I am The Rabbi, video editor of On The Sportslines.

What you are about to read now is the 3rd of the 11 part bowl preview bonanza series. This is Part 3 of the spectacular. Geez, when I started this, Brian Kelly was the coach of Cincinnati! Yeah, the memories.....

OK, enough reminiscing, it's time for Part 3.

The Rabbi's Bowl Preview Bonanza! Part 3!


Little Caesars Bowl- Dec 26th

Marshall (6-6) Vs. Ohio (9-4)

Why To Watch: This is usually the most boring of the bowls, so I honestly have very little to say. But if you wanna see what Frank Solich is up to, here is where you find out.

Matchup: Solich is the coach of Ohio now, who finished the season 7-2. However, they had a loss to Central Michigan in the MAC title game, but find themselves where the MAC champ usually would be, thanks to the conf champ opting for the GMAC Bowl. Ohio, in their 2nd bowl in 3 years after not making one for almost 3 decades, didn’t lose a game by more than 11 points this year. Marshall, a former member of the MAC, makes a bowl for the first time as a Conference USA participant. However, with a 6-6 record in conference, and a 31 point loss in their finale versus SMU, coach Mark Snyder resigned a day after that game. As of now, no replacement has been named.

Who To Watch: Darius Marshall (ironic) of the Thundering Herd rushed for 1,000 yards for the 2nd season in a row, but improved his TD numbers from 5 last season to 11 this season. Senior QB for the Bobcats, Theo Price, threw for 19 TD’s this season (against 10 INTs), but was fighting a sprained ankle in the loss in the MAC Title game.

Prediction: Easy for me. Marshall is coachless, and is a lot more up and down than Ohio. This seems a little easier here, so I’ll put 22 points down on this one for the Bobcats.

Meineke Car Care Bowl- Dec 26th

(17)Pitt (9-3) Vs. North Carolina (8-4)

Why to Watch: The coaching matchup: former NFL coaches Dave Wannstedt and Butch Davis (both off the Jimmy Johnson tree) meet up with their very talented college teams.

Matchup: However, both had their ups and downs in 2009. North Carolina especially. Their high point came in a 4 game winning streak late in the season which included a win against conference darling Miami, and wins at BC and Virginia Tech, 2 places where it’s difficult to win at. However, couple that with losses against NC State and Virginia (each with 2 conference wins this year), and this season was a disappointment for UNC, as they find themselves here for the second straight year. Pitt on the other hand...yikes, what could have been. Only a 7 point loss against NC State prevented them from a 9-0 start, but you can’t find a more heartbreaking way to end the season. 3 point loss against West Virginia on a last second field goal first, 1 point loss to lose the conference championship and a BCS spot thanks to a botched extra point and a furious comeback by undefeated Cincinnati. Disappointment usually reigns over at Pitt, but nothing like this year.

Who To Watch: Shady who? Pitt fans got to forget about Mr. LeSean McCoy quickly as freshman Dion Lewis ran for 1,640 yards and 16 TD’s. He will DEFINITELY get some play for Big East POY next preseason. For UNC, their 6th ranked defense in the nation is lead by Defensive End Robert Quinn, who had 11 sacks. It’s UNC’s first All-ACC player at that position since a guy named um....Julius Peppers. I think you know him.

Predicition: Gonna surprise you here. Just when you think UNC is out, they pull you in. I think this is a better position for them, and they impressed me the most in that Va Tech game on a Thursday when they were the underdogs, so give me the Tar Heels, but I’ll only give this one a 5.

Emerald Bowl- Dec 26th

Boston College (8-4) Vs. (24)USC (8-4)

Why Watch: To see a classic matchup between...wait, is that USC in a non major bowl? Does Pete Carroll even know where the Emerald Bowl is?

Matchup: The answer by the way is San Francisco. Tale of an underachiever and an overachiever here. The underachiever here is USC, who had their 7 year conference championship streak ended. What began with a promising start with a win early in the year AT Ohio State took a turn for the worse from there. We saw their usual shocking loss at Washington, but then it fell further. A blowout loss at Oregon, a shocking blowout loss at Stanford, and a loss at home against Arizona, and USC had their second worst year of the Pete Carroll Era. USC has played in the last 4 Rose Bowls, that streak ends here. As for the overachiever, in BC, nothing was expected in the first year post Jeff Jagodzinski. However, they started the year 4-1 and put together a nice resume in '09. However that one loss was against Clemson (in early September) and that was the difference in BC being denied a 3rd straight trip to the ACC title game.

Who To Watch: For BC, it’s running back Montel Harris, who put together FIVE 130 plus yard games in his last six games, including 264 in a win over NC State. For USC, it’s safety Taylor Mays, who despite his injuries early in the year, earned himself an all Pac-10 spot for the second straight year.

Prediction: Not gonna surprise you here. I think USC comes out motivated to prove that this team, while young, will reclaim their Pac-10 throne in 2010. BC does not match up. I’m taken the Trojans and 30 points.