High flying offenses are going to be on display as we try to make our Rose Bowl picks for 2012, as the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Oregon Ducks in the “Granddaddy of Them All” in Pasadena.

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Oregon Ducks
Rose Bowl Location: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA
Rose Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Rose Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

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Key #1: One of these defenses has to step up and make a play
It goes without saying that these two offenses are going to put some points on the board, but the question is whether either defense is going to be able to make a stand. When you look at these scoring averages, the two teams are only combining to allow 40.6 points per game, and the 17.0 points per game allowed by the Badgers looks a heck of a lot better than the 23.6 of the Ducks. But then again, Oregon had to contend with the LSU Tigers, Stanford Cardinal, and USC Trojans this year, while Wisconsin’s toughest defensive tests probably came against the Michigan State Spartans twice. We look at that Ducks defense and realize that they were able to pick off QB Andrew Luck three times on the road in Palo Alto in their biggest game of the season, but we are still wondering whether the Badgers have the ability to make that big play or not. In their first game against MSU, they allowed the Hail Mary that ultimately beat them in East Lansing, and in the Big Ten title game, they were really devastated time and time again both on the ground and through the air by Sparty.

Rose Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Wisconsin Badgers +6
Oregon Ducks -6
Over/Under 72
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Key #2: One Heisman hopeful has to rule over the other
RB LaMichael James was a Heisman Trophy finalist two years ago. RB Montee Ball was a finalist this season. These two should both have a field day, as they were two of the best rushers in America. Ball rushed for 1,759 yards and 32 TDs and had another 255 yards and six scores as a receiver. James had 1,646 yards and 17 TDs on the ground and 210 yards and a score as a receiver, and he did so in basically two fewer games. Both have mobile quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Darren Thomas, and both have a backup tailback that is capable of massive things as well with James White and Kenjon Barner. The question is which is going to be more explosive when push comes to shove, and the answer is probably going to decide which team beats the 2012 Rose Bowl odds.

Key #3: A sluggish start by either team could be fatal
The Badgers were beaten in the Rose Bowl last year by the TCU Horned Frogs. The Ducks were silenced in the BCS National Championship Game by the Oregon Ducks. In both cases, the teams that are meeting in this year’s Rose Bowl got off to bad starts and really never recovered. Both of these offenses run a ton on timing and pace, and that’s the type of thing that can be lost without playing at game speed for well over a month. Both teams will have likely been helped by a conference title game this year for the first time in their respective conferences’ histories, and that might give both teams just that shred of help to get over the hump to start off games in a hurry. There is definitely some unfinished business for both of these teams, and they are going to have to start off well and make a statement to the other if they hope to be the winner in this BCS bowl game.

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The Nebraska Cornhuskers will represent the Big Ten for the first time in a bowl game this year, and their first test is going to be a stern one to say the least. They’ll try to topple the NCAA football betting odds when they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2012 Capital One Bowl.

Capital One Bowl: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks
Capital One Bowl Location: Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL
Capital One Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Capital One Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

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Key #1: Connor Shaw and Brandon Wilds have to act like they have been here
If you had told Gamecocks fans at the outset of the season that they were entering their bowl game with Wilds at tailback and Shaw under center, they probably would have told you that they were merely happy to be in a bowl game. They’d be ecstatic to hear that South Carolina would have won 10 games for the second time in school history and would be overjoyed to know that it was favored to become the first Gamecocks team to ever win 11 games in a season. That said, neither Shaw nor Wilds has ever played in a bowl game before, and this is a big one at that. These two are going to be the focal points for the Nebraska defense to key in on, and though names like Prince Amukamara and Ndamukong Suh are no longer on this unit, the Black Shirts are still absolutely a force to be reckoned with. These two have to live up to the moment and perform admirably to get the Gamecocks in the win column at the Capital One Bowl.

