Rose, Fiesta bowl previews and picks

Happy New Year TNG nation. Over the next few days we'll be rolling out our BCS Bowl picks, starting with the Grandaddy of the all and the showdown in the desert tonight. You're essentially going to see four of the top 10 quarterbacks and offenses in the nation in tonight's games, so get ready for some fun and put your money down on the over.

Kyle says...

ROSE BOWL
Wisconsin vs. Oregon -4.5
O/U 73
Go out and bet the over right freaking now. Both teams are averaging about 45 ppg and get up and down the field in a hurry. Both defenses struggled at times against competent offenses (UW vs. MSU and UO vs. USC) and will have a hard time keeping up with the other's high-flying attacks. Wisconsin is considerably better defensively, but they haven't seen an attack as quick or as varied as the Ducks' this season, especially in the lead-footed B1G. Similarly, Russell Wilson and Montee Ball provide a very competent two-pronged attack that could pound away at the Ducks' defense long enough to open up a bomb to WR Nick Toon downfield. I look for the Badgers to cover in a close loss.

FIESTA BOWL
Stanford vs. Oklahoma Sate -5
O/U 75
Here's another matchup where neither team has problems putting points on the board. The question is, which defense is going to get a key stop when it counts? At first blush the Cardinal have the more impressive defensive unit, but they haven't done it against anyone of note outside of Washington and QB Keith Price, who is more of a runner. OSU's Brandon Weeden is the essence of a downfield thrower, averaging 11.4 yards per completion, even moreso than Oregon's Daron Thomas (7.89 yards) and USC's Matt Barkley (7.9 yards), both of whom caused huge headaches for the Cardinal this season. Andrew Luck is going to be a handful for the Cowboys' defense for sure, but they've held their own against the likes of Oklahoma's Landry Jones and Baylor's RGIII. Look for Weeden to find WR Justin Blackmon early and often to shred the Stanford secondary. OSU covers easily.