The Bowl Game Experience – Issue 7

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF

DECEMBER 2019 | ISSUE 7

2019-20 BOWL SEASON Here is the Complete Schedule of all 41 Fantastic Matchups

Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl

Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl

Nassau, Bahamas

CHARLOTTE

UTAH STATE VS

KENT STATE

7:30 PM | ESPN2

VS

Frisco, TX

2:00 PM | ESPN

BUFFALO

All times ET

SATURDAY, DEC 21 Celebration Bowl

New Mexico Bowl

Atlanta, GA

Albuquerque, NM

NORTH CAROLINA A&T

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FOOTBALLBOWLASSOCIATION.COM

CENTRAL MICHIGAN VS

SAN DIEGO STATE

2:00 PM | ESPN

VS

12 NOON | ABC

ALCORN STATE

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL

FRIDAY, DEC 20

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF

FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl

Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl

Orlando, FL

VS

GEORGIA SOUTHERN

VS

FLORIDA ATLANTIC

Camellia Bowl Montgomery, AL

VS

ARKANSAS STATE

5:30 PM | ESPN

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL

Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Las Vegas, NV

WASHINGTON

APPALACHIAN STATE VS

UAB

MONDAY, DEC 23

TUESDAY, DEC 24

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl

SoFi Hawai'I Bowl

Tampa, FL

MARSHALL

FOOTBALLBOWLASSOCIATION.COM

HAWAI'I VS

BYU

8:00 PM | ESPN

VS

Honolulu, HI

2:30 PM | ESPN

UCF

9:00 PM | ESPN

VS

New Orleans, LA

7:30 PM | ABC

BOISE STATE

2

SMU

3:30 PM | ABC

LIBERTY

Boca Raton, FL

2:30 PM | CBSSN

DECEMBER 2019 | ISSUE 7

SATURDAY, DEC 21

THURSDAY, DEC 26 Walk-On's Independence Bowl

Quick Lane Bowl

Shreveport, LA

MIAMI (FL)

VS

EASTERN MICHIGAN

8:00 PM | ESPN

VS

PITTSBURGH

4:00 PM | ESPN

LOUISIANA TECH

Detroit, MI

FRIDAY, DEC 27 Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman Annapolis, MD

®

TEMPLE

MICHIGAN STATE VS

WAKE FOREST

3:20 PM | ESPN

MILITARY BOWL

VS

Bronx, NY

12 NOON | ESPN

NORTH CAROLINA

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Houston, TX

VS

TEXAS A&M

SDCCU Holiday Bowl

Cheez-It Bowl

San Diego, CA

IOWA

AIR FORCE VS

WASHINGTON STATE

10:15 PM | ESPN

VS

Phoenix, AZ

8:00 PM | FS1

USC

6:45 PM | ESPN

OKLAHOMA STATE

#BIGGERTHANTHEGAME

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl

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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF

SATURDAY, DEC 28 Camping World Bowl

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

Orlando, FL

IOWA STATE Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

CLEMSON VS

OHIO STATE

8:00 PM | ESPN

LSU

Glendale, AZ

4:00 PM | ESPN

VS

PENN STATE PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

Atlanta, GA

OKLAHOMA

VS

12 NOON | ESPN

VS

MEMPHIS

12 NOON | ABC

NOTRE DAME

Arlington, TX

MONDAY, DEC 30 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

Redbox Bowl

Dallas, TX

WESTERN MICHIGAN

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl Nashville, TN

LOUISVILLE

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VS

ILLINOIS

Capital One Orange Bowl Miami Gardens, FL

FLORIDA VS

VIRGINIA

8:00 PM | ESPN

VS

4:00 PM | ESPN

MISSISSIPPI STATE

CALIFORNIA

4:00 PM | FOX

VS

12:30 PM | ESPN

WESTERN KENTUCKY

Santa Clara, CA

TUESDAY, DEC 31 Belk Bowl

Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl

Charlotte, NC

El Paso, TX

KENTUCKY

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

WYOMING VS

GEORGIA STATE

4:30 PM | CBSSN

KANSAS STATE

ARIZONA STATE

Tucson, AZ

3:45 PM | ESPN

VS

TM

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl

Memphis, TN

NAVY

VS

TM

2:00 PM | CBS

VS

FLORIDA STATE

12 NOON | ESPN

VIRGINIA TECH

Valero Alamo Bowl San Antonio, TX

TEXAS

WEDNESDAY, JAN 1 Vrbo Citrus Bowl

Outback Bowl

Orlando, FL

Tampa, FL

ALABAMA

MINNESOTA VS

AUBURN

1:00 PM | ESPN

VS

1:00 PM | ABC

MICHIGAN

#BIGGERTHANTHEGAME

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL

VS

7:30 PM | ESPN

UTAH

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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual Pasadena, CA

