#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 12-0 (BCS #1) vs.
#2 Alabama 12-1 (SEC Champions / BCS #2).
Information: Date: 1/7/2012. Location: Miami Gardens, FL. Payout: Unkown.
Preview: Notre Dame became the first independent team to play in the National Championship game since the Miami Hurricanes in 1989. Alabama became the sixth team to make the BCS National Championship in back to back years. Florida State made three straight. They lost in 1999, won it in 2000 and lost in 2001. Miami (FL) won it in 2002 and lost in 2003, Oklahoma lost in 2004 and 2005, USC won it 2005 and lost in 2006 and Ohio State lost in 2007 and 2008. They will look to become the first team to win back to back BCS National Championships. Alabama also looks to win their 3rd BCS National Championship in a span of 4 years. If they win their 3rd they will have more than any school. Alabama also look to give the SEC its 9th BCS National Championship and 7th straight. Alabama only lost came on November 10th to Texas A&M at home 24 to 29. Both teams very good defenses. Notre Dame is 1st in the nation scoring defense at 10.3 PPG and Alabama his 2nd in the nation at 10.7 PPG. Notre Dame never allowed more than 26 points and Alabama never allowed more than 29 points. Notre Dame's defense is led by Manti Te'o who was the best defensive player this season and was the Heisman runner-up. Alabama is led by AJ McCarron who has 2669 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns and only 3 INTs. This Alabama's 5th BCS Bowl overall. They have a record of 2-2 with wins in the 2010 and 2012 BCS National Championship and losses in the 2000 Orange Bowl and 2009 Sugar Bowl. This is Notre Dame's 4th BCS Bowl overall. They have a record of 0-3 with losses in 2001 and 2006 Fiesta Bowl and the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
Prediction: This game will have few points and a lot of defense. I could see going into overtime for only the 2nd time in history. I think Alabama will ultimately will come out on top. I reason will think this is that Alabama is 2-0 in BCS Championships and Notre Dame is 0-3 in BCS Bowls. Also as a conference the SEC is 8-1 with their only loss coming last season in the all-SEC BCS Championship game when Alabama beat LSU. Additionally Notre Dame has struggled at time to win but yet has found a way to win all season long. I think Alabama wins 17-9. I think Notre Dame fails to get the bowl in the end-zone vs. Alabama and has to settle for 3 field goals. For Alabama I think they are get in the end-zone twice and add 1 field goal but besides that the defenses dominate the game.
#6 Stanford Cardinal 11-2 (Pac-12 Champions) vs.
Wisconsin Badgers 8-5 (Big 10 Champions).
Information: Date: 1/1/2012. Location: Pasadena, CA. Payout: $23,600,000.
Preview: The major think to watch for in this game is the two teams great defenses. Stanford won the Pac-12 Championship Game by beating UCLA 27-24 to earn the Pac-12's bid in this game. Stanford went 11-2 this year only losing to Notre Dame and Washington. Wisconsin won the Big 10 Championship Game by beating Nebraska 70-31 to earn the Big 10's bid in this game. This Wisconsin's 3rd straight Big Ten Title. They were co-champions in 2010 with Ohio State and Michigan State. In 2011 they beat Michigan State in the first Big Ten Title game. Wisconsin went 8-5 losing to Oregon State, Nebraska, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State. Since both Ohio State and Penn State are ineligible for the postseason this season that how Wisconsin made to the Big Ten Title game. They then upset Nebraska by 39 points to win the Big Ten and become the first ever 5 loss team to play in a Rose Bowl. They have been 2 teams before to play in a Rose Bowl with 4 losses. This Wisconsin's 3rd straight Rose Bowl. They lost to Oregon last year and TCU in the 2011 game. This is Stanford's first time in the Rose Bowl since the 2000 Rose Bowl when they lost to Wisconsin. Both of the teams have great defenses. Stanford is 13th in the nation in scoring defense at 17.5 PPG and Wisconsin is 19th at 19.1 PPG. It will be interested to see if Montee Ball, the Doak Walker Award winner, can run on Stanford's defense. Ball has 1730 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on the year. This is Stanford's 4th BCS Bowl and 3rd straight BCS Bowl. They have a record of 1-2 with a win in the 2011 Orange Bowl and with losses in 2000 Rose Bowl and 2012 Fiesta Bowl. This is Wisconsin's 5th BCS Bowl and 3rd straight. They have a record of 2-2 with wins in the 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowl and losses in 2011 and 2012 Rose Bowl.
Prediction: Considering Wisconsin should be here since Ohio State at 12-0 probably would be if they were eligible, I think Stanford wins a defensive battle. Stanford has showed great defense at times especially when they beat then #2 Oregon on the road and held their high powered offense to 14 points and came out with a 3 point overtime win. In all but one game Stanford held the opponents to 24 points or under. Wisconsin never let their opponents to score more than 31 points. Montee Ball should do okay in this game but I think Stanford is just much better than this Wisconsin team. I think Stepfan Taylor has a nice game to add this his 1442 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns he has this season. Also the Big Ten is 1-8 in the last 9 Rose Bowl with a Big Ten team. I think Stanford wins 21-10. Wisconsin fails to win yet again and losses their 3rd straight Rose Bowl.
#5 Kansas State Wildcats 11-1 (Big 12 Champions) vs.
#4 Oregon Ducks 11-1 (BCS At-large).
Information: Date: 1/3/2012. Location: Glendale, AZ. Payout: Unknown.
