Dear Friends of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl,
Only two teams in the AP top 25 were defeated--No. 8 Michigan was
trounced by No. 2 Alabama, and No. 24 Boise State was edged by No. 13
Michigan State. As a result of its impressive 41-14 win over the
Wolverines, Alabama moved into the No. 1 spot in this week's AP and USA
Today (coaches) rankings.
Off the field: Since
its founding 11 years ago, our Bowl game has generated $130 million for
the local tourism industry, according to data compiled by San Francisco
Travel (formerly the Convention & Visitors Bureau). We're proud of
our economic impact on the City of San Francisco, and we're also very
proud of our six affiliated hotels. This year, the Westin St. Francis
and the Grand Hyatt on Union Square will serve as headquarters hotels
for our teams. The iconic St. Francis, now in its fourth year as a team
hotel, will also be the site of our annual Kickoff Luncheon two days
before the game. The Grand Hyatt, now in the finishing touches of a
splendid renovation, is back as a team hotel after hosting Boston
College two years ago. Three hotels with long associations with our
Bowl--the Hyatt Regency, Marriott Marquis, and Hilton Fisherman's
Wharf--will host the game officials and bands. The Regency, which has
been a team hotel seven times, will host the officials this time around.
The bands will be at the Marriott, a former team hotel, and the Hilton
(for the eighth straight year). The Hilton also serves as the
home-away-from-home for our director of communications, Doug Kelly, when
he comes down from Sacramento to the bowl office. The Nikko San
Francisco is another key hotel partner, hosting our fall Bay Area
College Football Kickoff Luncheon and meetings of our Board of
Directors.
Pac-12:
It was a mixed bag for the Pac-12, with eight winners, three losers,
and one game postponed because of Hurricane Isaac (Oregon State-Nicholls
State). USC, Oregon, Utah, Arizona State and UCLA all registered
lop-sided wins. Despite a 49-10 victory over Hawaii, USC dropped from
No. 1 to No. 2 in the national polls behind Alabama. The Jim Mora Era at
UCLA got off to a great start, as the Bruins crushed Rice behind RB
Johnathan Franklin and redshirt freshman QB Brett Hundley. Franklin had
two TD runs of over 70 yards and was named Pac-12 Player of the Week.
Stanford edged San Jose State 20-17 in a closer-than-expected contest in
Palo Alto, while Washington held on to beat San Diego State and Arizona
had to go into overtime to nip Toledo in Rich Rodriguez's debut. On the
downside, Nevada spoiled the opening of Cal's new stadium with a 31-24
win over the Bears, Colorado lost to rival Colorado State, and WSU fell
to BYU in Mike Leach's first game as the Cougs' head coach.
Navy: The
luck of the Irish was all with the Fighting Irish, as Notre Dame
blasted the Midshipmen 50-10 in the Emerald Isle Classic in Dublin. One
bright spot for Navy was the play of junior quarterback Trey Miller, who
completed 14 of 19 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown, providing more
of a passing threat than the Mids have shown in awhile.
This week: Several
non-conference games that may impact bowl eligibility down the road are
on tap in the Pac-12, including four against ranked opponents. Oregon
State will open its season by hosting No. 13 Wisconsin, while UCLA
entertains No. 16 Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. Arizona goes for its second
win at home vs. No. 18 Oklahoma State, while Washington travels to
Baton Rouge to meet No. 3 LSU. (As usual, the Pac-12 is playing a
tougher non-conference schedule than any of the other major
conferences). Two key games take place in Palo Alto and Tempe, where
Stanford takes on Duke and Arizona State hosts Illinois. The Cardinal
looks to improve upon last week's showing against San Jose State, while
ASU, a 63-6 winner over Northern Arizona, hopes to prove it will be a
factor to be reckoned with under new coach Todd Graham. Cal and WSU will
try to bounce back from last week's disappointment in home games
against Southern Utah and Eastern Washington.
We consider these hotels an important part of our Bowl family. The
experiences that participating teams, bands and officials have at our
host hotels is a major factor in how our game is viewed nationally. One
of the main reasons we have such a great reputation for hospitality is
the quality of our hotels and the great job they do. Our sincere thanks
to: Jon Kimball, Laura Pugh and Rhamy Kardani at the St. Francis; David
Nadelman, Matt Kovac and Julie Goleman at the Grand Hyatt; David Lewin,
Judy Cronkhite, Stephanie Thomas, Cynthia Taylor and Jeff Carlson at the
Hyatt Regency; Anna Marie Presutti, Desiree Hemmelgarn and Andrea Dabu
at the Nikko; Michael Hirsch, Diana Ng and Cara Allan at the Hilton; and
Scott Oliker and Bob Zimmerman at the Marriott.
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