P.K.’s Most Intriguing Bowl Matchups

AT&T Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX – January 2)

#8 Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-1) vs. #20 Mississippi Rebels (8-4)

Like their Big 12 brethren Oklahoma and Texas, Mike Leach and his Texas Tech squad ended the season with only a single loss. Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, that loss came at the hands of Oklahoma and it was not a close game. That loss gave Oklahoma control over the tie-breakers in the Big 12 standings. Despite a huge win against Texas, the Red Raiders were left as the odd-man out in the Big 12. Look for the Red Raiders to light it up against Ole Miss in what could be Mike Leach’s last game with the program.

One doesn’t need to subpoena any phone records to get the message about the job Houston Nutt’s done at Ole Miss this season. Their 8-4 record is a significant improvement from the last two seasons and the Rebels can count themselves among the few teams to have stifled Urban Meyer’s high-powered Gator offense this season.

Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte, NC – December 27)
West Virginia Mountaineers (8-4) vs. UNC Tarheels (8-4)

The 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl will be a bittersweet event for fans of the WVU Mounaineers . Most notably, the Car Care Bowl will serve as the swan song for the Pat White era. In what was supposed to be a triumphant final season for the signal-caller, the team struggled with the loss of Steve Slaton to the NFL and growing pains from the installation of first-year Coach Bill Stewart’s new systems. Early season losses and the emergence of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh as dominant programs in the Big East sealed the Mountaineers’ fate. For a player that has become the face of the program and a source of tremendous pride, going out in a mid-tier bowl has to be a bit of a disappointment.

UNC also has to be looking at the Car Care Bowl as a let-down. Following a strong start, Butch Davis’ Tarheels suffered late-season losses to Maryland and rival NC State that dropped them from contention for the ACC Championship. UNC’s defense is a bit of a question mark. They’re giving up over 350 yards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the team is paced by All-ACC WR Hakeem Nicks who is the first UNC receiver to top 1000 yards in a season and who is already the school’s career-yardage leader as a junior.

If the teams may be looking upon the bowl games as consolation prizes, it shouldn’t affect ticket sales. UNC fans will surely turn up in droves given the close proximity of Charlotte to Chapel Hill. However, you can expect that the WVU faithful will continue to reinforce their reputation as a good road draw. Despite the fact that the Car Care Bowl takes place in UNC’s back yard, fans wishing to pay Pat White his due will turn the stands blue and gold. The atmosphere should be rollicking.

FedEx Orange Bowl (Miami, FL – January 1)
#21 Virginia Tech Hokies (9-4) vs. #12 Cincinnati Bearcats (11-2)

The 2008 installment of the Orange Bowl should serve as the coming out party for a Cincinnati Bearcats program poised to make the move from conference also-ran to BCS mainstay. Two-time Big East Coach of the Year Brian Kelly has put together a squad with enough talent to rival even the big-time BCS juggernauts. Draft experts are predicting that the Bearcats could send as many as five players into the NFL draft from the current squad. Clearly, finding skilled players to man Cincinnati’s explosive spread offense hasn’t been a problem. The team’s biggest problem has been keeping the players they have healthy. Injuries plagued the Bearcats’ signal callers all season long. QB Tony Pike has shown great mobility when healthy and should be a major factor in the game.

When the Virginia Tech Hokies left the Big East for the greener pastures of the ACC, no one could have predicted how beneficial that decision was going to turn out to be for the boys from Blacksburg. Virginia Tech quickly emerged as the dominant program in the conference and revenues for the football program have skyrocketed. Coach Frank Beamer has again assembled a Hokie squad that is stalwart on defense and dominant on special teams. The biggest question marks for Virginia Tech have been on the offensive side of the ball. Beamer was eventually forced to remove the red-shirt tag from QB Tyrod Taylor in order to bring him in to replace Sean Glennon who was the QB of note when the Hokies were upset by East Carolina to start the year.

The most intriguing matchups should occur between Cincinnati’s offense and Virginia Tech’s smothering defense. But keep your eye on the field during punts and kicks. Special teams are a strength for the Bearcats, and it should be fun to see how Cincinnati’s superb pair of kickers, Groza award nominee K Jake Rogers, and Ray Guy finalist P Kevin Huber deal with the most talented special teams unit they have yet seen. Look for the game to turn on a big special teams play.

BCS National Championship (Miami, FL – January 8)
#1 Oklahoma Sooners (12-1) vs. #2 Florida Gators (12-1)


With apologies to Texas fans, it looks as though the two best teams in the nation will face off in the BCS Championship Game. When the dust settled, it was the Sooners and the Gators who separated themselves from the pack by virtue of their explosive offenses.

There is the off-chance that Oklahoma will once-again forget that the bowl games do count. Hopefully, the Sooners learned their lesson last season when they were upset by an inspired WVU team in the Fiesta Bowl. If Bob Stoops doesn’t have his boys ready to play from the first whistle, you can bet Urban Meyer and the Gators will roll early.

While both teams suffered mid-season losses, the Sooners and the Gators both seem to be clicking right now. Each team will be coming into this game carrying a great deal of momentum in their favor. Florida’s tough win over Alabama in the SEC title game proved that they can take anyone’s best punch and stay on their feet. Despite a loss to fierce-rival Texas, the Sooners have bounced back to win the Big 12 on the back of Heisman-Trophy-winning-QB, Sam Bradford.

I think this game will be a shoot-out with the win going to the last team to have the ball.

• December 19, 2008 -- Nate’s Most Intriguing Bowl Matchups (2)
• January 8, 2009 -- Fierce And Nerdy: The BCS Championship Game – Oklahoma Sooners vs. Florida Gators (0)
• January 9, 2009 -- 2008-2009 College Football Wrap-Up (0)
• December 9, 2008 -- Football Coaches Have A Sense of Humor (0)
• December 17, 2008 -- College Bowl Picks (0)