2011 Bowl Predictions: Oklahoma State Will Take Down Stanford in Fiesta Bowl

With No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama, the two teams that should and will square off in the BCS National Title game, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Stanford will be the teams featured in this season's Fiesta Bowl.

Oklahoma State will win handily over the Cardinal, as these Cowboys have picked up their play as of late and are arguably the hottest team in the nation.

The Cowboys finished off the season with a 44-10 demolishing of the Oklahoma Sooners, a game that was expected to be a tough, hard-fought contest.

Not so much.

Sophomore running back Joseph Randle had the Sooners defense beat left and right, running for 151 yards on just 19 carries and a solid two touchdowns on the day. Sophomore running back Jeremy Smith also had his way on the ground with 119 yards on 10 carries to go along with two more touchdowns.

Talk about some production in the run game.

These Cowboys are 11-1 on the season as they were just a double-overtime loss away from capturing an undefeated record and a near guaranteed spot in the BCS National Championship game.

The Cardinal have been solid as well, 11-1 on the season with their loss coming to the Oregon Ducks three weeks ago. Yet as of late, it seems as though this Stanford team has lost a bit of gas, barley edging out a significantly weaker California team and taking down No. 25 Notre Dame 28-14. 

The big reason why: arguably the best quarterback in college football in Andrew Luck has been lacking in his production.

After throwing just three interceptions in the team's first seven games, Luck has thrown an interception in each of his last five games. As a result, the team has put up 31 and 28 points in their last two games, significantly lower than their 43.8 points per game average.

Meanwhile, it is Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden has been on the way up. Weeden has thrown 18 touchdowns in his last six outings and threw for over 400 yards in three-straight games, before throwing for just 217 in the win over Oklahoma.

Yes, Weeden threw for over 400 yards three times in a row, including a game with a whopping 502 yards and four touchdowns.

This is a game that will come down to the play of the quarterback, as well as the offense as a whole, as both Weeden and the running backs continue to improve with the progression of the season.

I fully expect the offense to be on display for the Cowboys in this game, as it will prove to be too much to handle for this Cardinal defense. Luck will put up points, yet not enough to match the pass and run game that the Cowboys have put on as of late.