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Week 12 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 predictors are torn between Arizona and Arizona State. Amongst Mountain West members, they’ve narrowed it down to Nevada or Fresno State. Here is the breakdown of what has been selected for the 2012 bowl game:
Athlon Sports: Nevada (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 (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 (Pac-12)
ESPN (Brad Edwards’ pick): Nevada (MW) vs. Arizona (Pac-12)
ESPN.com (Kevin Gemmell): MW vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
National Football Post: Nevada (MW) vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
Phil Steele: Nevada (MW) vs. Washington (Pac-12)
SB Nation: Fresno State (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 57 out of 124 teams that are eligible to fill one of the 68 open bowl slots this postseason. Two spots were claimed earlier this week with BYU agreeing to go to the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl and Navy signing on with the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Three teams, North Carolina, Ohio State and Penn State, are ineligible for the postseason due to NCAA violations. There are also 30 programs that have been removed from contention with guaranteed losing records. This week, 14 teams find themselves just one win away from bowl egibility while 18 programs are just one loss away from elimination.
For the Mountain West, San Diego State, Fresno State, Boise State and Nevada are all bowl eligible. Air Force is just one win shy with Hawai`i at home this week and Fresno State on the road to end the season. Colorado State, Hawai`i, New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming are all ineligible for the postseason.
The Pac-12 has the second most bowl-eligible teams among conferences with seven: Arizona, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington. Arizona State needs to win one of it’s last two games while Utah needs victories in both to secure eligibility. The three remaining teams that are ineligible are California, Colorado and Washington State.
ON TAP THIS WEEK: The games begin Friday night as Air Force seeks it’s sixth win of the season, hosting Hawai`i. On Saturday, 18th-ranked USC takes on 17th-ranked UCLA on Fox, while No. 13 Stanford looks to knock off No. 2 Oregon on ABC. The complete schedule for the conferences is:
Nov. 16 Hawai`i (1-8, 0-6 MW) at Air Force (5-5, 4-2 MW) 7:30 p.m. MT/ESPN2
Nov. 17 #25 Washington (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) at Colorado (1-9, 1-6 Pac-12) 11:30 a.m. MT/FX
Nov. 17 Wash. State (2-8, 0-7 Pac-12) at Arizona State (5-5, 3-4 Pac-12) 1 p.m. MT/P12N
Nov. 17 #18 USC (7-3, 5-3 Pac-12) at #17 UCLA (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) 12:05 p.m. PT/FOX
Nov. 17 Colorado State (3-7, 2-4 MW) at Boise State (8-2, 5-1 MW) 1:30 p.m. MT/NBCSN
Nov. 17 Nevada (6-4, 3-3 MW) at New Mexico (4-7, 1-5 MW) 1:30 p.m. MT/LOCAL
Nov. 17 Wyoming (3-7, 2-4 MW) at UNLV (2-9, 2-4 MW) 1 p.m. PT/LOCAL
Nov. 17 #13 Stanford (8-2, 6-1 Pac-12) at #2 Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Pac-12) 5 p.m. PT/ABC
Nov. 17 Arizona (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12) at Utah (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12) 8 p.m. MT/ESPNU
Nov. 17 California (3-8, 2-6 Pac-12) at #16 Oregon State (7-2, 5-2 Pac-12) 7:30 p.m. PT/P12N
WEEK 11 REWIND: Both conferences were only in action Saturday. The home teams predominately came out victorious for the Pac-12, winning four of six. But for the Mountain West, the road team held the advantage, winning three of five. The Pac-12 saw two members, Arizona and Washington, become bowl eligible with their sixth wins. Complete results from the weekend for both conferences are below:
#3 Oregon def. California, 59-17
#14 Stanford def. #11 Oregon State, 27-23
#18 UCLA def. Washington State, 44-36
#19 USC def. Arizona State, 38-17
Arizona def. Colorado, 56-31
Boise State def. Hawai`i, 49-14
Colorado State def. UNLV, 33-11
Fresno State def. Nevada, 52-36
San Diego State def. Air Force, 28-9
Washington def. Utah, 34-15
Wyoming def. New Mexico, 28-23
TALE OF THE TURNSTILES: The heads have been counted and the Pac-12 averaged slightly over 54,000 fans while the Mountain West averaged a little over 22,700. The biggest crowd for the Pac-12 was over 80,000 at the LA Coliseum for the second straight week, which watched No. 19 USC defeated Arizona State. For the Mountain West, the largest crowd over 30,000 at Qualcomm Stadium, witnessing San Diego State defeat Air Force. 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 six members present. Oregon leads the way at No. 2, followed by No. 13 Stanford, No. 16 Oregon State, No. 17 UCLA, No. 18 USC and No. 25 Washington.
In the latest Associated Press rankings, the Pac-12 has five teams in and two just outside, receiving votes. Oregon is the top team in the nation while Stanford is 14th, Oregon State is 15th, UCLA is 17th and USC is 21st. 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 one just misses. The Ducks are also No. 1 in this poll, while the Cardinal are No. 14, the Bruins are 16th, the Beavers are 17th and the Trojans are 21st. Washington is receiving votes.
Boise State represents the Mountain West, ranking No. 22 in the coaches’ poll while receiving votes in the AP top-25. San Diego State and Fresno State are garnering votes in both polls.
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