2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational: Top 10 Players in 33 Statistical Categories

With this entry, we come to the end of the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational.  As with the Top 10 Team article, this entry is short on words but gives you the Top 10 Player results in 33 different statistical categories which were tracked over the course of this year’s project.  Read on to see which players performed at the highest (and lowest, in terms of statistics like turnovers) level over this year’s 35 Bowl Games!

2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational: Top 10 Teams in 30 Statistical Categories

On this, the final day of entries for the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational, we’re going out with few words but plenty of statistical reporting to consume.  This entry gives you the Top 10 Team results in 30 different statistical categories which were tracked over the course of this year’s project.  Read on to see which teams performed at the highest (and lowest, in terms of statistics like turnovers) level over this year’s 35 Bowl Games!

2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational Final Results & Bowl Blitz Invitational Champion

With the conclusion of Bowl Season last night and the Alabama Crimson Tide’s victory over Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game, the game article portion of the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational has finally come to a close.  That said, the project continues on this week, and we will be sharing multiple articles recounting all of the statistical data that has been collected over the 35 Bowl Games played over the past month.

The first matter of business, however, is to analyze the “game within a game” here at the Bowl Blitz Invitational; each game is given a “Game Score” based on how close the NCAA Football 13 playthrough score came to the actual real-life result.  The person responsible for playing the game with the lowest “Game Score”—the lower the score, the closer the game came to matching the real-life final—is crowned “Bowl Blitz Invitational Champion,” a largely ceremonial title to recognize whoever managed to most closely replicate reality in the wholly unscientific process of playing a video game.

Last year, Eric Veneziano became the inaugural “Bowl Blitz Invitational Champion” with a Gator Bowl result that earned a “Game Score” of 2; read on to find out who emerged victorious this year!

2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl: Purdue Boilermakers vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys

The 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational presented by STAT BOX STORIES continues with the 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl, which matches up the Purdue Boilermakers (6-6, 3-5 Big Ten) and Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-5, 5-4 Big 12).  STAT BOX STORIES owner Brian Parker took control of the youthful Cowboys of Stillwater, playing in a less impressive venue than last season’s Bowl Game destination but nonetheless hopeful for a Bowl Game victory.

Welcome to the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational

Almost exactly one year ago, a wild idea was hatched here at STAT BOX STORIES to get people to volunteer to play EA SPORTS NCAA Football 12 and report on every match-up of the college Bowl Season.  When that project started, there were no guarantees that it would be successful; when the BCS National Championship Game was played on January 9^th, 2012 between Alabama and LSU and all 35 Bowl Games had been successfully completed, it was an unexpected achievement.  The efforts of so many people who had nothing to gain from their participation but to say that they were part of something helped the Bowl Blitz Invitational become a project worth repeating, and it is now just about time for the sophomore year to start.

This year, the core goals remain the same: volunteers have been gathered, Bowl Games have been claimed, and gaming consoles around the country are booting up NCAA Football 13 to play the games and report the results.  Game statistics are being tracked in real-time, and as the real-life games are contested every play-through on the site will be matched up against those results to see which participant was able to most closely mirror reality.

One difference readers will notice is an emphasis on reporting each game as though it were an actual football game being contested; not just a video game played on an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.  Volunteers have been encouraged to report even more statistical tidbits than last year, building from the editorial template of ESPN.com’s college football game summaries to bring about a more consistent theme in the writing across this year’s 35 entries.  Along with this new format, the familiar box scores, scoring summaries, team statistics, and player statistics will be present, along with screenshot and video highlights captured both using the in-game tools offered by NCAA Football 13 as well as through more sophisticated avenues such as HD video recorders.

With increased development in the ability to track statistics as the games are played this year, readers can look forward to an even more robust series of entries after the BCS National Championship Game is played between Alabama and Notre Dame on January 7^th, 2013.  With statistics and statistical analysis such a large part of what inspired the creation of STAT BOX STORIES in the first place, the goal for the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational is to improve upon every aspect of the statistical breakdowns offered in last year’s project.  For the next month and a half (and beyond), you won’t want to miss a single day of content as we celebrate college football and the 70 teams which have been invited to play a part in writing the story of the 2012-2013 Bowl Season.

