2011 Bowl Projections: 5 Teams That'll Shock You in Bowl Season

As the regular season comes to an end, the excitement of bowl season is in full gear. Although I am in favor of a college football tournament, I must admit the bowl setup is very entertaining. It is during this time that we find out if teams are pretenders or contenders.

There will be several teams exposed this season and, in some cases, whole conferences are exposed. This will not be the case for the five teams that I have listed.

These five schools are football programs that have flown under the radar but are much better than the media and general fan give them credit for.

These five teams might not win every game but will make any team fight with their best players to the very end.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State came into the season with high expectations. Those expectations, however, were not met. The Bulldogs have played well this season but are a victim of their schedule. Five of the Bulldogs six losses were against teams currently ranked in the top 15. The other loss was a controversial defeat at the hands of the defending national champions.

In all of those games, besides UGA and Arkansas, Mississippi Sate was very competitive. In fact, outside of Alabama, the Bulldogs probably played LSU the toughest.

Mississippi State might have the distraction of Dan Mullen potentially leaving but this team will upset somebody during the bowl season.

Behind the stung running of Vick Ballard and one of the best secondary’s in the nation, the Bulldogs are the best 6-6 team in college football.

Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State is not getting their due respect because people perceive this team as being similar to last season. They believe the Spartans are succeeding because of their schedule and not their talent. As a result, they believe they will be exposed again in the bowl season.

However, this is not last year’s team and this team is legit.

The Spartans offense can be streaky but their defense is one of the nation's best. Michigan State ranks third in the nation in total defense and sixth in defensive scoring at 15.4 points per game.

The combination of quarterback Kirk Cousins and wide receiver B.J. Cunningham make the offense dangerous. However, their defense is the reason they can win any ball game.

People continue to overlook the Spartans and they’re okay with it. At the end of the day, the victory is all they care about.

Kansas State Wildcats

The Kansas State Wildcats are one of the most underrated teams in the nation and nothing that happens this week is going to change that. With a win today, the Wildcats will move to 10-2 on the season. However, if you look at the stats it is hard to understand how.

The Wildcats are 109^th in the nation in passing with an anemic 149 yards passing per game. Their defense is giving up 28.3 points per game which was bad enough for 74^th in the nation.

The Wildcats do have a strong running presence with 193 yards rushing per game, but that is not why they win. They win ball games because they play with a level of passion and heart that is not easily matched.

If Oklahoma State can leap Alabama into the national championship game, the Wildcats could go to the Fiesta Bowl.  If Oklahoma State does not jump the Tide, Kansas State is likely to go to the Cotton Bowl.

Either way, their opponent will have their hands full.

South Carolina Gamecoks

South Carolina finished the season 10-2 with a 34-13 win over Clemson. Going into the season, I predicted that the Gamecocks would finish 10-2, but thought they would own the tiebreaker with UGA to get into the SEC championship game.

However, if you had told me that South Carolina had lost stud running back Marcus Lattimore and quarterback Stephen Garcia had been dismissed from the team, I would have seen them losing four games. Remarkably the Gamecocks were able to finish strong and have proven they are more than a one-man team.

Connor Shaw has begin to come into his own completing 30-of-39 passes over the past two games for 427 yards and six touchdowns to only one interception.

It has been the defense, however, that has carried the Gamecocks. South Carolina is fourth in the nation in total defense giving up a stingy 268.9 yards per game.

South Carolina could end up in one of three bowl games but should be favored in any of them, regardless of the Vegas line.

Missouri Tigers

The Missouri Tigers are currently in the top 25 despite a 7-5 record.  Four of the teams that defeated Missouri are in the top 25 and only one beat them decisively.

The Tigers are one of the most balanced offenses in the nation. They are averaging 236.8 passing yards per game and 235.7 yards rushing per game.

Missouri has twice beaten teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time and are getting better each game.

Had it not been for a three point loss to Baylor, the Tigers would have finished the season with five straight wins.  They have had a tough schedule this season and this will prepare them for their bowl game. They have played in about every imaginable situation and are still alive and kicking.