Bowl Preview: Little Caesars Pizza Bowl

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Ford Field, Detroit
Ohio University vs. Marshall
Date: Dec. 26
Time: 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Line: Ohio -3

About Ohio: The Bobcats are coached by former Nebraska coach Frank Solich and won the MAC East Division this year. OU has a long history of being one of, if not THE, worst Division I football program -ever. I still find it weird they're in a bowl. I keep re-reading the paper to see if it was all a joke and it's actually Miami, Oh. instead. But no, it's actually OU. That's creepy to type.

Intangibles:
Halloween: +2
"YOU MAY HAVE WON BUT WE PARTY SO MUCH HARDER THAN YOU! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!": -3
Athens during the summer: +3
Athens any other time of the year: -3

About Marshall: The Thundering Herd is the football definition of gettin' a little big for its britches. In the 90s, Marshall went from being a Division 1-AA power to moving to Division I and become a MAC power. All that winning went to its collective head when Marshall made the decision to join Conference USA. Whoops. Can we go back to the MAC? So after mediocrity ensued the Herd has now fired coach Mark Snyder and hired WVU assistant Doc Holliday. Frankly, I have no idea who's coaching this team in the bowl game.

Intangibles:
"Alma mater" of Randy Moss: -3
"We Are Marshall" : +1
Matthew McConaghey in "We Are Marshall": -4

Impact player: Ohio WR Taylor Price is the real deal. Big and fast and can catch the ball. And there was a story about him in the paper today which is why I know these things.

Bowl slogan: "Pizza! Pizza!"

Little known fact: Ohio University is the greatest school on the face of the earth. If you have any doubt about this, ask an alum and they will tell you. AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. AND THEY WILL NEVER SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT IT. COURT STREET, HALLOWEEN, YEAH, I GET IT DUDE. IT WAS AWESOME. JESUS.

Little known fact #2: When these two schools were both in the MAC, they used to play a "rivalry" game known as "The Battle for the Bell." Where this bell was located, I was never really sure.

Watchability (1-5): 1.1

The pick: Bobcats 26, Thundering Herd 21

Picks of the Week: No. 14

I got a little redemption last week by ending my 12-week losing skid in picking upsets, but still only managed a 3-2 outcome. At one game over .500 I'm putting my winning season on the line in the final week.

USC (-7.0) over Arizona
It appears the winner of this game gets a Holiday Bowl invitation. Nice for ’Zona, not so much for the Trojans. The Wildcats would be a serious contender for an upset here if not for the fact no one in the Pac-10 plays well on the road and QB Nick Foles is injured. Looks like USC will get to 9-3 with a chance to add a 10th victory in the Holiday Bowl.
Pick: USC 27, Arizona 14

Wisconsin (-12.0) over Hawaii
Maybe when this game was scheduled Badgers coach Bert Bielema was looking for a warm location to coach his last game at UW. Then he did a remarkable job this year and Wisconsin is 8-3. The Badgers should just pound the ball on the ground with RB John Clay, who will more than likely have a career day against a Hawaii defense that allows 193 yards per game.
Pick: Wisconsin 38, Hawaii 12

Alabama (-5.5) over Florida
Look, the SEC officials will not let Tim Tebow lose this game. The Gators will get every call Saturday. But they’ll keep it close and the Tide will be in this game because of Nick Saban and the best defense in the nation. Mark Ingram’s injury hurts Alabama’s offense. Sorry Bama fans, Florida wins for a second year in a row.
Pick: Florida 24, Alabama 21

Central Michigan (-13.0) over Ohio
One week after picking the Bobcats to pull the upset of Temple (finally an upset pick in 2009), I’m going against Frank Solich’s team. Ohio QB Theo Scott is beat up and the Chippewas are clearly the class of the Mid-American Conference. CMU’s Dan LeFevour will officially become the greatest QB in conference history (statistically speaking) after this championship game in Detroit Friday night.
Pick: Central Michigan 34, Ohio 15

Upset of the Week
Florida Atlantic (+1.5) over Florida International
This is the eighth annual Shula Bowl and the Owls hold a 6-1 advantage over the Golden Panthers. This is a nice South Florida rivalry that includes a wild 57-50 overtime victory by FAU last year. Owls QB Jeff Van Camp should be the difference in this game. He threw for three TDs and ran for another in last week’s 29-23 win over Western Kentucky.
Pick: FAU 39, FIU 38

Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 33-32

MAC Championship: Ohio vs. Central Michigan

The 'Eye enjoys ribbing me because I enjoy keeping up with what's going on in the Mid-American Conference. I'm not an expert on the MAC, but I like to think there are some talented players and excellent coaches in the conference.

When Ohio (9-3, 7-1) faces Central Michigan (10-2, 8-0) Friday night in the championship game in Detroit, it's a chance to see two of the nation's best coaches in the Bobcats Frank Solich and the Chippewas Butch Jones.

Ohio has its hands full. The Bobcats are banged up (including QB Theo Scott) after a tough four-week stretch to even get in this game, and they have to figure out a way to stop one of the conference's best all-time players in QB Dan LeFevour.

But Ohio will be ready. The Bobcats are trying to claim their first conference title since 1968, so if you have nothing important on the Friday slate check out this MAC contest.

