BCS Bowl Predictions: Lackluster Rose Bowl Will Make Fans Wish USC Was Eligible

Wisconsin vs. Oregon looks a like a great Rose Bowl matchup on paper, but an anticlimactic game will leave teams wishing Matt Barkley and USC were eligible to play in a bowl game.

Oregon suffered a painful loss in the National Championship last year and Wisconsin lost the Rose Bowl in a heart-breaker to TCU.

With Oregon's high-octane offense squaring off with a Wisconsin team that ranks fourth in the nation in scoring defense, this appears to be a classic battle between offense and defense.

Running backs LaMichael James and Montee Ball are in the Heisman hunt, but this game would serve as a reminder why neither has a shot at bringing home the award.

James is one of the most exciting players in the nation, but he's been held to under 80 yards rushing four times this season and Wisconsin's defense would give him fits.

The shootout people would be tuning in to see would be as disappointing as Oregon's appearance in the National Championship last year.

Barkley and USC took it to Oregon, keeping James in check and coming away with a victory in Eugene. USC being ineligible for postseason bars them from getting a crack at the Pac-12 championship, cheapening that game and essentially the Rose Bowl as well.

This matchup appears far more spectacular than it would actually be. The best team in the Pac-12 may not going to be representing the conference and if it turns into a one-sided affair with James struggling, the Rose Bowl is going to be the most disappointing BCS bowl.

Oregon is a good football team and if they got a chance to get into a shootout with Oklahoma State or Houston, it would be sensational. This matchup will show them at their worst though and leave spectators wishing they were able to see what Barkley in the Rose Bowl.