2008 Sugar BowlWelcome to the BCS party Utah! It wasn't but a few years ago that Boise State shocked the world with an upset of Oklahoma in what could have been the best college football game ever played. I'm not quite certain that Utah will be able to measure up to that Boise State and upset Alabama, but with 10 points sitting out there, it's a tempting offer. The Sugar Bowl actually has the best combined record of its two teams (24-1) than any other bowl, and as much I normally don't care for mid-conference teams, I am looking forward to seeing this game and how the Utes can do against the mighty SEC.
Both of these teams have been excellent this year not only SU, but also ATS. The Utes are 7-4 ATS, and 'Bama is 9-4 ATS. Their paths to the Sugar Bowl have been much different of course as 'Bama was ranked #1 just a few weeks ago, whereas the Utes have known that despite going undefeated they would never have a shot at the title due to their schedule.
However, upon closer examination, the Utes have actually beaten a few noteworthy teams in Oregon State and TCU. Neither of these are top tier teams, but it gives us a decent comparison. In each of these games they were able to win by just 3 points...giving up 28 to OSU and just 10 to TCU. After what USC did to Penn State today, and considering OSU beat USC, you can see that was a good win.
'Bama has basically beaten Georgia and a down LSU. In the SEC championship game I actually expected them to get obliterated, but they held their own and if it weren't for a few mistakes, they might have had a shot at it. This game was the point where I came to believe that Alabama actually had a really good team, and that is going to show in the Sugar Bowl.
Alabama's defense should be able to handle the Utah offense and force them into long 3rd downs and turnovers. Then, it will be smashmouth football as Alabama is basically going to run it down the throats of Utah and go up and down the field. Much like the USC game, give up the double digit points and go with the heavy favorite.
The Utes should be national champs. I hate the BCS.