Stream - will update closer to game time. ifeed2all
Location:Tropicana FieldOn a side note, I hate this stadium. Especially for football. I'm surprised the Rays haven't demanded a new one. More surprised this game hasn't switched to being played at the Raymond James Forecast: - Dome Coaches
UCF is looking to end its third straight season with 10 wins. And third straight season with a bowl win.
NC State has posted consecutive 300-yard rushing games and is averaging 206 yards per game on the ground.
NC State only has 6 interceptions on the season. Jacoby Glenn has 7.
Who to know
NC STATE
#10 RB - Shadrach Thornton: With 9 rushing TD's, Shadrach is the bulk of the scoring for the Wolfpack.
#82 WR - Bo Hines: This explosive freshman has 537 yards on the season but only one TD. Assuming he stays healthy, he will be a major threat to the ACC in the years to come.
#12 QB - Jacoby Brisset: Passed for 359 yards in a losing effort against Florida State. This is a team that can play up to better teams.
Normally athletics websites have a traditions page that give me some insight to this section I made. I could not find any definitive traditions other than "winning"
Established: School - 1887, Football Team - 1892 Community:/NCSU
Fun Stuff
Last time we played NC State, they had Super Bowl winning QB Russell Wilson at their helm.
UCF ranks third in the nation in total defense with 282.8 yards allowed per game.
NC State's coach, Dave Doeren, said UCF was a program that NC State would like to be like. Unprompted.... So a P5 conference team looks up to us enough to openly admit it. But when asked about it, USF's coach says that they don't want to.
Nine of Holman's 13 longest throws this season have gone to Perriman, including the classic 51-yard Hail Mary to beat East Carolina.
Match-up thread Commentators: Clay Matvick, Dan Orlovsky, Paul Carcaterra
While USF and Marshall have never met, Marshall has a magicJackSt. PetersburgBeef O' Brady'sBitcoin Gasparilla Bowl record of 1-0, and USF a record of 2-0.
USF holds the Gasparilla Bowl records for margin of victory (27), passing yards (401), and passing TDs (3).
Please keep trash talk civil, and report any comments that violate our rules.
We're BitPay, sponsor for the NCAA Bitcoin St. Pete's Bowl! AMA!
Today BitPay announced our sponsorship for the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl to be held in December 26, 2014. You can read about it here: WSJCoinDeskBitPay's Blog We are very excited about this new partnership and the opportunity to encourage mainstream bitcoin adoption. We're here to answer your questions beginning at 1PM ET. Fire away! Edit: PROOF: http://imgur.com/vdK5Klz 4pm: Thanks for having us today! Stay tuned for more updates on how you can use bitcoin at the Bitcoin Bowl!
WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE AGAIN? I'm Adam Amin, play-by-play automaton for ESPN and other things. Ask me anything, you jerks.
Despite this well-sung advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOqb_UzJSUQ , I'm back on Reddit for my 3rd (WTF!!111) AMA so my masochistic nature is on full display. Here's the traditional “yes, it's me” photo: http://instagram.com/p/w64NyNH5lY/ , yet I maintain, who the hell is going to claim to be me? I'm awkward and unappealing to most people. I just turned 28 three days ago (728 days left until 30), originally from and current resident of Chicago. I'm in the midst of my fourth season as a play-by-play announcer at ESPN and I'll finish my third season as a play-by-play announcer for NFL games on Sports USA Radio this Sunday (still waiting to find out where we're headed!). I just finished calling the Division-II Championship this weekend with my partner John Congemi and we'll be teamed up again for the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl this Friday at 8pm ET on ESPN as well as the Texas Bowl and TaxSlayer Bowl for ESPN Radio. College hoops is in full swing as well so you can catch me every Sunday night during conference season calling ACC hoops on ESPNU as well as a handful of Big Ten games over the course of the season. SocMed (because I didn't have enough time to type “Social Media” although I just did it now so...) Twitter: @adamamin Instagram: adam_amin Let's get weird.
Prepare for the St. Petersburg Bitcoin Bowl by receiving a few bits courtesy of /r/Bitcoin!
As you all know, UCF and NCSU will be playing in the St. Petersburg Bitcoin Bowl on December 26th. In preparation for the game, we at /Bitcoin would like to make an open offer to send you a little bitcoin over reddit. Just leave a comment below, or visit this week's Tipping Tuesday thread. We're extending the same offer to /NCSU, so let's see who will have the more successful giveaway. May the best team win! Okay guys, 9 hours later, thanks for the great turnout. I've got to go now. I will let some buddies know about this thread, and might be back tomorrow. Enjoy the bits, and head over to /bitcoin for more info!
