Monday, December 22, 2008

Big Ten bowling

Had a chance to watch the Big Ten Network's preview of the conference's bowl matchups, and it doesn't look pretty. In my mind the whole problem stems from Ohio State undeservedly playing in another BCS bowl. With the Buckeyes playing one opponent tougher than they probably should, everyone else in the conference except Iowa is playing a team that is at least a little bit better than them.

Rose Bowl
USC should beat Penn State, but it's not as clear-cut as a lot of people are making it seem. Penn State is still a pretty damn good team. It's just that the Trojans might be the best team in college football this year, they just had an inexplicable letdown early against Oregon State.

Fiesta Bowl
The only way Ohio State wins this one is if Texas just doesn't care after getting screwed by the Big 12's technicalities. Ohio State has zero impressive wins this season, and Texas looked pretty awesome every time I saw them.

Outback One Bowl
I like Iowa to beat South Carolina pretty comfortably in this one. Interestingly, South Carolina's inclusion in this bowl is an indicator that the SEC probably wasn't as good as everyone thought this year. Nice capper for an unexpectedly good season for the Hawkeyes.

Capital Bowl
Georgia vs. Michigan State ... I smell a beatdown coming. Javon Ringer and Knowshon Moreno were neck-and-neck for various running back awards this year, but this game ought to show the difference between a truly electric back and one who racks up yards because he gets 65 carries per game.

Alamo Bowl
Missouri might score 50 points on Northwestern, which is apparently complaining that they're not playing in the Outback Bowl instead of Iowa. Maybe if your average home attendance was more than a Texas high school's you'd be more attractive to bowls, Wildcats.

Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State ought to win this one. I've been worried that all the factors noted before will lead to a substandard travel showing by Badger fans, but in most seats should be filled by Seminole fans, so it won't be much of an issue. So the upside is that the stadium shouldn't look half-full, but the downside is this will essentially be a road game.

Insight Bowl
Minnesota couldn't stop Dustin Sherer, what chance do they have against Todd Reesing? If the Gophers lose five straight games to end the season, it completely wipes out the artificial good feelings generated by their 7-1 start. Are they really any further along than they were under Glen Mason?

So that's a 1-6 bowl showing we're staring at, with no real toss-ups. Get ready for another pounding from the pundits!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's not that Ringer isn't good. It's just that he doesn't have the supporting cast that Moreno has. Put Ringer on a team with a better line and I'll take him over any back' in the nation. I think the Big Ten does better than 1-6. Hopefully, your coach has been watching some instructional videos, because he's going up against one of the greatest.

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