2011 Bowl Games: 10 Teams Playing Poorly Heading into Bowl Season

Week 14 of the 2011 college football season has come and gone. With that, bowl season is officially upon us.

Thirty-five bowl games means 70 teams will be allowed to participate in postseason play.

Some of these teams are rolling into their ultimate game on a hot streak. Some teams are treading water, and others are limping their way across the finish line.

Here are 10 teams struggling heading into the 2011 bowl season:

Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners entered this season No.1 in the polls. However, their season didn't go as planned.

Entering the bowl season the Sooners are 9-3. They have lost two of their last three games.

Their loss to Baylor is not a horrible loss, but still a game that a supposedly-elite team should take care of. The Sooner defense allowed 45 points to the Bears and gave up an unforgiving deep pass to lose the game.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys left no doubt who the best team in Oklahoma is this season in Week 14. The Sooners fell 44-10 in Stillwater and committed five critical turnovers.

Oklahoma is a talented squad, but their focus in big games is questionable. Losing games with major implications shouldn't happen to great football teams.

Something the Sooners simply are not, this season.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State will face the Florida Gators in the Gator Bowl this season.

The Buckeyes managed to sneak their way into bowl eligibility with a 6-6 record despite losing their final three games of the season.

Losses to Penn State and Michigan are excusable. A loss to Purdue is not.

The abysmal Buckeye offense did put up 34 points against rival Michigan, but their defense allowed a disheartening 40 points.

Ohio State has struggled to make all of the pieces fit this season. Their offense is inexperienced, as is their defense. Braxton Miller has made strides in the right direction, but his completion percentage is not where Buckeye coaches would like it to be.

The Buckeyes are a very solid defensive team. However, they will need both units to play well in the same game if they wish to halt their three-game losing skid against the Gators.

Florida Gators

Speaking of the Gators; Florida isn't playing sterling football either.

The Gators enter their Gator Bowl matchup with a 6-6 record.

Florida has lost six of their last eight games. Granted, five of those losses are against ranked opponents, but losses are losses in college football.

Over that eight-game span, the Gators struggled with consistency on offense. Their defense is the Gator identity, but allowing 32 points to Furman in Week 13 is troublesome.

Florida is a young team, and their losses are to rugged, proven SEC opponents. That doesn't mean the losses don't hurt.

Their lack of explosiveness on offense often leaves their defense high and dry in big-time situations.

Luckily for the Gators, their Gator Bowl matchup is against an also-cold Buckeye squad.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State dropped two of their final three games in the regular season. That leaves the Nittany Lions at 9-3, and a favorite to grab an Insight Bowl berth.

The Nittany Lions didn't necessarily play a bad game in Week 12 against Nebraska. However, they did lose and had every opportunity to take control of their first game without Joe Paterno.

Their regular-season finale against Wisconsin was much worse. The Nittany Lions failed to show up in Camp Randall with a Big Ten Championship berth on the line.

A 45-7 trouncing is not something to be proud of in the biggest game of the season.

Penn State's issues remain the same. Poor quarterback play creates inconsistency on offense. The Nittany Lion offense has struggled through the air all season despite the efforts of Silas Redd in the backfield.

Quarterback Matt McGloin didn't clear 200 passing yards in any of their final three games and only threw one touchdown over that span.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa finished the season 7-5. However, they have lost three of their final five games.

Two of these losses came against Nebraska and Michigan State. Their third loss in that stretch was to a 2-6 Minnesota squad.

Iowa's performance against the Spartans was just bad. Their defense allowed over 400 yards, and the offense turned the ball over three times.

Their loss to the Golden Gophers is worse. A big rivalry game against a below-average team, and the Hawkeyes allowed Minnesota quarterback Marqueis Gray to take over at the end.

A seven-loss season isn't bad for a team replacing their quarterback and several key defensive pieces from last year, but the Hawkeyes must be concerned with their play on both sides of the ball down the stretch.

Washington Huskies

The Washington Huskies are 7-5, but have dropped three of their last four games.

The Huskies dropped games to Oregon, USC and Oregon State in the season's final weeks. The theme was the same in each of these losses. Their defense doesn't play up to snuff on a consistent basis.

Washington is No. 99 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing over 30 points per game.

Allowing 34 points to Oregon is one thing, but allowing 38 points to Oregon State should not happen. The Beavers are not an explosive squad.

The Huskies allowed less than 20 points one time this season. No matter how explosive Keith Price or Chris Polk may be on offense, that just won't cut it.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois has almost played two different seasons this year. The Fighting Illini started the season 6-0. Six straight losses later, and Illinois is an average 6-6.

Defensively, the Illini have played solid football. However, they haven't scored more than 20 points since their Week 6 victory over Indiana.

Their inability to score has ruined what looked like a successful season for Illinois. It cost Ron Zook his head coaching position, as it should have.

A 6-0 start was more than encouraging. Losing six games in a row is the cause of deeply rooted personnel problems. Offensively, those problems showed through on a consistent basis.

The Illini are lucky to be bowl eligible. Turning the ship around at this point seems like a remote possibility for the boys out of the Big Ten.

Texas Longhorns

Texas lost three of their final four games to fall to 7-5 on the season. The Longhorns are bowl eligible, but seven wins will always be a disappointment to this tradition-rich program.

The Longhorns fell to Missouri, Baylor and Kansas State down the stretch. They barely escaped with a victory against in-state rival Texas A&M.

Defensively, the Longhorns have held their own despite their youth. However, the Longhorns struggle to score points because of an ever-turning quarterback carousel.

A failure to solidify the most important position on the field leaves the Longhorns as the No. 86 passing offense in football. Their run game is solid, but it isn't enough to make up for their inept passing attack.

The Longhorns do not score a lot of points, and that leaves little margin for error on defense. Until a viable option emerges behind center the Longhorns will struggle mightily when they have the ball.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech started the season 6-0, but dropped four of their last six games to finish the season at 8-4.

The Yellow Jackets lost games to two ranked opponents, Virginia Tech and Georgia, but they also dropped games to Virginia and Miami.

One of their final two victories was a narrow 38-31 victory over Duke.

The Yellow Jackets rely on their triple-option attack for ball control. They utilize their unique running style for quick scores. However, opposing teams began to figure out Tech's option attack as the season went along.

If you are going to play games based on ball control you must play solid defense to go with it. The Yellow Jackets do not. They allow nearly 26 points per game and struggle to come up with big plays in big moments.

Georgia Tech went from hot to not this season. With their option attack, they could surprise someone in a bowl game if they don't come prepared to defend all three options for Tevin Washington.

Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M entered the season riding high expectations. By season's end, Mike Sherman has been fired and the Aggies are in the average Meineke Car Care Bowl to play Northwestern.

The Aggies finished the season 6-6, and dropped four of their final five contests. Considering the one victory is against Kansas doesn't say much for the Aggies' closing abilities.

Texas A&M has a ton of firepower on offense. However, Ryan Tannehill tends to sling the ball around the field and make errant decisions. Turnovers alone can make or break any team.

Defensively, the Aggies surrender almost 30 points per game. The Aggies gave up 38 points to Missouri, 41 to Oklahoma and 53 to Kansas State. Missouri and Kansas State saw overtime, but points are points.

The Aggies underachieved all season. Good teams do not drop four of their final five games, regardless of competition.