Fiesta Bowl Preview: How the BCS screwed over TCU and BSU

Well, one out of two wasn't bad.

I was right about Cincinnati and Florida. I felt like Cincy actually came out fighting. And Florida's first touchdown drive, I was actually a bit concerned for Florida. The Bearcats seemed to be playing with a great deal of emotion, and I wasn't sure if Florida was going to be able to react.

It turns out Florida is just that much better than Cincinnati.

But I was wrong about the Rose Bowl. And what I was wrong about affects my prediction for the Fiesta Bowl. I was wrong about Oregon.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Boise State (13-0) vs. TCU (12-0)

Boise State's signature win for the season was against Oregon, and that win looked pretty quality after Oregon finished the regular season ranked in the top ten in the country. However, I don't know if there was a team in the country playing less consistently than Oregon.

The Oregon that barely beat Purdue isn't the same team that trashed Cal 42-3. The Oregon that barely beat Utah isn't the same team that throttled USC 47-20.

Or are they?

Maybe the Pac-10 overall wasn't very good this year. Its teams certainly haven't fared to well in their bowl games. And if Oregon's close wins at the end of the regular season would have gone the other way (which they very easily could have done), the Ducks would have finished at no better than 4th place in the Pac-10. Then, how good would the Boise State Broncos' win look?

I'll admit I was pretty disappointed about the Broncos being matched up with TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. I, like many others, wanted to see how TCU or Boise St. would have played against Florida, Texas or Alabama - even Georgia Tech or Iowa would have been an upgrade.

This match-up creates no winners for either team. If it's a close game, there's no proof either team is any good. The game would have proven only that the two teams match up pretty well against each other. If it is a blowout, then what will people say about the losing team?

"They didn't belong in a BCS bowl."

Maybe the TCU or Boise St. is really that good and would have done that good against the likes of Florida or Alabama. We'll never know, which is why this game serves as little more than a way for the BCS committee to cover its butt.

Onto the preview...



Unfortunately for Boise State fans, this preview is not going to be very pro-them.

Yes, BSU has one of the top-ranked offenses in the country. It is my opinion they have gotten fat off weaker defenses in and out of their conference. Certainly, the Broncos have never face a team with a defense even comparable to TCU.



TCU is fast. TCU is physical. TCU is scary even from the spectator's point of view. TCU has the top defense in the country, holding opponents to an anemic 223 yards per game.

While BSU does have a prolific offense, a little-known fact is that TCU's is just as good. In fact, the Horned Frogs actually average more yards of total offense per game. QB Andy Daulton has made huge strides in each of the last couple seasons, and that is bad news for Boise State.

I didn't feel like Boise State had a chance from the get-go, and with the news that star wideout Austin Pettis is unlikely to play, this game could get ugly fast.

TCU 42, Boise St. 20

BCS Bowl Previews

Thus far, we've had a pretty crazy bowl season, and today, we'll finally start the bowls that don't feature teams like Bowling Green or Middle Tennessee State. The bowls I am describing don't have ".com" in their name. I am of course talking about the BCS Bowls.

Originally, I had intended on giving a preview of all 34 bowls, but uh....I didn't. So here is my last-ditch effort at getting in on the bowl season. Today, I will only be previewing the games happening today, so here goes hopefully something:

Rose Bowl presented by Citi
#8 Ohio State (10-2) vs. #7 Oregon (10-2)

The Pac-10 is bleeding somewhat, with a 2-3 bowl record that includes embarrassing losses like Oregon State's loss to BYU (44-20) and Arizona's offensive impotence against Nebraska (33-0). The Pac-10, normally known for its prolific offenses, hopes to get some Viagra for its offenses in the form of the University of Oregon.

My gut feeling is in favor of Oregon. The Ducks' offense is just going to be too much, and after watching Ohio St. lose at home to USC and USC get trounced by Oregon, it seems like a lay-up prognostication.

Yeah, I know. The OSU-USC game was a long time ago (frankly, the regular season was a long time ago). Teams (hopefully) get better throughout the season.

Maybe.

But the way I figure it, that game was a huge game for OSU, as it was trying to redeem itself from last year's 35-3 debacle. The Buckeyes had every reason to play big in that game, and USC, with a true-freshman QB, went into the Buckeyes' house and beat them.

Conversely, when USC was playing Oregon on Halloween, it had every reason to play its best. Oregon was at the top of the conference standings, and USC only trailed by one game. It needed a big game, and Oregon gave the Trojans a shellacking.

While this might sound like I am previewing USC, common opponents is a good way to compare teams. It's not always the best way (and sometimes it makes absolutely no sense), but USC played both of these teams. In both of the games, both teams needed to play their best. The only difference is Ohio State's best was not enough, and Oregon's best was superfluous.

Oregon 31, Ohio State 20

Allstate Sugar Bowl
#3 Cincinnati (12-0) vs. #5 Florida (11-1)

This game has certainly accumulated its share of story lines. First, you have the Bearcats playing without the head coach who helped get them their undefeated regular season. Then, you have the Gators playing for the sick little boy in the hospital, who is now back on the sidelines (with the head coach's headset on) in the last game before his leave of absence (however long it may or may not be).

Another thing going for Florida is it got blown out by Alabama. The Gators have more to prove now, than if it would have been a close game. The devastation would have been too much for them to overcome. (ex. Utah 31, Alabama 17) Now, Florida will get its head on straight and win this game.

The Bearcats could go one of two ways. 1) They could pout about their coach leaving and end up playing like a team without a head coach, or 2) they could go out and play their best to show Brian Kelly what he left behind.

After reading some of the players' reactions to him leaving, I'm thinking #2 is a lot more likely. Some of those players might actually hate their ex-coach. They'd love nothing more than to go out and punch Florida right in the mouth.

The only problem is Florida's mouth is made out of steel.

Florida 34, Cincinnati 27