Rose Bowl presented by Vizio
Tuesday January 1st, 14:00 PT (22:00 GMT)
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Wisconsin Badgers vs. (6)Stanford Cardinals
The Rose Bowl is the oldest Bowl in college football first played in 1902 when the “Point-a-minute” Michigan Wolverines defeated the Stanford Cardinals 49-0. After that blow-out, the game wasn't held again until 1916 when Washington beat Brown. When the Rose Bowl Stadium opened in 1923, the game moved to it's current location and has been played on New Year's Day. The game moved in 1942 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, with Oregon State holding off the heavily favored and undefeated Duke Blue Devils 20-6. When the BCS was created in 1998, the Rose Bowl entered into the rotation as the National Championship game the traditional Big-Ten champion vs PAC-12 champion match-up was lost, however when the BCS National Championship game was created, the Rose Bowl regained it's line-up and last year's game was the first Rose Bowl win since 1917.
Wisconsin sneaked into this game at 8-5 after crushing Nebraska in the Big-Ten Championship game 70-31 retaining their record as the only team to win the Championship game. Some would say they were lucky to reach that game as the Badgers finished behind Penn State and that Ohio State who were ineligible for the post-season. The Badgers lost to (13)Oregon State, (16)Nebraska and Michigan State while posting wins over Purdue and Minnesota. Their season looked to be a bust finishing with losses to the Suckeyes and Penn State, but they bounced by in style in their rematch with the Cornhuskers. Montee Ball led the offense finishing 7th in the nation with 1730 yards and 21 touchdowns. Danny O'Brien finished the season at quarterback after Joel Stave broke his collarbone in the overtime defeat to Michigan State. As you'd expect with such a rush-orientated offense, WR Jared Abbrederis only scored 5 TDs but picked up an impressive 793 considering the offensive play calling.
Stanford beat the pre-season number 1 ranked USC, but were immediately upset in Seattle by the Washington Huskies and a fortnight later, they went down 20-13 in overtime to (1)Notre Dame. At that point, Stanford was finished with losing. They finished with 7 straight wins and the final four of those were against ranked opponents including beating the then number 1 Oregon Ducks 17-14 after overtime in Eugene to end the year 11-2. There were initial fears that the Cardinals would suffer from a quarterback vacuum with Andrew Luck leaving for the Colts, but after replacing Josh Nunes, Kevin Hogan has led the Cardinals to an impressive winning streak and with TE Zach Ertz a big threat over the middle with 837 yards and 5 touchdowns, next year looks very bright in Palo Alto. The main focus of the attack has been Stepfan Taylor, the back has 1442 yards this year and 12 touchdowns behind one of the best offensive lines in the business. Defensively, Stanford are 3rd best in the country against the run, allowing a mere 87.7 yards per game and with Wisconsin's apparent inability to advance the ball through the air, that will be important, even if they have conceded 14 TDs on the ground.
FOR WISCONSIN TO WIN
They need to establish the run, they average less passing yards per game than Stanford does running. Montee Ball is going to the NFL as the all-time FBS touchdown leader. He put on a show for us in the Big-Ten Championship game and if the Badgers want to win this game, he has to be big again. Ball needs to touch the ball 30-35 times in order to carry this team to a win.
FOR STANFORD TO WIN
Run the ball and stuff Montee Ball. Ball blew apart the Nebraska defense in the Big-Ten championship game and although yards shouldn't be as easy to come by against this Cardinals team, he remains a huge danger to their first Rose Bowl win since 1972.
VERDICT
This should be an exhibition of running football and for the oldest bowl in the country, that seems apt that we should see two teams who enjoy and excel running the football. Ball can grab another 150+ yards and Taylor will respond with something similar, but at the end of this game, the difference will be between the offensive lines. I think Stanford has the edge and they should run out winners
ADVICE
Stanford -5.5
Over 47 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: A short field goal contains a reference to Tiger Woods
2 drinks: Anybody mentions the game played in Charlotte
Finish it: Ball and Taylor combine for 400 yards
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Capital One Bowl
Capital One Bowl
Tuesday January 1st, 13:00 ET (18:00 GMT)
Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
(7)Georgia Bulldogs vs. (16)Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Capital One Bowl, or Consolation Bowl has been played since 1947 starting out as the Tangerine Bowl. With the exception of 1973 when it moved to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, it has been played in the Citrus Bowl. The game usually features the 1st non-BCS team in the SEC and the 1st non-BCS side in the Big-Ten. This season, the game featured the losers of each conference's championship game, Georgia coming off a very tight loss to (2)Alabama and Nebraska trying to recover from a 70-31 humiliation at the hands of Wisconsin. Not only are the Cornhuskers attempting to rebound from that beating, they also lost last year's game to (10)South Carolina.
Georgia have been excellent this year both offensively and defensively ranking 27th in total offense with 458.3 yards and 16th in scoring defense with 18.8 points. They recorded signature wins over Vanderbilt and (3)Florida, conceding only 12 points combined. That led them to 11-1 and a place in the SEC championship game against the defending National Champions the Alabama Crimson Tide. That game was effectively a play-in game for this year's BCS National Championship game, and despite leading 21-18 going into the fourth quarter, they finished 4 yards short of Miami. Aaron Murray has been excellent at times this season, especially leading that final drive against the Tide. He's passed for 3466 yards and 31 TDs and Tavarres King has been a big part of that, accumulating 846 yards and 8 touchdowns. Todd Gurley has paced the ground game racking up 1260 yards for his 16 scores. The Georgia offense should look to the run as Nebraska gave up 539 yards rushing to Wisconsin. At any cost, they should stay away from throwing the ball to Chris Conley. Georgia's defense has been stellar and outside linebacker Jarvis Jones has been huge with 12.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss and he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He needs to be huge in this game along with his fellow LB Alec Ogletree as defensive tackle John Jenkins has been ruled academically ineligible leaving a hole on the defensive line.
Nebraska dropped games early in their schedule to (17)UCLA and that Ohio State, but they strung together a six game winning streak to finish the regular season, beating (18)Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State to reach the Big-Ten title game but they flopped on the big stage in Indianapolis (I can emphasize with that) and were thumped by the Badgers. Junior QB Taylor Martinez has 2667 passing yards and 973 yards on the ground for 31 total touchdowns. Running backs Ameer Abdullah and Rex Burkhead have added 1089 and 535 yards respectively to create the 8th best running game in the country. The passing game hasn't quite been as dominant, but Kenny Bell has managed 803 yards and another 8 touchdowns. The Cornhuskers have the best passing defense in the country giving up just 148.2 yards per game, but they have given up 13 TDs, so they will need to tighten up in the redzone. Their rushing defense has been shown up of late, allowing 25 TDs and 194.8 yards per game, crucially in their 3 losses this season, they've given up over 1300 rushing yards. That won't do in this game.