Prepare for the St. Petersburg Bitcoin Bowl by receiving a few bits courtesy of /r/Bitcoin!
As you all know, UCF and NCSU will be playing in the St. Petersburg Bitcoin Bowl on December 26th. In preparation for the game, we at /Bitcoin would like to make an open offer to send you a little bitcoin over reddit (they will be accepting it for concessions, etc. at the game), just leave a comment below. Feel free to ask any questions you may have about bitcoin in general and I would be happy to answer them but the Bitcoin sticky thread is a good place to start if you want more info. We're extending the same offer to /UCF, so let's see who will have the more successful giveaway. May the best team win! Oh yea, in case you didn't hear Microsoft just began accepting bitcoin :)
miamiohMiami (OH) (6-6)miamioh Miami (OH) Redhawks - Miami made history this season after starting with a rocky 0-6 start to the season and ending with an unprecedented 6-0 finish of the season to bring them to .500 and ensure bowl eligibility. Some claim that the change is due in part a change in the depth chart, which put Gus Ragland in the driver's seat at QB. This may be the redshirt sophomore's chance to make the MAC shine. Losing close to WKU and creeping up on Cincinnati are sour tastes in the Redhawks' mouths and this bowl game is surely one of the toughest of their season. The Redhawks run defense, which is one of the best in the MAC, will come into play for this game with Tony Reid, Heath Harding, and De'Andre Montgomery shutting it down any chance they get. Mississippi StateMississippi State (5-7)Mississippi State Mississippi State Bulldogs - The Bulldogs, entering the game 5-7 on the season, rode their Academic Progress Report into bowl eligibility and they are going to come out looking for blood in this bowl. For them, failure is not an option: Win, and the SEC beat a MAC team. Lose, and the SEC lost to a MAC team. Unfortunate, but true. Because of this, Mississippi State needs to come out fired up, and that extra 15 practices may do just that. On the brighter side of things, Nick Fitzgerald is surely going to be looking for any chances to shine and could very well be a dominant force in the pocket. Look for them to show some of that 'SEC speed.' The defense also very much needs to step up, specifically on pass defense. If they can patch a few holes in the defense, they should have very few issues. Bowl History Location: St. Petersburg, FL Stadium: Tropicana Field Bowl Held Since: 2008 Conference Tie-Ins:American vs. ACC or Conference USA (Alternates MAC, Sun Belt) Sponsor History: magicJack (2008) Beef O'Brady's (2009-2013) BitPay (2014) Payout: $500,000 Bowl History: The St. Petersburg Bowl is the third college bowl game to be played in the Tampa Bay area; both the long-defunct Cigar Bowl and the ongoing Outback Bowl have been held across the bay in Tampa. The bowl game features teams from the American Athletic Conference against either the Atlantic Coast Conference or Conference USA, unless one of the conferences does not have enough bowl eligible teams. In those cases, the Mid-American or Sun Belt Conference are eligible to send a team. This year, with teams from the SEC and MAC, they are slightly out of their typical fare as the SEC is not in their associated Conference Pool and the MAC is considered an 'Alternate'. Interesting Facts: Since Tropicana Field was originally designed for baseball, the football gridiron is arranged along the right field line, from home plate to the foul pole. The game is one of three bowls to take place in a baseball-only stadium among current post-season football contests; the others being the Miami Beach Bowl (played at Miami's Marlins Park) and the Pinstripe Bowl (played in The Bronx, New York at Yankee Stadium). On June 18, 2014, it was announced that bitcoin payment service provider BitPay would become the new sponsor of the game under a two-year deal, renamed the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl. Bitcoin, the digital currency, would be accepted for ticket and concession sales at the game as part of the sponsorship, and the sponsorship itself was also paid for using bitcoin. On April 2, 2015, after one year of sponsorship, BitPay declined to renew sponsorship of the game. Notable Games: 2008 magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl: The inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl game was played on Dec 20, 2008, between the South Florida Bulls and Memphis Tigers, with the USF Bulls winning by a score of 41–14. USF Quarterback Matt Grothe was named Most Outstanding Player, after throwing for 236 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 83 yards on 15 carries. 2011 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl: The 2011 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl featured the first Sun Belt conference team to play in the game, as Florida International lost 20–10 to Marshall (Conference USA). This was the first time that the Big East (a previous bowl tie-in conference) was unable to send a team to the game. FIU joined Marshall in C-USA in 2013, both competed in the conference's East Division for football.
