5
Thoughts ... 2008 Bell
Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Air Force (8-4) vs. Houston (7-5)
GAME RECAP: Houston wins fun shootout
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2008 CFN Armed Forces
Bowl Preview
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2008 Armed Forces Bowl
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1.
I’ll be the one to say it …
there’s something icky about a
corporation using a bowl game to
advertise and make more money
under the guise of praising the
troops. It’s a fantastic idea to
have an Armed Forces Bowl, when
all five branches of the
military get honored with the
spotlight of a big college
football post-season game, but
the problem kicks in when a
company blurs the line between
patriotism and capitalism, as
Bell Helicopters does as the
bowl’s title sponsor. If the
company wants to advertise its
product, that’s obviously fine,
but this is a very, very
well compensated government
contractor that's using this
bowl to thank the government for
its business. Bell Helicopters
isn’t sponsoring this thing, and
it’s not running its ads to tug
on your heartstrings, out of the
goodness of their hearts.
They’re piggybacking the idea of
supporting the troops with
moving more product by attaching
the Bell Helicopter name to the
sacrifices and work done by the
men and women who serve our
country. Want to honor the
troops? Run the “thank you” ads
and don’t attach your name to
it. Make it all about the troops
and not about the helicopter.
-
Pete
Fiutak
2. While QB Case Keenum
deservedly gets leading man
status around Houston, the
offense really took off when
rookie RB Bryce Beall got a bump
in playing time at the end of
September. A slippery runner and
outstanding receiver, he gives
the high-powered Cougar attack a
dangerous dose of balance. Beall
actually upstaged Keenum in Fort
Worth, rushing for 134 yards and
a score, while adding four
catches for 92 yards. With just
about every skill position
player back from the nation’s
most prolific offense, go ahead
and feel free to install the
Cougars as the early favorite to
win Conference USA in 2009.
-
Richard Cirminiello
3.
Houston got jobbed when the
replay booth ruled that a Cougar
ballcarrier had fumbled before
breaking the plane of the goal
line early in the fourth
quarter, with UH holding a
tenuous 24-20 lead. The lack of
a goal-line camera, shamefully
still an item we have to talk
about in college football
(sigh), deprived replay
reviewers of an adequate angle;
had the booth been given a
genuine look at the goal line,
there's no way the crew could
have deprived Houston of a
touchdown on the play. All
networks simply have to have
goal-line cameras... certainly
for high-profile regular-season
contests and every single bowl
game. Bowl games bring big TV
ratings and a nice stack of cash
to broadcasters; the least the
networks can do, in return, is
to offer fan-friendly and
replay-friendly devices such as
goal-line cameras.
-
Matthew
Zemek
4. You know how a contingent of
pro personnel will go to a
college game to scout the next
generation of NFLers? Or college
coaches will visit with high
school blue-chippers? Well, the
Armed Forces Bowl was the type
of event that should have
attracted a bunch of athletic
directors with marginal
situations on the sidelines.
Houston’s Kevin Sumlin and Air
Force’s Troy Calhoun are quietly
two of the hottest young coaches
in the country. Sumlin has
big-game experience from his
days at Oklahoma and did a
fantastic job in his first year,
guiding the Cougars to a strong
finish and their first bowl win
since 1980. Calhoun has taken a
Falcon team that was supposed to
be rebuilding to back-to-back
bowl games in his first two
years. Both are young. Both get
a ton of offensive parts back.
Both could be fielding offers
for major promotions next
December. -
Richard Cirminiello
5.
Houston freshman receiver Tyron
Carrier is a terrifically
talented player. The Cougar
coaching staff will love the
fact that they were able to win
today's game while watching the
young speedster encounter some
teachable moments. At the end of
the first half, Carrier eschewed
going out of bounds in an
ill-advised attempt to gain a
touchdown, costing his team
three points. With roughly two
minutes left in the fourth
quarter and Air Force bereft of
timeouts, Carrier strolled out
of bounds to save the Falcons
about 20 seconds.
Coaches love it when they win
and yet can correct freshman
mistakes. When Kevin Sumlin and
staff approach spring ball,
they'll be able to tell all
their players--particularly
studs like Carrier--how to
handle late-half and endgame
situations. Expect a stronger
and smarter 2009 from Carrier
and Houston's other speedy skill
people on the edges.
-
Matthew
Zemek