Well, the Las Vegas Bowl was a disappointment. I was really hoping for a hard fought game. Unfortunately, the Utah Utes were completely out of their depth against an overpowering Boise St. Broncos team. On the positive side, I improved to 4-1 with my Bowl picks. Tonights game looks to be an interesting one, so let's get to it.
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl- Navy Midshipmen (9-3) vs. San Diego St. Aztecs (8-4, 5-3 MWC)
This game will go one of two ways. Either it will be a hard fought game with plenty of points scored, or Navy is going to get blown out by the Aztecs. It really all comes down to the triple-option. Will the triple option be effective against the Aztec defense? Or will it sputter and stall?
Personally, I'm very anti-option. The problem with an option offense, is that it has a major weakness in Bowl games. Time to prepare for it. The big secret to defending the option, is no secret at all. Simply stick to your man, and you won't bite on the fakes that the option depends upon for success. That's it. Play disciplined football, and don't leave your assignment to go help out on the other side of the field.
Calm down, option fans. I understand that, run properly and with the proper personnel the triple-option can be lethal. That's great, but even with top speedsters at wide receiver, runningback, and quarterback, you require the defense to either be completely pedestrian or over-commit to a fake. That's not likely to be the case tonight. While not a dominant defense, the Aztecs are no pushover. They've had the better part of a month to prepare for the option attack and with this game being their first bowl berth in over a decade, you can bet that the Aztecs will be 100% focused on their assignments. For the San Diego St. Seniors, this is the most important game of their young lives.
Now, don't interpret this as me bashing Navy. I'll actually be pulling for them to win, and will happily eat crow in my next 'Bowl Game Picks' piece if they do. I support all of the military academies. And while my military loyalty belongs to the Army Black Knights, I'll root for the Navy Midshipmen and the Air Force Falcons so long as they aren't playing Army or my beloved Arizona Wildcats.
Despite my desire to see Navy win this one, I'm taking the San Diego St. Aztecs to win at home, 10-28.