NCAA BOWL PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH VS OREGON STATE

December 31, 2008



The Big East is defying college football odds by starting out 3-0 on the college football bowl season.

So far, South Florida, West Virginia and Rutgers have come up winners and Pitt will look to make it four in a row when they take on Oregon State out of the Pac 10 in the Sun Bowl in El Paso (TX).

So, was the Big East football conference underrated? Or, have they been given favorable match-ups. In all honesty, it is likely a mixture of both, but moreso favorable match-ups in my opinion. The Sun Bowl should be a strong gauge.

Oregon State owns wins this season over USC, Cal and Arizona, a pretty good trio, but they also have some tough losses (Stanford, Utah), including their 65-38 home loss to Oregon to close the regular season.

Oddsmakers have Oregon State between a two and three point favorite in this one, but look for the physical Panther defense and the running on LeSean McCoy to control the pace of the game. The Pac 10 is not as physical as the Big East, so the Panthers could get them back on their heels with some smash mouth football and look for one of the best kickers in America, Connor Lee, to be the difference.

Prediction:

Pittsburgh 27
Oregon State 24