kentuckyKentucky (7-5)kentucky Kentucky Wildcats: In both the last 2 seasons, Kentucky was one game away from being bowl eligible for the first time since 2010. After opening the 2016 campaign with a loss to Southern Mississippi and on the wrong end of a blow out against Florida, all the talk in Lexington was whether or not Mark Stoops would be fired. The Wildcats changed their offensive style though as Stoops took over on the defense, resulting in the Wildcats ripping off seven wins out of their last 10 games for their best regular season finish since 2009. It was also the most conference wins (4) since 2006 capping off the turnaround season with a huge victory over rival Louisville. Speaking of, Kentucky shocked the world as they topped the Louisville Cardinals by picking off Heisman winner Lamar Jackson repeatedly in a 41-38 upset. georgia techGeorgia Tech (8-4)georgia tech Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Georgia Tech may have had the quietest eight-win season in college football in 2016. They opened the season with a 17-14 against Boston College in Dublin, and equaled their 2015 win total of 3 after only the first 3 weeks. However, they dropped their next three games and entered the last half of the season at 3-3. As winners of five of their last six including wins over then #14 Virginia Tech and at rival Georgia, the Yellow Jackets showed marked improvement from 2015. Georgia Tech finished 10th in the country in rushing offense at 257 yards per game while seven players amassed 20 or more carries for the season. Bowl History Location: Jacksonville, FL Stadium: Everbank Field Bowl Held Since: 1946 Conference Tie-Ins:SEC vs. ACC or Big Ten Former Names: Gator Bowl (1946-85) Mazda Gator Bowl (1986–91) Outback Gator Bowl (1992–94) Toyota Gator Bowl (1995–2007) Konica Minolta Gator Bowl (2008–10) Progressive Gator Bowl (2011) TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl (2012–2013) Payout: $3,500,000+ TaxSlayer Bowl History: Operating continously since 1946 makes the TaxSlayer Bowl (Gator Bowl) the 6th oldest bowl game and was the first to be televised nationally. Florida and Clemson are tied with the most appearances with nine each. Starting in 2015, the bowl began a conference tie-in deal that will feature SEC teams playing ACC teams for three years, then Big Ten teams the other three years; Notre Dame is also eligible during ACC years. Notable Games: 1978 Gator Bowl: Ohio State vs. Clemson - Ohio State coach Woody Hayes infamously lost his temper after a Clemson interception. Clemson player Charlie Bauman stepped out of bounds on the Ohio State sideline and Hayes hit Bauman with his forearm. Clemson won the game and Hayes was fired the next day. 1960 Gator Bowl: Florida vs. Baylor - Florida scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, but with a failed extra point, the Gators lead 13-0 entering the fourth quarter. Baylor RB Ronnie Bull punched it in from 3 yards out with less than 2 minutes to go to make the score 13-12. Baylor coach John Bridgers decided to go for the win and the 2 point conversion. Bobby Ply's two-point conversion toss into the end zone hit WR Ronnie Goodwin in the hands, but he dropped the ball and Florida held on for the win.
Now we want to hear from YOU!
Have you attended one of these bowls? If so, tell us about your experience! What was the gameday atmosphere? What advice would you give to fans traveling to the game? Do you recommend it?
A (Pitt-centric) look at where teams in the ACC will go bowling.
There are a TON of bowl projections out there and each of them has Pitt somewhere else! Now, I know that the bowl committees and our own leadership (yes, even Swofford) uses logic in their decisions and that means that you can predict to a certain extent where each team will go. Since I'm just handicapping one league and not our opponents, I think I can focus my attention better than your average large-scale bowl projection and work through this. I don't claim to be perfect, but I can at least narrow everyone down to a few landing spots and tell you WHY- which is more than most projections do. Here's my logic and our constraints:
We cannot know for sure until after Saturday's ACC championship game. I AM GOING TO ASSUME FLORIDA STATE BEATS GEORGIA TECH. This is dangerous because FSU is only a 3.5 point favorite (and I kind of expected to see GT favored). GT is probably the best team FSU has played this year. I don't think it's for sure at all that FSU wins, but that is what we must assume. It actually doesn't make much difference, though!
Any bowl will take Notre Dame as soon as they can (but they can't first- more on that soon).
Bowls will take local teams unless a rematch occurs (a rematch may not occur).
Selection order does not necessarily mean by record, but in some cases a record must trump selection order- a team may not be chosen ahead of a team with two more victories (all 7-5 teams must be chosen after all 9-3 teams, but a 6-6 team could be chosen ahead of a 7-5 team). Note that THIS RULE MAY NO LONGER APPLY. I can't find it out for sure. It doesn't matter a ton, though, as I think it would just start to matter with the final tier of bowls and Notre Dame.
