So Suh Me...I Think the Huskers Win The Holiday Bowl.

The 2009 Holiday Bowl, at least based on rankings, is one of the best matchups of the bowl season, pairing the 20th ranked Arizona Wildcats against the 22nd ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.

But is it really going to be a good matchup on the field?

In the words of the infamous Lee Corso, “not so fast my friend!”

There are a few factors that we must look at when making a prediction on this game.

The first thing I always take a look at, is common opponents. In this matchup, there are none, so let’s move on.

The next thing I look at is strength of conference. Both the Pac-10 and Big 12 had up and down seasons, so let’s look at this for a moment.

The Pac-10 is always a fairly strong conference from top to bottom. With the exception of USC’s dominance for a few years, the conference is pretty evenly matched.

When I watched Pac-10 games this season, there was across the board solid defense and athleticism. I didn’t see the traditional big play offenses that put up 50 points a game, but almost every team has a player with extreme athletic talent.

Unfortunately for Arizona, it's not one of these teams.

The Wildcats will not wow you with their athleticism on offense, but they do find ways to put points on the board. For Arizona, its most athletic player is cornerback Devin Ross. He’s a ball-hawk that is not afraid to step up and play the run, which will be the bulk of his responsibility against the Huskers, whose passing game is non-existent.

Look for Ross to keep one eye in the backfield most of the night and help with containment in run support.

The Big 12, on the other hand, has a multitude of precision offenses that can move the ball up and down the field. When I watched Big 12 games this year, as in most years, I didn’t see many top notch defenses.

Most of the talent from this conference is on the offensive side of the ball. However, the most dominant defensive player in college football this season and probably since Demarcus Ware, calls Lincoln home and will be suiting up for the Huskers tonight.

After being snubbed by Heisman voters (no disrespect to Mark Ingram), watch for Ndamukong Suh to come out ready to prove to NFL scouts that he is indeed the best player in college football.

I wouldn’t want to be Arizona quarterback Nick Foles tonight. He had better be ready to meet the turf head-on many times.

With the 'Cats and 'Huskers both having dominant defensive players, I think the key tonight will be the big play on either special teams or defense.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see two or more defensive touchdowns in this contest and possibly a big special teams play as well.

When it’s all said and done, I think the 'Huskers run the ball effectively up the middle and get key plays from their defense, leading them to a 24-7 victory over the Wildcats in tonight’s Holiday Bowl.