The Pack's matchup with Rutgers comes in at #2.
This bowl game is a bit of a sleeper on the national radar because of the teams' records (6-6 versus 7-5), but these are definitely two of the hottest teams in America not named Oklahoma or Florida.
That State finished the year with 4-straight conference wins to become bowl eligible was remarkable and one of the better stories going. But look at what Rutgers accomplished: After a 1-5 start, they rattled off SIX wins in a row and looked dominant doing it.
Russell Wilson is one of the nation's hottest QBs, but Mike Teel may be hotter. Rutgers, and Teel in particular, looked atrocious in the early stages of the season. They dropped a close game to Navy to start 0-3 for the year and Teel, in frustration, took a swing at one of his players:
But from those depths, Greg Schiano resurrected his team (and his image as a top-notch coach) and refocused his quarterback into the leader of a scary-good offensive squad that put up 54 points against Pitt, ranked 17th at the time. They dropped 63 for good measure on Louisville to end the season, and probably could've hit 75-80 had they wanted to.
This game scares me silly, to be honest. Rutgers passes the ball well; State struggles at times in pass defense. The Pack's not nearly as bad as their 90-something-ranked pass defense numbers suggest, but no one would ever confuse this team with one that's impossible to pass against. Teel is playing lights out, as is Wilson, so it may come down to which quarterback dazzles more when the lights come on.
I'll pick the Pack to win when the time comes, as I nearly always do, but anyone out there that thinks this game will be a snoozer isn't paying attention. This is one HELL of a matchup, and should State win it will be their biggest win of the season.
This bowl game is a bit of a sleeper on the national radar because of the teams' records (6-6 versus 7-5), but these are definitely two of the hottest teams in America not named Oklahoma or Florida.
That State finished the year with 4-straight conference wins to become bowl eligible was remarkable and one of the better stories going. But look at what Rutgers accomplished: After a 1-5 start, they rattled off SIX wins in a row and looked dominant doing it.
Russell Wilson is one of the nation's hottest QBs, but Mike Teel may be hotter. Rutgers, and Teel in particular, looked atrocious in the early stages of the season. They dropped a close game to Navy to start 0-3 for the year and Teel, in frustration, took a swing at one of his players:
But from those depths, Greg Schiano resurrected his team (and his image as a top-notch coach) and refocused his quarterback into the leader of a scary-good offensive squad that put up 54 points against Pitt, ranked 17th at the time. They dropped 63 for good measure on Louisville to end the season, and probably could've hit 75-80 had they wanted to.
This game scares me silly, to be honest. Rutgers passes the ball well; State struggles at times in pass defense. The Pack's not nearly as bad as their 90-something-ranked pass defense numbers suggest, but no one would ever confuse this team with one that's impossible to pass against. Teel is playing lights out, as is Wilson, so it may come down to which quarterback dazzles more when the lights come on.
I'll pick the Pack to win when the time comes, as I nearly always do, but anyone out there that thinks this game will be a snoozer isn't paying attention. This is one HELL of a matchup, and should State win it will be their biggest win of the season.
this is a great match up.. too bad the records don't really indicate it. they should come up with some catchy ad campaign for it "The best teams with the worst records" or "The best finish to the average record bowl" "The hottest teams that were barely bowl eligible"
ReplyDeletethere's gotta be something... "Our record sucks, but we could still kick your arse" Bowl
"The Team You'd Be Embarrassed To Lose To But Probably Would" Bowl.
ReplyDelete