Monday, December 5, 2011

Tiger gets His Win - 2011-12 College Football Bowl Schedule - Meyer's Coaching Staff Updates -



2011-12 College Football Bowl Schedule
Dec. 17 Gildan New Mexico
Albuquerque, N.M. Temple vs. Wyoming
ESPN
2 p.m.
Dec. 17 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Boise, Idaho Ohio vs. Utah State
ESPN
5:30 p.m.
Dec. 17 R+L Carriers New Orleans
New Orleans, La. San Diego State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
ESPN
9 p.m.
Dec. 20 Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Fla. FIU vs. Marshall
ESPN
8 p.m.
Dec. 21 S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia
San Diego, Calif. TCU vs. Louisiana Tech
ESPN
8 p.m.
Dec. 22 MAACO Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nev. Boise State vs. Arizona State
ESPN
8 p.m.
Dec. 24 Sheraton Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii Southern Miss vs. Nevada
ESPN
8 p.m.
Dec. 26 AdvoCare V100 Independence
Shreveport, La. North Carolina vs. Missouri
ESPN2
5 p.m.
Dec. 27 Little Caesars
Detroit, Mich. Purdue vs. Western Michigan
ESPN
4:30 p.m.
Dec. 27 Belk
Charlotte, N.C. NC State vs. Louisville
ESPN
8 p.m.
Dec. 28 Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman
Washington, D.C. Air Force vs. Toledo
ESPN
4:30 p.m.
Dec. 28 Bridgepoint Education Holiday
San Diego, Calif. Texas vs. California
ESPN
8 p.m.
Dec. 29 Champs Sports
Orlando, Fla. Florida State vs. Notre Dame
ESPN
5:30 p.m.
Dec. 29 Valero Alamo
San Antonio, Texas Baylor vs. Washington
ESPN
9 p.m.
Dec. 30 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Dallas, Texas BYU vs. Tulsa
ESPN
Noon
Dec. 30 New Era Pinstripe
Bronx, N.Y. Iowa State vs. Rutgers
ESPN
3:20 p.m.
Dec. 30 Franklin American Mortgage Music City
Nashville, Tenn. Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State
ESPN
6:40 p.m.
Dec. 30 Insight
Tempe, Ariz. Iowa vs. Oklahoma
ESPN
10 p.m.
Dec. 31 Meineke Car Care of Texas
Houston, Texas Northwestern vs. Texas A&M
ESPN
Noon
Dec. 31 Hyundai Sun
El Paso, Texas Georgia Tech vs. Utah
CBS
2 p.m.
Dec. 31 AutoZone Liberty
Memphis, Tenn. Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt
ESPN
3:30 p.m.
Dec. 31 Kraft Fight Hunger
San Francisco, Calif. Illinois vs. UCLA
ESPN
3:30 p.m.
Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A
Atlanta, Ga. Virginia vs. Auburn
ESPN
7:30 p.m.
Jan. 2 TicketCity
Dallas, Texas Penn State vs. Houston
ESPNU
Noon
Jan. 2 Outback
Tampa, Fla. Michigan State vs. Georgia
ABC
1 p.m.
Jan. 2 Capital One
Orlando, Fla. Nebraska vs. South Carolina
ESPN
1 p.m.
Jan. 2 Gator
Jacksonville, Fla. Ohio State vs. Florida
ESPN2
1 p.m.

Jan. 2 Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO
Pasadena, Calif. Oregon vs. Wisconsin
ESPN
5 p.m.
Jan. 2 Tostitos Fiesta
Glendale, Ariz. Stanford vs. Oklahoma State
ESPN
8:30 p.m.
Jan. 3 Allstate Sugar
New Orleans, La. Virginia Tech vs. Michigan
ESPN
8:30 p.m.
Jan. 4 Discover Orange
Miami, Fla. Clemson vs. West Virginia
ESPN
8:30 p.m.
Jan. 6 AT&T Cotton
Arlington, Texas Kansas State vs. Arkansas
FOX
8 p.m.
Jan. 7 BBVA Compass Bowl
Birmingham, Ala. Pittsburgh vs. SMU
ESPN
9 p.m.
Jan. 8 GoDaddy.com
Mobile, Ala. Northern Illinois vs. Arkansas State
ESPN
8 p.m.
Jan. 9 Allstate BCS National Championship Game
New Orleans, La. LSU vs. Alabama
ESPN
8:30 p.m.






