Love it or hate it, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rules college football, robbing fans of a juicy eight-team playoff.
Now that the dust has settled and those in Austin, Tex. have dried their tears as they watched their precious Longhorns lose a chance at a national championship, it’s time to look into the intriguing bowls the BCS has set up in spite of a playoff.
First comes the classic Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day featuring two historic teams—the Pac 10 champion Trojans of USC and the Big Ten champion Nittany Lions of Penn State.
The Trojans are playing in their fifth Rose Bowl in six years as they have dominated Big Ten opponents in the game as of late.
USC once again has a high-throttle offense—led by quarterback Mark Sanchez—that averages 453 yards and 37.5 points per game, but they are really led by their dominating defense and linebacker Rey Maualuga.
Despite facing a great defense and a high-powered offense, Penn State should match up well offensively as they average 452 yards and 40 points per game.
The Nittany Lions have a pretty stingy defense, giving up only 264 yards and 12.4 points per game, ranking fifth and fourth respectively in the country.
Even with those numbers the Big Ten features no prolific offenses like the Trojans, so expect USC to once again beat a Big Ten foe in Pasadena—but it should be a closer score than the more recent Rose Bowls.
The Sugar Bowl features two at large teams in Utah from the
Mountain West Conference (MWC) and Alabama from the SEC.
The Utes got to crash the BCS party by going undefeated in the MWC with a 12–0 record, but they stand no chance against a great Alabama team.
Utah is going up against a Bama team that ran through the SEC gauntlet undefeated and held the number one ranking for much of the season, only to lose to Tim Tebow and his Florida Gators in a gut-wrenching SEC championship game.
Alabama holds one of the country’s best defenses—scary good, some would say. They run a good pro-style offense led by QB John Parker Wilson and its duo at running back Glenn Coffee and Mark Ingram.
The Fiesta Bowl features two more at large teams in Ohio State from the Big Ten and Texas from the Big 12.
The Buckeyes have flown under the radar to the Fiesta Bowl after losing early in the season to USC and later to Big Ten rival Penn State.
OSU is led by running back Chris “Beanie” Wells and QB Tyrell Prior. Prior has shown flashes of greatness this season but has also shown that he is still just a true freshman. Beanie should have a good game as it’s his last game to show his skills to NFL scouts.
Texas comes in with a prolific offense led by quarterback Colt McCoy who completed an unheard of 77.6 percent of his passes.
The Longhorns have a lot to prove. McCoy also watched OU’s quarterback Sam Bradford win the Heisman Trophy over him. Talk about a redemption game.
Sorry sweater vest, but look for the Longhorns to come out with the peddle to the meddle and never let up as they aim to prove to a national audience where the BCS committee went wrong.
The Orange Bowl is a battle between Big East champs Cincinnati and ACC champs Virginia Tech.
The Bearcats are just happy to make their first BCS game in school history while the Hokies come in with a ferocious defense as usual, and a dual-threat QB to run and pass—Tyrod Taylor.
Cincinnati’s quarterback Tony Pike and the offense doesn’t stand much of a chance against the nation’s seventh best defense and “Beamer ball.”
Look for the Hokies to win pretty big and Taylor to have a big game as he tries to get Hokies fans thinking Michael [Vick] who?
The national championship game pits Big 12 champion Oklahoma and SEC champion Florida and the past two Heisman trophy winners—quarterbacks Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Tim Tebow of Florida.
Florida comes in with a single blemish on their record losing to Ole Miss early in the season. Since the loss, Tebow has willed his team all the way to the national championship game, culminating in a comeback win over Alabama in the SEC championship game.
Tebow, who led his team to a 36.4 points per game average throwing 28 TDs and running for 12 more, will also have his favorite weapon back, and the game’s “X-factor,” in the speedy wide receiver Percy Harvin.
Oklahoma is led by its offense that is one of the most prolific of all time and has scored at least 61 points in its last five games. At the helm of all this is this year’s Heisman winner, quarterback Sam Bradford.
Tebow will try to will the Gators to one more victory and a second national title in three years in a nail-biter as he shows the nation why he should have one his second Heisman trophy in a row over Bradford, continuing Bob Stoops debacle in BCS games of late.
