If you think that all major conferences have great bowl records, think again. As of Sunday morning, the ACC was 0-2 and the Pac-10 was 1-2 during this bowl season.
Here are the remaining Big East bowls:
Sugar Bowl
No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 5 Florida
This huge game was elevated to an even higher level on Saturday, when the news broke that Gators head coach Urban Meyer would be taking a leave of absence due to stress-related health concerns. Meyer announced that he will this game will be his last with the Gators for now.
This is in addition to an undefeated Cincinnati team having to deal with the departure of its head coach, Brian Kelly, who left to take the Notre Dame job. This also marks the final game of Tim Tebow’s storied college career. Whether or not he succeeds in the NFL, Tebow will go down as one of the greatest college players of all time.
On the field, this should be a terrific game. Cincinnati will use a high-powered passing attack (39.8 points per game) to try and prove it was deserving of playing in the BCS championship game. Florida counters with one of the fastest defenses in the country. The Gators are allowing only 11.5 points per game, the third-lowest mark in the country.
If Cincinnati can effectively throw the ball and contain Florida’s spread option rushing attack, then the Bearcats have a chance to end Tebow and Meyer’s terrific careers with two straight losses.
Gator Bowl
No. 18 West Virginia vs. Florida State
Outside of the BCS Championship Game, the Big East finds itself in the two biggest stories of the bowl season. The first is above; the second deals with Bobby Bowden’s final game as coach of Florida State. In 34 years as head coach of the Seminoles, Bowden’s resume speaks for itself. He won two national titles and 315 total games with Florida State. His most dominant stretch was from 1986-2000, during which his teams won at least 10 games and finished ranked in the top five each season.
West Virginia finished second in the Big East, playing a lot of close games and coming out on top in most of them. Their biggest problem has been scoring, which is odd for a West Virginia team, as the Mountaineers are averaging just over 26 points per game.
The main reason is that senior quarterback Jarrett Brown’s passing ability never caught up to his running ability. Luckily, Florida State’s defense has been terrible this season, allowing more than 30 points per game.
Even though Florida State is the bigger name, West Virginia should win this game. But don’t be surprised if the legendary Bobby Bowden has another trick up his sleeve.
International Bowl
South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
After a 5-0 start, South Florida dropped five of its last seven games, including three blowouts. South Florida has the skill players to compete with any team in the country but can play very undisciplined at times. Even so, the Bulls should have no trouble with Northern Illinois. A loss to the Huskies, who finished fifth in the MAC, would be a terrible end to South Florida’s season.
In this game, expect South Florida freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels to have a great game as the Bulls roll.
PapaJohns.com Bowl
Connecticut vs. South Carolina
This should be a good, close game. Of course, that isn’t saying much, since almost all of UConn’s games fit that description. The Huskies have struggled to pull out close games against good competition all season, and their five losses came by a combined 15 points. If they had won a few of these games, their season would have turned out much differently.
This should be a low-scoring affair, as both teams play good, physical defense. UConn’s best chance to score points will be on a short field after a turnover. If the Huskies can win the turnover battle, they should win this one.