ACC Records + Notre Dame:
FSU 12-0 Georgia Tech 10-2 Clemson 9-3 Duke 9-3 Louisville 9-3 NC State 7-5 Boston College 7-5 Notre Dame 7-5 Miami 6-6 North Carolina 6-6 Pitt 6-6 Virginia Tech 6-6
There are 10 ACC Bowl slots and 12 ACC eligible teams (because Notre Dame counts for ACC Bowl purposes). Since Florida State is going to the playoff, there are effectively 11 ACC teams competing for 10 spots. HOWEVER, since not every conference has enough bowl eligible teams, almost certainly every ACC team is going to a bowl game. This includes Pitt! So here we go.
Playoff spot- Florida State. WHAT IF FLORIDA STATE LOSES?! We don't have much to worry about. They will almost certainly go to an At-Large Bowl- let's guess the Peach Bowl. This does not take away an ACC slot! The Peach Bowl is closest to FSU and they've had a good enough season to guarantee one. Even if the committee is ridiculous.
Next selection is the Orange Bowl- this is the first ACC selection, but it is tied in to the highest ranked non playoff ACC team by contract. Georgia Tech will be here regardless of if they win or lose to Florida State.
HYPOTHETICALLY, an ACC team could garner an At-Large spot if FSU makes the playoff, but it is unlikely that the rankings will allow this to happen. I've heard maybe Clemson can work their way into one if Michigan State plays Georgia Tech, but I am unsure.
The second ACC selection is the Russell Athletic Bowl. The eligible teams are Duke, Clemson, and Louisville. Clemson is the closest and has the largest fanbase, so let's put them here. They were in the Orange Bowl last year, so this isn't a 2 year in a row thing. They'll be here. If the 2 win rule isn't in effect Notre Dame can be here, but I'm gonna assume it is.
Here's where it gets REALLY tricky. There's four bowls "Tier 1" that share equal status for picking here, so the league helps place teams. IT GETS WEIRDER. Nashville (Music City Bowl) and the Gator Bowl split a pick! Over the next 6 years, for 3 of them Nashville gets the ACC and for 3 of them the Gator Bowl gets the ACC.
After Notre Dame, the other eligible teams for this tier are Louisville, Duke, and then NC State and Boston College. As 9-3 teams, Louisville and Duke will be picked here. Due to the lottery, though, THIS PART IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PICK ACCURATELY. Each bowl will make a pitch and likely be randomly selected for the right to have one of these teams- (read: Notre Dame)! So while by rule a team with 2 more wins couldn't be selected before a team with 2 less (Louisville and Duke over Notre Dame, NC State, and Boston College), SINCE THEY ALL HAVE EQUAL STATUS THIS IS OKAY NOW. Thus, this part is a lottery for Notre Dame and then a discussion over which team should go where. Fun fact: These bowls cannot host Notre Dame consecutively MOVING FORWARD, but Notre Dame could be in the Pinstripe Bowl again THIS year.
Belk Bowl (Charlotte): Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is unavailable, Duke makes the most sense, followed by NC State.
Music City/Gator Bowl (Nashville/Jacksonville): Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is unavailable, the bowls decide if they want a Big Ten or ACC team this year. If Nashville, Louisville makes the most sense logically. If Gator Bowl, Duke makes the most sense.
Pinstripe Bowl (New York): Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is unavailable, Boston College makes the most sense, followed by Duke (New York likes Duke).
Sun Bowl (El Paso): Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is unavailable, the Sun Bowl tends to pick brand-name teams, so I would guess Louisville makes the most sense. Duke might be the next choice.
