2012 » l relish the challenge of reinforcing their blockade.The questio

The Heart of Dallas Bowl will be a rematch between two teams that played in October -- and one of them is heading into the game with a 5-7 record.Unusual? Yes. But scenarios like this simply come with the territory now.With 80 bowl spots to fill, some postseason games ended up with odd matchups this year. North Texas will play in the Heart of Dallas Bowl after going 5-7, and the game will be a rematch against an Army teams it met six weeks ago. Mississippi State is also going to a bowl at 5-7. The Bulldogs face Miami (Ohio) in the St. Petersburg Bowl.Were fortunate to have the opportunity, North Texas coach Seth Littrell said. At the end of the day, we didnt even feel like we could get in this way, but we did, and so were going to take it.Hawaii is also heading to a bowl with a losing record. The Rainbow Warriors (6-7) will play in the Hawaii Bowl against Middle Tennessee. The reason some sub-.500 teams were given a reprieve is because there werent enough eligible teams to fill all the spots.That shortage also allows Army (6-5) and South Alabama (6-6) to go to bowls even though both have multiple wins over FCS schools. Teams are only supposed to count one FCS win for bowl eligibility purposes, but since there were openings, the Black Knights and Jaguars are in.South Alabama faces Air Force in the Arizona Bowl. The Jaguars were supposed to play LSU in November, but that game was canceled when the Tigers needed to play a rescheduled game against Florida. South Alabama played Presbyterian instead and won, so that switch may have been the difference between reaching a bowl and missing the postseason.There were sub-.500 teams in bowls last season too, so this may be the new normal in college football. Last season, Nebraska, Minnesota and San Jose State were 5-7 going into their bowls, and all three of them won.North Texas and Mississippi State werent exactly apologizing Sunday. The Bulldogs Twitter account boasted that Mississippi State is one of only five Southeastern Conference schools to reach a bowl every season this decade.Since the Academic Progress Rate plays a role in which sub.-500 teams play on, coaches can take pride in that.This is a great opportunity for one of the winningest senior classes in school history and for our program to build momentum for 2017, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said in a statement. It also speaks volumes of our student-athletes for their commitment in the classroom to qualify for a bowl based on our successful APR.North Texas lost four of its last five games in the regular season, but reaching a bowl -- no matter how it happened -- is still a big step forward after the Mean Green went 1-11 in 2015.North Texas won 35-18 at Army on Oct. 22. Regular-season rematches are rare in bowls, but there are some positives for the Heart of Dallas Bowl in this matchup. The bowl was supposed to match Conference USA against the Big Ten, but with one Big Ten team in the playoff and three more in New Years Six bowls, there werent enough left for every bowl with ties to the league.We know that Army is going to bring a large contingency because the Texas area is one of their hotbeds, said Brant Ringler, the bowls executive director.North Texas in Denton, of course, isnt far from Dallas. Ringler said that was appealing as well.In the past couple years, you probably have noticed, the Conference USA championship has occurred, we received usually the champion or the runner-up, and it was probably going to look to be that way possibly this year as well, Ringler said. But when we had an opening in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl game that we also control, we did work out an agreement with Conference USA to have (runner-up Louisiana Tech) play in the Armed Forces Bowl. Therefore, it allowed us to be able to slide in the University of North Texas into the Heart of Dallas Bowl, which is a win-win for all of us all around.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtristerDalton Pompey Blue Jays Jersey . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. Randal Grichuk Blue Jays Jersey . 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Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later.TWICKENHAM -- England finish 2016 unbeaten and their metamorphosis from World Cup flops to an admired, feared side is complete.They have won 13 from 13 this year but more importantly, have developed a mental strength to draw themselves back together when faced with sporting adversity. This was a match they could have lost and had the Wallabies -- who crossed Englands line four times in the first half for one try -- had a more favourable bounce of the ball then England would have struggled to pin back what should have been a large lead.But that warrior spirit they showed in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne and for the bulk of the game against Argentina was evident again as they scored two tries in five second-half minutes to end this as a contest.They suffered the slowest of starts against the Wallabies, but possessed the wherewithal to regroup mid-match. Having waved Australia through for the first 18 minutes of the match, Eddie Jones sent out the replacements to warm up. Message received and England slowly got a foothold in the match.At that stage the Wallabies had the game by the scruff of the neck with David Pocock and Michael Hooper excelling at the breakdown, giving clean ball from which the Australians stormed forward. But for all of Australias 42 gainline successes in the first half, the men in green and gold were only three points ahead at the break.It was a tale of two kicks as England hauled back the Wallabies, who at one stage had a 10-0 lead. For so much of the first half England were rattled, their defence porous but then came the toe of Owen Farrell to tee up Jonathan Joseph to score in the 30th minute. The centre then turned provider for Marland Yardes score in the second half with the most deliciously weighted of kicks which triggered a spell of dominance.Joseph was outstanding for England and read Pococks floated pass with brilliant lucidity to score late on while Farrell also did a huge amount of work in defence.Ben Youngs also impressed. He has flourished under Jones and it was his quick-thinking which saw England score their third as he tapped and went at a penalty, dummied Nick Phipps and scored. Joob done.ddddddddddddFor all the talk of the scrums dark arts in the run up to the match, there was parity there with a penalty apiece while their set piece was solid -- an area Jones identified as fundamental to Englands game plan at the start of the year.There are marked improvements there with Dylan Hartley captaining the side superbly but Jones will look at other areas to tweak like their attack and enjoy that task.There was enough about this match which will give Jones food for thought in the winter break between this final Test of the autumn internationals and the start of the Six Nations. There are no question marks over Yardes finishing ability but he could not get near Sefa Naivalu while Israel Folau also enjoyed marked gains in his channel. Then there was the ease with which Sekope Kepu galloped through Englands defence which meant the last 15 minutes were far more nervy than needed.The second was due to two missed tackles, but those are areas which can be corrected and Paul Gustard, Englands impressive defence coach, will relish the challenge of reinforcing their blockade.The question now comes of just how far England can go. A real test of them will come when they eventually lose and how they react to that but at the moment they are brimming with confidence and have unlocked an extra ounce of mental strength which makes them so formidable. But with that comes a target on their backs and they will be the team to beat in the Six Nations.The favourites tag is not one they are accustomed to, but will now have to wear that burden.Thats for 2017 but as they reflect on a truly memorable year they will look at how far they have come as a group. At the start of the year they were on their knees, England rugby was at its lowest ebb. But now in December - despite having a host of players out injured - it was England who stood, hugged, defiant. As Swing, Low drifted on the cold, winter sky, they had completed the unbeaten year and the smiles stretched from ear to ear. But Jones will say its only the start. ' ' '