ATS Bowl Predictions 2010: Can UConn Upend Oklahoma In The Orange Bowl?

It's another week of bowling and some of the biggest of the big boys are on the slate to make their appearance on an E$PN network near you.

No matter your opinion on the Connecticut Huskies' (UConn) "worthiness" to be a participant in the Orange Bowl you have to respect what Randy Edsall has done at UConn.

His teams have consistently proven themselves to be both competitive and resilient and, despite how this game looks, you cannot give the win to either team based solely on what the stats on a piece of paper shows.

Oklahoma is the obvious pick for most, but they always have been. Unfortunately, they have often failed to live up to expectations where BCS bowls are concerned—suffering disappointing and embarrassing losses to teams that were considered underdogs—and while UConn doesn't tout a Landry Jones at quarterback, Bob Stoops unflattering reputation for blowing it in BCS games could become an unspoken factor.

Don't count Connecticut out of this game—despite what you hear—they have every bit the opportunity and talent to pull the upset if the Sooners come out flat, undisciplined, or minus the appropriate focus.

The picks that follow are for all games played from December 27th through December 30th. All lines are courtesy of VegasInsider.com.

(The 'Lady's bowl record thus far: 6-2).


December 27th:


Georgia Tech at Air Force, Advocare V100 Indepence Bowl: Air Force (-2.5)

The Jackets are short-handed in this one and Air Force sports a better-than-average pass defense (6th in the nation). If the Falcons can get on the board early and force Tech to go to their passing game, there is no reason they shouldn't win this game.

On the other hand, if Tech manages to make mince meat of that Falcons run defense early, forget about it, this game will be over long before halftime.

The Lady's Pick: Air Force to cover

December 28th:


North Carolina State at West Virginia, Champs Sports Bowl: West Virginia (-2.5)

The Wolfpack were one win away from an ACC Championship and they frittered it all away with bad play. West Virginia was inconsistent early and it cost them the Big East—UConn sits where they might have been—has either team recovered from their mishap?

The Mountaineers have shown that they can beat teams if they have everything clicking, but Russell Wilson—of NC State—is every bit as capable of leading his team to victory if he decides to show up and play. That said, it's hard to see the Wolfpack having enough offense to keep up with the sizzling hot Mountaineers.

The Lady's Pick: West Virginia to cover

Missouri Tigers at Iowa, Insight Bowl: Missouri (-2.5)

Iowa isn't looking like a team with much cohesiveness at the moment and that won't serve them well against a Missouri team that, despite their record, was once considered a BCS contender.

The Lady's Pick: Missouri to cover

December 29th:


Maryland vs. East Carolina, Military Bowl: Maryland (-7.5)

These Pirates aren't the same ones that beat Virginia Tech and went on an early tear a mere two seasons ago. No, these are Ruffin McNeill's Pirates and they know how to do one thing very well—score.

Maryland will be looking to send Ralph Friedgen out on a winning note and the emotion of that could propel them to play big in this game. That said, McNeill will be playing for some respect of his own, and could have just enough in place—on both sides of the ball—to pull the minor upset.

The Lady's Pick: East Carolina to cover


Baylor vs. Illinois, Texas Bowl: Baylor (-1)

They do it big in Texas and Robert Griffin III (Baylor) will be looking to do big things in Baylor's first bowl game in a very long time.

Illinois was hoping for better than 6-6, but the fact that they looked markedly better on offense and slightly better on defense this past season is a start—if you're looking for a silver lining—however, the edge has to go to the Bears in this game.

The Lady's Pick: Baylor to cover

Arizona Wildcats at Oklahoma State, Valero Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State (-5.5)

The Cowboys are just going to be too much for the Wildcats. Love their defense and love what they have been able to do minus initial starter, Foles, but this Cowboys team is too potent to be stopped for four quarters.

The Lady's Pick: Oklahoma State to cover


Army at Southern Methodist, Armed Forces Bowl: Southern Methodist (-7)

June Jones knows how to engineer an offense and Kyle Padron will be far too much for the Knights to contain.

The Lady's Pick: SMU to cover

Kansas State at Syracuse, New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse (-1)

Kansas State relies heavily on the run and that will serve them well against the Orange—who give up a lot of yards on the ground—but their lack of balance here could be there downfall. Syracuse has one of the best pass defenses in the nation (3rd) and if they can shut down Daniel Thomas, they stand a good chance of running away in this contest.

The Lady's Pick: Syracuse to cover

North Carolina at Tennessee, Music City Bowl: North Carolina (-2)

The Tarheels are a scrappy bunch but Tennessee has found their stride late with Tyler Bray at the helm. If he can get the offense going, and the Vols can play football for 60 minutes, they win this game—no question.