FOR GEORGIA TO WIN
After watching Nebraska's three losses, Georgia have to run the ball. The numbers don't lie in this case. Murray has been excellent this season and he's already faced the 4th ranked passing defense in the country and nearly came away with the win. The threat of Todd Gurley who has 100 yard rushing games against the 1st and 6th rushing defenses looms large against the Nebraska defense and that will be the difference in this game.
FOR NEBRASKA TO WIN
Despite their success running the ball this season, they have to pass to win this game. They can't allow Jones and Ogletree to stop runners in the backfield. Martinez has to get the ball out of his hands quickly, and if he gets in trouble, he can then use his feet. Although Georgia have a great pass rush, the secondary hasn't been great giving up 11 touchdowns. The difference for Nebraska has to be motivation. They were destroyed by Wisconsin, they come into this as huge underdogs, and they have a point to prove as nobody (including me) thinks they can win this game. John Jenkins is a big miss for Georgia, and late in the game, that could be a godsend for Martinez.
VERDICT
Both teams are coming off a loss, but Georgia have a lot less to fix before they can win this one. Nebraska's embarrassment against the run in big games this season is the telling factor. Todd Gurley led the SEC in rushing yards, and as he goes into the game with 1260 yards, he could finish the season with 1500 yards against this Cornhuskers defense.
ADVICE
Georgia -8.5
Over 61.5 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: 539 is mentioned.
2 drinks: Georgia is 1st and goal at the 4.
Finish it: Somebody mixes up Ogletree with Oglethorpe.
Tuesday January 1st, 13:00 ET (18:00 GMT)
Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
(7)Georgia Bulldogs vs. (16)Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Capital One Bowl, or Consolation Bowl has been played since 1947 starting out as the Tangerine Bowl. With the exception of 1973 when it moved to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, it has been played in the Citrus Bowl. The game usually features the 1st non-BCS team in the SEC and the 1st non-BCS side in the Big-Ten. This season, the game featured the losers of each conference's championship game, Georgia coming off a very tight loss to (2)Alabama and Nebraska trying to recover from a 70-31 humiliation at the hands of Wisconsin. Not only are the Cornhuskers attempting to rebound from that beating, they also lost last year's game to (10)South Carolina.
Georgia have been excellent this year both offensively and defensively ranking 27th in total offense with 458.3 yards and 16th in scoring defense with 18.8 points. They recorded signature wins over Vanderbilt and (3)Florida, conceding only 12 points combined. That led them to 11-1 and a place in the SEC championship game against the defending National Champions the Alabama Crimson Tide. That game was effectively a play-in game for this year's BCS National Championship game, and despite leading 21-18 going into the fourth quarter, they finished 4 yards short of Miami. Aaron Murray has been excellent at times this season, especially leading that final drive against the Tide. He's passed for 3466 yards and 31 TDs and Tavarres King has been a big part of that, accumulating 846 yards and 8 touchdowns. Todd Gurley has paced the ground game racking up 1260 yards for his 16 scores. The Georgia offense should look to the run as Nebraska gave up 539 yards rushing to Wisconsin. At any cost, they should stay away from throwing the ball to Chris Conley. Georgia's defense has been stellar and outside linebacker Jarvis Jones has been huge with 12.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss and he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He needs to be huge in this game along with his fellow LB Alec Ogletree as defensive tackle John Jenkins has been ruled academically ineligible leaving a hole on the defensive line.
Nebraska dropped games early in their schedule to (17)UCLA and that Ohio State, but they strung together a six game winning streak to finish the regular season, beating (18)Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State to reach the Big-Ten title game but they flopped on the big stage in Indianapolis (I can emphasize with that) and were thumped by the Badgers. Junior QB Taylor Martinez has 2667 passing yards and 973 yards on the ground for 31 total touchdowns. Running backs Ameer Abdullah and Rex Burkhead have added 1089 and 535 yards respectively to create the 8th best running game in the country. The passing game hasn't quite been as dominant, but Kenny Bell has managed 803 yards and another 8 touchdowns. The Cornhuskers have the best passing defense in the country giving up just 148.2 yards per game, but they have given up 13 TDs, so they will need to tighten up in the redzone. Their rushing defense has been shown up of late, allowing 25 TDs and 194.8 yards per game, crucially in their 3 losses this season, they've given up over 1300 rushing yards. That won't do in this game.
FOR GEORGIA TO WIN
After watching Nebraska's three losses, Georgia have to run the ball. The numbers don't lie in this case. Murray has been excellent this season and he's already faced the 4th ranked passing defense in the country and nearly came away with the win. The threat of Todd Gurley who has 100 yard rushing games against the 1st and 6th rushing defenses looms large against the Nebraska defense and that will be the difference in this game.
FOR NEBRASKA TO WIN
Despite their success running the ball this season, they have to pass to win this game. They can't allow Jones and Ogletree to stop runners in the backfield. Martinez has to get the ball out of his hands quickly, and if he gets in trouble, he can then use his feet. Although Georgia have a great pass rush, the secondary hasn't been great giving up 11 touchdowns. The difference for Nebraska has to be motivation. They were destroyed by Wisconsin, they come into this as huge underdogs, and they have a point to prove as nobody (including me) thinks they can win this game. John Jenkins is a big miss for Georgia, and late in the game, that could be a godsend for Martinez.
VERDICT
Both teams are coming off a loss, but Georgia have a lot less to fix before they can win this one. Nebraska's embarrassment against the run in big games this season is the telling factor. Todd Gurley led the SEC in rushing yards, and as he goes into the game with 1260 yards, he could finish the season with 1500 yards against this Cornhuskers defense.
ADVICE
Georgia -8.5
Over 61.5 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: 539 is mentioned.
2 drinks: Georgia is 1st and goal at the 4.
Finish it: Somebody mixes up Ogletree with Oglethorpe.
