Rockets to play No. 24 Temple in Boca Raton Bowl
For its bowl game destination, the University of Toledo had only two real desires.
First, most of UT’s players wanted to escape the December chill of northwestern Ohio for a week’s worth of warmer temperatures.
Second, the Rockets wanted to see a competitive game against a quality opponent.
Check and check.
The Rockets are headed to Boca Raton, Fla., for the second Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 22, where they will play No. 24 Temple, the champion of the American Athletic Conference’s East Division. FULL STORY
Falcons face option offense in bowl game
When Brian Ward found out the bowl destination for the Bowling Green State University football team Sunday, his response was perfect for a defensive coordinator.
“I said, ‘Lucky us. We get to prepare for the option,’” said the Falcons’ interim coach sarcastically.
On Sunday, the GoDaddy Bowl extended its official invitational to Bowling Green to play in the game, which is scheduled for Dec. 23, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
ESPN will televise the game, which will kick off at 8 p.m., between the Falcons and Georgia Southern, the Sun Belt school that uses the option as its offense.
This will be the first bowl appearance for Georgia Southern, which is in its second year as a FBS program. The Eagles played in the playoffs at the FCS level (Division I-AA, as it was previously called) 19 times and won six national titles, the most recent in 2000. FULL STORY
Buckeyes draw Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State is headed back to the desert.
And a familiar clover-leafed team and face will be waiting.
The Buckeyes (11-1) will play Notre Dame (10-2) in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 in a decade-in-the-making sequel that will match Central Catholic graduate DeShone Kizer — the star quarterback who traded one team of Fighting Irish for another — against his home-state school.
It is not the playoff game Ohio State coveted in a season that began with the defending national champions perched unanimously atop the polls. Nor is it the Rose Bowl. But as far as undercards go, they rarely come any juicier.
Two of the darkest shades of blue bloods will play for the sixth time — and 10 years to the day after their most recent meeting, also at the Fiesta Bowl. The Buckeyes thumped Notre Dame 34-20 in 2006. FULL STORY
UM will travel to Florida to face Gators in Citrus
Michigan will head to the Sunshine State to ring in 2016.
The Wolverines will end a two-year bowl absence when they face Florida at 1 p.m. on Jan. 1 in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. Michigan last earned a bowl berth in 2013, when it lost to Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.
With the announcement of the bowl berth Sunday, UM coach Jim Harbaugh addressed two temporary staffing changes for the Citrus Bowl.
Greg Mattison will serve as UM’s defensive coordinator for the bowl season, in addition to Chris Partridge serving as linebackers coach. FULL STORY
Playoffs: Turning points define final 4 teams
Michigan State needed a miracle. Hail hog helped Alabama get here. A swat saved Oklahoma’s season. Clemson turned away a late 2-point conversion that could have cost the Tigers their perfect record.
A season filled with fantastic finishes helped shape the College Football Playoff, even if it led to a sleepy selection Sunday.
Top-seeded Clemson will play No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in the first College Football Playoff semifinal on New Year’s Eve. No. 2 Alabama will play No. 3 Michigan State at the Cotton Bowl in the nightcap of the Dec. 31 doubleheader.
No drama. No complaints. Nothing at all like the week-to-week mayhem — with one once-in-a-lifetime-play after another — that made the season memorable.
In the end, the only real debate was how to rank the top four teams. FULL STORY
First Published December 7, 2015, 2:30 p.m.
