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CFT Previews: Your Dec. 26 Bowl Viewer’s Guide

By John TaylorDec 26, 2017, 10:33 AM EST
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Taking a quick-hit look at the Dec. 26 bowl menu, which today features the first two Power Five vs. Power Five matchups of the postseason.

WHO: Utah (6-6) vs. West Virginia (7-5)
WHAT: The 7th Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl
WHEN: 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
WHERE: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
THE LINE: West Virginia, +7
For the remainder of an extended preview, click HERE.

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WHO: Duke (6-6) vs. Northern Illinois (8-4)
WHAT: The 4th Quick Lane Bowl
WHEN: 5:15 p.m. ET on ESPN
WHERE: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
THE SKINNY: This game marks the first-ever meeting between the two football programs.  Duke is also making its first-ever appearance in the Motor City. … In the first three years of this bowl game, after it replaced the Little Caesars/Motor City Bowl, a team from a Power Five conference has been the winner.  Of course, NIU is only the second team from the Group of Five, with Central Michigan being the first, to play in it. … The last two Quick Lane Bowls have been decided by a combined 13 points after the first was a 19-point semi-blowout. … The Huskies have lost four straight bowl games, with their last win coming in the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl when they were coached by Dave Doeren, now the head coach at North Carolina State. Those four losses, incidentally, have come by a combined 105 points. … The Blue Devils aren’t exactly stellar in the postseason either as they have lost five of their last six bowl games since winning the 1960 (!!!) Cotton Bowl. … You can very neatly divide Duke’s season into three separate acts, with the Blue Devils winning their first four games, losing their next six and then winning their last two. … Jordan Huff leads the Huskies with 740 yards rushing.  Unfortunately, an ankle injury will sideline the senior running back for the bowl game.  At least when it comes to tailbacks, the running-game load will likely fall on the shoulders of Marcus Jones (347 yards). … Standout player you’ve probably never heard of? NIU defensive end and consensus All-American Sutton Smith, a converted running back who leads the nation with 28.5 tackles for loss.  The next closest?  The 26 from unanimous All-American Bradley Chubb of North Carolina State.  Smith also leads the country in sacks with 14.  The sophomore, by the way, is listed at 6-0 even, 225 pounds.
THE LINE: Northern Illinois, +5½
THE PREDICTION: Duke 24, Northern Illinois 21

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WHO: Kansas State (7-5) vs. UCLA (6-6)
WHAT: The 29th Cactus Bowl
WHEN: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
WHERE: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
THE LINE: UCLA, +2½
For the remainder of an extended preview, click HERE.

Iowa State forced to swap Incarnate Word for Drake as make-up opponent

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By Zach BarnettNov 20, 2018, 6:27 PM EST
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Most college football schedule is done years, if not decades in advance. Not for Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard. He’s had to line up two separate make-up game opponents within the same season.

The Cyclones were supposed to open this season with South Dakota State but, like Nebraska, the game had to be cancelled due to heavy thunderstorms in the Midwest. Whereas Nebraska was able to line up and play Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 27, Iowa State was not able to schedule a make-up game until Dec. 1, against Incarnate Word. Delaying the game so far into the calendar opened up the possibility it could be cancelled due to either Iowa State making the Big 12 Championship or UIW making the FCS playoffs. Remote as they seemed at the time, those possibilities floated out there in the distance.

Well, Iowa State (6-4, 5-3 Big 12) will not play for the Big 12 title, thanks to last Saturday’s loss to Texas. But Incarnate Word, 2-9 a year ago and playing under first-year head coach Eric Morris, managed to make the FCS playoffs. The 6-4 Cardinals, co-champions of the Southland Conference, snared an at-large bid and will open their first playoff run at Montana State on Saturday.

Given that their make-up opponent may not be available, Iowa State had to line up a make-up to the make-up opponent and found one in another FCS school — Drake.

“We’re most grateful to Drake Athletics Director Brian Hardin, Coach Rick Fox and the Bulldog leadership team for working with us through a very fluid situation,” Pollard said. “Coach (Matt) Campbell wants to play a 12th game and I believe our fans would welcome another chance to see this bowl-bound team play. I know the Bulldogs will enjoy the chance to play at Jack Trice Stadium and compete against a Power 5 opponent.”

Drake is located in Des Moines, just a 40 minute drive directly south on Interstate 35 from Ames, while Incarnate Word is located in San Antonio.

While Drake will not have to make a long trip to play this hastily-scheduled make-up game, it is still a significant undertaking for the Bulldogs. Drake competes in the Pioneer Football League, which does not offer scholarships. The Bulldogs went 7-3 overall and 6-2 in PFL play, completing their scheduled season with 43-6 win over Morehead State last Saturday.