Here is the skinny from all of this: Notre Dame, Louisville, and Duke MUST be off the board here. All 3 will be gone. Then, one of either Boston College or NC State is chosen next. Since BC is probably going to the Pinstripe Bowl (UNLESS Notre Dame is won), NC State likely moves down... where they are a pretty good fit for Detroit or Annapolis. The ACC selects teams for this next tier. It includes the Military Bowl (Annapolis), Independence (Shreveport), Quick Lane (Detroit), and Bitcoin (St. Petersburg). Since the ACC picks these, the rules that a team won't go to the same bowl two years in a row, geography is important, and even creating a good matchup are going to be in full force. For these FOUR bowls, there are FIVE teams:
Boston College or NC State North Carolina Miami Virginia Tech Pitt
Pitt will not be in Detroit because we were just there last year. Otherwise, this list is wide open and anyone can go anywhere. Put Miami in St. Petersburg (easy). The Independence Bowl plays an SEC team, which makes it a pretty good matchup for UNC or Virginia Tech. I would guess VT, NC State, or BC would play a Big Ten team, so one of them goes to Detroit. This means we're down to the Military Bowl as a possible landing spot for Pitt. NC State, Virginia Tech and Boston College also make sense here, but let's call this a LIKELY landing destination: Military Bowl vs. American #1 selection. This is tricky, because there can be up to 3 co-champions for the American and I'm not sure if there's a rule where their champion MUST be selected first There's probably 4 American teams that can go here if not, and still 3 teams if so. We likely face either Memphis, UCF, East Carolina, or Cincinnati. If Cincy is selected, Miami may not compete in the bowl game; if East Carolina is selected, Virginia Tech may not compete. Geographically, East Carolina is most likely but they can't be selected if the American forces a champion to be picked first. If we don't go to the Military Bowl or one of those other bowl games, though, which is also likely to happen... we go to a bowl game tied to a conference that does not have enough bowl eligible teams or has too many teams in the playoff or At Large games. That makes the choices: Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas) Cactus Bowl (Tempe, Arizona) New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, stupid.) TECHNICALLY the Quick Lane Bowl would have another slot, but we would not play an ACC team in a bowl game. It is also possible that the Cactus Bowl would NOT be open and the Heart of Dallas bowl is open instead. Not real likely, but possible. THERE ARE MORE BOWL ELIGIBLE TEAMS THAN AVAILABLE BOWLS. However, as a P5 team, we would be chosen before the G5 eligible teams would be picked. Not by rule, but by common sense. So for us Pitt fans, it's one of those 4 bowls. FINALLY, PROJECTIONS: Playoff/Peach: Florida State Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech Russell: Clemson Pinstripe: Boston College Belk: Duke Sun: Louisville Music City/Gator: Notre Dame Military: NC State Bitcoin: Miami QuickLane: Virginia Tech Independence: North Carolina Fort Worth: Pitt Just keep in mind that with teams 4-7 it's a crapshoot, but I think those teams have the best odds of landing in each spot... with the note, again, that Notre Dame is the first choice for all 4. Edit: What if the ACC gets a team in the Citrus Bowl? This scenario happens if Michigan State is selected to the Orange Bowl to play Georgia Tech. Due to recent CFP rankings, this appears very likely. Assuming a Florida State victory against GT, this is what would most likely occur: Playoff: Florida State Orange: Georgia Tech Citrus: Clemson Russell: Louisville Pinstripe: Boston College Belk: NC State Sun: Notre Dame Music City/Gator: Duke Military: Virginia Tech Bitcoin: Miami QuickLane: North Carolina Independence: Pitt Keep in mind, as always, that it's sort of a crapshoot for Pinstripe-Gator and that Notre Dame will be the first selection for all of those bowls. VT will not be in the Military Bowl if East Carolina is selected for the American. Pitt will be in the QuickLane bowl if the ACC feels there is a compelling matchup with a Big Ten team, even though they were just in Detroit last year.
St. Petersburg BowlSt. Petersburg BowlSt. Petersburg Bowl ConnecticutConnecticut Huskies vs. Marshall Marshall Thundering Herd Bowl Information Date: Saturday, December 26, 2015 Time: 11:00 AM EST Channel:ESPN Point Spread: Marshall -4.5 O/U: 43 Website:http://stpetersburgbowl.com/ Bowl History Year Founded: 2008 Location: St. Petersburg, Florida Stadium:Tropicana Field Conference Tie-ins: 4th Conference USA vs 6th American Trophy:Last Year’s Trophy Payout: $500,000 2014 Season Result:NC State34 - UCF27 Brief Bowl History: For history before the the 2013 season, check out the wiki page. In 2014, BitPay became the sponsor for the bowl, renaming the bowl to the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl. The 2014 bowl game accepted bitcoin as a payment method for tickets to the game, becoming the first college football game to accept bitcoin as a payment method. BitPay has since decided not to continue sponsorship so it currently just the St. Petersburg Bowl. ConnecticutConnecticut Huskies
2015 Season Record: Connecticut 6-6 (4-4)
Result
Villanova 6-5
W 20-15
Army 2-9 (0-0)
W 22-17
Missouri 5-7 (1-7)
L 6-9
Navy 9-2 (7-1)
L 18-28
BYU 9-3 (0-0)
L 13-30
UCF 0-12 (0-8)
W 40-13
South Florida 8-4 (6-2)
L 20-28
Cincinnati 7-5 (4-4)
L 13-37
East Carolina 5-7 (3-5)
W 31-13
Tulane 3-9 (1-7)
W 7-3
Houston 11-1 (7-1)
W 20-17
Temple 10-2 (7-1)
L 3-27
Key Players this Season:
CB Jamar Summers - Sophomore (Orange, NJ) All-AAC First Team CB, 24 Tackles, 7 interceptions for 102 yards and 1 TD.
