EagleBank Bowl and Miami-Wisconsin

December 29, 2009

College Football's Bowl Season continues on today. There are always surprises and the favorite really never wins, it's about who wants it more and which team is more motivated. We've seen that so far where the favored team has only won twice and I am 6-5 with my picks. UCLA QB Kevin Prince will play today and Miami QB Jacory Harris is battling a thumb injury on his throwing hand, but will play. That said, I'm going with the two favorites to win today with UCLA and Miami. Here's why...

Bowls Blog

EagleBank Bowl, 4:30pm on ESPN
UCLA Bruins (7-6) vs. Temple Owls (9-4)
Temple is in a bowl game for the first time in thirty years, only its third in school history, and they’re also going for a 10-win season. Here to spoil the celebrations is the UCLA Bruins flying across the country for the EagleBank Bowl. The EagleBank Bowl traditionally every year is probably the least anticipated game. It’s normally a bowl reserved for Army but after the Black Knights lost to Navy in the final weekend, they did not become bowl-eligible finishing with a 5-7 record, so instead we have UCLA, but maybe a 5-7 Army team would be more intriguing to see go against Temple in what would have been a rematch from earlier this season.
UCLA is still trying to collect themselves after what happened in the final seconds of its loss to USC in the crosstown rivalry. I think UCLA is also still trying to find out why nobody wants to play for and everyone wants to play for USC, after UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel proclaimed USC’s dominance of Los Angeles to be over, but those words haven’t been backed up by the slightest effort. UCLA this season has only scored one more point than it has allowed. So maybe Temple has a chance in this game, but the only good teams Temple played (Penn State and Ohio) they were blown out by and they also had a season-opening three-point loss to eventual FCS national champion Villanova. Aside from one poor game against Cal, UCLA’s defense has been pretty steady all season, but if there’s any Temple player to watch, it’s running back Bernard Pierce. He might be the only offense that Temple can get; they don’t really have any other NFL guys on the roster while UCLA has two guys to keep an eye on in its defense that could be early-round picks come April: defensive tackle Brian Price and cornerback Alterraun Verner.
Prediction: UCLA 31, Temple 13
Result: UCLA 30, Temple 21
It was bad enough for Temple's special teams that their starting punter was sent home by head coach Al Golden the day before the game for violating team rules. The new punter? He's just the backup place kicker who hasn't punted before in his life. Today against UCLA, he had wobbly punt after wobbly punt and gave up a couple big returns, but the worst moment for the Owls' special teams was late in the fourth quarter where down 28-21 and punting the ball out of their own endzone, it was a high snap through the back of the endzone for a safety that made it a two possession game and ultimately put it out of reach for Temple.
Temple surprisingly dominated the first half as they took a 21-10 lead into halftime. In the first 30 minutes of the game, Temple had over 21 minutes in time of possession and ran the ball very effectively, but also came out throwing and using play-action on first downs which crossed up UCLA's defense. Temple's offensive line took UCLA All-America defensive tackle Brian Price out of the game and it looked like Temple would run its way to a win behind that O-Line.
In the second half, UCLA came out aggressive scoring a long touchdown on a 4th-and-2 play and that put all the momentum UCLA's way. The defense came back to life and got two interceptions, including the 10th by sophomore safety Rahim Moore, and Brian Price started pushing that offensive line of Temple backwards and making his presence felt in the face of Temple quarterback Vaughn Charlton. Temple running back Bernard Pierce left the game with an apparent shoulder injury in the third quarter and Temple got shut out in the second half after he left. Their only possession deep into UCLA territory ended in a turnover on downs.
UCLA defensive end Akeem Ayers' interception right in front of the endzone, which he walked into, was the game-winning touchdown.
My Player of the Game: Akeem Ayers, UCLA Defensive End

