Capital Gator One Bowl 2010: Penn State gains Capital and Florida State relishes Gator

Virginia Tech’s Hokies grabbed the Chick-Fil-A bowl from the Tennessee Volunteers with 37 to 14 win.

Patrick Stewart is now a Knight!

~!~

Walton High School from Marietta, GA on the Tournament of Roses Parade! 12:44PM on ABC.

~!~

This year’s Capital One Bowl between Penn State and LSU and the Gator Bowl between West Virginia and Florida State were televised by ABC and CBS respectively.  I’ve flipped back and forth between the two games.

Capital One Bowl Observations & Miscellania:

1.  The Penn State Nittany Lions and the LSU Tigers played on a mushy and wet field in Orlando.

2.  The Lions wore dark blue jerseys and the Tigers wore white.

3.  It was raining in the first quarter.

4.  Nittany Lion Derek Moye put his team on the score board with a touchdown in the bottom of the first quarter.  LSU made a field goal by the top of the second quarter.  Penn State added three in the second quarter and three more going into halftime.  13 to 3.

5.  The players from both teams were splattered with grayish mud.

6.  The third quarter gave Penn State another field goal.  Brandon LaFell made the first LSU TD of the day in the bottom of the quarter.  LSU took the lead in the top of the fourth quarter with a TD by Stevan Ridley.  The bottom of the fourth quarter put Penn State back on top with a field goal.  19 to 17.  Final score.  Penn State Nitany Lions have taken the 2009 Capital One Bowl.

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

Gator Bowl Observations & Miscellania:

1. The West Virginia Mountaineers and the Florida State Seminoles also competed against each other in moist conditions.

2.  The Seminoles were red jerseys and the Mountaineers wore yellow (reminded me of Juicy Fruit gum).  Those gold helmets atop the Seminoles’ heads made me think of hockey helmets.  The Mountaineers’ cosplay-mascot was played by a woman this year.

3.  Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, who would retire after today, was chewing gum when he was interviewed by a CBS side-line reporter.  I wonder what flavor.  Mint? Spearmint? Cinnamon? He threw a feathered spear into the middle of the field.

4.  Jarrett Brown made a touchdown and gave his Mountaineers teammates the lead in the top of the first quarter.   The Seminoles churned out a field goal in response.  Mountaineers Noel Devine increased his team lead towards the bottom of the quarter. 14 to 3. Florida State’s kicker Dustin Hopkins made a wide, wide left FG in the top of the second quarter.  The Seminoles intercepted the Mountaineers quarterback not long after that botched field goal and Jermaine Thomas made a touchdown.  Going into the second half, Dustin Hopkins closed the score gap for his fellow Seminoles. 14 to 13.

5.  Deion Sanders was dressed in Florida State colors and standing on their sideline.

6.  The sun came out in the bottom of the second quarter.

7.  Florida State took the lead with a field goal in the top of the third quarter.  In the bottom of the third, Jarmon Fortson made a super cool one-handed catch and a couple plays later, Jermaine Thomas made his second TD of the day.  Top of the fourth quarter gave West Virginia a TD by Ryan Clarke.  23 to 21.  Did Seminoles quarterback EJ Manuel get the ball into the end zone in the middle of the fourth quarter?  Yes, he did, an official booth review confirmed.  The bottom of the quarter increased Florida State’s lead with a field goal. 33 to 21.  Final score.  Florida State Seminoles have won the 2009 Gator Bowl.

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

Rose Bowl 2009: USC maxes out Penn State

The ninety-fifth Rose Bowl game. Penn State Nittany Lions and USC Trojans. Would the Big 10 or Pac 10 get the last fragrant laugh? Broadcast on ABC, the Trojans marching band performed the national anthem before the game proper began. The first quarter ticked halfway through when USC quarterback Mark Sanchez fumbled the ball (never even threw it out of his hands) and Penn State recovered. Or did they? An offside penalty on Penn State gave the ball back to USC. A few plays later, Sanchez threw twenty-seven yards to wide receiver Damian Williams for a touchdown. USC 7 and Penn State 0. That catch came out of nowhere…in that one second USC’s QB was prepped to launch the ball and the next nanosecond, TD. With fewer than ten seconds left in the quarter, Penn Statequarterback Daryll Clark got himself into the end zone for a TD. Both teams 7.

The second quarter spritzed off with a Trojans TD, shoved in by the quarterback. USC 14 and Penn State 7. A Trojans field goal put USC higher up with 17 to 7 halfway through the quarter. USC’s lead shot up to 24 to 7 (thanks to wide receiver Ronald Johnson’s TD). Penn State’s running back Stephfon Green had a good chance of making great strides down field on his team’s next possession, but he fumbled and USC recovered. Trojans running back CJ Gable increased his team’s numbers by a TD in the bottom of the quarter. USC 31 and Penn State 7.

The third quarter spelled out CJ Gable fumbling the ball and Penn State cornerback Tony Davis getting his hands on it. No scoring resulted from that turnover. In the final forty or so seconds of the third quarter, Penn State wide receiver Jordan Norwood had caught Daryll Clark’s pass and then was immediately slammed by USC safety Taylor Mays. Norwood had to be helped off the field, noticeably discombobulated–his eyes looked like they were pinging all over place. Mays got a helmet-to-helmet penalty. Slow-motion instant replay revealed that Norwood’s head was essentially squashed by two Trojans torsos in the tackle.

The fourth quarter harked the herald with a TD for the Nittany Lions, courtesy of wide receiver Derrick Williams. Trojans wide receiver Ronald Johnson made his second TD of the day with a forty-five yard catch on his team’s next possession. USC 38 and Penn State 14. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Penn State’s numbers rose by three with a field goal, and then by seven in the bottom of the quarter (thanks to Jordan Norwood). USC 38 and Penn State 24. Final score. The Trojans have won the Rose noodle Bowl for the third time in a row.

Observations & Miscellania:

1. Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit were the commentators.

2. Save for Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez, the USC football players don’t get much news reading done. Who is Joe Biden, TMZ asked recently. Question: How many players in total were asked, “Who is Joe Biden?” and of those players, how many got it right and weren’t included in the final sequence that hit the air?

3. Steve Shaw, of the SEC, was the referee. The Grand Marshal of the 2009 Tournament of the Roses was Cloris Leachman. She threw the coin. USC won the toss and deferred to second half. Cloris Leachman looks like Glenn Close a wee bit.

4. The Trojans’ uniforms made me think of barbecue sauce, mustard, and sloppy joes.

5. As neither a Trojans nor Nittany Lion fan, viewing consisted of soaking up game-play athleticism. Point. Counter-point. Check. Checkmate.

6. Actor John C. McGinley was in attendance. He had a full head of hair and a green shirt.

7. The Trojans marching band hit the field during halftime.

8. Did Brent Musburger say in the bottom of the fourth quarter that the QB plays a more important role in college football than in pro football?

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.