Monday, 31 December 2012
Outback Bowl
Outback Bowl
Tuesday January 1st, 13:00 ET (18:00 GMT)
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
(10)South Carolina Gamecocks vs. (18)Michigan Wolverines
The Outback Bowl was created in 1977 as the Hall of Fame Bowl and was initially played in Alabama until it was discontinued in 1986 and a new Hall of Fame Bowl was instituted in Tampa under the same name. Outback Steakhouse began it's sponsorship in 1995 and the Bowl gained it's current title. The bowl invites the 3rd team from the Big Ten to face the 3rd pick from the SEC. As the Outback Bowl shares the 3rd pick of the SEC with the Cotton Bowl, a team from the SEC East division is always selected for the Outback Bowl and a team from the West division heads to Arlington, as happened last year. The Outback Bowl is played on January 1st, except when New Year's Day is a Sunday. In that case, the game moves to the 2nd. Michigan is the home team.
South Carolina battled hard in the SEC, opening 6-0 and beating Vanderbilt (7)Georgia, but losing back-to-back games to (8)LSU and (3)Florida ended any chances of a BCS Bowl appearance. That misery was compounded the following week when running back Marcus Lattimore went down with a season-ending knee injury, he has since gone on to declare himself for the NFL draft, so he's finished as a Gamecock. South Carolina finished with four straight wins to complete back-to-back ten wins seasons for the first time in their history. Connor Shaw will get the start at quarterback despite leaving the victory over (14)Clemson in the final game of the regular season with a concussion. He threw for 1732 yards and 15 touchdowns for the 66th ranked passing offense in the FBS. Ben Ellington caught 6 touchdowns and led the team with 564 yards, while Ace Sanders snagged 7 scores and gained 439 yards. In Lattimore's absence, the bulk of the carries went to Kenny Miles and he rushed for 358 yards and two touchdowns in his 3 and a bit games. Even with Lattimore healthy, the strength of this team is it's defense. The Gamecocks finished 12th in total yardage with 312.3 yards per game (193.3 passing and 119 rushing) and allowed a measly 17.4 points per game. That level of performance has to be maintained in this game and Lorenzo Ward deserves a lot of credit in his first season as defensive co-ordinator. Conversely he faces his toughest task to date in the shape of this Michigan offense.
Michigan has suffered from stage-fright this season, losing their opener convincingly to (2)Alabama at Cowboy Stadium then piecing together wins over Air Force, Purdue, Michigan State, Minnesota and (20)Northwestern punctuated by road defeats to (1)Notre Dame, (16)Nebraska and that Ohio State. The defeat in “The Game” hurt a lot as the Wolverines were unable to score any points in the second half and failed to derail the Buckeyes unbeaten season. The offense over the past three seasons has been Denard “Shoelace” Robinson, who has set a new school record with his 91 total touchdowns. He suffered a nerve injury in his shoulder against (16)Nebraska and missed two games. Since then, he hasn't thrown a pass, but still contributed 220 yards rushing and leads the team this season with 1166 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. His position as the passer is likely to be taken by junior Devin Gardner. Gardner is a more accurate thrower than Robinson (63.3% completions compared to Robinson's 53.6%), but doesn't possess the same running threat in terms of yardage, but he has scored 7 rushing touchdowns. Gardner still managed to eclipse 1000 passing yards and added 8 passing touchdowns. It appears that under Head Coach Brady Hoke wide receivers are more of a distraction to defenses and extra blockers for the quarterback downfield. Nevertheless Jeremy Gallon has 684 yards and Roy Roundtree (no relation to Richard) has added 553 yards. Michigan's defense however has improved under Hoke and the Wolverines rank second in the nation against the pass behind only Nebraska, allowing 155.2 yards per game. A large part of that success has been due to cornerback JT Floyd, however due to a violation of team rules, he is forced to sit out the final game of his college career.
FOR SOUTH CAROLINA TO WIN
They have to contain Shoelace. He has the ability to break a game at any moment. The Gamecocks have the 16th best rushing defense in the country, allowing 119 yards per game and that unit has to be big to win this game. They controlled Clemson in the regular season finale and that provides the blueprint for this game. Offensively they will have to take advantage of JT Floyd's absence and attack the Michigan secondary. If, as expected, Devin Gardner takes the majority of snaps, the Gamecocks will have to try and flush him out of the pocket as he isn't as much of a threat running the ball as Robinson is.
FOR MICHIGAN TO WIN
Denard Robinson has to have a big game against a very tough South Carolina pass defense. This is his last game for the Wolverines and as he won't make it in the NFL as a quarterback, he needs to showcase his skills to make it in the draft. Hoke has already said he may see some action as a kick/punt returner and he will continue to run the ball. I wouldn't be surprised to see him line up as a receiver, as he has a similar build to Wes Welker and Julian Edelman. Edelman's ability to carve himself a career in the pros should be Robinson's benchmark and that means he has to dominate this game. The Wolverines have been much improved this season and that trend needs to continue in this game to keep Michigan in this game.
VERDICT
This comes down to Michigan's running game against South Carolina's defense. Whichever unit can win that battle will probably hand the victory to their team. For me, sadly the Gamecocks' defensive has that edge and having faced Clemson in the regular season, they already know how to play against an elite level rushing quarterback. They also have had over a month off where the defensive coaching staff have been reviewing film and honing that game-plan constantly. Michigan will put up a good fight, but their inability to get across the line in big games this season and Brady Hoke's inability to call plays coherently will ultimately cost the Wolverines.
ADVICE
South Carolina -4.5
Over 47.5 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Denard Robinson throws a 20 yard pass.
2 drinks: Anybody in the room sniggers at the mention of the Gamecocks
Finish it: Any mention of the Winter Classic
Tuesday January 1st, 13:00 ET (18:00 GMT)
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
(10)South Carolina Gamecocks vs. (18)Michigan Wolverines
The Outback Bowl was created in 1977 as the Hall of Fame Bowl and was initially played in Alabama until it was discontinued in 1986 and a new Hall of Fame Bowl was instituted in Tampa under the same name. Outback Steakhouse began it's sponsorship in 1995 and the Bowl gained it's current title. The bowl invites the 3rd team from the Big Ten to face the 3rd pick from the SEC. As the Outback Bowl shares the 3rd pick of the SEC with the Cotton Bowl, a team from the SEC East division is always selected for the Outback Bowl and a team from the West division heads to Arlington, as happened last year. The Outback Bowl is played on January 1st, except when New Year's Day is a Sunday. In that case, the game moves to the 2nd. Michigan is the home team.
