The Bratwurst
Best and Worst Bowl Games
By Alex Prewitt and Derek Blodgett (December
24, 2006)
Best Bowl Games:
5) Emerald Bowl: Florida State vs. UCLA. Tuesday Dec. 26
The slow-starting Florida State Seminoles have picked
up the tempo lately, losing to rival Florida 14-21;
in case you didn’t know, Florida is
in the National Championship against Ohio State. UCLA, on the other hand, is hot after upsetting
their bitter rival Southern California in the
last week, 13-9. This should be
a low scoring game, as UCLA’s defense held high-powered Southern
Cal to only 9 points and Florida State’s
offensive coordinator quit after a dismal season.
4) Outback Bowl: Penn State vs. Tennessee. Monday Jan. 1
This game between two storied programs kicks off the
New Year, and although the 11 a.m. start time
is quite a turn-off, there is no reason you shouldn’t shake off the tiredness
that is sure to plague us all on New Year’s Day, turn on your television,
and watch these two teams go at it. Tennessee’s
Eric Ainge could be a candidate for “Comeback Player of the Year,” if
there was such an award in the NCAA. After a horrendous end to last year,
in which Tennessee finished
5-6, Ainge has rebounded, and along with 3rd team All-American
wideout Robert Meachem, looks to shred the Penn State defense.
However, that will not be an easy task. Led by All-Americans Paul Posluszny
and Dan Connor, the Nittany Lions boast one of the best line-backing
corps in the nation and have given up no more
than 17 points in each of their last six games. A good coaching staff
and a storied tradition make for a game certain to wow the fans.
3) Sugar Bowl: Louisiana State vs. Notre Dame. Wednesday Jan. 2
Of the last eight bowl games Notre Dame has played in,
not one turned out as a W. Notre
Dame comes in as one of the highest scoring teams in the nation along
with their opponent LSU. Starting quarterback Brady Quinn, an Abercrombie model and
a definite top ten pick in next year’s draft, will come out firing…NOT. Louisiana State’s
defense is too tough for Brady Quinn and the rest of the Notre Dame offense.
2) Gator Bowl:
Georgia Tech vs. West
Virginia.
Monday, Jan. 1
One name for you… Steve Slaton, running back for West
Virginia. Steve
Slaton is one of the top three running backs in the nation, if not
the best. Pairing him up with
teammate Pat White, West Virginia’s quarterback, who some compare
with 2005 National Champion MVP Vince Young of Texas, is an ultimate
threat every time West Virginia’s offense is on the field. Here’s
another name for you… Calvin Johnson, wide receiver for Georgia Tech. Calvin
Johnson is the best wide receiver in the country. These
two teams have very talented offenses and sub par defenses. It
should be a high scoring match-up with little punting and even fewer
defensive stops. One note
to go on: Georgia Tech’s four year starter at quarterback,
Reggie Ball, has been posted ineligible for this bowl game, so our
nod goes to West Virginia in
this one.
1) Rose Bowl: Southern California vs. Michigan. Monday, Jan. 1
This match up is our number one pick because it has
the potential to be an even better game than the National Championship. Michigan goes
into this game ranked third in the nation, although they could easily
be considered the second best team in the nation. They
lost to the number one team 42-39 and won all their other games. Southern
Cal comes in ranked sixth in the nation. Even
though USC lost two Heisman winners
to last year’s draft, they always get firepower players coming in as
freshman. This game should be
high-scoring and explosive.
Worst Bowl Games:
5) Orange Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Louisville. Tuesday, Jan. 2
The nation’s number three scoring offense, the Louisville
Cardinals, take on upstart Wake Forest,
fresh off their best season in recent memory. However, Louisville will
run and gun their way to an easy victory. George Mason University couldn’t
complete their storybook season with a national championship, just as Wake Forest won’t
be able to complete theirs with a bowl victory. Watch if you want to
see the scoreboard hit triple digits for Louisville.
Otherwise, get your homework done early so you can watch the Sugar Bowl.
4) MPC Computers
Bowl: Miami Fl. vs. Nevada. Sunday, Dec. 31
Can Miami redeem
itself from its embarrassing season that was capped off with a brawl
in which a few players were suspended? Miami is
a mess. Lame-duck coach Larry Coker is in his last game on the Hurricane
sideline, and it will be interesting to see if his bruised and battered
squad can take it to Nevada.
It’s unfortunate that the most interesting part of this game will be
seeing the blue-turf of Boise State (where
the game is taking place) on HDTV.
3) PapaJohns.com
Bowl: South Florida vs. East Carolina.
Saturday, Jan. 6
It’s called the PapaJohns.com Bowl for crying out loud!
Not the Papa Johns Bowl, not the Pizza Bowl, but the PapaJohns.com Bowl!
Granted, the teams playing in this game might actually be good. East
Carolina beat two ACC teams, Virginia and N.C. State,
while South Florida took down West
Virginia, one of the teams in our “Best Bowl
Games” section. However, unless Papa Johns gives me a free pizza to watch
this, I’m staying away.
2) GMAC Bowl:
Southern Miss vs. Ohio. Sunday, Jan. 7
So this is what we get? This big fantastic bowl is the
path to the national championship. On News Years Day and the day following,
the BCS Bowls take center stage. But
what do we get as an appetizer to Florida vs. Ohio State? The
GMAC bowl. Southern Mississippi versus Ohio. Fantastic. Thanks bowl-scheduling guys for cooking up the
worst side dish in history as a prerequisite to my filet-mignon.
1) New
Orleans Bowl:
Rice vs. Troy. Friday, Dec. 22
The only two one-syllable teams square off in this snooze
fest, the third game on the bowl schedule. Troy,
who only was bumped up from 1-AA a mere five years ago, is playing in
its first bowl game ever. Rice’s last bowl game came in 1953. Each team
comes in playing hot recently, with Troy winning
its last six of seven, and Rice winning seven of its last eight. While
the teams may be on fire, it is almost a guarantee that the game will
be cold.
