Oregon State Beavers and Texas Longhorns Both Hope to Remember The Alamo

The Oregon State Beavers look to live on their customary feast of turnovers.  The Beavers have intercepted 19 passes this year, tied for sixth-most in the country, and their (Beavers’) 30 forced turnovers are tied for 12th. Seven of the Longhorns’ 15 turnovers this season came in their last two games, including five interceptions.  Oregon State seeks to continue that trend against Longhorn signal caller David Ash.  (Case McCoy will not play as he has been suspended for a violation of team rules.)   Junior Cody Vaz will get the opportunity to lead the Beavers’ attack, that ranks 15th nationally with 316.5 passing yards per game.

Cody Vaz will get the start as quarterback of the Oregon State Beavers in the Alamo Bowl.

Image by OregonLive.com

Oregon State Beavers (9-3):     Roby’s Rating:  (8.80)

Texas Longhorns (8-4):             Roby’s Rating:  (7.16)

Prediction:  Oregon St. Beavers by 3

(H/T: Jordan Garretson/AP)

(c) Copyright 2012 by Shayn Roby

Roby’s Rating (TM) is a trademark of Shayn Roby

Arizona State Sun Devils to Battle Navy Midshipmen in Fight Hunger Bowl

The Navy Midshipmen go into the Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, CA as underdogs against the Arizona State Sun Devils, but with an eager can do spirit that is contagious and likely to give them a chance to be victorious on Saturday December 29th.  The Midshipmen are led offensively by all-purpose quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who has rushed for 628 yards and 10 touchdowns, and has passed for 884 yards and 8 touchdowns. The Midshipmen are No. 6 in the country in rushing at 276.4 yards per game using their triple option attack. The Sun Devils are No. 21 in scoring offense at 36.4 points per game.

Quarterback Keenan Reynolds of Navy is a threat as both a passer and as a runner.

Image by Yahoo.com

According to the complex formula used by Roby’s Rating (TM), Navy is a four point underdog to Arizona St.  However, there is an intangible factor that could be considered more important than these numbers:   Navy has beaten three teams that played in bowl games, while Arizona St. has only beaten one bowl team in in-state rival Arizona. 

Arizona State Sun Devils:  (7-5):    Roby’s Rating    (8.78)

Navy Midshipmen (8-4):                 Roby’s Rating    (4.67)

Prediction:   Navy Midshipmen by 3

(H/T:  John Crumpacker/SFGate.com)

West Virginia Mountaineers to Battle Orangemen of Syracuse in Pinstripe Bowl

The extension of an old rivalry will occur in the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday, December 29 in Yankees Stadium.  The West Virginia Mountaineers and Syracuse Orangemen played against each other annually until this year, when the Mountaineers moved to the Big 12 Conference.   West Virginia’s attack is led by quarterback Geno Smith, who has completed 350 of 490 passes (71.4%) for 4,004 yards with 40 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, along with 63 carries, 155 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Mountaineers are #7 in scoring offense, but #116 in scoring defense out of 124 teams. 

Quarterback Geno Smith makes the West Virginia Mountaineers one of the most explosive offensive teams in the nation.

Image by USAToday.com

The Orange are #21 in total offense, and their defense is somewhat shaky, but not quite as shaky as the Mountaineers’ defense.

West Virginia Mountaineers: (7-5) :     Roby’s Ratings:   (6.57)

Syracuse Orangemen:  (7-5):                 Roby’s Ratings:   (4.45)

Prediction:  A high scoring affair with the West Virginia Mountaineers winning by 3

(H/T:  MadduxSports.com)

(c) Copyright Shayn Roby 2012

Roby’s Ratings (TM) are a trademark of Shayn Roby

Rice Owls Look to Fly into Air Force Falcons

The Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas will pit two (6-6) teams against each other:  The Rice Owls and the Air Force Falcons.  They are teams seemingly headed in opposite directions though.  The Owls have won their last four games, including a sound 36-14 whipping of SMU on November 17.  SMU just finished slapping Fresno State around by a score of 43-10 in the Hawaii Bowl, which means as of late, Rice is playing well against a team that is playing well.  Meanwhile, Air Force has dropped three of their last four games, including a 48-15 pounding by the same Fresno State Bulldogs that SMU slapped around.  The Owl attack will be lead by Taylor McHargue at quarterback.  He has passed for 11 touchdowns on the season, and has run for another 11 touchdowns. 

