Monday, December 08, 2008

Fiesta Bowl

After being dismissed for most of the season -- and jeered in most corners of the college football world -- Ohio State gets a BCS bowl anyway. They'll play National Championship bridesmaid Texas. This is good. The Buckeyes have played the Longhorns twice in recent years, and beat them back when Colt McCoy was the freshman trying to fill Vince Young's shoes. There won't be any surprises. The downside is that this time McCoy is the experienced Heisman contender, and it's OSU with the inconsistent freshman phenom.

Buckeye considerations:
  • Pryor needs to play the kind of inspired football that we saw at the end of the season (and not like he did against Penn State).
  • Beanie Wells needs to be healed and ready to run.
  • The Offensive Line needs to show up, and stay away from the dessert tray over the long holiday break.
  • The Defense just needs to play like it always does.
In the other big games, I like USC over Penn State in the Rose Bowl and Florida over Oklahoma in the BCS title game. In the less interesting BCS games I like Virginia Tech to knock off Cincinnati, and Alabama to beat up on Utah. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Colorado State salvaged their season with a 6-6 record and will play in the New Mexico Bowl (don't ask) against Fresno State. I think the edge goes to the Bulldogs.