Question of the Week: Which Non-BCS Bowl Game is the Most Intriguing?

As I looked through the list of bowl games, not too many of the match ups jumped out at me (of course, I always look for the ones with two highly ranked teams playing each other).

I then stumbled upon the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, which annually is one of the most entertaining bowls of the season. It pits the Big 12 against the Pac-10 in a holiday fireworks display.

This season, the #13 Cowboys of Oklahoma State head in to San Diego to play the #17 Oregon Ducks.

When you look at this match up you think lots of offense, but very little defense. The Cowboys and Ducks are among the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, with both teams scoring above 40 points a game.

Oklahoma State (9-3) finished second in the Big 12 South behind the big three. Quarterback Zach Robinson leads one of the most balanced offenses in the nation, averaging 240 yards passing and 260 rushing yards per game.

Oregon (9-3) averages well over 470 yards of offense per game, much of which comes on the ground (277 per game). The Ducks offense was somewhat stagnant at the beginning of the season, but the passing game did pick up late with quarterback Jeremiah Masoli making vast improvements.

Ironically enough, this game will come down to who plays better defense. Neither team ranks in the top 50 nationally and both have struggled to stop high powered offenses.

Oklahoma State will prove to have more balance, with stud receiver Dez Bryant stretching the Oregon defense and running back Kendall Hunter gashing them up the middle.

Oregon will have to get running back Jeremiah Johnson rolling early if they hope to hang punch for punch with the explosive Poke offense.


Prediction: Oklahoma State 42 Oregon 31