Halftime: Boise State 35, Colorado State 13

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Boise State leads Colorado State 35-13 at halftime. Let's take a quick look at how it happened:

Stat of the half: 21. First downs for the Broncos, as they scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and racked up 476 yards of total offense on 47 plays. There simply was not much the Rams could do to stop Boise State.

Best player in the half: None other than Kellen Moore, of course. The Heisman Trophy hopeful started the game with 18 straight completions and ended the half 24-of-26 for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Moore did what he always does,

Best call:Colorado State needed to get something going, after falling behind 35-0. So coach Steve Fairchild called a trick play, with Crockett Gillmore throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass to Joe Brown on a halfback option. It worked so well the first time, the Rams did it again when Charles Lovett threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Matt Yemm later in the quarter.

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Halftime: Alabama 17, Ole Miss 7

Ole Miss struck first, but Alabama charged back with 17 straight points to take a 17-7 lead into halftime in Oxford.

If not for a couple of holding penalties on center William Vlachos, Alabama's lead might be more and running back Trent Richardson would have at least one more touchdown. But he should be pleased with his two scores heading into the half.

Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron continues to impress and has completed 13 of his 17 pass attempts for 132 yards in the first two quarters.

Ole Miss was dealt a tough blow to its secondary early when senior cornerback Marcus Temple fractured his ankle on a play. While McCarron had a good first half, you have to give Ole Miss' defense credit for not falling apart after Temple went out. Alabama had 242 yards of offense in the first half, but only 17 points. That's a win for the Rebels at this point.

What is a major loss is that the offense drove 72 yards on its opening drive for the first score of the game, but hasn't netted anything since.

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Halftime: Pitt 20, USF 17

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt leads No. 16 USF 20-17. Here is a quick halftime analysis:

Stat of the half: 102. First-half rushing yards for Pitt running back Ray Graham. How about one more -- 7.8 yards per carry for Graham.

Best player in the half: Graham, and it is not even close. Graham has done it all for the Panthers, running and receiving to get them a halftime lead. On the final Pitt scoring drive of the half, he had his hands on nine of the 14 plays of the drive -- including the final six. Who scored on that drive -- Graham, on a 13-yard run. He has 165 all-purpose yards in the first half.

What USF needs to do: The first order of business is getting a better push from the defensive line. Pitt is clearly beating the Bulls -- despite losing their best player, guard Chris Nix, in the first half. They also could use better tackling. On offense, stretching the field against a suspect Pitt secondary should be an option. B.J. Daniels has been taken out of his comfort zone at times.

What Pitt needs to do: Keep pounding Graham. Coach Todd Graham may have come in saying "high octane" but Ray Graham is hard to stop right now. So keep him going. The defense has had problems containing the USF run as well, particularly up the middle. Plugging those holes should help.

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Halftime: UConn 10, Buffalo 3

The Huskies lead Buffalo 10-3, but it has not been pretty. Then again, when has a Huskies game been pretty of late.

Coach Paul Pasqualoni has used all three quarterbacks again. Johnny McEntee has the only touchdown pass of the day, a 4-yarder to fullback Mark Hinkley. That was set up on a nice 64-yard reception from Nick Williams. But once again the Huskies have struggled to run the ball.

They have 43 yards rushing and are averaging 2.4 yards a rush. Lyle McCombs has 36 yards on 12 carries. D.J. Shoemate does not have a carry.

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Halftime notes: Packers-Bears

Published: January 23rd, 2011 | Tags: NFC Championship Game, Aaron Rodgers, Brandon Jackson, Brian Urlacher, Cullen Jenkins, James Starks, Julius Peppers, Matt Forte, Mike Martz, Sam Shields, T.J. Lang, Tim Masthay

A look at some halftime numbers, and a few observations, at halftime of the NFC Championship Game at Solider Field:

