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Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m.
Nashville, Tenn., LP Field
Vanderbilt 16, Boston College 14
In early 1997, the Nashville Sports Council and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce began discussions with the Southeastern Conference (SEC) about hosting a post-season college Bowl game. There were several reasons that factored into the discussions: Nashville is known as a destination city, its easily accessible to a majority of universities in a number of conferences, and a brand new stadium was being built for a new NFL franchise, the Tennessee Titans. Furthermore, Nashville is one of the best cities in the country for hospitality and entertainment. Known as Music City, Nashville has several opportunities to offer the college football fan, university administrator, corporate sponsor, and local resident. After taking these points into consideration, the Nashville Sports Council, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the City of Nashville decided to take on the challenge and Music City Bowl, Inc. was born.
Later in 1997, the Bowl aligned itself with several partners to ensure its success. The Bowl signed a four-year Carnell 'Cadillac' Williams dives.agreement starting in 1998 with ESPN to broadcast the game nationally. In 1998, a four-year agreement was signed with the SEC. In 1999, the Big East Conference agreed to a three-year deal to send a team to the Music City to take on the SEC.
In 2000, the Bowl took a new direction signing a four-year deal with the BIG TEN Conference to replace the Big East starting with the 2002 game. The SEC further extended their existing contract through the 2005 game. In 2005, the Bowl announced new conference partnerships with the SEC and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) beginning in 2006 through 2009.
The Bowl has had some major accomplishments adding to its success and has solidified its position as one of Nashville’s most important events. Gaylord Hotels (a division of Gaylord Entertainment Company) agreed to serve as title sponsor of the Bowl for multiple years. Furthermore, Bridgestone, a locally headquartered international company officially became the Presenting Sponsor of the Bowl in 2003. In addition, the Bowl and ESPN inked an agreement for ESPN to broadcast the Bowl through 2013. These new alliances and partnerships should bring more stability to one of the fastest growing Bowl games in America.
The Bowl, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, is a now a part of the fabric of the Nashville community. Key initiatives such as economic development, tourism impact, quality of life enhancement, a focus on youth, and a commitment to higher education are all part of the Bowl experience. The Bowl in just a few short years has turned one of Nashville’s slowest tourism weeks into one of the busiest as well as supported various charitable organizations through ticket donation, special community programs, and much more. Moreover, the Bowl has one of the most successful youth initiatives in the country with its Youth Football Program. The Bowl’s Youth Football Program reaches families in eighty communities in Middle Tennessee, southern Kentucky, and northern Alabama. More than 22,000 participants are part of a unique program that involves players, cheerleaders, and coaches with Nashville’s Holiday Tradition.
Finally, since the Bowl’s inception, nearly 46 million viewers have watched the event on ESPN; the Bowl has contributed nearly $20 million in financial payouts to participating universities; and has generated nearly $142 million in economic impact for the Nashville community.
Football Betting News
Ohio State at Penn State
Posted on 11/5/2009 12:00:00 AMby GetChalk
Big Ten rivals collide in a very important game for the conference in Happy Valley Saturday afternoon. The 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes visit the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions – a contest that, while it is crucial to the two teams involved, means a lot more to a program watching from home.
Oddsmakers have set the Nittany Lions as 3.5-point home favorites for Week 10's tilt. Penn State won last season's meeting 13-6 at OSU, covering as 1.5-point road chalk. These teams have split their last four meetings straight up and against the spread. However, the home teams is 9-2 ATS in the last 11 games in this series.
The Iowa Hawkeyes will be watching this conference clash closely. For them, the door to the BCS Championship would swing open a touch if the Nittany Lions are able to knock off the Buckeyes. For Ohio State, losing this weekend would drop them out of the running for a high-profile BCS bowl game.
The Buckeyes have punished their last two opponents since losing a shocker to the Purdue Boilermakers in Week 7. Ohio State has crushed Big Ten foes Minnesota and non-conference challengers New Mexico State by a combined score of 83-7.
However, running the score up on weaker opponents might not be the best practice for a program as strong as PSU. The Nittany Lions have won five straight games since their lone loss to the Hawkeyes in Week 4.
Penn State took an impressive 35-10 win over the Michigan Wolverines two weeks ago and are fresh off a drubbing of the Northwestern Wildcats, who actually tested PSU for three quarters before breaking for 21 points in the final frame.
These two teams are built on tough, smash-mouth defense, but the face of each program the past two seasons has been their dynamic quarterback.
Ohio State boasts a duel-threat in sophomore Terrelle Pryor, who, after throwing two big interceptions in the loss to Purdue, has rebounded with a pair of solid performances. Pryor passed for 239 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota, adding another 104 yards and a score on the ground. Versus New Mexico State, he compiled 135 yards passing with a touchdown while rushing for 83 yards and a score in limited action.
On the other sideline, the Nittany Lions will turn to quarterback Daryl Clark to move the chains. He is second in the conference in average yards per game and has a touchdown-to-interception count of 9-to-1 in his last four games – all of which are PSU victories SU and ATS. Clark can also shake a leg when needed. He scrambled for just 16 yards but scored a touchdown against Northwestern last weekend, giving him 151 yards total and five rushing touchdowns on the year.
Penn State has another potent weapon on the ground in running back Evan Royster, who has cracked the century mark in rushing yards in each of his last three games. The junior is second in the conference in average yards per game with 95.44 and totaled 77 yards on the ground against the Buckeyes last season.
Like in recent meetings, this Big Ten battle will come down to defense. These teams ranks 1-2 in the conference with the Nittany Lions holding a slight edge in the statistical categories. Penn State is giving up just under 255 yards of offense per game while limiting opponents to around an average of nine points. It also leads the conference in sacks with 32 on the season.
Standing out of the Nittany Lions’ stop unit are senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick, junior linebacker Navorro Bowman, and senior linebacker Josh Hall, who ranks fourth in the conference in tackles. Last season, the PSU defense came up big in the fourth quarter, forcing Pryor to fumble which set up the Nittany Lions’ go-ahead score.
Ohio State's stop unit sits sixth in the country with a drum-tight rushing defense which is allowing just over 86 yards per game. The Buckeyes are among the best teams at forcing turnovers, grabbing 15 interceptions – two returned for scores – and has forced 12 fumbles. Senior defensive back Kurt Coleman is a ball hawk, snatching three picks while also forcing three fumbles on the season.
Oddsmakers have set the total for Saturday's contest at 39.5 points. Last season's final score played under the 44.5-point total and the under has paid out four of the last five seasons. Ohio State owns a 2-6-1 over/under mark on the year while PSU is 3-6-0 over/under.
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