Every day (or so) for the next month I will be previewing one of the upcoming college bowl games. I will give my thoughts on the teams playing, players to be on the lookout for, and a general overview of the bowl.
The Texas Bowl is in its first year of existence, so it should be interesting to see how the game gets off to a start. It doesn’t have a lot of promise, as it will face two smaller programs in Rutgers and Kansas State. Not only that, but this game also looks about as one sided as they get.
Rutgers brings a very impressive 10-2 record to the Texas bowl, but are probably disappointed in the fact that they are stuck in the Texas Bowl. This is a team that had national title hopes, but slipped in losing two of their last three games and find themselves in the inaugural Texas Bowl. It isn’t the BCS National Championship, but it is a start for the program. The Scarlet Knights used to be the laughing stock of the Big East, but they have certainly turned it around. No they didn’t face the toughest schedule in the world this year, but they suffered only two losses, including one to West Virginia. We also can’t forget that they beat Louisville on national TV when they were undefeated as well. This team isn’t going to wow you with their offense, but they are going to absolutely shut you down on defense. They don’t have much to write about in the offensive department, running back Ray Rice is the key to their success, picking up 1600 yards on the year and getting over half of their offensive touchdowns. This team is just about ball control. They may not be the most talented, but they can hold onto the ball and stop you from running your offense, and that is exactly what they have done all year, and that is what has taken them to the number two spot in the Big East.
As usual, Kansas State was again swallowed up in to the Big 12. They seem to have a decent team every year, but they are always out manned against the likes of Oklahoma and Texas. This year was no different as they finished 3rd in the Big 12 North division. The Wildcats finished 7-5 in what was an up and down year for them. They would beat some tough teams, and then come out and lose easy games that they should have won. They took down Texas, but lost to Kansas and Baylor. They have some big wins, but some very ugly losses to go along with those. They too don’t have much in the way of an offense, but unlike Rutgers, they don’t have much in the way of a defense either. Their quarterback Josh Freeman sucks, he has tossed up 13 interceptions as compared to only six touchdowns, and has taken twenty two sacks on the year. Let’s just say his decision making isn’t that good. But at least he is only a freshman, so he has time to learn. Their running game almost isn’t worth mentioning, because it is practically non-existent. This team needs its defense to get it good field position in order to accomplish anything, and that might be asking a little too much.
I feel bad for Rutgers, they drop two of their last three and go from a BCS bowl to a bowl that absolutely no one cares about. They shouldn’t have a problem rolling over Kansas State, I’m just not sure how the players are going to be able to get up for this game. It is going to be quite a disappointment from what they could have had.
My Prediction: Rutgers Wins
