College Bowl Game Previews- Part One

Here are the Bowl game predictions and previews for the games that will be played from Dec. 20-23. Other installments will follow.

Poinsettia Bowl- Utah (8-4) vs. Navy (8-4), Dec. 20: Expect a lot of points to be scored in this game. Only once this season did the Midshipmen hold an opponent under 19 points and that was in their season finale with Army. Utah’s defense is a little stouter, but don’t let shutouts against offensive juggernauts Wyoming and UNLV fool you into thinking they can shut the Navy option attack down. Utah did give up 12 points or less nine teams, but against less than spectacular offenses. Utah has shown the ability to put up big points, twice scoring 44 and once scoring 50. Navy’s offense, on the other hand, is scoring 43.8 points a game and has cracked 40 points seven times, once scoring 74 in a win over North Texas. Expect a shootout and expect Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada to be too much through the air and on the ground.
Predictions:
Matt- Navy
Ben- Navy
Mike- Navy

New Orleans Bowl- Memphis (7-5) vs. Florida Atlantic (7-5), Dec. 21: If it weren’t for the big brawl against Miami, I might not even know Florida Atlantic had a team (I’m kidding, of course I know it was Florida International, how could I get these two powerhouses confused). Seriously, the Owls are in a Bowl game? Apparently. This should also be a high scoring game, matching a strong running game for FAU and a very good passing game from Memphis that ranked 13th in the country. Martin Hankins threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 22 TDs for the Tigers. The key in this game will be Memphis’ ability to take care of the ball. In a surprising stat, the Owls lead FCS teams with a +19 turnover margin.
Predictions:
Matt- Memphis
Ben- Memphis
Mike- Memphis

Papjohns.com Bowl- Southern Miss (7-5) vs. Cincinnati (9-3), Dec. 22: The Big East has to get some stronger Bowl ties because you are talking about a Cincy team that is top 20 in the country and should be playing no earlier than Dec. 27. With all due respect to the joke that is Missouri being left out of a BCS game and LSU getting to play for the title, this is the biggest farce of a bowl selection for any team. Ben Mauk is going to have a big game for the Bearcats while the Golden Eagles will have trouble even moving the ball. They like to run with Damion Fletcher and Cincy’s run defense has allowed teams to go over 100 yards only three times all year.
Predictions:
Matt- Cincy
Ben- Cincy
Mike- Cincy

New Mexico Bowl- Nevada (6-6) vs. New Mexico (8-4), Dec. 22: Nevada is the good team that was almost very good, losing four games by a touchdown or less. Three of those games were in WCC play and two of them were two-point losses to Hawaii and Boise State. The non-conference loss was a five-point defeat to a BCS team, Northwestern. New Mexico also had some close losses, but had a pair of wins over good teams, beating Arizona and Air Force. This game could come down to the running backs with the battle between Nevada’s Luke Lippincott and NM’s Rodney Ferguson. Both of them are very big, physical backs who can carry the load, and whoever has the bigger day will probably lead their team to a win.
Predictions:
Matt- Nevada
Ben- New Mexico
Mike- Nevada

Las Vegas Bowl- UCLA (6-6) vs. BYU (10-2), Dec. 22: Somehow, someway, UCLA beat BYU in an earlier matchup this season. But that was in week two when UCLA was ranked and hadn’t had time to be exposed for the fraud it was, while BYU was unranked and still just coming together as a team. In that game Ben Olson threw five TDs for the Bruins, but that was just a façade as UCLA’s pass offense has been horrendous. With Khalil Bell out, Chris Markey will get most of the carries, and will have to do so against a very good BYU run defense. The UCLA team we know now is the one that lost four of its final five games and fired its head coach. BYU, on the other hand, hasn’t lost since Sep. 15 and has been led by a sophomore quarterback in Max Hall and a freshman running back in Harvey Unga. The duo, as well as the team, is getting better and better each time out.
Predictions:
Matt- BYU
Ben- BYU
Mike- BYU

Hawaii Bowl- Boise State (10-2) vs. East Carolina (7-5), Dec. 23: East Carolina’s two quarterback rotation might have a big day against a Boise State secondary that got nicked up in the Hawaii game and has not recovered. If the Pirates are going to stay in this game, it will be throwing the ball because it appears the Broncos have the advantage everywhere else. BSU will be able to run the ball more effectively, dominate up front on both sides and probably make fewer mistakes. Look for Ian Johnson to have a very big day in his final game, after what was supposed to be a Heisman-esque season turned into just a pretty good one. He is going to want to end his career with a big game and a big win and he will probably do both.
Predictions:
Matt- Boise State
Ben- Boise State
Mike- Boise State