Ken Braun

Football Bowl Association and Other Bowling Thoughts

12:24 AM ET 12.31

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My thoughts on the whole bowls vs. playoffs debate is a greyish area. The BCS is foolish, and stupid, and unfair; but we're also not going to get a 16-team playoff, and there's issues of complication with all points in between.What I am sure of is that I don't need to be convinced how terrific college football is while I'm watching the waning days of same and pondering months of cold and darkness without it. Nonetheless, this is what the Football Bowl Association has been throwing at me for more than a week (see video on right of the FBA page, if you haven't seen it…

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Capital One Bowl: Similar Teams, Different Dreams

12:19 AM ET 12.11

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Michigan State's Javon Ringer and Georgia's Knowshon Moreno are both finalists for the Doak Walker "best college running back" award. So, with some excitement about two of the game's biggest running threats set to play one another in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1st., what is the big statistic that tells you the most about this game?How about this: Georgia's rushing offense is ranked just 54th in the nation and Michigan State's is 66th. Both players are the main ball carriers on teams that -- statistically speaking -- have rather mediocre running attacks.…

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2008 Spartans By the Numbers

12:49 AM ET 11.25

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Comments: 1

The big numbers tell the Michigan State football story as the regular season comes to a close. Last year's group was a 7-6 team. Those that returned played a slightly tougher schedule in 2008 and have come out with (so far) a 9-3 record. That alone appears as big progress, but in Big Ten conference games, the changes are more dramatic: a 3-5 record became 6-2 against exactly the same slate of teams.Iowa and Northwestern illustrate this last point. Each was a 6-6 team a year ago with no bowl prospects, yet both defeated Michigan State. This year, both had markedly improved records (17-7…

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