As the college football regular season enters its final month, the potential pairing for the Texas Bowl is becoming a little more clear as well. The Naval Academy needs just one more win in its final four games to wrap up a bowl bid, while Texas win over Oklahoma State last week likely ensures that only Texas will receive a BCS bowl bid. The Big 12 invitation for the Texas Bowl could go to any number of teams, most notably Nebraska who travels in droves and would be a huge boost to the hotels and restaurants in the Houston area.
Kudos to the sales staff of The Texas Bowl and the Houston area football fans for pushing the 45,000 seats sold threshold this week. It is hard work and support like this that will continue to build this great event.http://texasbowl.org/news/news_detail/tickets_on_sale
Onto this week’s action….
Big 12 This Week
Saturday November 7th
Kudos to the sales staff of The Texas Bowl and the Houston area football fans for pushing the 45,000 seats sold threshold this week. It is hard work and support like this that will continue to build this great event.http://texasbowl.org/news/news_detail/tickets_on_sale
Onto this week’s action….
Big 12 This Week
Saturday November 7th
(5-3) Central Florida @ (8-0) #2 Texas
Texas moved past Alabama into second in the BCS standings after last week's 41-14 win over then-No. 13 Oklahoma State. The Longhorns picked the Cowboys off four times, nearly a year after their defense faltered in a stunning last-second loss at Texas Tech that cost them a shot at the national title. For the first time since their championship season, the Longhorns will play all of their November games in their home state. After hosting the Knights, they travel to Baylor, host Kansas and face Texas A&M on the road.
The Longhorns begin the month against a team that nearly upset them two seasons ago.In the only meeting between the schools, Texas pulled out a 35-32 road win Sept. 15, 2007, rallying after trailing by one in the fourth quarter. Central Florida scored a touchdown with 35 seconds left and forced Texas to recover the final onside kick.
Central Florida could again prove to be a tough opponent. The Golden Knights boast the nation's seventh-best rush defense at 87.8 yards per game and are sixth with 3.3 sacks a contest. Two of their losses, road defeats to Southern Miss and East Carolina, came by a combined 12 points. Central Florida, though, needed a last-minute touchdown to beat Marshall 21-20 on Sunday night. Central Florida will face the top-scoring team in the nation and third-best defensive squad this week. Texas is averaging 41.0 points and giving up 240.8 yards per game. The Longhorns also own the country's best rush defense, giving up 52.9 yards a game on the ground.
(5-3) Kansas @ (5-3) Kansas State
Central Florida could again prove to be a tough opponent. The Golden Knights boast the nation's seventh-best rush defense at 87.8 yards per game and are sixth with 3.3 sacks a contest. Two of their losses, road defeats to Southern Miss and East Carolina, came by a combined 12 points. Central Florida, though, needed a last-minute touchdown to beat Marshall 21-20 on Sunday night. Central Florida will face the top-scoring team in the nation and third-best defensive squad this week. Texas is averaging 41.0 points and giving up 240.8 yards per game. The Longhorns also own the country's best rush defense, giving up 52.9 yards a game on the ground.
(5-3) Kansas @ (5-3) Kansas State
Instate rivals face off in Manhattan this weekend, as the Kansas Jayhawks clash with the Kansas State Wildcats in Big 12 play at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Jayhawks enter the game mired in a slump, as they have dropped three straight decisions following a promising 5-0 start. It has been a far fall for a club that was nationally ranked for most of the season and Kansas is now out to avoid its first four-game slide since the middle of 2006. Most recently, the Jayhawks were handled by Texas Tech, 42-21, over the weekend, dropping them tot 1-3 in the Big 12 and keeping them from bowl eligibility.
As for KSU, it too is coming off a setback, falling 42-30 at nationally-ranked Oklahoma on Halloween. It was the fourth loss in as many road games for the Wildcats, who had their two-game win streak snapped. KSU however, sports a perfect 4-0 mark at home and its 3-2 league ledger is good enough for the top spot in the North Division standings.
This marks the 107th meeting between the instate foes, with the Jayhawks owning a 65-36-5 lead in the head-to-head series. Kansas has won three straight and four of the past five meetings, including a 51-21 trouncing in Lawrence last season.
