Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State (9-2) vs. Notre Dame
(9-2)
Monday, January 2, 4:30 p.m. ET, Tempe, AZ
When the Buckeyes have the ball:
QB Troy Smith is one of the top dual-threat
quarterbacks in the country and gives defenses a
lot of problems with his legs. However, he is
also an inconsistent passer who will make
mistakes. Notre Dame’s defense has been
inconsistent this year but always seems to be
better when opposing offenses are threatening to
score. If Smith is on his game, the Irish will
have a tough time stopping a balanced OSU attack
that also consists of underrated tailback
Antonio Pittman. Look for the talented Ohio
State offensive line to wear down an undersized
Notre Dame defensive line and open up holes for
Pittman and Smith to run through. Aside from FS
Tom Zbikowski, Notre Dame lacks star power on
defense and will have trouble containing Smith,
Pittman, Ted Ginn, Santonio Holmes, and Anthony
Gonzalez. However, the Irish have been able to
force a lot of turnovers this season, and that
could once again be a major factor if they are
successful in doing so.
When the Fighting Irish have the ball:
New coach Charlie Weiss has transformed the
Irish offense into a passing machine. Junior QB
Brady Quinn has become one of the top passers in
the country, and he has a plethora of weapons
with breakout star Jeff Samardzija, Maurice
Stovall, Matt Shelton, and TE Anthony Fasano.
Also contributing to the passing game is
versatile RB Darius Walker, who caught 36 passes
in 2005. Walker is talented runner as well and
must be ready to help provide some balance
against a tough Ohio State defense. This is
clearly the toughest defense the Irish have
faced all year, as it is loaded with stars like
LB’s A.J. Hawk, Anthony Schlegel, and Bobby
Carpenter, CB Ashton Youboty, SS Donte Whitner,
and DE Mike Kudla. Notre Dame’s offense scored
an average of 38.18 points per game this season,
but the OSU defense gave up just 14.8 points per
game.
Prediction: Ohio State 38, Notre Dame 27
The game will be a relative shootout in the
first half, but Ohio State will control the
clock in the second half behind a big game from
RB Antonio Pittman and the offensive line.
Sugar Bowl: Georgia (10-2) vs. West Virginia
(10-1)
Monday, January 2, 8:30 p.m. ET, Atlanta, GA
When the Bulldogs have the ball: QB D.J.
Shockley is not the most polished passer out
there, but he is a playmaker who can run well
and can throw a pretty nice deep ball. The loss
of talented WR Sean Bailey to a knee injury will
hurt, but Shockley still has three talented
targets in WR’s Mohamed Massaquoi and Bryan
McClendon and athletic, 6-7 TE Leonard Pope. The
Bulldogs operate a balanced attack with a deep
stable of running backs. Thomas Brown has
emerged as the leader of the group, but Kregg
Lumpkin and Danny Ware both possess a lot of
talent as well. The Mountaineers have not faced
many great rush offenses this season, but they
have still been very solid against the run and
overall and they could give Georgia problems
early with their unique 3-3-5 base. If Thomas
Brown can get going early though, the West
Virginia defense could get into trouble and the
deep passing game will open up for Shockley.
When the Mountaineers have the ball: West
Virginia has an offense loaded with potential
and led by two star freshmen in QB Pat White and
RB Steve Slaton. Georgia’s rush defense is
solid, but it will take a very strong effort to
slow down the Mountaineers’ rushing attack. They
rank fifth nationally in rush offense but 116th
in passing. If Georgia can contain Slaton and
the mobile White, it will have a great chance at
winning the game. A West Virginia offense that
cannot move the ball on the ground would have a
hard time scoring points because of its dismal
passing game. White has had an excellent
freshman season as a running quarterback, but
this will be by far the biggest test that he has
faced all year.
Prediction: Georgia 31, West Virginia 14
Georgia will contain Pat White and the West
Virginia rushing attack enough to force them to
pass, allowing the Bulldogs to win with relative
ease.
Orange Bowl: Penn State (10-1) vs. Florida
State (8-4)
Tuesday, January 3, 8:00 p.m. ET, Miami, FL
When the Nittany Lions have the ball: QB
Michael Robinson is arguably the most valuable
player to any team in the country. The athletic
senior had stints at tailback, wide receiver,
and quarterback before taking over the reigns
behind center full-time in 2005. Although his
passing numbers were not spectacular, he made
fewer mistakes as the season went on and was
consistently a dangerous runner. With Robinson
at quarterback and the underrated Tony Hunt at
tailback, Penn State has a very talented rushing
offense that ranks 12th nationally. True
freshman WR Derrick Williams was the biggest
threat at receiver, but his playing status
remains in question for the game after breaking
his arm on October 15 against Michigan. Even
without Williams, Deon Butler, Justin King,
Jordan Norwood, and Terrell Golden give the
Lions plenty of speedy targets for Robinson.
Florida State has been terrific defensively in
2005, despite the absence of CB Antonio
Cromartie for the entire season because of
injury. DT Brodrick Bunkley had a phenomenal
season as a pass rusher, and the linebacking
corps is deep and talented, led by junior Ernie
Sims. The only major concern is the loss of
leading tackler A.J. Nicholson, who was sent
home by Bobby Bowden after legal trouble.