Capital One Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Nebraska Cornhuskers +2
South Carolina Gamecocks -2
Over/Under 46
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Key #2: Taylor Martinez has to get over last year’s Holiday Bowl
The sophomore quarterback for Big Red has had the same problem over the course of the last two seasons. He has started off in fine form and really fallen apart down the stretch. Last year in the Holiday Bowl, a game in which the Cornhuskers were heavily favored against a Washington Huskies team which they had killed in Seattle early in the season, Martinez failed miserably. He went 7-of-9 for 53 yards with a TD and a pick to go with 23 rushing yards before getting hurt in the third quarter. The Nebraska offense only managed 14 first downs and 192 total yards of offense, which was a heck of a lot less than what Martinez was averaging by himself. To put that in comparison to the first time those teams had met, Martinez threw for 150 yards and ran for 137 more, coming up with four total TDs and no turnovers. This is a tough defense that Martinez is playing against on January 2nd, and he is going to be under a slew of pressure both with his legs and his arm to perform.

Key #3: Nebraska’s patchwork offensive line has to hold back the Gamecocks
The battles in the trenches are always important, but for Nebraska, it really needs to make sure that it doesn’t get blown to bits up front offensively. RB Rex Burkhead is a great back when he is given the chance, but this is going to be as stout of a front seven as he has gone up against this year. Mike Caputo, Andrew Rodriguez, and Jake Cotton, all offensive linemen for the Huskers, are likely out of the lineup for this one, and that is going to make for a tough task for the hogs that are in the fold up front. South Carolina is only allowing opponents to average 3.7 yards per carry this year, one of the better marks in the SEC, which is really saying something considering the fact that Alabama and LSU are both in this conference as well.

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The Houston Cougars and Penn State Nittany Lions make for strange bedmates, but the two could make for a fantastic game to start off the 2012 bowl schedule. Check out our Ticket City Bowl keys to the game for this clash!

Ticket City Bowl: Houston Cougars vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
Ticket City Bowl Location: Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, TX
Ticket City Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 12:00 p.m. (ET)
Ticket City Bowl Television Coverage: ESPNU

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Key #1: Penn State has to be over all of its off the field issues
Joe Paterno is no longer with the team. QB Rob Bolden stole a Gatorade from a convenience store. QB Matt McGloin had to be hospitalized after suffering a concussion in a fight with a teammate in the locker room. Yes, the Nittany Lions are becoming a traveling circus, and it is a wonder why there were so many bowl games that passed them up in spite of the fact that they finished off the season at 9-3 in a relatively powerful Big Ten conference. Considering the fact that this might be the last time that this team plays in a bowl game in quite some time, Penn State had better make the most of it, and that means leaving all of the off the field hoopla where it belongs: Off the field. The hope is that at least one of, if not both of Bolden and McGloin end up able to play in the Ticket City Bowl, but if neither one can go, there are some serious issues. The only quarterbacks that might be available at that point are walk-ons that have basically been practice squad guys for the entire season.

Ticket City Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Houston Cougars -6.5
Penn State Nittany Lions +6.5
Over/Under 56.5
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Key #2: With as bad as the offense is, the PSU defense needs to be tremendous
We’ve seen defenses have the ability to slow down the Houston offense before, and considering the fact that there hasn’t been a ‘D’ anything like this one that the Cougars have seen this year, they aren’t going to be just running up and down the field in all likelihood. That’s a good thing for the Nittany Lions, because they just don’t have the ability to win games like that. They never stood a chance of keeping up with the Wisconsin Badgers in a game that got away from them, and they can’t let this one get out of hand either. Keeping Houston in the 20s seems like a very difficult task. It is doable, and it really might be the only way that this team has a shot of winning. Remember that Penn State ranked just No. 95 in the land in total offense and No. 110 in scoring at a woeful 19.8 points per game. The schedule might have been tough, and there might have been a ton of problems out of its control to deal with, but PSU didn’t score more than 34 points this season against any of its FBS opponents. Against teams that are playing in bowl games this year, the Nittany Lions only scored an average of 16.2 points per game.