South Carolina battled hard in the SEC, opening 6-0 and beating Vanderbilt (7)Georgia, but losing back-to-back games to (8)LSU and (3)Florida ended any chances of a BCS Bowl appearance. That misery was compounded the following week when running back Marcus Lattimore went down with a season-ending knee injury, he has since gone on to declare himself for the NFL draft, so he's finished as a Gamecock. South Carolina finished with four straight wins to complete back-to-back ten wins seasons for the first time in their history. Connor Shaw will get the start at quarterback despite leaving the victory over (14)Clemson in the final game of the regular season with a concussion. He threw for 1732 yards and 15 touchdowns for the 66th ranked passing offense in the FBS. Ben Ellington caught 6 touchdowns and led the team with 564 yards, while Ace Sanders snagged 7 scores and gained 439 yards. In Lattimore's absence, the bulk of the carries went to Kenny Miles and he rushed for 358 yards and two touchdowns in his 3 and a bit games. Even with Lattimore healthy, the strength of this team is it's defense. The Gamecocks finished 12th in total yardage with 312.3 yards per game (193.3 passing and 119 rushing) and allowed a measly 17.4 points per game. That level of performance has to be maintained in this game and Lorenzo Ward deserves a lot of credit in his first season as defensive co-ordinator. Conversely he faces his toughest task to date in the shape of this Michigan offense.
Michigan has suffered from stage-fright this season, losing their opener convincingly to (2)Alabama at Cowboy Stadium then piecing together wins over Air Force, Purdue, Michigan State, Minnesota and (20)Northwestern punctuated by road defeats to (1)Notre Dame, (16)Nebraska and that Ohio State. The defeat in “The Game” hurt a lot as the Wolverines were unable to score any points in the second half and failed to derail the Buckeyes unbeaten season. The offense over the past three seasons has been Denard “Shoelace” Robinson, who has set a new school record with his 91 total touchdowns. He suffered a nerve injury in his shoulder against (16)Nebraska and missed two games. Since then, he hasn't thrown a pass, but still contributed 220 yards rushing and leads the team this season with 1166 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. His position as the passer is likely to be taken by junior Devin Gardner. Gardner is a more accurate thrower than Robinson (63.3% completions compared to Robinson's 53.6%), but doesn't possess the same running threat in terms of yardage, but he has scored 7 rushing touchdowns. Gardner still managed to eclipse 1000 passing yards and added 8 passing touchdowns. It appears that under Head Coach Brady Hoke wide receivers are more of a distraction to defenses and extra blockers for the quarterback downfield. Nevertheless Jeremy Gallon has 684 yards and Roy Roundtree (no relation to Richard) has added 553 yards. Michigan's defense however has improved under Hoke and the Wolverines rank second in the nation against the pass behind only Nebraska, allowing 155.2 yards per game. A large part of that success has been due to cornerback JT Floyd, however due to a violation of team rules, he is forced to sit out the final game of his college career.
FOR SOUTH CAROLINA TO WIN
They have to contain Shoelace. He has the ability to break a game at any moment. The Gamecocks have the 16th best rushing defense in the country, allowing 119 yards per game and that unit has to be big to win this game. They controlled Clemson in the regular season finale and that provides the blueprint for this game. Offensively they will have to take advantage of JT Floyd's absence and attack the Michigan secondary. If, as expected, Devin Gardner takes the majority of snaps, the Gamecocks will have to try and flush him out of the pocket as he isn't as much of a threat running the ball as Robinson is.
FOR MICHIGAN TO WIN
Denard Robinson has to have a big game against a very tough South Carolina pass defense. This is his last game for the Wolverines and as he won't make it in the NFL as a quarterback, he needs to showcase his skills to make it in the draft. Hoke has already said he may see some action as a kick/punt returner and he will continue to run the ball. I wouldn't be surprised to see him line up as a receiver, as he has a similar build to Wes Welker and Julian Edelman. Edelman's ability to carve himself a career in the pros should be Robinson's benchmark and that means he has to dominate this game. The Wolverines have been much improved this season and that trend needs to continue in this game to keep Michigan in this game.
VERDICT
This comes down to Michigan's running game against South Carolina's defense. Whichever unit can win that battle will probably hand the victory to their team. For me, sadly the Gamecocks' defensive has that edge and having faced Clemson in the regular season, they already know how to play against an elite level rushing quarterback. They also have had over a month off where the defensive coaching staff have been reviewing film and honing that game-plan constantly. Michigan will put up a good fight, but their inability to get across the line in big games this season and Brady Hoke's inability to call plays coherently will ultimately cost the Wolverines.
ADVICE
South Carolina -4.5
Over 47.5 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Denard Robinson throws a 20 yard pass.
2 drinks: Anybody in the room sniggers at the mention of the Gamecocks
Finish it: Any mention of the Winter Classic
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
Tuesday January 1st, 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT)
Everbank Field, Jacksonville, Florida
Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. (20)Northwestern Wildcats
The Gator Bowl has been played continuously since 1946 in Florida and with the exception of 1994, it has been played in the city of Jacksonville. This bowl was the first in history to be televised nationally and it comes with a $2.5m payout for each team involved. The Gator Bowl features the 6th team from the SEC and the 4th team from the Big-Ten depending on BCS eligibility. Last year's game was known as either the Traitor Bowl or the Savior Bowl depending on your allegiance, I prefer to call it the Urban Meyer Bowl as it featured his previous team the Florida Gators and his new team, those Ohio State Suckeyes.
Mississippi State come into the game off a respectable 8-4 season, starting like a house on fire 7-0 but they finished 1-4, losing to (2)Alabama, (8)LSU and (9)Texas A&M back-to-back-to-back and finished with a disappointing loss to the Ole Miss Rebels. That record is partially misleading as despite playing in the SEC, the Bulldogs only beat one team with a winning FBS record. Despite their deficiencies in the second half of the season, QB Tyler Russell has passed for 2791 yards and 2 TDs, but he sprained his ankle in the defeat to Ole Miss and although he's expected to be fine for this game, questions will be raised if the Wildcats can put him on his backside a few times. Chad Bumphis has made an impact in his final season with the Bulldogs, doubling his career TD total to 24 and adding 904 yards to bring his career to an end with 2252 yards, setting a new school record in the process. Ladarius Perkins has reached nearly 1000 yards on the ground and has added 8 TDs giving the Bulldogs some semblance of balance on offense, which could be crucial in this match-up.