Champs Sports Bowl, 8pm on ESPN
No. 15 Miami Hurricanes (9-4) vs. No. 25 Wisconsin Badgers (10-3)
This is a great matchup of two teams that should start the 2010 season in the preseason top 15. Miami had a good season that included a one-point victory over Oklahoma and a 16-point victory over ACC champion Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes might be the favorite to win the ACC next year. Now the Canes look to rebuild the “U” and finish its first 10-win season since 2003. Upon first reaction, I was sure Miami would win this game, but this could end up being a thriller, so don’t count Wisconsin out, yet. And also, Miami senior left tackle Jake Fox is out for this game after undergoing surgery so his college career his done. The loss of Fox could end up being a very big deal because Miami loves to move the ball on the ground behind his blocks, 90% of counter and sweep plays that I have seen goes to the left. Wisconsin doesn’t have a great pass rush, but it will be important to protect quarterback Jacory Harris. Harris always cool under pressure mentally, but his performance dips significantly. Early in the season, Harris was the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, and then he fell off the map with crucial mistakes and turnovers. Harris led the nation with 17 interceptions thrown, so the trio of backs that Miami boasts led by Graig Cooper, need to take some of the pressure off Harris.
Miami is the faster, more athletic team, but there’s also the notion that the Big Ten teams are too slow. While the two defenses are almost identical, this is going to be a matchup of speed vs. power on offense. Miami is the faster more explosive team while Wisconsin will try to wear you down and open up play action. Wisconsin’s two best players on offense have to be the big 240 pound running back John Clay and tight end Garrett Graham getting open in the middle and is also a tremendous blocker.
I think this game will come down to the fourth quarter, and the theme all year has been that the fourth quarter belongs to Jacory Harris and Miami.
Prediction: Miami 31, Wisconsin 24
Result: Wisconsin 20, Miami 14
Wisconsin gets its 10th win of the season, and beats a ranked opponent for the first time this year.
With Miami wearing the new Nike ProCombat Jerseys for the second time, it was a very frustrating night for Miami QB Jacory Harris, and it wasn't his fault. With senior left tackle Jake Fox out for knee surgery, the Miami offensive line struggled. The whole line, not just the left tackle night. Harris had no time to throw and got hit hard on after every dropback. There was just no chance for Miami to do anything offensively. Miami tried to do different things up front like switching the guards and moving tackles and using the "tackle-over" formation again and none of that worked. It was just a lost cause as Wisconsin's defensive line dominated.
Miami's defensive line tried to match the Wisconsin effort, and they played very well, just couldn't finish getting to the quarterback. Scott Tolzien stood strong in the pocket and found wide open, i mean WIDE open receivers as the Miami secondary failed to do anything tonight.
Miami finished with less than 200 total yards of offense. They only gained 67 in the second half until their last drive. While I point out the horrific play of the offensive line, don't take any credit away from the Wisconsin defense. Their two defensive ends especially O'Brien Schofield and JJ Watt continuously took advantage of the weakness of Miami and collapsed the pocket.
Wisconsin's defense overall was able to shut down the explosive playmakers that Miami has, but again it all starts up front. Miami running back Graig Cooper also went down just before halftime with what looked like a pretty bad knee injury and you just have to feel bad for him, Cooper's one of my favorite players too. Miami's big play guy at receiver is Leonard Hankerson, and he didn't have a catch until two minutes in the fourth quarter with a nice one-handed grab. Later on that drive, Harris kept leading the Hurricanes downfield, and the reason why: there was no pressure on him. The Wisconsin defense either let up, or the Miami offensive line finally woke up. Harris hit Thearon Collier 14 yards into the endzone with 1:22 left to cut the Wisconsin lead into six.
Miami had to go for the onside kick and Wisconsin had it for a second, but lost it and it was recovered by the kicker Matt Bosher. With 1:21 Miami had a chance, but Wisconsin dialed up the pressure again on Harris and JJ Watts got the sack on first down. On second down, Harris had to get rid of the ball and threw into good coverage and had it knocked away by Jay Valai. On third down, Harris had to hurry and threw incomplete to Travis Benjamin. It all came down to a 4th-and-14, and Harris again had to throw the ball quickly and Thearon Collier didn't have a chance to finish his out route and couldn't make the catch off his hands, and that was it. Miami made it interesting, but Wisconsin's defense held.
My Player of the Game: Lance Kendricks, Wisconsin Tight End
Honorable Mention: JJ Watt, Wisconsin Defensive End