The ADD Preview: The Fiesta Bowl

By Spencer Hall
The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia. 8:15 EST, FOX
Conventional Wisdom: Oklahoma missed a shot at the BCS with a fluky loss to Colorado and a shootout with Texas Tech, and is considered the favorite here based on the notion that the Offical Most Efficient QB Sam Bradford (a rating of 180.5, first in the nation) and the 18th ranked Oklahoma defense should beat West Virginia by a TD or so. At least that’s what Vegas thinks.
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Stoops: losing four BCS bowl games in a row would be the opposite of fun. Photo credit: AP Photo/Mary Schwalm
West Virginia gets little critical respect going in for a number of reasons: a season-ending debacle at home versus Pitt that cost them a title shot, a staff without head man Rich Rodriguez who remains uncertain of his successor or their own futures at the university, and the mysterious decline of Steve Slaton. (A 1000+ yard season for him was a disappointment, so just maybe possibly the standards were set a teeny bit high in the first place.)
Contrarian Unconventional Wisdom Counters: West Virginia, headless as they may be with Rich Rodriguez gone to Michigan, has had a month to rest up Pat White at qb. Their defense actually ranked higher than Oklahoma’s (fourth in the nation overall in total defense) and did particularly well against the run. Oklahoma’s run-first attack could have problems moving the ball against the shifting 3-3-5 Hokies front. Oklahoma has lost three BCS games in a row, including the Statue of Liberty game last year and the worst loss in BCS history, the 55-19 drubbing by USC in the 2004 Orange Bowl. Lately, this sort of venue has not been their forte.
Objects of interest: Oklahoma’s tackling in the first quarter, which will be a good bellwether of their interest and energy level; West Virginia’s timing in the option game, which appeared to be a bit arrhythmic this season; West Virginia’s blitz schemes; and Allen Patrick, the running back for the Sooners who the whole offense keys on in the play-action game.
Noncommittal blogger lean goes to... Oklahoma thanks to our sneaking suspicion that Sooner LBs can run with Pat White and contain the run game. They will bust a few early thanks to rust and nerves like option teams usually do--see Air Force versus Cal for proof of that--but Oklahoma’s lines push this one into the Sooner hands in the third.
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