Key #3: Case Keenum and the Houston offense have to get the loss to SMS out of their heads
There’s no doubt that this is going to be a tough task for the Cougars. They went from playing in a BCS bowl game to playing in a relatively local game in Dallas of virtually no intrigue. They’re playing in the only bowl game that isn’t going to be televised nationally, and they are playing an opponent that, though it has a lot of history, was essentially the laughing stock of the nation at season’s end. Houston is also coming off of a brutal loss to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in which they only mustered 428 yards and 28 points, a far cry from its averages. Keenum threw the ball 67 times that day in defeat, and he is going to have to be a heck of a lot better to go out as a winner in the Ticket City Bowl. Keenum has thrown for over 5,000 yards three times in his career, and he has a shot to reach the 50 TD barrier if he accounts for five scores. It’s going to be up to Keenum to get the job done in this one, and if he can’t rally his troops in this bowl game, against this defense, it could be a brutally frustrating finish to a season that had so much promise at the outset of the year after starting at 12-0 and being one win away from the first BCS bowl bid for the school and for Conference USA.

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The Michigan State Spartans return to the Sunshine State for the third time in the last four years for a bowl game. They haven’t had all that much luck here, but they’ll hope to change that by beating the NCAA football odds in the Outback Bowl when they take on the SEC East champs, the Georgia Bulldogs.

Outback Bowl: Michigan State Spartans vs. Georgia Bulldogs
Outback Bowl Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL
Outback Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Outback Bowl Television Coverage: ABC

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Key #1: Sparty has to completely erase the memories of last season
It’s not that odd to see the SEC beat the snot out of the Big Ten in these bowl games, especially in Florida. Last year alone, Florida, Mississippi State, and Alabama beat the living heck out of Penn State, Michigan, and these Spartans. The worst of the bunch was MSU, a team that was ranked in the Top 10 in the country for the mass majority of the end of the season. The Spartans had to think that they had a shot of taking down the Crimson Tide, one of the top teams in the country, but it just wasn’t meant to be. They were crushed 49-7 in a game that was never that close. Michigan State rushed for -48 yards and had just 171 total yards of offense in the game compared to the 546 that Alabama racked up. It was as embarrassing of a bowl game as there was last year, and it is a duel that Head Coach Mike Dantonio and the gang badly need to get out of their heads as they come into this one against Georgia.

Outback Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Michigan State Spartans +3.5
Georgia Bulldogs -3.5
Over/Under 50
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Key #2: Both teams are going to have to stop the other from the big plays
Just looking at the losses that these teams suffered this year, they all have the same thing in common: They gave up too many of the big plays. Case in point: Georgia was up on the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game 10-0 before Tyrann Mathieu returned a punt for a touchdown that totally electrified the men in gold and purple. Michigan State was in fine shape before the Wisconsin Badgers nailed a 42 yard TD pass in the middle of the third quarter to stop a run in the Big Ten Championship Game, and it was never quite the same after that point. Neither one of these teams particularly wants to get into a track meet, as both are a heck of a lot better off if they can keep this game in the 40s or 50s than in the 60s or 70s. Both secondaries are going to be tested, though. QB Aaron Murray tossed 33 TDs this year for the Dawgs, the most in a single season in school history, while WR BJ Cunningham has scored five times in his last two games, including three times in the Big Ten title game.

Key #3: Georgia needs to get its ground game back on track
Understandably, the Bulldogs had a tough time getting things moving on the ground against the Bayou Bengals in the SEC title game, but they have generally struggled over the course of the last few games on the ground. For a team that averaged 172.8 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry during the season, UGA only has averaged 120.7 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry in its last three. The Michigan State defense is holding teams to just 2.9 yards per carry on the campaign, a number which is remarkable in the run-heavy Big Ten (especially considering the fact that Wisconsin appeared on the schedule not just once, but twice). RBs Isaiah Crowell, Carlton Thomas, Brandon Harton, and Richard Samuel should all get in on the action in this one, and the four would figure to have to rack up at least 150 yards combined for Head Coach Mark Richt to feel good about his team in the Outback Bowl.

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A day off in the bowl betting bonanza on January 5th won’t stop us from enjoying another fantastic game on the college football bowl schedule on the 6th. The Kansas State Wildcats and Arkansas Razorbacks were both good enough to be BCS quality teams this year, and they are going to face off in the 2012 Cotton Bowl.