As for KSU, it too is coming off a setback, falling 42-30 at nationally-ranked Oklahoma on Halloween. It was the fourth loss in as many road games for the Wildcats, who had their two-game win streak snapped. KSU however, sports a perfect 4-0 mark at home and its 3-2 league ledger is good enough for the top spot in the North Division standings.
This marks the 107th meeting between the instate foes, with the Jayhawks owning a 65-36-5 lead in the head-to-head series. Kansas has won three straight and four of the past five meetings, including a 51-21 trouncing in Lawrence last season.
(5-3) Texas A&M @ (2-6) Colorado
The Texas A&M Aggies have been rolling along over the past couple of weeks, and they'll look to keep it going this weekend when they head to Folsom Field for a Big 12 clash with the struggling Colorado Buffaloes. Texas A&M followed up its 22-point win over 21st-ranked Texas Tech two weeks ago with a thorough 35-10 triumph over Iowa State on Halloween. Coach Mike Sherman said after the game that he felt his team's confidence has been growing over the last few weeks. The Aggies will wrap up the road portion of their schedule at Oklahoma, before closing out the regular season at home against Baylor and Texas.
While the Aggies' confidence is soaring, the Buffaloes are still searching for answers after last week's 36-17 loss to Missouri. The loss was their second straight, and fourth over the last five games. The Buffs need to win out to become bowl eligible, and they'll head to Iowa State and Oklahoma State in the coming weeks, leading up to a home finale with Nebraska.
Colorado has a 5-3 edge in the head-to-head series, although Texas A&M won last year's meeting in College Station.
(3-5) Baylor @ (5-3) Missouri
The Missouri Tigers go for their second Big 12 win in a row this weekend, as they entertain the struggling Baylor Bears at Faurot Field in Columbia.
The Tigers finally snapped out of their funk and in the process captured their first Big 12 victory of the campaign, a 36-17 triumph at Colorado last weekend. The win put an end to a three-game slide, all against league foes, and pushed Missouri to 5-3 on the season. With one more victory, the two-time defending Big 12 North champs would become bowl eligible for a school record fifth consecutive season. A sixth win doesn't guarantee the Tigers of reaching a bowl, but it does put them in position to participate in the postseason.
The Texas A&M Aggies have been rolling along over the past couple of weeks, and they'll look to keep it going this weekend when they head to Folsom Field for a Big 12 clash with the struggling Colorado Buffaloes. Texas A&M followed up its 22-point win over 21st-ranked Texas Tech two weeks ago with a thorough 35-10 triumph over Iowa State on Halloween. Coach Mike Sherman said after the game that he felt his team's confidence has been growing over the last few weeks. The Aggies will wrap up the road portion of their schedule at Oklahoma, before closing out the regular season at home against Baylor and Texas.
While the Aggies' confidence is soaring, the Buffaloes are still searching for answers after last week's 36-17 loss to Missouri. The loss was their second straight, and fourth over the last five games. The Buffs need to win out to become bowl eligible, and they'll head to Iowa State and Oklahoma State in the coming weeks, leading up to a home finale with Nebraska.
Colorado has a 5-3 edge in the head-to-head series, although Texas A&M won last year's meeting in College Station.
(3-5) Baylor @ (5-3) Missouri
The Missouri Tigers go for their second Big 12 win in a row this weekend, as they entertain the struggling Baylor Bears at Faurot Field in Columbia.
The Tigers finally snapped out of their funk and in the process captured their first Big 12 victory of the campaign, a 36-17 triumph at Colorado last weekend. The win put an end to a three-game slide, all against league foes, and pushed Missouri to 5-3 on the season. With one more victory, the two-time defending Big 12 North champs would become bowl eligible for a school record fifth consecutive season. A sixth win doesn't guarantee the Tigers of reaching a bowl, but it does put them in position to participate in the postseason.
