Bowl Roundup: Thanks M!ch!gan!

The Capital One Bowl in Orlando was by far the best of the bowls as Michigan overcame 4 turnovers to beat Florida 41-35. Not only did we finally get to see the offense that we all thought the Wolverines would have coming into the season, but they did the Big Ten football world proud by beating an SEC power, beating the defending BCS Champs, beating the Heisman Trophy winner, and winning one for their coach.

Ohio State and Michigan may be hated rivals during the regular season, but when it comes to the bowls, I always root for the Big Ten.

Other thoughts:

• Wisconsin played well enough to win but couldn't get it done against the Volunteers.
• USC would have made a case for a split championship if they hadn't been playing an overachieving Illinois team that really had no business in the BCS.
  
• Poor Hawaii. 12-0 against a host of second tier teams doesn't look so good now.
• Illinois's spread option offense was doomed once they were playing from behind. The inability of their defense to stop USC in the first quarter just fed the blowout. When they beat Ohio State it was with good defense, ball control, and clock management.
  
• The Heisman trophy winner has lost in the following bowl game three straight years (Tim Tebow, Troy Smith, Reggie Bush).
• Once again, Texas Tech makes a mockery of the game of football. Entertaining though.
• I didn't see the game, but it didn't seem like Arkansas and Darren McFadden had much to play for. Missouri got some redemption and McFadden still ran for 100 yards.
• In upcoming games, I like Oklahoma to crush West Virginia, and Virginia Tech to beat Kansas in a barn-burner.
• P.S. I'll take the SEC and Pac-10 seriously when they have to travel out of their respective regions for post-season games. The best thing about a playoff system would be seeing USC travel to Columbus or the Gators in the Big House for games in late December.
  

Thoughts on the BCS championship:

• The OSU - LSU game will be decided in the trenches. Line play and quarter back pressure will be the key for both teams in an old school, smash mouth kind of game.
• If LSU scores more than 20, OSU will have a hard time keeping up.
• If OSU keeps the game close, LSU will not like to see overtime (again).
• If linebacker James Laurenitis gets a turnover, the Buckeye defense can win the game.
• If quarterback Todd Boeckman throws an interception (or worse yet, fumbles on a sack), the Buckeye offense can lose the game.
• Beanie Wells is the OSU X-factor. He must be able to get into the secondary and break out for long runs.