With the regular season over the final test is thrust upon the nation’s finest.
by Sam Thomas
photo by Manny Perez
With all the fireworks that took place during the last games of the college football regular season, the nation better be prepared to be one-upped. The BCS Bowl games are just around the corner and the nation needs to ready itself to be amazed. With the four major bowl games comes the showdown of the best teams in the country. With the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and the BCS National Championship on the line, who will take the crown and win their respective games?
FedEx Orange Bowl January 1, 2009, Miami Florida 8:30 P.M, Fox
The first game to be played will be the FedEx Orange Bowl with the showdown of the Big East Champions 12th ranked Cincinnati Bearcats, and the winner of the ACC, the 19 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. This game will come down to one thing and one thing only: will Virginia Tech show up to play? With a supreme offence and defense the Hokies should walk away with the win. The offence and defense that showed up in the ACC Championship victory over highly ranked Boston College for Virginia Tech should allow them to beat the Bearcats, but only if they come with their A game and are ready to play. With so much on the line VA Tech takes down Cincinnati and wins out right.
Citi Group Rose Bowl January 1, 2009, Pasadena California 4:30 P.M, ABC
The next game to be played is the Citi Group Rose Bowl, which this year highlights two very good teams with one very big advantage lurking in the rafters. The number-five-ranked University of South California Trojans will have a big home field advantage over the 8th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, which is a very good team and went the season nearly undefeated. They’re going to put up a great fight against the Trojans, but USC has too much talent at the skill positions (quarterback, running back, and wide receiver) for Penn State to handle. The Trojans will win in a close match, taking home the Rose Bowl in their own house.
Allstate Sugar Bowl January 2, 2009, New Orleans LA 8:00 P.M, Fox
Next up is the Allstate Sugar Bowl matching up the number four University of Alabama Crimson Tide with the Utah University Utes. This game will be the big blowout for the bowl games. The Crimson Tide was ranked number one in the nation for the majority of the season and would have played for a National Championship if they had beaten Florida in the SEC Championship. The Utes, although one of two undefeated teams that will play in a bowl game, have zero chance of winning this game. They play in a weak conference and don’t match up with Alabama in any category. The Tide takes the Sugar Bowl with ease.
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl January 5, 2009, Glendale Arizona 8:00 P.M, Fox
The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is next on the list, and comes with the face off between powerhouse 3rd ranked University of Texas Longhorns and the 10th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. This is one the best, if not the best, bowl game to be played. This will be a shootout coming down to the wire. Both teams have explosive offenses that can put up some serious numbers. Both teams come to play, but I see the Longhorns edging out the Buckeyes, winning the Fiesta Bowl in one of the best games out of all the BCS bowl games.
BCS National Championship January 8, 2009, Miami Florida 8:00, Fox
Last but certainly not least is the BCS National Championship bringing the best two teams in the nation together for the first time in history. The number one ranked Oklahoma University Sooners enter a war with the number two ranked University of Florida Gators. Both teams had superb seasons ending with outstanding 12 and 1 records. The winner of the Big 12 (Oklahoma) and the winner of the SEC (Florida) will amaze the nation in this explosive game. With two of the four candidates for the Heisman Trophy showing up in one game I don’t know how this bowl won’t be great. In the end Heisman hopeful Gator Quarterback Tim Tebow will be too much to handle. Florida will win their second national championship in three years and will be crowned this year’s greatest team in college football.
