Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech, January 1st, prime time BCS bowl game… No one cares but the teams involved. Interestingly the two teams share a common history as the 1947 Sun Bowl was the first postseason appearance for both schools. Virginia Tech last played Cincinnati in Lane Stadium back in September 2006 and apparently it really pissed off the Bearcats as they have been on a tear ever since. Though it was an obscure early-season and expected victory for for the then-ranked #11 Hokies apparently it really stuck with Cincinnati as their players are referring to the game as a chance at redemption. For the Hokies its a chance to redeem a bad history in BCS bowls (0-3) and a chance to finally bring a BCS win for the ACC (0-8 since FSU won the title game eight years ago).

Cincinnati has a pretty good defense… its not quite as good as the Hokies (they allow more yards and don’t force as many turnovers) but they are similiar enough to consider this game to be a defensive matchup. It will be a tough time for Tyrod Taylor who isn’t going to be the star in my opinion - the Hokies will try to rush Darren Evans as much as possible. Unfortunately, some recently announced injury news may balance the defensive scales in Cincinnati’s favor: Hokies defensive end Jason Worilds, the team’s leader in tackles for loss, and linebacker Brett Warren, the second-leading tackler are both out for the game.

Neither VT nor Cincinnati can be proud of their quarterback situation. But Cincinnati’s quarterback Tony Pike, who was fifth on the depth charts, completed 62.9 percent of his passes with 18 TDs and seven INT. Most of the articles I have seen have focused more on two great wide receivers for the Bearcats: Marshwan Gilyard (who will likely be covered by Macho Harris) and Dominick Goodman. Unlike the Hokies the Bearcats, if they are smart, will put the ball in the air as much as possible. Despite VT having a top 20 defense, the Hokies give up a lackluster average of 13.2 yards per pass attempt; you’d have to travel down the defensive ranking all the way to #49 Duke to find a higher number. Cinci can chip away at the field using the short passes that the Hokies often give up in order to protect the “big play” but without a reliable running game they may find themselves risking turnovers at the hands of Macho and the rest of the secondary.

Another thing — I don’t know what the Hell a Bearcat is. I have heard of a Bobcat, but a Bearcat? I’m sure its some stupid extinct animal indigenous to Ohio which was killed off when people got too fat up there, oh wait no, apparently it is “a viverrid mammal from Southeast Asia”. Go figure. Google image search produced this much better definition:

Granted a “Hokie” isn’t much of an improvement considering it doesn’t even exist but still.

I will be heading down at the game on the 1st and given the cost of game tickets on eBay I have a feeling that the place will be pretty empty. Hopefully the fifty-nine fifty crew will be out there scalping, I plan to be in the FOX camera tower cart for 5 bucks.

Despite ESPN fan polls, CBS game predictors, and Todd McShay - I think the Hokies can cap off their 5th straight ten win season on Thursday. I have no reason to feel overly confident about any game after watching this season but I think the Hokies looked pretty balanced and played very well (from what I can remember) against Boston College. If we can carry that level of play in to Miami and manage a solid running game and don’t make stupid mistakes in the air I think the team can pull off the win. Cincinnati may rack up 300+ yards passing, but I don’t think they will be able to punch it in when pushed up in the redzone leaving them with a bunch of field goals. Going into the game, Virginia Tech’s average margin of decision was just 7.3 points, ranking lowest in the nation, and going back to the Hokies past two BCS bowls the team has been one score short in each, losing both games by 3 points, but Beamer said this year he is “actually preparing” for our bowl, so once you get over asking why the Hell we never prepared before, maybe that means we will see redemption day arrive (for the Hokies that is).

Score Prediction: Virginia Tech 28, Cincinnati 19