Bowl Lineup

Bowl/Teams	Location	Date/Time	TV
Gildan New Mexico	Albuquerque, NM	Sat., Dec. 17	ESPN
Temple vs. Wyoming	University Stadium	2:00 p.m. ET
Famous Idaho Potato	Boise, ID	Sat., Dec. 17	ESPN
Ohio vs. Utah State	Bronco Stadium	5:30 p.m. ET
R+L Carriers New Orleans	New Orleans, LA	Sat., Dec. 17	ESPN
La.-Lafayette vs. San Diego St.	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	9:00 p.m. ET	(3D)
Beef O' Brady's St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, FL	Tue., Dec. 20	ESPN
Florida International vs. Marshall	Tropicana Field	8:00 p.m. ET	(3D)
San Diego County CU Poinsettia	San Diego, CA	Wed., Dec. 21	ESPN
Louisiana Tech vs. TCU	Qualcomm Stadium	8:00 p.m. ET
MAACO Las Vegas	Las Vegas, NV	Thu., Dec. 22	ESPN
Arizona State vs. Boise State	Sam Boyd Stadium	8:00 p.m. ET
Sheraton Hawaii	Honolulu, HI	Sat., Dec. 24	ESPN
Nevada vs. Southern Miss	Aloha Stadium	8:00 p.m. ET
AdvoCare V100 Independence	Shreveport, LA	Mon., Dec. 26	ESPN
Missouri vs. North Carolina	Independence Stadium	5:00 p.m. ET
Little Caesars Pizza	Detroit, MI	Tue., Dec. 27	ESPN
Purdue vs. Western Michigan	Ford Field	4:30 p.m. ET
Belk	Charlotte, NC	Tue., Dec. 27	ESPN
Louisville vs. NC State	Bank of America Stadium	8:00 p.m. ET
Military	Washington, DC	Wed., Dec. 28	ESPN
Air Force vs. Toledo	RFK Stadium	4:30 p.m. ET
Bridgepoint Education Holiday	San Diego, CA	Wed., Dec. 28	ESPN
California vs. Texas	Qualcomm Stadium	8:00 p.m. ET
Champs Sports	Orlando, FL	Thu., Dec. 29	ESPN
Florida State vs. Notre Dame	Florida Citrus Bowl	5:30 p.m. ET	(3D)
Valero Alamo	San Antonio, TX	Thu., Dec. 29	ESPN
Baylor vs. Washington	Alamodome	9:00 p.m. ET
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces	Dallas, TX	Fri., Dec. 30	ESPN
BYU vs. Tulsa	Gerald J. Ford Stadium	12:00 p.m. ET
New Era Pinstripe	Bronx, NY	Fri., Dec. 30	ESPN
Iowa State vs. Rutgers	Yankee Stadium	3:20 p.m. ET
Franklin Amer. Mort. Music City	Nashville, TN	Fri., Dec. 30	ESPN
Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest	LP Field	6:40 p.m. ET
Insight	Tempe, AZ	Fri., Dec. 30	ESPN
Iowa vs. Oklahoma	Sun Devil Stadium	10:00 p.m. ET
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas	Houston, TX	Sat., Dec. 31	ESPN
Northwestern vs. Texas AM	Reliant Stadium	12:00 p.m. ET
Hyundai Sun	El Paso, TX	Sat., Dec. 31	CBS
Georgia Tech vs. Utah	Sun Bowl	2:00 p.m. ET
Kraft Fight Hunger	San Francisco, CA	Sat., Dec. 31	ESPN
Illinois vs. UCLA	AT&T Park	3:30 p.m. ET
AutoZone Liberty	Memphis, TN	Sat., Dec. 31	ABC
Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt	Liberty Bowl	3:30 p.m. ET
Chick-fil-A	Atlanta, GA	Sat., Dec. 31	ESPN
Auburn vs. Virginia	Georgia Dome	7:30 p.m. ET	(3D)
TicketCity	Dallas, TX	Mon., Jan. 2	ESPNU
Houston vs. Penn State	Cotton Bowl	12:00 p.m. ET
Capital One	Orlando, FL	Mon., Jan. 2	ESPN
Nebraska vs. South Carolina	Florida Citrus Bowl	1:00 p.m. ET	(3D)
Outback	Tampa, FL	Mon., Jan. 2	ABC
Georgia vs. Michigan State	Raymond James Stadium	1:00 p.m. ET
Taxslayer.com Gator	Jacksonville, FL	Mon., Jan. 2	ESPN2
Florida vs. Ohio State	EverBank Field	1:00 p.m. ET
Rose Bowl Game	Pasadena, CA	Mon., Jan. 2	ESPN
Oregon vs. Wisconsin	Rose Bowl	5:00 p.m. ET
Tostitos Fiesta	Glendale, AZ	Mon., Jan. 2	ESPN
Oklahoma State vs. Stanford	U. of Phoenix Stadium	8:30 p.m. ET
Allstate Sugar	New Orleans, LA	Tue., Jan. 3	ESPN
THEM vs. Virginia Tech	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	8:30 p.m. ET
Discover Orange	Miami Gardens, FL	Wed., Jan. 4	ESPN
Clemson vs. West Virginia	Sun Life Stadium	8:00 p.m. ET
AT&T Cotton	Arlington, TX	Fri., Jan. 6	FOX
Arkansas vs. Kansas State	Cowboys Stadium	8:00 p.m. ET
BBVA Compass	Birmingham, AL	Sat., Jan. 7	ESPN
Pittsburgh vs. SMU	Legion Field	1:00 p.m. ET
GoDaddy.com	Mobile, AL	Sun., Jan. 8	ESPN
Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois	Ladd-Peebles Stadium	9:00 p.m. ET
Allstate BCS National Championship	New Orleans, LA	Mon., Jan. 9	ESPN
Alabama vs. LSU	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	8:30 p.m. ET	(3D)