The games begin this Saturday, December 15^th, with the Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Nevada versus Arizona) and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Toledo versus Utah State).  Our coverage here at STAT BOX STORIES for the Bowl Blitz Invitational begins Friday morning, December 14^th, with the posting of the write-up for the 2012 Gildan New Mexico Bowl.  Here is the rest of the content schedule (all entries will be uploaded by 8:00AM ET on the date specified):

Saturday, December 15^th

• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Toledo versus Utah State)

Thursday, December 20^th

• San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (BYU versus San Diego State)

Friday, December 21^st

• Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl (UCF versus Ball State)

Saturday, December 22^nd

• R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (East Carolina versus Louisiana-Lafayette)
• MAACO Bowl Las Vegas (Washington versus Boise State)

Monday, December 24^th

• Sheraton Hawai’I Bowl (Fresno State versus SMU)

Wednesday, December 26^th

• Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (Western Kentucky versus Central Michigan)

Thursday, December 27^th

• Military Bowl (San Jose State versus Bowling Green)
• Belk Bowl (Cincinnati versus Duke)
• Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl (Baylor versus UCLA)

Friday, December 28^th

• Advocare V100 Independence Bowl (Ohio versus Louisiana-Monroe)
• Russell Athletic Bowl (Rutgers versus Virginia Tech)
• Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (Minnesota versus Texas Tech)

Saturday, December 29^th

• Armed Forces Bowl (Rice versus Air Force)
• Pinstripe Bowl (West Virginia versus Syracuse)
• Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (Navy versus Arizona State)
• Valero Alamo Bowl (Texas versus Oregon State)
• Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (TCU versus Michigan State)

Monday, December 31^st

• Music City Bowl (NC State versus Vanderbilt)
• Hyundai Sun Bowl (USC versus Georgia Tech)
• AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Iowa State versus Tulsa)
• Chick-fil-A Bowl (LSU versus Clemson)

Tuesday, January 1^st

• TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl (Mississippi State versus Northwestern)
• Heart of Dallas Bowl (Purdue versus Oklahoma State)
• Outback Bowl (South Carolina versus Michigan)
• Capital One Bowl (Georgia versus Nebraska)
• Rose Bowl (Wisconsin versus Stanford)
• Discover Orange Bowl (Northern Illinois versus Florida State)

Wednesday, January 2^nd

• Allstate Sugar Bowl (Louisville versus Florida)

Thursday, January 3^rd

• Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Oregon versus Kansas State)

Friday, January 4^th

• AT&T Cotton Bowl (Texas A&M versus Oklahoma)

Saturday, January 5^th

• BBVA Compass Bowl (Pittsburgh versus Ole Miss)

Sunday, January 6^th

• GoDaddy.com Bowl (Kent State versus Arkansas State)

Monday, January 7^th

• Discover BCS National Championship Game (Alabama versus Notre Dame)

We sincerely hope that you are as excited as we are here at STAT BOX STORIES for the start of Bowl Season and the 2012-2013 Bowl Blitz Invitational; be sure to visit the “official” discussion thread at The Gaming Tailgate (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?6217-Introducing-the-2012-2013-Bowl-Blitz-Invitational) to follow along with the results as they are made available, and be sure to keep coming back to STAT BOX STORIES as the games get played!

#40: 2012 Fiesta Bowl — Stanford @ Oklahoma State in NCAA Football 12

The 2012 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will be the 41^st installment of this current BCS Bowl, and will feature the Stanford Cardinal of the Pacific-12 Conference against the Big XII Conference Champions, the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools; it will be Oklahoma State’s second appearance in the Fiesta Bowl (their first came in a 16-6 win over BYU in 1974) while the Cardinal have never appeared in this Bowl Game.  It could also be considered a “3^rd Place Game” of sorts for the 2011-2012 college football season, as the Cardinal come in ranked #4 in the BCS while the Cowboys hold the #3 ranking.

The teams are fairly evenly matched in NCAA Football 12, though Stanford holds the slightest of edges in terms of team ratings.  This—combined with the fact that I have been following the Cowboys all season in real-life as a new resident of Oklahoma—led me to suit up in the black and orange of the designated home team for the STAT BOX STORIES playthrough of the 2012 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Week 5 Recap & Week 6 Preview

The beginning of the month of December led to the close of the fifth week here at STAT BOX STORIES and the completion of 20 entries so far in this young blog project!  If you missed any of this week’s featured entries, follow the links below to catch up:

Monday, November 28th: Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State in NCAA Football 12

Tuesday, November 29th: Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Madden NFL 12

Wednesday, November 30th: Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals in NHL 12

Thursday, December 1st: Italy hosts France in FIFA 12

Although there will be no fan voting for any of next week’s entries, I am happy to announce that STAT BOX STORIES will be featuring its first-ever Guest Entry next Friday as Eric Veneziano gives us a look into his own gameplay experience playing NHL 12.  If you would like to have your work featured on the blog here as well, be sure to visit the Write a Guest Story page to get a sense of what I’m looking for from guest entries here on the page.

