Thursday News and Notes

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Joe Duffy is CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com, which is offering a premium version of the advanced news and notes, computer trends, weather information and more for the entire bowl season.  Much of the information is compiled from hometown newspapers and the team’s own press releases. The entire bowl season version of the OffshoreInsiders.com clipboard is $69.

NFL

Vikings-Packers

Hendersonville News

Minnesota will give Tarvaris Jackson his first NFL start on Thursday, turning the season over to the untested quarterback from Division I-AA Alabama State after a series of inconsistent performances from Brad Johnson. Favre has made a quarterback-record 255 consecutive starts, and he’s been at his best at home, going 88-29 at Lambeau Field. Green Bay is 40-5 under Favre at home when the game-time temperature is below 35 degrees - temperatures are expected to be in the 30s with a chance for rain and snow when Thursday’s game kicks off. After throwing 20 touchdown passes and a career-worst 29 interceptions during a 4-12 season in 2005, the worst of Favre’s tenure, he’s bounced back this season to throw only 15 picks as the Packers have rebounded from a 1-4 start to join the NFC playoff hunt. Green Bay and Minnesota can still make the playoffs as a wild card, but both teams need help. They’re one game behind the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, who at 7-7 are tied for the NFC’s final wild-card spot.

CFB

BYU-Oregon

Pahrump Valley News

Stadium officials added 4,000 seats to the home of the UNLV Rebels to accommodate a huge contingent of fans who back the No. 19-ranked Cougars, 10-2. About one-fourth of the fans at the game (ESPN 5 p.m.) will be supporting Oregon, 7-5. BYU is led by quarterback John Beck, a 6-2, 216-pound senior who has completed 261 of 371 passes for 319.6 yards per game, 30 touchdowns, with only six interceptions. Both teams have respectable running games, with Jonathan Stewart (5-11, 234 sophomore) leading Oregon with 960 yards and 10 touchdowns on 176 rushes. Curtis Brown (6, 203, senior) paces BYU with 184 attempts, 890 yards and five TDs. Jon Hartline (6-4, 238, senior) has 49 catches for 754 yards and 11 TDs to lead the BYU receiving corps. Jaison Williams (6-5, 243, sophomore) has 68 receptions for 984 yards and six touchdowns. Dennis Dixon, a 6-4, 196 junior, is expected to start at quarterback for Oregon. He is 187-for-302 with 184 yards per game passing. He’s thrown for 11 touchdowns, but has tossed 12 interceptions.

BYU averages 36.7 ppg, while the Ducks scored 31.2. Defensively, the Cougars have a huge edge, allowing only 15.2 ppg, compared to 25.6 for Oregon.

Press Notes

Since 1996, BYU has played in four bowl games. The Cougars are currently riding a nine-game winning streak, good for third longest in the nation (Ohio State and Boise State). BYU is coming off one of the most exciting games in the programs’ history that saw the Cougars come from behind to beat Utah on the last play of the game—a play that took over 10 seconds before quarterback John Beck found Jonny Harline alone in the end zone with no time on the clock. Oregon started the season winning five of its first six games, including a 34-33 victory over No. 15 Oklahoma. The Ducks, who were ranked as high as 11^th in the nation this season and remained in the top 25 for three months, finished their season 7-5 overall and 4-5 in league play.

Salt Lake Tribune

BYU hasn’t won a bowl game since it beat Kansas State 19-15 in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1997, to finish No. 5 in the national rankings. The Cougars have dropped four straight postseason matchups since, including last year’s 35-28 loss to California here. Oregon is 0-3 in bowl games since it downed Colorado 38-16 at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2002. Bellotti said losses to Oklahoma (17-14) in the 2005 Holiday Bowl and Minnesota (31-30) in the 2003 Sun Bowl came on last-second plays, while the 38-17 setback to Wake Forest in 2002 was a legitimate butt-kicking.  “We easily could have won two of those three,” he said.  The Cougars can’t say that. They’ve lost the last four bowl games by an average score of 31-17.  Because of their bowl futility, the Ducks insist this is an important game for them. They say they won’t be merely going through the motions because they missed out on going to the Rose Bowl, which takes the Pac-10 champion.