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.
Normally most people would be very interested in a Big Ten vs. Big Twelve matchup, but I don’t know how many viewers the Alamo Bowl will draw. Iowas isn’t exactly in the top tier in the Big Ten and despite having a down year, this Texas team is still very good.
Iowa comes into the game with a 6-6 record, and not a very good one at that. They went 4-0 outside of the Big Ten, but put up an ugly 2-6 in conference record, including a loss to lowly Northwestern. The Hawkeyes at least have some form of offense, as they can usually rush the ball effectively. They platoon running backs Albert Young and Damian Sims who have combined for twelve touchdowns and 1300 yards this year. They are complimented by quarterback Drew Tate who has 2300 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. It is their balance that keeps opposing defenses off guard, and can allow for their success. The problem is, they don’t score nearly enough points. They can move the ball, but can’t always find the end zone and struggle with ball control at times. Tate has lobed up 12 interceptions and when your defense struggles at times, it is up to the offense to help them out. The Hawkeyes bring a three game losing skid into this one, and have lost five of their last six. They’re struggling to regain their winning ways, and facing Texas could make that tough.
Texas comes into the game with a talented offense that just finds ways to score. They are lead by freshman quarterback Colt McCoy, who is healthy and will play in the Alamo Bowl. McCoy has thrown 27 touchdowns, but only managed 2200 yards. They split carries between Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young, who have 1300 yards and 13 touchdowns between them. Again, this is a team that just finds ways to score, they may not rack up the yards on you, but they certainly will rack up the points. They are sixth in the nation in scoring and have averaged 36 points per game. This is helped by a stifling defense that has given up 17 points per game. It is your standard Texas team, put together a great offense with a good defense, and the offense will do well enough to keep the defense off the field for most of the game. This keeps them fresh and allows them to win most of the games they are in. The question for Texas is in their last two games. They started off the year 9-1 before losing their last two to Kansas State and Texas A&M, not exactly the best teams in the nation. Can Texas snap their skid?
The fact that this game is being played in Texas will only help the Longhorns. Let’s face it, their fans are crazy and if they don’t have to travel too far to cheer on their team, they will do it. They also happen to be the better team, so they shouldn’t have any problem taking down Iowa.
My Prediction: Texas Wins
