| Fiesta Bowl, 4:30 p.m. EST
Jan. 1, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. Oregon (10-1) vs. Colorado
(10-2)
There have been few non-national title bowls more intriguing than the 2002 Fiesta Bowl
between two of the nation's best teams. While we can't wait to see these two slug it out,
we wish people would stop making this out to be National Title, Part One.
If you want to argue that Colorado is one of the hottest teams in the country, fine,
but in college football, the regular season means something and the Buffs lost to Fresno
State and were destroyed by Texas. A blowout win over Nebraska and a Big XII title win
over the Longhorns, gift wrapped by Chris Simms, doesn't change that. Oregon is an
outstanding team to be sure, but the Ducks don't have any more of a claim to a national
title shot than Maryland or Illinois. Give the program credit for being a national power
now as they've been considered a national title team all season long on reputation and not
necessarily performance. The Ducks won, but they were hardly overwhelming. Thet beat a
reeling UCLA team, without star RB DeShaun Foster and with a DUI arrest hanging over QB
Cory Paus' head, by only one and struggled to beat vastly inferior Oregon State, Utah and
Wisconsin teams. They lost at home to Stanford. It does say something that this team wins,
but in the beauty contest that is the national title, you have to nitpick.
Few offenses are more balanced than Oregon's with star QB Joey Harrington and unnoticed
receiving stars TE Justin Peelle and WR Keenan Howry, who are tough to stop, but the real
strength of the Oregon ‘O’ is in the running game where RBs Onterrio Smith and
Maurice Morris have been a lethal combination. The two have combined for 1,967 yards and
15 TD runs by keeping each other fresh. The defense on the other hand hasn't been anywhere
near the level of Ducks’ defenses of the past and has gotten continuously burned
through the air and run on at will. But while they give up a ton of yards, they bend but
don't often break. The key for Oregon is to stay close. Few players are better in crunch
time than Harrington and the team believes it’s never out of a game with No. 3 under
center.
Colorado started of its season on a sour note by giving away a win against Fresno State
when QB Craig Ochs threw an ill-timed late interception. Since then, the only blip on the
map was a four-turnover performance against Texas in QB Bobby Pesavento's first game after
Ochs was out with an injury. The key to the Buffs’ emergence in the national title
talk has been the play of RB Chris Brown. After running for 445 yards and seven touchdowns
over a four-game stretch, he fell out of the running rotation and gained just 74 yards
over the next five games before the breakout game of breakout games. Brown almost
single-handedly destroyed Nebraska as he exploded for 198 yards and six touchdowns. He
then tore off 182 yards and three scores against Texas in the Big XII title game. Brown's
emergence and the dominance of the CU offensive line, which has jelled into one of the
nation's best units, has returned the program to dominance.
Players to watch: There's a reason Brown is gaining so many yards. Besides his
obvious talent, he has massive holes to run through provided by 315-pound OG Andre Gurode
and 6-6, 330-pound OT Victor Rogers. These two seniors are locks to be among the first
offensive linemen taken in the 2002 NFL Draft. Also worth watching is CU's marvelous SS
Michael Lewis. If CU matches him up on Oregon’s Peelle like they did against
Nebraska's star TE Tracey Wistrom, Harrington will lose his safety valve. Lewis is one of
the nation's biggest hitters and is outstanding against the run.
Oregon's defense may not be among the nation's best, but it has two standout
linebackers who'll be right in the thick of the action trying to stop Brown and the
running game. Sophomore Wesley Mallard and senior Kevin Mitchell combined to make 192
stops this season and they use them both to blitz early and often. If Oregon is going to
have a chance, these two must have huge games.
Colorado will win if... Brown runs over the Oregon linebackers. We'll know on
Colorado's first drive of the game how it's going to go. Mallard and Mitchell are good,
but they're not all that big checking in at around 210 pounds. Brown is 220 pounds and
fellow RBs Cortlen Johnson and Bobby Purify are around 200. If the Buffs’ backs get
past the line and start butting heads 5-10 yards downfield, Oregon is going to wear down
in a real hurry. Utah's Dameon Hunter is around 235 pounds, UCLA's Akil Harris is around
210, Stanford's Kerry Carter is 235 and Washington State's Dave Minnich is 220. They all
had big days against the Oregon D and Brown might be stronger than all of
them.
