Top Ten Bowl Matchups

It’s bowling season. The regular season is over and the conference champions have been determined. Bowl matchups were established on Sunday and we decided to rate them in order of interest.

10. Ohio State vs. Florida

This is a game of particular interest, not necessarily because of the talent or success of these teams, but because of the tie that they now have: Urban Meyer. Meyer was the head coach or Florida when they beat the Buckeyes in the national championship back in 2007. He has recently decided to come out of coaching retirement and take the helm in Columbus. So Urban’s team of the past will be playing his team of the future.

9. Kansas State vs. Arkansas

Both of these teams are solid with only two losses each, to then top 10 teams. Kansas State has looked to have fallen as of late since losing 58-17 at home vs. Oklahoma. They have since barely beaten Texas A&M, Texas and Iowa State. Arkansas has looked good all season except for their two hiccups against the two teams in the national championship, LSU and Arkansas.

8. South Carolina vs. Nebraska

This matchup pits one of the nations bast offenses against one of its best defenses. Nebraska’s backfield of Taylor Martinez and Rex Burkhead will look to run all over the Gamecocks. South Carolina has finished the season strong beating Clemson on November 26.

7. Penn State vs. Houston

Houston lost a stunner to Southern Miss while Penn State has had to endure emotional heartbreak of their own with the release of Coach Paterno. Penn State Has the Cougar defense been exposed? Can Case Keenum recover from a subpar performance against Southern Miss?

6. Clemson vs. West Virginia

It’s hard to believe this is a BCS bowl game. West Virginia is 9-3 and barely ranked in the top-25 while Clemson appears to be slightly better, beating Virginia Tech in the ACC championship. The entertaining part of this game will be the passing game. Both teams throw the ball well and struggle on defense. This will be a shootout.

5. Michigan State vs. Georgia

Georgia looked good for one half against LSU minus a few key mistakes. Michigan State is wondering why their instate rival, Michigan, is in the Sugar Bowl while the Spartans are on the outside looking in despite winning the Legends division and beating the Wolverines during the regular season. Both of these teams want revenge which makes this game a must see.

4. Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

Because LSU and Alabama are both in the championship, Michigan was chosen to take the SEC slot for the Sugar Bowl. Virginia Tech is a head scratcher because they lost twice to Clemson while teams like TCU Houston lost once to top-25 caliber teams. Michigan is on a roll and Denard Robinson is in the zone right now. The Wolverines have won three in a row including a pummeling of Nebraska. However, this game may just come down to a defensive struggle.

3. Oklahoma State vs. Stanford

Both of these teams have a great offense and a prolific pass attack. Heisman hopeful Andrew Luck should be ready to go out with a bang while Oklahoma State looks to keep the ball rolling after pounding Oklahoma last week 44-10. If you want to see a lot of points on the board, tune into this game.

2. Oregon vs. Wisconsin

The battle of the running back. Wisconsin’s Montee Ball and Oregon’s LaMichael will be ready to run the ball, a lot. It will be interesting to see if Wisconsin can keep up with the fast paced Chip Kelly offense. This should be another barnburner.

1. Alabama vs. LSU

The rematch. We are all hoping the score is a little higher than 9-6, but we can be sure of one thing, this game will get physical. It’s not just the national championship, it’s much more personal. Alabama wants revenge while LSU wants to prove the first result wasn’t a fluke. I expect the bag of tricks to be opened and points to be scored.