Thursday, December 28, 2006

BOWLNANZA!: The Holiday Bowl

#20 Cal (9-3) vs. #21 Texas A&M (9-3)

Cal entered the season with national title hopes, and then spent week 1 watching Tennessee throw for touchdown after touchdown on their defense. The Golden Bears rebounded, however, depantsing Minnesota the next week, and not really being outplayed in any game outside of at # USC. That was the only time the Cal offense has been held under 300 yards, and when the 363 they put against Stanford is a low total, you know you're dealing with a high-powered offense.

Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione was on the hot seat going into the year, and the Aggies delivered the quietest 9-3 season you'll ever see. It's amazing how little talk there's been about TAMU all year, especially when they're 6 combined points from being undefeated, and statistically, that's about right. The Aggies offense has been both effective (401.4 yds/game, #19 in the nation) and balanced (190.9 passing/210.5 rushing), led by QB Stephen McGee (2118 yards passing, 635 rushing), and RB Jovorskie Lane (19 rushing TDs!) The Aggies are quite underrated.

This oughta be a fun one, two underrated teams capable of putting up big numbers. Should be a fun shootout, but one of these teams could've gone undefeated, and it's the one giving up almost 70 less yards per game on defense. I'll go with the Aggies, but seeing as teams have been able to break 400 yards against them (Nebraska, Texas Tech, Missouri), I wouldn't be shocked to see Cal do enough to pull off the...upset?

My Pick: Texas A&M
Confidence (out of 5): 1

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