When the Seminoles have the ball: The
main reasons for Florida State’s 8-4 record this
year? Inexperience and injuries on offense. The
offensive line is still very beat up and has
struggled all year long. However, it
surprisingly came together and put forth a solid
effort in the ACC Championship against Darryl
Tapp and Virginia Tech. A lot of pressure will
be on the line once again to protect freshman QB
Drew Weatherford, who has been good at times but
still makes way too many mistakes. The FSU
offensive line will have its hands full with
All-American DE Tamba Hali, who has become a
monster of a pass rusher, as well as DT Jay
Alford, who has continued to improve but flown a
bit under the radar. The line will also need to
step up in the running game, as talented backs
Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker have not been
major factors in games, largely due to poor
blocking up front. The biggest asset for the
Noles on offense is speed at receiver with
players like Greg Carr, Willie Reid, Chris
Davis, De’Cody Fagg, and Fred Rouse. They are
also inexperienced though, and the Florida State
offense may have a very difficult time moving
the ball against an aggressive, experienced Penn
State defense led by Hali, Butkus Award winner
Paul Posluszny at linebacker, and CB Alan
Zemaitis.
Prediction: Penn State 27, Florida State 14
Penn State’s defense will prove to be too much
to handle for Drew Weatherford and the
inexperienced Florida State offense. Tamba Hali
could have a monster day rushing the passer, and
the Lions will capitalize off of costly
Seminoles’ turnovers and mistakes.
Rose Bowl (BCS Nat’l Title Game): #1 USC
(11-0) vs. #2 Texas (12-0)
Wednesday, January 4, 8:00 p.m. ET, Pasadena, CA
When the Trojans have the ball: Southern Cal
has clearly shown that it has one of the best
offenses of all time. The collection of talent
Pete Carroll has assembled is incredible, with
2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart at quarterback,
2005 Heisman winner Reggie Bush and LenDale
White at running back, Dominique Byrd at tight
end, and Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith at
receiver, not to mention a very strong line
across the board. Leinart is as poised and
polished as they come, making very few mistakes
and usually being dead-on with his throws. It
helps to have such sure handed receivers,
particularly sophomore Dwayne Jarrett, who
caught 81 passes for 1153 yards and 15
touchdowns. Reggie Bush is simply the most
electrifying and explosive player in college
football and is nearly impossible to contain
wherever he lines up, whether it be in the
backfield, at receiver, or as a return man.
Somehow overshadowed in all of this is bruising
RB LenDale White, who added on 1178 yards and 21
touchdowns on the ground. One of the most
intriguing parts of this matchup, however, is
that the Texas defense is clearly the best group
the USC offense has faced all season long. The
Longhorns are very sound against the run with
DT’s Rod Wright, Larry Dibbles, and Frank Okam,
and MLB Aaron Harris. They are stronger against
the pass though, and the Texas secondary is
arguably the best in the country with Cedric
Griffin, Michael Griffin, Tarell Brown, and
Thorpe Award winning SS Michael Huff. This is
perhaps the best matchup of talent between an
offense and a defense all season long.
When the Longhorns have the ball:
Athletic QB Vince Young came into his own in
2005, leading a Texas offense that ranks third
in the nation. We all knew Young could run, and
he proved it by rushing for 850 yards and nine
touchdowns. What many did not expect was his
rapid development as a passer, as he very
surprisingly led the nation in passing
efficiency and throwing 26 touchdown passes. He
has the size of a pocket passer at 6-5, 230
pounds but is clearly one of the best running
quarterbacks in the country. To make the
Longhorns’ rushing attack even more dangerous,
there are three very talented tailbacks in
sophomore Ramonce Taylor and freshmen Jamaal
Charles and Henry Melton. Taylor and Charles
both averaged over seven yards per carry this
season, while Melton is a 6-3, 270-pound monster
who scored 10 touchdowns. Also helping things
along is what could be the nation’s top
offensive line, led by star tackles Jonathan
Scott and Justin Blalock. In the passing game,
none of the receivers are necessarily stars, but
Billy Pittman and Limas Sweed had very good
seasons, and David Thomas caught 40 passes as a
tight end. ESPN has been hyping up the Rose Bowl
by trying to determine if USC is the best team
of all time, even before they play for the
National Championship. While they might turn out
to be one of the top teams of all time, let’s
wait and see if the Trojans’ defense can stop
the Longhorns’ offense. There is a lot of talent
on the unit, but it does not have the all-around
experience that the 2004 version had. DE’s
Lawrence Jackson and Frostee Rucker are
outstanding, but the Trojans are not all that
strong in the middle and could struggle against
the dominant Texas offensive line. Oscar Lua and
Dallas Sartz are pair of talented linebackers,
and the spotlight will be on them to help
contain Young and keep him from scrambling. The
defense’s biggest playmaker is in the secondary
with SS Darnell Bing. He and the rest of the
defensive backs must have a strong game in pass
coverage to allow the rest of the defense to
contain the Texas ground game.
Prediction: Texas 34, USC 31
This game is a much of a toss-up as any game all
year long. The lone undefeated teams left in
college football square off in what is one of
the most hyped National Title games of all time.
It should be a great game to watch and should be
a close one, unlike last year’s dud of a title
game between USC and Oklahoma. The one thing USC
cannot afford to do is start off slowly in the
first half like it did frequently during the
regular season, as the Texas defense is one that
can keep the Trojans’ offense from going crazy
in the second half. With that said, I am taking
the Horns in this one because of their defense’s
superiority to the USC defense.
