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Show 6 SPORTS Tuesday, December 8, 2009 www.dailyutahchronicle.corn Saturday Dec. 19 Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Men's Basketball Men's Basketball Women's Basketball 7 P.M. Huntsman Center 7 PM. Huntsman Center 4 PM. Huntsman Center Noon Huntsman Center Wednesday Michigan @ Utah Westminster @ Utah Oklahoma @ Utah Illinois State @ Utah 2 PM. Huntsman Center South Dakota State @ Utah El TM M WE FoGnsAci,_ NoTteco, MICIEIGS 1.Alabama The undefeated Crimson Tide earned redemption for losses to Florida and Utah at the end of last season with a big 32-13 win over Florida in the SEC Championship. As expected, Alabama will face Texas in the National Championship game. 2.Texas The Longhorns, who are also undefeated after 13 weeks of play, squeaked past Nebraska 13-12 in the Big 12 Championship to earn their place in the National Championship game against Alabama. 3.Cincinnati The Bearcats went 12-0 on the season en route to a Big East Championship and a bid to a BCS bowl. Cincinnati, which many thought deserved a shot at the title, will face defending champion Florida in the Sugar Bowl. 4.TCU TCU is the fourth of five teams ranked in the Top io that have gone undefeated this season. TCU earned its first BCS bowl bid in school history and will face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, a rematch of last year's Poinsettia Bowl. 5.Florida The Gators will not play for a chance to defend last season's championship, as they fell to Alabama in the SEC Championship 32-13. Florida, the only team in the top five without a perfect record, will play Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl. TYLER COBB/The Daily Utah Chronicle Andy Ludwig was the offensive coordinator at Utah for four years. After the Sugar Bowl, Ludwig left Utes' staff and will now face Utah as the Cal offensive coordinator in the Poinsettia Bowl. Bryan Chouinard ASST. SPORTS EDITOR eraged 29.2 points a game, and opponents have averaged 24.5 against the Bears. A look at Cal Ludwig's road to Berkeley The California Golden Bears came into 2009 with high hopes of a Pac-io Championship and more. Cal was ranked in the preseason Top io before falling on the road to Oregon in week four. Following the Oregon loss, Cal slipped up for the second straight week when it fell to USC at home. Cal then rattled off three straight wins before an injury that possibly changed its season—star running back and preseason Heisman candidate Jahvid Best suffered his second concussion. He was taken off the field to a nearby hospital and was released the next day. Best has missed Cal's past three games, including its regular-season finale, where the Bears got pummeled by Washington in Seattle, 42-10. It remains to be seen if Best will be ready to go Dec. 23. Despite missing the past three games, Best is still Cal's leading rusher and led the Golden Bears in all major rushing categories during the regular season. Leading Cal from the quarterback position is Kevin Riley, who is in his junior season. He started all 12 games for Cal this season and finished the season with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions on his way to completing 54 percent of his passes. Cal's offense has av- 6.Boise State The Broncos finished the regular season perfect for the second time in two years and earned their second BCS bowl bid. Boise State will face the other non-BCS school to break into the BCS, as it will take on TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. Andy Ludwig was hired as Utah's offensive coordinator in 2005 when Kyle Whittingham took over as head coach. Ludwig experienced four years of success at Utah, completed by a win at the 2009 Sugar Bowl. After coaching in the bowl game, Ludwig left the U to take the offensive coordinator job at Kansas State, but his start was short-lived. Two months into his career at Kansas State, Ludwig had a change of heart. He left and headed to Berkeley to work under Cal head coach Jeff Tedford. Kansas State officials had no comment when Ludwig left the program, but at this point, Ludwig has guided the Cal offense to becoming the fourth-ranked offense in the Pac-io this season. 