2001-2002 Bowl Games

Gator Bowl - Jacksonville, FL - Tuesday
Florida State (+2) vs Virginia Tech - 9:30am Pacific
The Seminoles have more young talent than any team in the country. They will easily be a preseason top 5 team next year. No team will have benefited more from an extra month of practice than Florida State who already showed marked improvement in their season finale win over Georgia Tech. In that game their defense had by far their best outing holding the Jackets to just 17 points and only 51 yards rushing on 29 attempts. The ACC is 3-1 in bowl games so far and FSU played the 8th most difficult schedule in the country this year. That should only have further advanced their development. Virginia Tech meanwhile ranked 65th in strength of schedule. The Hokies impressive defensive statistics are somewhat skewed due to their easy schedule. Against 7 non-bowl teams they allowed only 5.8 points per game including 4 shutouts. Against 4 bowl teams they allowed 26.5 points per game and posted just a 1-3 record. Look for Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles to get back some respect after a rocky season. Florida State  1 UNIT

Peach Bowl - Atlanta, GA - Monday
Auburn vs North Carolina (-2) - 4:30pm Pacific
Since starting the season 0-3 with losses to eventual top 10 teams Oklahoma, Texas, and Maryland, the Tar Heels have won 7 of 9 games. The only two losses came at Georgia Tech by 7 in what was a very close game and to Wake Forest by 1 point in a game that UNC controlled throughout but let slip away at the end. They were forced to play both of those games without QB Ronald Curry due to injury and death in family. He did return for the final two games and the team finished the season strong with two nice wins. Since going to a two QB rotation the Tar Heel offense really came to life, but lets not fool anyone, this team gets it done on defense. UNC has two future NFL 1st round picks on their defensive line alone in tackle Ryan Sims and end Julius Peppers. Hood & Waddell have blossomed into a fine cornerback tandem and the linebackers can hang with anyone. The unit allowed just 305 yards per game which was #1 in the ACC and #16 in the nation. This is despite playing the 24th most difficult schedule in the country. 

Auburn only had to win one of their last two games to play in the SEC championship game. Not only did they fail to win either game, but they were not even close. They lost three of their final four games in very lackluster fashion (average margin 20.6 points per game). They once stood at 6-1 and owned a win over Florida so they surely had their sights set for a New Years bowl game and may not be too pleased to be here. The Tigers went just 2-4 vs bowl teams and rest assured that both Georgia and especially Florida are still wondering how they lost those games. Auburn has not been able to settle on a QB and are now going back to redshirt freshman Jason Campbell, who started the season, for no other reason than to get him some big game experience. Tar Heels have not been to a bowl game since 1998 and are excited to be here. I look for UNC's defensive stalwarts playing in their final game to control things from start to finish while Curry & Durant put up enough points on offense. North Carolina  2 UNITS

Liberty Bowl - Memphis, TN - Monday
BYU vs Louisville (-3) - 1:00pm Pacific
The Cardinal seniors have gone 0-3 the last three years in bowl games making this their last chance at a win. All three losses have been under John L. Smith's watch and he is just as anxious to get the monkey off his back. Louisville had an impressive 10-2 season with the only losses coming at Big 10 champ Illinois (played with the wrong type of shoes and committed 5 turnovers) and at TCU at the end of the season in a major letdown situation as they had already clinched the C-USA title and TCU was playing for a bowl game. Prior to the TCU game they had won 7 straight.

Everyone knows about these two offenses, but it is Louisville's defense that will make a big impact in this game. The Cardinal rank 35th in the country in yards per game allowed compared to BYU who ranks 102 out of 117 teams. This is despite the Cougars playing one of the easiest (96th) schedules in the country. Teams with even a decent offense will give BYU fits and Dave Ragone and the Cardinal offense should have a field day. BYU is coming off a 72-45 thrashing at the hands of Hawaii and will play again without all-American RB Luke Staley who's importance is immeasurable. Both backup RB's will be wearing casts on their wrists and leading WR Mahe (knee/hip) is reportedly not at full speed. Cardinals get more stops, more scores. Louisville  1 UNIT

Alamo Bowl - San Antonio, TX - Saturday
Texas Tech (-1) vs Iowa - 12:00 Noon Pacific
Tech head coach Mike Leach has been on my coaches to watch list for a while. He has a brilliant offensive mind and in his second year is becoming a great all around head coach. The Red Raiders this year posted their 2nd straight 7 win season and earned their second straight bowl berth under Leach. Three of their four losses this year came against teams ranked in the top 5. They posted quality wins over Texas A&M and Kansas State, both in convincing fashion. QB Kliff Kingsbury threw more completions than any other QB in the country, completed 68.9% of his passes, threw 25 touchdowns, had more passing yardage than any QB in the Big 12, and cut his interceptions from 17 last year to just 9 this year in his second year in the Leach system. Maybe most important is that the game will be a homecoming for Kingsbury who played high school football nearby. His family has received numerous ticket requests and it will be a huge game for him. Tech has sold 25,000+ tickets for the game and clearly will have fan base advantage with their campus just a 6 hour drive away.

