Could Fiesta Bowl Pull a Hook-and-Lateral & Statue of Liberty, and Take Both Boise State and TCU?

By
Mike Hlas
Published: December 1, 2009Posted in: Latest News

Boise State was full of surprises when it played in the Fiesta Bowl three seasons ago, capping its 43-42 overtime win over Oklahoma with a hook-and-lateral for a touchdown and a Statue of Liberty play for the winning two-point conversion.

So, will the bowl itself pull a surprise on Sunday and invite two non-BCS conference teams to its Jan. 4 game in Glendale, Ariz., in unbeaten TCU and unbeaten Boise State, instead of having 10-2 Iowa as one of its contestants?

Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune in metro Phoenix thinks it should. Bordow writes:

Now, the Hawkeyes’ lure is strong. Amazingly, Iowa never has played in the Fiesta Bowl, so there’s a good chance the entire state will leave for the week and spend money in Valley hotels, restaurants, etc. . . .

Here’s the thing about the Hawkeyes, though: They’re a Big Ten team. They play BORING football. They’ll put you to sleep faster than a tryptophan overload on Thanksgiving.

Even if Boise State’s entire offensive line promised to get down on their knees and propose to their girlfriends after the game, the television ratings would suffer.

Boise State and TCU, on the other hand, has a natural hook — which unbeaten team is better — and several juicy subplots.

How will the Broncos’ offense, ranked No. 9 in the country, move the ball against the Horned Frogs’ defense, ranked No. 2?

I omitted a paragraph from the middle of that train of thought from the columnist. It’s one that will cost him a bundle of credibility in Hawkdom, I’m afraid. It is:

If you had a choice, where would you spend New Year’s Eve: Ames, Iowa or Mill Avenue (a popular nightlife area in Tempe)?

Uh, Chris, the University of Iowa is in Iowa City. Iowa State is in Ames. If Iowa does get a Fiesta invite, you’ll find many of the visitors to Greater Phoenix a month from now will be a little sensitive to this.

But what about Penn State? The Nittany Lions won’t go quietly in the December night, even without a win over a ranked team and with a 21-10 home loss to Iowa.

They want a BCS bowl bid. Joe Paterno admits it, as this story amplifies.

“I’ve told some people to do anything you can to make sure people understand that we’re going to bring a lot of fans … and we have great television ratings,” Paterno said.

Penn State indeed is typically a big postseason draw. The school boasts in its e-mail to bowl organizers that they had 30,000 fans at last year’s Rose Bowl, and at least 35,000 fans for the Orange Bowl in 2006.

And Paterno, a Hall of Famer who is major college football’s career wins leader, remains one of the sport’s biggest draws. The 12.3 TV rating for Penn State-Florida State in the 2006 Orange Bowl was dramatically higher than the last three Orange Bowl games.

Revenue and TV ratings are just as important – if not more – than team records to bowl organizers in setting up matchups.

“We’re certainly trying to use the new technologies out there to try and tell our story as best we can,” athletic director Tim Curley said.

But there are two sides to this story, of course, as the story details.

The Hawkeyes also have a reputation of bringing fans to bowl games. The Fiesta Bowl is seen as a strong possibility, and Iowa team spokesman Phil Haddy says there are roughly 1 million transplanted native Iowans living in Arizona.

“We could probably sell out the stadium with nobody from the state of Iowa going down there,” Haddy said.

You do not mess with Iowa sports information director Haddy. If you do?

He’ll leave you in the Arizona desert to rot.

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