BIG 11 Bowl BreakDown

Credit Matt Tramba (pictured in red above) for this great Blog idea.

With Wisconsin taking on Da U tonight, I decided to take a look at each of the Big Tens Bowl games and see how I think they will do.

Wisconsin vs. Miami (FL) - Miami came back onto the college football world like a hurricane this year, beating Florida St, Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma in its first 4 games. Losses to Virginia Tech, Clemson, and North Carolina derailed any hope of winning the ACC but this team is young and talented led by sophomore QB Jacory Harris on offense and linebacker Sean Spence on defense. Miami will have its hands full with powerful running back John Clay. But in Miami has done a nice job against the run this season except for a the loss to Virginia Tech in the slop. I am picking Miami to play mistake free and beat Wisconsin.

Minnesota vs. Iowa St - Who cares really? 2 6-6 teams playing really is the pinnacle of college football.....Ill pick Iowa St just because they havent been to a bowl game in a while and Minnesota is going back to the same bowl game 2 years in a row.

Northwestern vs. Auburn - If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that Northwestern would be the Big10s best chance to beat an SEC school I would have laughed. But now, they probably are the best shot the Big10 has. Northwestern has played competitively in the past few bowl games as has Auburn. The Outback Bowl is usually a good game. The current line is Auburn -7.5 and they might win the game but I think it will be close and I give the slight edge to Northwestern in this game.

Penn St vs. LSU - 2009 was not a kind year for the Nittany Lions. It started in the Rose Bowl, where they were shellacked by USC (as all Big10 schools are). And in Penn St's only "big games" they were embarrassed at home by Iowa and Ohio St. LSU has dominated its bowl games under coach Les Miles. There is no logical reason why Penn St is favored in this game. I pick LSU and there bad QB.

Michigan St vs. Texas Tech - 2 days ago I would have said this is a lead pipe lock that Tech would win because Michigan St is lousy and half of their team is suspended. But who knows what is going on at Tech with Coach Mike Leach being suspended for allegedly locking an injured player in a closet. I picked Texas Tech, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe thats why Texas Tech looked terrible last year in the Cotton Bowl, because half their team was imprisoned! Ill pick MSU.

Iowa vs. Georgia Tech - I will make this one short and sweet. Georgia Tech will be able to run when it matters most. Iowa will play a close game, because thats what it seems like they did all year. In the end, my pick is Georgia Tech.

Buckeyes vs. Oregon - I predicted Ohio St 27 -24 the day the game was set. Now I'm not so sure... Ohio St has had all kinds of time off where Oregon played the last week of the season. My hope is that the team comes out ready to play, especially on defense. If Oregon picks up early momentum we will be in trouble, Ohio State is not a come from behind team. I pick Ohio St but much less confidently than I did in the past.

So there it is Matt, I have the Big Ten with a 3-4 bowl record. Lets enjoy the games!