Don't Fall in Love

Penn State has announced a home and home series with Pitt, thanks to the Miami Hurricanes backing out of a scheduled series in 2016-2017.

Forgive me for not doing cartwheels.  I am not excited about this.

Instead of going to the ball with Cinderella, we are taking the really ugly step-sister.  WooHoo!
Seriously, Pitt football isn't even worthy of the ugly step-sister role.  Pitt is toe fungus on the deformed foot of the ugly stepsister.

Some sportswriters are musing this could be the catalyst to bring these two rivals back together for an annual game.

Maybe, just maybe, this two-year flirtation - probably after the Lions' lead swinger, Joe Paterno, is no longer on the sidelines, but even that's not a certainty - will rekindle that old flame.

On the other side of the dance floor, athletic director Tim Curley insists that Penn State won't go steady with Pitt again.

“Right now, we wouldn’t be interested in [playing Pitt] on an annual basis…

Its going to be real important for us to continue to move around the country and play some intersectional games around the country.

Barring the possibility of Pitt joining the Big Ten, I do not foresee PSU entertaining this as an annual game, when more attractive OOC matchups like Alabama could be had.

I'd be fine with replacing Temple with Pitt.  Or Indiana State.  But the panthers have no desire to sign on for single games at Beaver Stadium, or a 2 for 1 or even a  3 for 1 deal which makes more sense financially for Penn State.

Perhaps the most attractive side-story to this temporary series renewal is this:  will JoePa still be coaching?

Jopacabana (adapted from Barry Manilow's Copacabana)

Her name was Pittsburgh, she was a showgirl
With yellow pom poms in the air and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star, Big East always tended bar
Across a B-Ball floor, they worked from 8 till 4
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?

At the Jopa (JO!), Jopacabana (Jopacabana)
The hottest spot north of Savannah (here)
At the Jopa (JO!), Jopacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Jopa....they fell in love
(Jopa Jopacabana)

His name was JoePa, he coached the Lions
He was escorted to his chair, he saw Pittsburgh dancin' there
And when she finished, he called her over
But Joepa went a bit too far, Big East sailed across the bar
And then the punches flew and chairs were smashed in two
There was blood and a single gunshot
But just who shot who?

At the Jopa (JO!), Jopacabana (Jopacabana)
The hottest spot north of Savannah (here)
At the Jopa (JO!), Jopacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Jopa....she lost her love

(Jopa. . Jopacabana)
(Jopa Jopacabana) (Jopacabana, ahh ahh ahh ahh)
(Ahh ahh ahh ahh Jopa Jopacabana)
(Talking Savannah have a banana)
(Music and passion...always the fash--shun)

Her name is Pittsburgh, she was a showgirl
But that was 30 years ago, when Pitt used to have a show
Now it's the Big Ten, but not for Pittsburgh
Still in the dress she used to wear, old Pitt stadium isn’t there
She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind
She lost her youth and she lost her rival
Now she's lost her mind!

At the Jopa (JO!), Jopacabana (Jopacabana)
The hottest spot north of Savannah (here)
At the Jopa (JO!), Jopacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Jopa....don't fall in love
(Jopa) don't fall in love
Jopacabana
Jopacabana

Orange ya Glad . . .

We play Alabama this season instead of Syracuse?  Granted, it's probably a loss--a train wreck waiting to happen--but surely more exciting than the last two meetings with Syracuse.

But have no fear. If squeezing oranges is your thing, Penn State will oblige.  According to this press release, Penn State will open the 2013 season with Syracuse at the Meadowlands, and is looking to schedule a two-game series in 2020-21.

"We are thrilled about the opportunity to play Syracuse at the New Meadowlands Stadium to open the 2013 season," Curley said.

Sorry, but thrilled is not the word that leapt to my mind.  Fans being asked to fork out megabucks under the new STEP program will have an OOC slate of such marquee matchups as this, Virginia and Rutgers to look forward to in the nxt five years.  How about that for bang for your buck?  Since we only ever play ONE home and away series every two years, is it really too much to ask for that we schedule teams like Notre Dame (*), USC, Texas, or fill-in whatever Top 20 program you want to like Alabama this year and next?  I don't know about you, but Syracuse just doesn't make up for a steady diet of Kent, Indiana and Youngstown States.   Or maybe the powers that be think that the addition of Nebraska will beef up the schedule enough that fans won't notice the OOC slate?  I guess we should be happy that we can't schedule Temple twice in the same year!