The Wildcats started 5-0 including wins over Syracuse and Vanderbilt out of the gate, then they split their next 6 games, losing to Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan before bouncing back to win in East Lansing and finished with a blow-out of Illinois to finish 9-3. A win in this game would give Northwestern their first 10 win season since 1995. Like many of the top academic schools, the Wildcats run the ball very well and junior running back Venric Mark somehow racked up 1310 yards and 11 touchdowns, despite his tiny 5'8” 175lbs frame, something he'll have to work on if he wants to play on Sundays. Kain Coulter will most likely get the start at QB and he's been almost surgical with the ball in his hands with a 68.7% completion rate for 8 TDs and nearly 800 yards. He's also been a threat out of the backfield picking up another 12 touchdowns and piling up 820 yards. Trevor Siemian has taken some of the load off Coulter as a quarterback and has thrown for 1192 yards and another 6 touchdowns. Let's not kid ourselves though, Northwestern will try to run the ball all day and their 14th ranked rushing offense (230.9 yards) will match up well against Mississippi State's 71st ranked rushing defense, surrendering 166 yards.
FOR MISS STATE TO WIN
Forget about the last five games of the season and pretend they are 7-0. The Bulldogs had a lot of confidence early in the season and if they can regain that, they may be able to produce enough offense to win this game. They have to find a way to stop the Wildcats' running game and a big part of that will be linebacker Cameron Lawrence.
FOR NORTHWESTERN TO WIN
Run the ball. Hard. If they can establish the running game early then they'll have success towards the end of the game. Nothing tires a defense like run defense and if Northwestern have their way, that's what the Bulldogs will be doing all day. They have a top 20 rushing attack and they need to use both Mark and Colter to move the defense around the field
VERDICT
The running game of Northwestern will continue to frustrate Mississippi State and as long as they can keep the chains moving and pick up points when they're on offer, they'll have the best of this match-up.
ADVICE
Northwestern -2
Over 54 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Either team records a sack
2 drinks: Northwestern finish any quarter with more passing yards than rushing yards
Finish it: Any mention of Urban Meyer
Tuesday January 1st, 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT)
Everbank Field, Jacksonville, Florida
Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. (20)Northwestern Wildcats
The Gator Bowl has been played continuously since 1946 in Florida and with the exception of 1994, it has been played in the city of Jacksonville. This bowl was the first in history to be televised nationally and it comes with a $2.5m payout for each team involved. The Gator Bowl features the 6th team from the SEC and the 4th team from the Big-Ten depending on BCS eligibility. Last year's game was known as either the Traitor Bowl or the Savior Bowl depending on your allegiance, I prefer to call it the Urban Meyer Bowl as it featured his previous team the Florida Gators and his new team, those Ohio State Suckeyes.
Mississippi State come into the game off a respectable 8-4 season, starting like a house on fire 7-0 but they finished 1-4, losing to (2)Alabama, (8)LSU and (9)Texas A&M back-to-back-to-back and finished with a disappointing loss to the Ole Miss Rebels. That record is partially misleading as despite playing in the SEC, the Bulldogs only beat one team with a winning FBS record. Despite their deficiencies in the second half of the season, QB Tyler Russell has passed for 2791 yards and 2 TDs, but he sprained his ankle in the defeat to Ole Miss and although he's expected to be fine for this game, questions will be raised if the Wildcats can put him on his backside a few times. Chad Bumphis has made an impact in his final season with the Bulldogs, doubling his career TD total to 24 and adding 904 yards to bring his career to an end with 2252 yards, setting a new school record in the process. Ladarius Perkins has reached nearly 1000 yards on the ground and has added 8 TDs giving the Bulldogs some semblance of balance on offense, which could be crucial in this match-up.
The Wildcats started 5-0 including wins over Syracuse and Vanderbilt out of the gate, then they split their next 6 games, losing to Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan before bouncing back to win in East Lansing and finished with a blow-out of Illinois to finish 9-3. A win in this game would give Northwestern their first 10 win season since 1995. Like many of the top academic schools, the Wildcats run the ball very well and junior running back Venric Mark somehow racked up 1310 yards and 11 touchdowns, despite his tiny 5'8” 175lbs frame, something he'll have to work on if he wants to play on Sundays. Kain Coulter will most likely get the start at QB and he's been almost surgical with the ball in his hands with a 68.7% completion rate for 8 TDs and nearly 800 yards. He's also been a threat out of the backfield picking up another 12 touchdowns and piling up 820 yards. Trevor Siemian has taken some of the load off Coulter as a quarterback and has thrown for 1192 yards and another 6 touchdowns. Let's not kid ourselves though, Northwestern will try to run the ball all day and their 14th ranked rushing offense (230.9 yards) will match up well against Mississippi State's 71st ranked rushing defense, surrendering 166 yards.
FOR MISS STATE TO WIN
Forget about the last five games of the season and pretend they are 7-0. The Bulldogs had a lot of confidence early in the season and if they can regain that, they may be able to produce enough offense to win this game. They have to find a way to stop the Wildcats' running game and a big part of that will be linebacker Cameron Lawrence.
FOR NORTHWESTERN TO WIN
Run the ball. Hard. If they can establish the running game early then they'll have success towards the end of the game. Nothing tires a defense like run defense and if Northwestern have their way, that's what the Bulldogs will be doing all day. They have a top 20 rushing attack and they need to use both Mark and Colter to move the defense around the field
VERDICT
The running game of Northwestern will continue to frustrate Mississippi State and as long as they can keep the chains moving and pick up points when they're on offer, they'll have the best of this match-up.
ADVICE
Northwestern -2
Over 54 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Either team records a sack
2 drinks: Northwestern finish any quarter with more passing yards than rushing yards
Finish it: Any mention of Urban Meyer
Heart of Dallas Bowl
Heart of Dallas Bowl
Tuesday January 1st, 11:00 CST (17:00 GMT)
Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Purdue Boilermakers vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Heart of Dallas Bowl is one of the newest Bowls of the season, first played in January 2011, after the Cotton Bowl game moved to Cowboys Stadium. The Cotton Bowl opened in 1930 and hosted the Cotton Bowl in 1937 and every subsequent year until 2009. The Cotton Bowl stadium was also used to host games at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and played host to the best game of the tournament and arguably the best goal. This year's game features the 7th team from the Big-Ten and the 8th team from the Big-12, however next year's game will replace the Big-12 team with a school from Conference-USA, like it did last year.
