2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl Preview
| 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl |
| Date | December 23, 2006 |
| Time | 1:00 p.m. |
| Television Network | ESPN2 |
| Location | Birmingham, AL |
| Stadium | Legion Field |
History of the PapaJohns.com Bowl
2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl Preview
| 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl |
| Date | December 23, 2006 |
| Time | 1:00 p.m. |
| Television Network | ESPN2 |
| Location | Birmingham, AL |
| Stadium | Legion Field |
History of the PapaJohns.com Bowl
Since this is the first ever PapaJohns.com Bowl, there really is no history. The game was sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in April 2006. ESPN owns and operates the game, which was initially called the Birmingham Bowl, before corporate sponsorship was obtained from the Papa John's pizza chain on November 16, 2006.
Legion Field, named in honor of the American Legion, has plenty of history. It
has hosted college and professional football since being built in 1926. The
annual Alabama-Auburn Iron Bowl, the Birmingham Americans of the World Football
League, the United States Football League Birmingham Stallions, the Canadian
Football League Birmingham Barracudas and the Birmingham Thunderbolts of the
XFL all found a home at the stadium.
Legion Field first hosted a college bowl game in 1947 and 1948 in what was called the Dixie Bowl. The Hall of Fame Classic was held from 1977 to 1985, before the game was relocated to Tampa and eventually renamed the Outback Bowl. The All-American Bowl was played from 1986 to 1990, however, that game was discontinued when the Southeastern Conference awarded its title game to the facility. The SEC championship Game was played in Birmingham for two years, 1992 and 1993.
Alabama and Auburn now play at on-campus facilities. The last time the University of Alabama played at Legion Field was on August 30, 2003, posting a 40-17 victory over the University of South Florida. Today, the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) calls Legion Field home. Local high schools games, some college games, and the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game are also held at the stadium.
When an upper deck was added in 1961, the seating capacity increased to 83,091. Due to structural problems that deck was removed in 2005 and the stadium now holds 71,594 fans. The playing surface was converted to artificial turf this past year.
| University of South Florida |
| Location | Tampa |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Enrollment | 34,038 |
| Nickname | Bulls |
The University of South Florida football program is just ten years old and going to its second straight bowl game. The Bulls are hoping for a better result than last year's 14-0 loss to North Carolina State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
USF finished the 2006 regular season at 8-4 with a 5-3 record in the Big East
Conference. The team won three of its last four games and closed the season
with the biggest victory in school history, a win at then seventh ranked West
Virginia.
USF defeated ECU in three previous meetings, including two Conference USA games. After saying, "We're honored to receive this invitation," head coach Jim Leavitt talked about the fact that the Bulls had defeated the Pirates before. "I don't think you can go by any of the history that we've had with East Carolina. It's a different program under coach Holtz. This will be a heck of a game and we'll have to play our very best to have a shot at beating East Carolina."
| 2006 USF Bulls Results (8-4) |
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| Sat Sep 2 | McNeese State | Won 41-10 |
| Sat Sep 9 | Florida International | Won 21-20 |
| Sat Sep 16 | at Central Florida | Won 24-17 |
| Fri Sep 23 | at Kansas | Lost 13-7 |
| Fri Sep 29 | Rutgers | Lost 22-20 |
| Sat Oct 7 | Connecticut | Won 38-16 |
| Fri Oct 14 | at North Carolina | Won 37-20 |
| Sun Oct 22 | at Cincinnati | Lost 23-6 |
| Sat Nov 4 | Pittsburgh | Won 22-12 |
| Sat Nov 11 | Syracuse | Won 27-10 |
| Sat Nov 18 | at Louisville | Lost 31-8 |
| Sat Nov 25 | at West Virginia | Won 24-19 |
| Past USF Bowl Game (0-1) |
| Season | Bowl Game | Result |
| 2005 | Meineke Car Care | NC State 14, USF 0 |
| East Carolina University |
| Location | Greenville, NC |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Enrollment | 23,000 |
| Nickname | Pirates |
East Carolina also finished the season on a roll, winning five of the team's final six games. The only loss during that time was a one-point defeat at Rice. The Pirates finished 7-5 with a 5-3 record in Conference USA.
East Carolina has been to a dozen bowl games, posting a 7-5 record, but has not
played in a bowl game in five years. Skip Holtz is the second year head coach,
who has revitalized the Pirates program. Holtz's father, Lou Holtz, coached at
Notre Dame and South Carolina. Skip Holtz was on his father's staff at South
Carolina.
Skip Holtz had good things to say about USF. "We are certainly looking forward to having the opportunity and challenge of playing an opponent the caliber of USF. We have great respect for their program, especially the way they compete at a high level in a BCS conference like the Big East. This match-up will also present us with another chance to see how far we have progressed as a program in two years."
| 2006 East Carolina Pirates (7-5) |
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| Sat Sep 2 | at Navy | Lost 28-23 |
| Sat Sep 9 | at UAB | Lost 17-12 |
| Sat Sep 16 | Memphis | Won 35-20 |
| Sat Sep 23 | West Virginia | Lost 27-10 |
| Sat Oct 7 | Virginia | Won 31-21 |
| Sat Oct 14 | Tulsa | Lost 31-10 |
| Sat Oct 21 | SMU | Won 38-21 |
| Sat Oct 28 | at Southern Miss | Won 20-17 |
| Sat Nov 4 | at Central Florida | Won 23-10 |
| Sat Nov 11 | Marshall | Won 33-20 |
| Sat Nov 18 | at Rice | Lost 18-17 |
| Sat Nov 25 | at NC State | Won 21-16 |
| Past East Carolina Bowl Games (7-5) |
| Season | Bowl Game | Result |
| 2001 | GMAC | Marshall 64, East Carolina 61 |
| 2000 | galleryfurniture.com | East Carolina 40, Texas Tech 27 |
| 1999 | Mobile Alabama | TCU 28, East Carolina 14 |
| 1995 | Liberty | East Carolina 19, Stanford 13 |
| 1994 | Liberty | Illinois 30, East Carolina 0 |
| 1991 | Peach | East Carolina 37, N.C. State 34 |
| 1978 | Independence | East Carolina 35, Louisiana Tech 13 |
| 1965 | Tangerine | East Carolina 31, Maine 0 |
| 1964 | Tangerine | East Carolina 14, Massachusetts 13 |
| 1963 | Eastern | East Carolina 27, Northeastern 6 |
| 1953 | Elks | Morris-Harvey 12, East Carolina 0 |
| 1952 | Lions | Clarion College 13, East Carolina 6 |
The game could hinge on the play of the quarterbacks. USF's Matt Grothe was the Big East freshman player of the year and ECU's James Pinkney brings senior experience to the position. The East Carolina defense lead Conference USA in interceptions, but the Bulls pass rush and secondary may be one of the best the Pirates have seen. USF is 24th in the nation in total defense, 26th against the pass. All Big East linebacker Stephen Nicholas, along with Ben Moffitt and Patrick St. Louis are among the best linebackers in the country. All Conference defensive back Trae Williams lead the Big East in picks.
The USF run defense has not be as strong at 42nd nationally, so ECU running backs Brandon Fractious and Chris Johnson will need to elevate the 81st ranked rushing offense for East Carolina to prevail. The ECU rush defense is number 73 nationally, so running backs Ricky Ponton and Ben Williams, along with QB Matt Grothe, could control the ball. On special teams, USF kick returner Ean Randolph was also named all conference.
Both teams like to spread the ball around in the both the passing and running games. Matt Grothe has been the difference maker all year for USF, so if he plays well USF should win. The statistics and the odds-makers (USF by 3 1/2) make South Florida the favorite.
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