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Five Bowl Games to Watch
T.O. Whenham of Doc's
Sports Predictions
The bowls are coming, and you had better be ready for them. With 32 bowl games
coming over the course of three weeks starting on Dec. 19, you need to do some
planning to know which games you want to watch and handicap, and which ones you
just want to avoid.
There are always some match-ups during the bowl season that are less than
amazing. This year, however, we seem to be cursed with some games that are
destined to be truly awful. It will take a lot of imagination to find anything
compelling about Texas and Iowa in the Alamo, Texas Tech and Minnesota in the
Insight, or Nevada and Miami in Boise. The worst game, though, which will only
appeal to degenerate gamblers or true fans of the teams, is Oklahoma State and
Alabama in the Independence. The loser of that clash of the titans will end the
season with a losing record. There are some decent match-ups that could be very
one-sided, too, like LSU and Notre Dame.
Despite those games, and some other stinkers, there are some match-ups on the
schedule that are going to be particularly interesting to look at. Ignoring the
Ohio State and Michigan games because I’m already sick of talking about them,
here are six bowl games that you should be paying attention to:
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 21 – BYU and Oregon –
This one makes the list for a couple of reasons. First, if you haven’t seen BYU
play then you really need to. They are a surprisingly talented and creative team
that spent the season overpowering opponents. It’s not particularly conventional
football, but it is very entertaining. On the other side you have a Pac-10 team
that has had an incredibly disappointing season, made worse by the fact that
they only defeated the only real opponent they beat, Oklahoma, with the help of
the referees. The second reason to watch this game is the potential for value.
BYU is favored by five points in early action. That seems like a fair and
attractive spread already, and the public attention is more likely to gravitate
towards the major conference team, so the spread could get even better before
kickoff.
Capital One Bowl, Jan. 1 - Wisconsin and Arkansas
– Arkansas is favored by one, showing how close this game could be. In
any other season Wisconsin would be a BCS team, but they have the misfortune of
being in the Big Ten. This will be the showdown between the Big Ten and the SEC.
Those who argue that Florida deserves to be in the national championship game
because they play in a tougher conference will be watching this one closely.
Both teams will have frustrations to work out. Two good teams wishing they were
a bit closer to the major spotlight should put on a good show.
Fiesta Bowl, Jan.1 – Boise State and Oklahoma
– This is easily the game I am most excited about. Boise State comes into the
game with a huge chip on their shoulder, but without a lot of national respect.
The BCS crashers are eight-point underdogs, and that spread seems likely to grow
before the end of the year. What I want to know is how good the Broncos really
are. Oklahoma is playing well, but they are far from an unbeatable team. I tend
to think that this line could provide some value if it grows a bit, but I could
be completely wrong. The total uncertainty that Boise State represents is what
makes college football so great. It will also be very interesting to watch
Adrian Peterson, assuming he is healthy, and the Bronco’s very talented running
back, Ian Johnson, burn up the turf.
Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 30 – Virginia Tech and Georgia
– Both of these teams have struggled at times this year, but they are both
playing very well down the stretch. With the defensive styles they both play
this isn’t going to be a thrilling shootout. It does have the potential, though,
to be the kind of tough, in-the-trenches war that can be very entertaining when
played well. Virginia Tech is favored by three. At that spread, a solid argument
can be made for either team.
Orange Bowl, Jan. 2 – Louisville and Wake Forest
– Two interesting BCS teams that are kind of an afterthought in the national
talk. Wake Forest came from absolutely nowhere this season to win the ACC, and
they did it with a run-focused offense that is strange to say the least, and a
disciplined defense. Louisville was written off after they lost to Rutgers, but
kept playing their explosive offensive game and ended up on top of the Big East.
Louisville will score a lot of points, and it will be very interesting to see if
the feisty Demon Deacons can keep up. The bookmakers don’t think so, since
Louisville if favored by nine.
Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 19 – TCU and Northern Illinois
– Bowl season kicks off with a match-up that certainly isn’t marquee, but it
could be fascinating. TCU has the fourth best run defense in the country, and
nobody has been able to gain significant yards on the ground against them.
Northern Illinois lives and dies by the run, with their back Garrett Wolfe,
leading the country in yards gained. One of those forces will have to break, and
that will define this game. TCU is favored by 13, but Northern Illinois has two
more weeks to find a way to exploit any weaknesses they can find on film.