Purdue muddled through their schedule losing five on the spin starting with (18)Michigan and finishing with Bill O'Brien's Penn State. They won a wild one over Indiana in the regular season finale to secure bowl eligibility, then promptly fired Head Coach Danny Hope. Senior QB Robert Marve leads the offense and despite playing through a torn ACL, he has put up 1522 passing yards and 13 TDs. He'll spend almost all of his time in the pocket and as a result, the rushing game is carried by Akeem Shavers. Shavers tallied 778 yards this season along with 6 touchdowns and will be relied upon to provide the spark for this offense. Every game he's scored a touchdown in this season, the Boilermakers have won. Antavian Edwards has amassed 625 yards on the outside and pulled in 8 touchdowns, giving some balance to the offense. Purdue have an excellent defensive line, the highlight of which is Tackle Kawann Short, a first round projection on most people's draft board. He needs to play well and hold Oklahoma State out if the Boilermakers are to have any chance.
Although Oklahoma State finished the season 7-5, all five of those losses came at the hands of Bowl-bound teams (3-0 so far with Kansas State and Oklahoma to come) and they did post impressive wins over Texas Tech and TCU. The Cowboys strength all season has been their offense. They rank 3rd in scoring offense, (44.7 points per game) 5th in total yards per game, (548.9) 7th in passing yards (333.4) and 22nd in rushing yards (215.5) that's pretty impressive going into this game. Those are dangerous numbers for a Purdue defense that gives up 406.8 yards per game. Running back Joseph Randle had 1351 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, and despite using three different quarterbacks during the season, Josh Stewart tallied 1154 yards and 7 touchdowns receiving. Quarterback for this game will be Clint Chelf who started the last four games of the season after replacing Wes Lunt against Kansas State totalling 1391 yards and 12 TDs while recording 6 interceptions. Head Coach Mike Gundy has said Chelf deserves the start, but it's clear that OK State have options if Chelf doesn't work out in this game. Hopefully Gundy knows how to use his quarterbacks better than Rex Ryan.
FOR PURDUE TO WIN
They have to stop the run and hope their secondary is good enough to keep them in the game. Kawann Short is a massive player in this game for Purdue and they need him to bring his a-game to stop Joseph Randle from stomping all over the front seven. The pass defense also has to be better than it was during the regular season, even if they could limit the Cowboys to 225-ish yards, that probably won't be good enough.
FOR OKLAHOMA STATE TO WIN
Share the love. The Cowboys have one of the most balanced offenses in the league and they should look to beat Purdue where the Boilermakers let them. If they want to stack the box and stop the run, then start passing it around. If they decide to bring in an extra defensive back, then run it up the gut. The Cowboys should come out and try to keep Purdue guessing, they have the firepower to win this big, for me it's only a question of whether they can beat the spread.
VERDICT
The Oklahoma State offense will win this one and it's a toss-up whether they'll do it by passing or rushing. How that plays out is entirely on the Purdue defense.
ADVICE
OK State -17
Over 70.5 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Any sightings of former Purdue students now in the NFL (alumni list)
2 drinks: Any sighting of Barry Sanders
Finish it: Any Star Wars reference (A New Hope most likely)
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Monday December 31st, 19:30 ET (00:30 GMT)
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
(8)LSU Tigers vs. (14)Clemson Tigers
The Chick-fil-A Bowl was incepted in 1968 as the Peach Bowl and has been played in Atlanta ever since. It moved to the Georgia Dome when it was finished in 1992. Chick-fil-A stepped in as title sponsors in 1998 and retained the Peach Bowl title until 2006 when it was also dropped. It currently features the first non-BCS team from the ACC and the 5th team from the SEC, however as the SEC has sent one of it's teams to the National Championship game every season since 2006, the Chick-fil-A Bowl has accepted the 6th selection from the nation's best conference. Last year Auburn won the game, defeating Virginia but neither of those teams got anywhere near any Bowls this season.
LSU were once again impressive this season, and despite the obvious disappointment of being the first team shut out in the BCS National Championship game last season they only lost twice. Their two losses came in the SEC to (2)Alabama and (3)Florida. They compiled ten wins for the third year in a row including beating (9)Texas A&M and (10)South Carolina. Les Miles' squad once again built their success on a strong defense and as a result, they only gave up more than 25 points once. They finished 11th in the country conceding 16.9 points per game and a miserly 296.2 yards of total offense. Although the offense won't show up on any national top 20 lists, they've done the job well and allowed the defense to win games. Junior quarterback Zach Mettenberger has done enough in those games passing for 2489 yards and 11 TDs while only coughing the ball up 6 times. The worrying thing for LSU fans is that he's been sacked 26 times, and sometimes they hurt. Jeremy Hill has added 621 yards on 130 carries for 10 touchdowns and Kenny Hilliard has added another 456 yards and 6 touchdowns. On the outside sophomore receiver Odell Beckham has snagged 673 yards and 2 TDs while his fellow sophomore Jarvis Landry has 536 yards and another 4 TDs. Still, LSU's success is their defense and that will be the case on Monday night.
Clemson have been equally successful this season, finishing 10-2 in the ACC and only missed out on the title game when they lost their last game of the regular season to (10)South Carolina, as a result (12)Florida State head to the Orange Bowl and Clemson end up here. They also lost to the Seminoles early in the season and bounced back to win seven straight to record their first 10 win season in over 30 years. Tajh Boyd has been incredible for the Tigers and despite his numbers being down on last season, his 3550 yards put him 14th in the country and his 34 TDs (T-6th) and 168.53 passer rating (4th) are equally impressive. He's added 9 rushing TDs and those 43 total TDs tie him with Orange Bowl-bound Northern Illinois QB Jordan Lynch and Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. Boyd's favorite target has been Deandre Hopkins, he's hit the junior WR for 1214 yards and 16 touchdowns. Tailback Andre Ellington has churned up 1031 yards and 8 TDs to propel the running game and he gives the Tigers a lot of options in the redzone. As you'd expect with those numbers, Clemson are high in the national rankings, their 518.3 total yards per game (9th) and 42.3 points per game (6th) are almost the mirror of LSU's numbers, so this could turn into the classic offense v defense match-up.
