Snazzy new logo for a game that's been around for 26 years. This game usually features the best match-up of day one, but sometimes its just names on paper.
Oregon's players looked like they would rather have stayed on the strip. The Ducks had zero energy and Boise State was rolling at 100 percent.
Check out this swagger.
When you pull that stuff you better score, and they did. I was out after the first quarter, another game was starting and I could always come back if Oregon woke up.
Boise State 38 Oregon 28
The score wasn't as close as it seems. The Ducks scored two touchdowns on defense, an 86-yard fumble return and a 100-yard interception return. Oregon would have benefited if running back Royce Freeman had played but he sat out to protect himself for the NFL draft. Weird thing, he traveled with the team and was on field with them. Not sure why. Hey, if you don't want to play, stay home.
My pick: Boise State, record 2-1
What did I eat: Some left over onion dip with chips, not too many. Some cheesy popcorn, small bowl. Don't want to overdo it.
Player swag: A trip through the gift suite, Oakley backpack and tag, hat, Rock ‘Em socks, beanie. Rock 'Em socks makes team logo apparel, by all accounts, socks.
Fun Fact: New Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal played for the Amsterdam Admirals in the World League of Football. Kicker Adam Vinatieri also played for the Admirals and that guy is still playing in the NFL.
Gildan New Mexico Bowl - Marshall vs. Colorado State
I moved from the family room to living room to watch this game as we were decorating the Christmas tree. I haven't hung ornaments in years. It was kind of fun to go through the old ones and see others I didn't know we had.
Lots of back and forth scoring in the first half. Nice to see two teams who were enthused for their game.
Colorado State had the ball late but couldn't get another score, Marshall took this one 31-28. This is about all you can ask for from a lower tier bowl - scoring, big players, cool uniforms.
Those are awesome.
My pick: Colorado State, record 2-2.
What did I eat: Nothing, we were decorating the tree.
Player Swag: Gift suite, Oakley sunglasses, Oakley 5-Speed backpack, LiT tumbler, beanie, Gildan stadium blanket, cap, fidget spinner. FIDGET SPINNER, so mid 2017.
Fun Fact: The most valuable player trophies are crafted from Zia Pueblo traditional leather shields.
Camellia Bowl - Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State
Not a whole lot of interest, my goal was the required first quarter and then watch the Chiefs/Chargers game. The football gods knew I didn't want to sit through this game so the first quarter lasted nearly an hour. There was a play review that lasted at least five minutes. Why did the review take so long? Let Alex Kirshner from SB Nation explain.
- MTSU receiver Shane Tucker makes a nice catch at the ASU 2-yard line, where he’s tackled.
- But maybe he didn’t! Maybe he never controlled the ball at all, and maybe this is just an incomplete pass.
- But maybe he did, and maybe he fumbled before he was down.
- Maybe the ball got ripped out before Tucker had possession, and the guy who came up with it — Arkansas State’s Justin Clifton — just picked it off?
- In real time, the officiating crew decided it was a fumble, or a pick, or something. So ASU’s Clifton took the ball and was off to the races.
- Except Clifton himself fumbled at the MTSU 16, and the ball got batted around a bit before another Arkansas State player fell on it for a touchdown, 98 yards or so from where Middle Tennessee’s Tucker maybe caught the ball a few moments earlier.
- But there was a video review.
- And the video review ended with the referee announcing Clifton had intercepted the ball but been down himself at his own 1-yard line.
This actually was a pretty good game, with MTSU holding off Arkansas State 35-30. We flipped back and forth during breaks in the NFL game, of which there are many.
My pick: Arkansas State, record now 2-3. Not so good for day one.
What did I eat: Some chicken tenders with a dipping sauce that included Pain Is Good Louisiana Style hot sauce. That stuff has some serious firepower.
Players swag: A trip through the gift suite, Fossil watch (they're back), beanie, Ogio duffle bag, Big Game autograph football.
Fun Fact: This game is played in Montgomery, Alabama where I lived for six years. My son Bryant, a.k.a. Boy No. 2, asked me what there is to do in Montgomery. The only thing I could think of off the top of my head was visiting Hank Williams Sr.'s grave site.
He was not impressed. I also mentioned the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, again not impressed. That's all I could remember.
That's it until the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. That is an actual name of a bowl game.
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