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Sunday Morning Quarterback

Sunday Morning Quarterback

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

SMQ BOWL BLITZ: TO WATCH OR NOT TO WATCH?
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The Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl: Mormons in Sin City; Little White Chapel booked solid.

For a short time, about ten years ago, the Las Vegas Bowl was one of young SMQ's favorites. Always the first bowl of the soon to be rapidly expanding season, between champions of the Big West and Mid-American Conferences, it had character in the same "this is these teams' Super Bowl" way as the I-AA Championship. Now? Just another boring WWL affair, indistinguishable from a regular season mid-week game, and not even good enough to fall during the burgeoning post-Christmas/pre-New Year tradition of Capital One Bowl Week.

Who: Brigham Young (6-5) vs. California (7-4)
Where: Sam Boyd Stadium in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada! Check out its fabulous parking lot! The stadium is actually located about eight miles away from Vegas, meaning fans miss both the quaint appeal on an on-campus venue and have to drive through the desert and throngs of roadside protesting Mormons in town, to get back to the Strip. Most disappointing is that Boyd Stadium was once, until 1984, named the Silver Bowl, which strikes SMQ as a very good name for a bowl contest. Alas, along with the Copper, Freedom and, soon, Peach Bowls, good postseason names are nothing in the face of creeping, massive midfield logo-fied corporatism.
Watch Because: Hippies try to tolerate polygamists in the Stereotype Bowl! Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett put the grater to BYU's only mildly improved swiss cheese run defense! John Beck creates outsized, inevitably unfulfilled 2006 All-America and NFL Draft hype with a monster passing game as the Cougars attempt to scramble from way behind! Next on ESPN!
Don't Watch Because: Mainly, because Cal is just a lot better than BYU. The Cougars can toss it around a bit, but were competitive against exactly one respectable foe (TCU, in a 51-50 OT loss) and were blown out by the likes of San Diego State. The Bears are barely touchdown favorites, which is pretty low for a 7-4 PAC Ten team facing a 6-5 Mountain West squad whose best win came against Colorado State (so, okay, yed, Cal's best win was Stanford. Three of UCB's four losses were by a combined 17 points, two of them to UCLA and Oregon - combined record: 19-3 - all games in which BYU would have been smeared).
What Else is On: You have no life. But the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl isn't your only option to fill the void eroding your inner soul:
ABC, 7 p.m. CST - Extreme Makeover, Home Edition: Holiday Wishes
120 mins. The team revisits families that the show has helped, and enlists their aid in helping others. Brian Wilson performs "Deck the Halls." First Lady Laura Bush also lends a hand along with crooner Wayne Newton and actor James Denton.

Every new home owner's holiday wish.


Spike!, 8 p.m. CST - MXC
30 mins. A Japanese-produced game show in which contestants attempt outrageous stunts while a running commentary (loosely dubbed in English) spotlights their mistakes.

i, 8 p.m. CST - Early Edition: Christmas
60 mins. On Christmas Eve, Gary tries to prevent a bombing, but has a jolly tough time convincing the police that there's a problem. Meanwhile, Chuck's arrested and thrown in jail - with a big guy (M. Emmett Walsh) in a red suit. Det. Crumb: Ron Dean. Chuck: Fisher Stevens. Gary: Kyle Chandler.

Court TV, 9 p.m. CST - Investigators: For Better or for Worse
60 mins. A marriage gone wrong is detailed. After several years together, a woman notices that her husband is displaying disturbing behavior, so she files for a divorce and a restraining order. A later 911 call from her husband gives police pause and leaves many questions unanswered.
Watchability Rating (click here for the SMQ Watchability Scale): This holds about as much panache as an October Wednesday night showdown between Miami U. and Cincinnati. SMQ didn't feel right about watching the burtal third quarter of that one, either.





SMQ's Pick: California 44, BYU 26
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PREVIOUSLY FROM SMQ:

2006 Preview
Anatomy of an Underdog
BlogPoll: 1-10/11-25/Roundtable
The ACC
The Big Ten
The Big XII
The Sun Belt

Running Departments
The Rap Sheet
July 29/Aug. 1/Aug. 9/Aug. 16/Aug.19/Aug. 25/Sept. 28/Oct. 4/Oct. 5/Oct. 18/Oct. 26/Nov. 2/Nov. 7/Nov. 8/Nov. 28/Dec. 2/Dec. 8/ Dec. 11/Dec. 18/Dec. 21/Feb. 6/Feb. 10/April 7/April 14/April 21/April 29/May 6/May 12/May 19/May 26/June 2/June 10/June 16/June 24/June 30/July 8/Aug. 4

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SMQ-APPROVED
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ESPN/ College Football News Wire
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USA Today
Opinion: Columnists and bloggers
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The Corporate Headquarters of the San Antonio Gunslingers
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FOX: Pete Fiutak
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Journalism is for Rock Stars (Alabama)
Mark May Be Wrong
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Orange::44 (Syracuse)
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The Sporting Gnomes (Clemson)
Tiger Pundit (Clemson)
We Must Ignite This Couch (West Virginia)
The Wizard of Odds

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The Blog Poll

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WANNA DO SOME RESEARCH? NERD! HERE'S SOME QUICK REFERENCES:

College Football Data Warehouse
College Football Research Center
College Football News
cfbstats.com
Football Commentary
THE STANDINGS
THE POLLS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Passing
Receiving
All-Purpose
Scoring
Tackles
Sacks
Interceptions
Tackles For Loss
Field Goals
Punting
Kickoff Returns
Punt Returns
TEAM STATISTICS
Rushing Offense
Passing Offense
Total Offense
Scoring Offense
Rushing Defense
Passing Defense
Total Defense
Scoring Defense
Turnover Margin

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Past Seasons
2005
Thursday Morning Quarterback
Sept. 29/Oct. 6/Oct. 20/Oct. 27/Nov. 3/Nov. 10/Nov. 17/Nov. 24/Dec. 1
Sunday Morning Quarterback
Oct. 2/Oct. 23/Oct. 30/Nov. 6/Nov. 13/Nov. 27
Stat Relevance Watch
Part One/Part Two/Part Three
SMQ Bowl Blitz
New Orleans/GMAC/Las Vegas/Poinsettia/Motor City

SMQ's [Hurricane-Abbreviated] 2005 Preview
Top 25 Countdown/Methodology
All-America Team
ACC
BIG EAST
BIG TEN
BIG XII