2020 College Football Insider | Week 12

2020 - Week 12 COLLEGE FOOTBALL

INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 12

Quote of the week “It is not part of our game plan, I promise you that.

We don’t go say, ‘Stink the first half and get behind.’”

- UNC Head Coach Mack Brown on overcoming a 21-point deficit in a 59-53 win over Wake Forest

TEAM TO WATCH:

USC

The Trojans completed a late fourth-quarter comeback for the second week in a row against an Arizona school to pull out a dramatic victory and move to 2-0. Will USC continue that magic in a run to the Pac-12 South title and a berth in the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl?

Sophomore quarterback Kedon Slovis, a Scottsdale Desert Mountain High School graduate, threw for 325 yards on 30-of-43 passing and engineered two fourth quarter TD drives in a 34-30 win at University of Arizona. Running back Vavae Malepeai scored on an 8-yard run with only :25 left in the game for the win. After the Wildcats broke a 20-20 tie with a field goal, USC rallied with an 11-play, 75-yard drive and took a 27-23 lead on an Erik Krommenhoek 6-yard pass from Slovis.

No. 20 USC heads into a matchup at Utah, playing its first game of the season, this Saturday at 8:30 pm MST on ESPN.

TEAM OF THE WEEK:

MARSHALL

One of the biggest sports tragedies happened on November 14, 1970, when the plane carrying 37 Marshall football players and coaches crashed and all 75 passengers were killed.

No. 16 Marshall took the field on the 50th Anniversary of that date, wearing special black uniforms and the No. 75 on players’ helmets.

Quarterback Grant Wells, who grew up only 50 miles from Marshall’s campus, was particularly inspired and threw for a season-best 335 yards on 25-of-37 passing and two touchdowns as the Thundering Herd posted a 42-14 win over Middle Tennessee to improve to 7-0 and 4-0 in Conference USA. “We knew that this game was going to mean so much to this fan base and this community. The fact that we could do this on the 50th anniversary is amazing,’’ said Wells.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 12

games of the week #9 INDIANA AT #3 OHIO STATE 11.21 | 10 AM | FOX

UCLA AT #11 OREGON

AP Week 12 Rankings 1. ALABAMA

6. FLORIDA

2. NOTRE DAME

7. CINCINNATI

3. OHIO STATE

8. BYU

4. CLEMSON

9. INDIANA

5. TEXAS A&M

10. WISCONSIN

11.21 | 1:30 PM | ESPN2

For the full AP Top 25 Rankings, click here.

#10 WISCONSIN AT #19 NORTHWESTERN

WHERE IS COLLEGE GAMEDAY:

11.21 | 1:30 PM | ABC

KANSAS STATE AT #17 IOWA STATE 11.21 | 2 PM | FOX

#14 OKLAHOMA STATE AT #18 OKLAHOMA 11.21 | 5:30 PM | ABC For a full schedule of Week 12 games, click here. (All times in MST)

bedlam

College GameDay is going from the serene setting of The Masters to Bedlam. The show will travel to Norman, Oklahoma, to broadcast live from Oklahoma’s campus.

GameDay will be on the site of ABC’s primetime matchup between No. 14 Oklahoma State and the No. 18 Sooners in a game that could decide which team earns a place in the Big 12 Championship Game.

GameDay has a different look this Fall, but fans are still able to participate online and send in their best GameDay Signs on Twitter by heading to collegegameday.com for a chance to rep their team.

College GameDay airs Saturday, November 21, at 7 am MST.

2020-21 Bowl PREDICTIONS: PLAYSTATION ® FIESTA BOWL

GUARANTEED RATE BOWL

ESPN Bonagura – BYU vs. Oregon

ESPN Bonagura – Maryland vs. Kansas State

ESPN Schlabach – BYU vs. Oregon

ESPN Schlabach – Iowa vs. Kansas State

CBS – Wisconsin vs. USC

CBS – Nebraska vs. West Virginia

USA Today – BYU vs. Oregon

USA Today – Iowa vs. Kansas State

Stadium McMurphy – Wisconsin vs. USC

Stadium McMurphy – Nebraska vs. West Virginia

The Athletic Mandel – BYU vs. Oregon

The Athletic Mandel – Maryland vs. Kansas State

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 12

GOLDEN HISTORY:

1997 — PURPLE PASSION HITS THE VALLEY Amid a sea of fans dressed in purple, Kansas State recorded arguably the biggest win in school history, as Michael Bishop steamrolled the Wildcats to a 35-18 victory over Syracuse in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl.

