2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational: 1,873 Points, and How They Happened

One thousand, eight hundred, seventy-three… that’s the number of points scored in the entirety of the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational, 70 teams over 35 Bowl Games in one Bowl Season.  With special attention paid to scoring plays in the tracking of this year’s games as compared with last year’s project, we are very excited to share with you the details of how the points ended up on the scoreboard in this year’s project; read on for all of the details!

2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational: Player of the Game Breakdown

One of the first pieces of data we’re looking at from the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational is the Player of the Game data from the 35 Bowl Games played using NCAA Football 13 for this Bowl Season.  In a sport that has become increasingly dependent on the quality of players at the quarterback position, one would have reasonably expected to see that position dominate this category from the project.  Read on to find out if that expectation played out in this year’s games!

2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational Fan Vote: Game of the Season

One of the new features we’re rolling out for the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational here at STAT BOX STORIES this year is a fan vote for Game of the Season.  When gamers play 35 Bowl Games in NCAA Football and real-life gives us 35 more “takes” on the games of Bowl Season, there can be a lot of memorable results which come about for fans of college football.  This year, we’re taking some time to recognize the more intriguing games of Bowl Season; read on for the nominees!

2012 Franklin American Mortage Music City Bowl: NC State Wolfpack vs. Vanderbilt Commodores

The 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational presented by STAT BOX STORIES continues with the Music City Bowl, which matches up the NC State Wolfpack (7-5, 4-4 ACC) and Vanderbilt Commodores (8-4, 5-3 SEC).  Owen Good, NC State alum and sports columnist for Kotaku.com, takes control of his alma mater for the second Bowl Blitz Invitational in a row as his school seeks another bowl victory.

NC State @ ECU in NCAA Football 13

After yesterday’s incredible come-from-behind victory here at STAT BOX STORIES, the pressure was on for today’s game to be equally as memorable.  Sticking to the rivalry theme, the decision was made to stage a match-up between the North Carolina State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the East Carolina University Pirates of Conference-USA.  While the two schools do not meet each other every year due to their schedules and different conferences, it remains an important in-state rivalry.

The last match-up between these schools came on October 16^th, 2010 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC; the Pirates emerged victorious 33-27 in OT to avenge the previous loss 30-24 in OT at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC.  ECU is one of those schools in college football that I have no personal connection to but enjoy playing as in the game thanks to their unique field art, the “Boneyard” student section, and their uniforms; especially with their updated “Jolly Roger” helmets in NCAA Football 13.  With that in mind—and at the risk of angering Wolfpack fan and friend of the site, Owen Good (of Kotaku fame)—I suited up in the purple and gold of ECU for this home game using NCAA Football 13; click the link to find out what happened!

Bowl Blitz Invitational #7: 2011 Belk Bowl — Louisville @ North Carolina State in NCAA Football 12

It is our privilege here at STAT BOX STORIES today to feature a contribution to the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL project from Owen Good, author of the “Stick Jockey” columns for Kotaku.com.  One of Owen’s previous sports video game features at Kotaku–a series known as “Box Scores”–actually served as a major inspiration for the idea that spawned STAT BOX STORIES.  Since he is a big fan of the North Carolina State Wolfpack, it seemed only right to see if he would play their Belk Bowl match-up against the Louisville Cardinals in NCAA Football 12.  Here’s his BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL experience:

I’ll be honest, N.C. State’s bowl game this year, for me anyway, was North Carolina. I had zero expectations of the Wolfpack after QB #16’s defection to Wisconsin, and a dispiriting spate of injuries further made this appear to be a lost season. Then UNC’s inconsequential seatwarmer of a head coach chose to run his mouth about the subject that pisses us off the most: Academics.