The first of three bowl’s December 26th is the Little Caesar’s Bowl (1PM), which will pair Marshall of Conference USA and Ohio from the MAC. Ohio is 9-4 this season and won the MAC East. Marshall started the season strong, but struggled in Conference USA play and finished the season 6-6 after going 1-3 to end the season. Marshall is playing without a coach, as Coach Mark Snyder resigned after the Herd’s final regular season game. Defensive coordinator Rick Minter will coach under the interim tag for this game.
Ohio is led by quarterback Theo Scott and talented running back/kick returner Chris Garrett. Marshall will need to key on Chris Garrett in an effort to make Ohio a one-dimensional team. The defense will need to eliminate Garrett’s impact make slightly nicked-up Theo Scott be the one to beat them. This will be the only way Marshall will be able to stay in the game. Marshall’s offense is led by quarterback Brian Anderson and running back Darius Marshall. Anderson has solid passing numbers, but has a mediocre TD-INT ratio. The Ohio defense will look to exploit Anderson in the passing game.
This game will come down to turnovers and which team’s running back can impose his will on the other defense. Ohio is just too talented of a team for Marshall to compete with for 60 minutes.
My prediction: Ohio 31-Marshall 14
The 4PM game is the Meineke Car Care Bowl, which pairs Pittsburgh and North Carolina. This could be one of the best bowl games of the season, and a very difficult one to predict. Pittsburgh has an extremely explosive offense, and North Carolina has one of the top 10 defenses in the country. North Carolina has struggled at times on offense, but Pittsburgh’s defense has not been very consistent this year. Every time I think about this game, I switch from picking Pitt to picking UNC, and then back to Pitt. Will Bill Stull and Dion Lewis impose their will on the North Carolina defense, or will UNC’s defense stop the explosive Pitt offense? The other big question is whether or not the UNC offense will show up and play well.
My prediction may change by gametime, but I think the UNC defense will stop the Pitt offense, and the UNC offense will do just enough to win the game. My prediction: UNC 27-Pitt 21
The final game of the day is the Emerald Bowl, where USC will battle Boston College. The game will be played at San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park. This game is an interesting matchup in that both teams have not played to their potential this year. USC looks to erase the disappointment of a 5th place finish in the Pac-10 with a bowl victory. It is not certain whether or not Joe McKnight will be cleared to play yet, but he would be a big part of USC’s offensive attack. Another key to the game will be quarterback Matt Barkley’s response to his first career bowl appearance. Boston College will rely on Montel Harris, who set the school rushing record this year with 1,355 yards and 13 TDs.
My prediction: Boston College’s Montel Harris will run free on the USC defense that has struggled against the talented runners this year. BC 30-USC 17.
The only game Sunday, 12/27 is Clemson vs. Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. This game will be a matchup of the ACC runner up and a middle of the road SEC team. Kentucky has played many solid games this year; with a few good wins and a few tough losses against good teams. This game comes down to if Kentucky can stop Clemson running back CJ Spiller. Kentucky’s defense has not looked stellar this year against the run, and I think that will be the difference in the game.
My prediction: Clemson 28-Kentucky 21