Recap and Review

The three bowl games this weekend ended up being a little more lopsided than expected, as the point spread's for each game were well covered. BYU finished the season with a decisive win over UTEP. BYU's defense stepped up big by forcing UTEP to be just 3-12 on 3rd downs, and complimented those numbers with 3 turnovers and 4 sacks.  In the second game of the day, Northern Illinois won 40-17 over Fresno State and it was the running game of the Huskies that got them into the endzone as QB Chandler Harnish scored twice himself, and running back Chad Spann found 6 points on a couple of TD runs that afternoon.

In the final game of the weekend, the Trojans of Troy took it to Ohio's Bobcat, winning 48-21. Troy's offense put up some astronomical numbers, as QB Corey Robinson threw for 387 and 4 TD's to 4 different receivers. The offense combined for 602 yards, and picked up 30 first downs. Ohio's defense seemed to have their hands full with all of Troy's offensive weapons. Troy moved the ball around both vertically and horizontally early with a reverse, back pass/flea flicker (I don't even know how to describe it it was so crazy). Senior wide out Jason Bruce threw a perfect spiral on the run to Robinson, who then threw it back down field to a different wide receiver. "I played QB in high school, so I still got it," mentioned Bruce. Plays like this helped open up the vertical passing game which led to the 4 passing TD's. "Once we started running our plays, and seeing how well they worked, we knew we would be in control." The few times the Trojans didn't score, punter Will Goggans went out to send the ball away, and after setting foot on the field, immediately won best goatee ever to participate in a bowl game. Goggans, who grew his facial hair out all year, let the blond masterpiece bask in the Superdome lights that evening. A true player on and off the field, Goggans did this so he could play Santa Claus as the team visited some young fans at a local children's hospital. The Troy football program showed that hard work, both on/off the field as well as in the barber shop, pay off greatly in the end.