[LLXC]

FORECAST: Ucla/Temple UNDER 46’ RATING: 2*

FORECAST: MIAMI, FL by 14 RATING: 4* MIAMI, FL

[LLXC]

From gg's tracking:

OVERALL: 7-3

1*: 1-0
2*: 2-2
3*: 2-1
4*: 2-0

[LLXC]

FORECAST: Ucla/Temple UNDER 46’ RATING: 2*

FORECAST: MIAMI, FL by 14 RATING: 4* MIAMI, FL

First meeting. After starting 3-0 SU/ATS in non-conf gms the beginning of P10 play was a disaster as the Bruins dropped 5 str (1-4 ATS) and appeared to be back in the rebuilding mode the rest of the yr. Wins vs 3 P10 tms that were not bowl elig (comb 10-26) and an Army loss got them an at-large bid here. This will be HC Neuheisel’s 1st bowl gm with his alma mater but he has been to the postseason on numerous occasions in his previous stints with Washington and Colorado (4-3 SU and 6-1 ATS). Temple earned their 1st bowl bid in 30 yrs after an amazing 9-3 ssn led by Al Golden who earned MAC COY getting the Owls to their 1st winning ssn S/’90. In his 4 yrs, Golden’s tms have improved each ssn. UCLA has 8 Sr starters among 10 upperclassmen while TU has 6 Sr’s and 13 upperclassmen. The Bruins went 2-4 SU (3-3 ATS) on the road this yr while the Owls went 4-2 SU (5-1 ATS) away from home. UCLA ply’d 7 bowl eligible tms being victorious just once (2-5 ATS) as they were outscored 27-16 and outgained 376-293. TU on the other hand faced 4 bowl caliber tms going 2-2 SU (3-1 ATS) despite being outscored 26-19 and outgained 341-284. A win here would give UCLA just their 3rd winning ssn in the L/7Y while the Owls could reach the 10 win plateau for just the 2nd time in school history (1979).
UCLA has our #66 off avg 21 ppg and 339 ypg. HC Neuheisel opted to go with rFr Prince at QB TY after LY’s struggles of now bkup QB Craft (7-20 ratio in ‘08). Prince is a gritty performer as his numbers really don’t define the success that he delivers to the tm. Prince’s solid play allowed UCLA to escape in Knoxville in wk 2 but he suffered a broken jaw at the end of the gm forcing him to miss the next 2. RFr RB Franklin provided a spark early on leading the tm in rushing but fmbl issues dropped his touches toward the end of the ssn opening the door for Coleman and RB/FB Moline. The WR unit features 3 players who surpassed the 35 rec mark with Rosario being the deep threat. The TE unit is loaded as the trio of Paulsen, Moya and Harkey provided solid blk’g and reliable hands. The OL avg 6’4” 318 (0 Sr) but was the biggest concern on the tm heading into ‘09. Colo trans C Maiva and true Fr LT Su’a-Filo (PS#8) played solid late helping the unit pave the way for 3.6 ypc