December 29, 2008

Outback Bowl -- South Carolina (7-5) vs Iowa (8-4) (Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida January 1, 2009 11 am ESPN)

Tie Ins: Big Ten #3 vs SEC

Dan: South Carolina +3.5

Iowa was hot at the end of the season, but other than Penn State did not really beat anyone worth talking about. South Carolina has had a pretty bad season and did not close strong, but they still have more talent than the Hawkeyes. I expect the Big 10’s futility to continue against Spurrier and the Gamecocks.

South Carlina 21 Iowa 17

Matt: South Carolina +3.5

I really have no opinion on this game. How the heck is this matchup a New Year’s Day Bowl? Iowa hasn’t beaten anyone other than that predictable win over Penn State. I guess I’ll take the SEC team here.

South Carolina 17 Iowa 14

Mike: Iowa –3.5

I expect a slugfest between Iowa’s powerful offensive line and Shonn Greene against a physical Gamecock front seven. Ricky Stanzi is no world beater for the Hawkeyes, but until Steve Spurrier can prove that he has a reasonably competent quarterback on campus, I refuse to select South Carolina.

Iowa 20 South Carolina 10

Doug: Iowa -3.5

The Big 10 gets their bowl win! This game is the only game I think the Big 10 is winning this year. Yikes.

I love the Outback Bowl, especially the 11am start. Nothing better than shaking off the New Years’ Eve cobwebs and throwing on that Outback Bowl at 11 am on the east coast. This game is usually a competitive game, and I like seeing the Big 10-SEC matchups. I hear so much Big 10-SEC trash talk throughout the year that I like to see these games settled on the field.

Pretty evenly-matched teams, but Iowa has a pretty good history of playing well in the Outback Bowl. I’ll take the Hawkeyes. Kirk Ferentz should have a statue built of him on the Iowa campus for all these great Outback Bowl wins. And I’m only half-joking about that. This guy delivers 7-8 wins a year for an Iowa program that probably has the 8th or 9th best talent in the league. The fact that he is always on the hot seat at Iowa is one of the most mind-boggling things in sports these days.

Iowa 17 South Carolina 10

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