Outback Bowl
No.19 Auburn (8-4) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin
(10-3)
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa (65,657)
Noon ET/ 11 AM CT
ESPN2
Bob Wischusen, Matt Millen, Quint Kessenich
Coaches:
Gus: 49 years old, Irving, Texas, three years as a head coach, Arkansas State (2012), Auburn (2013-present). 29-9 (76%). 0-1 bowls.
Barry Alvarez (Interim until Paul Chryst, who came over from Pitt takes over right afterwards): 16 years as head coach at Wisconsin (1990-2005) , 118-74-4 (60%). Now the Athletics Director at Wisconsin.
Refs: Big 12, Mike Defee
Weather: 71 at kickoff, cloudy but 5 % chance of rain. Wind NE 6 MPH
Line: AU by 6 1/2
Analysis and Prediction:
I expect Auburn to play well. Gus and the team got a big boost with the hiring of Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator. I’m sure Muschamp will have his stamp on the defense somewhat tomorrow. Duke Williams is suspended from the team for violation of team rules (can anybody ever say what they did), but says he is coming back next year. We’ll see how that develops. Nick Marshall and Sammie Coates should have good days. So should Cameron Artis-Payne. Auburn played its best game of the season at Tuscaloosa in a 55-44 loss, though the defense was nowhere to be found in the second half. Having Muschamp is a huge lift for the defense and the team. Next year there should be a marked improvement in that unit. The players look like they have talent on the defensive side, they just need to be coached up better. Wisconsin lost disastrously to Ohio State, 59-0, in the Big Ten Championship game, and then Coach Gary Anderson bolted to go to Oregon State. I’m still trying to figure out how losing a game 59-0 gets you another job. If somebody knows the answer to that please enlighten me. I thought when you lose that badly, your job could be in jeopardy, but maybe I’m not in tune with the Barrack Obama performance measurements these days. You tried hard even though you failed miserably, so you get a promotion to another job. Little unclear on that. Anyway, Barry Alvarez did a good job at Wisconsin and he’ll probably field a better team than Anderson would have, so it might be competitive for a while. I like the Tigers here though to get the victory and then start gearing up for 2015.
AU 38, Wisconsin 31
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
No.8 Michigan State (10-2) vs. No.5 Baylor
(11-1)
Jerry “Sugar Magnolia” Jones World, AT&T Stadium, Arlington (80,000)
12:30 PM ET/11:30 AM CT
ESPN
Dave Pasch, Brian Griese, Tom Luginbill
Coaches:
Michigan State:
Jerry “Sugar Magnolia” Jones World, AT&T Stadium, Arlington
(80,000)
12:30 PM ET/11:30 AM CT
ESPN
Dave Pasch, Brian Griese, Tom Luginbill
Coaches:
Michigan State:
Mark Dantonio, 58 years old, El Paso, Texas, 11 years as head coach, Cincinnati (2004-06), Michigan State (2007-present). 92-48 (66%); Bowls (4-4).
Baylor:
Art Briles: 59 years old, Rule, Texas, 12 years as a head coach, Houston (2003-07), Baylor (2008-present). 89-61 (59%). 2-5 in bowls.
Refs: ACC, Jeff Flanagan
Weather: Rain, but retractable roof, so good to go.
Line: Baylor by 2 1/2
Baylor:
Art Briles: 59 years old, Rule, Texas, 12 years as a head coach, Houston (2003-07), Baylor (2008-present). 89-61 (59%). 2-5 in bowls.
Refs: ACC, head guy at game time
Weather: Rain, but retractable roof, so good to go.
Line: Baylor by 2 1/2
Analysis and Prediction:
These are two coaches who have done exceptional jobs at their respective program. Dantonio and Briles have made their teams major players in the national landscape, and Briles really has his program on a roll. Briles was pretty ticked off his team was not picked for the playoff and I don’t blame him. I thought both Baylor and TCU were more deserving than Ohio State and Baylor deserved the nod because of their head to head victory over the Horned Frogs. But it didn’t happen and I don’t blame Coach Briles at all for calling his conference commissioner and the committee out. I still think they blew it, but I know it’s over and decided. This should be a very good game. Like Bryce Petty and the Bears though.
Baylor 31, Michigan State 28
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
No. 16 Missouri (10-3) vs. No. 25 Minnesota
(8-4)
The Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, Orlando (70,000)
1 PM ET/Noon CT
ABC
Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham, Jeannine Edwards
Coaches
Missouri:
Gary Pinkel, 62 years old, Akron, Ohio, 24 years as a head coach, 1991-2000 at Toledo, 2001-present at Missouri. 185-103-3 (64%). 6-4 in bowls.
Minnesota:
Jerry Kill, 53 years old, Cheney, Kansas, 7 years as a head coach in FBS, 21 overall as a head coach in FCS also. 152-98 overall record (61%). 0-4 in bowls.
Refs: Big 12, head guy at game time.
Weather: 72, partly cloudy, 0% rain, wind NE a@ 6 MPH
Line: Missouri by 4 1/2
Prediction:
Missouri gets it done at the end, but I think this game will be tight.
Missouri 31, Minnesota 30
