St. Petersburg Bowl:

Rutgers vs. UCF              

Why you are more than welcome to finish that last minute shopping:

Central Florida is happy to even be in the St. Petersburg after a one year absence. This will be Rutgers fifth consecutive bowl game as they look to take their fourth consecutive win, facing the Knights for the first time. Rutgers will be pushing for a nine-win season, but this task will not come easy. UCF is a good football team. The Knights have a terrific run defense, an aggressive defensive front, and can execute play in the backfield. Coach George O'Leary's pass defense needs some work, so expect Rutgers QB Tom Savage to have a solid day. Knights QB Brett Hodges looks to finish his senior year with a solid performance, after throwing for 705 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions in his final three games. I doubt this one will be a high scoring game, with UCF going 0-2 against BCS teams this year, and Savage having an inconsistent season. Although this is virtually a home game for UCF, I have to go with Rutgers on this one ... 24-21.                                

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Little Caesar's Bowl:

Marshall vs. Ohio

Why you should spend this time decorating your Christmas tree:

Both teams do not do any one thing particularly well, collectively ranking 78th (Marshall) and 98th (Ohio) in total offense. Ohio has been quite a surprise this season, led by the stellar play of QB Theo Scott, who threw for 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. However, aside from Scott, Ohio does not have much of an offense, and Marshall has lost 4 of their last 6 games. Throw in the fact that Marshall head coach Mark Snyder resigned following the last regular season game after putting together a decent season, and we can forgive you if you happen to miss this one. Ohio has been awful against the run, and that will mean a big day for the Thundering Herd's RB Darius Marshall who is back after missing games due to an ankle injury. Although the Bobcats' offense started to gel late in the year, I have to give the edge to Marshall on this one ... lets say, 24-20.

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Mid Major Game of the Week:

Nevada vs. Boise State

This matchup features two teams that have won a combined 19 consecutive games. Nevada has won eight in a row and has averaged 51.6 yards per game and won those contests by an average of 29 points per game. Boise State is 11-0 and averaging a nation's best 44.4 points per game. The Broncos are winning games by an average of 27.1 points per game. The key matchup in this game will be Nevada's rush offense vs the Boise State rush defense. Nevada leads the nation in rushing offense at 373.2 yards per game, and is the first team in mid major college history with three 1,000 yard rushers. In the past two games, Nevada has thrown for a total of 141 yards and rushed for 1,035. Boise State had trouble stopping the run against Fresno State and Idaho, but also won those contests by a combined 55 points. Given Nevada's horrible pass defense, the Wolf Pack must run wild to keep it close.

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Mid Major Game of the Week:

Air Force vs. BYU  

Air Force will look to put a stop to the Cougars five game win streak this weekend. The key matchup for this game will be Air Force defense vs. BYU QB Max Hall. There is no doubt that Hall is a player and can win games, as he looks to set a school record this week for victories by a QB. However Air Force has allowed 20 points or more only once this season, in an overtime loss to then number 19 Utah. Look for plenty of pass rush and sticky coverage in the secondary. Air Force also boasts an option offense that is fourth in the nation in rushing, averaging 279.2 yards per game. Couple that with Air Force's ability to keep the turnovers to a minimum, (tied for 2nd in the nation for lowest turnovers with 7), and this should be an interesting game for the Cougars who look to extend their win streak to six.

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 Mid Major Game of the Week:

Utah vs. TCU 

Why should you watch? This is the second game between ranked Mountain West opponents this season. Utah's only loss is by a touchdown against Oregon, but Utah needs to be cautious about this game. True freshman QB Jordan Wynn is making only his second career start and his first on the road. His first start was against winless New Mexico. This weekend he will be facing undefeated TCU, a team that ranks in the top five nationally in total defense, scoring defense, and pass defense. On the other hand, TCU faces its toughest remaining opponent, and a team that would love to prevent its Mountain West rival from going undefeated, and at the same time placing themselves on the inside track to a second straight conference title. Utah will be trying to end TCU's 12-game home winning streak, and with first place in the Mountain West on the line, look for this game to be a battle from start to finish.

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Rocks: Wayne Younger, QB, Florida International- Younger who started in place of the injured Paul McCall did not give his team an opportunity to win Saturday. He only completed 14 of his 38 pass attempts for 178 yards. He was not able to find the endzone and turned the ball over three times. All three of the interceptions came in the fourth quarter and were in FIU territory.

Paper: J.D. Brookhart , Akron- The Zips pick up their second victory of the season over Kent St. Akron and Coach Brookhart keep the Wagon Wheel in Akron. The Zips totaled more yards, controlled the clock and forced turnovers in the victory over the Golden Flashes.

Scissors: Case Keenum, QB, Houston- A huge win over Tulsa for Keenum and the Cougars. Completed 40 of his 60 pass attempts for 522 yards and three scores. Keenum also added another 21 yards on the ground, but most importantly got the victory to improve the Cougars to 8-1. Keenum was not only putting up big numbers, but led his team to a big victory after being down eight points in the fourth quarter.

Mid Major Game of the Week:

Fresno State vs. Idaho 

This should be an interesting one for Idaho, losing their last 6 against Fresno State with their last victory against the Bulldogs in 1967. The key matchup in this game is going to be the Idaho run defense agasint the Fresno State run offense. Fresno State relies heavily on it's run offense, averaging 259.6 yards per game. Junior RB Ryan Mathews leads the nation in rushing as well posting an average of 164.5 yards per game. Idaho has allowed 706 rushing yards in the past two games, and although 484 of those yards were against Nevada, the Vandals still allowed 222 yards against Louisiana Tech. If Fresno has success on the ground this weekend, (meaning over 200 yards) they will win.

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Mid Major Game of the Week:

Wyoming vs. Utah

The fact that this game is featured as Game of the Week is conducive to the type of week it is in college football. But ... the matchup is not that bad. Utah needed a big effort from its defense to pull out a win last week against Air Force, and Wyoming looks to contain Utah QB Terrance Cain, who struggled against a blitzing Air Force defense last week, and finished with a season low 167 yards passing. As of late, a bright spot for Wyoming has been the play of its defense, holding opponents to 23 points per game over the last two games. Sophomore Brian Hendricks is a beast. He had 23 tackles last week against Air Force and was named MWC defensive player of the week. The Cowboys have a strong linebacker unit, but must get it going on offense and special teams in order to avoid playing catch-up this week.

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