Bowl Week Continues...

Champs Sports Bowl - Tuesday

Miami (-3) vs. Wisconsin
Look for Miami to be inspired by the ghosts of Canes past after the premiere of the documentary "The U" on ESPN. Playing in their home state at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando should be a nice advantage for the Hurricanes even though Wisconsin will have a nice contingent as well. The difference in the teams on the field will be the speed of the Hurricanes on offense led by Jacory Harris. Look for Miami to jump out to a lead and hold on with their defense. The Badgers should have a better showing than last year in this same bowl against Florida State, a rout that Wisconsin would like to forget. But Miami has stopped opposing runners consistently this season, which is what the Badgers would like to do with Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year John Clay. If they can't get him going it will be a long day for the the faithful from Madison. Expect a well-played game from both sides but the Canes getting the last laugh, as they often did in the days of the "U". Miami 33 - Wisconsin 24

Holiday Bowl - Wednesday

Nebraska (-1) vs. Arizona
This line is climbing as the betting public seems to like the Huskers. The Holiday Bowl always seems to be a great game, usually of the high scoring variety as it was last year when Oregon beat Oklahoma State. This year though both teams are led by their defense, with Nebraska second in the nation in points allowed. Arizona lost their defensive coordinator before the game so Mike Stoops will coach his first game without his brother Mark next to him. On the other side Nebraska should be hungry to prove on the field that they could be playing in the BCS after the last second loss to Texas. The Cornhuskers truly believe they could have won all but the Texas Tech game (losing to Virginia Tech, Iowa State and Texas were all winnable games in Bo Pelini'eyes) and they have good reason to believe they can play with any team with their defense leading the way. Ndamukong Suh will get a lot of publicity in this game after his AP Player of the Year award, a first for a defensive player and his showing in the Heisman balloting. Nebraska has said they will use two QBs in the game in a hope that the extra practice has improved an offense that was lackluster most of the season. Arizona will be a tough test with a strong running game and QB Nick Foles having a great season. I think both teams have something to prove, but in the end Nebraska and Bo Pelini have shown they can win Bowl games as he upset Clemson last year in the Gator Bowl and Michigan in 2003 as interim coach in the Alamo Bowl. Arizona beat BYU last year in Stoops' first Bowl as coach but the team didn't play in a bowl since 1998 before that. I expect a great game with Nebraska able to hold off the Wildcats in a defensive struggle with a few big plays to make in interesting. Nebraska 20 - Arizona 16