2011 Bowl Games: Analyzing Each Pac-12 Team's Bowl Game

The Pac-12 will have seven teams playing in this year's college football postseason. That is a good turnout for the conference, but many of the teams were not that impressive outside of the Stanford Cardinal and Oregon Ducks.

Every other team just barely made it in, including a UCLA Bruins squad who has a losing record of 6-7. The Pac-12 will have a lot of representation though, and they will be looking to make their mark any many different conferences across the country.

With both the Cardinal and Ducks in at large bowl games, the majority of the conferences focus will be there. Still, there are many other great matchups to watch for. 

Arizona State Sun Devils: Maaco Las Vegas Bowl

The Arizona State Sun Devils will be pitted against the Boise State Broncos in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl. In hindsight, the Sun Devils look to be in a lot of trouble. ASU did show signs of greatness early on this season, and there is no doubt that they will be able to take on the Broncos.

The Broncos are currently ranked No. 7 in the nation, with only one loss that came at the hands of the TCU Horned Frogs. The Broncos have been a team to reckon with for years, and quarterback Kellen Moore quite possibly could destroy this Sun Devils' secondary.

The Sun Devils will need big games from quarterback Brock Osweiler and running back Cameron Marshall in order for them to take a stab at winning this game. They will also need middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict to be under control. Without him, the Sun Devils' defense likely will not stand a chance.

This game stands to easily be the Broncos' win, but if the Sun Devils can show up in their year form, they can possibly cause a major upset and win this game.

UCLA Bruins: Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl

The UCLA Bruins will be playing the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in what will be a battle of the teams with fired coaches. The Illini dismissed head coach Ron Zook, while the Bruins will still have coach Rick Neuheisel on their sidelines for one last game.

The Bruins are a controversial case, as they finished the season 6-7. They were allowed to play though, as their loss came in the Pac-12 championship game. 

Illinois was a good team this season, and they should be able to handle the Bruins. The question is though, which Illini team will show up?

The Illini started out the season 6-0, but they managed to drop their final six games including losses to the Purdue Boilermakers and the Minnesota Gophers. The Bruins on the other hand are coming off of two losses, including their Pac-12 championship loss to the Ducks and their 50-0 loss against the USC Trojans.

The Bruins have weapons, but those weapons have proven to be inconsistent. Luckily for them, so have the Illini. The Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince hasn't been that impressive this season, while running back tandem Derrick Coleman and Jonathan Franklin have been able to have success at times.

The Illini has seen their team fall off, especially quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase. It remains to be seen if they will even go with Scheelhaase, as he has been getting worse toward season's end.

This game could potentially be the ugliest game in the bowl season. 

Utah Utes: Hyundai Sun Bowl

The Utah Utes will be taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. This game should be a good one, as both teams really didn't find an identity in 2011.

The Utes were in their first season with the Pac-12, and they were inconsistent in their route to their 7-5 record. All five of their losses came at the hands of Pac-12 teams, but they have proven in the past that they can play with some tough teams.

They were adjusting to a much tougher schedule this season, but they should be able to come in strong to their bowl game.

The Yellow Jackets have been a high scoring team this season, averaging 35.4 PPG. They also have been allowing 25.8. Considering their level of opponents, the Utes may be able to score on them. It really depends on how the Utes are playing.

If they play like they did recently against the Colorado Buffaloes, this game could spell trouble for the Utes.

Cal Golden Bears: Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl

The Cal Golden Bears will pitted up against the Texas Longhorns in this bowl season's iteration of the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl.

Cal Stands a chance in this game simply because they have home field advantage. The game is played in San Diego, CA which is relatively close to where they play now. The Longhorns will be on the road, where they have played relatively well this year.

Both teams stand at 7-5, but this isn't the Longhorns team that we usually talk about. This is a team that the Golden Bears could handle. Chances are this game will be a shootout, and there will be a lot of scoring and no defense.

Both teams share a common opponent in UCLA. The Longhorns handled the Bruins relatively easily with a 49-20 win. The Bruins on the other hand handled the Golden Bears with ease in 31-14 victory.

It will remain to be seen which Texas team will show up. Rumor is that this could be coach Mack Brown's last game as head coach of the Longhorns. If that is so, there will be a lot of emotion from the Longhorns in this game.

Washington Huskies: Valero Alamo Bowl

It will not be an easy game for the Washington Huskies as they will be taking on the Baylor Bears in the Valero Alamo Bowl. The Bears are led by quarterback and potential Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III.

Griffin has thrown for nearly 4,000 yards with 36 touchdowns. That is something scary for a Huskies defense that is allowing 283 yards per game, as well as 33.3 PPG. It remains unlikely that the Huskies will be able to handle the Bears.

Washington is led by quarterback Keith Price who has thrown 29 touchdowns this season for 2,625 yards. Price is only a sophomore, but he has shown great strides this season in leading a Huskies offense that is scoring 31.5 PPG. 

The Bears though are a tough team, and they will likely hand the Huskies a huge loss.

Stanford Cardinal: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal are heading to the Fiesta Bowl to play the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Cardinal have been a great team this season, as they have claimed a record of 11-1, which is the same record that the Cowboys have.

The Cowboys arguably should have been in the BCS title game, so they will be looking to prove all the naysayers and BCS voters wrong by making a statement against the Cardinal. That won't be easy though.

The Cardinal did lose huge to the Oregon Ducks and had a tough win over the USC Trojans, but they did win every other game rather easily. This game against the Cowboys should be similar to their game against the Trojans.

Neither of these teams are clear front runners, as both were relatively strong the entire season. The slight edge will be given to the Cowboys, considering how easily they handled the Oklahoma Sooners this last weekend. They are beatable though, as we saw in their loss to Iowa State.

The Cardinal will come into this game with a lot of confidence, but the Cowboys will be one scary team considering they will be looking to send the BCS a message.

Oregon Ducks: Rose Bowl

The Oregon Ducks will be taking on the Wisconsin Badgers in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks have been relatively strong all season, with losses only coming at the hands of the USC Trojans and LSU Tigers.

They haven't played the Badgers or any Big Ten team this season, but one would imagine that the Ducks' high powered offense should be able to run rampant against them.

The Badgers haven't been allowing many points a game, but they recently let the Michigan State Spartans to score 39 points on them in the Big Ten championship game. There is no doubt that the Badgers can let up the points, and everyone knows that the Ducks can pour it on.

The Ducks will need to go full speed at the Badgers, and if they do so, they will likely catch the Badgers by surprise. A season ago, the Badgers played the Arizona State Sun Devils. This has been their most recent matchup with a Pac-12 team, and squeezed out of that one with a late 20-19 victory. Things shouldn't be the same against the Ducks

This game will be such a shootout, defense won't matter.