Nate’s Most Intriguing Bowl Matchups
Friday, December 19, 2008 10:27
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA – December 23)
#11 TCU Horned Frogs (10-2) vs. #9 Boise State Broncos (12-0)
In my mind, this is easily the most intriguing matchup of the bowl season outside the national championship game itself. Don’t let those two losses for a non-BCS school fool you; TCU has a phenomenal team, sporting, among other things, the second-ranked defense in all the nation. The first of those losses came to Oklahoma, 35-10. The only other time this year the Sooners were held to 35 points was in their solitary loss to Texas. As for the second loss, the Horned Frogs were a couple of short missed field goals away from beating Utah, taking the Mountain West title and perhaps making the BCS as a one-loss non-BCS team.
As for Boise State, the Broncos are one of two undefeateds remaining and would be in a BCS bowl if it weren’t for the aforementioned–and also undefeated–Utah Utes. Boise State once again rolled through the WAC, but only played one significant non-conference opponent, Oregon. However, at #3, the Broncos are only one spot below TCU in scoring defense, and there are still a lot of players remaining from that magical Fiesta Bowl victory two years ago, so they know how to win big games.
I love this game! Anything could happen in this one, but I’m picking the Horned Frogs with their rock-solid defense and strength of schedule.
Brut Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX – December 31)
#24 Oregon State Beavers (8-4) vs. #18 Pittsburgh Panthers (9-3)
The Pitt Panthers finished second in an up-and-down but largely lackluster Big East, while Oregon State was on the cusp of winning the Pac-10 and a Rose Bowl berth before ending up on the negative side of a lopsided contest with instate arch-rival Oregon. Each team needs to make a statement. The Beavers want to prove that the fluke in their season was the Oregon game and not the season itself, particularly their shocking upset of USC. The Panthers, on the other hand, started off with an embarrassing loss to Bowling Green and narrowly missed a second one to Buffalo. Pitt started playing better, but high hopes went by the wayside.
Considering that both the Pac-10 and Big East had down years, whoever wins this game not only redeems themselves but partially redeems their conference. But I just don’t trust Big East teams this year, and Oregon State’s victory over the Trojans was very impressive. I’m taking the Beavers.
Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA – January 2)
#7 Utah Utes (12-0) vs. #4 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1)
Utah survived an incredibly tough Mountain West Conference schedule unscathed, and the Utes now carry that perfect record into their second BCS bid in five seasons. Key victories include Oregon State and fellow Top 25 conference rivals TCU and BYU. Beyond their own pride, a lot is riding on the Utes in this game in terms of proving the legitimacy of non-BCS teams and the Mountain West Conference in particular.
Alabama has had an incredible year; no one expected Nick Saban to turn around the Crimson Tide’s fortunes quite so quickly. That fact that became painfully apparent in the Tide’s defeat at the hands of Florida in the SEC Championship game, costing ‘Bama a shot at the national title. The sting of that loss should make Alabama a team on a mission. The Tide’s bread-and-butter is a great ball-control run-first offense, but be on the lookout for their stellar true freshman wideout Julio Jones.
Both teams have something to prove in this game, which will be won by the offensive and defensive lines and whichever side dominates the line of scrimage. On paper, Alabama appears stronger, but Utah quarterback Brian Johnson has exhibited Tom Brady-like intangibles to lead his team to victory whenever needed. Alabama may have a stronger team, but Utah has something special going on, so I’m going out on a limb and picking the Utes.
BCS National Championship (Miami, FL – January 8)
#1 Oklahoma Sooners (12-1) vs. #2 Florida Gators (12-1)
Like the Bowl Championship Series or not (I don’t)‚ but it did result in a legitimate matchup for the national title this season. Sure, other teams (Texas, USC, even Texas Tech) have strong arguments why they should be in the BCS Championship game, but those same discussions would exist regardless of which teams were playing; that’s the problem. From an outside observers standpoint, Oklahoma vs. Florida is as legitimate a matchup as there could be.
This game has it all: champions of the top two conferences, two high-powered offenses, and the last two Heisman Trophy Winners (quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford). Both teams will score a lot of points; it should be very exciting. Unfortunately for Oklahoma, Sooners running back DeMarco Murray will miss the game with a hamstring injury. That shouldn’t slow down Bob Stoops’ team too much; Murray is one of two backs for Oklahoma with over 1,000 yards (the other, Chris Brown, leads the team with 1,010 yards).
This game will probably come down to one or two plays, whoever makes the least mistakes taking the crown. After two straight bowl disappointments, it’s time for the Sooners to achieve some redemption.