Oregon will win if... it's close late. No one plays better in tight ball games
than Oregon does, winning six of their games by a touchdown or less, and led by Captain
Comeback Joey Harrington, the Ducks have one of the best and most confident attitudes of
any college football team. Harrington has had a great season and against Colorado's
beatable defensive backs, we think Harrington is going to have his best game of the
year.
Our Prediction: Colorado 41, Oregon 30
This one's going to be a heck of a lot of fun. We know we always tend to underestimate
Oregon, but we'll be shocked if the Ducks can pull off this win. We just don't think they
have the run defense to slow down the Buffs’ backs and the defensive line won't be
able to handle the sheer size and talent of the Colorado O line. When the Buffaloes’
running game is going, then CU TE Daniel Graham will shed the Oregon defensive backs
assigned to him. Colorado is outstanding against the run and will slow down Oregon's own
running game and put the game in the hands of Harrington. Harrington's one of the best,
but Colorado is just on too much of a roll and we're not sold that the Ducks really are
one of the nation's top five teams.
Sugar Bowl, 8:30 p.m. EST Jan. 1, at
Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans
Illinois (10-1) vs. LSU (9-3)
We'll try to look past the crime against humanity that the Big Ten champion isn't
invading Pasadena on New Year's Day or even matched up against the Pac-10 champion to
examine this bowl for what it is ... a really good matchup. Illinois and LSU are just
about even in overall talent and they're both really motivated to finish off their wildly
successful seasons with a strong kick.
Illinois is an experienced team led by its unflappable star QB Kurt Kittner. The senior
had a great season helped by the return of WR Brandon Lloyd who missed last season with a
broken leg. Lloyd returned as good as ever and was just the tonic Kittner needed as the
offense has the spring of 1999 back in its step. The Illini trashed Louisville in
surprisingly easy fashion then suffered its only setback when it lost to Michigan. Unable
to run the ball on the Wolverines, the Illini played a surprisingly uninspiring game and
Michigan won easily. Then came the run. Winning its last seven games, the Illini caught
several breaks and made a few of their own by shutting down Purdue's offense and catching
Ohio State right after the Steve Bellisari incident. The Illini have one of the nation's
best secondaries and a decent, but not dominating offensive line, but it's Kittner who
runs the show. As he goes, so go the Illini.
LSU gave up about a million yards through the air to Tennessee and Florida (813 to be
exact) in two early losses. After a loss to Mississippi, the Tigers were an also ran in
the SEC race and at 4-3 were in danger of missing the bowl season with a road game at
Alabama and games against Arkansas and Auburn on the horizon. Then something magical
happened ... Josh Reed went nuts. Oh sure, the senior wide receiver was having a fantastic
season, catching more than 100 yards worth of passes in each of LSU's first six games. He
also caught three for 85 against Ole Miss, but that was nothing compared to the legendary
game he had against Alabama when he caught 19 passes for 293 yards and a score. The team
suddenly had confidence with an offense that no one could stop and ripped off a five-game
winning streak, including a win over Tennessee in the SEC title game. All is not perfect
as the other key part of the equation is now gone. RB LaBrandon Toefield, who carried the
running game for 992 yards and 19 touchdowns, is gone with a torn ACL. All of a sudden,
the versatile Domanick Davis has to carry the rushing load and must be effective for the
Tigers to win.
Players to watch: No one has been able to slow down Reed all season, but he
hasn't faced a secondary as talented as Illinois'. The Illini give up a ton of yards, but
Bobby Jackson and Muhammad Abdullah might be the nation's best safety tandem and CB Eugene
Wilson is like flypaper. All are big, strong and rock solid against the run. Between the
three, Reed will have his work cut out for him.
While QB Rohan Davey and Reed have been outstanding, the run defense has been a brick
wall led by an outstanding pair of linebackers, Trev Faulk and Bradie James. The two
combined for 232 tackles this season and when they blitz, they pack a wallop. Expect them
to be in Kittner's face all day. Also worth watching on the Tigers’ ‘D’ is
outstanding FS Ryan Clark. It'll be his job to help out on Illinois' talented receivers,
Lloyd and Walter Young.