My willingness to go against Iowa this year has been well documented and has not changed a whole lot. The Hawkeyes are 0-4 vs bowl teams this year, 2-9 away from home the last two years, and 0-5 on artificial turf the last two years. Team speed is definitely not a strength for Iowa and the turf only magnifies that. On defense you can rest assured that the Iowa unit was not designed to stop offenses like Texas Tech's. On offense, the Hawkeye QB controversy has never been settled as starter McCann seems to always play poorly in big games or against quality defenses. Iowa's second leading receiver C.J. Jones has been suspended for the game. Tech has played a tougher schedule, has a better record, and this will almost be like a home game for them. Red Raiders take this one. Texas Tech  1 UNIT

Music City Bowl - Nashville, TN - Friday
Georgia (-4) vs Boston College - 2:00pm Pacific
It is hard to find anything wrong with this Bulldog team. They finished the season 8-3. Two of their losses were 4th quarter nail biters to South Carolina by 5 and to Auburn by 7. The third loss came at the Swamp by 14. They finished 3-3 against bowl teams compared to BC's 0-4. Redshirt freshman QB David Greene earned SEC freshman of the year honors with his 2,789 yards, 59.3% completions, 17 to 9 TD/INT ratio, and 143.3 QB rating. He is a winner. Georgia is also very effective running the football ranking 4th in the SEC with 162.5 yards per game. One of the key's to the game is Georgia's ability to stop the run. The Bulldogs rank 15th in the country allowing just 108.8 rushing yards per game and 16th in the country allowing only 3.1 yards per carry. This will be imperative as BC relies so heavily on William Green and running the ball.

BC not only is 0-4 vs bowl teams this year but they have lost 21 straight games to ranked opponents. All Big East defensive end Antonio Garay was declared out for this game as he could not recover from a late season disc injury. He will be missed. Star running back Green is suffering from a groin injury that could potentially effect his play although he will start. BC is 4-7 ATS away from home last two years and 2-4 ATS on real grass last two years. Golden Eagle practices have reportedly been limited due to bad weather. The team could also have been distracted by the rumors of head coach O'Brien taking over at either Georgia Tech or Notre Dame. The SEC is clearly the superior conference and Georgia is the superior team here. Give the points. Georgia  1 UNIT

Stanford (-5.5) vs Georgia Tech - Seattle Bowl - Thursday - 1:00pm Pacific
This appears to be an all systems go game for Stanford. Despite USC's bowl game loss, it is my belief that the Pac-10 was the premier college football conference this season. The Cardinal managed a sparkling 9-2 record with losses coming vs Washington & Washington State who both finished in the top 15 of the end of season BCS rankings. Stanford racked up 451.5 yards per game (10th in nation) & 37.1ppg (9th in nation). They key to their offense was balance. They averaged 201 yards on the ground and 250 through the air. Their defense gave up their share of yards and points but did make plays when it counted. They forced 30 turnovers and help opponents to just 33% third down conversions.

Georgia Tech just does not have much going for them this year. Not much has gone right for them as evidenced by their 3-8 ATS record. They ended the season losing three of their last four games including back to back losses vs instate rival Georgia and a Florida State team who they had talked all offseason about finally beating this year. After losing heralded offensive coordinator Ralph Freidgen before last years bowl game, they lose their head coach O'Leary in very awkward fashion this year. Chan Gailey has been named head coach for next year so offensive line coach Mac McWhorter is already a lame duck and the remaining in place coaching staff may not have their heart in it. GT's offense is not quite as potent as Stanford's and the Jackets are not nearly as balanced as passing accounts for over 66% of their yardage. Leading rusher Joe Burns (academics) will not play in the game which leaves them without one of their key weapons. 

Stanford is much more familiar and is in much closer in proximity to the Northwest than Georgia Tech. I have to imagine them having a much larger fan base. The Cardinal truly believe they have a great team and few people realize that they were just one win away from playing in the national championship game themselves. Their win at #2 Oregon with a backup QB playing the 2nd half was awesome. They will be out to prove something as well as earn their first 10 win season in sometime. While Tech has lost 3 of 4, Stanford has won 4 straight. Tech is sure to have some level of distraction after the O'Leary debacle, the long trip out west, and their disappointing season. Cardinal win by at least a touchdown. Stanford  1 UNIT

Bowl Game Recap

Started off 0-3 in the bowl games but bounced back with three straight wins including a nice 2 UNIT play win on North Carolina who dominated throughout.  Finished the college football season at a respectable 18-13, 58%, +5.6 UNITS.