FOR LSU TO WIN
Hit Boyd as often as possible and stop him running all over them. If they allow Boyd time, he'll pick the much vaunted Tigers secondary apart. Clemson struggled against South Carolina because of their tight coverage and tough play up front. If they can contain Boyd, they take away most of the scoring on this team and control this game the way they've controlled most of their schedule and grind out the win.
FOR CLEMSON TO WIN
Tajh Boyd is obviously the key to their offense, and the Tigers need him to step up. He may have considered forgoing his final year of college to enter the NFL, but he might have some Matt Barkley style unfinished business next year. The running game takes on more importance as LSU try to strangle Boyd and as the game develops, play-action becomes more important in moving down the field. The Clemson defensive line should be ready for a lot of run blocking as the SEC runs the ball more than any other BCS conference. If they can hold LSU to under 160 rushing yards (Clemson's average defensive figure) then they may have a chance of nicking this one.
VERDICT
As good as Clemson's offense is, I expect this to be a defensive battle. Tajh Boyd has to pick his spots to air it out as the LSU secondary is one of the best in the FBS. There will be a lot of running in the game as you'd expect from LSU and if Clemson get frustrated, they will play into LSU's hands. The purple Tigers want to be in a ball fight and they are well seasoned by playing in the SEC. I don't think Boyd is yet at the level to win this game on his own, especially with the attention LSU's front four will give him. Expect to see him on his backside 4 or 5 times in this one.
ADVICE
LSU -5
Under 59 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Somebody mixes up the Tigers with the Tigers
2 drinks: Les Miles smiles
Finish it: LSU's total offensive yards are more than Tajh Boyd's
Monday December 31st, 19:30 ET (00:30 GMT)
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
(8)LSU Tigers vs. (14)Clemson Tigers
The Chick-fil-A Bowl was incepted in 1968 as the Peach Bowl and has been played in Atlanta ever since. It moved to the Georgia Dome when it was finished in 1992. Chick-fil-A stepped in as title sponsors in 1998 and retained the Peach Bowl title until 2006 when it was also dropped. It currently features the first non-BCS team from the ACC and the 5th team from the SEC, however as the SEC has sent one of it's teams to the National Championship game every season since 2006, the Chick-fil-A Bowl has accepted the 6th selection from the nation's best conference. Last year Auburn won the game, defeating Virginia but neither of those teams got anywhere near any Bowls this season.
LSU were once again impressive this season, and despite the obvious disappointment of being the first team shut out in the BCS National Championship game last season they only lost twice. Their two losses came in the SEC to (2)Alabama and (3)Florida. They compiled ten wins for the third year in a row including beating (9)Texas A&M and (10)South Carolina. Les Miles' squad once again built their success on a strong defense and as a result, they only gave up more than 25 points once. They finished 11th in the country conceding 16.9 points per game and a miserly 296.2 yards of total offense. Although the offense won't show up on any national top 20 lists, they've done the job well and allowed the defense to win games. Junior quarterback Zach Mettenberger has done enough in those games passing for 2489 yards and 11 TDs while only coughing the ball up 6 times. The worrying thing for LSU fans is that he's been sacked 26 times, and sometimes they hurt. Jeremy Hill has added 621 yards on 130 carries for 10 touchdowns and Kenny Hilliard has added another 456 yards and 6 touchdowns. On the outside sophomore receiver Odell Beckham has snagged 673 yards and 2 TDs while his fellow sophomore Jarvis Landry has 536 yards and another 4 TDs. Still, LSU's success is their defense and that will be the case on Monday night.
Clemson have been equally successful this season, finishing 10-2 in the ACC and only missed out on the title game when they lost their last game of the regular season to (10)South Carolina, as a result (12)Florida State head to the Orange Bowl and Clemson end up here. They also lost to the Seminoles early in the season and bounced back to win seven straight to record their first 10 win season in over 30 years. Tajh Boyd has been incredible for the Tigers and despite his numbers being down on last season, his 3550 yards put him 14th in the country and his 34 TDs (T-6th) and 168.53 passer rating (4th) are equally impressive. He's added 9 rushing TDs and those 43 total TDs tie him with Orange Bowl-bound Northern Illinois QB Jordan Lynch and Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. Boyd's favorite target has been Deandre Hopkins, he's hit the junior WR for 1214 yards and 16 touchdowns. Tailback Andre Ellington has churned up 1031 yards and 8 TDs to propel the running game and he gives the Tigers a lot of options in the redzone. As you'd expect with those numbers, Clemson are high in the national rankings, their 518.3 total yards per game (9th) and 42.3 points per game (6th) are almost the mirror of LSU's numbers, so this could turn into the classic offense v defense match-up.
FOR LSU TO WIN
Hit Boyd as often as possible and stop him running all over them. If they allow Boyd time, he'll pick the much vaunted Tigers secondary apart. Clemson struggled against South Carolina because of their tight coverage and tough play up front. If they can contain Boyd, they take away most of the scoring on this team and control this game the way they've controlled most of their schedule and grind out the win.
FOR CLEMSON TO WIN
Tajh Boyd is obviously the key to their offense, and the Tigers need him to step up. He may have considered forgoing his final year of college to enter the NFL, but he might have some Matt Barkley style unfinished business next year. The running game takes on more importance as LSU try to strangle Boyd and as the game develops, play-action becomes more important in moving down the field. The Clemson defensive line should be ready for a lot of run blocking as the SEC runs the ball more than any other BCS conference. If they can hold LSU to under 160 rushing yards (Clemson's average defensive figure) then they may have a chance of nicking this one.
VERDICT
As good as Clemson's offense is, I expect this to be a defensive battle. Tajh Boyd has to pick his spots to air it out as the LSU secondary is one of the best in the FBS. There will be a lot of running in the game as you'd expect from LSU and if Clemson get frustrated, they will play into LSU's hands. The purple Tigers want to be in a ball fight and they are well seasoned by playing in the SEC. I don't think Boyd is yet at the level to win this game on his own, especially with the attention LSU's front four will give him. Expect to see him on his backside 4 or 5 times in this one.
ADVICE
LSU -5
Under 59 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Somebody mixes up the Tigers with the Tigers
2 drinks: Les Miles smiles
Finish it: LSU's total offensive yards are more than Tajh Boyd's
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Monday December 31st, 14:30 CST (20:30 GMT)
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Iowa State Cyclones vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes
The Liberty Bowl was first played in 1959 in Philadelphia and despite a one year experiment in Atlantic City in 1964, it has been played in Memphis ever since. It usually features the Conference USA champions against the 8th team from the SEC, though if the SEC cannot provide a team, the 6th team from the Big East is invited, like last year. This year we have C-USA represented by Tulsa and Iowa State were selected as an at-large team, somewhat surprisingly in front of Louisiana Tech. This will be the only rematch from the regular season in this year's Bowl series.