Coming tomorrow: Weekend predictions.

Picks of the Week: No. 13

Seriously, could I pick one upset this season? I'm telling you, 0-12 is humbling. Even my overall picks sucked last week. Thanks Rutgers. You couldn't handle Syracuse? Here's another attempt at perfection.

Connecticut (-13.5) over Syracuse
Both teams are coming off much-needed victories last week--UConn a 33-30 OT win at Notre Dame and Syracuse rolled Rutgers 31-13. The Huskies can still become bowl eligible and even close the season on a three game winning streak with a win Saturday and next week against South Florida. The Orange are playing for next season and if Doug Marrone can finish 5-7 and with two conference wins that will be a huge improvement over the Greg Robinson years. It's also the final game in Greg Paulus' one-year stint with the Cuse.
Pick: Connecticut 31, Syracuse 12

Arizona (-3.0) over Arizona State
The Sun Devils could really catch the Wildcats off guard in this one after that emotional 44-41 double OT loss at home to Oregon last week. Dennis Erickson's ASU team could erase some of the misery of the season with an upset, as well as end a five-game losing skid. A look at starting QBs is why I favor Zona. The Wildcats are going with veteran Nick Foles, while ASU is giving sophomore Samson Szakacsy his second start.
Pick: Arizona 27, Arizona State 17

Boston College (-6.0) over Maryland
Eagles RB Montel Harris will be tough to stop as he is averaging more than 110 yards a game, including an impressive 132 on 23 carries against a staunch North Carolina defense last week.
QB Dave Shinskie needs to rebound from a four INT game, though. The Terps are enduring their worst season under Ralph Friedgen and are fresh off a tough 29-26 loss to Florida State. Even a win here won't save Maryland's season, and possibly their coach's job.
Pick: Boston College 33, Maryland 19

Central Florida (-3.0) over Alabama-Birmingham
With a win UAB becomes bowl eligible. Both teams are still in the hunt for a title in Conference USA. UAB's best shot at winning is relying on versatile QB Joe Webb, who has rushed for 1,290 yards, and passed for 18 TDs. What scares me about UAB is its defense, which ranks as one of the worst in the nation. That opens the door for QB Brett Hodges and the running attack of Brynn Harvey and Jonathan Davis.
Pick: Central Florida 27, UAB 18

Upset of the Week
Ohio (+2.5) over Temple
The Bobcats are looking to reach its second Mid-American Conference championship game in school history, while it would be Temple's first. The Bobcats will pull off the upset at home in Peden Stadium because of a tough defense. Temple, which has won nine-straight, will need to find a way to replace starting RB Bernard Pierce, who was injured in last week's win over Kent State. This is arguably one of the biggest games played in Athens in a decade.
Pick: Ohio 30, Temple 28

Last Week: 1-4
Season Record: 30-30

$5 tickets a winner for me

Here are my Sept. 5 college football options: Liberty at West Virginia, Navy at Ohio State and UConn at Ohio U.

Going to see the Mountaineers is always a good option, but I'm passing on this one. I'd actually like to see the Buckeyes' defense get challenged by the Midshipmen offense (who scheduled this game with USC coming to Columbus the following week?). However, I'm not forking over the $85 for a ticket.

So I'm going to Athens, Ohio, to watch the Huskies face the Bobcats in a rare BCS conference school traveling to a Mid-American Conference campus. This game appealed to me well before I found out Ohio was selling $5 tickets for the game. So my wife, who is an Ohio University alum, and I will be on hand for the 7 p.m. kickoff.

Should be interesting to see Frank Solich in action as the OU coach, and the Bobcats should be much better after a disappointing 4-8 last season. The Huskies could have their hands full, and at $5 a ticket it should be a pretty nice crowd.

I guess I only have 82 more days until kickoff.

Got Frank? Ohio may wish it didn't any longer

When Ohio University lured Frank Solich from the unemployment line in 2005 it seemed like a great hire. The former Nebraska coach was a winner, had Ohio connections and gave a down-in-the-dumps Bobcat program instant credibility.

In just his second season, Solich guided OU to a 9-5 record and its first bowl game since 1968. So what's wrong?

Well, it's Year 4 of the Solich Project and the Bobcats are playing more like the days when Cleve Bryant and Tom Lichtenberg coached Ohio.

Following Tuesday's 32-19 loss to Buffalo at Peden Stadium, the Bobcats fell to 2-7. Injuries have hit OU hard, but no football program uses that as a legitimate excuse. Solich wasn't after the game. In fact, he was very critical of his team.

“It was just a nightmare, an absolute nightmare,” Solich was quoted as saying in the Ohio student newspaper. “We found ourselves in the ball game, and we just fumbled it away."

The folks in Athens, Ohio, can't be happy. Solich is one of the highest paid employees at OU, making more than $250,000 a year. This past summer the university extended his contract to 2013. For the financially strapped Ohio U., the extension is like house speculation in Florida.

He'll be there until 2013 because Ohio can't buy him out and there isn't an alum who will step up and make the donation, like say a Nebraska would. Expectations are never real high at Ohio, but tensions are definitely rising. The faculty doesn't support Ohio's president, so you can only imagine how they feel about his hand-picked and expensive hire.