Bowl Predictions, Orange Bowl
Whew!I made it. 27 bowl games down, one to go. And what a one that will be. Before I get to that, just to recap a little, how did this bowl season go? We started off hot, 4-0, and then we lost 3 straight. A 4-5 middle of the bowl season didn't sit too well with me. I have some bones to pick with Cal and Oklahoma State for embarrassing themselves. Someone also get Mike Price on the phone and ask him how his team could play well for so much of that football game and not finish the deal so that he could get his 9th win. And then New Year's Eve, my luck changed. Sure, Alabama lost, but they were driving for the win late in the game. Yes, LSU lost on the last play of the game on the biggest defensive gaff of the bowl season (Biggest Special Teams gaff: UCLA having the ball bounce off its face. Biggest Offensive gaff... Still up for debate.). But from that day on, we only lost 3 of the games. An 8-3 run to end the season isn't bad and the MRI will be looking to make it 9 tonight. So, all told, not a bad bowl season. We are currently sitting at 16-11. Last year, we finished 16-12 which means that this is the MRI's only shot to better itself. And to do that, we will have to win one of the best college football games of the year.
Orange Bowl: USC (1) vs. Oklahoma (2)
The number "1" will be very meaningful to tonight's game. The winner is guaranteed to be able to put that next to their name when the final Coaches Poll is released. Given Auburn's performance last night, the team will also most likely get the lion's share of votes in the AP poll when their final results are taken. We have two players in the game, Matt Leinart from USC and Jason White from Oklahoma, who have been named not only the number one players are their positions, but also the #1 players in the game for the past two seasons by winning the Heisman trophies. Add that together with the number of First Team All-Americans that these two teams have garnered and you are looking at a #1 festival.
Leinart, who wears two "1"s on his back, was not the USC MVP this season, despite winning the Heisman. That honor instead went to his Co-Pac-10 Offensive Player of the year teammate, Reggie Bush. Bush, who will get the start at tailback since USC's leading rusher LenDale White is out, is probably the most versatile player and explosive player in college football. There isn't much he won't do on the field for the Trojans. He ran the ball for 6 touchdowns this season. He caught the ball for 7 more. He even threw a 52 yard pass for one. And don't forget his contributions on special teams for USC. Two punt returns for touchdowns and 501 yards of kick returns for an average of 26.4 for return. As the team leader in All-Purpose yards, he doubled the number of yards per game of his nearest teammate. You can be sure that you will see Bush have the ball in his hands some time tonight. When Bush doesn't have the ball in his hands, Leinart will use the opportunity to show off his passing skills. A season of almost 3000 yards and 28 touchdowns was enough to win him his fair share of honors. Leinart will be looking down the field at his top receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who stepped up to fill that role after Mike Williams was not allowed back by the NCAA. Jarrett, a freshman, was named to the All-American freshman teams in numerous places and his stats rank second all time at USC by freshman behind Williams. On defense, USC is just as strong as their offense. Matt Grootegoed and Shaun Cody head up a defense that gave up only 12.5 points per game, falling square in between Auburn and Virginia Tech. Along with fellow All-Americans, Mike Patterson and Lofa Tatupu, they will need to be tops on their game to counter Oklahoma's powerful offensive game. Shutting down the running game will probably be their first priority. Second will be pressuring the quarterback. They caused 48 sacks and 19 interceptions this year, so don't be surprised if they can repeat some of those numbers in this game.
Jason White knows what its like to get the big game and not win it. Last year, he led his team to the Big XII championship game and lost. Then he went to the National Championship game and lost again. You often don't get a chance to make up for mistakes like that, but Oklahoma has done just that this year. After soundly defeating Colorado for the Big XII championship this season, they have just one more demon to exorcise. White was a finalist again for the Heisman trophy, this time throwing for 2961 yards and 33 touchdowns. He finished first in the Big XII in passer rating and was the conference offensive player of the year. White had improved help this year from his rushing game, so he didn't have to put up the gaudy numbers he did last season. That help came from freshman sensation Adrian Peterson. Had Peterson not been injured for the game against Nebraska when he barely played, there is no doubt that he would have already rushed for 2000 yards this year and most likely would have rushed for 100 yards in every game this season. In addition, he may have finished higher than second in the Heisman balloting, where he set the high water mark for finish by a freshman. Peterson gained only 1860 yards on the ground and scored 15 touchdowns. He set numerous records for rookie players, including consecutive 100 yard performances by a freshman. When White throws the ball, look for Mark Clayton to catch it. Clayton is the all-time leading receiver at Oklahoma. Of course, it helps when you have a quarterback like Jason White leading the team, but Clayton did much of that himself. Of his 855 yards this season, almost half of those came after he caught the ball. His 9 total touchdowns were tied for second on the team behind Peterson. Clayton has a 38 inch vertical so look for him to sky to catch some of those passes from White. When you look to the defense, you can start up front with All Big XII defensive end, Dan Cody. Cody led the team with 9 of their 38 sacks so he will be trying to get up in Leinart's face as much as possible. Defensive back Brodney Pool led the team in tackles and interceptions so he will be a big help in containing Jarrett for most of the game. Look for Oklahoma to concentrate on stopping the pass first, and then hoping to find a way to contain Bush.
The more I look at this game, the less I know who is going to win. The MRI gives a slight advantage to USC and it has been getting closer and closer all bowl season. Having watched both teams play at least three times this season, I can't really call it. USC struggled in the game against Oregon State, though it was played in a fog. I happened to catch Oklahoma during two of its worst defensive performances. I have a gut feeling that Oklahoma won't want to let this one slip away two years in a row and give them a slight edge, but USC would love to put that "Back to Back" next to National Champions. Mark this down as another one where I disagree with the MRI, but really, in a game like this, how can you really lose.
MRI Predicts: USC
Confidence factor: 51.32%, 5 out of 28