They’ll have one more opponent to face this fall, and it’s a significant step up from their regular competition.

The game will kickoff at noon ET.

South Florida handing out free tickets to rivalry game vs. No. 11 UCF

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By Zach BarnettNov 20, 2018, 5:10 PM EST
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The War on I-4 was one of the very best games of 2017. With the AAC East championship on the line, 10-0 UCF hosted 9-1 South Florida before a national television audience and a packed Spectrum Stadium crowd. It was a game the visiting Bulls led 34-28 entering the fourth quarter, UCF rocketed forward to take a 42-34 lead with 2:21 to play, South Florida tied with 1:41 remaining on an 83-yard touchdown pass and a 2-point conversion, and then UCF immediately wrestled the lead back with game-winning 95-yard kickoff return.

Regardless of classification, conference, what have you, it was one of the most intense and entertaining games of the entire season.

Fast forward a year with the scene shifting to Tampa and it’s safe to say the atmosphere will not be the. UCF is controls its fate to win the American, but South Florida does not. The Bulls are 7-4 overall and 3-4 in conference play.

With their rivals traveling southeast on Interstate 4 (hence the rivalry’s name) South Florida’s powers-that-be were apparently nervous about black-and-gold taking over the green-and-old in their own stadium, so they decided to give out some free tickets.

It’s not exactly fair to say USF has worse fans than UCF. USF shares its home with a pro team while UCF does not. Thus, USF has to fill a larger stadium (65,890) than UCF (45,031). Knights fans also get to root for a better team than Bulls fans, at least over those past two seasons.

Even given those caveats, it still may be more embarrassing to give out free tickets to your rivalry game rather than just selling them to your rivals.

South Florida hosts No. 11 UCF at 4:15 p.m. ET on ESPN on Friday.

Broyles Award for top assistant narrows field to 15 semifinalists

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By John TaylorNov 20, 2018, 3:55 PM EST
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The most prestigious award a college football assistant can claim has significantly narrowed its list of potential winners.

Tuesday, the Broyles Award unveiled its 15 semifinalists for the 2018 version of its hardware.  Four of the semifinalists come from the SEC, while two each hail from the Big 12, Pac-12 and football independents.  The ACC has two of the 15 and the Big Ten has one.

Group of Five conferences account for three of the semifinalists as UAB, UCF and Utah State are all represented.  Army also accounts for one of the semifinalists.

Of the 15 semifinalists, seven are defensive coordinators and seven are offensive coordinators.  Just one position coach made the cut — UCF offensive line coach Glen Elarbee.

Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was the 2017 winner of the Broyles Award; the Tigers’ other offensive coordinator, Jeff Scott, is a semifinalist this year.

Alabama – Mike Locksley, Offensive Coordinator
Army – Jay Bateman, Defensive Coordinator
Cal – Tim DeRuyter, Defensive Coordinator/Outside Linebackers
Clemson – Jeff Scott, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
Georgia – Sam Pittman, Offensive Line
LSU – Dave Aranda, Defensive Coordinator
Michigan – Don Brown, Defensive Coordinator
Mississippi State – Bob Shoop, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
Notre Dame – Chip Long, Offensive Coordinator
Oklahoma – Bill Bedenbaugh, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
UAB – David Reeves, Defensive Coordinator
UCF – Glen Elarbee, Offensive Line
Utah State – David Yost, Offensive Coordinator/QBs
Washington State – Tracy Claeys, Defensive Coordinator
West Virginia – Jake Spavital, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Miami Hurricanes down to one healthy tight end, a walk-on

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By John TaylorNov 20, 2018, 3:45 PM EST
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To say that injuries at the tight end position have been an issue for Miami this season would be a significant understatement.

In early August, Michael Irvin II suffered an MCL injury in his right knee and will be out for up to four months.  In mid-September, the Hurricanes were down to two healthy scholarship tight ends when Brian Polendey suffered a season-ending injury.

Unbelievably, both of the remaining scholarship tight ends, Brevin Jordan (pictured) and Will Mallory, who are both true freshmen, were injured in last Saturday’s win over Virginia Tech.  Both Jordan, who is second on the team in receptions with 30, and Mallory will be sidelined for the regular-season finale against Pitt this weekend.

The good news is that, per head coach Mark Richt, the two tight ends should be healthy enough to return for a bowl game.  The bad news?  According to the Sun-Sentinel, the Hurricanes are now down to just one healthy tight end, and he’s a walk-on — Nicholas Ducheine.

The redshirt freshman Ducheine has appeared in two games this season — Week 2 vs. Savannah State, Week 12 vs. Tech — and is still looking for his first career reception.