while all’g 28 sks (6.9%) a yr after all’g 35 (8.1%). UCLA’s def finished with our #21 ranking all’g 21 ppg and 338 ypg. The DL avg 6’2” 276 (2 Sr) and is led by P10 DPY DT Price who has 43.5 tfl in just 34 career gms. The LB unit is led by 1st Tm P10 Carter who started all 4 ssns. The secondary finished with our #30 ranking all’g 194 ypg (59%) with a 15-18 ratio and is led by 1st Tm P10 CB Verner and 1st Tm FS Moore who led the nation with 9 int. UCLA has our #12 ST unit which features 1st Tm AA and Groza winner Forbath who connected on 26-29 FG’s (all 3 misses from 50+). P Locke earned 1st Tm P10 while Terrence Austin earned 2nd Tm P10 honors at both KR and PR.
TU comes in with our #87 off and is avg 30 ppg and 338 ypg. The Owls struggled so much at QB, that despite a 6 gm winning streak at the time, HC Golden replaced the starter, Charlton with bkup Stewart, who started the L/4. However the numbers didn’t really improve as overall they avg just 145 ypg (47%) with a comb 12-12 ratio (#112 NCAA). True Fr RB Pierce (MAC FOY) led the MAC in rushing despite not starting until gm 4 and missing the ssn finale (inj, exp to play here). WR Campbell led in rec yds while converted RB Jones led in receptions. The OL, which avg 6’5” 315, is a big reason that TU avg 192 ypg rush (4.5) despite having just 1 Sr in the 2 deep. The OL is led by 3 All-MAC players in RT Darius Morris (1st Tm), RG Colin Madison (2nd Tm) and C John Palumbo (3rd Tm). They allowed just 18 sks (7.0%). TU has our #72 def all’g 22 ppg and 336 ypg. The DL, which avg 6’3” 272, has 28 of the Owls’ 33 sks (85%) and led the MAC in rush def (109) all’g a MAC best 3.2 ypc. The DL is led by three 1st Tm MAC players in DT Wilkerson, NT Neblett, and the only Sr starter, DE Robinson, who leads the MAC with 12 sks and was the MAC DPY. The LB unit is led 2 All-MAC players in Elijah “Peanut” Joseph and their #1 tklr Alex Joseph. The secondary allowed 227 ypg passing with a 17-15 ratio and is led by 2 All-MAC players in #2 tklr FS Jarrett and #3 tklr SS Harris. The ST’s (#41) have had their ups and downs, as they have 4 ret TD’s but have also allowed 2 (+ blk’d P). K McManus was 17-24 on FG’s but w/6 misses from 40+. Each team prefers to run the ball and each team also possesses one of their conference’s top D-lines. Neither team has an explosive offense and in fact UCLA has gone Under the total in 10 of 12 games this year. Expect Temple to have a conservative game plan and try to keep the game close as they do not have the QB’s or WR’s to play from behind.

