Latest Bowl Predictions: Oklahoma vs. Florida in title game
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/25/2008 @ 1:30 pm)
CBS Sportsline.com has unveiled their latest bowl predictions and they have Oklahoma meeting Florida in the national title game.
BCS National Championship: Oklahoma vs. Florida
Comment: It all comes down to the BCS. With Oklahoma’s thrashing of Texas Tech and a victory over Oklahoma State next week, we predict the Sooners will be the highest ranked team in the Big 12 South and earn a spot in the conference title game. All it would have to do is beat Missouri to earn a spot in the BCS National Championship game. If Texas is ranked higher than the Sooners when the BCS is released, then Texas would be predicted to earn this spot. As for the other team … we predict Florida will beat Alabama in the SEC Championship game, setting up a No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Oklahoma in Miami for the national championship. Florida would be playing for its second BCS title in the past three years, beating Ohio State two years ago. Oklahoma would be playing in its fourth title game in the decade.
Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. USC
Comment: With Oklahoma going to the BCS Championship game, the Fiesta Bowl will use its replacement pick to take another Big 12 team. Even though Texas Tech beat Texas, if the Longhorns are ranked in the Top 4 of the BCS, they are guaranteed a spot. With its other selection it takes at-large USC, which will only have one loss and ranked in the top 10 of the BCS.
The rest of their predictions: Alabama vs. Utah (Sugar Bowl); Oregon State vs. Penn State (Rose Bowl) and Boston College vs. Cincinnati (Orange Bowl).
Compared to last year, these matchups would be awfully dull outside of the title game and the Fiesta Bowl. Not saying the games would be bad, but the matchups leave something to be desired.
That said, an Oklahoma-Florida or Texas-Florida title game would be absolutely fantastic.
BCS Bowl Forecast
Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/31/2008 @ 9:08 am)
RealClearSports.com lays out its first BCS bowl forecast of the year.
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: January 8, Dolphin Stadium, Miami
Matchup: Texas vs. Penn State (Odds: Texas 70%, Penn State 80%)
Outlook: The No. 1-ranked Longhorns will have their toughest remaining game this week at Texas Tech. A victory should send Texas smooth sailing into Key Biscayne. Penn State has an even easier slate, but it still needs Alabama to lose one game.
ROSE BOWL: January 1, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
Matchup: USC vs. Ohio State (Odds: USC 90%, Ohio State 50%)
Outlook: The Tournament of Roses red coats don’t want this rematch – it would be the third time these two teams meet in 12 months – but it will have to really think outside of the box to avoid it. If Penn State somehow doesn’t make it to the BCS title game, fine. If USC somehow doesn’t win the Pac-10 outright, fine. But would the Rose Bowl dare to invite an SEC team to finally matchup with the Trojans in a bowl game? That would be nice, but that would also risk ticking off the Big Ten. Just remember, these guys invited Illinois last year. The track record isn’t good.
FIESTA BOWL: January 5, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Matchup: Alabama vs. Utah (Odds: Alabama 20%, Utah 60%)
Outlook: Say what? You ask. Well, this is going on the assumption that Oklahoma would be the obvious second choice from the Big 12 and the Fiesta Bowl doesn’t want a third consecutive appearance by the Sooners. The quandary here is that although the Fiesta would get the first pick if it loses Texas to the BCS title game, it pretty much has no way of avoid taking a non-BCS automatic qualifier, be it Utah, TCU, Boise State or even Tulsa.
SUGAR BOWL: January, 2, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
Matchup: Florida vs. Oklahoma (Odds: Florida 40%, Oklahoma 50%)
Outlook: If the Fiesta does pass on Oklahoma, then the Sooners land here to play the SEC champion. If Oklahoma is gone, then the Sugar will be forced to take the Big East champion, leaving the second SEC team for the Orange Bowl. If the SEC champion somehow ends up in the BCS title game, then the Sugar will take the Big 12’s second team.
Florida-Oklahoma would be awesome. And even though the Trojans blew them out earlier this season, I’d be interested in an OSU-USC rematch with Terrelle Pryor playing the entire game under center for the Buckeyes.
Posted in: College Football
Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, BCS Bowl predictions, BCS National Championship predictions, Fiesta Bowl prediction, Florida Gators, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Penn State Nittany Lions, Rose Bowl predictions, Terrelle Pryor, Texas Longhorns, Texas Tech Red Raiders, USC Trojans, Utah Utes