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bowl record (6-7)
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS -8 -115 @ UTAH UTES
(24) Georgia Tech (7-4, 5-3 ACC) at Utah (6-5, 4-4 MWC) @ 4:30 PM. EST *ESPN
GAME NOTES: Traveling all the way across the country, the 24th-ranked Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech prepare to take part in the fourth annual Emerald Bowl versus the Runnin' Utes of Utah at SBC Park in San Francisco. Although they fell to Virginia and Georgia by a combined 17 points over the final three weeks of the season, the Yellow Jackets (7-4, 5-3 in the ACC) still had enough going in their favor to remain within the national rankings and earn this bowl bid. Considering the final polls leading up to the bowls had a total of six schools from the ACC ranked in the top-25, the Yellow Jackets were certainly in good company. As for the Utes, who were under the command of first-year head coach Kyle Whittingham, they looked like a program that had lost its top man to Florida and saw its quarterback taken as the first pick in the NFL draft last year. There was a stretch when Utah dropped three straight decisions to the likes of North Carolina, Colorado State and San Diego State, but still recorded the requisite number of wins to be considered for the postseason thanks to a thrilling 41-34 overtime test against BYU in the regular season finale that left the team 6-5 on the year. Tech, which is facing the Utes for the first time in its storied history, has a record of 22-11 in bowl games, beginning with an 8-7 decision over California in the 1929 Rose Bowl and continuing with a 51-14 massacre of Syracuse last year in the Champs Sports Bowl. The victory over the Orange was the second straight and the third in the last four postseason appearances for the Yellow Jackets. Utah starting putting together its 7-4 bowl mark with a 26-0 shutout of New Mexico in the 1939 Sun Bowl, but the real success has come in the last half decade, with the team rattling off four straight postseason wins. Last year the team crushed Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl by a score of 35-7, a year in which the team earned its highest national ranking in school history.
Youth and injuries are going to be the downfall of the Utes in this contest. Many didn't expect them to get this far, so hoping for a win will be asking a lot of Ratliff and the bunch. A seasoned Tech defense should be able to contain Utah, while the offense for the Yellow Jackets will make enough plays to get the win.
OREGON DUCKS @ OKLAHOMA SOONERS >>>> OVER 54.5
(6) Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) at Oklahoma (7-4, 6-2 Big 12) @ 8:00 PM. EST *ESPN
GAME NOTES: The sixth-ranked Oregon Ducks and Oklahoma Sooners are set to collide in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 29th in San Diego, California. Oregon finished the regular season with a 10-1 overall record, including 7-1 in the Pac-10, and many fans and analysts believe the club was slighted by not receiving an at-large bid to a BCS game. The team has undergone its greatest one-season turnaround in 77 years by improving from last year's 5-6 record to this season's 10-1 mark. This will be the Ducks? second appearance in the Holiday Bowl, as Joey Harrington led the program to a 35-30 victory over the Texas Longhorns in 2000. Oregon is making its eighth bowl appearance in the last nine seasons, and the program has lost two straight postseason bouts to fall to 7-11 all-time. On New Year's Eve of 2003, the Ducks suffered a heartbreaking 31-30 loss to Minnesota in the Sun Bowl. As for Oklahoma, it finished the campaign with a rather disappointing 7-4 overall record, including a 6-2 mark against Big 12 opposition. The Sooners have now earned bowl berths the last seven seasons under Bob Stoops, and they are making their first appearance in the Holiday Bowl. The current streak of seven straight bowl games ranks second in program history, as OU played in eight straight bowl games from 1975-82. The Sooners, who won five of their last six outings to close out the 2005 regular season, are 23-14-1 all-time in bowl games, but the last two have resulted in defeat. Oklahoma holds a 5-0 series lead over Oregon, including a 31-7 victory in Norman last season. The teams are slated to meet again next fall in Eugene.
Oregon undoubtedly felt slighted by being left out of the BCS mix, and the team is now matched up with a four-loss opponent in a pre-New Year's Eve bowl game. Sounds like the ideal situation for a letdown, so expect the Sooners to prevail in a close one.
