If you’re a Carolina Panther fan and you haven’t asked for the sweet release of death yet, then kudos to you.

Matt Moore was placed on injured reserve on Monday, ending his horrific season as a first-year starter. John Fox isn’t a big fan of Jimmy Clausen, but Carolina’s front office is committed to a youth movement and wants to see what it has in the second round pick.

This is likely Fox’s final season with the Panthers, so Moore’s injury makes for an uneasy situation. He’ll likely get heat from the front office to play Clausen, even if he doesn’t think the rookie is ready to be on the field. His other option is Tony Pike (another rookie), but the former Cincinnati product isn’t ready either. Fox said Monday that the Panthers will add a quarterback, but the market is bare and with the team currently sitting at 1-7, it doesn’t matter who they bring in.

Making matters worse, Dan Connor will also miss the rest of the season after he was injured in the Panthers’ loss to the Saints on Sunday. Carolina won’t activate Thomas Davis (PUP list), so their linebacker corps is extremely thin. Jon Beason will have to move back to the middle after playing the first half of the year on the weak side and Nic Harris or Jordan Senn will take over Beason’s old spot.

It’s amazing to think that some pundits actually thought this was a playoff contender this year. Yikes.

After the Panthers selected Jimmy Clausen in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday, many pundits started to wonder whether or not the team had confidence in Matt Moore as a starter. Then when GM Marty Hurney selected Tony Pike in the sixth round, some experts’ heads were ready to explode as they feverishly talked about how Moore may not be wanted in Carolina.

But let’s take a step back for a moment and look at the situation as a whole. Entering the draft, the Panthers had Moore and Hunter Cantwell on the depth chart at quarterback. Even if the team has confidence in Moore (which it still sounds like they do), they had to take a quarterback as insurance in case he turned out to be a disaster or suffered an injury. Say again, they had to draft a quarterback.

Reports have surfaced that Hurney was attempting to trade up in the second round to take Clausen, which does indicate that the team isn’t completely sold on Moore as their franchise quarterback. But considering Clausen was a top 15 pick who fell into the second round, Hurney would have probably kicked himself if he didn’t at least try to trade up for him. He knew he needed a quarterback and considering Clausen represented so much value in the second round, it made sense for him to try and trade up to get him. Then when Clausen fell to him anyway, it was a perfect situation.

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No. 3 Cincinnati will try to put Brian Kelly’s departure to Notre Dame behind it when it takes on No. 5 Florida at 8:30PM ET on New Year’s Day. As part of our 2010 BCS Bowl Preview, here are five things to watch for in the Sugar Bowl.

1. Cincinnati’s potent passing attack vs. Florida’s vaunted defense
Led by quarterback Tony Pike and explosive receiver Mardy Gilyard, the Bearcats rank sixth in the nation in passing offense, total offense and scoring offense. Cincinnati averaged almost 40 points per game this season and houses one of the most deadly passing games in the country. That said, they’ll be heavily tested by a Florida defense that has the third best pass defense in the nation, the fourth best overall defense and the third best scoring defense. Only Alabama (11.0) and Nebraska (11.23) have allowed fewer points than Florida’s mark of 11.54. Led by defensive backs Joe Haden, A.J. Jones and Major Wright, the Gators have virtually been impossible to throw on. Making matters worse for opponents, Florida also has a fearsome pass rush, led by defensive linemen Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap. At the center is linebacker Brandon Spikes, who is the heart and soul of the Gators’ defense. Cincinnati will certainly have to earn everything it gets come New Year’s Day.

2. The Gators’ rushing attack vs. the Bearcats’ suspect run defense
Florida boasts the 10th best rushing attack in the nation, averaging 225.23 yards per game. That doesn’t bode well for a Cincinnati run defense that is surrendering over 140 yards per game this season. The Bearcats’ defense is fast and aggressive, but struggles when opponents attack them right up the middle. In their three closest games this season, Connecticut, West Virginia and Pittsburgh all had success running up the gut. If Florida starts pounding the rock up the middle, it could take control of the game early by grinding out the clock and keeping Cincinnati’s high-powered offense on the sidelines.

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The 2010 Sugar Bowl will have plenty of intrigue surrounding it when the Florida Gators take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on New Year’s Day. For the Gators, Tim Tebow will be playing his last collegiate game of his career, while the Bearcats will try to overcome the loss of their head coach, Brian Kelly, who ditched them for Notre Dame.

2010 Sugar Bowl Game Information
Matchup: Florida (12-1) vs. Cincinnati (12-0)
Venue: Superdome, New Orleans
Kickoff: 8:30PM ET, January 1
TV: FOX
Odds: Florida –10

Key Stats:
Cincinnati will have its hands full trying to move the ball against a Florida team that ranks 4th in the nation in total defense, 3rd in pass defense and third in scoring. Led by linebacker Brandon Spikes, the defensive line pair of Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap, as well as a secondary headed by safety Major Wright, the Gators have one of the best defenses in the country. Offensively, Tebow leads a group that has averaged over 225 rushing yards per game this season and over 34 points per outing.

If any team were to move the ball on Florida, it might be Cincinnati, which has the sixth best offense in college football. Led by quarterback Tony Pike and receiver Mardy Gilyard, the Bearcats rank 6th in passing offense and 6th in scoring (averaging 39.83 points per game). Defensively, Cincinnati has the top passing efficiency unit in the country and are 48th in total defense.