Illinois will win if... Kittner has time to throw. The LSU secondary has been
torched this year to the tune of 256 yards to Tennessee's Kelley Washington, 164 yards to
Florida's Jabar Gaffney, 120 to Reche Caldwell, 115 yards to Arkansas' George Wilson, 93
yards to Auburn's Tim Carter and 100 yards to Utah State's Kevin Curtis. In the SEC title
game, Washington and Donte Stallworth combined for 16 catches for 236 yards and a
touchdown. If LSU can't get pressure on Kittner and he has time to find the mismatches,
he'll pick apart the Tigers’ secondary as Young, Lloyd and TE Aaron Moorehead are too
good and too talented for the Tigers.
LSU will win if... Davis goes off. In relief of Toefield, Davis ran for 78 yards
against Tennessee and he'll need to be running well to force Illinois' magnificent
safeties to cheat up so Reed can get one-on-one coverage. The Illini won't be able to hurt
the hobbled Davey, but they will force him to move. If Davis is having a big game, Davey
will have less pressure on him.
Our Prediction: Illinois 34, LSU 27
Yes, LSU is playing the equivalent of a home game and yes, the Tigers have a better
résumé of wins than Illinois does, but we're not sold on the beat-up LSU secondary and
think the Illini’s receivers will be unstoppable. LSU has been able to make magic
happen all season, but Illinois is too diversified on offense and has just enough talent
on defense to pull off the win.
Orange Bowl, 8 p.m. EST Jan. 2, at Pro
Player Stadium in Miami, Fla.
Maryland (10-1) vs. Florida (9-2)
Florida in the Orange Bowl. No shock there. Maryland in a bowl game. Monster shock. By
now, everyone knows about Ralph Friedgen and the Terrapins' outstanding, breakthrough
season, but there's still very little respect for what they've done. Sure the Terps won
the ACC, but they lost to Florida State and after all, who have they really beaten?
Florida is a different story. While Maryland was the surprise of the 2001 college football
season, Florida's season has to be viewed as a disappointment. With as much talent as any
team in the country, not going to the Rose Bowl is bad enough, not even playing for the
SEC title game is inexcusable.
Most interesting will be the coaching battle between Fridgen and Florida's Steve
Spurrier. These two and their staffs might be the best tacticians in the game and with a
month to prepare, we couldn't be more interested to see what sort of wrinkles each one
comes up with.
The Gators’ offense is the nation's most lethal as no one has come close to
slowing down the passing game and no one has stopped QB Rex Grossman. Throwing for 34
touchdowns and 3,896 yards against the nation's best competition, Grossman would've won
the Heisman Trophy had he been a senior. As a sophomore, he'll have to settle for being
the nation's most efficient quarterback. When the Gators win, they do it with pizzazz,
winning their nine games by an average of 47.78 to 10.89. Their two losses came by a total
of five points and while no one considered them for the Rose Bowl, and rightly so, they
still might be the nation's best team.
Maryland has won all year by not making mistakes and playing good, sound, fundamental
defense to go along with its great running game. With the running of RB Bruce Perry and QB
Shaun Hill, the Terps went on a seven-game winning streak to start the season, then were
beaten and beaten badly at Florida State before finishing with a three-game winning streak
to win the ACC title. The Terps only faced two ranked teams this year (compared to the six
the Gators faced), but they're 4-1 against bowl teams and aren't going to be intimidated
by the Florida aura.
Players to watch: The Maryland offense might be deadly efficient, but the
defense has been even more impressive led by its amazing linebacker, junior E.J.
Henderson. All Henderson did was make 150 tackles, six sacks and 28 tackles for loss as
one of the most active and dominant players in the country. The Terps might have one of
the few secondaries with enough individual talent to match up with the Gators if Henderson
and company can get to Grossman. Senior CB Tony Okanlawon, who's questionable for this
game, and SS Tony Jackson combined for 11 interceptions and are both extremely active
against the run. Both are sure tacklers and both will have to have big games if the Terps
are going to have a chance.
