The Alamo Bowl is always one of the more interesting bowl games of the season, and this year should be no exception. Down in the Lone Star State, we’ll have our second bowl game of the day. Right at the conclusion of the Texas Bowl, the eyes on those making college football picks will turn to San Antonio, where the Oklahoma State Cowboys will look to wrap up a successful campaign against the struggling Arizona Wildcats. We have three very crucial keys to the game that must be analyzed in order to make your Alamo Bowl picks in this shootout in San Antonio.

Key #1: One of these two defenses really needs to find a way to improve its game
At the beginning of the season, the Wildcats had one of the most feared defenses in the entire country. They essentially shut out the Toledo Rockets and kept the Citadel Bulldogs to just two field goals. Sure, the Iowa Hawkeyes managed 27 points, but the Cal Golden Bears and Washington State Cougars didn’t reach double digits in points, and the Washington Huskies and UCLA Bruins were held to 14 and 21 points respectively. That’s when the wheels really fell off, though. The Stanford Cardinal and Oregon Ducks, both teams which run very similar offenses to that of Okie State, put 42 and 48 points on the board respectively, and in the interim, allowing 30 to an Arizona State Sun Devils squad that really never got much going this year against the Pac-10 was a bit embarrassing. For Oklahoma State, there was no doubt that this was a year for struggling, though it almost seems palatable when you consider how strong this offense was. The Pokes are coming off of a bad game against the Oklahoma Sooners in Bedlam in which they allowed 47 points, one of the worst games of their season. If you just take bowl teams this year, Okie State allowed an average of 32.3 points per game. In fairness, this was a brutal schedule that featured eight bowl teams and three other road games, with the only reprieve being a home opener against Wazzu. If the Cowboys can figure out how to keep Arizona under their averages of 413.5 yards and 27.8 points per game allowed, there won’t be any stopping them in the Alamo Bowl.

Key #2: Nick Foles needs to get the winning touch again
We really do feel bad for Foles in this one. We know that the young man out of Austin would have had an absolutely tremendous year if not for the fact that he basically missed three full games with a knee injury that has plagued him ever since. If you had prorated his numbers over the entire season, Foles would be coming into this game with roughly 340 completions, nearly 4,000 yards, and 25 scores, and he would have been looked at as a passer that can keep up with the offense of the Cowboys. However, due to the injury, he is still shy of both the 3,000 yard and 20 TD barriers, though he should reach both of those fairly early on in the Alamo Bowl. Since coming back to the lineup, Foles has averaged 327.8 passing yards per game, but his team is 0-4 to show for it. He hasn’t won a game in which he both started and finished since September 25th against the Cal Golden Bears in spite of the fact that he has thrown three TD passes in four of the five losses. It’s not getting into the passing groove that we’re worried about with Foles. It’s the fact that we aren’t so sure that he really knows how to win anymore.

Key #3: The Pokes need to stay well rounded with their offense
No problem. Okie State nearly averaged 350+ yards per game through the air and 200+ yards per game on the ground this year. The Cowboys only rank behind the mighty Oregon Ducks this year in terms of total offense, as they are at 540.5 yards per game. However, this is the only team in the country that can profess to having a 1,500+ yard rusher and a 1,500+ yard passer. RB Kendall Hunter rushed the ball 261 times this year for 1,516 yards and 16 scores. However, if you think that makes this a running team, you’re crazy. QB Brandon Weeden threw for 4,037 yards and 32 TDs thanks to the fact that this is one of the quickest offenses in the nation in terms of running plays. The Cowboys averaged taking 75.8 snaps per game this year, and you can bet that they are going to try to reach at least 80, if not 90 in this game to really keep the pressure on the Wildcat defense. For as great as both Weeden and Hunter were this year, it is pretty clear that the best NFL prospect of the bunch is WR Justin Blackmon, who caught 102 passes for 1,665 yards and 18 TDs this year, and had he not been suspended for that DUI back in November, he would have really been a serious threat to reach the 2,000 yard mark in this, just his sophomore campaign.