The Bottom Line:
Cincinnati has more than enough weapons to contend in this game, but how will they fair without Kelly calling the plays? And even though this looks like a great matchup for Florida, will the Gators get up for the Sugar Bowl after failing to reach the national title game again? One would think that Tebow would get his team up to play this game, but don’t forget Alabama quit last year in this same venue and got rolled by Utah.

Let the smack begin:

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Who will win the 2010 Sugar Bowl?

• Florida
• Cincinnati

View Results

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SI.com’s Stewart Mandel recently ranked all 34 bowl games.

Here are his top 5:

1) BCS National Championship Game (Jan. 7): Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0). It’s the first-ever matchup of two 13-0 teams. Colt McCoy. Mark Ingram. Rolando McClain. Sergio Kindle. Yeah, I’m thinking you might want to tune in.

2) Sugar (Jan. 1): Cincinnati (12-0) vs. Florida (12-1). It’s spread vs. spread, Tim Tebow vs. Tony Pike, Mardy Gilyard vs. Joe Haden. It may be a letdown game for the Gators, but it should still be entertaining.

3) Fiesta (Jan. 4): TCU (12-0) vs. Boise State (13-0). Enough with the outrage, people: You know you’re going to watch. The nation’s No. 1 passer, Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore, goes up against the nation’s top-ranked defense.

4) Rose (Jan. 1): Ohio State (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-2). Dangerous dual-threat star Jeremiah Masoli is what Terrelle Pryor was supposed to be. But the Buckeyes present the toughest defense the Ducks have faced since Boise.

5) Orange (Jan. 5): Georgia Tech (11-2) vs. Iowa (10-2). You remember the Hawkeyes. They love low scores and dramatic finishes. With a month to prepare, can Pat Angerer, Tyler Sash and Co. stifle Josh Nesbitt and the triple-option?

That’s how I would have my top 5, although the Fiesta and Sugar bowls might be interchangeable. I love watching TCU’s defense play and I’m intrigued about how Gary Patterson will game plan to stop Boise’s offense. That said, I’m interested to see how Cincinnati responds after Brian Kelly ditched them for Notre Dame.

I know Georgia Tech’s triple-option is exciting to watch and Iowa does have a solid front seven, but that matchup just doesn’t have the same appeal as the other four. Maybe it’ll wind up being the best BCS game of the season, but the matchup offers little sizzle compared to the other top bowls.

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For the first time in school history, Cincinnati has started a season 10-0 and is also the first FBS team to 10 wins in 2009.

The Bearcats beat Big East rivals West Virginia 24-21 on Friday night. The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, although that’s not to suggest that Cincinnati blew the Mountaineers out either.

Senior quarterback Tony Pike attempted four passes on the night and completed two of them…for touchdowns. Pike had been dealing with a forearm injury the past couple weeks and head coach Brian Kelly (when he wasn’t yelling at one of his assistants) wanted him to see some game action against West Virginia. Pike obviously made the most of his limited opportunities as he helped Cincinnati score two of its three touchdowns on the night.

Sophomore Zach Collaros ran the show for most of the night and used his arm and his legs to keep drives going for the Bearcats. Fellow sophomore Isaiah Pead had a fantastic night, rushing for 175 yards with a touchdown on 18 carries.

Not everything was positive for the Bearcats, however. Their run defense was gashed for 202 yards by the Mountaineers, some of which came right up the gut. The Bearcat defense also struggled getting a hold of West Virginia QB Jarrett Brown, who was able to keep the came close with his scrambling ability.

A team with a power running game will beat Cincinnati by wearing down its front seven and keeping its potent offense off the field. That said, with this win they set up a huge game with No. 12 Pittsburgh on December 5 for the Big East title. (Assuming the Panthers isn’t upset before then.)

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After two strong weeks in which I went 8-0 straight up and 7-1 against the spread, I crapped the bed last week. I went just 2-2 straight up and 1-3 against the spread. My only saving grace was that I predicted Ohio State to beat Penn State outright, but the refs took care of any opportunity LSU had of covering.

No. 25 West Virginia at No. 5 Cincinnati, 8:00PM ET, Friday
The Bearcats received a scare last week from Connecticut, which scored 35 second half points in order to erase a 30-10 halftime deficit. While Cincinnati held on to beat the Huskies 47-45, the narrow win raised some doubts about whether or not the Bearcats should be ranked in the top 5. Tony Pike continues to battle a forearm injury, which means sophomore Zach Collaros will once again be counted on to keep Cincinnati’s BCS hopes alive. The Bearcats might have trouble running against a decent West Virginia front seven, but Collaros should have opportunities to methodically drive the ball down the field on an inconsistent Mountaineer secondary. I see this game being close early, but Cincinnati will pull away and hold on to victory in the second half.
Odds: Cincinnati –9.
Prediction: Cincinnati 34, West Virginia 24.

No. 16 Utah at. No. 4 TCU, 7:30PM ET, Saturday
I’m a little surprised to see that TCU is a whopping 19.5-point favorite in such a marquee matchup. I fully expect the Horned Frogs to take care of business at home, but the Utes have a good enough defense to somewhat contain quarterback Andy Dalton and TCU’s trio of running backs in Joe Turner, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker. Plus, Utah can grind it out on the ground with running backs Eddie Wide and Sausan Shakerin, so they have the ability to keep TCU’s potent offense on the sidelines and have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. In the end, I think freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn will succumb to the pressure of TCU’s aggressive defense, but this one will be close throughout.
Odds: TCU –19.5.
Prediction: TCU 30, Utah 24.

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