Cotton Bowl: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Kansas State Wildcats
Cotton Bowl Location: Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX
Cotton Bowl Date/Time: Friday, January 6th, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Cotton Bowl Television Coverage: FOX

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Key #1: Collin Klein has to have the biggest heart on the field
Say what you want about Klein. We know that he isn’t a great passer. We know that he stands very little chance of completing even 60 percent of his passes in any game that he plays. We know that he looks to run first and then throw the ball. We know that, for a mobile quarterback, he has a miserable yards per carry average right around 4.0. However, with all that being said, you can’t measure a kid’s heart, and that’s exactly what Klein has. This is a man that carries the ball over 24 times per game out of the quarterback spot, and he isn’t doing a heck of a lot of sliding or running out of bounds. There’s a reason that he led the team in scoring with 26 TDs on the campaign and why he came up with 1,099 rushing yards. Klein has the ability to do some real damage, and though his offense’s numbers aren’t all that impressive in totality this year, he just finds ways to keep putting points on the board, a trait that has to show to beat the Hogs.

Cotton Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Arkansas Razorbacks -7.5
Kansas State Wildcats +7.5
Over/Under 62.5
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Key #2: The Razorbacks cannot let their special teams beat them
The Hogs were only beaten twice this year, once by the Alabama Crimson Tide and once by the LSU Tigers. Both games were on the road, and they were against the two best teams in the country. There was no shame in either defeat, but both games shared a common bond: Bad punt coverage. Against Alabama, WR Marquis Maze had 125 punt return yards, including an 83 yarder that came all the way back for a touchdown. That took a 17-7 game and made it 24-7. The Hogs were beaten 38-14. Against the Bayou Bengals, DB Tyrann Mathieu had two massive punt returns and totaled 115 yards on two runbacks. One went for 92 yards and a TD. From that point on, LSU outscored Arkansas 34-3.

Key #3: Tyler Wilson has to shred a very suspect secondary
In fairness to the Wildcats, they had to play a schedule this year that included taking on Robert Griffin III, Seth Doege, Landry Jones, Brandon Weeden, and Ryan Tannehill. If we had to play those five guys, who will combine for over 20,000 passing yards when the bowl season is said and done with, we would have a secondary with some suspect numbers as well. However, Wilson is another one of these quarterbacks that could inch near 4,000 yards when the season is said and done with. He has 3,422 yards and is averaging a rock solid 8.4 yards per pass attempt this year, and he has a great set of receivers that can really spread the field all over the place. Wilson also did a nice job taking care of the pigskin on the campaign, throwing just six picks against 22 TDs. KSU’s secondary can be had; just look at the 505 yards and five TDs that Jones came up with when the Oklahoma Sooners came to Manhattan. Wilson just has to take advantage of it if the Razorbacks are going to have a shot at beating the Cotton Bowl odds.

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Both the Stanford Cardinal and Oklahoma State Cowboys finished up their season with 11 wins, but both fell short of their ultimate goal by a single game. They’ll try to beat the Fiesta Bowl odds in the second BCS bowl game of the year on January 2nd.

Fiesta Bowl: Stanford Cardinal vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Fiesta Bowl Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Fiesta Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Fiesta Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

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Key #1: These teams have to prove that they want to be here
This is the second straight season that both the Cowboys and the Cardinal have really fallen short of their ultimate goal. Neither team failed so late in the season though to cost them the ultimate prize, and the end result saw Stanford kill the Virginia Tech Hokies in the BCS and had Oklahoma State destroying the Arizona Wildcats in the Alamo Bowl. Now, both teams are in the BCS once again, but again, neither one was able to be a National Championship contender due to their one flaw. We have to wonder if there is going to be a bit of a hangover for either side. Stanford still doesn’t quite look like it is totally over the loss to the Oregon Ducks, as it hasn’t been as dominating down the stretch as it was in the beginning of the season, while the Cowboys looked tremendous in Bedlam against the Oklahoma Sooners in their first action after their lone loss to the Iowa State Cyclones.