VS

WISCONSIN

New Orleans, LA

VS

BAYLOR

THURSDAY, JAN 2 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

Birmingham, AL

CINCINNATI

INDIANA VS

TENNESSEE

FRIDAY, JAN 3

SATURDAY, JAN 4

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, TX

Boise, ID

NEVADA

SOUTHERN MISS VS

TULANE

MONDAY, JAN 6

MONDAY, JAN 13

LendingTree Bowl

CFP National Championship Game

Mobile, AL

11:30 A.M. | ESPN

VS

3:30 PM | ESPN

OHIO

7:00 PM | ESPN

VS

Jacksonville, FL

3:00 PM | ESPN

BOSTON COLLEGE

New Orleans, LA

MIAMI (OH)

FOOTBALLBOWLASSOCIATION.COM

SEMIFINAL WINNER VS

SEMIFINAL WINNER

8:00 PM | ESPN

VS

7:30 PM | ESPN

LOUISIANA

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GEORGIA

8:45 PM | ESPN

OREGON

Allstate Sugar Bowl 5:00 PM | ESPN

DECEMBER 2019 | ISSUE 7

WEDNESDAY, JAN 1

Q&A

WITH MALCOLM MORAN

AUTHOR OF HISTORY OF THE BOWLS: CELEBRATING THE GOOD OF THE GAME HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE FBA PROJECT IN THE FIRST PLACE? "I had an opportunity to write for the Rose Bowl Vault, marking the 100th game, in 2014. The experience was new to me, so I was guided by the great work of Vault authors Loran Smith, Steve Richardson and Lou Prato. The opportunity was a huge honor and a challenge to tell the story of how the institution evolved through the years.

The latest Vault was the result of the Rose Bowl experience. The conversation began during the Associated Press Sports Editors Summer Conference in June, 2018, continued in San Jose at the CFP National Championship this past January and went from there."

"The biggest challenge was the attempt to make sure that each bowl’s most memorable moments could be represented. Some of the stories immediately became part of American sports culture and had to be prominent. Other stories might have been less visible, but to that community the moment was memorable. We tried to tell as many stories as possible and treat each one with the respect it deserves."

#BIGGERTHANTHEGAME

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FACETS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY THAT EVEN LONGTIME FOLLOWERS MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT? "The reluctance — for decades — of higher education leadership to accept post-season football. Columbia won the Rose Bowl because USUALLY, A BOOK OF Princeton had declined THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF the chance to go. When HISTORY OF THE BOWLS: Michigan State and Notre CELEBRATING THE GOOD HISTORY OF THE BOWLS: CELEBRATING THE GOOD OF THE Dame played in their OF THE GAME TAKES 18 version of the Game GAME is now available and may be found on Amazon and MONTHS TO 2 YEARS TO Whitman.com. The limited-edition book's award-winning of the Century in 1966, PRODUCE. YET THIS ONE author, Malcolm Moran, visited with FBA Communications on neither team played in a WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN bowl. Notre Dame did not what it took to produce it.

10 MONTHS. HOW? play in bowl games, and "I was going to ask you that! The chance to Michigan State was ineligible because of the noattend the FBA annual meeting in Houston last repeat rule the Big Ten had in those days."

April was a great help, because it created the opportunity for one-stop shopping. I could explain YOU WORKED ON THIS PROJECT, AS WITH the challenge of trying to represent all of the OTHER PREVIOUS BOWL BOOKS, WITH games when their histories and memories are all WHITMAN PUBLISHING. WHAT WAS THAT so distinctive. I had the chance to explain that any PROCESS LIKE, AND DID IT GO AS YOU success of the project would be possible only with THOUGHT IT WOULD? the help from each bowl. The emails started to "That is where the Rose Bowl Vault helped arrive immediately, and all of the information was create a comfort zone. The chance to reunite very helpful. From that point, it was as simple as with Dennis Schmidt, the editor, was the reason hunkering down each day with the goal of getting I did not have to think very long to accept the a little closer to the goal line." opportunity. His patience, encouragement and support had made the Rose Bowl project so WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU rewarding, and I knew the same thing would FACED WHEN YOU RESEARCHED THE MATERIAL happen this time. The challenge was different, but FOR THE BOOK? the outcome was the same."

