Bowl preview, part 11

Had an amazing time at the Browns game today. This picture was taken from my seat;

Not too shabby, I think.

On with the preview;

Florida State vs. Kentucky
Music City Bowl
Monday, December 31st - 4pm

Florida State cheats, and they lost 35 players to suspension.

This will be my second-shortest preview.

Kentucky 51
Florida State 21
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Oklahoma State vs. Indiana
Insight Bowl
Monday, December 31st - 530pm

If you follow college football more on a historical level, you would pick Oklahoma State in this game. The Cowboys always have a pretty decent squad while Indiana is known as a basketball school - and nothing more.

However, if you actually FOLLOW college football, and have paid attention for the past 12 months, you probably should take the Hoosiers. These kids are hungry, and they have a universe full of motivation on their side. Since their head coach Terry Hoeppner passed away, Indiana is on a mission. Bill Lynch took the helm and rallied his boys around Hoeppner's death, and the result has been nothing short of remarkable.

They have still struggled with the Big Ten elite, but pulled off a fantastic upset of Purdue on the final play of the regular season to get their bowl eligibility. I have no reason to believe they will waste this opportunity.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State has not been much to write home about. They give up a LOT of points, and their only quality wins have been against Texas Tech and Florida Atlantic...and when a Big 12 school has to pimp a win over FAU, they're not very good. Blowout losses to Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, and Troy (yeah, Troy) show that they are likely to get their door kicked in by a quality opponent. Indianaisn't quality yet, but they are ready to take that next step. It'll be a close win for the Hoosiers.

Indiana 31
Oklahoma State 28
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Clemson vs. Auburn
Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Monday, December 31st - 730pm

A good quality game, and the bowl representatives should be proud of the matchup they have put together.

Both teams are capable of pulling off a big upset and both teams have good defenses. The difference might be Clemson's ability to score.

Clemson has a winner in QB Cullen Harper. The kid's thrown for nearly 3,000 yards and has 27 TDs on the season. Add in a pair of RBs who combined for over 1,600 yards and you have your difference in the game...at least on paper.

Auburn dismantled Florida's offense, winning 20-17 in the Swamp. They also held Darren McFadden to 43 yards rushing, and had a lead on LSU until the final offensive play of the game.

Like I said, this one is a tough game to pick, so I'm going with the Tigers. If you're laughing right now, then you know your mascots.

Clemson 27
Auburn 24
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Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Outback Bowl
Tuesday, January 1st - 11am

The biggest question in this game will be "which Wisconsin team will show up?" Will it be the team that got embarrassed by Ohio State and Penn State, or the team that crushed Michigan?

We already know what team Tennessee will show up with....an understaffed one. Several players have been suspended for academic ineligibility, and the defense will be reshuffled for the game.

This could be huge for a team with strong players like P.J. Hill and Travis Beckum. Hill ran for over 1,000 yards in an injury-shortened season, and Beckum caught just under 1,000 yards worth of passes (and the kid has great hands).

I'm going to go with history on this one...Wisconsin has had great recent success in January against SEC teams. I think it'll continue on Tuesday.

Wisconsin 37
Tennessee 31