Finally my turn to get into the action, with writing a bowl preview. Always fun to watch football games in baseball stadiums.
The Basics: Friday, December 30th from Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY at 3:30 PM EST. The game will be televised on ESPN pitting Iowa St (6-6) vs. Rutgers (8-4).
History: Last year saw the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee stadium, which has tie ins to the Big East and Big 12. The Inaugural game last year saw Syracuse defeat KSU in a thriller.
Iowa St: The Cyclones are led by freshmen standout signal caller Jared Barnett. He put opponents on their heels both through the air and on the ground. Don’t let their record fool you as Barnett didn’t take over the job till October, when he led them to 3 straight victories. Obviously this team will be remembered for their huge upset win over then #2 Okie State and held them out of the National Championship game. While Barnett had a huge game against the Pokes, he was highly inaccurate thorughout the year only completing 50% of his passes, so he may struggle against a very good Rutgers defense.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights will lean heavily on their defense in this one. Their tough D allowed only 18.75 points per game which was good for 12th in the country and 314 yds of total offense, which put them 14 nationally. Their D is led by Big East defense POY Khaseem Greene who was tops in the Big East in tackles with 127. Rutgers offense will also be led by a freshmen signal caller Gary Nova. He took over midway through the season and started the last 5 games leading the team in 1533 yds and 11 td passes. Nova will have a big time target to throw the ball to in WR Mohamed Sanu who set a Big East single season record with 109 catches. That landed him fifth in the nation. They will have to lean heavily on Nova and Sanu , as they had a very anemic running game averaging under a 100 yds/game. Iowa State’s putrid defense may allow for Rutgers to get on track on the ground tho. Rutgers will be playing in a bowl game for the 6th time in the last 7 years. Look for Rutgers to come out strong in this one as they will essentially be playing in their own back yard.
Fun Fact: In only the bowl games 2nd year this year there aren’t alot of facts about the bowl game, but Yankee stadium has been the host to some great moments in football history. Did you know that the what is considered” the greatest football game ever played” was played at Yankee statdium. The NFL championship game Dec 23, 1958 between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts.
Who we got?
- Chris – Iowa St.
- Eric – Iowa St.
- Jim – Iowa St.
- JoeD – Iowa St.
- Mali – Couldn’t make up his mind.
- JoeL – Rutgers
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