Rose Bowl: Ohio State at Oregon- The Rose Bowl will be a clash of strength against strength. The Ohio State defense carried the Buckeyes to yet another Big 10 title, permitting opponents 12.2 points per game and an average of 83.4 yards on the ground. Pac-10 champion Oregon ranked 6th in the nation in rushing yards per game. There’s a good chance this game will come down to the play of its QB’s. Terrelle Pryor has been inconsistent but has the ability with both his arms and feet to consistently burn an undersized Ducks defense that’s allowed 283 points. If the Buckeyes front seven is able to contain James for the first time all year then they’ll be left with the task of stopping Masoli, who’s accumulated 27 touchdowns in total. Ohio State has a strong secondary, but Masoli is better than almost any QB they’ve faced this year. The Ducks have too many weapons for the Buckeyes to contain. Even if Ohio State is able shut down Oregon’s rushing attack, they won’t be able to contain them in the air and vice versa. Pryor and his offense do not have the consistency or firepower to run up the points totals Pac-10 offenses did against the Ducks. Expect a fairly high scoring game, but for Oregon to make one or two big plays to pull it out. Oregon 27-24
Sugar Bowl: Cincinnati at Florida- In my mind, this contest has all the makings of a blowout. Cincinnati is no match overall for Florida. Sure, the Bearcats have an excellent offense that averaged 39.8 points per game. But they put up these big totals against a slew of Big East opponents with defenses much less athletic than the group the Gators will be featuring. Florida ranks third against the pass nationally and fourth in total defense and will be up against one of their toughest opponents yet in Tony Pike, the Cincinnati quarterback who’s thrown for 26 touchdowns against only six picks. The stalwart Gators defense, stacked with NFL prospects, will limit Pike in his opportunities and put an unmanageable amount of pressure on the Bearcats rushing attack, which is far more pedestrian. Meanwhile nobody ever argued that Cincinnati obtained a perfect regular on the back of their defense. The Bearcats have allowed more than 35 points in three of their past four games. It’s safe to say that Cincinnati has not had to deal with players the caliber of Tim Tebow regularly in the Big East this year and those they’re going to have difficulty shutting the wunderkind down. The Bearcats will have to put up a powerful offensive effort to win the Sugar Bowl, and against the likes of Florida I don’t see them having the balance to do this. Tebow and the 12th-ranked Florida offense will run wild on the slow Cincinattti defense as Tebow caps one of the greatest college football careers ever with another memorable game. Florida plays in the SEC, and against the Bearcats they will show the divide between the SEC conference and everyone else. Florida 34-17
By Danny Atkinson