As for the Bears, they come into the weekend riding the wave of a four-game losing skid, with each setback coming in Big 12 play. Last weekend, Baylor was defeated by Nebraska, 20-10, as it suffered its 10th straight loss in the series. The Bears, who haven't beaten Nebraska since 1956, are now just 3-5 on the season. The all-time series between Baylor and Missouri is led by the Tigers, 10-2, and they are a perfect 7-0 against the Bears since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996.
(6-2) #19 Oklahoma State @ (5-4) Iowa State
The home team has taken the last four meetings in this series, with Iowa State winning 28-14 in 2001 and 37-10 in 2005, the Cowboys' last two visits to Ames.
That may not bode well for Oklahoma State, which suffered its first conference loss last Saturday, 41-14 to then-No. 3 Texas. The Cowboys fell for the 12th straight time to the Longhorns, the only unbeaten team in the South Division. Robinson threw a career-high four interceptions and completed 15 of 28 passes for 143 yards. His lone touchdown pass came in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.
The Cowboys would like to see Robinson play like he did in last season's 59-17 rout of Iowa State in Stillwater. He threw for a career-high five scores and 395 yards.Robinson needs 75 yards passing to break coach Mike Gundy's school record of 7,997.
Iowa State leads the conference in rushing at more than 200 yards per game and returns starting QB Austin Arnaud (sprained wrist) for the 1st time in two weeks.
The Cyclones may have a better chance of reaching the Big 12 title game than the Cowboys do despite their losing record in the Big 12. Iowa State, trailing Kansas State by one game in the North, can become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2005 on Saturday
(5-3) #24 Oklahoma @ (5-3) Nebraska
The Battle of the Big Reds has been a bit unbalanced lately and Bob Stoops likes it that way. While Nebraska has been rebuilding, Stoops has been able to win four straight games in the series and keep the No. 20 Sooners among the nation's top teams headed into Saturday night's game with the Huskers.
Instead of the rivalry determining the conference champion -- as it did 31 times in 36 years in the Big Eight -- and even a national championship, the game has had less panache in recent years. There was the series' second "Game of the Century" in 2000 and the teams met for the Big 12 title in 2006, but it's been nothing like the days of Barry Switzer vs. Tom Osborne in the 1970s and '80s. This time, both teams are just trying to make up ground in the divisional standings. It's the fourth straight time Nebraska enters the rivalry unranked and, before that, Oklahoma was outside the Top 25 for six of eight meetings in the 1990s.
Oklahoma won 62-28 last year in Bo Pelini's debut in the rivalry. Franks intercepted Joe Ganz's first pass and returned it for a touchdown, and Oklahoma opened a 28-0 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes. The Sooners' final point total was their highest ever in the series.
Navy This Week
(6-3) Navy @ (6-2) #22 Notre Dame
Historically, the match up with Navy has been all but a guaranteed win for the Irish, who had a 43-game winning streak in the series before the last meeting at Notre Dame Stadium. On Nov. 3, 2007, the Midshipmen broke the skid with a 46-44, three-overtime win in South Bend. Notre Dame answered with a 27-21 road win last Nov. 15, but almost lost a 20-point lead in the final two minutes after Navy recovered a pair of onside kicks.
The undersized Midshipmen enter the 83rd meeting with Notre Dame on the brink of another bowl berth behind coach Ken Niumatalolo's triple-option offense, which ranks third nationally in rushing with 279.8 yards per game.
Junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs has thrown just 66 passes all season, and without him Oct. 24 against Wake Forest, Navy did not attempt a pass. Dobbs saw only limited action against Temple as he returns from a knee injury, but he still leads the team with 170 carries and has scored more touchdowns -- 16 -- than any other player in the nation.
Last year, the Irish bottled up Dobbs for 27 yards on 13 carries.
Coming off its most productive offensive performance in four seasons, Notre Dame now welcomes back one of its most important weapons. Wide Receiver Michael Floyd will provide QB Jimmy Claussen with another big target as the 19th-ranked Fighting Irish continue their quest for a BCS bowl appearance Saturday against visiting Navy.
Notre Dame left little doubt in a 40-14 drubbing of lowly Washington State in San Antonio last Saturday. Clausen was 22 of 27 for 268 yards and two touchdowns, guiding an offense that rolled up 592 total yards -- the program's most since gaining 663 in a 38-31 win at Stanford on Nov. 26, 2005.
