January 1st Bowl Preview

Oklahoma QB Landry Jones looking to win Oklahoma's first BCS Bowl game since the '00 season

Hey there guys,

This is probably going to be pretty short.  I've been working a lot and to be honest, I'm tired.

But here are some small previews, and my projections.

Happy New Year everyone!




TicketCity Bowl

Northwestern vs. Texas Tech

This is the least sexy game of New Years day but does provide an interesting match up.  Northwestern has not played very well since they lost Dan Persa to an achilles injury.  His backup is Evan Watkins is not as mobile as Persa, but has a strong arm is going to be facing one of the worst pass defenses in the country in the Red Raiders.  I expect WR Jeremy Ebert and TE Drake Dunsmore are very capable of attacking the middle of the Red Raiders pass defense, S's and LB's are their biggest weaknesses.  The biggest problem of having Watkins in and not Persa is that this offense sets up everything with the zone-read option.  Persa ran the option to near perfection, but Watkins at 245lbs is slower, and not accustomed to the option just yet. Also the Wildcats will be without their top two runningbacks.  I expect for Texas Tech to be able to sit back and expect the pass and slow down the Wildcats offense.

Where the Red Raiders have failed on defense they have excelled on offense, with QB Taylor Potts having a great year.  The Red Raiders will attack every part of the field, short hitches, underneath routes, slants, deep to mid crosses and deep outs. Northwestern has not faced that many pure passing attacks so it will be interesting to see how they can handle the Red Raiders aerial attack.

My Pick: Texas Tech
Proj Pass: coming soon
Proj Rush: coming soon

Fans Pick:

Outback Bowl

Florida vs. Penn State

If there is anything to remember about bowl games it's that coaches who are in their last game with a team usually get outstanding performances from their players.  Imagine if a team with as much talent as Florida suddenly played balls to the wall?  Yeah scary, I know.  With Steve Addazio on his way out I'm looking for Jordan Reed and Trey Burton to receive a majority of the snaps in this game and they will have a healthy backfield for the first time this season.  Penn State's defense is your typical Big Ten defense.  Strong, slightly aathletic, but build mostly on good fundamentals and play calling.  An offense with as many playmakers as florida has can shred them, see Denard Robinson's 191 yards rushing.  Demps and Rainey, plus Reed and Burton should give the Nittany Lions ALL kinds of problems.

Matt McGloin played very well at the end of the season, but he has not seen a secondary like what the Gators will throw at him.  The Gators have speed and fantastic ball skills and it would not suprise me to see them make 4-5 big plays in this game.  As far as the running game Nittany Lions RB Evan Royster has not had a very good season, and his lack of pure athleticism has really been exploited this season.  The Gators have a very talented front seven and should be able to keep him boxed up and shut down.

I am fully expecting for Florida to come out and play like everyone expects a Florida Gator football team to play, for the first time this season.

My Pick: Florida
Proj Pass: coming soon
Proj Rush: coming soon

Fans Pick:

Capital One Bowl

#16 Alabama vs. #9 Michigan State

Nick Saban vs. Mark Dantonio.  Two very good head coaches with similar styles.  Alabama's offensive line has been fairly inconsistent with their run-blocking this season, evident by the lack of production by Alabama's star RB Duo of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson.  The Spartans have a very underrated defensive line and DT Jerrell Worthy and Kevin Pickelman should be able to make some plays in the Tide backfield. I'm really looking forward to the match up of the Bama backfield vs. Spartan MLB Greg Jones.  This is going to be fun to watch.  Much is made of QB Greg McElroy's 23-3 record as a starter at Alabama but that is not what makes a QB good. He has had a good year number wise, but his poor decisions on 3rd downs have been highlighted this season in losses to South Carolina and LSU.  Alabama does have a solid advantage with WRs as Julio Jones, Darius Hanks, and Marquis Maze can all be effective.  The Spartans secondary can be dominant and poor, and it can change from quarter to quarter.  The big question is going to be how the Tide can protect McElroy.  Teams have been able to put pressure on Bama with just their front four, and Dantonio is very good at dialing up blitzes.

