And the winner of 'Least Intriguing BCS Bowl Match-up' goes to ... The Orange Bowl. Penn State is a Mario Manningham dropped pass away from an undefeated season and a championship game shaft'not that college football fans outside of State College would complain'but they now find themselves with a record of 10-1 going against an 8-4 Florida State team. No other team in the BCS even has three losses.
Penn State's defensive leaders, defensive end Tamba Hali and linebacker Paul Posluszny, just might hold shaky Seminole quarterback Drew Weatherford and his offense to negative points. Barring an injury to PSU senior quarterback Michael Robinson, the Nittany Lions will put up enough points to make the game a rout and secure a No. 2 ranking in the year's final poll'word on the street is if the lead balloons to 50 in the first half, JoePa might play a series at nickelback. Stay tuned.
The FedEx Orange Bowl probably won't deliver, but the Nokia Sugar Bowl has called the 10-2 Georgia Bulldogs to try to slow down the steamrolling Big East powerhouse that is 10-1 West Virginia. All kidding aside though, this game has considerable appeal considering both teams are pioneered by cerebral quarterbacks who can open up the game and make plays with their feet.
West Virginia's freshman quarterback Pat White runs a dangerous option offense that led the Mountaineers to a Big East crown and only one loss, which came to then-No. 3 Virginia Tech. Georgia's playmaker under center is senior D.J. Shockley who is regarded as one of the best in the country'of Georgia's two losses, he only played in one of them.
The key to the game will be if Georgia's defense can stop West Virginia's strong ground game. Solid, error-free play and a dedication to the run will allow WVU to keep it close and perhaps upset the Bulldogs.
The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will likely garner the best rating of any non-championship college football game in recent memory as Tostitos'whose company credo implores us all to 'share something good''shares something great as they bring viewers a Midwest match-up of 9-2 Ohio State vs. 9-2 Notre Dame.
The Irish were a nice story this season, but receiving a BCS bid they didn't deserve won't help them when they go up against yet another mobile quarterback in senior Troy Smith. Notre Dame played only one good team all season and still managed to lose two games while Ohio State's losses came to No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Penn State.
OSU's incomparable corps of linebackers, which features seniors A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel will force the Irish into a pass-only offensive agenda while the Buckeye's offense will counter with their multitude of weapons at receiver'notably senior Santonio Holmes and sophomore Ted Ginn, Jr.'and win convincingly.
This year's Rose Bowl, by any other name, is still the Game of the Century. Though we are in the midst of a young century, undefeated USC and Texas will play in a national championship game whose winner will produce the undisputed champ. There won't be any controversies or co-champions this year'whichever Goliath outlasts the other will have a unanimous vote as the nation's best team.
USC will become the first school to feature two Heisman trophy winners on the same team when they trot out senior quarterback Matt Leinart and junior running back Reggie Bush (this year's winner). Any other team would be concerned with a 34-game winning streak, but the Trojans have something even more important on the line: an unprecedented third-straight national championship. They have the talent, the mystique and the big-game experience to win.
But Texas has Vince Young. The senior quarterback has the mobility of a running back in the body of a possession receiver. USC hasn't played or seen anyone like him'since he's in a class of his own'so he might be able to keep the Longhorns and their vaunted defense in the game. Bush will have at least 150 yards on the ground, and so will Young.
A high-scoring game favors USC, but even if Texas makes it a slugfest they're in trouble. When the game is on the line Leinart and Bush will make the play but the same can't be said for Young'the glare of two Heisman winners in the backfield can blind even the (second) best.
