K-Mart's BCS Preview

Illinois Fighting Illini(9-3) at University of Southern California Trojans(10-2)-The Grandaddy of them All once again kicks off the BCS season featuring an intriguing match-up between upstart Illinois and USC. The Trojans are entering their third straight Rose Bowl, beating Michigan last year and losing to Texas the year prior. The Fighting Illini are driven by their dual threat quarterback Juice Williams, who's balanced by Big Ten offensive player of the year Rashard Mendenhall. The Illini will need a solid game from those two if they hope to stick in this game. The Trojans, a pre-season favorite to be in the National Championship game, is healthy and playing some of their best football all season. Senior quarterback John David Booty's finger has mended has only thrown one interception in the past four games. The Trojan defense has been allowing 12.75 points per game since their loss to Oregon, and only 79.2 yards on the ground. While the Trojans clearly have the better defense and deeper offense, the Illini have proven that they can win a big game on the road. They beat Ohio State 28-21 in Columbus, OH in November, however they will be hard pressed to repeat the upset here.

Trojans 38 Fighting Illini 14

Hawaii Warriors(12-0) at Georgia Bulldogs(10-2)- The Warriors are the only unbeaten team left in division 1-FBS football, however, they rode the league's easiest schedule to that record. They beat only one ranked team, a 12 point win over Boise St. and they had close calls with Louisiana Tech, Nevada and Washington- not exactly the cream of the crop. They do boast one of the best offenses in the league this year, but have not faced any great defenses. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, feel a little bit gypped that they aren't playing in the title game as they were 3^rd in the BCS standings before West Virginia lost their #1 ranking the final week of the season. They were leapfrogged by LSU who won the SEC championship game that the Bulldogs couldn't even play in. The Bulldogs, like most SEC teams, boasts a tough, speedy defense, and a solid offense. Their defense should provide a stiff test for the high powered Warrior offense.

Bulldogs 31 Warriors 27

West Virginia Mountaineers(10-2) at Oklahoma Sooners(11-2)- This is going to be the best BCS game outside of the national championship game. The Mountaineers are upset over the sudden departure of their coach who left to take the job at Michigan. They are also 10-0 in games in which Pat White doesn't get hurt. For an offensively oriented team, they boast a pretty good defense and have allowed about 17 points a game. The Sooners are playing their best football of the year. They have rolled over their opponents on offense this year, scoring at least 17 each game and have topped 40 points 8 times this year. The Mountaineers are going to have their hands full trying to slow down the Sooners' passing attack. This will be the highest scoring BCS game.

Sooners 38 Mountaineers 31

Kansas Jayhawks(11-1) at Virginia Tech Hokies(11-2)- The Hokies got off to a slow start this season, getting blown out by LSU in week two and then losing a close game to Boston College in week 8. They haven't lost since that week and won the rematch with BC in the ACC title game. Their defense has been solid all year having only allowed more than 20 points 4 times this season. The offense has struggled at times, but has been clicking as of late. The Jayhawks are another team that benefited from a weak schedule. They played two ranked teams (only one is currently ranked) and only won one. They were clearly over matched in the game against Missouri. The Hokies are better than any team the Jayhawks have faced this year and they should win it easily.

Hokies 27 Jayhawks 17

Louisiana State University Tigers (11-2) at Ohio State University Buckeyes (11-1)- The Buckeyes are once again the #1 team in the league heading into the national championship game and once again are facing a talented SEC team. With memories of last year's blowout loss to Florida fresh in their minds, the Buckeyes are hoping to avoid losing in this game for the second year in a row. Their defense is solid, though it has not been tested much this year, and the offense has been surprisingly efficient. The Tigers come into the game as the first two loss team to play for the BCS national championship. They are favored to win because they came through the SEC, but this game will be closer than most people expect. The Tigers have beaten six ranked teams this year, but struggled to beat Tennessee in the SEC championship game, and has a loss to unranked Arkansas on their record. Their offense will be the best the Buckeyes have seen all year and the challenge will be whether or not the Buckeyes have the answers.

Tigers 24 Buckeyes 20