Game Day!
News
WEEK 11 GILDAN NEW MEXICO BOWL NOTES
TOUCHDOWNS FOR TUITION: Gildan, a global supplier of quality branded activewear, underwear and socks, will host the winner of its online sweepstakes promotion at its bowl game in Albuquerque, N.M., where it will award the winning family $1,000 in scholarship money for every touchdown scored during the game. A maximum of $10,000 in scholarship funds will be awarded to the lucky family. The online promotion, which runs through Nov. 17, will select one winning entry to receive a trip for four to the Gildan® New Mexico Bowl and a chance to win the grand prize college scholarship. In addition, the promotion will award daily instant prizes of “Gildan College Care Packages,” featuring a Gildan® hoodie, a Gildan® T-shirt, a Gildan® Bowl T-shirt, Gildan® underwear, and discounts that can be applied to online purchases at www.gildanonline.com. Contest entries can be made by visiting either www.TouchdownsforTuition.com or the Touchdowns for Tuition Sweepstakes Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gildanonline. The complete official rules will be available on both websites.
BOWL PREDICTIONS: Several of the nation’s college football analysts are making their predictions for the post season. For the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, the Pac-12’s Arizona State has jumped from third to the top spot among voters, garnering seven of 13. Amongst Mountain West members, five of its 10 members have at least one nod. After losing on the road to UNLV last week, New Mexico fell out of favor among predictors. Nevada and Fresno State are tied with four nods each. Here is the breakdown of what has been selected for the 2012 bowl game:
Athlon Sports: Fresno State (MW) vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
Beyond The Bets: Wyoming (MW) vs. Arizona (Pac-12)^
Bleacher Report: Nevada vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
CBS Sports: Nevada (MW) vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
CFN.Scout.com: Boise State (MW) vs. Washington (Pac-12)
CollegeBowlProjections.com: Fresno State (MW) vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
ESPN (Mark Schlabach’s pick): Nevada (MW) vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
ESPN (Brad Edwards’ pick): New Mexico (MW) vs. Arizona (Pac-12)
ESPN.com (Kevin Gemmell): MW vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
National Football Post: Fresno State (MW) vs. UCLA (Pac-12)^
Phil Steele: Fresno State (MW) vs. Washington (Pac-12)
SB Nation: New Mexico (MW) vs. Arizona (WAC)
Sports Illustrated: Nevada (MW) vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)^
* indicates at-large bid
^did not update pick from preseason
READY TO BOWL: There are 48 out of 124 teams that are eligible to fill one of the 70 open bowl slots this postseason. Three teams, North Carolina, Ohio State and Penn State, are ineligible for the postseason due to NCAA violations. There are also 27 programs that have been removed from contention with guaranteed losing records. This week, 18 teams find themselves just one win away from bowl egibility while nine programs are just one loss away from elimination.
ON TAP THIS WEEK: This week all games for both the Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences are on Saturday. The Pac-12 has three teams, Arizona, Arizona State and Washington, hunting for a win that would make them bowl eligible. Other notable Pac-12 games are the battle of No. 11 Oregon State and No. 14 Stanford on FOX Saturday afternoon and 19th-ranked USC hopes to avoid it’s third straight loss as it hosts the Sun Devils. For the Mountain West, NBCSN is airing a tripleheader beginning with Air Force at San Diego State and ending with Fresno State at Nevada. The complete schedule for the conferences is available in the attached PDF.
WEEK 10 REWIND: The week began Friday night with the Pac-12’s Washington holding off California which elimates the Bears from bowl contention and leaves the Huskies one win shy of bowl eligibility. The league had three games decided by over 40 points, including the UCLA Bruins’ upset of No. 22 Arizona, 66-10. Fourth-ranked Oregon stayed undefeated with a huge win at No. 17 USC. For the Mountain West, San Diego State stunned 19th-ranked Boise State in Idaho to shake up the conference title race. Complete results from the weekend for both conferences are below:
Nov. 2 - Washington def. California, 21-13
Nov. 3 - #4 Oregon def. #17 USC, 62-57
Nov. 3 - #11 Oregon State def. Arizona State, 36-26
Nov. 3 - #14 Stanford def. Colorado, 48-0
Nov. 3 - Army def. Air Force, 41-21
Nov. 3 - Fresno State def. Hawai`i, 45-10
Nov. 3 - San Diego State def. #19 Boise State, 21-19
Nov. 3 - UCLA def. #22 Arizona, 66-10
Nov. 3 - UNLV def. New Mexico, 35-7
Nov. 3 - Utah def. Washington State, 49-6
Nov. 3 - Wyoming def. Colorado State, 45-31
TALE OF THE TURNSTILES: The heads have been counted and the Pac-12 brought in over 350,000 fans while the Mountain West totaled a little over 137,000. The biggest crowd for the Pac-12 was over 93,600 at the No. 4 Oregon at No. 17 USC game in the Coliseum. For the Mountain West, the largest crowd was just shy of 38,000 at the Air Force-Army game at Michie Stadium. A complete breakdown of each team’s attendance figures is available in the attached PDF.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: The updated BCS Standings were released Sunday night and the Pac-12 has five members present for the second straight week. Oregon leads the way at No. 3, followed by No. 11 Oregon State, No. 14 Stanford, No. 18 UCLA and No. 19 USC. The Mountain West finds itself in an unusual position with no member in the standings. Previously, the Mountain West had at least one team ranked in the BCS standings for 38 consecutive weeks, dating back to Nov. 18, 2007.
In the latest Associated Press rankings, the Pac-12 has five teams in and two just outside with multiple votes. Oregon remains at No. 2 while Oregon State is No. 13, Stanford is 16th, UCLA sits No. 17 and USC slips to No. 19. Washington and Arizona are a few nods shy of the top 25. In the USA Today/Coaches’ Top-25, five teams are in the rankings while two just miss. The Ducks are also second in this poll, while the Beavers are 12th, the Cardinal are No. 15, the Bruins are 19th and the Trojans are 22nd. Washington and Arizona State are both receiving votes.
Boise State represents the Mountain West, ranking No. 24 in the coaches’ poll while receiving votes in the AP top-25. San Diego State and Fresno State are garnering votes in both polls.
MWC Headings
C-USA Headings