And, if you haven’t done so yet, head over to Facebook and “Like” STAT BOX STORIES here.  Being a “fan” of the Facebook page will grant you easy access to all of the entries, linked as soon as they are posted online.  You’ll also be able to be part of the STAT BOX STORIES community and engage with people who share a similar interest in sports video games and statistics.

And now, the usual preview of the coming Week #6 in STAT BOX STORIES:

 Monday, December 5th, 2011

Chicago Bears @ Denver Broncos

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Los Angeles Kings @ Anaheim Ducks

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Bayern Munich hosts Werder Bremen

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Army @ Navy

Friday, December 9th, 2011

GUEST ENTRY

New York Islanders @ Pittsburgh Penguins

As you can see, there’s a very full week ahead here at STAT BOX STORIES; be sure to come back after the weekend so that you don’t miss any of the action to come!

#17: Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State in NCAA Football 12

Although college football’s rivalry weekend is typically reserved for the final weekend in November, it does not mark the end of heated games between schools who meet on the gridiron in yearly football battles.  Case in point: this week’s STAT BOX STORIES entry for NCAA Football 12, pitting the Oklahoma Sooners against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, OK.

In the state of Oklahoma, this football season has seen various milestones for each of the two majors schools.  Oklahoma began the season as the consensus #1-ranked team in college football and appeared to have an inside track at securing a spot in the BCS National Championship game; unfortunately for the Sooners, losses at home to Texas Tech and on the road against Baylor resulted in two losses and a lost chance at becoming this year’s champion.  Oklahoma State began the season ranked in the Top 10 and jumped as high as #2, putting themselves on track to take one of the spots in the BCS National Championship game as well until their title game hopes were derailed on the road against the Iowa State Cyclones.  The Cowboys remain in the Top 10 as one of a few teams with only a single loss on the season, but their chances of competing for a national title rest upon the result of the Bedlam Game against their in-state rivals from Norman.

Week 4 Recap & Vote for Week 5′s FIFA 12 Game

As Black Friday deals beckon people to retail stores on this day after Thanksgiving, here at STAT BOX STORIES we’re taking a look back at this past week in the blog series.  This was the fourth week, bringing us up to 16 individual feature stories.  If you missed any of the entries this week, here are the links to help you catch up:

Monday, November 21st: Los Angeles Galaxy host Houston Dynamo in FIFA 12

Tuesday, November 22nd: Ohio State Buckeyes @ Michigan Wolverines in NCAA Football 12

Wednesday, November 23rd: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions in Madden NFL 12

Thursday, November 24th: Philadelphia Flyers @ New York Rangers in NHL 12

Next week’s “fan vote” here at STAT BOX STORIES will determine the match-up to be featured next Thursday using FIFA 12.  For the sake of this vote, the choices will be national soccer teams who met in the past three FIFA World Cup Finals:

• Spain hosts Netherlands (2010 FIFA World Cup from South Africa)
• Italy hosts France (2006 FIFA World Cup from Germany)
• Brazil hosts Germany (2002 FIFA World Cup from South Korea & Japan)

To vote, either leave your preferred game choice in the comments here for this entry or head over to Facebook and “Like” STAT BOX STORIES here.  Voting will be open until 7:00PM ET on Saturday, November 26th, 2011.

And now–as always–a quick preview of the week ahead for Week 5 of STAT BOX STORIES:

Monday, November 28th

Oklahoma Sooners @ Oklahoma State Cowboys

Tuesday, November 29th

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Wednesday, November 30th

 Pittsburgh Penguins @ Washington Capitals

Thursday, December 1st

Winner of the Fan Vote

This will be the final fan voting opportunity for a while as the seasons draw to a close in college football and professional football and the featured match-ups turn their focus to the biggest match-ups in the waning weeks of these sports.  Enjoy the end of the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and be sure to come back on Monday for the Bedlam Game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State!