2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Outlook and Prediction

On January 5th, Texas and Ohio State will meet in the 2008 season's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The game will have plenty of story lines as the Longhorns believe they should playing for a national title, and the Buckeyes have a lot to prove after some very poor performances on the national stage of late. Let's take a look at the most interesting match ups in this game.

Colt McCoy vs. the Ohio State Defense

Colt McCoy completed a stunning 77% of his passes this season and the spread offense has hurt the Buckeyes in the past. The Ohio State defense has plenty of superstars and for many of them this will be their last game, so they'll want to end with a great showing. Ohio State will have to make McCoy feel the heat in this game or he will sit back and pick them apart.

Ohio State Offensive Line vs. Texas Defensive Line

If there has been one glaring weakness this year for the Buckeyes it has been the offensive line. The line was supposed to be good, but they have been far from it. Texas has a great defensive line, led by Brian Arakpo who is a constant pest to the opposing teams quarterback. If Ohio State can't protect Terrelle Pryor they will have all sorts of problems.

Beanie Wells vs. Texas Defense

Chris (Beanie) Wells will have plenty of time to heal from his nagging injuries and should be in top shape for this Fiesta Bowl match up. Beanie is probably the best running back in the nation when he is healthy, and he could give the Texas defense fits. Beanie has a tremendous stiff arm that makes defenders look silly at times.

Final Prediction:

I make no bones about the fact that I am a hardcore Ohio State fan, so I'll be pulling for the Buckeyes big time in this match up. Having said that, I'm afraid that the spread offense and the poor play of the Buckeye offensive line might be a little too much to overcome. I think the Buckeyes play fairly well and keep the game close, but in the end Texas pulls this one out by a final score of 31-21.