2025 Pop Tart Bowl - Cougs vs. the Ramblin' Wreck

[Green Monstah]

12 wins. +4 from my preseason prediction.

is that Bear’s kid?

[PaloAltoCougar]

Except for the Retzlaff-like pick he threw in the end zone, Bear was outstanding (and were you aware he's a true freshman?). His two-point conversion run on a bad ankle was pivotal and one of the top 3-4 plays of the game. I was actually pretty confident throughout the game as this team has had a great "no quit" attitude with so many gritty comebacks.

[grapevine]

Will Ryder Lyons go by there one year? Or Two? My old mission stomping grounds.

[Copelius]

Except for the Retzlaff-like pick he threw in the end zone, Bear was outstanding (and were you aware he's a true freshman?). His two-point conversion run on a bad ankle was pivotal and one of the top 3-4 plays of the game. I was actually pretty confident throughout the game as this team has had a great "no quit" attitude with so many gritty comebacks.

Are you sure he's a freshman? I thought I may have heard it somewhere, but you never hear what year a player is anymore, especially freshmen.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I made the mistake of checking CB frequently throughout the game and it was funny--ridiculous really--how many there were extremely critical of Jay Hill. There were certainly some defensive miscues, esp. in the first half, but when have there not been? And then the D pitches a second half shutout.

And I played an important role in the outcome, detouring out of my morning ruck, backpack and all, to swing by Safeway to purchase a box of Pop Tarts (brown sugar cinnamon, of course) for a pre-kickoff snack.

[Bo Diddley]

I made the mistake of checking CB frequently throughout the game and it was funny--ridiculous really--how many there were extremely critical of Jay Hill. There were certainly some defensive miscues, esp. in the first half, but when have there not been? And then the D pitches a second half shutout.

And I played an important role in the outcome, detouring out of my morning ruck, backpack and all, to swing by Safeway to purchase a box of Pop Tarts (brown sugar cinnamon, of course) for a pre-kickoff snack.

Appreciate your dedication!

[BigFatMeanie]

12 wins. +4 from my preseason prediction.

is that Bear’s kid?

His nephew from one of his older brothers. Hank’s kid?

[Green Monstah]

His nephew from one of his older brothers. Hank’s kid?

I love how he goes to see him every game. I hope we keep him and his coach. The future is bright.

[BlueK]

A little stats tidbit from the game --

Bachmeier's rating using the NCAA passing efficiency formula was 146. King from GT had 119. That seems about right to me.

But if you look at the espn qbr metric, Bachmeier was at 84.2 and King at 82.9. I'm biased but I'm not seeing it. King played hard but no way was his overall performance nearly equal to Bear's. Not even close. Qbr is kind of bogus in general, IMO. Never really liked it.

Going a little deeper-- QBR factors in running, but it must really overvalue it. King had 31 yards on the ground on 7 carries. 4.4 per carry. Bear officially had no running yards and only 1 carry. The 2pt conversion run doesn't count in official stats. The 31 rushing yards doesn't make up enough of the disparity in the passing stats for me. Bear had 5 more completions on 7 fewer attempts and 71 more yards. Not an almost equal performance.