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Two of the more likable bowl teams this season are going to meet up at Reliant Stadium on Wednesday night, as the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Baylor Bears square off in the annual Texas Bowl. Parsing through these two teams could be tough, as they both have their strengths and weaknesses, and both looked very shoddy in their final performances of the season. However, one team has to claim victory, and here at Bankroll Sports, we’ve got the keys to the game that you need to watch out for before you make your Texas Bowl picks.

Key #1: Someone has to figure out how to stop Mikel LeShoure
Easier said than done. LeShoure absolutely ran wild at the end of this season, accounting for four straight games with at least 120 yards after going five straight games without hitting that barrier. It is clear that this junior is making a tremendous statement for next season, as he rumbled for 1,513 yards and 14 TDs, following well in the footsteps of Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall. Remember what happened the last time LeShoure played a game at a neutral site? He rushed the ball 33 times for 330 yards and a pair of TDs against the Northwestern Wildcats in the best day for an Illinois running back ever, and the best day that any back in the nation had this year. In total, LeShoure reached the 100+ yard mark eight times this season, and he has visited the end zone at least twice in a game six times. LeShoure has scored at least one TD in six straight games and has totaled 14 scores between rushing and receiving in that stretch. The Baylor rush defense struggled at times this year, particularly down the stretch when the team allowed 52 to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 42 to the Texas A&M Aggies, and 53 to the Oklahoma Sooners. In total, allowing 153.2 yards per game was a remotely respectable number, ranking No. 67 in the country, but that’s just not going to get the job done in this game, as you know the Illini, who have one of the best rushing attacks in America, are not relenting.

Key #2: Robert Griffin has to be the star that he is
Griffin really could have gone to basically any college that he wanted to, and everyone in Waco knew when he showed up in green and gold, it was only going to be a matter of time before he shined as a star and helped revive a program that has been in the depths of the Big XII since its formation. Now, in the final year of the conference in the form we know it in, Griffin has been the man to get the job done and carry this team to this, its first bowl game since before the Big XII was created. He led an offense this year that averaged 480.4 yards and 32.6 points per game, and it was a unit that was able to really shoot it out with some of the best teams in one of the best conferences in the country. Whether via his legs or his arm, there really is no stopping Griffin at times. He posted a QB rating of at least 100 in every single one of his games this year until the finale against the Sooners, and he rushed for 175 yards and a TD combined in his final two games of the season. The junior had the best year of his career, accounting for 3,195 yards as a passer and 591 on the ground, totaling 29 TDs against just eight picks. When you look at the average numbers this year for the Illinois defense, you see some respectable numbers at 340.4 yards and 24.2 points per game allowed, but we need to dig a little deeper in this one. Mobile quarterbacks aren’t exactly strewn all over the Big Ten, but there were three games this year against some majorly mobile stars. Yes, Northern Illinois’ Chandler Harnish and Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor were held to 22 and 24 points respectively, but Michigan’s Denard Robinson put 67 on the board! Obviously, an effort like that on Wednesday will spell death for the Illini.

Key #3: It’s time for the world to be introduced to Nathan Scheelhaase
Even though he is only a true freshman, Scheelhaase has arguably saved the job of Head Coach Ron Zook and has the Illinois program on the path to success in the near future. The young man was trusted with the starting signal caller job from Day 1 in Champaign, and he really didn’t disappoint. The only problem with Scheelhaase is that he really didn’t do a great job as a passer this year. He didn’t throw the ball more than 27 times in a game even once this year, and as a result, his only games with more than 200 yards passing came against the Southern Illinois Salukis and in that three OT thriller against Michigan in Ann Arbor. However, on the ground is a different story. Scheelhaase came right out of the blocks and rushed for 76 yards against a Missouri Tigers defense that turned out to be one of the best units in the country, and he ended up with five games with at least 95 yards as a runner this year. His best game was his last one against the Fresno State Bulldogs in which he rumbled for 1331 yards on 24 carries. It marked the fourth time in five games that he reached at least the 95 yard barrier. Scheelhaase ended the regular season with 815 yards and four scores on the ground, numbers which aren’t all that bad for a man that was sacked 20 times.

