19Dec/0811:40 AM

Let’s Go Bowling! : Pac-10 Postseason Predictions

By Vince Marotta

We are a little more than 24 hours away from College Bowl season…you know that time of year when mostly undeserving teams say they’re thrilled to go to Shreveport, only because they get a bag full of electronics and get greased by big-dollar corporate sponsors. I’m not bitter. I love glitzed-up exhibition football. I mean, what else can you call it when 57% of FBS teams hit the road for a bowl game?

There was supposed to be seven Pac-10 teams going to bowls, but only 5 teams found themselves with enough wins to qualify for the postseason. USC, Oregon, Oregon State, California and Arizona represent the conference this year. The Pac-10 was horrendous in non-conference games this season, going a combined 14-16, and losing to schools like UNLV, Fresno State, Maryland, New Mexico and Baylor. Yet, I feel pretty good about the matchups this season (call me crazy). Here’s a closer look (and predictions) on how the Pacific-10 Conference teams will fare this season.

ARIZONA VS. BYU - Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl - Saturday December 20 - Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV. - BYU is playing in it’s 4th-straight Las Vegas Bowl, and is looking for it’s third-straight win. The Wildcats, on the other hand, will be playing in their first bowl game since 1998, when they beat Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl, and finished the season ranked in the top 5. The advantage offensively goes to BYU, with onetime ASU Sun Devil Max Hall at the controls. Hall threw for 3629 yards and 34 touchdowns. He has the nation’s leading receiver, Austin Collie, as one of his targets. Collie caught 95 balls for over 1400 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. Tight end Dennis Pitta also is a huge factor in the passing game, as he had 78 catches for 1025 yards and 6 touchdowns. Everybody throws Arizona into the mix of teams that possess a lot of offensive firepower, and that’s just not true. Those people are basing that statement on the 2007 Wildcats, that threw the ball all over the joint. Mike Stoops’ 2008 team runs more than they throw, and they run it well. Nic Grigsby and freshman Keola Antolin combined for 22 touchdowns on the ground. When they do throw, Willie Tuitama has arguably the nation’s best tight end to throw to in Rob Gronkowski.
Prediction: BYU’s bowl experience will prevail. The Cougars can run the ball too, and U of A has struggled at times against big running backs. BYU’s Harvey Unga, who had 194 total yards against the ‘Cats in 2007’s season opener, will have a big day again. It will also be interesting to see if the Mike Stoops to Iowa State rumors play a part in the ball game.
>>BYU 38….Arizona 24<<

CALIFORNIA VS. MIAMI, FL - Emerald Bowl - Saturday December 27 - AT&T Park - San Francisco, CA. - Cal won’t have to travel far for their 6th straight bowl appearance. They’ll just have to hop across the Bay to San Francisco to take on Miami. The Hurricanes will have to deal with running back Jahvid Best, who is on some sort of roll. In his last two games (against Stanford and Washington), Best has carried 38 times for 512 yards and 6 touchdowns. That’s an amazing average of 13.5 yards per carry! He’s not a workhorse though, only carrying 20 or more times in one game this season, and that was against Michigan State in the season opener in August. Miami won’t have quarterback Robert Marve in the Emerald Bowl, he was suspended by head coach Randy Shannon for a violation of team academic rules–which at Miami, could mean he attended class (sorry, couldn’t resist).
Prediction: Miami won’t have the offensive firepower to stay with the Golden Bears. They averaged a rather pedestrian 327 yards per game this season. Best might have that alone. When you factor in the presence of a pro-Berkeley crowd, and couple that with the fact that Miami fans don’t travel (especially to San Francisco), this one could get ugly.
>>Cal 42….Miami 21<<

OREGON VS. OKLAHOMA STATE - Pacific Life Holiday Bowl - Tuesday December 30 - Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego, CA. - The Ducks make their 4th straight bowl appearance in what should be one of, if not the, highest-scoring bowl game. Vegas oddsmakers have the over/under set at 77.5. Oregon is led by their running game–namely Jeremiah Johnson and LaGarrette Blount, who combined for over 2000 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns this season. Oklahoma State is also very potent offensively, and also feature a dynamic one-two punch at running back. Kendall Hunter and Keith Tolston combined for almost 2200 yards and 23 touchdowns on the season. Oklahoma State’s big advantage comes at the quarterback spot- where Zac Robinson threw for 2735 yards and 24 touchdowns this year. He often gets lost in the Big 12 quarterback mix with Chase Daniel, Colt McCoy, Todd Reesing, Graham Harrell, and, oh–the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford in the conference, but make no mistake he’s a good one. Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant was 2nd in the nation in receiving yards (1313) and touchdown catches (18).
Prediction: Points, points and more points. Both teams have incredible offenses and sub-standard defenses, so it’ll be a shootout. I just have a strange feeling that the Ducks will find a way to get it done.
>>Oregon 54…..Oklahoma State 49<<

OREGON STATE VS. PITTSBURGH - Sun Bowl - Wednesday, December 31 - Sun Bowl - El Paso, TX. - The Beavers have to be disappointed in playing in the Sun Bowl for a couple of reasons. First, it’s played in El Paso. Secondly, they were smelling roses up until the Civil War game in which their defense got lit up by Oregon to the tune of 694 yards and 65 points. Pittsburgh very quietly put up their first 9-win season in 26 years under head coach Dave Wannstedt. The Panthers are led by running back LeSean McCoy, who found the end zone 21 times this season, and ran for over 1400 yards. Oregon State’s powerful offense is hampered by injuries right now, as James Rodgers is most likely out with a broken collarbone, and his brother, freshman running back Jacquizz (the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year) is still iffy with a shoulder injury.
Prediction: Pittsburgh’s methodical running game will wear down the Beavers’ defense, and the Rodgers’ injuries will be too much for OSU to overcome.
>>Pittsburgh 27….Oregon State 20<<

USC vs. PENN STATE - Rose Bowl - Thursday, January 1 - Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA.- A good old-fashioned matchup of two traditional college football powerhouses, the Trojans and the Nittany Lions. Both teams are 11-1, and both lost to teams in their respective conferences that they should have beaten. Penn State lost at Iowa, while USC dropped their 2nd-straight to Oregon State in Corvallis. Penn State’s defense has been stellar this year, allowing only 263 yards and 12 points per game. USC’s defense is downright scary. The Trojans posted 3 shutouts and held 3 other opponents to just a field goal this season. They allow only 206 yards and 7.8 points per game.
Prediction: Low scoring game, with USC’s unbelievable defense being the difference.
>>USC 17…Penn State 10<<