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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF

DECEMBER 2019 | ISSUE 7

BACKING IT UP Heisman Trophy Winners Who Made an Exclamation Point in their Bowl Game

BY RICK GOSSELIN

G

ive Johnny Rodgers space and he was golden Bowl against Notre Dame. That’s the feature-back at the University of Nebraska. position in the Nebraska offense with heavy-duty And the Huskers gave him that space, running responsibilities that years later would win playing him at wingback where his versatility and Mike Rozier a Heisman. speed in the open field as a runner, receiver and In addition to Rodgers’ first game at I-back, returner could best be displayed. it was Devaney’s final game as He scored seven touchdowns head coach of the Cornhuskers. rushing, seven more receiving and So offensive coordinator Tom two more on punt returns on his Osborne went to work constructing way to a Heisman Trophy in 1972. a gameplan that would define the He did everything for Nebraska genius of the move. except pass.

“Coach Devaney and Coach Rodgers set 41 school records, Osborne were really trying to create leaving Nebraska after a threeopportunities for me,” Rodgers year career as the school’s all-time said. “They wanted to showcase me leader in receiving and all-purpose because Heisman Trophy winners JOHNNY RODGERS yardage. He also set NCAA records did have a stigma. Sometimes they for career punt returns for didn’t do so well in bowls. They touchdowns (seven) and career wanted to make sure we didn’t have kick returns for scores (nine). that problem. And we also wanted to make sure Rodgers ran out of challenges at Nebraska, so Devaney went out a winner.” coach Bob Devaney gave him a new one for his The stigma was real. There have been 59 final game. Devaney moved the 5-9, 173-pound Heisman Trophy winners in the game’s modern Rodgers from wingback to I-back for the Orange era (since 1960). Fifty-four of them played in bowl

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FOOTBALLBOWLASSOCIATION.COM

“

To become outright national champ and hold that crystal ball at the end of the game was pretty awesome.”

MATT LEINART

MATT LEINART

#BIGGERTHANTHEGAME

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL

games in their Heisman seasons but only 25 managed to win that game.

Remember when I mentioned Rodgers did everything at Nebraska except pass? Well, Osborne put in a pass play for his new I-back for the Orange Bowl … and Rodgers promptly threw a 52-yard TD strike to Frosty Anderson. He also caught a 50-yard pass from David Humm for a touchdown and ran for three more scores — all in the game’s opening 39 minutes.

He watched from the sidelines the final 21 minutes as Nebraska closed Devaney’s Hall of Fame career with a 40-6 victory over the Fighting Irish.

“We always had a target on our back,” said Rodgers of the Cornhuskers. “So did I. All the time.”

Rodgers wore that target well. So did Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner. His election did not sit too well with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Not only did Leinart beat out Oklahoma quarterback Jason White, the 2003 Heisman winner, for the 2004 award, he beat out the Sooners’ freshman running sensation Adrian Peterson, who finished second in the balloting.

White finished third.

As luck would have it, the Sooners would get the chance to play Leinart and the Trojans in the BCS championship game at the Orange Bowl. The field would determine the best player.

“I remember there was a lot of talking from their side,” Leinart said. “There was a defensive player, I can’t recall his name, who was watching film and then saw me in person and said, `He doesn’t look like a Heisman Trophy winner.’ We’re going to come after him.”

Leinart did look like a Heisman Trophy winner against Oklahoma. He completed 18-of-35 passes for 332 yards and five touchdowns in a 55-19 romp over the Sooners, providing an exclamation point to a perfect 13-0 season and a second consecutive national championship for the Trojans.

“To become outright national champ and hold that crystal ball at the end of the game was pretty awesome,” said Leinart.

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DECEMBER 2019 | ISSUE 7 10

Eight players capped their Heisman seasons with bowl victories and national championships in addition to Leinart: running backs Tony Dorsett of Pitt and Mark Ingram and Derrick Henry, both of Alabama; quarterbacks Charlie Ward of Florida State, Danny Wuerffel of Florida, Cam Newton of Auburn and Jameis Winston of Florida State and cornerback Charles Woodson of Michigan.

