2010 Bowl Season Preview: Part VII

Today's slate presents us with four games, the most of any day thus far. Southern Methodist and Army kick off the action at 12:00 EST in the Armed Forces Bowl, while Nebraska and Washington close out the day at 10:00 EST in the Holiday Bowl. With game previews from the guru, there is no reason to leave the house today. Just sit back and enjoy the action.

SMU and Army bring two contrasting styles of play to Dallas. The Mustangs, playing in their home stadium, love to air it out, putting up 273.8 passing yards per game. On the other hand, the Black Knights prefer to pound their opponents into submission. Their 678 rushing attempt are the third most in the FBS. Which philosophy will prove superior in the teams' first meeting since 1967? Read on to find out.

As mentioned, SMU makes their hay throwing the football. On the surface, it appears Army has a strong pass defense, but one must look further. They yield just 190.5 aerial yards per game, a respectable number, but opponents attempt less than 25 throws per game against them, meaning the Black Knights allow 7.8 yards per attempt. For those of you unfamiliar with this stat, that's not very good. Army's ball-control offense drains the clock and reduces the number of plays per game, giving the illusion they have a stout defense. That's not the case. Forcing opposing defenders to drop back into coverage, the Mustangs have gashed their opposition for 4.8 YPC. While the SMU offense may not get enough stats to produce monster stats, they will have success when they are on the field.

Like most service schools, Army utilizes a triple-option offense. But they may encounter some difficulty running the ball on SMU. The Mustangs allow just 3.7 YPC. Should Army fall behind early, a likely scenario against the SMU offense, they will struggle to catch up. They don't pass because they can't. They are the only team in the country who failed to eclipse 1,000 passing yards in 2010.

The guru selects SMU with 31 confidence points.

Playing in the Pinstripe Bowl, contested in the new Yankee Stadium, will be the Syracuse Orange and the Kansas State Wildcats. This should prove to be an interesting matchup of two teams who will run the ball down each other's throat. Kansas State RB Daniel Thomas has a bright future and will likely be playing on Sundays. Syracuse uses a two-back rotation with Delone Carter and speedster Antwon Bailey.

Offensively, the Wildcats rely on the abilities of Thomas. The senior averages over 20 carries per game and still runs for 5.3 YPC. He will undoubtedly rip off some highlight reel runs against an Orange defense that has played surprisingly well this season. Syracuse has allowed the fifth fewest yards per game in the nation, but they will struggle to contain Thomas. With the sad state of the Wildcats' passing attack, expect the Orange to stack the box with regularity.

Syracuse hasn't produced gaudy numbers on offense this season, but the stats don't do them justice. While they won't light up the scoreboard, they are capable of moving the ball efficiently, especially against a Kansas State run defense ranked 118th of 120 FBS teams. The Wildcats have been unable to stop anyone on the ground in 2010. They yield 229.1 rushing yards per game and a pitiful 5.9 YPC. Cupcake schools North Texas and Missouri State combined for 464 rushing yards against the Wildcats. Carter and Bailey will be licking their chops to gash the Kansas State front seven.

The guru selects Syracuse with 20 confidence points.