Designs on College Bowl Games

It is the time of year . Holiday open homes, New Year’s parties, cheer and goodwill. It is also the season of college bowl games leading up to the championship game on Jan. 9, 2012. This year’s slate of games is underway, and alumni are donning their school colors and heading for warm-weather websites to cheer their Ducks, Spartans, Badgers, Buckeyes, Bulldogs, Cardinals, Tigers and more.

Monday, Jan. 2 was a major bowl day. With a slate of six matches, it was the ideal time to watch some gridiron action while recovering from all that New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day revelry. So sit back, relax and enjoy as we preview the matches and have a tour some agent structure from the teams’ home regions.

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LLC, RD Architecture

The afternoon of matches starts at noon EST with the Houston Cougars’ passing game challenging the stifling pass defense of the Penn State Nittany Lions.

While Houston is low, horizontal and contemporary, as befits the large open areas of the Lone Star state along with also the Cougars’ pass- oriented offense…

christopher jeffrey architects pllc

Penn State isalso, such as this renovated barn, solid, massive and a mixture of the new and old as is so much of the Keystone state.

Randy Brown

The Capital One Bowl includes the Cornhuskers of Nebraska against the Gamecocks of South Carolina in what should prove to be a Traditional Heartland-vs. -Deep South game.

Though this may not seem like your grandparents Nebraska, the Cornhuskers nevertheless rely on the floor game and robust defense they are famous for. So expect a solid defensive wall from the Huskers because they attempt to maintain the Gamecocks from the red zone.

Frederick + Frederick Architects

Although Steve Spurrier may be best remembered for his”fun-n-gun” Gator teams of the 1990s, this year’s staff is about the running game and a stifling defense. So anticipate that the Gamecocks to maintain Nebraska from the warmth and humidity of the Lowcountry and, even if the Huskers do get into their land, to be somewhat less welcoming and friendly because this home is.

Kenneth Lynch & Associates AIA

It’ll be Georgia vs. Michigan State in the Outback Bowl in what ought to be an exciting game as both teams look to rebound from losses in their conference championship games.

The Bulldogs, like a plantation house Scarlett O’Hara will be proud of, has a good offensive and defensive foundation where their sophomore quarterback can grow.

HUE Projects Architecture + Atelier

Like this lakeshore home in the Upper Midwest, will the 5th ranked Spartans’ defense shut out the Bulldogs?

Richlin Interiors

The Gator Bowl will feature two powerhouse college football teams that have had sub-par seasons this past year. The Meyer/Tebow-less Gators out of Florida will take on the Buckeyes of Ohio State in a duel of unranked teams that just a couple of years back vied for federal supremacy.

Like much of Florida’s mid-century modernism, the Gators are poised to revive their fortunes and bring back that feeling of wonder and joy which abounds from the Sunshine State.

Payne & Payne Builders

And search for ex-Gator coach and Buckeye coach-in-waiting Urban Meyer to bring, such as a home of brick and stone, strength and solidity back to The Ohio State University and Buckeye nation.

SRM Architecture and Interiors

Next up is the “grandaddy of them all,” the Rose Bowl. Started in 1902, the Rose Bowl is the oldest of the bowl games and is preceded by the Tournament of Roses Parade. For much of its history, champions of the Pacific Coast and Big Ten conferences have squared off against each other in a West Coast vs. Midwest battle of titans. This year is the same, with the high-flying Ducks of Oregon pitted against the stifling defense and floor game of the Wisconsin Badgers.

This season’s clubs feature superior floor games and a couple of the country’s best running backs. So our featured homes, such as this one in Oregon, hug the ground…

Bud Dietrich, AIA

… while also being unafraid to put it in the atmosphere like this famous home in Wisconsin.

Rick Hoge

A matchup I am really looking forward to will be Oklahoma State vs. Stanford in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Though Oklahoma State can make the stronger case, both of these teams could easily have been in the championship game. Both feature high-scoring crimes and are directed by a couple of the greatest quarterbacks in the nation.

Like any storybook castle constructed out on the plains, Oklahoma State’s passing duo of Weedan to Blackmon has put up some gaudy numbers.

Malcolm Davis Architecture

On the flip side, Stanford’s quarterback Andrew Luck (Heisman Trophy finalist, likely number-one select in the upcoming NFL draft and, I am pleased to say, structure major) has it all.

Like this home’s bridge and elevation, Luck has the arm strength to zip the ball onto a rope along with his capacity to lift his team has likened him to Super Bowl winning quarterback John Elway.

Though the Cowboys and Cardinal can put pressure on the passer, anticipate both Weedan and Luck to have good games as they attempt to out-duel eachother and make the situation that their staff should have been in the title game.

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