Preview: Kansas State won the Big 12 Championship going 8-1 in conference to earn the Big 12's bid in this game. Their only loss coming to Baylor 24 to 52. Oregon was the 2nd best at-large only behind #3 Florida. They finished 2nd in the Pac-12 North behind Stanford due to their head to head loss which Stanford won 17 to 14 in OT. Many people thought these two teams would meet in the BCS National Championship before they both lost on November 17th when Kansas State was ranked #1 and Oregon was #2. There will be a lot of points in this game with both teams being ranking in the top ten in scoring offense. Oregon is 2nd in the nation at 50.8 PPG and Kansas State is 9th in the nation at 40.7 PPG. There is also two of the top ten Heisman vote getters in this game. For Kansas State, Collin Klein who finished 3rd and racked up 3380 total yards and 37 total touchdowns. For Oregon, Kenjon Barner finished 9th and recorded 1624 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns. This is Kansas State's 2nd BCS Bowl. They have a record of 0-1 with a loss in 2004 Fiesta Bowl. This is Oregon's 5th BCS Bowl and 4th straight BCS Bowl. They have a record of 2-2 with a win in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl and 2012 Rose Bowl and with losses in 2010 Rose Bowl and 2011 BCS National Championship.
Prediction: After watching Baylor put up 52 points on Kansas State I have no clue how Kansas State is going to deal with Oregon's offense. There should be a lot of offense and points scored. Despite that I think the came should be close. I believe with the more experience of Oregon and the greater offense they will come out on top. I believe both defenses are underrated with both being in the top 30 in scoring defense. Oregon is 26th in the nation at 22.0 PPG and Kansas State is 24th in the nation at 21.1 PPG. I think Oregon wins 49-42. Oregon proves to everyone how great their offense is and shows they would be the BCS National Champions if both of these teams didn't slipped up.
#3 Florida Gators 11-1 (BCS At-large) vs.
#21 Louisville 10-2 (Big East Champion).
Information: Date: 1/2/2012. Location: New Orleans, LA. Payout: $17,000,000.
Preview: Florida made to this game as the first At-large selection. On the season Florida went 11-1 only losing to Georgia 9 to 17. Louisville is the Big East Representative in the BCS because they were the highest ranked team between Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers and Syracuse who were all co-Big East Champions at 5-2 in the conference. Louisville went 10-2 on the season only losing to Connecticut and Syracuse. The major think to watch in this game will be if Louisville can move the football on offense against Florida's great defense. Florida ranks 3rd in the nation in scoring defense at 12.9 PPG. Florida never allowed an opponent to score more than 26 points all season. On offense Florida is led by Mike Gillislee who has 1104 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns on the season. Louisville is led by Terry Bridgewater who has 3452 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns on the season. This is Florida's 7th BCS Bowl. They have a record of 5-1 with wins in the 1999 and 2002 Orange Bowl, 2007 and 2009 BCS National Championship and the 2010 Sugar Bowl. Their loss came in the 2001 Sugar Bowl. This is Louisville's 2nd BCS Bowl. They have a record of 1-0 with a win in 2007 Orange Bowl.
Prediction: I don't see how Louisville who struggled in the Big East is going to score against this super tough SEC defense. This game could be low scoring if Jeff Driskel struggles throwing the ball for Florida on offense. Also Florida did struggle vs. bad teams this season. I think Florida comes on top with a win in a somewhat close game. I think Florida wins 24-13. Florida wins and proves maybe they deserved a shot at the National Title if they didn't loss to Georgia.
#12 Florida State Seminoles 11-1 (ACC Champions) vs.
#15 Northern Illinois Huskies 12-1 (MAC Champions / BCS At-large).
Information: Date: 1/1/2012. Location: Miami Gardens, FL. Payout: Unknown.
Preview: Florida State went 11-2 on the season. They won the ACC by beating Georgia Tech 21 to 15 in the ACC Title game to earn the ACC's spot in this game. Their two losses came to Georgia Tech and Florida. Many people hated the selection of Northern Illinois into this game but I say the rules are the rules for a reason. Everyone thought Louisville would play in this game and Oklahoma would play in the Sugar Bowl but with Northern Illinois being ranked in the top 16 and above the Big East Champion (#21 Louisville) they earned a automatic spot in a BCS Bowl. Northern Illinois went 12-1 on the season. They won the MAC by beating Kent State 44 to 37 in the MAC Title game. Their only loss came to Iowa by 1 point the first game of the year. They became the first MAC team to make the BCS. Both teams have good offenses, defenses and quarterbacks. Florida State is ranked 12th in the nation in scoring offense at 39.9 PPG and Northern Illinois is 8th in the nation at 40.8 PPG. Florida State is ranked 6th in the nation in scoring defense at 12.1 PPG and Northern Illinois is 18th in the nation at 19.0 PPG. At QB for Florida State, E.J. Manuel has 3101 passing yards and 22 passing yards. At QB for Northern Illinois, Jordan Lynch who is a great dual threat QB and came in 7th in the Heisman voting. He racked up 4733 total yards of offense and 43 total touchdowns (leading his team both in passing and rushing yards as well as passing and rushing touchdowns). He also was 4th in the nation in rushing yards and 8th in rushing touchdowns as a QB. This is Florida State's 7th BCS Bowl. They have a record of 1-5 with a win in the 2000 Sugar Bowl. Their loss came in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, 2001, 2004 and 2006 Orange Bowl and the 2003 Sugar Bowl.This is Northern Illinois's 1st BCS Bowl.
Prediction: It will be interested to see how these two teams match-up. It will also be interested to see how the two QBs compare. A lot of people think Florida State will run away with this game but I don't think that will happen. I think Jordan Lynch give Florida State problems and Northern Illinois is able to compete with Florida State. I think after how much hate and doubt Northern Illinois had to hear over the last month leading up to this game Northern Illinois going to be fired up. I think Northern Illinois is able to pull the upset vs. Florida State. I think Northern Illinois wins 31-23. Northern Illinois proves the world they weren't a bad pick for this game.
No comments:
Post a Comment