Arizona State (10-2) vs. Texas (9-3)
December 27, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Dennis Erickson is back in the bowls and should be involved with a fun one this year.
I'm very curious to see how Jamaal Charles will hold up against Arizona State's solid rush defense. The junior averaged 8.3 yards per carry and posted eight touchdowns in his final four games. He picked up the slack that Colt McCoy created with his sophomore slump. McCoy wasn't detrimental to the Longhorns, who were still one of the country's best offenses, but his TDs were down and interceptions were way up.
Where the Longhorns have most suffered is on defense. Texas has a defense ranked outside the top 50 for the first time this decade. In fact, every other defense dating back to 2000 has ranked in the top 25. Any other year, you would say that Texas is toast (no pun intended) against Arizona State. But this year's brand of Sun Devils isn't all offense.
Rudy Carpenter has been very efficient and effective leading Arizona State, but it's the defense that has been the backbone of this year's team. Erickson is going to throw everything he can at Charles, the way he did against Oregon. But does Texas have enough to overcome that hurdle the way the Ducks did?
The line: Texas -2.5
The pick: Arizona State
Comments (1)
I am biased but according to another friend, in Texas (he lives in Houston) they figure that the Longhorns will win by 30. Guess they could be right. My guess is that this game will just be your typical Holiday Bowl shootout. ASU should have a much larger cheering section...Texas having trouble selling tickets, been to several Holiday Bowls over the last few years...3rd college buddy will be in attendance (Last friend reference, Adam, I promise).