Michigan State has struggled on offense at times this season and this is not a defense that you want to face on a bad day offensively.  Edwin Baker, Le'Veon Bell, and Larry Caper are a very capable backfield, but Alabam has a dominant front seven.  DE (<-- only in a 3-4) Marcell Dareus is a great athlete for his size, and can be really disruptive at times.  The Tide secondary has shown some inexperience at times but they are talented and well coached.

Michigan State has to be disappointed that they finished in the top ten, won a share of the Big Ten, and they are not in a BCS Bowl.  Everyone refers to Alabama's loss to Utah as a similar game, even though Alabama went from playing for a national championship to the Sugar Bowl.  This time Alabama wasn't playing for anything larger.  This a bowl game for seniors (and some juniors that could be playing their last game) and young getting their first big playing time in a bowl game.  I believe that Alabama is going to come out ready to play and take out the disappointed Spartans.

My Pick: Alabama
Proj Pass: coming soon
Proj Rush: coming soon

Fans Pick:

Progressive Gator Bowl

#21 Mississippi State vs. Michigan


There isn't much to say about this game.  Both teams run an spread option style of offense.  Miss State's Chris Relf is not much of a passer, but he combines with Vick Ballard and runs behind a solid offensive line.  Michigan does not really stop anyone.  Seriously.  They have been awful in every game this season, with the exception of injury riddled Purdue.  While MSU's offense has not been glowing, I can't imagine that a few extra weeks of practice is really going to change how awful the Wolverines defense is.

The Wolverines offense on the other hand is quite impressive, with Denard Robinson being considered the frontrunner for the Heisman until Mr. Newton really burst onto the scene.  While he has plenty of weapons, there is probably not a Defense that has done more with less talent than MSU's DC Manny Diaz.  I like for the bulldogs to slow down the Wolverines offense just enough to win the game.


My Pick: Miss State
Proj Pass: coming soon
Proj Rush: coming soon

Fans Pick:

ROSE BOWL

#5 Wisconsin vs. #3 TCU

This might be the game that I am looking forward to the most.  It matches up a powerful defense in TCU, with an almost unstoppable offense in Wisconsin.  The Badgers have one glaring advantage over the Frogs.  SIZE.  The Badgers offensive line comes in averaging 6'5 and 330lbs, while the front four of the Frogs is 6'3 270.  Wisconsin, a downhill running team, with a very efficient play action passing game, should be able to just physically beat up the Frogs, and while you may not see the Badgers have early success on the ground, if they can continue to pound the Frogs, they should wear out their defense by the end of the game.  Scott Tolzien has been very effective as the manager of the Badgers offense, and he has plenty of weapons to work with, in WR Nick Toon, Isaac Anderson, and David Gilreath, along with TE Lance Kendrick, a former WR (255lbs).  TCU has been known for playing very good defense over the last few seasons, but they have not faced a power running offense like they will see this afternoon.

TCU is lead by a very good QB in Andy Dalton, who runs a very good zone read option.  They will be facing, a very talented front seven but the Horned Frogs have a massive offensive line.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them try to run the ball effectively between the tackles.  If the Badgers find some success in slowing down the run, Dalton is no slouch throwing the ball.  I think that the horned frogs will be able to find some success in the air, and on the ground.

My Pick Wisconsin
Proj Pass: coming soon
Proj Rush: coming soon

Fans Pick:

FIESTA BOWL

Connecticut vs. #7 Oklahoma

I'm not going to break this game down as much as spin you the story.  UCONN is the overlooked team from the joke of conference (Big East). Randy Edsall is one of the better coaches in the country, and was considered for just about every open job.  They are playing for the memory of slain defensive back Jasper Howard who was lost last season.  They have been competing with Washington as biggest underthought of the Bowl Season, which usually plays as the biggest motivator for all teams.  For Oklahoma, they have to be disappointed to play in a bowl game against such a lowly opponent, and "Big Game Bob" has not fared well in BCS Bowls since OU won the National Championship game during the '00 season.  Included in those five consecutive losses are three national championship defeats, and two Fiesta Bowl losses.  In both of the Fiesta bowl losses OU was a heavy favorite in both (loss to Boise State and West Virginia).  Keep in mind that OU's 7 point win over Utah State, 3 point win over Air Force, and 2 point win at Cincinnati.  If they think they are above their opponent they will play down to their opponent. 

My Pick: Oklahoma
Proj Pass: coming soon
Proj Rush: coming soon

Fans Pick: