Espn Bowl Picks





You know, it takes a lot of work to publish bowl run-downs for all of those bowls. Even more work if they are to be credible in doing so.

Big Ten needs stronger Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Penn State.
 


Good stuff! Thanks for the link and the comments. I was reading the MSU blurb and noticed that Connor Cooke had his stats listed. I thought about how much he improved as the season went along and wondered how his stats and Jake R's stats compared. Here they are...

Pass Completion %: CC=58.4%; JR = 60.2%
Yards Gained: CC = 2423 yds; JR = 2281 yds.
TD's: CC = 20; JR =18
INT's: CC = 5; JR = 12

Since Iowa and MSU were both good defensive teams that had some offensive limitations, I found this quite interesting. Obviously the biggest difference was the number of INT's and a couple of Jake's could have made the difference of an additional win or two for Iowa...the operative word is "could." Not blaming Jake. I think JR has a very good future as Iowa's QB. And, he has some good competition as well.
 


Here is Pat Forde from Yahoo take:

Outback Bowl (30): LSU vs. Iowa, Jan. 1.

Watchability (scale of 1-5): 3.5. Tigers are playing without starting quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Iowa is playing without tremendous talent. But it's still a Les Miles game, so anything can happen.

Motivation Meter: Unknown with LSU – although there should be fewer players brooding over whether to turn pro than last year, when the Tigers were disappointing in the Chik-Fil-A Bowl. No reason for the Hawkeyes not to be fired up – they got a plum bowl assignment out of an 8-4 season.

Best Outback Bowl Ever: South Carolina 33, Michigan 28 in 2013. Everyone remembers the Clowney kill shot on Vincent Smith – but that was only the prelude to a gasp-inducing end of the game. The Wolverines drove with aplomb to take a 28-27 lead with three minutes left, but back came the Gamecocks. Connor Shaw nudged them downfield until he got hurt, and it was up to a backup quarterback (Dylan Thompson) to throw the game-winning touchdown to a basketball point guard (Bruce Ellington) with 11 seconds remaining.

Worst Outback Bowl Ever: Michigan 42, North Carolina State 7 in 1994. Wolfpack (7-4) closed the regular season with a 62-3 loss to Florida State, and then looked nearly as overmatched against the Wolverines. Biggest blowout in Outback Bowl history.

Dash Pick: LSU 27, Iowa 16. Tigers have turned in two consecutive dreadful bowl performances, so The Dash figures Miles will have them ready this year. If that's the case, LSU is the better team – even with a backup quarterback.

Y! SPORTS
 




This is the first time I've seen someone pick Iowa to win outside of the Iowa fan base. Some places have LSU scoring over 40 points so I immediately disregard those predictions.
 




The prevailing opinion seems to be that the superior talent of LSU’s receivers and raw talent of their true freshman QB Anthony Jennings will overcome all the difficulties of facing a good passing defense for four quarters of football. All they have to base that opinion on is the last successful drive Jennings lead against Arkansas. Arkansas was rated at #74 in the nation on passing yards allowed and #105 in the nation on passing efficiency defense, compared to Iowa at #11 in the nation on passing yards allowed and #25 on passing efficiency defense.

That’s asking a lot from a true freshman quarterback with less than a minute of playing time at the college level. Sure the very fast LSU receivers will get behind Iowa’s pass protection a few times, but to assume they are going to have their way all day because of that one drive is beyond reason. Who knows, the kid could pull a Chuck Long and carve us up on his first game. Even with a talented quarterback it’s an unlikelihood he will overcome inexperience.
 


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