Fiesta Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Stanford Cardinal +3.5
Oklahoma State Cowboys -3.5
Over/Under 74
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Key #2: Andrew Luck needs to find a receiver to do damage
Luck didn’t win the Heisman Trophy this year even though he was considered the runaway favorite for the mass majority of the season, and part of the problem is that he really didn’t have a bona fide wide receiver to get the ball to. Sure, his tight ends were dominating all season long, and TE Coby Fleener was as awesome as a tight end could be at the collegiate level. WR Griff Whalen caught 49 passes for 664 yards and four scores, but perhaps Luck’s best target, WR Chris Owusu has been dealing with a concussion for the majority of the season. We aren’t counting on him for the Fiesta Bowl, but we know that someone else is going to have to step up on the outside to do some damage. If not, the Pokes are going to be able to load the box up and try to take away the rushing game with RB Stepfan Taylor, and if that’s the case, Stanford is going to be back basically in the same situation that it was in against Oregon when it was blown out of the water by three TDs on its home turf.

Key #3: Justin Blackmon has to be stopped
When you look at the numbers that the Cowboys put up this year, they are absolutely devastating. RB Joseph Randle had nearly 1,200 rushing yards and a whopping 25 trips to the end zone this year, and backup RB Jeremy Smith also had 645 yards on just 90 carries, nine of which went for TDs. QB Brandon Weeden completed 72.6 percent of his passes and accounted for 4,328 yards and 34 TDs versus just a dozen picks. However, the man that really has made this offense go for the past two years has been Blackmon. He only averaged 11.8 yards per reception this year, a far cry from his 16.1 a season ago, but he once again hauled in just a slew of passes (113 to be exact) and had 1,336 yards with 15 TDs. Blackmon is as talented of a receiver as there is in the nation, and assuming that he comes out of school this year and heads to the pros, he is likely going to step onto an NFL roster and become a true No. 1 wide out for a team that is willing to take him in the first dozen picks or so in the NFL Draft. The whole offense opens up when Blackmon is going, and the Cowboys have to have him in a big time way to keep up in what could be a major league shootout against the Cardinal.

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The college football bowl schedule will be winding down come January 4th, but here at Bankroll Sports, the action is just getting started, as we are set to introduce our 2012 Sugar Bowl keys to the game in the clash between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Clemson Tigers.

Orange Bowl: West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Clemson Tigers
Orange Bowl Location: Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL
Orange Bowl Date/Time: Wednesday, January 4th, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Orange Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

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Key #1: Clemson’s secondary has to prove that it can stop the pass
One blush at the statistics for the Clemson secondary this year, and you must be convinced that the team is pretty darn proficient against opposing passing games. Now, it is true that the Tigers rank No. 35 in the land against the pass at 202.9 yards per game. However, when you really look at the ACC this year, you really don’t see a heck of a lot of teams that are tremendously proficient at throwing the football. The non-conference schedule this year was weak, as there was an FCS team in the Wofford Terriers, a Sun Belt team on the downswing in the Troy Trojans, an Auburn Tigers bunch that looked nothing like the team that won the National Championship last year, and a South Carolina Gamecocks team that was still breaking in a quarterback in Connor Shaw. QB EJ Manuel, probably the most talented quarterback in the ACC didn’t play against Clemson when his Florida State Seminoles came to Death Valley. Now, West Virginia is going to test the two Tigers’ corners, as both WRs Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin were good for over 1,000 receiving yards on the campaign, and QB Geno Smith will have well over 4,000 passing yards when this one is said and done with. If Clemson isn’t ready, it won’t look anything like even a Top 50 secondary.

Orange Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
West Virginia Mountaineers +3
Clemson Tigers -3
Over/Under 61
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Key #2: One team has to figure out how to get past its relatively dismal end to the season
Both Clemson and West Virginia were able to win their final games of the season to make it to the BCS. Had either been beaten in that situation, neither would be here in the BCS. The Tigers just had the number of the Virginia Tech Hokies this year, but aside from that, from the end of October on, they really didn’t play a good game. Clemson was beaten by at least 14 by its three opponents on the road, and it had to truly survive a challenge from a very marginal Wake Forest Demon Deacons team at home. Speaking of surviving, that is exactly what West Virginia had to do against the Cincinnati Bearcats, Pitt Panthers, and South Florida Bulls at the end of the year just to make it to the BCS. The last truly good game from start to finish that WVU played was on October 29th against the Connecticut Huskies on October 8th. But really take a look at this slate that the Mountaineers played. They were losing to Norfolk State at halftime, had to fight off Maryland, got crushed by Syracuse, had to come from behind against Rutgers, got beaten (at home!) by Louisville, should have lost to a Cincinnati team that lost its starting quarterback in the game, survived the Backyard Brawl even though Pitt only had one scholarship running back on the team by game’s end, and just barely made it out of South Florida alive. These weren’t tough games, and they were bad results, so things have to turn around in a hurry for both of these. The one that does it better will probably beat the Orange Bowl odds.