Chevron win good start for Tiger Woods
I bet there were more people watching this tournament than there were watching golf all year. It's sad, but one player can make or break the game of golf. Tiger Woods is that player. I guarantee that people are already looking to see when and where he is playing again.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- If so inclined, there are certainly more than a few ways to poke holes in Tiger Woods' victory on Sunday -- his first anywhere in two years -- not the least of which is he didn't have to beat very many players.
The Chevron World Challenge is not an official PGA Tour event, a handful of golfers in the 18-player field are probably not as fully engaged as they might otherwise be, and the tournament benefits Woods' foundation, which means it is a week in which he is highly motivated, regardless of his well-chronicled winless streak.
After a tense back nine that saw him birdie the last two holes to defeat Zach Johnson on Sunday, nobody should be suggesting that the former No. 1 player in the world is immediately back to previous heights, that he's going to win the Grand Slam in 2012 or that he is even going to win multiple times following his 36th birthday later this month.
But he had to start somewhere, didn't he?
"Winning means everything to him, whether it's an 18-man field or Augusta National,'' said veteran caddie Joe LaCava, who has been on Woods' bag since October. "He wants to win and get in the winner's circle. He knows it's not 144 guys. He knows it's not the Masters.
"But still, winning is winning and you're beating 17 other really good players on a tough golf course in tough conditions. It means a lot. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if he lost and it's not the end of the world that he won. But it does mean a lot.''
And that is probably the proper way to look at Woods' one-shot victory over Johnson that concluded with Woods sinking a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
After more than two years, a total of 749 days, a stretch of 26 tournaments, Tiger Woods has finally won again.
In the interim, his life went to hell due to an ugly scandal, he lost millions of dollars in endorsements, he got divorced, changed swing coaches, then endured injuries that caused him to miss four months and two major championships this year.
So, yeah, winning the Chevron isn't exactly the same as hoisting a major championship trophy. It's not the same as winning Bay Hill or Buick.
But for Woods, after all he's been through, and considering the scrutiny his game endures -- from shot to shot, hole to hole, tournament to tournament -- this was more than a nice little win at his charity tournament.
"Any different?'' Woods repeated when the question came about how it compares to his other victories -- which total 14 majors, 71 PGA Tour titles and 83 worldwide wins. "It feels great. … I know it's been a while, but also for some reason, it feels like it hasn't.
"When I was coming down the stretch there, I felt so comfortable. I felt comfortable in Oz [Australia]. I felt comfortable in Augusta. When I'm putting myself in those positions, it is comfortable.''
Woods was referring to his only other close calls this year: a tie for fourth at the Masters, where he was tied for the lead on the back nine on Sunday; and the Australian Open three weeks ago, where he held the second-round lead, coughed it up with a third-round 75, then rallied to finish third, two strokes out of a playoff.
But a bigger-picture view should be applied. Regardless of the stature of the tournament at Sherwood, it offered another example that Woods' game is progressing.
Tiger Woods stood in the 18th fairway tied with Zach Johnson for the Chevron World Challenge lead. But Woods' approach shot got inside Johnson's and then Woods sank the birdie putt for his first victory since November 2009.
His 3-under-par 69 was his third score in the 60s this week and gives him nine in his past 11 stroke-play rounds. Unlike at various points in his comeback from personal woes and injury, Woods has been putting himself in the heat of contention, not to mention the pressure that came with the Presidents Cup two weeks ago.
And he admitted that the constant analysis of his game exacts a price.
"Yeah, I got it quite a bit -- basically every tournament I played in front of you guys [the media],'' he said. "Started out, you haven't won in six months, then a year, year and a half, two years.
"So it feels good to win a golf tournament, but that's not the reason I was playing. I'm not playing for you guys or anything like that. Just playing to get the W. At the beginning of the week, that's what I said, and I was able to get it.''
Perhaps it is the way he got it that will be of most importance to him.
Woods trailed Johnson by one stroke when the final round began after a third-round 73 that saw him bogey three of the par-5 holes.
He appeared to be in control after making birdies at the 10th and 11th holes to forge a two-shot advantage. With two par-5s to play, Woods figured to be in good shape.
But he missed the 12th green and failed to get up and down for par, then was tied when Johnson made a birdie at the 14th. And when Johnson -- who held off Woods to win the 2007 Masters -- outplayed Woods in the layup game at the par-5 16th, his birdie putt him one stroke ahead.
All Woods did then was birdie the final two holes, knocking a 9-iron to 15 that he converted for a birdie on the par-3 17th. And then at the 18th, after Johnson had hit his approach to 10 feet, Woods again hit a 9 iron, this time to 6 feet.
Like the old days, Woods drained the putt, this time to a fist pump and large roars of approval from a packed gallery surrounding the 18th hole.
Johnson could only watch at that point, nodding as if he expected it.
"If the man is healthy, that's paramount,'' Johnson said. "He's the most experienced and the best player I've ever played with. In every situation, he knows how to execute and win.''
Woods now gets to take some good vibes and a healthy dose of confidence into a mini offseason. It's been a hectic month for Woods, who went to work when finally able to try and get ready for the Presidents Cup.
He played a series of exhibitions in Asia and Australia prior to the Australian Open, then had a strong week -- if not a great record -- at the Presidents Cup. After a week off came the Chevron tournament, which he has now won five times.
How significant the victory is will continue to be the subject of conjecture, but it is interesting to note that the small field had 11 players from the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking -- and that doesn't include Woods, who moved up to 21st with the victory.
For comparison, the 12-player Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa won by No. 3 Lee Westwood on Sunday had six top-25 players; and the full-field Hong Kong Open on the European Tour won by Rory McIlroy had just three of the top 25.
Woods wasn't quibbling, and neither was LaCava, the long-time caddie to Fred Couples and for a short-time Dustin Johnson.
And it was LaCava who wrapped it up nicely, with a nod to some drama involving Woods and his former caddie, Steve Williams, earlier this year.
"I haven't won any, make sure of that first,'' LaCava said, a reference to Williams'
comments after a victory caddying for Adam Scott in August. "But I've been along for the ride on a few and it's very nice.
"Poor guy couldn't make a putt in two days and then he made the last two look easy. It was a lot of fun. I told him, it wasn't easy, but it was a lot of fun.''




