Wednesday, December 22, 2010

SEC Football Blogger

The Bowl Game Formerly Known As The Peach Bowl Prediction Pick, UNC vs. Tennessee

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 05:50 PM PST

Can the worst back tattoo ever finish the job?

The Bowl Game Formerly Known As The Peach Bowl Prediction Pick, UNC vs. Tennessee

The thing about making predictions about bowl games? You never know what team is going to show up exactly. A lot of things can go badly in the space of a month. Teams can decide to blow off efforting the bowl game. And whatever momentum built in November? Potentially gets blunted.

But if you’re going to watch the Christian Chicken Bowl? You’re likely bound to see a close, if not low scoring battle. Despite North Carolina’s attrition due to the matters of corruption, this is still a very good defense in terms of stopping people.

And for what it’s worth? That means its a step up in weight class for Tyler Bray. We’ll find out just how much of his magical run as a starter was based on the fact that Vanderbilt was the best pass defense Tyler Bray faced when he won his starting job.

And Tennessee’s running game, while talented, and Tauren Poole is gonna get 1000 yards at some point? It has had all sorts of trouble getting untracked against good run defenses. If Tennessee is going to win, they need to get at least 125 yards and a score.

Also lost in the midst of all the suspensions was the fact that T.J. Yates has been kind of awesome as a quarterback this year. 3184-18-8 is most definitely a strong year. Maybe with some better red zone playcalls? They’d actually have been good this year.

As BYU showed, you can off build the momentum of a great November feasting on the dregs of college football. And North Carolina has really only been marginal in recent weeks. But the X-Factor is Tennessee’s offensive line. Why?

Because while both teams have been cast asunder by their offensive line, the difference between Tennessee and North Carolina is the fact that they’ve generated a lot of sacks in the past month with a much better schedule than Tennessee.

Will it be enough for the Tar Heels to get the win? Quinton Coples and Donte Paige-Moss will blunt Brays effectiveness. But Tennessee will generate a turnover. It’s gonna be close. Gut feeling says Tennessee. Tennessee 21, North Carolina 20.

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