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS -8 -115 @ UTAH UTES
(24) Georgia Tech (7-4, 5-3 ACC) at Utah (6-5, 4-4 MWC) @ 4:30 PM. EST *ESPN
GAME NOTES: Traveling all the way across the country, the 24th-ranked Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech prepare to take part in the fourth annual Emerald Bowl versus the Runnin' Utes of Utah at SBC Park in San Francisco. Although they fell to Virginia and Georgia by a combined 17 points over the final three weeks of the season, the Yellow Jackets (7-4, 5-3 in the ACC) still had enough going in their favor to remain within the national rankings and earn this bowl bid. Considering the final polls leading up to the bowls had a total of six schools from the ACC ranked in the top-25, the Yellow Jackets were certainly in good company. As for the Utes, who were under the command of first-year head coach Kyle Whittingham, they looked like a program that had lost its top man to Florida and saw its quarterback taken as the first pick in the NFL draft last year. There was a stretch when Utah dropped three straight decisions to the likes of North Carolina, Colorado State and San Diego State, but still recorded the requisite number of wins to be considered for the postseason thanks to a thrilling 41-34 overtime test against BYU in the regular season finale that left the team 6-5 on the year. Tech, which is facing the Utes for the first time in its storied history, has a record of 22-11 in bowl games, beginning with an 8-7 decision over California in the 1929 Rose Bowl and continuing with a 51-14 massacre of Syracuse last year in the Champs Sports Bowl. The victory over the Orange was the second straight and the third in the last four postseason appearances for the Yellow Jackets. Utah starting putting together its 7-4 bowl mark with a 26-0 shutout of New Mexico in the 1939 Sun Bowl, but the real success has come in the last half decade, with the team rattling off four straight postseason wins. Last year the team crushed Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl by a score of 35-7, a year in which the team earned its highest national ranking in school history.
Youth and injuries are going to be the downfall of the Utes in this contest. Many didn't expect them to get this far, so hoping for a win will be asking a lot of Ratliff and the bunch. A seasoned Tech defense should be able to contain Utah, while the offense for the Yellow Jackets will make enough plays to get the win.
OREGON DUCKS @ OKLAHOMA SOONERS >>>> OVER 54.5
(6) Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) at Oklahoma (7-4, 6-2 Big 12) @ 8:00 PM. EST *ESPN
GAME NOTES: The sixth-ranked Oregon Ducks and Oklahoma Sooners are set to collide in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 29th in San Diego, California. Oregon finished the regular season with a 10-1 overall record, including 7-1 in the Pac-10, and many fans and analysts believe the club was slighted by not receiving an at-large bid to a BCS game. The team has undergone its greatest one-season turnaround in 77 years by improving from last year's 5-6 record to this season's 10-1 mark. This will be the Ducks? second appearance in the Holiday Bowl, as Joey Harrington led the program to a 35-30 victory over the Texas Longhorns in 2000. Oregon is making its eighth bowl appearance in the last nine seasons, and the program has lost two straight postseason bouts to fall to 7-11 all-time. On New Year's Eve of 2003, the Ducks suffered a heartbreaking 31-30 loss to Minnesota in the Sun Bowl. As for Oklahoma, it finished the campaign with a rather disappointing 7-4 overall record, including a 6-2 mark against Big 12 opposition. The Sooners have now earned bowl berths the last seven seasons under Bob Stoops, and they are making their first appearance in the Holiday Bowl. The current streak of seven straight bowl games ranks second in program history, as OU played in eight straight bowl games from 1975-82. The Sooners, who won five of their last six outings to close out the 2005 regular season, are 23-14-1 all-time in bowl games, but the last two have resulted in defeat. Oklahoma holds a 5-0 series lead over Oregon, including a 31-7 victory in Norman last season. The teams are slated to meet again next fall in Eugene.
Oregon undoubtedly felt slighted by being left out of the BCS mix, and the team is now matched up with a four-loss opponent in a pre-New Year's Eve bowl game. Sounds like the ideal situation for a letdown, so expect the Sooners to prevail in a close one.