Write On Sports LLC - "Beginning of the Bowls" by Tom Zuck

Beginning of the Bowls

2006-12-18 13:43:50 | By: Tom Zuck

Bowl season is getting underway; here are my predictions on the early games:

Dec. 19 Tue. Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA)
Northern Illinois (7-5) vs. Texas Christian (10-2)
8:00 p.m. ESPN2

This game is simple. Nobody runs against TCU and nobody has stopped Northern Illinois senior Garrett Wolfe, the nation's leading rusher. TCU has allowed just 67 yards rushing per game and Wolfe has rushed for 158 per game so something has to give. You would think the Huskies had more yards rushing per game though, just over 180, so if they find a way to stop Wolfe the offense is in trouble. If UNI is forced to pass that could be trouble because starting QB Phil Horvath has thrown 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. After two tough early losses the Horned Frogs have won seven straight. Look for QB Jeff Ballard to be solid and the three-headed running attack of Ballard, Aaron Brown and Lonta Hobbs to do enough on offense. TCU wins.

Dec. 21 Thu. Las Vegas Bowl
#20 BYU (10-2) vs. Oregon (7-5)
8:00 p.m. ESPN

Oregon has been a major disappointment this season. The TERRIBLE uniforms are one of the reasons but more importantly the way the Ducks finished the season was awful. The Ducks lost four of their last six and the victories were against Portland State and Washington. BYU QB John Beck is very good; 3,500+ yards passing, 70% of passes completed and 30 touchdowns vs. six interceptions. Yup, he's good. Nine of his receivers have caught 19 or more passes this season so the Cougars look like one of teams LaVell Edwards used to coach. The Cougars run the ball reasonably well too; Curtis Brown has rushed for over 700 yards. Quarterback Dennis Dixon and running back Jonathan Stewart NEED big games. Dixon has thrown more interceptions, 13:11, than touchdowns and Stewart has rushed for just under 1,000 yards. I smell a little Peking Duck, Cougars win.

Dec. 22 Fri. New Orleans Bowl
Rice (7-5) vs. Troy (7-5)
8:00 p.m. ESPN

The season started out in a rough way for Troy with consecutive losses to FSU, Ga. Tech and Neb. Throw in another loss to UAB and the Trojans were 1-5 in September. That makes the 7-5 season record amazing. They could have gone in the tank but did not. The Trojans are not especially powerful on offense. Quarterback Omar Haugabook has thrown for over 2,000 yards but his touchdowns to interceptions ratio is 17:16. That does not inspire confidence. The running game is led by Kenny Cattouse, 774 yards but just four touchdowns. Rice too was 1-5 at the end of September with losses to Houston, UCLA, Texas and FSU. The Owls have been more consistent on offense. Chase Clement does not make a lot of bad throws. He has thrown 21 touchdown passes and just five interceptions. The running game is led by Quinton Smith, 1,000+ yards and 10 touchdowns. Rice is not JUST a rich kid school anymore. Theay have a decent football team. Rice wins.

Dec. 23 Sat. Birmingham Bowl
South Florida (8-4) vs. East Carolina (7-5)
1:00 p.m. ESPN2

The Papa John's Bowl; better ingredients, better football? Actually South Florida is on the verge of something special. The Bulls have a lot of talent that is sometimes out of control. The key cog is freshman QB Matt Grothe. This kid is outstanding and is great fun to watch. Grothe is a gambler with a tendency to overplay his hand and make mistakes, 14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He is also the team's leading rusher, not a very good sign. Ben Williams MUST take the load off of him for the Bulls to be a solid offense. The defense is there for USF, now it is time for the offense to join in. East Carolina is way under the radar this season. Two victories stand out though, over Southern Mississippi and NC State. Neither is great but they were the best the Pirates have. ECU QB James Pinkney has been sacked 19 times. USF will up that number. For the Pirates to have a chance Brandon Fractious must run for more than the 56 yards a game that he averaged. It won't happen; better pizza, better football, Bulls win.