Season Summary: Under second year Head Coach Bob Diaco, the Huskies went from 2-10 to 6-6, a marked improvement considering they haven’t reached the postseason or had a season winning percentage of or above .500 since 2010-11. While the team still has its struggles, it has remained competitive throughout the year, including a huge upset of the highest ranked G5 school, Houston. Why we are going to win: UConn is 33rd nationally in total defense (352.3 yards allowed per game), but the Huskies are even better against the pass, being ranked 21st (187 yards a game). UConn is 19th in points against, only letting up an average of 19.8 points per game. UConn is tied for 11th nationally in interceptions with 17, and sophomore cornerback Jamar Summers ended the regular season tied for third in the country. This stout defense will try and shut down the Marshall offense. MarshallMarshall Thundering Herd
WKR Deandre Reaves - Senior (Sterling, VA) CUSA Special Teams Player of the Year, 47 receptions for 617 yards with 4 TDs and 14 PRs for 178 yards and 2 TDs. Highlights
LB Evan McKelvey - Senior (Moncks Corner, SC) CUSA defensive player of the year, 113 total tackles.
Season Summary: Last season was the best season under Doc Holiday’s tenure at Marshall, finishing the season 13-1 with a CUSA championship, bowl win over NIU in the Boca Raton bowl and finishing #23 in the final AP poll. Doc Holliday's Thundering Herd wasn't able to repeat as Conference USA champions in 2015, but Marshall is headed to its third consecutive bowl game and fourth in six years. Despite losses to Ohio and a heartbreaking loss in 2 OT to Middle Tennessee State, Marshall entered the last week of the season in position to win the Conference USA East title for the third consecutive year. The Thundering Herd fell in a winner-take-all game at Western Kentucky for the CUSA East title and finished the season 9-3 (6-2). Why Marshall is going to win: Storrs, Connecticut is home to one of the worst offenses in the FBS this season. Connecticut averaged 17.8 points per game, and ranked 107th or lower in scoring, yards per play, third-down conversions and sacks and tackles for loss allowed. The Herd presents major worries for the leaky Husky O-line, because of DE Gary Thompson and LB Evan McKelvey. Marshall generated a C-USA-leading 27 turnovers this season, and held opponents to just 201 passing yards per game. True freshman quarterback Chase Litton has effectively controlled the offense in Birdsong’s absence with the help of a committee of running backs including Remi Watson, Keion Davis and Tony Pittman which are combined for more than 1,200 yards. Holiday is undefeated in bowl games as head coach of the Thundering Herd, going 3-0. Why you should watch the game: This is the first meeting between these two teams and should be a defensive struggle. Marshall’s Deandre Reeves has been a particular highlight for their special teams, with three returns for touchdowns, so be sure to watch out for him on kick returns! UConn’s CB Jamar Summers is also a playmaker for their defense, with game-clinching interceptions against Tulane and Houston, so there is sure to be a lot of action during this game. Contributors: Team 1: choco_cow, chweris Team 2: tvwatcherr Subreddits: /marshall/uconn For more info on the 2015 Bowl Preview Project, see the info thread. For all your information on this, and other, projects, go to /cfbprojects! Questions or comments? Message us here Marshall BallConnecticut Ball
Miami's Inaugural Bitcoin Hackathon! $17,500 in prizes. Great Sponsors: Bitpay,Coinkite,Bitstop,Trucoin,Satoshi Labs,Tally Capital and many more.
Blockchain Beach is proud to announce Miami’s inaugural Bitcoin Hackathon, a three-day event on the weekend of January 9th to the 11th. With prizes totaling over $17,500 USD in value, you can expect Miami’s most talented developers to show up. Entry is free for all participants as well as observers of the event. The event is strategically planned to occur just two weeks after the Bitcoin Bowl in St. Petersburg, FL and the weekend just before The North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami. The winner will be invited to the startup session at TNABC the weekend after the hackathon. We were very fortunate to be able to partner up with some very generous Bitcoin industry startups including Bitpay, Bitstop, Coinkite, Trucoin, Satoshi Labs and others. Prizes range from cold hard paper wallets filled with bitcoin to bitcoin hardware wallets (Trezors). Of course there will be swag to go around and we have games centered around bitcoin planned for spectators to participate in to snag their first bits. Local educational institution partners include Miami Dade Community College, University of Miami, and Wyncode. Munchies and drinks will be provided by our awesome local event partners Kind Energy Bar, Pollo Tropical, 2SweetTreats, Jojo’s tea and others. Miami and Bitcoin is a match made in heaven. Its geographic location, diverse population and upstart tech community make for an ideal substrate. Come join us by cheering on your favorite team or register and bring your skills! Thanks for checking us out and for all the support. Info & Registration : www.miamibitcoinhackathon.com TLDR: Come to our hackathon in Miami. Develop some epic apps. Get some swag. Fall down the rabbit hole. Win.