(6-2) #19 Oklahoma State @ (5-4) Iowa State
The home team has taken the last four meetings in this series, with Iowa State winning 28-14 in 2001 and 37-10 in 2005, the Cowboys' last two visits to Ames.
That may not bode well for Oklahoma State, which suffered its first conference loss last Saturday, 41-14 to then-No. 3 Texas. The Cowboys fell for the 12th straight time to the Longhorns, the only unbeaten team in the South Division. Robinson threw a career-high four interceptions and completed 15 of 28 passes for 143 yards. His lone touchdown pass came in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.
The Cowboys would like to see Robinson play like he did in last season's 59-17 rout of Iowa State in Stillwater. He threw for a career-high five scores and 395 yards.Robinson needs 75 yards passing to break coach Mike Gundy's school record of 7,997.
Iowa State leads the conference in rushing at more than 200 yards per game and returns starting QB Austin Arnaud (sprained wrist) for the 1st time in two weeks.
The Cyclones may have a better chance of reaching the Big 12 title game than the Cowboys do despite their losing record in the Big 12. Iowa State, trailing Kansas State by one game in the North, can become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2005 on Saturday
(5-3) #24 Oklahoma @ (5-3) Nebraska
The Battle of the Big Reds has been a bit unbalanced lately and Bob Stoops likes it that way. While Nebraska has been rebuilding, Stoops has been able to win four straight games in the series and keep the No. 20 Sooners among the nation's top teams headed into Saturday night's game with the Huskers.
Instead of the rivalry determining the conference champion -- as it did 31 times in 36 years in the Big Eight -- and even a national championship, the game has had less panache in recent years. There was the series' second "Game of the Century" in 2000 and the teams met for the Big 12 title in 2006, but it's been nothing like the days of Barry Switzer vs. Tom Osborne in the 1970s and '80s. This time, both teams are just trying to make up ground in the divisional standings. It's the fourth straight time Nebraska enters the rivalry unranked and, before that, Oklahoma was outside the Top 25 for six of eight meetings in the 1990s.
Oklahoma won 62-28 last year in Bo Pelini's debut in the rivalry. Franks intercepted Joe Ganz's first pass and returned it for a touchdown, and Oklahoma opened a 28-0 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes. The Sooners' final point total was their highest ever in the series.
Navy This Week
(6-3) Navy @ (6-2) #22 Notre Dame
Historically, the match up with Navy has been all but a guaranteed win for the Irish, who had a 43-game winning streak in the series before the last meeting at Notre Dame Stadium. On Nov. 3, 2007, the Midshipmen broke the skid with a 46-44, three-overtime win in South Bend. Notre Dame answered with a 27-21 road win last Nov. 15, but almost lost a 20-point lead in the final two minutes after Navy recovered a pair of onside kicks.
The undersized Midshipmen enter the 83rd meeting with Notre Dame on the brink of another bowl berth behind coach Ken Niumatalolo's triple-option offense, which ranks third nationally in rushing with 279.8 yards per game.
Junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs has thrown just 66 passes all season, and without him Oct. 24 against Wake Forest, Navy did not attempt a pass. Dobbs saw only limited action against Temple as he returns from a knee injury, but he still leads the team with 170 carries and has scored more touchdowns -- 16 -- than any other player in the nation.
Last year, the Irish bottled up Dobbs for 27 yards on 13 carries.
Coming off its most productive offensive performance in four seasons, Notre Dame now welcomes back one of its most important weapons. Wide Receiver Michael Floyd will provide QB Jimmy Claussen with another big target as the 19th-ranked Fighting Irish continue their quest for a BCS bowl appearance Saturday against visiting Navy.
Notre Dame left little doubt in a 40-14 drubbing of lowly Washington State in San Antonio last Saturday. Clausen was 22 of 27 for 268 yards and two touchdowns, guiding an offense that rolled up 592 total yards -- the program's most since gaining 663 in a 38-31 win at Stanford on Nov. 26, 2005.
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