BCS Bowl Predictions: Teams That Will Crumble in the Spotlight

They've been a long time coming, but the BCS bowls are nearly here. It won't be long now until we're basking in the warm glow of the best teams college football has to offer.

Or at least, teams that were the best teams in college football when we last saw them. We have more than enough evidence at this point that the long layoff can hurt teams playing in BCS bowls, and we also have more than enough evidence that some teams just can't handle the spotlight.

As such, we should consider ourselves lucky when the BCS bowls actually live up to the hype.

I think some of them will, but don't go looking for great performances from the four teams listed below. Something tells me they're not going to be at their best.

Wisconsin, Rose Bowl

I have nothing but love for the Badgers, as they were one of the most entertaining teams in the country when they were firing on all cylinders this year.

Unfortunately, they didn't fire on all cylinders in every game that they played. Wisconsin looked decidedly human against Michigan State both times it played the Spartans, and Wisconsin looked even worse against Ohio State.

As such, I have my doubts about Wisconsin as it gets ready to square off against the Oregon Ducks and their high-flying offense. 

The Badgers have a good defense, but the only defense that truly made the Ducks' offense look bad was LSU's, which may very well be the best defense in the country. Everyone else was either beaten badly or tested by the Ducks.

The Badgers are going to follow suit. To beat the Ducks, Russell Wilson and the Badgers' offense will have to match them stride for stride. However, I have little faith in their ability to do that after watching them struggle against opponents half as strong as Oregon.

It will be a good game for a time, but expect the Ducks to pull away late and leave the Badgers in the dust. That's what they do.

Michigan, Sugar Bowl

Michigan's revival under Brady Hoke was a fun thing to behold, but it did hit a few bumps in the road along the way. There were games in which the Wolverines simply didn't play very well, and these tended to coincide with poor performances by Denard Robinson.

Virginia Tech is a pretty strong defensive team, so I would expect them to give Robinson and the Wolverines a run for their money even if I didn't have other suspicions.

But I do have other suspicions. Of the five BCS bowl games, the Sugar Bowl strikes me as a game that just isn't going to have that much action in it. Both Michigan and Virginia Tech are strong teams, but they played games this year that were essentially wars of attrition.

I'm expecting to see something similar in the Sugar Bowl. It won't quite be LSU vs. Alabama, Part I, but something similar. 

So be warned. The Michigan team you're going to see in the Sugar Bowl won't look like one of the nation's best teams.

Virginia Tech, Sugar Bowl

Since I gave Michigan the business for being involved in a sloppy football game, it's only fair that I give Virginia Tech equal treatment.

There's actually more reason to be suspicious of Virginia Tech. After the season they just had, the Hokies are lucky to be here. They made their way through the ACC, sure, but the ACC wasn't very strong this year. To boot, the Hokies rarely dominated.

Bottling up Denard Robinson will be a big key for Virginia Tech. But even if the Hokies are able to do that, I have a hard time seeing them getting an edge on Michigan's much-improved defense.

So like I said, this one's going to be tough to watch. By the end of it, you may be asking yourself how the heck these two teams made it to a BCS bowl, let alone the same one.

West Virginia, Orange Bowl

There's one team every year that is just plain lucky to be playing in a BCS bowl. Last year it was UConn, and this year it's West Virginia.

Guess what these two teams have in common.

Yup, they're Big East champs. The conference's championship doesn't mean much from a national perspective, and the Big East's automatic BCS bid is a burden on the entire system.

West Virginia could prove otherwise with a strong performance against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, but I just don't see that happening. The Mountaineers had to fight tooth and nail against inferior teams just to get to this point, and Clemson is not an inferior team.

If the Tigers don't win the Orange Bowl in a blowout, it will be an embarrassment.