The Lady's Pick: Tennessee to cover

Washington at Nebraska, Holiday Bowl: Nebraska (-14)

Washington's problem lay in their lack of a competent defense. By contrast, Nebraska has plenty of that to spare, and then some. Look for Jake Locker to try his best to keep this game close but, in the end, Nebraska just has too much talent to be overtaken.

The Lady's Pick: Nebraska to cover

Randy Edsall Imploring UCONN Fans To Buy Tickets to Fiesta Bowl

It's safe to say that no one figured on UCONN making a trip to a BCS bowl game this year. They slid in by the hairs of their chinny-chin-chin and will now reap the benefit of a nice little payout.

Unfortunately for UCONN, their fans aren't as excited about their trip to Arizona as the players and coaches. So far, according to Darren Rovell's Twitter feed, the Huskies have only sold 4,700 of their allotted 17,500 tickets.

That puts them well shy of where they'd like to be at this point in the bowl season—financially—and makes the possibility of them taking a loss on this trip a major probability.

In response to the slow-going sales, UCONN head coach, Randy Edsall, has asked that fans and supporters of the program consider the magnitude of this opportunity to see their football program play on the national stage.

Said Edsall, "If you have the opportunity and the wherewithal to make it happen, (you) should make it happen, because this is a once in a lifetime experience for the most part,” Edsall said. “There’s (other) BCS (games), but this might be the only Fiesta Bowl we go to. We hope it’s not, but if you have the opportunity to go, (you) should spend the money and go."

You would hope that fans wouldn't need such prompting but, the truth is, times are tough for many, and UCONN football doesn't have the following of an SEC or a Big Ten school—convincing people to spend upwards of $700 (tickets are $111 minimally) is going to be a much tougher proposition.

Edsall isn't naive to the fact that the school could lose more than it gains, from a financial standpoint, but he wouldn't trade it for anything—the recruiting benefits alone could speak volumes for his program's future.

That said, there are still those who wider if it's worth the cost. If maybe the BCS shouldn't have been bait more cognizant of the locales before making their decision to allow UCONN to play in the Orange Bowl—they stand to lose just as much if no one is watching.

It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out but, right now, it doesn't look like anyone is winning.

Related articles

• UConn coach confident heading into Fiesta Bowl matchup with Oklahoma (nypost.com)

Charlie Strong Is Doing Whatever He Can To Make Louisville A Contender

The Louisville Cardinals were once a program on the rise.

Bobby Petrino took over the reigns in 2003 and led the Cardinals to four straight winning seasons—including a Big East Championship and an Orange Bowl win in 2006.

That was then, this is now.

Charlie Strong was named head coach of the Cardinals program in December 2009 and he's been hard at work trying to make the team competitive again (they finished 4-8 last year)—he's got plenty of work to do.

The Cardinals were ranked near the bottom of the Big East in nearly every offensive and defensive category last season and need help everywhere. As a first-time head coach, Strong doesn't seem shy about bringing in that help—no matter how character flawed—if it means his team could benefit.

His first major pick-up was Demar Dorsey.

The former four-star defensive back who signed with Michigan this past February, failed to qualify for entry into the Wolverines program and was released from his commitment. Charlie Strong, who recruited Dorsey while he was the defensive coordinator at Florida, was more than willing to swoop in and claim the cast-off.

He will be a nice addition to a Louisville secondary that was respectable in 2009 but lacked any significant playmakers. It was a big grab for Strong and his staff as Dorsey will make the secondary considerably better and is likely to start immediately.

He will be joined by Jordan Campbell, a former linebacker for the USC Trojans.
He appeared in six games for the Trojans last season, netting nine tackles.

His decision to transfer to Louisville had a little to do with his familiarity with the defensive scheme. The Cards run a system similar to that of USC. Plus, he won't be required to sit out a year due to the sanctions imposed on the Trojans—he will have two years of eligibility left.

Campbell was rated a four-star linebacker out of California and will add game experience to a Louisville corps that lost both of its starters to graduation.

However, he doesn't come without baggage.

Like Dorsey, Campbell also has not been a stranger to trouble. Just this past spring, he got into hot water with new head coach, Lane Kiffin, after he missed some tutoring sessions. He was given a warning and told to get his act together—to no avail.

After a second violation of team rules, it was thought that Lane Kiffin might even consider kicking Campbell off the team. Enter the sanctions and Campbell was ready to fly the coup. 

He decided on Louisville after looking at both Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Ole Miss—among others.

It is clear that Strong is making a statement about how serious he is taking his goal to rebuild Louisville into a Big East powerhouse.

If his gambles pay off, he may very well have the last laugh.