Florida is 9-0 when RB Earnest Graham plays. The Gators are 0-2 when he doesn't and
that's no coincidence. The 214-pound junior is the only real rushing threat they have,
Robert Gillespie is more of a receiver than runner, and when Graham's powering the ball
between the tackles, defenses eventually adjust and then the lanes open wide for the
passing game. He doesn't run for a ton of yards, but he runs for just enough to provide
the balance the Gators’ offense needs to go from amazing to unstoppable.
Maryland will win if... the Terps can get to Grossman and force turnovers. With
Henderson and the rest of the linebackers, Maryland likes to blitz from every angle and
will do whatever it can to throw Grossman out of rhythm. He's deadly enough as it is
without having time to throw. The Terps’ secondary has talent, but if you see
Grossman getting a chance to look at his second and third receivers, chances are the
Gators are way ahead.
Florida will win if... it can stay disciplined against the option. The option
doesn't work against fast back sevens and the Gators have the speed at linebacker, and
even at defensive end, to prevent Perry from getting to the outside. He can run between
the tackles as well, but the Terps need to get to the outside to really be
effective.
Our Prediction: Florida 48, Maryland 20
Maryland has been surprising everyone all year and if the Gators underestimate them,
this could be another shocker ... but it's not going to happen. There's no way, no how
Spurrier will let his team take Maryland lightly after having to deal with the Tennessee
loss for a month. Not only do we think Florida will win easily, we think this will be one
of the worst bowls of the season as we just don't see how the Terps can come close to
stopping the Gators’ passing attack. Florida State's Chris Rix threw for 350 yards
and five touchdowns against Maryland. George Godsey threw for 320 and a score and North
Carolina State's Philip Rivers threw for 280 and a touchdown. Those three quarterbacks are
nothing compared to Grossman and we think he'll be among the most impressive players in
the bowl season. The Gators will have this wrapped up by halftime.
Rose Bowl, 8 p.m. EST, Jan. 3 at the Rose
Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Nebraska (11-1) vs. Miami (11-0)
From the people not believing Nebraska is deserving of a national title shot to the
traditionalists (count us among this category) that feel the decline of Western
civilization is in full swing because the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions aren't playing in
Pasadena on New Year's Day, no one seems to be happy about this game. Should Colorado be
playing Miami? Should Oregon be in the Rose Bowl? How about Illinois or Maryland? We're
past it. Nebraska might not have even won its own division, but someone had to play for
the national title and the Huskers are as deserving as anyone to give Miami a shot.
Nebraska is down 3-1 to the ’Canes in bowl games, winning the 1994 national title
with a 24-17 win, but losing 23-3 in the 1988 Orange Bowl and 22-0 in the 1991 Orange
Bowl. However, the two are most known for playing the greatest college game of all-time in
the 1984 Orange Bowl with Miami winning a 31-30 classic. Despite what many people think,
we think this one has all the makings of another classic.
Nebraska was hovering around the No. 1 spot in just about every poll this season before
crashing with a resounding thud in the epic collapse against Colorado. The Huskers faced
six bowl teams this season, but only faced two currently in either poll, Oklahoma and
Colorado. This version of the Huskers is like past teams. It uses a steamrolling running
game and relies on a tough defense, but this is nowhere near the machine that dominated
the mid-90s or owned the Big 8 in the early 1980s.
QB Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy as more of a lifetime achievement than for having
the best college football season, but to his credit, he's been amazing without the elite
supporting cast other great Huskers quarterbacks have had. With some of the quickest feet
in college football, he's nearly untouchable in the open field and if he gets a step
behind the defense, he's gone. While he's been a more efficient passer this season, he's
still a painful passer to watch.
One of the other stars is RB Dahrran Diedrick whose lowest rushing game was 74 yards in
a blowout win over Rice. He doesn't have blinding speed on the outside, but he's great at
powering over defenders and is lethal between the tackles. Junior Thunder Collins brings
more of the lightning, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Miami might be vulnerable against a
power running team, so don't be shocked if these two have huge days.
Miami went through its season at times looking like one of the most frighteningly
complete teams in recent college football history and other times appearing sort of bored.
The one thing that's been the constant has been its defense looking eerily like the 2000
national title-winning defense of Oklahoma's in the way it can score, set the offense up
with great field position, and make plays when its back was against the wall. The
’Canes beat six bowl teams and posted two dominant wins against No. 13 Syracuse and
No. 12 Washington in back-to-back weeks by a total of 124-7. How good are the Hurricanes?
