New Year’s Eve Bowl Forecasts
December 31st, 2011
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MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL Saturday, December 31st @ 12:00 p.m. Click on the bowl logo for MORE info!!!! |
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TEXAS A&M (6-6) VS NORTHWESTERN (6-6) |
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Rushing
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Passing
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Points
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TO’s
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ST
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A.O.R
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| TEXAS A&M | 205 |
290
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37
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2.5
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•••
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100.6 |
| NORTHWESTERN |
102
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270
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26
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2.1
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-
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96.9 |
| In the 1st meeting between these programs one long postssn losing streak will end as A&M has lost their L/5 with their lone win S/’95 (1-9) coming in the defunct Galleryfurniture.com Bowl which was played in the Astrodome. The Ags are 1-4 vs B10 tms in bowls. NW is in its 4th str bowl under Fitzgerald where they are 0-3 but all have been by a TD or less. He has made it a primary goal to get the program’s 2nd ever bowl win as they’ve lost their L/8 S/’48. The Ags are cch’d here by DC DeRuyter after HC Sherman got the ax. College Station is less than a 2 hr drive from Houston so Maroon should flood the stands but Fitzgerald is familiar with the terrain making an estimated 100 recruiting trips over the yrs to the area as 5 Cats are from Houston. A&M was 1-4 on the road TY but were only outscored by 1 ppg while outgaining foes 498-386. NW was 3-3 on the road outscoring foes 32-30 and outgaining them 440-433. A&M went 3-6 vs bowl tms outscoring them 37-32 and outgaining them 509-414. NW was 1-5 vs bowl squads getting outscored 35-27 and outgained 429-418. The Aggies have 7 Sr st’r among 17 upperclassmen while the Cats have 10 Sr’s and 16. At first glance clearly the Aggies have the better personnel on offense, defense and ST’s but I do think NW’s QB Persa will make things interesting in what should be a high scoring and entertaining bowl. | ||||||
PHIL’S FORECAST: TEXAS A&M 40 NORTHWESTERN 31 |
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Categories: Bowl Projections, College Bowl Notes, College Football Forecasts, College Football Picks Auburn, blog, bowls, Chick-Fil-A, Cincinnati, college football, Fight Hunger, Forecasts, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Liberty, Northwestern, phil steele, Sun, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia
#23 Auburn-There are several signs pointing downward for last year’s defending champ. This year they lose the best offensive player in the NCAA in Heisman winner QB Cam Newton as well as arguably the best defensive player in DT Nick Fairley. Auburn also benefited from an amazing 7 net close wins and naturally the schedule gets tougher with road games vs Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia. They lose an incredible 31 lettermen and return just 6 starters (fewest in the country). Last year I had Texas as my #1 overrated team (preseason AP #5) and they went from the National Title game to 5-7 and Auburn will have to have some talented youngsters grow up quickly to avoid a similar fate
#22 Florida-After an 8-5 season (NR) former head coach Meyer stepped down due to health concerns and they bring a new HC in Muschamp who has no previous HC experience and just 10 returning starters. The Gators have just 3 SEC HG’s and play South Carolina and UGA away from home and pull the top two teams (Bama and LSU) out of the West. I think UF may have a tough time topping last year’s 8 wins and will not finish in the AP Top 25 at the end of the year.
#9 Oklahoma St-Last year I took a lot of flack for picking the Cowboys last in the Big 12 South but nearly every magazine picked them 5th or 6th as they were one of the more inexperienced teams in the country. Naturally they went on to a great season with their first 11-win season in school history. This year they return 2 of their 3 “triplets” in Weeden and Blackmon but OSU loses OC Holgorsen and RB Hunter from an off avg 44.2 ppg, which was their best since 1988. OSU was also +12 in TO’s, has five Big 12 away games (incl at Texas A&M, Texas, Missouri, and Texas Tech) and only had 2 starts lost to injury last year. They do get Oklahoma at home again this year but were outgained by 209 yds to the Sooners last year. There is no question that the Cowboys are very talented but because of having such a tough B12 schedule I do not have them in my Top 15. 
1. Alabama-As I said every year the team that is my pick to win the national title is my favorite team of the year and this year that team is the Alabama Crimson Tide. Last year I was ambushed by many Crimson Tide fans because I did not pick them to go to the national title game when many had them pre-season #1. They only had 2 starters back on D and a brutal schedule. In the end Bama went 10-3 and did not play in the title game like I predicted. This year is a different story. The Tide have the best defense in the country and their schedule is much more manageable as they avoid South Carolina and Georgia out of the East and get Arkansas and LSU at home. I will be decked out in Bama garb all year long and hopefully they bring home their second national title in three years! 