Key #3: Sammy Watkins has to make his impact on this game
Bailey and Austin are great playmakers for the Mountaineers, but all of the players in blue and gold pale in comparison to the excitement that Watkins brings to the table for the Tigers. The freshman missed some games down the stretch and clearly wasn’t as healthy as he was at the start of his season, and the offense was a wreck at times without him. Watkins gets the ball in his hands in a plethora of ways. He ran it 31 times for 229 yards, had 26 kick returns for 683 yards, had a pair of punt returns, threw it once, and of course, led the team in receiving with 79 receptions, 1,159 yards, and 11 TDs. With the team’s second leading receiver, WR DeAndre Hopkins battling a concussion suffered in a car accident just after Christmas, Watkins is going to have to be that much more explosive for the Tigers to win this game.

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The Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes have a ton of strange connections to one another, including a National Championship Game and a head coach. Now, they share the 2012 Gator Bowl as well, and we are set to give our Gator Bowl analysis so you can make your 2011-2012 bowl picks.

Gator Bowl: Florida Gators vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Gator Bowl Location: Ever Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Gator Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Gator Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN2, ESPN3.com

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Key #1: DeVier Posey has to become a force in this game
The combination of QBs Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller weren’t exactly superstars this year for the Buckeyes, though we do trust that they will be in better shape once Miller really gets the hang of the new offense that Urban Meyer is going to bring to the table. Getting the ball out to wide receivers this year was tough, as there wasn’t a man on the team that caught even 15 passes on the whole season. WR Devin Smith led the team in receiving with 247 yards. Of course, Posey only ended up playing in two games in his senior season, one of which came against the hated Michigan Wolverines. That day, he came up with easily the only notable game that an OSU receiver has had all season long, catching three passes for 58 yards and a TD. He now has seven catches in these two games. Now that he would have had a full few weeks of practice, the time is here for Posey to have an impact on this game. The Gators DBs have been burned a few times in the past by a number of the solid receivers in the SEC, so they can be had, and it will be up to Posey to take advantage of the situation and his extra practice time to make himself a threat.

Gator Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Florida Gators -2
Ohio State Buckeyes +2
Over/Under 44
Click Here to Bet The Gator Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps have to use their world class speed to their advantage
Over the first few games of the season, it looked like the new look Florida offense was going to be fantastic with both Rainey and Demps doing damage as rushers and receivers. Now, it is true that the two did have over 1,300 rushing yards between them and might finish off the season with over 2,000 all-purpose yards between them, but the fact of the matter is that neither one really was able to showcase their tremendous speed all that often. They both averaged fewer than six yards per carry this season, a real stretch for a duo that averaged over seven yards per carry over the course of the last three seasons (under Meyer, no less). The Buckeyes might not have been the greatest team on the face of the earth this year, and they might have struggled against a somewhat similar offense that the Michigan Wolverines run at the end of the season, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is some ridiculous speed on the field. If Demps and Rainey don’t get a chance to show what they can do in the open field, the rest of the Gators are just too slow to put points on the board.

Key #3: Both teams need to keep focus
Focus is really going to be the key of this game. The Buckeyes are playing in their last bowl game for two years, as they are going on bowl probation in the 2012 season when this one is said and done with, and they are going to be bringing in a new head coach next year. The Gators have to feel a bit shaken by the fact that the man that led them to two national titles and then skipped town supposedly for retirement is going to be coaching the team that they face on the other side of the field in this bowl game. On top of that, OC Charlie Weis, who grew noticeably upset on the sidelines with his offense as the season wore on, moved on to become the head coach for the Kansas Jayhawks. Both of these teams were known to take stupid penalties this season, especially Florida, and that is why both teams are playing in the Gator Bowl and not some of the more illustrious bowl games that this season has to offer. The team that keeps its cool will probably finish the year off above .500, while the loser will sadly end up below .500.

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