What bowl are you going to play in? No one knows for sure, but I think I've worked out some pretty good guesses for us.
First, allow me to apologize for not being around as often as I would've liked. The Buttpilgrim has been pretty busy with professional concerns, but things are looking very much up and I'm able to finally turn my attention back to my favorite community. We're like a family of ACCelence, guys and girls. There are a TON of bowl projections out there and each of them has Pitt somewhere else! Now, I know that the bowl committees and our own leadership (yes, even Swofford) uses logic in their decisions and that means that you can predict to a certain extent where each team will go. Since I'm just handicapping one league and not our opponents, I think I can focus my attention better than your average large-scale bowl projection and work through this. I don't claim to be perfect, but I can at least narrow everyone down to a few landing spots and tell you WHY- which is more than most projections do. Here's my logic and our constraints:
We cannot know for sure until after Saturday's ACC championship game. I AM GOING TO ASSUME FLORIDA STATE BEATS GEORGIA TECH. This is dangerous because FSU is only a 3.5 point favorite (and I kind of expected to see GT favored). GT is probably the best team FSU has played this year. I don't think it's for sure at all that FSU wins, but that is what we must assume. It actually doesn't make much difference, though!
Any bowl will take Notre Dame as soon as they can (but they can't first- more on that soon).
Bowls will take local teams unless a rematch occurs (a rematch may not occur).
Selection order does not necessarily mean by record, but in some cases a record must trump selection order- a team may not be chosen ahead of a team with two more victories (all 7-5 teams must be chosen after all 9-3 teams, but a 6-6 team could be chosen ahead of a 7-5 team). Note that THIS RULE MAY NO LONGER APPLY. I can't find it out for sure. It doesn't matter a ton, though, as I think it would just start to matter with the final tier of bowls and Notre Dame.
ACC Records + Notre Dame:
FSU 12-0
Georgia Tech 10-2
Clemson 9-3
Duke 9-3
Louisville 9-3
NC State 7-5
Boston College 7-5
Notre Dame 7-5
Miami 6-6
North Carolina 6-6
Pitt 6-6
Virginia Tech 6-6
There are 10 ACC Bowl slots and 12 ACC eligible teams (because Notre Dame counts for ACC Bowl purposes). Since Florida State is going to the playoff, there are effectively 11 ACC teams competing for 10 spots. HOWEVER, since not every conference has enough bowl eligible teams, almost certainly every ACC team is going to a bowl game. This includes Pitt! So here we go.
Playoff spot- Florida State. WHAT IF FLORIDA STATE LOSES?! We don't have much to worry about. They will almost certainly go to an At-Large Bowl- let's guess the Peach Bowl. This does not take away an ACC slot! The Peach Bowl is closest to FSU and they've had a good enough season to guarantee one. Even if the committee is ridiculous.
Next selection is the Orange Bowl- this is the first ACC selection, but it is tied in to the highest ranked non playoff ACC team by contract. Georgia Tech will be here regardless of if they win or lose to Florida State.
HYPOTHETICALLY, an ACC team could garner an At-Large spot if FSU makes the playoff, but it is unlikely that the rankings will allow this to happen. I've heard maybe Clemson can work their way into one if Michigan State plays Georgia Tech, but I am unsure.
The second ACC selection is the Russell Athletic Bowl. The eligible teams are Duke, Clemson, and Louisville. Clemson is the closest and has the largest fanbase, so let's put them here. They were in the Orange Bowl last year, so this isn't a 2 year in a row thing. They'll be here. If the 2 win rule isn't in effect Notre Dame can be here, but I'm gonna assume it is.
Here's where it gets REALLY tricky. There's four bowls "Tier 1" that share equal status for picking here, so the league helps place teams. IT GETS WEIRDER. Nashville (Music City Bowl) and the Gator Bowl split a pick! Over the next 6 years, for 3 of them Nashville gets the ACC and for 3 of them the Gator Bowl gets the ACC.