Quarterback Taylor McHargue has passed for 11 touchdowns on the season and rushed for another 11.

 Image by blog.chron.com

Air Force Falcons (6-6):    Roby’s Rating:  (2.74)

Rice Owls (6-6):                  Roby’s Rating: (2.66)

The numbers according to the formula used by Shayn Roby favors the Air Force Falcons slightly, but the hotter team at the moment is Rice.

Prediction:   Rice Owls by 6

(c) Copyright 2012 by Shayn Roby

Roby’s Rating (TM) is a trademark of Shayn Roby

(H/T:  RiceOwls.com)

 

 

 

 

Bears Torch Bruins (Oso) Oh So Soundly in Holiday Bowl.

The Baylor Bears blasted the UCLA Bruins in every phase of the game in a 23-point shellacking of their fellow members of family Ursidae.  Before the game was over, Nick Florence had broken the single-season passing record of Robert Griffin III en route to the 49-26 pasting of the (bear)ly conscious Bruins in the Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. 

Nick Florence of Baylor led his Bears to a 49-26 pasting of the UCLA Bruins.

Image by MySanAntonio.com

(H/T:   Yahoo Sports)

(c) Copyright by Shayn Roby 2012

Red Raiders to Face Golden Gophers in Meineke Car Care Bowl

Time will tell if the Texas Tech Red Raiders can avoid being distracted by the whirlwind of coaching changes in the same manner that the Cincinnati Bearcats were able to on Thursday night in the Belk Bowl against Duke.  The Bearcats are the culprit in stealing away coach Tommy Tuberville, who signed with the Bearcats to replace the departed Butch Jones, who had left Cincy for the Orange City of Knoxville, Tennessee.  The Red Raiders (7-5) started the season off in promising fashion with a (4-0) start this season, but ended it with a horrid (1-4) stretch.  The Red Raiders will be facing the Golden Gophers of Minnesota (6-6) who started off at (4-0) as well this season, but finished up with an awful (2-6) stretch.  The Red Raiders, who average 37.8 points per game on offense, are led by quarterback Seth Doege, who has passed for 3934 yards and 38 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. 

Red Raiders quarterback Seth Doege has thrown for 38 touchdowns this season.

Image by LindysSports.com

The game in Houston figures to be a high-scoring affair, with the Red Raiders prevailing.

Texas Tech Red Raiders:   (7-5):     Roby’s Rating:   (7.88)

Minnesota Golden Gophers: (6-6):  Roby’s Rating:   (3.21)

Prediction:  Texas Tech Red Raiders by 5

(H/T: TexasTech.com)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights to Battle Virginia Tech Hokies in Russell Athletic Bowl

The co-champions of the Big East Conference:  Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-3) will seek to add victory number 10 to their resume as they face the Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6) in Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Florida on Friday, December 28.  The Scarlet Knights are led by Khaseem Greene, a fifth-year senior linebacker who is a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and sophomore quarterback Gary Nova who has completed 58.6 percent of his passes for 2,566 yards, 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene has an Orangeman for lunch.

Image by ScarletKnights.com

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-3):       Roby’s Rating:   (5.92)

Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6):             Roby’s Rating:   (4.47)

Prediction:  Rutgers Scarlet Knights by 3

(H/T:  Associated Press)

(c) Copyright 2012 by Shayn Roby

Roby’s Rating (TM) is a trademark of Shayn Roby