Pac-10 Bowls: Final Scores UPDATED

Records
Pac-10 Conference: 2-5

Pac10Rivalry.com: 5-2

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MAACO Bowl Las Vegas

No. 18 Oregon State Beavers vs. No. 14 BYU
My Prediction: Oregon State 34, BYU 31
Final Score: Oregon State 20, BYU 44

Man, oh man. The Beavers just did not look good. And, well, BYU looked impressive.

The Cougars controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. They were able to keep James and Jacquizz Rodgers in check. On the bowl projections page I commented that, “if BYU can contain him the Beavs might not make it out on top.” The “him” was referring to Quizz. He rushed for 70 yards with 29 coming on one play. Jacquizz also lost his first fumble ever.

Max Hall played exceptional for the Cougars completing 19 of 30 for 192 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Ryan Katz made his way into the game late and made the most of it throwing for a touchdown pass.

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Poinsettia Bowl
Cal vs. No. 23 Utah
My Prediction: Utah 34, Cal 28
Final Score: Utah 37, Cal 27

Well, thanks to the Mountain West Conference the Pac-10 is now 0-2 in Bowls. Cal lost to Utah last night, and to be honest, the Golden Bears didn’t really look at all good. They started out strong going up 14-0 on a Shane Vereen run and then a pick-6 by Eddie Young. But that was just about it and Utah started piling on points.

Jahvid Best didn’t play due to the concussion he received earlier in the season.

For Utah it was true freshman Jordan Wynn who lead the Utes with a career high 338 passing yards. He also threw three touchdown passes.

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Emerald Bowl
No. 24 USC vs. Boston College
My Prediction: USC 31, Boston College 17
Final Score: USC 24, Boston College 13

USC came out and put up 14 before Boston College knew what happened — and everyone thought the route was on. But, this is the USC that was 2009. And they’re not the but whooping team of years past. So Boston College climbed their way back in this game.

The Trojans made their share of mistakes (as did Boston College), but was able to hold on and force B.C. into some mistakes of their own. Throughout the mostly sloppy game was USC being able to capitalize on the Boston College mistakes.

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EagleBank Bowl
UCLA vs. Temple
My Prediction: UCLA 31, Temple 17
Final Score: UCLA 30, Temple 21

The Temple Owls came out and put 21 points on the board to UCLA’s 10 in the first half. But 23 unanswered points by the Bruins did the Owl as the Bruins ruined Temple’s bowl dreams after 30 years.

Bruins’ QB Kevin Prince put in a nice performance with 221 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

But, the defense also came through in a big way in the second half. First, they held Temple scoreless for 2+ quarters. Then, with the Bruins down by one at 21-20, Akeem Ayers intercepted a pass and went into the end zone to give the Bruins the 28-21 lead.

A few minutes later Temple, pinned deep in their own end, snapped the ball over the QB’s head and out of the end zone for a safety.

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Holiday Bowl
No. 20 Arizona vs. No. 22 Nebraska
My Prediction: Arizona 24, Nebraska 27
Final Score: Arizona 0, Nebraska 33

Are you freaking kidding me? Look, I predicted Nebraska to win, but to whoop Arizona’s ass and to do so with a shut-out was an embarrassment. Sorry ‘Cats fans, but your team just didn’t look good and was man-handled by the Cornhuskers on both sides of the ball.

I don’t know what else to say about this game. Oh, Nebraska looked like a team on a mission. Watch out for them next season!

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Brut Sun Bowl
Oklahoma vs. No. 21 Stanford
My Prediction: Stanford 17, Oklahoma 24
Final Score: Stanford 27, Oklahoma 31

As I mentioned in my prediction write-up this was one of those grind-it-out games. It was a really fun one to watch, too.

Toby Gerhart rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns, but there wasn’t much help on offense as Stanford only managed 261 total yards to Oklahoma’s 480.

Stanford QB Tavita Pritchard threw for 118 yards and two interceptions. He started in place if injured QB Andrew Luck.

It was the back-up Oklahoma QB who stole the show. Landry Jones threw for 461 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Ryan Broyles caught 156 of those yards and all three of Landry’s TDs.

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Rose Bowl
No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 8 Ohio State
My Prediction: Oregon 37, Ohio St. 27
Final Score: Oregon 17, Ohio St. 26

The Oregon Ducks were not ready for what Ohio State threw at them in the Rose Bowl Friday. Terrell Pryor finally gave a performance many Buckeye fans had been waiting for.

Although the Buckeyes dominated time of possession — 41:37 to 18:23 — the game never got out of hand score-wise. Also, the Ducks were still in the game pretty much up until Morgan Flint misses a 44-yard field goal attempt with just over five minutes remaining.

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 Pac-10 Bowl Projections

MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
No. 18 Oregon State Beavers vs. No. 14 BYU

Why you should watch: This will be one fun game to watch. I don’t see the score getting out of hand, but these teams will trade back-and-forth touchdowns.

BYU finished strong winning their last four games including a 26-23 win against their rival Utah. Oregon State always plays well late in the season and into the bowl games, but they’ve got to be disappointed losing to Oregon and missing out on a trip to the Rose Bowl for the second year in a row. I’m curious how this second blow will affect them come bowl time.

Jacquizz Rodgers is always fun to watch, but if BYU can contain him the Beavs might not make it out on top.

On the opposite side you’ll get to see BYU QB Max Hall who threw for over 3,300 yards, 30 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions this season.

