For the 15th time since 1998, the NCAA college bowl season is set to start in three short weeks. The 2012 Bowl Season hopes to continue one of the most memorable seasons in recent memory: the re-emergence of Notre Dame as a national power, the electric Johnny Manziel leading Texas A&M to a #9 ranked season when they were predicted to get crushed by the dominant SEC, and the continued rule of Alabama under Coach Nick Saban, who looks to set an unprecedented career with three of the last four BCS national championships.
Discover BCS National Championship – No.1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-0) vs. No.2 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1). Miami, FL.
Matchup-
Undefeated Notre Dame comes off of a 22-13 win over USC in the Coliseum, one of the most feared venues in the United States. Notre Dame’s #1 ranked hard-nosed defense and linebacker Manti Te’o came to play, stopping USC on the Fighting Irish goal line in the closing minutes, but Alabama looks to be no slouch on defense either, coming in at a close 10.7 Points/G to Notre Dame’s 10.3. Quarterback AJ McCarron of the Alabama Crimson Tide hopes to match the Irish D with his #1 ranked passer rating in the nation. Notre Dame leads the series 5-1, with both teams combining for 22 national championships.
X Factor-
AJ McCarron will win or lose this game for the Tide; in their only loss of the season to #9 Texas A&M, he threw for one touchdown and two interceptions, one of his worst games of the season. In wins to #8 LSU and #7 Georgia, he did not throw for his best games, but performed in the final minutes, throwing the game-winning touchdown passes in the final minutes of both games. If Alabama wants to win, they will have to produce for a balanced offense, as Notre Dame’s stingy D will sniff out both the run and runningback Eddie Lacy consistently if Alabama does not provide for a passing threat.
Prediction-
23-20 Alabama. McCarron throws a lousy game in the first 58 minutes of the game, but fires off a touchdown in the last two to win the game.
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – No. 4 Oregon Ducks (11-1) vs. No. 5 Kansas State Wildcats (10-1). Glendale, AZ.
Matchup-
Oregon’s No.2 scoring offense and redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota missed out on the PAC-12 Championship Game due to their defensive struggle against No. 6 Stanford, losing17-14 in an upset to the Cardinal. Kansas State faced a similar upset but in not such a dramatic fashion, getting blown out 24-52 by the Baylor Bears. The Wildcats are quarterbacked by one of the three Heisman finalists, Senior quarterback Collin Klein.
X Factor-
Collin Klein threw three interceptions in his only loss of the season to Baylor. The other ten games? Only four. If Kansas State wants to keep up with Oregon in what is sure to be a high-scoring track meet, another three-interception egg in the Fiesta Bowl will not cut it. If Klein throws for only one or no interceptions, the Wildcats have a strong chance to win.
Prediction-
43-32 Oregon. Klein cannot repeat the magic from earlier in the season and throws for three interceptions against an Oregon D that leads the nation in interceptions.
AT&T Cotton Bowl – #9 Texas A&M Aggies (10-2) vs. #11 Oklahoma Sooners (10-2). Dallas, TX.
Matchup-
Texas A&M’s beloved Johnny Manziel broke the SEC record for total offense, beating out college football greats such as Cam Newton and Tim Tebow. Arguably the hottest team in the country, the Aggies knocked off #2 Alabama in front of the Crimson Tide crowd and leads the nation in total yards. Oklahoma is no slouch on offense either, ranking #5 in total passing yards and #12 in points scored. The defense looks to be suspect for Oklahoma; ranking #63 in rushing yards against and #43 in points scored against, A&M could look to build a huge lead early that OU may not be able to climb back from.
X Factor-
If Oklahoma looks to have any chance at all against Heisman winner Johnny Football, they MUST improve on the defense that has been their Achilles’ heel all season. Manziel has had good-to-great games against every team on his schedule except for LSU, where he had three interceptions; if Oklahoma wants to have much of a chance against the vaunted Aggie offense, they have to have a similar performance. However, whether or not the Sooners can repeat a performance by LSU’s defense, one of the best in the country, is a huge question mark that does not have a high likelihood of occurring.
Prediction-
28-21 A&M. Oklahoma scores a garbage touchdown late when the game is already in the hands of Texas A&M.