FORECAST: Ucla/Temple UNDER 46’ RATING: 2*




Miami is 2-1 SU all-time vs Wisc with the last meeting coming in ‘89, a 51-3 ‘Canes win in Madison. Ironically, it was that loss which ushered the end of the Don Morton era and then-UW chancellor/current UM prez Donna Shalala hired UW’s all-time win leader Barry Alvarez the next year. Alvarez became the AD in ‘05, but hand picked his successor in Bret Bielema who is 1-2 SU/ATS in bowls. At 8-2 the Badgers had BCS aspirations prior to being upset in their B10 finale by NW. The loss KO’d Wisc from a NYD bowl as the Outback chose the Cats over UW despite a weaker record and UW avg 55,919 more fans per HG. This is UW’s 4th trip to Orlando in 5Y and 6th str trip to a Florida bowl. LY they were blown out (42-13, +6) by Fla St in their only prev trip to this bowl. That scoreless game turned early in the 2Q as FSU had a 75 yd FR TD. With a win here UM will have 10 wins for the 1st time S/’03. UM is 4-0 TY vs non-conf foes (3-0 ATS vs IA). UM has appeared in a bowl in 23 of the L/26Y and is 18-14 all-time in bowls. Only 5 Canes have started all 12 gms TY with 3 of the 5 on the OL. This is Shannon’s 2nd bowl as UM’s HC and the ‘Canes covered as 10 pt dogs losing 24-17 to Cal in LY’s Emerald Bowl. UW is 4-1 SU/2-3 ATS vs ACC tms while UM hasn’t faced a B10 tm since being upset as 11’ favs by OSU in 2 OT’s in the 2002 BCS Title gm. UW rarely plays on grass going 1-4 SU, 2-3 ATS the L/3Y and they went 3-2 SU, 2-3 ATS on the road TY. UM plays their HG’s on grass and went 4-2 SU and 3-3 ATS on the road. Under Bielema UW is 3-8 as an AD, incl bowls. UW has a young team with 6 Sr starters (1 on off) and 14 upperclassmen. UM has 8 Sr starters among 17 upperclassmen.
Scott Tolzien won over the staff with his encyclopedic offensive knowledge and was named UW’s starting QB prior to the opener over mobile VHT rFr Phillips with LY’s starter Sherer falling to #3. Tolzien had an 8-2 ratio in the 1st 4 (UW QB’s threw 11 TD in ‘08), but had B2B rough outings vs OSU and Iowa (0-5 ratio with 2 pick sixes) as Wisky lost both. In the L/5 Tolzien managed a 7-2 ratio although his primary duty was to hand the ball off to the Big Ten’s Offensive POY John Clay. Clay had a rocky start to ‘09 but after being benched with 3 fmbl vs Wofford, he had 100 yds in 7 of the L/9. UW OC Chryst uses multiple TE sets with Graham earning all conference honors the L/2Y. Toon finished #5 in the conf in rec ypg. Despite inj’s which caused 2 OL starters to miss most of August, the huge Badgers (6-6 321 avg) led the league in rushing (207, 4.6) while allowing 22 sks (7.0%). LT Carimi and LG Moffitt were both 1st Tm All Big Ten. HC Bielema wanted UW to focus on redemption after LY’s squad blew games with unorganized D play and sloppy ST’s. Despite returning just 1 starter on the DL the Badgers were strong up front led by 1st Tm All Big Ten DE Schofield. UW led the league in rush D in conf play (72, 2.5) and became the 1st squad s/Ohio St in ‘98 to go through conf play without allowing 100 yds in any gm. Taylor led the Badgers in tackles before being KO’d for the season vs Iowa. True frosh standout ST’er Borland stepped into the lineup so successfully that he was named the Big Ten’s Frosh of the Year. UW is #52 in pass eff D with improved S play but inconsistent CB play. The erratic ST finished #80 although 2 of K Welch’s misses came from 55+.
QB Jacory Harris has fared well TY but has had problems with int’s especially in 2 of their 3 losses (4 vs NC, 2 IR TD’s). He was, however, named ACC POW 4x TY. The Canes are deep at RB with Graig Cooper, Damien Berry and Javarris James. They are equally as deep at WR with Leonard Hankerson, LaRon Byrd and Travis Benjamin. The O-line avg 6’6” 314 with 3 senior starters and is anchored by 1st Tm ACC LT Jason Fox and HM ACC LG Orlando Franklin. The Canes are avg 3.9 ypc but have all’d 30 sks (7.8%). UM has our #17 offense and #19 defense. The DL avg 6’2” 277 and is all’g 3.5 ypc rush. UM has just 23 sks (#65 in the NCAA). The DL is led by 1st Tm ACC DT Allen Bailey. The LB corps is solid with two 2nd Tm ACC players in Darryl Sharpton and Colin McCarthy. UM has our # 34 pass eff D all’g 203 ypg pass (53%) with just 8 int (T-#91 NCAA). The secondary is led by 1st Tm ACC CB Brandon Harris. UM has our #80 spec tms unit. 1st Tm ACC K and 2nd Tm P Matt Bosher needs just 3 xp’s to set UM’s single season mark for consecutive xp’s. The Canes are avg 20.3 ypr KR’s and 9.0 on PR’s. They are all’g 20.9 on KR’s and 10.1 on PR’s.
Same old story for Wisc traveling to FL and in the L/2Y they’ve lost their bowls by a comb score of 63-30. While they finished the ssn on a high note at Hawaii, they lost to their two Top 15 ranked foes by a comb 51-23. By looking at the checklist, you can see that UM rates the edge in almost every position and they continue to recruit VHT’s who are starting to play at their expected level. UM has many more weapons and by shutting down the one-dimensional Badger offense (John Clay) they will be able to control this game.

FORECAST: MIAMI, FL by 14 RATING: 4* MIAMI, FL