Discover Orange Bowl: Predicted Finish – Clemson 45 vs. West Virginia 35
Clemson tried to do it. They tried to have another epic meltdown late in the season just like they do every year. In fact, if they would have lost to Wake Forest, like I think they should have (they got lucky with some typically shoddy ACC officiating), they would not have made it to the ACC title game, and thus would not be in a BCS bowl. In fact, we probably would have seen the end of Dabo Swinney. But somehow, after back-to-back losses to close out the regular season, the Tigers managed to come out swinging against Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game and cruised to an easy victory right on into the Orange Bowl. Read the rest of this entry →
Allstate Sugar Bowl – predicted finish: Virginia Tech 19 vs. Michigan 24
What type of team is best suited to stop a running QB? I’d say a team that has arguably the best running QB in the entire NCAA; Michigan. Virginia Tech finally figured out that they could use their big 260 lb QB as a rusher by mid-season which got the Hokie’s stagnant offense clicking. But Michigan experienced a resurgence toward national relevance under new HC Brady Hoke, and they will know how to handle a QB with wheels.
Tech will look to use their rushing attack and solid defense to control the clock. Look for QB LoganThomas and RB David Wilson to run close to 40 plays on the ground. The Hokies has a pair of stud WRs in Danny Coale and Jarrett Boykin that struggled to live up to much this season, and a national stage could be just what they need for a breakout game. Wolverine QB Denard Robinson was asked to stay in the pocket more and learn to pass first. The offense struggled because of it. But once the coaches opened up the playbook a little and allowed Robinson to just make some plays, the offense began to really take off. The emergence of sophomore RB Fitzgerald Toussaintand WR Junior Hemmingway kept opposing defenses honest enough for Robinson to rush for over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns.
This is going to be a little more defensive of a game as I would have hoped. Honestly, both teams have solid defenses and when you don’t play for a month, it tends to favor the defensive side of the ball more than the offense. This will be a relatively close game for most of the time so it should be a good one to watch.
The Yellow jackets led all of the NCAA in points scored through the first half of the season, which is a huge deal considering some of the extremely potent offenses out there in the college landscape. The thing that is even more impressive about that feat is the fact that they were getting it done through the air as often as they were on the ground. The Utes on the other hand were the complete opposite of that. They struggled to score earlier in the season, but found their stride by mid-season and averaged just over 30 points per game during the second half of the year.
Tech still runs the triple option, which means that we will see somewhere around 50 – 55 run plays divided pretty evenly between RB Orwin Smith, RB Roddy Jones, and field General, QB Tevin Washington. The aerial assault will most likely focus around WR Stephen Hill who started the year with back-to-back breakout performances. Utah runs a much more balanced attack on offense led by juniors QB Jon Hayes and RB John White IV.
Georgia Tech’s defense has been hit or miss this season under Al Groh, but when they have been on, they have played lights out. Utah’s defense is average at best and will have a hard time stopping the run.
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – 6:40pm 12/30 Nashville, TN
Predicted finish: Mississippi State 30 vs. Wake Forest 28
This is a matchup that could provide some excitement. With both teams having a 6-6 record, they barely met their bowl eligibility, but both teams have a unique offense that could be fun to watch. Both teams are better than their records show, which is why I think this could be the best bowl game that no one watches.
Wake’s QB Tanner Price made tremendous strides in just his sophomore year, keeping his team in all but two games. The defense is what really let this team down. The running game, lead by BrandonPendergrass, should find some decent running lanes in this one, and watch for stud WR Chris Givens to give the Bulldogs fits all day long.
Mississippi State’s QB Chris Relf is a dual-threat QB that is better at running than he is throwing, so we will most certainly see some heavy doses of QB Tyler Russell on obvious passing downs. Mississippi State’s biggest threat on offense is senior running back Vick Ballard, who ran for 1,009 yards this season and has scored 29 total touchdowns over the past two years.
I see this one coming down to a last minute drive ending in a long field goal attempt for the win. Whether that is Miss. St making it for the win or Wake Forest missing it for the loss is what we all will have to watch and see.
Predicted Finish: Notre Dame 17 vs. Florida State 24
This is the battle of “What-Could-Have-Beens.” Notre Dame was supposed to take the next step and become that pass-happy powerhouse that we were all accustomed to under Chip Kelly. We didn’t see it. In fact, the Fighting Irish did not settle on their QB until just before their bye week, half-way through the season. The defense kept them in games, but their offense often times failed to win them. The ‘Noles on the other hand saw one of the largest improvements in overall defense in recent years, but their inept offense never seemed to be able to take advantage of the favorable situations that the defense put them in. With the combination of numerous injuries, the inability to run the ball, and QB accuracy issues, this was one of the worst offenses FSU has had under Jimbo Fisher’sdirections. Both teams come to this math-up with 8-4 records.
Notre Dame has a very clear advantage in running game as they averaged 166 yards per game on the ground, compared to the ‘Noles who barely eclipsed 100 yards per game. The Golden Domers thunder (Jonas Gray) and lightening (Cierre Wood) combo rushed for almost 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns. Florida State will rely on true freshman Davonta Freeman to shoulder the load with senior Jermaine Thomas sprinkled in. The passing games, headed by QB EJ Manuel for the Seminoles and QBTommyReese for Notre Dame, will struggle to find a whole lot through the air as both secondaries are very formidable. This will come down to the better WR group, and outside of Michael Floyd, the Irish don’t have a whole lot there. On the other hand, FSU has too many WR to know what to do with, but keep an eye on true freshman Rashad Greene, who had a breakout season.
This game will come down to defense and FSU should have the edge here as their #5 ranked defense in the nation should make it tough to run the ball, which will put the game in Reese’s hands.