In addition to Rodgers and Leinart, there has been only one other fivetouchdown bowl performance by a Heisman winner in the modern era. But Barry Sanders was the only one to reach the end zone five times himself.

Sanders became the sixth 2,000-yard rusher in NCAA history with 2,406 yards in the regular season for Oklahoma State. But he didn’t stop there, piling up 222 yards and those five touchdowns in a Holiday Bowl victory over Wyoming for an NCAA single-season record 2,628 yards. Like Rodgers, Sanders left the game early.

He did his damage in only three quarters of a 6214 victory over the Cowboys.

“What I remember about that game was that I hadn’t quite decided yet if I was leaving school,” Sanders said. “I was still thinking I was coming back.”

But like Rodgers, the Wyoming game showed Sanders there were no more challenges left for him at the college level. So he became the first junior ever to leave school early for the NFL and now has residence in both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame. Rodgers and Leinart are both in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Terry Baker paved the way for Leinart’s Heisman. He became the first player from the West Coast to win the award in 1962.

“I was in an engineering class and was told that the athletic director wanted to see me immediately,” said Baker, a quarterback at Oregon State. “I walked over to his office, they handed me the phone and the person on the other end of the line told me I had just won the Heisman Trophy. After a brief conversation I went back to class. That’s about it. I had no idea that I was being considered or that it was about to be announced. It was a different time.”

FOOTBALLBOWLASSOCIATION.COM

“

What I remember about that game was that I hadn’t quite decided yet if I was leaving school…

I was still thinking I was coming back.”

BARRY SANDERS

BARRY SANDERS

“

There are a lot of All-Americans every year…but only one Heisman Trophy winner.

I’ll always have that Heisman.

Rick Gosselin has covered football at both the college and pro levels for 47 years in Detroit, New York City, Kansas City and Dallas. He has worked for United Press International, the Kansas City Star and the Dallas Morning News. He is a past Heisman Trophy voter and a current Pro Football Hall of Fame voter.

CARPARELLI TO BECOME NEW FBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Nick Carparelli, longtime football administrator and sports executive, has been named the Executive Director of the Football Bowl Association. He will officially succeed Wright Waters upon his retirement in April but will begin in a transition role in January of 2020.

“Nick is a skilled consensus-builder and excellent communicator, bringing significant relationships with our numerous stakeholders and in-depth knowledge of college football.

Bowl games are a unique tradition in sports that have deep community impact in the cities they’re played. Nick will bring the bowls together and push us forward collectively,” said Mike Nealy, Football Bowl Association Chair and Executive Director of the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl and Cheez-It® Bowl. “Wright Waters has elevated the FBA’s stature since he took over in 2012, being the ultimate leader and helping the bowl games reach new heights.”

Widely respected in college football, Carparelli most recently served as Senior Director of College Sports Marketing at Under Armour where he created strategic marketing plans for their collegiate partnerships. He was responsible for tripling the size of their collegiate partner portfolio including the acquisition of high profile schools such as Wisconsin and UCLA, the largest apparel and footwear deal in college sports history.

“I am delighted Nick will be following me as Executive Director. I’ve known Nick for 20 years and have always admired his work and understanding of intercollegiate athletics,” Waters said. “The FBA has a bright future under his guidance, and I trust the membership will show him the same support I have enjoyed.”

#BIGGERTHANTHEGAME

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Baker’s reward for winning the Heisman? A trip to Philadelphia to play on a frozen field against a Philadelphia team (Villanova) in the Liberty Bowl.

The Beavers opted to wear tennis shoes instead of cleats in the game and Baker flashed his Heisman form with a 99-yard touchdown run for the only points in a 6-0 victory.

“I remember how miserably cold it was and what a stupid play to call when we were backed up against our own goal line,” Baker recalled.

“I took the snap TERRY BAKER from our center and rolled out to the left. A couple of Villanova defenders had their hands on me while I was in the end zone, but luckily I slipped away and was able to run the length of the field for a touchdown.”

Baker was one of 30 quarterbacks to JOHNNY RODGERS win the Heisman since 1960.

There also have been 26 running backs, two wide receivers and a cornerback capture the award. It’s an exclusive fraternity.

“There are a lot of All-Americans every year,” Rodgers said, “but only one Heisman Trophy winner. I’ll always have that Heisman.”

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