(*) For you astute readers, I fully understand that Notre Dame is not a Top 20 program, but this has always been an exicitng game and we must never pass up the opportunity to beat the Irish.

Penn State to Play FedEx in 2010

The FedEx Orange Bowl? Who knows?

But Penn State will be playing at FedEx Field in Washington D.C. when Indiana moves their home game from Bloomington to the home of the Redskins.

Why, you may ask?

$$$$$$$ What else?

According to Kevin McGuire of the Examiner.com:

The November 20, 2010 game between Penn State and Indiana will switch locations from Indiana's campus in Bloomington, Indiana to FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. FedEx Field is home of the NFL's Washington Redskins.

The Herald Times of Bloomington reports that the Redskins approached Indiana about moving their home game to their stadium in exchange for a #3 million payout. The Hoosiers gladly accepted the deal as they annually rank near the bottom of the Big Ten in terms of football money.

This is good news for Penn State fans as the game will be in a much more Penn State friendly region and most of the 90,000+ seats figure to be filled with fans in blue and white, even though the game will still be considered a "home" game for Indiana.

I wonder what Indiana fans (either one) think about that! I'm not big on road trips, but I might consider this one.

How Low Can We Go?

It was announced this week that Penn State has added Indiana State to the football schedule in 2011, a week before playing the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Indiana State will cash a school-record paycheck of $450,000 for a trip to Happy Valley on Sept. 3, 2011. This craptastic match-up will serve as a tune-up for Penn State's battle with Alabama the following week, but who are we to argue with success? The man responsible, Tim Curley, was named Athletic Director of the Year in Northeast Region for 2008-09.

Normally, I am a defender of Penn State's scheduling because I understand the economics behind the situation. As a fan, I may not always agree with it, but I get the big picture.

What I don't get is scheduling Indiana State. Why? For the love of all that is blue and white, why would we schedule this. . . this . . .well, let's face it, calling them a team is being generous.

Coastal Carolina lost to Appalachian State in the playoffs in 2006. Youngstown State has won National Titles in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997.

But what has Indiana State done?

The Mighty Sycamores went 0-12 last year with losses to Illinois State (57-6), Eastern Michigan (52-0), Western Illinois (56-0) and South Dakota State (49-9). Note that these games weren't even close. They were outscored 508-101, and Eastern Michigan was likely their toughest opponent.

In 2007, they went 0-11, coming up short in a 13-10 loss to Southeast Missouri State.

In 2006, they actually won a game, finishing the season 1-10. The lone win was a 28-22 drubbing of Missouri State.

In case you are wondering, they went 0-11 in 2005. That's a total of 1-44 in FOUR YEARS.

So not only are we playing a team from a lower division, but we are playing one of the WORST teams in that division. If you planted a Sycamore tree on the fifty yard line, it would have a better chance of winning a game than this team. Heck, if you planted a sycamore tree at the goal line, at least there would be a defender. Sooner or later some showboater would accidentally run into the tree, and hopefully cough up the football.

Sometimes when you schedule a team--like Syracuse--you don't know know how bad they'll be. Hello, McFly! This team ain't looking any better for 2011, although if they win one game, they will be better, so it all depends on how you look at it. They are 13-57 since 2002. Bad is just an adjective--and they are bad.

It's an outrage. Couldn't a school like Penn State find a better opponent? Aren't there MAC teams that would be willing to take a $450,000 paycheck home? I'd even take Pitt, but they won't accept without a return trip to Pittsburgh.

Playing Indiana State doesn't even help recruiting. We already play Indiana and Purdue. Geographically, this game is worthless. Coastal Carolina and Youngstown offer better recruiting grounds.

I'd rather see us play Akron twice in the same season. Or Temple. Are both William AND Mary busy that weekend? Craptastic--a great adjective--doesn't really do justice to this injustice. This is not a cupcake--this is what cupcakes eat. Indiana State . . . the Breakfast of Cupcakes!

This is simply inexcusable. I can handle playing inferior opponents to pay the bills, but I cannot accept playing a team that is inferior to inferior opponents, when there have to be other options available.

UNC Wants a Piece of Us

According to J.P. Giglio of The News & Observer, Butch Davis has initiated talks to add Penn State to the schedule. Of course, he also asked a few other schools as well.

Davis said he wants to upgrade the nonconference schedule. All three Triangle
ACC teams play two home games against Football Championship Subdivision,
formerly Division I-AA, teams in '09.
"We have sent letters to Ohio State,
Michigan, Penn State and Oklahoma," Davis said. "We've tried to reach out and
get a future home-and-home series."

Davis said 2012 is the earliest opening on UNC's future schedules.

I, for one, would be in favor of UNC, at least compared to Syracuse, Eastern llinois, or Akron. But the latter two are willing to come to Beaver Stadium without a return trip, so I don't see the schedule changing anytime soon. Penn State has also been talking with Nebraska and Miami (FL).