Their weakest link may have been their Heisman finalist, QB Ken Dorsey.
Dorsey was good, but not great as he never appeared sharp this year. His throws wobbled
and he struggled badly in the two close road wins against Boston College and Virginia
Tech. Is Dorsey a bad quarterback? Of course not, but it was his job to not lose games and
let the running game and defense win. He played a little tentatively and it showed.
Miami's offense revolved around the running game led by Clinton Portis' brilliant
season. Portis ran for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns carrying them on his back when they
needed him most with 36 carries against Boston College and 34 against Virginia Tech.
Without FB Najeh Davenport (out with a foot injury), it'll be harder for Portis to find
holes to run through, but with his power and freshman Frank Gore's speed, the
’Canes’ running attack should still be potent.
Players to watch: In a game of this magnitude, the stars will be shining bright
and each team has playmakers at almost every position. You obviously know all about
Crouch, Dorsey, Diedrick and Portis, but here are a few players to keep your eye on:
- The tight ends. With all due respect to Colorado's Daniel Graham and Oklahoma's Trent
Smith, you'll be hard pressed to find a better matchup of tight ends than in this game.
Miami's Jeremy Shockey has a reputation of only being a receiver, but nothing could be
further from the truth. Yes, Shockey led the team in receptions with 40 as Dorsey's safety
valve, but he's a devastating downfield blocker as well. Nebraska's Tracey Wistrom
might’ve been a lock for All-America honors if he had played in an offense that
actually threw the ball. Playing for Nebraska, obviously he can block, but he's got
deceptive speed and is a weapon in the passing game averaging 15.4 yards per catch.
- Much has been made of the Miami offensive line and any praise they've received hasn't
been enough. This is the best offensive line in the nation and if you haven't really
watched offensive lines play before, try to focus on this one. OT Bryant McKinnie, OT
Joaquin Gonzalez and OG Martin Bibla are devastating run blockers and give Dorsey tons of
time to throw the ball. Watch how they not only open up holes, but blast them a mile wide.
After the job Colorado did in the running game against Nebraska, you can bet that McKinnie
and company were drooling over the game films.
- If the Huskers are playing, you know they're not going to be outdone when it comes to
talented offensive linemen and they have an earth mover in junior guard Toniu Fonoti. The
340-pounder has frightening quickness for a player of his size and if you haven't seen him
play yet, watched how many times Crouch runs through holes Fonoti creates.
Nebraska will win if... the run defense suddenly becomes a wall and the front
four can generate a pass rush. All the focus is on the run defense since the last time we
saw them, Colorado was running for 380 yards and eight touchdowns. This was a good run
defense all season long, but obviously something has to change in the scheme or Miami will
do exactly what the Buffaloes did. The Huskers must also get creative and try to find a
way to get to Dorsey. The Hurricanes’ receivers are nothing special (at least when
compared to past Miami corps) and are nothing the Huskers’ defensive backs,
especially CB Keyou Craver, can't handle one on one. If Dorsey doesn't get pressured at
all, he'll find a receiver or just swing it to Portis or Shockey.
Miami will win if... the ’Canes can develop nice offensive balance. The
Huskers didn't exactly face a who's who of offenses this year and didn't face anyone with
a multi-faceted look until Colorado. Pure running teams like Iowa State, Notre Dame and
Kansas State weren't able to accomplish much of anything against the Huskers while the one
pure passing team they faced, Texas Tech, threw for a ton of yards but spent much of the
game getting run over by Diedrick and Crouch. If the Hurricanes can mix up the offense on
the Huskers and keep them from focusing solely on one aspect of their game, they'll be
able to move the ball.
Our Prediction: Miami 27, Nebraska 20
Has the Huskers’ run defense REALLY improved since Colorado tore through it? The
Huskers really aren't quite as bad as everyone's making them out to be, but they couldn't
handle Colorado's great offensive line and Miami's is much better. Crouch and
Diedrick will run for their yards and should own the time of possession, but Miami is just
too good in too many areas. With an opportunistic defense that finds ways to win and a
balanced offense we don't think Nebraska can stop, the ’Canes will win in a classic.
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