Marotti Joins Meyer in Columbus

By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Urban Meyer announced his first retirement from the University of Florida after the 2009 season, it was Mickey Marotti who helped him reconsider.
Meyer’s trusted Director of Strength and Conditioning is used to pumping up football players, but he had some fiery words for his head football coach the next morning at practice.
“It’s different here,” Marotti told The New York Times last year.
“We do things different here. We train them different, practice different, talk to them different and motivate them different. Look what you’ve done. That’s what you want to be a part of.”
Now it was Meyer’s turn to do some motivating.
A year after his official resignation in Gainesville, Meyer has taken over as the head football coach at the Ohio State University. One of his first calls was to Marotti, who he lured away from Notre Dame back in 2005.
Once again, Meyer got his man.
Appearing on the Gator Bowl teleconference Sunday evening, current Florida coach Will Muschamp confirmed that Marotti has already left the Gators to join forces with Meyer in Columbus.
A native of Ambridge, Pa., the 46-year old Marotti played fullback at West Liberty State, where he graduated in 1987. He became a graduate assistant in the strength and conditioning program at Ohio State under former head coach Earle Bruce. That is when he first met Meyer, who was also a graduate assistant at OSU in 1987.
Marotti would graduate from Ohio State in 1988 with a rare Master of Arts in Strength and Conditioning, and he was immediately hired as an assistant strength coach at West Virginia University.
He would get another Master’s degree in Sports Medicine at WVU before taking over as the head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Cincinnati in 1990. He would stay with the Bearcats for eight years, coordinating the strength program for 20 different sports, including football and men’s basketball.
In 1998, he was hired to join Bob Davie’s staff at Notre Dame as the Director of Strength and Conditioning. Meyer was already working in South Bend as the receivers coach, and when he left to become the head coach at Bowling Green in 2001, Marotti was one of the first staff members he tried to hire.
Meyer called Marotti relentlessly for three months trying to get him to leave his gig at Notre Dame, but the situation at Bowling Green was far too unsettled for him to pick up his family.
This time around, there is a lot more stability as Marotti joins what could be an all-star cast in Columbus. He will replace Ohio State's director of football performance, Eric Lichter after the bowl game.
Lichter has been with the Buckeyes since he was hired by former head coach Jim Tressel in June, 2006. Eric's mother, Linda Lichter-Witter, is Ohio State's synchronized swimming coach.




In The Fold
Here is the current class as it stands at the moment, and where they are ranked by the various recruiting services.

Cardale Jones (6-5 217) QB, Fork Union Military Academy
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star)

Warren Ball (6-2 200) RB, St. Francis DeSales
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 4-star)

Bri'onte Dunn (6-2 215) RB, Canton GlenOak
(ESPN: 4-star; Scout: 5-star; Rivals: 4-star)

Roger Lewis (6-1 195) WR, Pickerington Central
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star)

Ricquan Southward (6-2 190) WR, Lakeland (FL)
(ESPN: 4-star; Scout: 2-star; Rivals: 3-star)

Mike Thomas (6-4 203) WR, Fork Union Military Academy
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 4-star)

Frank Epitropoulos (6-3 195) WR, Upper Arlington
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star)

Blake Thomas (6-4 240) TE, Cleveland St. Ignatius
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star)

Jacoby Boren (6-3 273) OL, Pickerington Central
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star)

Patrick Elflein (6-3 285) OL, Pickerington North
(ESPN: 4-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star)

Adolphus Washington (6-4 230) DE, Cincinnati Taft
(ESPN: 4-star; Scout: 5-star; Rivals: 4-star)

Joshua Perry (6-4 228) OLB, Olentangy
(ESPN: 4-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 4-star)

Luke Roberts (6-2 230) LB, Lancaster
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star)

De'van Bogard (6-1 175) DB, Glenville
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 4-star)

Najee Murray (5-11 172) DB, Steubenville
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 3-star)

Tyvis Powell (6-4 185) DB, Bedford
(ESPN: 2-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 3-star)

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