Saturday, December 30, 2006
NAVY (9-3) vs. No. 23 BOSTON COLLEGE (9-3)
What: Meineke Bowl.
Where: Charlotte, N.C.
When: 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN.
Coaches: Paul Johnson (39-22 in fifth year at Navy) and Frank Spaziani (interim coach at BC).
Payout: Each school receives 750,000.
Bowl records: Navy is 6-5-1. BC is 11-6.
Last bowl appearance: Navy beat Colorado State, 51-30, in last year's Poinsettia Bowl. BC beat Boise State, 27-21, in last year's MPC Computers Bowl.
Series history: BC leads, 17-11.
Last meeting: BC won, 46-21, in 2002.
Last game: Navy beat Army, 26-14, on Dec. 2. BC lost at Miami, 17-14, on Nov. 23.
Stat that matters: Golden Eagles' six-game bowl winning streak is longest in nation.
Game facts: Defensive coordinator Spaziani will coach here after Tom O'Brien left for N.C. State. It could be his final game as Green Bay offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski will be next BC coach after Packers' season ends. Not exactly a smooth time for BC following loss at Miami that blew any chance of making ACC title game. Added intrigue is that Johnson was thought to be candidate for the BC job early on but wasn't seriously considered. In any event, bowl-tested Eagles should enjoy size advantage behind huge offensive line. Finally healed up a bit from ankle and foot problems, QB Matt Ryan (school-record 243 completions, 2,700 yards passing, 14 TDs, 8 ints.) should be able to attack Midshipmen secondary (84th in nation vs. pass, 216.5 ypg, 18 TDs given up, 10 ints.) down the field. Navy will counter with its tricky spread option attack, which still led nation in rushing (327.4 ypg) despite QB Brian Hampton being lost to broken leg in October 14 loss to Rutgers. Sophomore QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada has stepped up to challenge (647 total offense, 9 TD runs, 3 TD passes, 1 int. in 42 passes in last five games) as Navy went 4-1 in his five starts with only loss coming to Notre Dame.
IOWA (6-6) vs.No. 16 TEXAS (9-3)
What: Alamo Bowl.
Where: San Antonio, Texas.
When: 4:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN.
Coaches: Kirk Ferentz (56-41 in 8th year at Iowa) and Mack Brown (92-22 in 9th year at Texas).
Payout: Each school receives 2.225 million.
Bowl records: Iowa is 11-9-1. Texas is 22-21-2.
Last bowl appearance: Iowa lost to Florida, 31-24, in last year's Outback Bowl. Texas beat USC, 41-38, in last year's Rose Bowl.
Series history: Iowa leads, 1-0.
Last meeting: Iowa won, 55-17, in the 1984 Freedom Bowl.
Last game: Iowa lost at Minnesota, 34-24, on Nov. 18. Texas lost at home to Texas A & amp;M, 12-7, on Nov. 24.
Stat that matters: In 1-5 slide to finish regular season, Hawkeyes surrendered 144 points while committing 15 turnovers.
Game facts: After 4-0 start, Hawkeyes were never the same after No. 1 Ohio State throttled them, 38-17, in Iowa City on Sept. 30. QB Drew Tate fought injuries and inconsistency (7 ints., 6 TD passes in his last five starts). When defense played well, Iowa won (6-0 when yielding 17 points or less), and lost when it didn't (0-6 when yielding 17 points or more). Matching school-record with ninth consecutive bowl trip, Longhorns are happy to get freshman QB Colt McCoy (school-record 27 TD passes) back after he suffered severely pinched nerve in his neck after savage hit late in Texas A & amp;M loss. McCoy needs two TDs to tie former Nevada QB David Neil's freshman Division I record of 29 TD passes in a season. McCoy needs to stay healthy as No. 2 Jevan Snead transferred to Ole Miss leaving walk-on Matt McCoy (no relation) as backup. Despite CB Aaron Ross (5 ints., 3 forced fumbles), DE Tim Crowder (16 tackles for loss), Defense struggled all year vs. pass (98th in nation vs. pass, 233.1 ypg, 19 TDs given up, 12 ints.) and then gave up 244 yards on ground in A & amp;M loss.
No. 14 VIRGINIA TECH (10-2) vs. GEORGIA (8-4)
What: Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Where: Atlanta.
When: 8 p.m.
TV: ESPN.
Coaches: Frank Beamer (156-81-2 in 20th year at Va. Tech) and Mark Richt (61-16 in 6th year at Georgia).
Payout: Each school receives 2.825 million.
Bowl records: Va. Tech is 7-12. Georgia is 22-16-3.
Last bowl appearance: Va. Tech beat Louisville, 35-24, in last year's Gator Bowl. Georgia lost to West Virginia, 38-35, in last year's Sugar Bowl.
Series history: Tied, 1-1.
Last meeting: Va. Tech won, 7-6, in 1932.
Last game: Va. Tech beat Virginia, 17-0, on Nov. 25. Georgia beat Ga. Tech, 15-12, on Nov. 25.
Stat that matters: In winning last six games to get here, Hokies outscored foes, 144-29.
Game facts: After ugly 22-3 loss at Boston College, Oct. 12, when team appeared to come unglued amid bickering, personal fouls, useless showboating, Beamer pulled things back together thanks to dominating defense that led nation in both total defense (221.1 ypg) and scoring (9.3 ppg). LB Vince Hall (led ACC with 115 tackles), CB Victor "Macho" Harris (4 ints.) led charge. RB Brandon Ore (second in ACC with 1,095 rushing, 14 TDs) leads grind-it-out offense. Bulldogs got here despite losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky in 1-4 midseason slide. But then freshman QB Matthew Stafford found himself with fine effort (14-of-20, 219 passing, TD pass, 83 rushing, TD run) in 37-15 upset at No. 6 Auburn Nov. 11. S Tra Battle (second in SEC with 6 ints), DT Charles Johnson (led SEC with 16 tackles for loss) lead aggressive defense (second in ACC in total defense, 264 ypg). With offensive coordinator Neil Calloway leaving to become head coach at Alabama-Birmingham, Richt promoted QB coach Mike Bobo to fill void on unit that struggled (8th in SEC in total offense, 321.1 ypg) much of season.
-- Scripps Howard