Iowa State finished 6-6 in the Big-12 with impressive wins against Tulsa, TCU and Baylor, but all six of their losses came against very good teams, 3 of them ranked in the top 25. The majority of their success came through their defensive unit, as their offense was woeful at times. Their win against 1-11 Kansas was the only time they put up 40 points and they finished 89th in the country with 372.2 yards per game and 25.2 points. (83rd) QB Steele Jantz put up 1562 yards with 13 TDs but 11 INTs. The running game couldn't produce a 500 yard rusher and only senior wide receiver Josh Lenz who put up 504 yards could reach that plateau through the air. Even when you look at their defensive stats, they look poor, they concede 444.8 yards per game, 279.7 yards passing and 165.2 yards rushing. That just won't get the job done.
Tulsa rebounded from their week 1 defeat to post a 10-3 record in C-USA, winning seven on the bounce before dropping away games to Arkansas and SMU in their 2-2 finish to the regular season. Cody Green has been impressive at times this season since his transfer from Nebraska and totalled 2499 yards for 17 TDs and 10 INTs, his favorite target being Keyarris Garrett who grabbed 9 touchdowns for his 826 yards. Despite those numbers, Tulsa excelled running the ball, with Trey Watts making 959 yards and Ja'Terian Douglas racking up 857 yards this season for the 11th ranked rushing offense in the country. That could be the difference in this year, as I said, Iowa State give up 165.2 yards rushing per game and Tulsa have all the weapons to exploit that, although they have two running backs, that tactic has worked very well for other schools in the country for example a certain Tide in Tuscaloosa.
FOR IOWA STATE TO WIN
Plug the gaps and give the offense as short a field as possible. The Iowa State offense has struggled to sustain drives this season, and if this turns into a shootout, they are in big trouble. They need to stymie the Tulsa running game and force Green to the air. Iowa State have been much better against the pass, and every time the ball is in the air, they have a chance to take it away.
FOR TULSA TO WIN
Run the ball, run the clock, run everything they can find. The strength of the team has been the run, and they need to establish that against a stingy defense in order to give themselves a chance to air it out with their passing attack. They will score points in this, but as always the key is to stop your opponents scoring, and the best way to do that is to keep them off the field with your own running game.
VERDICT
As this is the only rematch of this year's Bowl season, you'd think we have some form to go on. Well yes and no. The game was played in week one, and although Iowa State won that comfortably, I see no such repeat in this one. Tulsa's running game has improved throughout the season and though they were lucky to sneak past UCF in overtime to win the C-USA title, I think their running game will be the difference. Iowa State's offense has been weak and their defense is not good enough to keep out Tulsa in this one.
ADVICE
Tulsa +2
Over 51 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Any reference to farming
2 drinks: Any wind related joke
Finish it: Any mention of professional wrestling
Monday December 31st, 14:30 CST (20:30 GMT)
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Iowa State Cyclones vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes
The Liberty Bowl was first played in 1959 in Philadelphia and despite a one year experiment in Atlantic City in 1964, it has been played in Memphis ever since. It usually features the Conference USA champions against the 8th team from the SEC, though if the SEC cannot provide a team, the 6th team from the Big East is invited, like last year. This year we have C-USA represented by Tulsa and Iowa State were selected as an at-large team, somewhat surprisingly in front of Louisiana Tech. This will be the only rematch from the regular season in this year's Bowl series.
Iowa State finished 6-6 in the Big-12 with impressive wins against Tulsa, TCU and Baylor, but all six of their losses came against very good teams, 3 of them ranked in the top 25. The majority of their success came through their defensive unit, as their offense was woeful at times. Their win against 1-11 Kansas was the only time they put up 40 points and they finished 89th in the country with 372.2 yards per game and 25.2 points. (83rd) QB Steele Jantz put up 1562 yards with 13 TDs but 11 INTs. The running game couldn't produce a 500 yard rusher and only senior wide receiver Josh Lenz who put up 504 yards could reach that plateau through the air. Even when you look at their defensive stats, they look poor, they concede 444.8 yards per game, 279.7 yards passing and 165.2 yards rushing. That just won't get the job done.
Tulsa rebounded from their week 1 defeat to post a 10-3 record in C-USA, winning seven on the bounce before dropping away games to Arkansas and SMU in their 2-2 finish to the regular season. Cody Green has been impressive at times this season since his transfer from Nebraska and totalled 2499 yards for 17 TDs and 10 INTs, his favorite target being Keyarris Garrett who grabbed 9 touchdowns for his 826 yards. Despite those numbers, Tulsa excelled running the ball, with Trey Watts making 959 yards and Ja'Terian Douglas racking up 857 yards this season for the 11th ranked rushing offense in the country. That could be the difference in this year, as I said, Iowa State give up 165.2 yards rushing per game and Tulsa have all the weapons to exploit that, although they have two running backs, that tactic has worked very well for other schools in the country for example a certain Tide in Tuscaloosa.
FOR IOWA STATE TO WIN
Plug the gaps and give the offense as short a field as possible. The Iowa State offense has struggled to sustain drives this season, and if this turns into a shootout, they are in big trouble. They need to stymie the Tulsa running game and force Green to the air. Iowa State have been much better against the pass, and every time the ball is in the air, they have a chance to take it away.
FOR TULSA TO WIN
Run the ball, run the clock, run everything they can find. The strength of the team has been the run, and they need to establish that against a stingy defense in order to give themselves a chance to air it out with their passing attack. They will score points in this, but as always the key is to stop your opponents scoring, and the best way to do that is to keep them off the field with your own running game.
VERDICT
As this is the only rematch of this year's Bowl season, you'd think we have some form to go on. Well yes and no. The game was played in week one, and although Iowa State won that comfortably, I see no such repeat in this one. Tulsa's running game has improved throughout the season and though they were lucky to sneak past UCF in overtime to win the C-USA title, I think their running game will be the difference. Iowa State's offense has been weak and their defense is not good enough to keep out Tulsa in this one.
ADVICE
Tulsa +2
Over 51 points
DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Any reference to farming
2 drinks: Any wind related joke
Finish it: Any mention of professional wrestling
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