After Notre Dame, the other eligible teams for this tier are Louisville, Duke, and then NC State and Boston College. As 9-3 teams, Louisville and Duke will be picked here. Due to the lottery, though, THIS PART IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PICK ACCURATELY. Each bowl will make a pitch and likely be randomly selected for the right to have one of these teams- (read: Notre Dame)! So while by rule a team with 2 more wins couldn't be selected before a team with 2 less (Louisville and Duke over Notre Dame, NC State, and Boston College), SINCE THEY ALL HAVE EQUAL STATUS THIS IS OKAY NOW. Thus, this part is a lottery for Notre Dame and then a discussion over which team should go where. Fun fact: These bowls cannot host Notre Dame consecutively MOVING FORWARD, but Notre Dame could be in the Pinstripe Bowl again THIS year.
Belk Bowl (Charlotte): Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is unavailable, Duke makes the most sense, followed by NC State.
Music City/Gator Bowl (Nashville/Jacksonville): Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is unavailable, the bowls decide if they want a Big Ten or ACC team this year. If Nashville, Louisville makes the most sense logically. If Gator Bowl, Duke makes the most sense.
Pinstripe Bowl (New York): Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is unavailable, Boston College makes the most sense, followed by Duke (New York likes Duke).
Sun Bowl (El Paso): Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is unavailable, the Sun Bowl tends to pick brand-name teams, so I would guess Louisville makes the most sense. Duke might be the next choice.
Here is the skinny from all of this: Notre Dame, Louisville, and Duke MUST be off the board here. All 3 will be gone. Then, one of either Boston College or NC State is chosen next. Since BC is probably going to the Pinstripe Bowl (UNLESS Notre Dame is won), NC State likely moves down... where they are a pretty good fit for Detroit or Annapolis.
The ACC selects teams for this next tier. It includes the Military Bowl (Annapolis), Independence (Shreveport), Quick Lane (Detroit), and Bitcoin (St. Petersburg). Since the ACC picks these, the rules that a team won't go to the same bowl two years in a row, geography is important, and even creating a good matchup are going to be in full force. For these FOUR bowls, there are FIVE teams:
Boston College or NC State
North Carolina
Miami
Virginia Tech
Pitt
Pitt will not be in Detroit because we were just there last year. Otherwise, this list is wide open and anyone can go anywhere. Put Miami in St. Petersburg (easy). The Independence Bowl plays an SEC team, which makes it a pretty good matchup for UNC or Virginia Tech. I would guess VT, NC State, or BC would play a Big Ten team, so one of them goes to Detroit. This means we're down to the Military Bowl as a possible landing spot for Pitt. NC State, Virginia Tech and Boston College also make sense here, but let's call this a LIKELY landing destination: Military Bowl vs. American #1 selection. This is tricky, because there can be up to 3 co-champions for the American and I'm not sure if there's a rule where their champion MUST be selected first There's probably 4 American teams that can go here if not, and still 3 teams if so. We likely face either Memphis, UCF, East Carolina, or Cincinnati. If Cincy is selected, Miami may not compete in the bowl game; if East Carolina is selected, Virginia Tech may not compete. Geographically, East Carolina is most likely but they can't be selected if the American forces a champion to be picked first. If we don't go to the Military Bowl or one of those other bowl games, though, which is also likely to happen... we go to a bowl game tied to a conference that does not have enough bowl eligible teams or has too many teams in the playoff or At Large games. That makes the choices: Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas) Cactus Bowl (Tempe, Arizona) New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, stupid.) TECHNICALLY the Quick Lane Bowl would have another slot, but we would not play an ACC team in a bowl game. It is also possible that the Cactus Bowl would NOT be open and the Heart of Dallas bowl is open instead. Not real likely, but possible. THERE ARE MORE BOWL ELIGIBLE TEAMS THAN AVAILABLE BOWLS. However, as a P5 team, we would be chosen before the G5 eligible teams would be picked. Not by rule, but by common sense. So for us Pitt fans, it's one of those 4 bowls. FINALLY, PROJECTIONS: Playoff/Peach: Florida State Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech Russell: Clemson Pinstripe: Boston College Belk: Duke Sun: Louisville Music City/Gator: Notre Dame Military: NC State Bitcoin: Miami QuickLane: Virginia Tech Independence: North Carolina Fort Worth: Pitt Just keep in mind that with teams 4-7 it's a crapshoot, but I think those teams have the best odds of landing in each spot... with the note, again, that Notre Dame is the first choice for all 4.
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