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The Military Bowl pits two very interesting combatants against each other, as the ECU Pirates and Maryland Terrapins duke it out in Washington DC. But which team will be able to thrive here in our nation’s capitol? These three keys to the game are going to be the ones to watch for when making your Military Bowl picks.

Key #1: Maryland has to want to win one for Ralph Friedgen
It isn’t normal to see a team announce that its head coach is getting bought out at this juncture of the season, but that’s what happened to Friedgen and the Terrapins. The Turtles had a fantastic year this year and really bought into the philosophy of Friedgen, who just wanted to bring this team back to a bowl this year after a dismal 2009 campaign. He not only got the job done, but he was just a play or two against the Florida State Seminoles away from winning the ACC Atlantic Division and going to his first ACC Championship Game. The reward was getting to play a game virtually in their own backyard, as the trip to FedEx Field is a very short one from College Park. It’s really a shame to see Friedgen go, but the allure of bringing Mike Leach to town was just too good to avoid. The team loved playing for Friedgen this year, and it would be great to keep the mentality to win one for him.

Key #2: Dominique Davis has to continue finding ways to strike for this offense
For as great as the Pirates were on offense this year, there really weren’t that many superstars. Sure, WR Dwayne Harris and WR Lance Lewis combined to account 2,000+ yards and 171 catches this year, and sure, both double digits in TD receptions, but they really would have been nowhere this year without the play of Davis. Save Auburn’s QB Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner, no other man accounted for more TDs in the entire country than did Davis. Though Davis doesn’t quite have the goods that Newton does as a runner, he did rumble for nine scores and would have had significantly more yards this year if not for the fact that he was sacked a slew of times. Where the magic really happened was in the air. From the very first game of the year against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane with that Hail Mary pass through the very end of the season, Davis was remarkable as a passer. The Boston College transfer completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 3,687 yards and 36 TDs this year in Conference USA, and he was only picked off 14 times. Maryland certainly didn’t have one of the better passer defenses in the ACC this year either, as this team allowed 220.9 yards per game, ranking just No. 63 in the country.

Key #3: The ECU defense needs to come up with something to succeed
Just like the Maryland defense was really nothing spectacular this year, neither was the offense. This team averaged just 345.0 yards per game this year, and the only star of the squad was WR Torrey Smith, who had 1,045 yards on the campaign and is coming off of a four TD game against the NC State Wolfpack in the regular season finale. Do watch out for QB Danny O’Brien, who might be in store for a very, very big day. East Carolina had a dreadful defense all season long, allowing the most yards per game in the country this year at 480.4. The Pirates ranked No. 108 in pass defense and No. 117 in rush defense. This was a unit that allowed 62 points to the Rice Owls, 76 to the Navy Midshipmen, and 49 to the Central Florida Knights, Tulsa Golden Hurricane, and Virginia Tech Hokies. That doesn’t even include the 42+ points allowed four other times this year either. All told, giving up 43.4 points per game. Even forcing turnovers wasn’t easy. The leader in INTs this year only had three picks, one of the worst such marks in the country.

Former Top 10 teams will face off in the Insight Bowl on Tuesday night at Sun Devil Stadium in one of the most intriguing bowl games of the season. The Missouri Tigers still have a chance to finish this year in the Top 10 in the nation, but the Iowa Hawkeyes are just trying to end the season with a flurry after losing a number of games on the campaign down the stretch. Which team will you make your college football picks with on Tuesday night? Don’t be shocked if these three keys turn out to be the difference maker one way or the other.

