Fed Ex Orange Bowl Preview

Well, since it appears as though I am not accurate, my goal is to at least be interesting.

But I would like to say this about last night's game and Boise State in general:

I apologize for my obvious dislike and short-changing of Boise State. While I don't think either team played its best last night, Boise State convinced me it is much better than I thought - especially its defense.

Looking ahead to 2010 and with a possibility of 21 returning starters, Boise State - with a legitimate out of conference schedule (Va Tech, Oregon State) and preseason ranking - has to be a favorite to go to the BCS title game next year. While I am not a fan of Boise State, I will admit the team gained my respect, and if it makes it through the 2010 regular season schedule undefeated, I will be screaming on its behalf for a title shot.

Let's move on to other things...



Fed Ex Orange Bowl
Iowa (10-2) vs. Georgia Tech (11-2)

This is probably the BCS game in which I am least interested. ACC football hasn't really interested me in recent years, and I can only name one player on Tech's team (and I only know Dwyer's last name).

Big Ten football, on the other hand, does interest me - just not all of it. Ohio State? Yes. Penn State? Sure. Even Michigan? Why not? But there are Big Ten teams that don't interest me in the least bit. I'm not going out of my way to watch a Northwestern game. The same goes for Minnesota and sadly, Iowa.

Will I watch this game? From start to finish? No. Absolutely not. Frankly, the Orange Bowl should consider itself lucky if I happen to watch half a quarter.

That said, I think Georgia Tech is the clear winner here. Tech has the best player (whose first name escapes me), and I think that's all it will take to win this one.

Iowa is in trouble. It probably shouldn't have gone to a BCS game, but there really wasn't another team to reasonably give it to. It almost lost to Northern Iowa, an FCS team. Plus, the Hawkeyes have had to come from behind to win too many games against too weak opponents.

However, if Iowa does end up winning, it'd be huge for the Big Ten. Two BCS wins in one season for a conference that rarely gets one would go a long way in reestablishing itself as an elite conference.

While I don't think it will be a blowout, I don't think there will be a doubt as to who is the better team at the end.

Georgia Tech 28, Iowa 20