------------------------------------
Passing Offense
Att Cp Yds Yds Pg
Boise St. 324 206 2958 268.9
Louisville 328 235 3228 293.5
--------------------------------------
Total Offense
Plays Yds Yds Pg
Boise St. 882 5628 511.6
Louisville 812 5904 536.7
--------------------------------------
Rushing Defense
Car Yds Yds Pg
Boise St. 323 918 83.5
Louisville 381 1220 110.9
--------------------------------------
Pass Efficiency Defense
Att Cp Yds Tds Pts
Boise St. 401 209 2812 18 115.36
Louisville 354 180 2167 17 109.08
--------------------------------------
Total Defense
Plays Yds Yds Pg
Boise St. 724 3730 339.0
Louisville 735 3387 307.9
--------------------------------------
Net Punting
No. Yds Net
Punts Avg Ret Ret Avg
Boise St. 33 43.3 17 176 38.0
Louisville 28 40.9 18 221 33.0
--------------------------------------
Punt Returns
No Yds Avg
Boise St. 42 698 16.6
Louisville 43 447 10.4
--------------------------------------
Kickoff Returns
No Yds Avg
Boise St. 42 962 22.9
Louisville 30 623 20.8
--------------------------------------
Turnover Margin
Gained Lost
Fum Int Tot Fum Int Tot Mar/Gm
Boise St. 6 21 27 9 12 21 .55
Louisville 10 16 26 9 3 12 1.27
--------------------------------------
Scoring Offense
G Pts Avg
Boise St. 11 547 49.7
Louisville 11 553 50.3
--------------------------------------
Scoring Defense
G Pts Avg
Boise St. 11 264 24.0
Louisville 11 196 17.8 |
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MEMPHIS Louisville and the Boise
State consider today's Liberty Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN) the biggest game in
the history of each program.
Based on the teams' offenses, it
certainly could be the highest scoring game.
The first Liberty Bowl to match Top 10
teams also features the top two offenses in both yards and points scored.
No. 7 Louisville is attempting to
become the fifth team to average 50 points a game for a season, while No. 10
Boise State is trying to lead the nation in scoring for the fifth straight
year.
That's why Boise State quarterback
Jared Zabransky knows exactly what to do on offense.
``Every time we touch the ball we want
to put it in the end zone,'' Zabransky said.
The Liberty Bowl record for most points
scored in a game was set in 1969 when Colorado beat Alabama 47-33.
Louisville (10-1) averages 536.7 yards
and 50.3 points. The Cardinals also led the nation with an average margin of
victory of 32.47 points, and won an offensive shootout on this very field on
Nov. 4, beating Memphis 56-49. They haven't scored fewer than 55 since
October.
The Broncos (11-0), who have won 22
straight and 35 of the last 36 games, average 511.6 yards and 49.7 points.
``Who knows what's going to happen,''
Louisville quarterback Stefan LeFors said.
If not for a 41-38 loss at then-No. 3
Miami, Louisville might be playing in a bigger bowl. But a victory Friday
would ensure the highest ranking ever in school history, a big boost for a
program that leaves Conference USA for the Big East next season.
``We're certainly not disappointed,''
said Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, who is refusing to discuss his
interview with LSU about its open coaching spot until after this game.
The Liberty Bowl, sponsored by
AutoZone, usually pits the C-USA champion against the Mountain West champ.
But Utah earned a BCS berth in the Fiesta Bowl, allowing bowl officials to
invite Boise State, the Western Athletic Conference champ.
Competing in the program's fifth bowl
game, Boise State is anxious to show just how good it is. Coach Dan Hawkins
is 44-6 since taking over at Boise State and hopes this game helps attract
attention to the Broncos' success.
``It's all the same,'' he said. ``We
have to go back and reprove ourselves each week and each year.''
Zabransky said: ``As long as we keep
winning, more and more people are going to start coming to the realization
that we're for real.''
Louisville has the edge in quarterbacks
with LeFors, the senior who leads the nation in passing efficiency and
completion percentage (74.03). He has thrown just two interceptions in 231
attempts this season with 18 TDs.
Zabransky is a threat both running and
passing. He has thrown for 2,728 yards and 15 touchdowns while running for
322 yards and 12 TDs. But Zabransky also has been intercepted 11 times.