Bishop supplied the New Year’s Eve fireworks with 317 yards and four touchdowns through the air and 73 yards and one touchdown on the ground. The win culminated an 11-1 season, the first 11-win season in school history, its only loss coming to eventual national champion Nebraska.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT:

Alex smith

When Fiesta Bowl fans saw Alex Smith play in person at Sun Devil Stadium, he led the Utes to a 35-7 win over Pittsburgh to cap off a 12-0 season in 2005. He tossed for 328 yards on 29-of-37 passing, threw four touchdowns, was named Offensive MVP and became the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft months later.

Wide receiver Darnell McDonald established Fiesta Bowl records for most receiving yards (206) and longest reception (77 yards for a touchdown), while also tying the Fiesta Bowl record with three touchdown receptions.

Last week, Smith completed an amazing comeback to post his first start at quarterback in 728 days, after he suffered what many thought might be a career-ending leg injury in 2018. Starting the season as a third-stringer, he was under center against Detroit and helped Washington overcome a 21-point deficit to tie the game at 27-27.

Trailing 28-18, Syracuse had the ball at the Kansas State 17-yard line. Electrifying quarterback Donovan McNabb took the snap and ran to the left side where he looked to have a clear path to the end zone. But, as he turned the corner, the ball hit off his hip, and Defensive Player of the Game Travis Ochs recovered for K-State.

Smith threw for 390 yards on 38-of-55 attempts in Washington’s 30-27 loss to the Lions. It was the first time in his 14-year NFL career that he had two-straight games with 300-plus yards passing.

The Wildcats took advantage and scored on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Bishop to McDonald that put the game out of reach.

50th Anniversary Celebration To celebrate its storied history that began with a vision from nine community leaders in 1971, the Fiesta Bowl has unveiled a special logo and other initiatives to commemorate its 50th Anniversary season.

The Fiesta Bowl will recognize some of the top players, coaches, moments and milestones with a series of Top 50 lists, offer merchandise with the 50th Anniversary logo, honor its 50-year season ticket members, host a volunteer appreciation event open to every volunteer over the 50-year history and more.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 12

MORE THAN JUST A GAME® CHARITY SPOTLIGHT:

DESERT FINANCIAL FIESTA BOWL CHARITIES WISHES FOR TEACHERS In what has become an annual tradition to honor, support and celebrate Arizona’s teachers, the Fiesta Bowl Organization is proud to award $500,000 to teachers through the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program.

As part of its mission to benefit Arizonans through youth, sports and education, the Fiesta Bowl granted 200 K-12 public and charter school teachers a $2,500 wish to be implemented in their classrooms. A full list of teachers may be found here.

GUARANTEED RATE BOWL DATE ANNOUNCED

The 200 teachers represented 161 schools across the state, teaching more than 70,000 students, from 177 schools, 67 School Districts and 45 cities.

Sporting a new title sponsor and a new conference matchup, the Guaranteed Rate Bowl returns to a Saturday night kickoff, as representatives from the Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences will face off on Saturday, December 26, at 8:15 pm MST live on ESPN. This is the only postseason matchup between members of the Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences, and the first Saturday contest for the Bowl since the January 2, 2016, matchup between Arizona State and West Virginia. The two competing teams will be decided on Sunday, December 20, and play six days later in

FIESTABOWLRAFFLE.COM

downtown Phoenix.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 12

J A N . 2, 2021 | 2:00 P M MST S TAT E FARM STAD IUM

D E C . 26, 2020 | 8:15 P M MST CHASE FIE LD

F I E S TA B O W L . O R G /FIESTABOWL

@FIESTA_BOWL

GUARANTEEDRATEBOWL

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 12

@RATEBOWL