Hawaii
vs
Georgia
8:30 p.m. New Orleans, La. FOX
vs
Georgia
8:30 p.m. New Orleans, La. FOX
Our final New Year's Day Bowl is another "show-me" game. Last year Boise State shocked the world by knocking off Oklahoma in OT. This year the WAC champion again returns to the BCS, this time in Hawaii. Sure the Warriors played the easiest schedule in all of D1, but they are the lone undefeated team in the nation. They haven't seen a team with the size and speed of Georgia, but at the same time Georgia hasn't seen a passing offense anything like what Colt Brennan and June Jones will throw at the Bulldogs Tuesday night in the Superdome.
The WAC hasn't done anything to get any respect so far this bowl season. Nevada got shutout in their game against New Mexico and Boise State lost in Hawaii to East Carolina. Fresno State did get a win against Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets were a mediocre ACC team playing without a head coach. CFN had a great line to put this match up into perspective
Hawaii has no running game, so the offense will entirely depend on the right arm of senior QB Colt Brennan. Twice a Heisman finalst, Brennan actually had much better stats last year against a tougher schedule. This season he had to battle nagging injuries that cost him lots of playing time. While his numbers were down, he still had 38 TDs and only 14 INTs. The entire hopes of the islands rest on Brennan's arm. The two men Brennan will be looking for most are Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen. Both of these guys have NFL talent and will certainly test the young UGA corners.
Georgia has a much more balanced offense. The Bulldogs will run right at Hawaii with RBs Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown. The two combined for nearly 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns. If the UGA running backs can get to the second level routinely, it will be a very long night for the Warriors. If UGA can slow down the Hawai'i passing game, especially on third downs, they will have an excellent shot at controlling the game and pulling away. Brennan isn't going to make mistakes, but if the Bulldogs can get pressure they can get some errant passes. If Hawaii can't win the time of possession battle, they're cooked.
Line: Georgia -7.5, Total 68.5
The WAC hasn't done anything to get any respect so far this bowl season. Nevada got shutout in their game against New Mexico and Boise State lost in Hawaii to East Carolina. Fresno State did get a win against Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets were a mediocre ACC team playing without a head coach. CFN had a great line to put this match up into perspective
Hawaii only beat Nevada by two, needed everything in the bag to get by Louisiana Tech in overtime, and got a tremendous comeback to get by San Jose State in overtime on a sloppy field. Even at home the Warriors struggled to get by Washington and Fresno State, and got wins over teams like Northern Colorado, Charleston Southern, Idaho and Utah State. Georgia beat Florida by 12.Many considered Georgia the hottest team in the nation at the end of the season, winning their final six games including beating Florida, Auburn, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech (all bowl teams). Mark Richt did all he could to try and get his Bulldogs mentioned in the national title game debate, but fell on deaf ears once LSU won the SEC. Relegated to the Sugar Bowl against the little guy isn't a role that UGA is new to. Just two years ago Georgia was playing in the Sugar Bowl, this time in Atlanta because of Hurricane Katrina, against an upstart West Virginia team. The Mountaineers were big underdogs in that BCS game and came out running getting out to a huge lead on the Bulldogs before having to hang on for dear life the final three quarters. Richt is too good of a coach to let his team overlook an opponent like that again, especially after hearing about Boise State's win last year in the Fiesta Bowl for the past month.
Hawaii has no running game, so the offense will entirely depend on the right arm of senior QB Colt Brennan. Twice a Heisman finalst, Brennan actually had much better stats last year against a tougher schedule. This season he had to battle nagging injuries that cost him lots of playing time. While his numbers were down, he still had 38 TDs and only 14 INTs. The entire hopes of the islands rest on Brennan's arm. The two men Brennan will be looking for most are Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen. Both of these guys have NFL talent and will certainly test the young UGA corners.
Georgia has a much more balanced offense. The Bulldogs will run right at Hawaii with RBs Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown. The two combined for nearly 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns. If the UGA running backs can get to the second level routinely, it will be a very long night for the Warriors. If UGA can slow down the Hawai'i passing game, especially on third downs, they will have an excellent shot at controlling the game and pulling away. Brennan isn't going to make mistakes, but if the Bulldogs can get pressure they can get some errant passes. If Hawaii can't win the time of possession battle, they're cooked.
Line: Georgia -7.5, Total 68.5
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