Thoughts of the Maniac for January 1st Bowls

So as we head into these last 8 days of the bowl season, I offer up my last thoughts for the year (2008 that is). You can find my picks (and those of the other writers) for the January bowls in a different article, but I'll explain some of mine here.



I'll start off by saying that this year (like those prior) has been another case for a College football playoff. Texas getting the shaft, Utah getting undue praise, and -tying in with the first reason- OU getting lucky. But I've gotten off-subject.



THURSDAY JANUARY 1:



No doubt in my mind that this is the best day of football of this bowl season. The Capital One bowl offers a great rushing matchup of Georgia and Michigan State. Knowshon Moreno (UGA) and Javon Ringer (MSU) both had over 1300 yards this year. Ringer carried more of a load for the Spartans than Moreno did for the Dawgs. Not because he wanted to (although I'm sure he wasn't arguing) but because he had to. Georgia's recievers are some of the best in the SEC, and QB Matthew Stafford has the arm to get it deep down the field to them. I picked Georgia because I think that will be the difference in the game.



The Rose Bowl. Enough said. I don't need to go into how it's the most hyped game of the year (outside of the title game of course), nor how much pageantry there is between the parades, parties and events associated with the game itself. This year's game offers a matchup of 2 great defenses in Penn State and USC. USC's defense is first in the country, allowing only 7.6 points per game. Yeah, that's per game, not half. Penn State isn't that far behind at 12.4 ppg allowed. Neither defense has seen an offense like their opponent posseses. I picked USC because Pete Carrol is Mr. Big Game Genius, and they're playing in their backyard. Oh yeah, and their defense is the best we've seen in years.



The Orange Bowl brings an interesting matchup to the table. Virginia Tech brings the heat on defense, thanks to Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster. Cincy brings the passing game, run by Junior QB Tony Pike. That's the matchup of the game, but the question of the game is how does Virginia Tech's offense play? Inconsistency killed Va. Tech's hopes of an 11 win season, and this is their last chance to put up a 10th W. I picked Va. Tech because I don't think Cincinnati's offensive line will be able to keep Tony Pike protected long enough for him to put up big numbers, and without a true rushing threat, the Bearcats rely too heavily on the aerial assault.