Dec. 23 Sat. New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico (6-6) vs. San Jose State (8-4)
4:30 p.m. ESPN

Do you know the way to San Jose? Dionne Warwick did, so does former Arizona head coach Dick Tomey who has pulled the San Jose State program off the floor and into a bowl game for the first time since 1990. The Spartans pushed Boise State to the edge and lost, 23-20, back in November. This team is good. Quarterback Adam Tafralis is efficient and the running game is solid, 15th in the country. Yonus Davis and Patrick Perry have combined for 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns. They need more against a New Mexico defense that allowed over 360 yards per game. New Mexico has one signature win this year, Utah, and is benefiting from the expanded bowl schedule. San Jose wins.

Dec. 23 Sat. Armed Forces Bowl (Ft Worth, TX)
Tulsa (8-4) vs. Utah (7-5)
8:00 p.m. ESPN

Things have changed since Urban Meyer left for Gainesville. The Utes are in a bowl for the fourth straight year but it is not the BCS. Even so, Utah is a team to take seriously. This game is a tough read because neither team is in the national spotlight. Tulsa has not been to consecutive bowl games since 1964-65! Utah has lost each of the three tough games it has played this season. This will not be one of them, Utes win.

Dec. 24 Sun. Hawaii Bowl
Arizona State (7-5) vs. #31 Hawaii (10-3)
8:00 p.m. ESPN

The final game of Dirk Koetter's career as coach at Arizona State is upon us. Koetter's tenure is one of very mixed results, trending down. In six years as head coach Koetter's teams were 2-19 against ranked opponents. Does Hawaii, #31 in the BCS, count as a ranked team? I think it does especially since this is also a home game for the Warriors. ASU's season went down in a three-week stretch with losses to Cal., Oregon and USC. After that the team just muddled its way through. Hawaii on the other hand was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. The Warriors scored over 40 points in each of its 10 victories. Colt Brennan is a joy to watch but the season-ending loss to Oregon State stings. Brennan has passed for an incredible 53 touchdowns and 4,990 yards! The offense even found time for Nate Ilaoa to rush over 100 times for 700+ yards and 13 touchdowns. The Dennis Erickson Experiment begins, as soon as Hawaii wins the game.

As a side note, I have some comments regarding Arkansas:

The Hogs have just come off a great regular season. They have one of the most exciting players in the country, Darren McFadden. I think he is the nation's second-best back, behind Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson. Throw in Felix Jones and Arkansas has the best pair of runners in the nation.

Apparently, that is not enough for some natives of Springdale, Arkansas. That's where Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was the head high school coach last season. Apparently Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt promised a lot to Malzahn and a group of his players last year in an effort to get them to head to Fayetteville.

It worked and the Hogs have one of the most exciting and unpredictable offenses in football. Well, a 10-3 record and a birth in a major bowl are not enough for the parents of these four guys from Springdale. Yes, the jewel of the crop was freshman quarterback Mitch Mustain so maybe it was indeed a package deal.

The parents of these players from Springdale had a meeting.a MEETING with Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles to discuss the "direction of the program".

This is so wrong on so many levels. First off, I guess the coaches should have just thrown away the plays for McFadden and just thrown the ball to the Springdale freshman, because as one father put it, they were used to catching 60 passes a year! What an idiot!

There is a book coming out too about the Springdale championship season. It will no doubt be a great read. That brings me to the second part of the rant. Frank Broyles allowed these people in his office to meet with him concerning the "direction of the program".

This is "old school" Frank Broyles who led Georgia Tech to four straight bowl games. He was the SEC Player of the Year in 1944 and he held the Orange Bowl record for passing yards for nearly 60 years! He is in the Orange, Gator and Cotton Bowl Halls of Fame for God's sake. He coached under Bobby Dodd and as head coach at Arkansas he led the Hogs to SEVEN Southwest Conference titles. He and Texas coach Darrell Royal had epic battles for dominance of the conference.

Frank Broyles does NOT meet to discuss "the direction of the program" with parents!

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