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Another Quarterback 
NFL.com says-
Ponder’s a fit for a West Coast team that would allow him to use his good footwork and proficiency in the short passing game. Could become a starter if given time and decision making improves. Uses his feet to buy extra time, leave the pocket to throw, or take off and running for first downs. Exhibits the physical and mental toughness you like to see. Has enough arm strength but doesn’t put elite zip on the ball and will try to fit it into too many tight spots downfield. Ponder has slowly climbed up boards, and he is almost certain to go in the second round.
This is a reach.
The last pick of the first round.
NFL.com writes- The Saints prove that a defense can never have enough corners with the selection of Patrick Robinson. Although New Orleans took Malcolm Jenkins with its first-round pick a season ago, the addition of Robinson gives the team the flexibility to move Jenkins to free safety or create a series of exotic nickel packages to get its athletic corners on the field. Regardless, the Saints have clearly improved their depth and talent in the back end, and that ensures they will remain among the best at creating takeaways in 2010.
Overview
Robinson is the Seminoles most active pass defender and should make the transition to the next level well. His combination of size, strength and athleticism is best suited as a rolled up corner in two deep schemes. He is a solid perimeter run defender but not always physical versus larger ball carriers. Pat needs to use his hands better to jam and reroute receivers off the line of scrimmage as well as his over all body positioning in coverage. He can be aggressive in zone schemes and is susceptible to gadget plays as well as double moves. Robinson is a good football player that should contribute on special teams as a rookie while developing his overall game.
This post will remain at the top of the blog for the rest of today. To see newer posts, scroll down.
As results come in today, I will update this post. I’ll also include any related tournament news here.
West Virginia beats Morgan St. 77-50
Cornell beats Temple 78-65
Xavier beats Minnesota 65-54
Purdue beats Siena 72-64
Pittsburgh beats Oakland 89-66
Wisconsin beats Wofford 53-49
Texas A&M beats Utah St. 69-53
Gonzaga beats Florida St. 67-60
Duke beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73-44
Michigan St. beats New Mexico St. 67-64
Syracuse beats Vermont 79-56
Maryland beats Houston 89-77
Here are my selections-
So you heard it here first. Duke and Ohio State in the finals.
Note- Starting tomorrow I will have a sticky post at the top of the blog featuring that day’s results. Feel free to make your own predictions in the comment.
Here it is-
Like with the Men’s tournament, I’ll take a shot at making some guesses predictions in the women’s also.
Well here it is-
I don’t have to say. Later in the week, I’ll take a shot at predicting the outcome.
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OTB Sports linked with 2010 NCAA Women’s Tournament Bracket...
Today’s Gator Bowl proved to be a fond farewell for Seminoles Coach Bobby Bowden. From AP-
Bobby Bowden watched the clock run down to :00, then took his last walk to midfield as his Florida State players jumped up and down, thrusting their helmets into the air.
The coach went out a winner, carried off by the Seminoles.
Jermaine Thomas ran for two touchdowns, Florida State scored 20 straight points to take control and the Seminoles knocked off No. 18 West Virginia 33-21 in the final game of Bowden’s storied 44-year career as a head coach.
Bowden finished with a 389-129-4 record, and most importantly to him, a 33rd consecutive winning season. Next week, Jimbo Fisher takes over at Florida State, which finished 7-6 for the third time in the last four years.
Bowden did a great job in Tallahassee, but as can be seen by the recent record of the Seminioles, he outlived his usefulness to the program. Almost all coaches get to point with a school or professional team when the ways that so often worked in past just don’t cut it any more. I liked Bowden and will miss him, but it was time for a new coach at Florida State. Is Jimbo Fisher that person, I don’t know. We will find out soon enough.
No I’m not talking about some middle aged man propelling a ball at some objects at the end of a lane, but the games that climax every college football season. Bowl season officially starts this afternoon, here are the matchups for all the college football fanatics out there.
Note- I gave the shortened name version of all the upcoming games. Also I listed what broadcast network would be televising the game and what time they would be coming on the air. All times are Eastern Standard.
Dec 19
New Mexico- Fresno State vs. Wyoming 4:30 p.m. ESPN
St. Petersburg- Central Florida vs. Rutgers 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 20
R+L Carriers New Orleans- Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Dec 22
MAACO Las Vegas- Oregon State vs. BYU 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 23
Poinsettia- Utah vs. Cal 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 24
Sheraton Hawaii- Nevada vs. SMU 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 26
Little Caesars- Marshall vs. Ohio 1 p.m. ESPN
Meineke- Pitt vs. North Carolina 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Emerald- Boston College vs. USC 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 27
Music City- Kentucky vs. Clemson 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Dec 28
Independence- Texas A&M vs. Georgia 5 p.m. ESPN2
Dec 29
EagleBank- UCLA vs. Temple 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Champs Sports- Miami vs. Wisconsin 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 30
Humanitarian- Bowling Green vs. Idaho 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Holiday- Arizona vs. Nebraska 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 31
Armed Forces- Houston vs. Air Force Noon ESPN
Sun- Oklahoma vs. Stanford 2 p.m. CBS
Texas- Navy vs. Missouri 3:30 p.m. ESPN
Minnesota vs. Iowa State 6 p.m. NFL Network
Chick-fil-A- Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Jan 1
Outback- Northwestern vs. Auburn 11 a.m. ESPN
Capital One- Penn State vs. LSU 1 p.m. ABC
Gator- West Virginia vs. Florida State 1 p.m. CBS
Rose Bowl- Ohio State vs. Oregon 4:30 p.m. ABC
Sugar- Cincinnati vs. Florida 8:30 p.m. FOX
Jan 2
International- South Florida vs. Northern Illinois Noon ESPN2
Papajohns.com- South Carolina vs. UConn 2 p.m. ESPN
Cotton- Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss 2 p.m. FOX
Liberty- Arkansas vs. East Carolina 5:30 p.m. ESPN
Valero Alamo- Michigan State vs. Texas Tech 9 p.m. ESPN
Jan 4
Fiesta- Boise State vs. TCU 8 p.m. FOX
Jan 5
FedEx Orange- Iowa vs. Georgia Tech 8 p.m. FOX
Jan 6th
GMAC- Central Michigan vs. Troy 7 p.m. ESPN
Jan 7th
BCS National Championship Game- Texas vs. Alabama Jan. 7 8 p.m.
