The top 7 Bowl Games of the 2005-6 season

`Tis the season to be merry, with Santa Claus, reindeer, a lot of booze, and, of course, the college football bowl season making it a Holiday season to remember. So here’s what we think the seven best Bowls will be to end what has been a wonderful 2005-6 season.1)    USC-Texas.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch this game? It’s the classic battle of two unbeaten teams with incredible talent and the ability to win a game when it all seems lost. The Longhorns have to ask: can we stop Reggie Bush long enough to give Vince Young a chance? The Trojans will ask: is our defence good enough to stop Vince Young- and give Reggie Bush a chance. I think you’ll find the answer to both is an emphatic “YES” which will make for ANOTHER Game of the Century.

Prediction: Texas 38, USC 36

2)    Ohio State- Notre Dame

We know that they nearly beat USC, but how good are the 9-2 Fighting Irish really? Are they 9-2 because they are as good as Ohio State and Auburn, or because their opposition has sucked this year? It’s a million dollar question that’s going to answered when Catholics and Buckeyes meet at the Fiesta Bowl. Everyone’s going to be talking about Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, and the Irish offense (38 points, 489 yards avg per game), but look out for the opportunistic Buckeyes’ defense, led by AJ Hawk, who have only given up an average of around two touchdowns and 275 yards a game.

Prediction: Ohio State 27, Notre Dame 25

3)    Texas Tech-Alabama.

A classic case of the irresistible force (Texas Tech’s offense) against the immovable object (Alabama’s defense). Cody Hodges and Texas Tech put up an average of 42 points and over 500 yards a game, whilst `Bama’s defense gave up an average of just over 10.7 and 248 yards per game- and those numbers would have been even lower if Auburn hadn’t stomped all over them in the Iron Bowl. On the other side, Texas Tech’s defense isn’t too shabby, giving up an average of around 19 points and 325 yards a game, compared to the Crimson Tide’s offense putting up 22 points and 353 yards per game- some of the lowest offensive stats in the SEC.

Prediction: Texas Tech 35, Alabama 31

4)    LSU- Miami

If it wasn’t for one bad kicker (Miami), and a bad game for each side against teams from Georgia, then both of these sides might be playing BCS football- not the horribly named Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. Both teams feature some of the strongest defenses in college football (Miami- 11.9 pts, 252 yds per game; LSU- 15.2, 276.3) and offenses that are damned good at taking their chances (LSU- 28.6 pts, 366.3 yds; Miami- 29.3 pts, 371.3 yards).

Prediction: Miami 17, LSU 13

5)    Penn State- Florida State

Anyone who’s a fan of watching old people coach with class, then make sure you watch the Orange Bowl, as the poster-boys for pensioners, Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, face off. Both have won over 700 games between them (Bowden leads 359-353), and both will dearly want to beat each other before they have to match up in Heaven. JoePa overcame the “Joe Must Go” bandwagon by winning the Big Ten with a 10-1 record, averaging over 35 points and 424 yards in offense, whilst conceding average of 16.5 and 306.5 yards per game. The 9-4 ACC Champion Seminoles, however, are the picture of inconsistency, shocking the world by wins over Miami and Virginia Tech on one hand but losing equally surprisingly to NC State and Clemson on the other. The defense (21.7 points, 302.4 yards) has been inconsistent, but is that a surprise when your starting quarterback’s TD-Interception totals were 20-18? Look for Penn State CB Alan Zemaitis, who led the Big Ten in interceptions with 5, to have some fun. The biggest problem for Penn State? The thousands of neutral tickets that will go to Florida State fans from the wonderful corporations “making this game possible”. And the fact that Florida State LOVE the upset.

Prediction: Too close to call

6)    UCLA- Northwestern

If you were a great proponent of Pac-10 style football in 2005, then why not start 2006 with another Pac-10 style cracker, as two bona fide quarterbacks (UCLA’s Drew Olson and NW’s Brett Basanez), two great running backs (UCLA’s Maurice Drew and NW’s Tyrell Sutton) and two horrible defenses get together in the Sun Bowl. Northwestern averaged over 31 points and nearly 500 yards in the defense-dominated Big Ten, whilst UCLA averaged 38 points and nearly 429 points. On the flip side, UCLA conceded an abysmal 33.8 points and 450 yards a game, and Northwestern’s D also sucked- conceding 32 points and 480 yards a game.

Prediction: UCLA 55, Northwestern 50

7)    Oregon- Oklahoma

The 9-1 Ducks are still smarting from a BCS decision not to include them in the party, whilst 7-4 Oklahoma recovered from a horrible start of the season to win five out of their last six. The Sooners don’t seem to like playing top 25 teams, going 0-3 against them and giving up 109 points in the process this year. Still- the Sooners have got Adrian Peterson who rushed for over 1,000 yards in the season. And the Ducks? They have nearly 3,500 yards of passing this year, and average over 36 points a game. And their defence hasn’t been too shabby at all, giving up and average of just over 23 points and 357 yards per game. Oh, and they lead the Pac-10 in interceptions, with 22. The Sooners have thrown 10 of their own.

Prediction: Oregon 38, Oklahoma 24