``He makes good decisions from what
I've seen on films, but sometimes when he's under pressure he stands and
looks to run and then just throws the ball up,'' Louisville safety Kerry
Rhodes said. ``That may be the key to the game. If we can get pressure on
him, he may give up a few.''
There is the possibility the game won't
evolve into the high-scoring affair most expect.
Boise State boasts the nation's
fourth-stingiest run defense, giving up only 83.5 yards per game. Louisville
has lost five of its last six bowl games, but the Cardinals' defense
improved to 18th in the nation, up from 93rd in 2003. They allowed only
307.9 yards and 17.8 points a game.
``I know they'll be coming after us,''
Louisville linebacker Robert McCune said. ``We're just looking forward to
playing them.''
Tire
Bowl goes flat for North Carolina
CHARLOTTE Headed off the field on a
stretcher with a broken leg, Paul Peterson heard the roar of the crowd and
knew his teammates were about to score.
He glanced up at the scoreboard just in
time to see kicker Ryan Ohliger take a fake field goal into the end zone for
a 21-yard touchdown run that sealed Boston College's 37-24 victory over
North Carolina in the Continental Tire Bowl on Thursday.
Pumping his fists in celebration, the
touchdown temporarily eased the pain for Peterson, the Eagles' hard-luck
quarterback.
``I saw it on the screen when they were
wheeling me off and I was so pumped,'' Peterson said. ``I'd be pretty ticked
off I went out in the first quarter, but I made it to the fourth and we got
the win. It's just awesome.''
The 25th-ranked Eagles (9-3) never
wanted to be in this game, only needing a victory over Syracuse in the
regular-season finale to secure their first outright Big East championship
and earn a BCS berth.
But Peterson missed that game with a
broken hand, and Syracuse beat the Eagles to send them to Charlotte.
So when he broke his left leg in the
fourth quarter, coach Tom O'Brien huddled the team at midfield and delivered
a passionate speech for his quarterback.
``Paul is the heart and soul of this
team, and everyone went back to the huddle and Coach O'Brien said, `We're
not going to lose. We're going to put it in the end zone for Paul,'' said
holder Matt Ryan, who handed the fake to Ohliger.
Ryan then replaced Peterson at
quarterback.
Clinging to a 27-24 lead over North
Carolina (6-6) in the fourth quarter, Peterson was injured as he tried to
run outside for a first down on third-and-1 and was brought down awkwardly
by Tommy Davis.
As trainers removed Peterson's shoe and
cut away his socks while awaiting a stretcher, O'Brien broke from his
conservative nature and urged on the Eagles.
``He's not a big speaker, but this time
he got us all pumped up,'' Ohliger said. ``And when he called the fake field
goal, my eyes almost popped out my head. That is so not him.''
Ohliger, a 5-foot-9 freshman, took the
handoff from Ryan and raced into the end zone, breaking a tackle along the
way, for a 34-24 lead with 10:32 to play.
``We kind of expected them to do a
fake, but we were more favoring the pass than the run,'' North Carolina
linebacker Tommy Richardson said. ``That was a great call by Mr. O'Brien.''
And one that rarely comes out of
O'Brien's play book. Although he said the Eagles practice the fake every
day, an assistant suggested that O'Brien call it.
Because Ohliger had already missed one
field goal and an extra point, O'Brien didn't hesitate.
``What went through my mind was, `We
can't make a field goal, so we might as well run it,''' O'Brien said.
Peterson continued his trip to the
locker room as the Eagles celebrated. X-rays showed a broken left tibia, and
team officials said he would need surgery.
Before leaving, the quarterback went
24-of-33 for 236 yards and two touchdowns, helping Boston College win a bowl
game for the fifth straight season.
But he wasn't able to return to the
field to accept the game's MVP award. Instead, his wife went out to collect
the trophy.
The Eagles gave the Big East its first
win in the 3-year-old bowl game. It was BC's final game in the league it
joins the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
Virginia represented the ACC in the
first two Tire Bowls, so the inclusion of North Carolina was a welcome
change of scenery. Tar Heels fans snapped up over 65,000 tickets, washing
out the scattering of Boston College supporters in a sea of light blue.
They had plenty to cheer about early as
North Carolina seized the momentum by scoring a pair of touchdowns after
Peterson's fumble and Ohliger's missed field goal.
``We certainly had opportunities to win
today and that's what it's about winning,'' North Carolina coach John
Bunting said.
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data
published by ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools; and reports from Associated Press and
other sources. Copyright 2004
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
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