By Spencer Hall

There's a ton of bowl games, and you can't watch them all if you have a real job. Fortunately, we don't, so take advantage and use the Two Minute Bowl Review to stay current and sound like you know what you're talking about.

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Competitive? Intensely so. Air Force's triple-option bamboozled Cal for the first quarter as the Falcons put the Bears in a 21-0 flat spin. Cal QB Nate Longshore exited in the second quarter for Kevin Riley (16-for-19, 269 yards and 2 TDs), and then it was a tennis match the rest of the way. The teams traded scores until Cal broke serve in the third quarter to take the lead for good.

Relevant stat to quote like you actually watched the whole game if you didn't: 25 and 26, or the number of first downs accumulated by Cal and Air Force, respectively. There were a few big plays--especially for Cal--but the chain gang got a good workout thanks to the extremely patient Air Force option and the methodical Cal attack.

Sentence that makes it sound like you watched the whole game: "I really, really hope Shawn Carney's knee doesn't ever bend like that again." The Falcons QB suffered a gruesome knee injury in the third quarter that had Dan Fouts urging you, the viewer, NOT to watch what was playing on the screen. He was right. Despite Carney's departure, Air Force kept it close and made Cal pound out the win on the ground with Justin Forsett (23 carries, 140 yards, 2 TDs).

Is this game anything? Meaning, does it have meaning for next year, college football and the world beyond? Possibly. Kevin Riley showed more flash than any Cal QB since Aaron Rodgers, meaning the three years of indecision at the position could be over. For Air Force, it's yet another sign that Navy isn't the only service academy capable of playing with the monsters of Division I. Even in defeat, they looked most impressive.

By Spencer Hall

There's a ton of bowl games, and you can't watch them all if you have a real job. Fortunately, we don't, so take advantage and use the Two Minute Bowl Review to stay current and sound like you know what you're talking about.

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Competitive? Factually, yes: Tech was within six points, 34-28, in the fourth quarter. Maybe we've watched too much Georgia Tech football, though: Six points feels like 60, and that was after Tech struggled to move the ball for three quarters. Based strictly on feel, Tech was behind the whole game, due to Fresno's fluid offense and befuddling lapses by the Jackets' defense.

Relevant stat to quote like you actually watched the whole game if you didn't: Fresno piled up 573 yards total offense. Bonus stat: Eight different receivers caught passes, something that had to have interim Tech coach and defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta going NC-17 on the headset.

Sentence that makes it sound like you watched the whole game: "Clifton Smith ended any chance of Tech coming back." The Fresno State running back (153 yards, 2 TDs) got 10 of his 18 carries in the fourth, burning clock during the endgame that earned Fresno State the win.

Is this game anything? Meaning, does it have meaning for next year, college football and the world beyond? The Magic 8-Ball says no. Teams with interim coaches are so difficult to gauge: Is Tech really talent-deficient at QB, or is it just waiting for Paul Johnson to remake it as an option team?

The game has far more meaning for Fresno State, which finished strong with a victory and has QB Tom Brandstadter poised for a potentially lucrative senior season.

By Spencer Hall

There's a ton of bowl games, and you can't watch them all if you have a real job. Fortunately, we don't, so take advantage and use the Two Minute Bowl Review to stay current and sound like you know what you're talking about.

Competitive? For a half. Oregon scored 28 unanswered points in the third quarter to smoke the ratings for the fourth quarter. Turning an 18-14 game at halftime into a 46-14 screamer will do that.

Relevant stat to quote like you actually watched the whole game if you didn't: Three turnovers by USF in the third quarter, all converted into Oregon touchdowns. Also: 23 carries, 252 yards and a TD, or Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart's massive day. Stewart allowed freshman QB Justin Roeper to use play-action effectively and throw for four TDs.

Sentence that makes it sound like you watched the whole game: "I hope Groethe's OK." This makes you sound like you not only watched well into the third quarter, where USF QB Matt Grothe turned the ball over twice, but also makes you sound like you saw Grothe get clobbered, stand up, and then collapse with an apparent shoulder injury and leave the game. It was mercy in disguise.

Is this game anything? Meaning, does it have meaning for next year, college football and the world beyond? Indubitably. Oregon recovered from a long, injury-riddled spin toward the middle of the Pac-10, showed its QB situation for next year is at least promising, and avoided a replay of last year's bowl embarrassment in the Pioneer Purevision Las Vegas Bowl.

For USF ... well, it shows that it still has a ways to go as a program. It also puts the Bulls in the same category as the Houston Cougar: things beaten down in public by a Donald Duck clone in odd colors.

By Spencer Hall

Venerable British football club Motherwell suffered a cruel and random stroke of fate when Phil O'Donnell, their 35 year-old midfielder, collapsed on the pitch on December 29th during a match with Dundee United and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards at a local hospital. This BBC report captures some of the shock soccer fans across Britain felt on hearing the news.



O'Donnell, a father of four, is the second footballer this year to collapse onfield. 22 year-old Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta collapsed during a match this summer and died days later due to an undiagnosed weakness in his right ventricle.

By Chris Mottram

This is a beautiful miniature Sugar Bowl replication, but perhaps someone should've let this dude know that the game is being played in a dome:



Although this little project was clearly a waste of time and resources, it still turned out pretty cool. You know, as far as the fine art of constructing tiny backyard football fields goes. And this stadium is much more aesthetically pleasing than the Superdome ever was.

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