Aaron Rodgers is showing no signs of cooling off. Rodgers went 4-for-4 on the Packers first drive, capping it off with this 1-yard touchdown run. Rodgers has four completions of more than 20 yards, and the Bears have done little to disrupt his rhythm.A fantastic play on the ball by Sam Shields on his interception late in the half, the first play following Brian Urlacher’s interception. It immediately killed any momentum for the Bears.The Packers are staying committed to the run, and having success, against the Bears No. 2-ranked run defense. James Starks has 12 rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Solid play by the interior of the Green Bay offensive line. Rodgers has scrambles of 12 and 25 yards, and the Packers have 104 yards rushing.Forte Factor: Offensive coordinator Mike Martz is relying heavily on Matt Forte. Forte was involved in nine of the first 11 offensive plays and has 12 total touches for 28 yards rushing and 44 yards receiving.Jay Cutler has been throwing off of his back foot all game. He’s 6-of-13 for 80 yards and the interception.Packers DE Cullen Jenkins is playing like a difference-maker. Bears DE Julius Peppers, matched up on Packers backup tackle T.J. Lang for much of the half, so far has not.Greg Olsen was a big part of Martz’s game plan against the Seahawks last week with three receptions for 113 yards and a TD in the first half. Olsen has been targeted twice against the Packers, with no catches.Wow, Urlacher. You got shook by Brandon Jackson.First downs in the first half: Packers 17, Bears 6.Field position has had a huge impact in the half. The Bears average starting field position on their first five drives was the 20-yard line, and three have started drives inside the 17. Tim Masthay has been a factor for the Packers. The Bears elected to punt instead of attempting field goals from about 52 and 48 yards.Posted in: News  

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Halftime notes: Seahawks-Bears

Published: January 16th, 2011 | Tags: NFC Divisional Playoffs, Charles Tillman, Chicago Bears, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen, Justin Forsett, Lawyer Milloy, Lofa Tatupu, Marshawn Lynch, Mike Martz, Mike Williams, Seattle Seahawks

A few nuggets at halftime of the Seahawks-Bears divisional game at Soldier Field:

Seahawks veteran safety Lawyer Milloy was caught flat-footed in man coverage on Greg Olsen’s 58-yard touchdown reception. It was a career-long reception for Olsen.No question Bears OC Mike Martz has found a matchup he likes with Olsen, who has three receptions for 113 yards and the TD. On his second reception, for 33 yards, Olsen outran Lofa Tatupu on a simple flat route. His third reception was a drag across the field off a misdirection play-action that went for 22 yards. Olsen was also the target on a pass near the goal line from Jay Cutler that was deflected. The Seahawks haven’t had an answer.The Seahawks are taking their chances with Devin Hester. He has two fair catches and one return on seven first-half punts, but his lone return went for 26 yards and set up the Bears at midfield for a drive that led to Chester Taylor’s 1-yard TD run. Hester had the highest single-season punt return average (17.1 ypr) in NFL history this season.The Seahawks running game has been a non-factor against the Bears’ No. 2-ranked rush defense. Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett have five carries for 3 yards. Combined.The Seahawks are 1-of-8 on third-down conversions.Bears CB Charles Tillman has been matched up 1-on-1 with Seahawks WR Mike Williams, who had 10 receptions for 123 yards in the first meeting this season. Williams has two receptions for 10 yards.The Bears are 9-0 this season when they have 21-plus rushing attempts. They’ve established the ground game in the first half, rushing 17 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Great call on the QB draw by Cutler.Posted in: News  

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Halftime notes: Jets-Patriots

Published: January 16th, 2011 | Tags: AFC Divisional Playoffs, Brad Smith, Braylon Edwards, Darrelle Revis, David Harris, Deion Branch, Drew Coleman, Gary Guyton, LaDainian Tomlinson, Mark Sanchez, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Rex Ryan, Tom Brady

A few nuggets at halftime of the Jets-Patriots divisional playoff game at Gillette Stadium:

The Jets have had success getting to Tom Brady. Shaun Ellis has two sacks, and Drew Coleman a third on Brady off a corner blitz.Brady threw his first interception in 340 attempts when he floated a screen pass that landed in the arms of David Harris.Mark Sanchez struggled with his accuracy early, but showed great patience on a picture-perfect 37-yard completion to Braylon Edwards that set up LaDainian Tomlinson’s touchdown.Great execution by the Jets on Tomlinson’s 7-yard touchdown reception. Patriots LB Gary Guyton was caught up in the wash of the bunch formation and couldn’t get to Tomlinson in the flat in time.Not so great execution by the Patriots on the botched fake punt attempt. Patrick Chung’s fumble left Rex Ryan with a big smile on the sideline and gave the Jets a short field that led to Edwards’ 15-yard touchdown.With WR/KR Brad Smith out due to injury, the Jets tried Tomlinson in the Wildcat formation. Tomlinson fumbled the snap but recovered for no gain. The Jets didn’t go back to the formation.You don’t see this everyday: Watch Brady’s left glove on this handoff to BenJarvus Green-Ellis.Revis Island update: Darrelle Revis has been matched up on Deion Branch, who has no receptions.Offense was tough to come by during the second quarter for the Patriots. In the first three series they went three-and-out twice and didn’t gain a first down until a quarterback sneak just before the two-minute warning. They ended up taking a knee to end the half on the fourth series.Posted in: News  

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