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Tougher matchups could favor the bulls  
 
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (February 6, 2010) - While it was easy to predict 20 bulls ridden in Round 1, it’s going to be tougher on the riders tonight. We could well see 20 rides again, but the matchups just don’t favor the riders as much as they did last night.

Brian Canter on 298 Carolina Cat:
Just to keep it all in the home state, I have to choose this matchup. Although Canter let me down last night, he owns the highest score on Carolina Cat, with 91 points in Albuquerque, N.M., last year.

Sean Willingham on 6 Backyard Big Rig:
Great little bull that carried Sean an 88-point score about a year ago in Glendale, Ariz. Big Rig is one of the more consistent money bulls on tour.

McKennon Wimberly on 601 Off The Hook:
This bull is making his Built Ford Tough Series debut here, but in five outs in the Touring Pro Division, he has earned an average bull score of 43.75. That’s pretty impressive for a total newcomer. If he can perform like that under the lights, Wimberly has a bull he can win the round on. Matt Bohon was 88 points on Off the Hook in Louisville, Ky., last month.

Josh Koschel on 414 Be Prepared:
Josh has been one of the hottest riders on tour lately, and took second in Round 1 last night. Not sure if he has enough bull here, but he has ridden this bull before at a Touring Pro event. Look for Josh to be on the leader board going into Round 3.

Bryan Richardson on 538 Larry the Cable Guy’s Smokey:
Koschel was 88.5 on this bull in Tampa, and this is just the kind of bull that Bryan Richardson can go big on. One stat that may surprise you about Bryan Richardson – he has logged more 90-point rides in his career than several PBR and PRCA World Champions. He is not as consistent as some guys, but when he gets the right kind of bull he can light up the scoreboard with the best of them.

Rocky McDonald on 465 Outta Da Blue:
Rocky hasn’t ridden well lately, but he did get a score last night, and got one of the best bulls in the draw tonight. This bull earned a round win for Ned Cross last night, and for Austin Meier in Tampa.

Travis Briscoe on 310 Coffee Bean:
This bull has yet to buck off a PBR rider. In four straight trips he’s been ridden, including last night when Cody Campbell split third place on him. Briscoe came down last night, but if he’s equipped to make a run for the World Championship he will get it done tonight.

Skeeter Kingsolver on 527 Sodbuster:
Sodbuster hasn’t been to BFTS events very often, but everywhere he has been, he has had trouble getting guys on the ground. He has been ridden 9 out of 14 times in the PBR. Look for Kingsolver to get to the whistle again tonight.

Ross Coleman on 380 Jocko:
This bull made his debut last night and produced a good score. Coleman also got to the whistle last night. Don’t know much about the bull, but Ross really needs this ride to be strong on two.

Renato Nunes on 73 Flashpoint:
Really favorable matchup for Nunes. Flashpoint is ridden about 40 percent of the time by PBR riders, and Nunes is an above-average rider.

Reese Cates on 538 Supernatural:
Cates has ridden him before at a Touring Pro event last spring for 87.5 points. This bull made his BFTS debut last night with Nunes, and didn’t bring that kind of score, but Cates could earn himself a second score tonight.

J.B. Mauney on 405 Colored by Bad:
Mauney rode this bull just last week in Tampa for 86.

Dusty Ephrom on 655 the Juice:
Could be 86-87 points. The Juice hasn’t bucked off a lefty in four attempts.

Other guys who are liable to get on the board in this round include Wiley Petersen, Ben Jones, Dustin Elliott, Pistol Robinson, Jody Newberry, Caleb Sanderson, and Cody Campbell.

-by Slade Long
(Slade Long, PBR Web Developer and Statistician, has been crunching the numbers on bucking bulls for 11 years.)

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