Now that the dust has settled and those in Austin, Tex. have dried their tears as they watched their precious Longhorns lose a chance at a national championship, it’s time to look into the intriguing bowls the BCS has set up in spite of a playoff.
First comes the classic Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day featuring two historic teams—the Pac 10 champion Trojans of USC and the Big Ten champion Nittany Lions of Penn State.
The Trojans are playing in their fifth Rose Bowl in six years as they have dominated Big Ten opponents in the game as of late.
USC once again has a high-throttle offense—led by quarterback Mark Sanchez—that averages 453 yards and 37.5 points per game, but they are really led by their dominating defense and linebacker Rey Maualuga.
Despite facing a great defense and a high-powered offense, Penn State should match up well offensively as they average 452 yards and 40 points per game.
The Nittany Lions have a pretty stingy defense, giving up only 264 yards and 12.4 points per game, ranking fifth and fourth respectively in the country.
Even with those numbers the Big Ten features no prolific offenses like the Trojans, so expect USC to once again beat a Big Ten foe in Pasadena—but it should be a closer score than the more recent Rose Bowls.
Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2
The Sugar Bowl features two at large teams in Utah from the
Mountain West Conference (MWC) and Alabama from the SEC.
The Utes got to crash the BCS party by going undefeated in the MWC with a 12–0 record, but they stand no chance against a great Alabama team.
Utah is going up against a Bama team that ran through the SEC gauntlet undefeated and held the number one ranking for much of the season, only to lose to Tim Tebow and his Florida Gators in a gut-wrenching SEC championship game.
Alabama holds one of the country’s best defenses—scary good, some would say. They run a good pro-style offense led by QB John Parker Wilson and its duo at running back Glenn Coffee and Mark Ingram.
Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 5
The Fiesta Bowl features two more at large teams in Ohio State from the Big Ten and Texas from the Big 12.
The Buckeyes have flown under the radar to the Fiesta Bowl after losing early in the season to USC and later to Big Ten rival Penn State.
OSU is led by running back Chris “Beanie” Wells and QB Tyrell Prior. Prior has shown flashes of greatness this season but has also shown that he is still just a true freshman. Beanie should have a good game as it’s his last game to show his skills to NFL scouts.
Texas comes in with a prolific offense led by quarterback Colt McCoy who completed an unheard of 77.6 percent of his passes.
The Longhorns have a lot to prove. McCoy also watched OU’s quarterback Sam Bradford win the Heisman Trophy over him. Talk about a redemption game.
Sorry sweater vest, but look for the Longhorns to come out with the peddle to the meddle and never let up as they aim to prove to a national audience where the BCS committee went wrong.
Orange Bowl, Jan. 1
The Orange Bowl is a battle between Big East champs Cincinnati and ACC champs Virginia Tech.
The Bearcats are just happy to make their first BCS game in school history while the Hokies come in with a ferocious defense as usual, and a dual-threat QB to run and pass—Tyrod Taylor.
Cincinnati’s quarterback Tony Pike and the offense doesn’t stand much of a chance against the nation’s seventh best defense and “Beamer ball.”
Look for the Hokies to win pretty big and Taylor to have a big game as he tries to get Hokies fans thinking Michael [Vick] who?
National Championship, Jan. 8
The national championship game pits Big 12 champion Oklahoma and SEC champion Florida and the past two Heisman trophy winners—quarterbacks Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Tim Tebow of Florida.
Florida comes in with a single blemish on their record losing to Ole Miss early in the season. Since the loss, Tebow has willed his team all the way to the national championship game, culminating in a comeback win over Alabama in the SEC championship game.
Tebow, who led his team to a 36.4 points per game average throwing 28 TDs and running for 12 more, will also have his favorite weapon back, and the game’s “X-factor,” in the speedy wide receiver Percy Harvin.
Oklahoma is led by its offense that is one of the most prolific of all time and has scored at least 61 points in its last five games. At the helm of all this is this year’s Heisman winner, quarterback Sam Bradford.
Tebow will try to will the Gators to one more victory and a second national title in three years in a nail-biter as he shows the nation why he should have one his second Heisman trophy in a row over Bradford, continuing Bob Stoops debacle in BCS games of late.
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