0 0 8. Ohio State A 10The Buckeyes finished the season with a 10-2 overall record and a ,ILAh 7-1 conference record to win the Big io Championship. Ohio State "W N__/ will take on No. 7 Oregon in the Rose Bowl. 9.Georgia Tech The Yellowjackets beat Clemson 39-34 in the ACC Championship to earn the automatic bid to a BCS game. Georgia Tech, which went 11-2 on the season, will face Iowa in the Orange Bowl. Utah's last trip to San Diego Two years ago, the Utes were accepted to their first Poinsettia Bowl, where they took on the Naval Academy. Utah won in a closely contested match, edging the Midshipmen 35-32. Utah quarterback Brian Johnson and strong safety Joe Dale won offensive and defensive MVPs, respectively, thanks to second-half performances See FOOTBALL 7.Oregon The Ducks wrapped up the Pac-io Championship and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl with a 37-33 victory over rival Oregon State on Thursday. The 10-2 Ducks will face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. 10.Iowa The Hawkeyes suffered back-to-back losses to Northwestern and Ohio State in the final three weeks of the season, which prevented them from winning the Big io. However, they still earned a BCS bid with a 10-2 record. Iowa will play Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Page 8 Compiled by Paige Fieldsted Pio sic' at Picic Bowl Edition Poinsettia Bowl New Mexico Bowl 60 vs. Utah vs. Cal Music City Bowl ■If 4 '' Kentucky T vs. vs. V; VS. lal 4 Humanitarian Bowl 1 2..el vs. _0, Gator Bowl Wy vs r) --Z ......,e, S vs. STATE Pli T r Rose Bowl - ) ' I vs. vs. Contact Circle all 34 of your selections and submit sheets to Union Room 318 by 4 p.m. Friday. (9-7) Nevada SMU Marshall Ohio Sun Bowl N.- 4 buil vs. vs. Pitt. UNC Boston College USC ' vs. LZ: Insight Bowl vs. g t, Stanford Navy Air Force Oklahoma International Bowl :;,-.'::'!,',' vs. Orange Bowl , , j'i11 ,,..... TCU VS. Iowa O if 4ra iMil vs. Atit MISSOURI Sugar Bowl Oregon Florida 19LI 71 Texas Bowl ,... , t vs. IR vs. 4 ■: vs. 4. Missouri Minnesota Papajohns.com Bowl s. /-_,, i ) vs. Georgia Tech. C. Michigan BCS National Champ. 14 _I■r_.. t.,-• Troy Texas a vs. N. Illinois S. Carolina Cincinnati S. Florida GMAC Bowl ' L_: It rig. Temple Arkansas E. Carolina Mich. St. Texas Tech. Boise State Featured Staff Pick: Paige Fieldsted VS. Emerald Bowl Meineke Car Care Bowl .126... . . Fiesta Bowl 1011SE /STOTE ,..L., Armed Forces Bowl \ -_ PJ A.P cl- XI I VS. Nebraska Houston LSU W. Virgina Florida St. Ohio State Alamo Bowl BYU Holiday Bowl Wisconsin Bowling Green Idaho Arizona Capital One Bowl AIJIIk. Little Caesars Bowl . Bull vs. l EEN Tennessee Northwestern Auburn Penn State vs. , C• os ..o, vs. la SOUTHERN MISS Champs Sports Bowl Liberty Bowl Hawaii Bowl Las Vegas Bowl Rutgers S. Miss. Middle Tenn Oregon St. L jil vs. Outback Bowl EagleBank Bowl Name VS. Clemson Texas A&M Georgia Miami VT VS. EZ Army VS. 4%.4_,..., Independence Bowl Chick-Fil-A Bowl V. Tech New Orleans Bowl Fresno St. Wyoming UCF Am I, vs. St. Petersburg Bowl vs. ]A Alabama Tiebreaker: Pick the final score of Utah • Iowa St. Cotton Bowl + - . "1 ' ? VS. P..=, UConn Oklahoma St. Ole Miss Best of week #13: Grafton Hull(11-5) (score 21-10) vs. Cal Winners announced every Tuesday, but just because you win Pigskin Picks doesn't mean the BCS will be abolished. Staff Records: Ty Cobb 142-65, Bryan Chouinard 135-74 and Paige Fieldsted 134- 75. |
