Flowers and Fruit
It’s New Year’s Day sports fans and that means two things; that amatuer night is finally over, and this afternoon we have the Rose Bowl. In recent years this game hasn’t lived up to its billing as USC has demolished the representatives from the Big Ten. But this time around it’s Joe Paterno and Penn State that travel to Pasadena to play the Trojans in their home away from home. What a great coaching matchup between JoePa and the coach of today, Pete Carroll. Also tonight, we have another intriguing coaching matchup when Virginia Tech plays Cincinnati in the FedEx Orange Bowl. Frank Beamer has his Hokies in a familiar position while Brian Kelly and the Bearcats are a program on the rise. Lets take a deeper look at both of these matchups.
USC (-9.5) came into this season as many peoples favorite to reach the national title game. And they undoubtedly would be there if it weren’t for a tough road loss to Oregon State. Penn State also would probably be playing for the national title if it weren’t for a close loss to up and coming Iowa. So both of these teams come into this game trying to prove that they deserved more this season. Both teams have incredible defenses that dominate in different ways. USC has six all-americans on their defense headlined by linebacker Rey Maualuga. They have trmendous size, speed and athleticism. So it’s no surprise that they led the nation in almost every defensive category and have been put in the category of best defenses in college football history. Penn State on the other hand, dominates with defensive schemes and pressure. They don’t have the marquee names that the Trojans do, but they are well coached and smart. They come in as the number three ranked defense in the country behind USC and TCU. I’ll give a slight advantage to USC here.
On the offensive side of the ball, both teams have struggled at times this year, but have great athletes and are lead by good quarterbacks. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez is trying to put himself with the likes of Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart as star Trojan quarterbacks. With the help of running back Joe McKnight, I think this USC offense should make some plays on this stage. Penn State started the year looking like an offensive powerhouse. But at some points in the season, this so called 3D offense has struggled to score. I expect quarterback Daryll Clark to look to big play receiver Derrick Williams often in this game. Unfortunately I think USC will be looking for the same thing and should be able to contain them. This should be a close defensive battle for much of the game, but I think USC pulls away late with more offensive fire power. Trojans over the Nittany Lions, 26-13.
And tonight at 8:30 we have the denoument that is The Orange Bowl. Virginia Tech is back in its customary position in the national spotlight, while Cincinnati (-2.5) is in unfamiliar territory. I don’t think that anyone would have predicted these two teams would win their respective conferences. Virginia Tech lost virtually their entire defense to the NFL, and Cincinnati had such a rash of injuries that they were down to their 5th string quarterback. But that just shows you how great these two coaches really are. Everyone knows that Frank Beamer is among the elite coaches in college football. With a win tonight, the Hokies will join USC and Texas as the only teams to win 10+ games in each of the past five seasons. But it’s Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly that is the buzz right now. He has 21 victories at Cincy in the past two seasons. He will be in high demand for a more high profile job after the season is over, but he has said he wants to make the Bearcats a national title contender. A win in todays game would go a long way in establishing them as such.Â
The key matchup I see in this game is between Tech corner Victor “Macho” Harris and Cincinnati receiver Marshawn Gilyard. Gilyard has 74 receptions for 1118 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also contributes in the return game as well. Harris meanwhile, is the lone star left on that Virginia Tech defense and what a star he is. He has six interceptions this year and also plays offense occasionally as well as returning punts. The player that gets the best of this matchup will put his team in the driver seat. If quarterback Tony Pike can get Gilyard the ball, Cincy has a chance. But I think Harris wins that matchup, and Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor makes some plays running and throwing. Virginia Tech wins another big game, 27-21.
I hope all of you enjoy the games and have a wonderful year.Â
Sincerely, Ricky the Dragon.
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