Bowl Predictions, Part 4
Happy New Year! When you are letting that hangover pass away, and clearing up the Champagne bottles that litter your house, make sure you tune in to some college football. The MRI is 8-8 after Thursday night's games and many of the experts are only 9-7 so we aren't too far behind. Here are the previews for 2005's first football, the 4 non-BCS games.
Outback Bowl: Georgia (16) vs. Wisconsin (30)
Wisconsin was rolling along at 9-0 until two devastating losses threw their train off the tracks. They lost by over 20 points on consecutive weeks to Michigan State and Iowa to end their season and kill any hopes of the Rose Bowl. The Badgers bring a very good defensive team to the game starring defensive end Erasmus James. He should give the Georgia offense fits all day long as they try to counter him. On offense look for Wisconsin to mix it up between the pass and run. Quarterback John Stocco played well when he had time in the pocket. When running the ball look for Wisconsin to hand to Senior Anthony Davis. Wisconsin has its troubles on offense so they will have to try and slow down the attack of Georgia with their defense and hope to keep it close if they want to win. Georgia counters with their own great defense headed up from by senior end David Pollack. The difference here is that Georgia has no big issues on offense. Headed by senior David Greene at quarterback, they have the all-time winningest passer in the history of Division 1-A football. Greene threw for 2244 yards and 18 scores while only throwing two interceptions. He will be backed by a freshman duo of Thomas Brown and Danny Ware. When Greene throws look for Reggie Brown and Fred Gibson to be giving the Wisconsin defense fits downfield. The Badgers are good on defense but Georgia is that much better on offense and we have seen how a good passing team can beat Wisconsin before.
MRI Predicts: Georgia
Confidence factor: 74.42%, 20 out of 28
Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (17) vs. Tennessee (26)
Tennessee won the Eastern division of the SEC but it was due to their play early in the season when they had Erik Ainge running the team at quarterback. After his injury in the loss against Notre Dame, Tennessee had two scares in a row against Vanderbilt and Kentucky with Rick Clausen leading the team. Chances are the Vols won't be passing much. Clausen's miscue against the Irish was what cost them the game and they instead will feature two running backs who have the ability to punish. Junior Gerald Riggs topped the 1000 yard mark for the Volunteers while senior Cedric Houston just missed it. Together they crossed the goal line 12 times on the ground. Look for them to try that attack on Saturday. Texas A&M is Reggie McNeal's team. Despite an opening loss to Utah which everyone thought was a fluke until Utah kept doing it, the Aggies put together a great season. Ignore the Baylor loss, another fluke. Three of their four losses came against BCS teams. McNeal was stellar through the air and on the ground. A Michael Vick-like player, McNeal threw for 2550 yards and gained 700 more on the ground. He was responsible for 21 of the team's touchdowns and will most likely give the Volunteer defense a lot to think about. When McNeal doesn't take off on his own down the field, look for sophomore Courtney Lewis to get the ball. A&M's offense should be too much for the Vols, and the Vols don't have much to counter with when Clausen is behind center. This one should be the Aggies' game.
MRI Predicts: Texas A&M
Confidence factor: 71.95%, 25 out of 28
Gator Bowl: Florida State (10) vs. West Virginia (28)
I talked about this game a bit a few weeks ago. In my mind it comes down to whether the Florida State offense can be at all effective. They are playing a "home"-type game by still staying in Florida and that has been a good thing for the offense. But being outside of Tallahassee has given both Chris Rix and Wyatt Sexton fits. Rix will most likely get the start if Bobby Bowden is at all true to form. He has stuck with the senior despite terrible play time and again. Sexton will probably be called in to relieve him sometime early in the second and will do enough to keep the Seminoles in front. West Virginia is not a good bowl team. They also have a big let down by letting the Big East, which looked like a runaway for them at the beginning of the season, run away from them. Their quarterback Rasheed Marshall will run the offense. Like Reggie McNeal at A&M, Marshall can hurt you with his arm and legs. He threw for 1755 yards in the air and ran for another 790 on the ground. The Florida State defense should have no problem containing him with their strong line and backs. Look for the Noles to be celebrating early in this one.
MRI Predicts: Florida State
Confidence factor: 82.26%, 26 out of 28
Capital One Bowl: Iowa (18) vs. LSU (15)
Coming off the National Championship last season, LSU was not picked to do much this year. They looked like the same team but the expectations weren't what they were a year ago, mostly because a year ago, they came from nowhere to be in the championship game. Their opening win against Oregon State thanks to the problems of the Beaver kicker shocked a lot of people. They then lost a close one to Auburn before Auburn was Auburn and got destroyed by Georgia. Then the season turned around for LSU. The 2-3 start was replaced by a 6 game win streak which started on a late win against Florida. In its final game under head coach Nick Saban, LSU will bring its tough defense to bear featuring Marcus Spears and Corey Webster. Their gritty offense can easily change hands between the two quarterbacks. Senior Marcus Randall is another double threat behind center, throwing well enough and quick on his feet. He threw for over 1000 yards and run for 230 more. Expect to see freshman JeMarcus Russell spell him some. Russell is not as mobile as Randall but can still get out of the pocket when he has to. If rushing was what you want to see, then Alley Broussard will be your only chance. He racked up almost 800 yards on the ground this year. Iowa certainly won't be running the ball. They were the worst rushing team in the league, barely getting over 70 yards on the ground per game. They haven't needed to run the ball much (their leading rusher has only 214 yards) as their defense has won them their ball games. They are one of the top rushing defenses in the league and were +14 in turnovers. The defense led them to a 7-1 mark in the Big Ten and a tie for the conference championship. On offense, sophomore quarterback Drew Tate will be in charge. He passed for 2500 yards and 18 touchdowns this year. He did throw three interceptions in their final against Wisconsin but look at that as an aberration rather than a rule. Tate will connect with Clinton Solomon and Ed Hinkel down the field. They caught 12 of the 18 touchdown passes this year. In the tight defensive struggle, this one could go either way. Both teams are on a big roll right now and neither one wants to see it end.
MRI Predicts: LSU
Confidence factor: 55.45%, 3 out of 28