Prediction: Oregon State 34, BYU 31

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Poinsettia Bowl
No. 23 Utah vs. California

Why you should watch: Hmmmm…. well, if Jahvid Best plays then you may get to see a really good running back in motion. Other than that, quite frankly, this is one of the snoozer bowls for me. Best had a real scary fall at the end of a touchdown run against Oregon State. He suffered a severe concussion and and injured his back and missed Cal’s final three games. He has been cleared to resume workouts and practice and will be evaluated daily.

Best, a junior, could very well make the jump to the NFL and one final showing in the Poinsettia Bowl would serve him well before draft time.

Cal just did not live up to expectations this season — and really has been the case for the past several years. They seem really lack luster when things aren’t going their way.

Prediction: Utah 34, Cal 28

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Emerald Bowl
Boston College vs. No. 24 USC

Why you should watch: Look, don’t you just want to see how USC will play in a non-BCS bowl. Aren’t you interested to see how they’ll do against Boston College. I mean, seriously, I’m wondering just well QB Matt Barley will play, if the Trojans will step up and play or have they already given up on this season.

The USC isn’t careful Boston College just might surprise them and flat out beat them. I don’t see that happening, though. I think USC comes in looking to avenge much of their season.

Prediction: USC 31, Boston College 17

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EagleBank Bowl
UCLA vs. Temple

Why you should watch: This is Temple’s first bowl appearance in 30 years, so you know these kids will be playing their hearts out. UCLA is happy to have slid in to the EagleBank Bowl thanks to Navy beating Army on December 12th. They’ll be playing to win as well knowing they could have just as easily been sitting at home.

UCLA does have a descent defense; especially their secondary. Temple running back Bernard Pierce is a pretty good  back.

Prediction: UCLA 31, Temple 17

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Holiday Bowl
No. 20 Arizona vs. No. 22 Nebraska

Why you should watch: If you like defense this is the game for you. Both Arizona and Nebraska play some good D. Nebraska standout and Heisman candidate defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is well worth watching himself. And he’s from right here in Pac-10 country having attended Grant High School in Portland, Oregon.

Nebraska really finished the season strong having won five of their last six games. And, oh yeah, that game they lost was to Texas in the Big 12 championship. We all know how that ended. The Cornhuskers were so close to winning that game. They did out play Texas and really feel like they should have won. I don’t think that bodes well for Arizona.

I look for Nebraska to be ready for some redemption — even if it has to be at the mercy of the Wildcats.

Prediction: Nebraska 27, Arizona 24

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Brut Sun Bowl
Oklahoma vs. No. 21 Stanford

Why you should watch: The Stanford Cardinal will be led by their Heisman candidate Toby Gerhart (he finished second to Mark Ingram in the Heisman race). Gerhart led the nation in rushing yards and touchdowns. Stanford QB Andrew Luck may not play because he recently had surgery on a finger on his throwing hand due to an injury he suffered in Stanford’s win over Notre Dame. If cannot go it may be a long day for the Cardinal.

Oklahoma really needs this bowl win. I know, it’s not a BCS bowl, but the Sooners need to get some kind of win in the post-season. They’ve lost five of the last six bowls they’ve been in.

This will be a grind-it-out punishing game that just might come down to special teams.

Without Luck playing I give the edge to Oklahoma. If Luck gets in, the edge swings the other way. Unfortunately at this point it looks like he’s out.

Prediction: Stanford 17, Oklahoma 24

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Rose Bowl
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Oregon

Why you should watch: Aside from seeing a No. 7 team play a No. 8 team, there’s plenty of reasons to watch this one. This will be the first time Ohio State has been to the Rose Bowl since the 1997 game when the Buckeyes beat Arizona State 20-17. This will also mark the first time the Buckeyes have been to the Rose Bowl under head coach Jim Tressel.

Oregon hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since the  1995 game when they lost to Penn State 38-20.

This game really seems like the Jekyll and Hyde of bowl games. If either team gets rolling and in sync they can be very good. But if not, they’re pretty bad. It’s just going to come down to which team gets it going.

Oregon has only allowed 127 rushing yards per game. Ohio State just doesn’t pass well. Advantage to the Ducks.

Ohio State’s defense has played well, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to keep pace with Oregon’s spread attack — not many have.

Prediction: Oregon 37, Ohio State 27

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 Stanford’s Gerhart in the Heisman hunt

Quietly, it seems, the Stanford Cardinal worked their way up to be a top-tier Pac-10 team. Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart, too, has quietly been working his way on to many Heisman lists as well.

Gerhart is currently second in the nation with 1,531 rushing yards and he leads the nation with 23 rushing touchdowns.

Stanford faces off against Notre Dame this Saturday — a game that will be shown on ABC — giving Gerhart one final chance to impress voters.

Leading the Heisman race on many lists is Alabama running back Mark Ingram. But Ingram didn’t put up very good numbers (30 yards rushing, 21 receiving) against rival Auburn. That could really work in Gerhart’s favor should be put on a good showing against Notre Dame.

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 Stanford crushes USC 55-21

Wow! Thirty-five points, folks. That’s right — Stanford beat down the USC Trojans and won by 35. If you recall, it was only a few weeks ago that Oregon beat USC by 27. Read More…

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 Pac-10 Football: Week 10 wrap-up

1. Everyone was high on Oregon after they win over USC, but then Oregon ran into a buzz saw this week that was Toby Gerhart, Andrew Luck and Stanford as a whole, really. Although Oregon lost to Stanford 51-42, the Ducks still control their own destiny towards the Rose Bowl.

2. Speaking of controlling their own destiny — Arizona also controls their own destiny toward the Rose Bowl. Yep, that’s right. The Wild Cats are smelling roses. Win out, and they’re in. Read More…

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