Bowl Predictions, Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl: Michigan (20) vs. Texas (7)
Mack Brown did the campaigning and got his team into the BCS, ruining Cal's hopes to make it for the first time in 40 years. As a reward, Brown got his contract extended for another decade, meaning that Oklahoma will win the next ten meetings in the regular season. But Brown isn't worried about Oklahoma right now. He is instead trying to make history and become the second Big XII team to win the Rose Bowl in the last three years. They will need a big game from their big game guy, Cedric Benson. On the ballot for the Heisman, Benson rang up 1764 yards on the ground and broke the plane 19 times during the season. A senior, he has topped the 1000 yards mark all four years and will be looking to close out his career with a big game to impress the NFL scouts. Incidentally, the only game Benson did not reach 100 yards this season was against Oklahoma. If Michigan watches that game, they may find out that shutting down Benson is akin to shutting down Texas. Quarterback Vince Young will attempt to pass the ball a bit against the Michigan defense but he is more effective when he takes the ball on the ground himself. He threw for only 1669 yards and 11 touchdowns. At the same time, he threw 10 interceptions so it is dangerous when he throws it up. He also ran for 887 yards for the season meaning that the Michigan defense and Ernest Shazor will be busy containing both men. Look for Shazor to play up more than drop in coverage.
For Michigan's side of the ball, everything is looking rosy. Sure, they backed into the Rose Bowl, almost losing the Big Ten on the last week of the season. They can thank Iowa that they aren't playing in the Outback or Capital One Bowl instead of Pasadena. What is scary is that Michigan may be playing in Pasadena the next three seasons after this given their young team. No Big Ten team has ever played in more than four in a row and that was Ohio State. Given the rivalry between those two teams, you know Michigan would love to break that record. On offense, freshmen Chad Henne and Mike Hart have been the story all season. Henne doesn't look like a freshman when he lines up behind center. He threw for 2516 yards and 21 touchdowns while only making 12 miscues. Hart racked up 1372 yards after barely seeing the field in the first two games. He crossed the goal line nine times. His worst game of the year came in the final when he was held under 100 yards after 5 games in a row over that mark including 3 over 200. When Henne takes to the air, you know he will be looking for senior Braylon Edwards who caught 87 passes for 1221 yards and 12 scores. Edwards is one of the more explosive players in college football and will most likely be playing on Sunday next year. Texas's defense has been tough all season. Look for them to try and rush Henne out of the pocket and force him to make decisions on the run. If they can do that enough, he will most likely make some mistakes that lead to turnovers.
MRI Predicts: Texas
Confidence factor: 65.75%, 23 out of 28
