Three more games today and, for the time being, the last of the prelim Bowl match-ups, because tomorrow is the beginning of the much-hyped New Year’s Six. Before we get into the Peach, Fiesta and Orange Bowls, here’s a quick recap of what you need to know the day’s action:
Music City Bowl
Louisiana State and Notre Dame, two famous college football brands, and a big crowd inside LP Field in downtown Nashville – the Music City Bowl had all the makings of a classic, and we were treated to one of the better games of the season, won, as are all good football games, late and on the boot of a kicker.
Notre Dame’s Kyle Brindza was the hero of the 31-28 victory, booting the winning field goal from 32 yards out, after a powerful final drive from the Irish, who played with far more heart and spirit than in their last regular season game, a 49-14 thumping at the hands of the USC Trojans. It might as well have been a different team.
Led by redshirt freshman QB Malik Zaire, making his first career start, the Irish went to-to-toe offensively with a good LSU team, and it was the new man under centre, getting the start ahead of the erratic Everett Golson, who also saw some time in the game. Zaire was pretty good, given his situation, throwing for 96 yards and a touchdown and also rushing for 96 yards and a score.
Then, Zaire would go out of the game, and in would come Golson. It worked well for Notre Dame, who rolled up 449 total yards of offense, and easily won the battle for time of possession, 37:00 to 23:00. The key for the Irish was that neither quarterback threw an interception, which had been a real problem late in the regular season.
Yet, the Tigers didn’t roll over and let the Irish have this one. Particularly not another true freshman, RB Leonard Fournette, who seemed to enjoy a big play every time he touched the football. And touch it, he did: often. The 230-pound back, who has incredible speed for a guy his size, ran back a kick-off 100 yards to tie the game at 14-14, and had an 89-yard touchdown run. Fournette ran for 142 yards, two scores and added 121 yards on 5 kick-off returns for a personal total haul of 253.
It wasn’t enough for the Tigers, who couldn’t combat the duel-quarterbacked final drive to set Brindza up for the game-winner, capping a great game. As much as I don’t like them, this was a good win for the Irish. One that Brian Kelly and his team really needed after really falling in a heap halfway through the season.
Belk Bowl
The first game between two ranked teams turned out to be a mismatch. Georgia were simply too good for Louisville, winning 37-14 in chilly Charlotte, North Carolina, and it was all thanks to their freshman running back Nick Chubb. Whilst Georgia fans will bemoan the loss of Todd Gurley for most of the season, the efforts of Chubb will at least make them feel good about the future, and with Sony Michel in the Bulldog backfield as the second half of a double-punch for the ground game, SEC defenses should be worried.
Chubb was the top dog in this game, running for 266 yards and two scores. Most of the night, he couldn’t be touched. It was just as well that Chubb, who ran for 1,550 total yards this year, the second-best season total in Georgia history behind Herschel Walker (who owns the top three in that category), was on point, because the Dawgs lost their quarterback, Huston Mason, to injury late in the first half – after a strong first half, including a 44-yard touchdown strike to Chris Conley – and were also without leading receiver Michael Bennett as well.
None of that mattered. Despite Louisville having a fair idea of Georgia’s game-plan, Chubb ran over, around and through Cardinals defenders, notching touchdown runs of 31 and 8, the last capping a 45-yard drive at the death, in which Chubb ran the football on all four plays, the finale being his touchdown, and a little icing on the Bulldog cake.
It didn’t help Louisville that they couldn’t get anything going on offense. Running with two quarterbacks, Kyle Bolin to start and Reggie Bonnafon at times, didn’t help Bobby Petrino’s team. Bolin threw two interceptions in the first half and was yanked for Bonnafon, who had a chance to complete only three passes – one an interception – before he was yanked, and Bolin finished out the game. The Cardinals have some quarterback questions to be answered during spring ball and into summer. Suffice to say, the Belk Bowl wasn’t their greatest offensive night.
Foster Farms Bowl
The mismatch of the day took place inside the new Levis Stadium in Santa Clarita, California, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. A middling Big Ten team, Maryland, against a Pac-12 team in Stanford who came off a big win in the last game of the regular season against a good UCLA team, and it wasn’t hard to know how this would go.
Playing less than twenty miles from their campus, the Cardinal were kings in this one. They led the Terps 28-7 at half time and 35-7 at three-quarter time, eventually pulling away for a win that most of America had probably turned off by the time the final quarter began. Stanford ran out winners, 45-21, and nearly doubled Maryland’s total yardage (415 to 221).
It’s worth noting that the Terrapins second touchdown was a special teams effort – a 100-yard kick-off return by William Likely – and that, for the majority of the evening, one of the nation’s stingiest defenses kept Maryland at bay, limiting them (with sack yardage lost included) to just 7 rushing yards. That’s insane! If Stanford can get their offense clicking like their defense is, they’ll be a dangerous team in the Pac-12 next year.
Stanford QB Kevin Hogan basically throws to set up the ground game for the Cardinal, and where he’s been erratic at times this season, he was superb tonight, completing 14-20 for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He also scrambled 7 times for 50 yards, part of a Stanford backfield that helped itself to 207 rushing yards. There’s a lot of bruising downhill runners on the Cardinal roster, and they blunted that Terrapin defense tonight.
At least Maryland can lay claim to more offense – and points – than the vaunted University of Texas managed yesterday.
No comments:
Post a Comment