Some random notes on the above 34 games
*- 19 of the 34 games are not scheduled till Dec. 31st or later. I guess college football fanatics are expected to flip channels very quickly on those 3 days(Dec 31-Jan 2) when 15 games are being aired.
*- What a downer must it be for Oregon State players and fans. A few weeks ago they were one win from a Rose Bowl trip. Instead they lost to Oregon and are playing in a minor bowl before Christmas.
*- The NFL network televises a college football game. I guess that’s the cable sports equivalent of the Sci-Fi channel showing wrestling….
*- The bowls are now set where now certain conference finishers are locked into the same bowl games every year. I understand why the current system is done, but I prefer the day when bowl games would have greater variance from year to year. The Peach bowl would usually invite a ACC or SEC school but they could be creative, like when they invited Army and Illinois. Wouldn’t a SEC team against BYU or Wyoming be nice for a change?
*- Bobby Bowden’s farewell game is against the same school(West Virginia) that he left before coming to Florida State. I do know FSU and WV have played at least twice previously in bowls during the Bowden-Florida State era.
This may not go over well with other ACC schools. From ESPN-
Although ACC officials have conceded that it is possible for Florida State to be chosen for the more prestigious Gator Bowl despite its 4-4 record in conference play, it’s not a done deal yet, as Saturday’s ACC championship game could throw a wrinkle into the Gator Bowl’s plans to matchup Florida State with West Virginia in Bobby Bowden’s final game.
4ACC and Gator Bowl officials are involved in discussions about how to interpret the ACC’s one-loss rule, and should Clemson lose the ACC championship game to Georgia Tech on Saturday, it could turn into a heated debate.
“If Georgia Tech wins this game,” ACC associate commissioner Michael Kelly said, “we don’t necessarily think they can take Florida State.”
One sure way that Florida State could sneak into the Gator Bowl ahead of teams with better records is if Clemson wins the ACC championship game and Virginia Tech is chosen by the Chick-fil-A Bowl. In that particular scenario, the Gator Bowl would be under no contractual obligation to select Georgia Tech, the ACC’s runner-up, and the remaining teams in the conference with the best records — Clemson and Virginia Tech at 6-2 — would both already have been chosen.
The Gator Bowl is required to select the runner-up at least once during the four-year contract cycle, and it fulfilled that obligation in 2006, when it chose Georgia Tech. The one-loss rule would mean that the Gator Bowl could select from the remaining 5-3 and 4-4 teams, therefore making Florida State a viable option.
Notwithstanding that this will be Bowden’s last game, FSU has no business being either in top or mid level bowl. The Seminoles went 6-6 this year. Of their wins, 4 were only by a field goal. Jacksonville State gave the Seminoles a fight more the final score of 19-9 indicates.
The Tallahassee Democrat has the scoop-
Bobby Bowden’s legendary coaching career at Florida State University is expected to end Tuesday, the Tallahassee Democrat has learned.
Bowden is expected to announce his resignation by way of a statement to be released Tuesday, sources told the Democrat.
As part of his retirement, Bowden is expected to be offered a non-coaching position at FSU for an unspecified amount of time. In addition to any settlement compensation that may be negotiated as part of his retirement, Bowden is also entitled to $1 million upon his retirement as part of a clause in his coaching contract that was agreed upon at least 10 years ago.
It is unclear if Bowden will coach the bowl game or not, but sources have said if he does coach one last game then the Gator Bowl may try to select FSU for its Jan. 1 game.
I’d be surprised if Bowden isn’t allowed to coach the Seminoles one last time. He has been the only football head coach the school has known for 34 years. When Bowden took over FSU was a wreck. A independent that schools big and small were beating up on. It was either 1972 or 1973 that the Seminoles went without a win for the year(The Florida Gators had a similar year in 1979 but had one tie). Bowden quickly reversed the school’s football fortunes. In his second year FSU went 10-2, in his 4th year the Seminoles went 11-0 and received an invitation to the Orange Bowl to play Oklahoma. Florida State got its ass kicked 24-7 on Jan. 1st 1980, but the next year pulled stunning road upsets at Nebraska and Ohio on the way to a second straight OB engagement with Oklahoma. The second time around was a great battle that only saw the Sooners win 18-17. Bowden had established the Seminoles as a Division One football in five years.
FSU football fans won’t soon forget Bowden and his legacy. Assistant Coach Jimbo Fisher is expected to be named Bowden’s replacement.
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