The Bowl Season continues this morning with Pittsburgh and Kentucky in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama. Below is a quick preview of the game with my pick at the end. Along with my pick, I will post the favorite and flip a coin for the game. Whichever method has the most points at the end of Bowl Season, I will use for next year's games.
Compass Bowl, Pittsburgh (7-5, 5-2 in the Big East) vs. Kentucky (6-6, 2-6 in the SEC), 9:00 AM on ESPN
Why You Should Watch: To see Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis play in his final NCAA game, as he is likely to turn pro after just two seasons at Pitt.
Breakdown: Kentucky won out 3-1 in my categories, but I'm throwing those out for this game.
The main reason is because the Wildcats went 2-6 in conference play. I know it's the SEC and all, but look at their non-conference schedule: Louisville, Western Kentucky, Akron, and Charleston Southern. Louisville is the only quality win there, and their only quality win in SEC play ws against South Carolina, a Gamecock team that isn't as good as they looked back when Kentucky beat them.
Pittsburgh on the other hand got it done in Big East play, and have a great rushing attack led by sophomore Dion Lewis. I was really confident in the Panthers until Dave Wannstedt resigned. But even then, I thought I would be alright as former Miami (Ohio) coach Michael Haywood took the job. But two weeks after being hired, Haywood was released after trouble with the law, and now Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Phil Bennett will ead the Panthers against UK.
Unfortunately, you can not change your pick in ESPN's Bowl Mania, so I've got Pittsburgh with 22 confidence points.
Compass Current Total to Date
Odds Pittsburgh 20
Coin Kentucky 20
Connor Pittsburgh (22) 19 (392)