As a result of their win over Houston in the Conference USA title game earlier this month, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles are celebrating with a trip to the 10th annual Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu this weekend where they will tangle with the Nevada Wolf Pack. Not only did Southern Miss bury a heavily-favored Houston squad by a score of 49-28 in the conference title game, it finished an impressive 11-2 overall with those two defeats coming against Marshall and UAB in C-USA action by a total of just nine points.

The Golden Eagles have now put together their 18th consecutive winning season, which is the fourth-longest streak among Football Bowl Subdivision programs, trailing... Read More →

There were a lot of question marks heading into 2011 for North Carolina, as the school replaced Butch Davis prior to the season, leaving the team in the hands of interim coach Everett Withers. Although UNC finished at 7-5 this season, the school made the move to replace Withers with former Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora. Still, the Tar Heels will be under Withers’ guidance in this bowl game, a reward for his hard work this season.

North Carolina turn in a fine season and watch them end it on a solid note as they win this one outright.

Playing hard has been a continuing problem, according to Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris. Losing has been an ongoing issue as well for the Bucs, who look to put an end to their eight-game slide Saturday on the road against the NFC South-rival Carolina Panthers from Bank of America Stadium.

Tampa Bay is a good team as well, but the future isn’t as bright for the swash-buckling club that will find it difficult to contain the Panthers’ offense once again. There’s no question Morris knows how to inspire his players, but he can’t be out on the field with them. Newton is playing at a high level right now and it appears there’s no end in sight.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cincinnati Bengals kept their playoff chances alive by avoiding a fifth loss in six games last weekend.

While Arizona’s chances at a postseason spot are much slimmer, the Cardinals’ longest winning streak since 1999 has them still mathematically in the hunt as well.

The Cards QB does have a tendency to turn the ball over and could face a lot of pressure in this game. Both Green and Fitzgerald are two of the top playmaking receivers and the clubs are also fairly equal on the ground. That leaves Cincinnati’s solid defense as the difference.

The  lights at  Candlestick Park  were erratic  Monday night, but the San Francisco 49ers played steady, mistake-free  football to win a battle of playoff teams.

Alex  Smith connected  on 18-of-31 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, while Frank  Gore  ran for  65 yards  and a  score on  18 carries  for the NFC West- champion 49ers (11-3), who stayed in contention for a first-round bye. The game was twice delayed because of power outages in the San Francisco area.