New Orleans Bowl Preview

NEW ORLEANS BOWL

New Orleans, LA
December 21, 2008


Troy (8-4) vs Southern Miss (6-6)
(Sunday, 7 pm, ESPN)

Both teams enter this game on a roll. Southern Miss won their last four games to become bowl eligible. Troy, after a near-upset at LSU, trounced its two toughest Sun Belt opponents by a combined score of 83-12 to win the conference crown.

New Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora's offense has been slowly improving this season. Running back Damion Fletcher has been remarkably consistent this season, topping 1,200 yards rushing for the third straight season. The Eagles have needed him while freshman quarterback Austin Davis learned the ropes.

Troy on the other hand was forced into playing its backup quarterback the second half of the season after losing starter Jamie Hampton to injury. Junior Levi Brown has been nothing short of spectacular since taking over, throwing 14 touchdown passes against only 3 interceptions.

Southern Miss has played better defense down the stretch, but it has been against inferior opponents. Against a Troy team that averages 33.3 points per game I don't think they will look as good as they did during their 4-game winning streak.

J.Pike's Pick: Troy 31, Southern Miss 23

Week Four Preview

UPSET WATCH

Central Florida @ Boston College
Why it could happen: The Boston College offense isn’t very good. Central Florida played a whale of a game against rival South Florida and proved that they could play a little defense.
Why it won’t happen: Central Florida’s offense isn’t very good either. Michael Greco is a better quarterback than Chris Crane, but BC’s defense is good enough to shut down the Golden Knight offense.
J.Pike’s Pick: Boston College 17, Central Florida 13

Boise State @ #14 Oregon
Why it could happen: Oregon is down to their third quarterback this season. Projected starter Nate Costa blew out his knee in fall camp, and actual starter Justin Roper injured his knee last week against Purdue. Boise State on the other hand still has RB Ian Johnson to carry the load.
Why it won’t happen: The Oregon secondary will force Boise State’s freshman quarterback Kellen Moore into a couple key turnovers, and Oregon’s two-headed rushing attack, which will get a lot of work thanks to the quarterback issues, will wear down the smallish Boise defense.
J.Pike’s Pick: Oregon 28, Boise State 17

Troy @ #8 Ohio State
Why it could happen: If Ohio State doesn’t recover mentally from their beat-down against USC, Troy has just the team to pull the upset. The Trojans play a fast paced spread offense that has enough speed to give the Buckeyes trouble.
Why it won’t happen: Even if the Buckeyes are pouting, they still have too much talent to lose this game. Jim Tressel is a smart coach that gets his team to beat the teams they should beat no matter what. It will be way closer than any Ohio State fan wants, but they just need a win to get back on the right track.
J.Pike’s Pick: Ohio State 26, Troy 22

UPSET WARNING

#18 East Carolina @ N.C. State
Why it will happen: Tom O’Brien knows a thing or two about football in the trenches and he’ll neutralize ECU’s apparent advantage in that area. The line play will allow quarterback Russell Wilson enough time and space to guide a steady offense, control the clock, and pull off the upset.
J.Pike’s Pick: N.C. State 24, East Carolina 20

News & Notes

*Jim Tressell said that running back Chris Wells will be fine. However, he did not give any indication whether he would be okay to play this weekend against Ohio or not. My guess is they hold him out this weekend to make sure he’s healthy for USC next week.

*Georgia suffered another blow this weekend when defensive tackle Jeff Owens tore his ACL against Georgia Southern and will be out for the rest of the season. Georgia already lost their best offensive lineman Trinton Sturdivant to a knee injury a couple weeks ago and can’t afford any more serious injuries to key players considering the ridiculous schedule they must face this year.

*Mack Brown has suspended defensive tackle Lamarr Houston for the game this weekend against UTEP. Houston played well against Florida Atlantic and is a key player on the defensive line, but he picked up a DWI charge after the game on Saturday night.

*Missouri's Bo Jackson Award candidate Jeremy Maclin might play this weekend against Southeast Missouri State despite a sprained ankle. This is good news to Tiger fans because it means Maclin should be able to get back to 100% by the time the Big XII schedule rolls around.

*Reports out of Louisiana indicate that the Troy at LSU game scheduled for this weekend will be postponed. Both teams have an open date on November 15th, so that seems to be the most likely date for the game to be played.

*Chris Todd was named the starting quarterback for Auburn’s game against Southern Miss this weekend. Kodi Burns, who started last weekend, suffered a cut on his leg, but Tuberville said he wouldn’t have started anyway.

*After playing well in relief of Tommy Beecher last Thursday night, Chris Smelley will start for South Carolina this Thursday night against Vanderbilt. Stephen Garcia is expected to be the backup as Spurrier’s revolving door at quarterback continues.

*Yeah, that was a bad idea. Frank Beamer has decided not to redshirt quarterback Tyrod Taylor after all. Sean Glennon played, well, like Sean Glennon in the loss to East Carolina on Saturday, and Beamer apparently realized Taylor is the only offensive weapon on the roster. Glennon will start, but Taylor will play this weekend against Furman.

*Rich Rodriguez announced that he will redshirt quarterback Justin Feagin this season. Despite the struggles of Nick Sheridan and Stephen Threat against Utah, Rodriguez said the speedy freshman “isn’t ready yet.”

*The funniest story of the weekend had to be in North Carolina where parachuters jumped into the wrong stadium with the game ball. Read for yourself. [LINK]