BCS Bowl Outcomes and Predictions

Now let me start by saying that I am definitely an S.E.C. fan and am a BAMA fanatic. I will be in New Orleans on Jan. 2nd to cheer on my Crimson Tide. This article is meant to be subjective though. For this reason, I am going to study a few statistics and schedules gahtered on ESPN.com. Especially since all of these teams have play makers and talented coaches or they would not be in a BCS bowl game. I truly believe that the winners can be picked by who they played, scores, heart of team, and tradition.

Let us start with the Rose Bowl which features USC(11-1) Vs. Penn. St(11-1). Now this one is going to be won by coaching and defense and I only have one thing to say, Joe Paterno! The fact that Joe had his team ready to blow out the Oregon St. Beavers would give you the impression that they should win since their opponent lost to them but lets look at the schedule and stats. There is no question that Penn. St. had a little tougher schedule than did USC. Though both teams had to play a good Ohio State team (both won), I believe Michigan, Michigan St. Wisconsin, and a surprisingly good Purdue team this year would pose a tougher schedule than their opponents from the fairly weak Pac-10 conference. They did turn the ball over 13 times this year, they also averaged 482 total yards per game and had pretty good special teams play. These are crucial points and though there are a few questions about both their offensive and defensive lines, I believe this to be a wash against the smaller boys from the west. USC on the other hand, also had a good line on both sides of the ball and fair special teams. Now the fact is though that the great USC who blew out so many non-ranked teams only put 450 points on the board this year. The losses will wash because both teams beat their opponents nemesis this year. So lets add this up, how can we? The stats wash everywhere if you really look at them. I believe that Paterno's Nittany Lions will edge out the Trojans by 3 points simply because they are a tougher team.

The Orange Bowl should play out close as well this year. Here we have two teams that really were not all that good as compared to the others in the BCS(Hint: playoff system). I did not do very much research on these teams because quite frankly I wasn't interested. This may have been a mistake on my part being as I have heard that Cincinnati(10-2) was a good ball team and Bama will start its season with Va. Tech.(9-4) next year. Was this an over site by me? Well lets see if it is so. I see the Bearcats did get one of their losses to the #2 Sooners, The other was a blowout by UCONN? Other than that though they beat USF at home, Louisville in Louisville, and Hawaii in Hawaii. Hmm, now it takes a pretty good squad to accomplish that feat. The Hokies on the other hand won one and lost one to B.C. so I would say that was a wash. Miami and Florida St. beat them also, both fair teams. The loss to E. Carolina bothers me though. Why is this? It seems to me that Va.Tech played only one good game this year and that was their 20-17 win at home over Ga. Tech. I am going to pick the Bearcats to win by 10 in the Orange Bowl.

The Fiesta Bowl I believe is going to be a slaughter. Ohio St.(10-2) vs Texas(11-1) is a mismatch if you ask me but of course I do not pick the bowl participants. The Buckeyes were blown out by USC and also beaten by Penn St.. We do have to give them some credit though since these are top 10 ranked teams. I would also note that O.S. has been beaten up badly in the games that count the last few years. The Longhorns on the other hand are so explosive on offense that they are almost guaranteed a win unless the Buckeyes big defensive line can stay in the backfield. I'm going to pick the Longhorns by 17 though.

The Sugar Bowl hosts #4 Alabama(12-1) vs #7 Utah(12-0). I really have not seen much of Utah. I do know that they are very good offensively, and good enough defensively to beat TCU. I guess thats enough even without the fact that they are 12-0 on the season wouldn't you say. They are playing my favorite team and I realistically believe that the Crimson Tide will roll over the Crimson Utes. The Utes have played TCU and BC and beaten them, both ranked teams so I cannot count them out. Bama has beaten 4 ranked teams this year though, and stayed in a game despite several major mistakes against the #1 team in the nation, and made it through the gauntlet of the SEC with only one loss and very few injuries, these guys are tough. Due to the toughness factor and the soft schedule of Utah I have to pick Bama by 20.

Now for the big one, the #1 Florida Gators(12-1) vs #2 Oklahoma Sooners(12-1) in the BCS National Championship Game. The Gators are big and tough, have weathered the SEC storm, and did I mention their quarterback( I will not mention specific players names in this article because football is a team sport). Then you have to look at the big 12 this year with the Sooners. They are just as physical as the Gators and have a much more explosive offense. Schedule toughness I still have to say would go to the SEC and I believe that once again, a SEC defensive pounding will prevail over a spread offense that is designed to score points quickly to win. Points are much harder to score when you are being beat down by a big, powerful, and DEEP defensive squad. If the Sooners do not come out and score at least 20 points in the 1st half I have to give this one to the Gators by 3. It will be a great game either way because these two teams are arguably playing the best football in the nation this year...