The Orange Bowl, January 1

The 2007 Orange Bowl. Image Credit: Jack Nealy

Last years Orange Bowl featured a tremendous game between the upstart Kansas Jayhawks and the Virginia Tech Hokies. In that game, Kansas managed the upset, winning 24-21. This hear the Hokies (8-4) are back again, this time to face the Cincinnati Bearcats (10-2).

Why is this a BCS game? Excellent question. Both teams earned automatic bids to the BCS by winning their conferences. Virginia Tech recovered from a season-opening loss to Conference USA Champ East Carolina to win the ACC by beating Boston College 30-12 in an ACC championship game that was so exciting I switched to the Tulsa - ECU game instead.

Cincinnati managed to lose to Oklahoma by only 26, which is pretty good. They only had one loss in the Big East, but it was a 40-16 spanking by UConn. Somebody had to come out of the Big East, and it ended up being Cincinnati. West Virginia was the sexy pick, but they went 8-4. Who else are you going to send?

This is exactly why an 8-team playoff system with 6 conference champions is a silly idea. These are the kind of matchups that result.

I don’t know who’s going to win this game, and I don’t really care. I’m not going to watch, and I’m certainly not going to waste time researching these teams. I’ll say Cincinnati wins 12-10. I’ll read about it in the paper the next day (yes, I still get a newspaper).

Rose Bowl, January 1

The Rose Bowl features USC (11-1) against Penn St (11-1). The game is played on January 1, which is when bowl games are supposed to be played. Both of these teams were legitimate National Title contenders, and both of them let a single loss to a conference opponent derail their bid. USC lost 27-21 to Oregon State, and Penn State let a game slip away 24-23 to Iowa on a last second field goal. If not for those games, either of these teams could be undefeated and playing in Miami for the championship.

As it is, this should be a great game, especially for those few of us who enjoy watching good defenses. Big 12 fans might think that 24-21 is a normal score for the first quarter, but it could well be the final here. Both teams have great defenses, great coaches and great traditions. During the season, USC beat Ohio State 35-3 (without Beanie Wells or Terrelle Pryor), while Penn State beat Ohio State 13-6 (with Wells and Pryor). Oregon State managed to get past USC by 6, but Penn State beat the other OSU with a stick 45-14.

USC seems to get up for big games. They have a lot of talent all over the field, and Penn St will have trouble dealing with the speed and athleticism USC possesses at every position. Both defenses should play well, and Joe Pa might have a few tricks up his sleeve, but USC will probably make a few more plays than PSU, and win a good game, 27-17. This game should be a lot of fun.

Sugar Bowl, January 2

This game pits Alabama (12-1), against Texas . . . no, wait. That would be too good of a game. ‘Bama will play Utah (12-0) instead. Alabama has a long history in the Sugar Bowl, and they will bring legions of crimson clad fans to the game. On the other hand, it is a 1,787 mile (2,859 km) trip from Salt Lake City to New Orleans (depending on how you go). Add to that the fact that Alabama is favored, and it looks like more and more of a home field advantage for the Crimson Tide. Alabama was undefeated and ranked #1 before losing to Florida in the SEC Championship game. They have victories over Clemson, Georgia and LSU, and they showed against Florida that they have the toughness to hang with any team in the country.

Utah is still undefeated, but they barely beat Michigan (who’s terrible) New Mexico, and Texas Christian. Their signature win is probably 31-28 over Oregon State, who seems to be the team all the other BCS schools have played.

There are two games played by the BCS-busters from small schools. Two years ago Boise State upset Oklahoma 43-42 in one of the best bowl games of all time. Last year, undefeated Hawaii was demolished by Georgia. Alabama will probably wear down the Utes over the course of the game by running the ball and playing nasty defense and then cruise to a comfortable win in the second half. It’s worth tuning in just in case Utah takes a shot at pulling off the big upset. Check in periodically to see if Utah is keeping it close, but you might want to have a backup activity if it gets out of hand. Final score: 38-14, Alabama.

Fiesta Bowl, January 5

Texas (11-1) and Ohio State (10-2) face off in the Fiesta Bowl. Texas is the only team to beat Oklahoma this year, and they are one last second touchdown pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree from being undefeated and playing in the title game instead of Oklahoma. On the other hand, Ohio State has only face two premium teams (USC and Penn State) and they lost both games without scoring a touchdown.

Texas has tremendous talent. The only question is if they can shake off the depression of being semi-screwed out of the Big 12 and National Championship games and focus on the task in front of them. There is a chance that an Oklahoma victory would lead AP voters to rank Texas #1, resulting in a split title as in 2003 (USC and LSU). Perhaps coach Mack Brown can dangle that as a carrot. But the bottom line is that unless Texas comes out flat and lethargic, they should have no trouble with Ohio State. Texas simply has too much firepower and too much talent on both sides of the ball. Ohio State will slow them down, but Texas should win by several touchdowns. I’ll probably tune in for the first half; the game should be over after that. I’ll say Texas 45, Ohio State 17.

National Championship, January 8

This is the collision of two football juggernauts, Oklahoma (12-1) and Florida (12-1). All the debate about who should be playing will hopefully have ended by gametime (don’t hold your breath). Finally, we get to watch a championship game that won’t be over by halftime! Both of these teams are incredibly talented. OU is nearly unstoppable offensively, having scored over 60 in 5 straight games (and 58 the one before that). Their weakness has been defense. Oklahoma gave up 45 to Texas, 41 to Oklahoma State, 35 to Kansas State (who lost to Kansas for the third straight year) and 31 to Kansas.

Florida is no slouch offensively either. They scored over 40 eight times during the year. They showed off their defense several times, holding Miami to 3 and Kentucky to 5 (63-5 just looks silly). The Gators only slipped up once during the regular season, losing 31-30 to Ole Miss on a failed extra point.

The game features two Heisman winning quarterbacks. Tim Tebow won last year, and despite all the hype that accompanies him, he actually is an incredible player. Sam Bradford has a wealth of ridiculous passing stats and has won the Heisman this year.

This is a game to schedule a day around. It should be high-scoring, with incredible plays on both sides. I think that the teams will trade touchdowns most of the game, but like the Oklahoma-Texas game, Florida will be able to get one or two key stops in the second half and walk away champions, 45-35.