Key #1: The Hawkeyes need to believe that they can win even without a pair of their offensive stars
As we mentioned earlier, Iowa got into the Top 10 in the nation as early as Week 2 this year, but a 34-27 loss to the Arizona Wildcats ended those dreams. Still, the Hawkeyes were ranked as the highest one loss team in the country for awhile, then were one of the highest two loss teams after losing by a point to the Wisconsin Badgers, and then they were the highest ranked three loss team in the land after losing to the Northwestern Wildcats. However, at that point, the wheels really fell off. The Hawkeyes were downed by the Ohio State Buckeyes and Minnesota Golden Gophers to end the campaign to drop out of the Top 25. To make matters worse now, they lost the services of leading rusher RB Adam Robinson and WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos to suspension for the Insight Bowl. There really aren’t a ton of tremendous athletes for the Hawkeyes to count on at this point, but QB Ricky Stanzi is one of the best signal callers in the history of this school. This is a man that had not lost a game as a starter until that duel in the desert earlier this year, and he has found a way to overcome all sorts of odds. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is one of the best in the nation, and he is always on the NFL short lists for jobs, though he has never left Iowa. If the Hawkeyes buy into their head coach and their scheme in spite of their losses at the end of the season, they’ll be able to stick around with one of the best teams in the nation.

Key #2: Missouri’s defense has to stay strong in one of its toughest games of the season
When you think of the Tigers, you think of a team that really loves to go aerial and put a lot of points on the board, and though this has been the case for several years, the difference that made Missouri a legitimate BCS Championship contender for a good chunk of the season was a defense that kept teams to just 15.2 points per game, good enough to rank No. 6 in the land. There were five teams kept to single digits this year, including in each of the last two games of the season. One of those four came against the Texas A&M Aggies, who ended up with a better bowl bid in the Cotton Bowl than the Tigers. Mizzou ended up beating six bowl teams this year, more than most in the country, and certainly more than many in the Big XII. There wasn’t a team that scored more than 31 points this year against the Tigers, and that includes the high flying Oklahoma Sooners and the surging San Diego State Aztecs. This wasn’t always a fantastic team in terms of total yards this year, averaging allowing 346.9 yards per game, but there is no doubt that this is a team that knows how to bend, but not break. Iowa’s offense is a lot more efficient than its numbers suggest, but this is certainly going to be a tremendous challenge against one of the best units in the Big XII.

Key #3: Blaine Gabbert needs to look like a pro in the face of a stout defense
We already mentioned that the Tigers are used to throwing the ball all over the place, and that really wasn’t an exception this year. There wasn’t a man that had 100 carries this year for Mizzou, while Gabbert threw the pigskin 418 times. However, for a player that was supposed to at least be an outside contender for the Heisman Trophy this year, Gabbert just didn’t put together the numbers necessary. He threw for just 2,752 yards and 15 TDs, a far cry from his 3,593 yards and 24 scores on the year in 2009. WR TJ Moe and WR Michael Egnew were the top two targets for this team, as the two combined for 160 receptions and 1,591 yards with ten of the team’s 16 passing TDs for the year. Iowa’s defense has a ton of potential NFL stars on it, but it really isn’t all that deep. Still, these Hawkeyes allowed just 312.5 yards and 16.4 points per game in the Big Ten, one of the more surprising offensive conferences in the nation this year.

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The Sunshine State is the home to a number of bowl games, but this one at the Florida Citrus Bowl between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the NC State Wolfpack is one that you certainly aren’t going to want to miss! These two teams play vastly differing styles of play, and they are expecting to put on a great show. But before you make your Champs Sports Bowl picks, be sure to take a peek at the three keys to the game that will determine the winner of this one on December 28th.

Key #1: Noel Devine finally needs to shine
2010 was supposed to be a season in which Devine really shined as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. However, he never even emerged as one of the top players on the Mountaineers, let alone one of the best in the Big East or the best in the country. Devine did carry the ball 201 times this year, and in Morgantown, they had to figure that that would have been good enough for the senior to rush for at least 1,200 yards based on his history. However, an average of just 4.4 yards per carry was easily the lowest in his career. Devine only had 886 yards, and he didn’t even lead the team in rushing TDs, let alone total TDs. Over the course of the last two games against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Pitt Panthers, Devine only has 17 carries for 58 yards, and he hasn’t found the end zone. There is no doubt that the Fort Myers product can leave school with a bang, as he has rushed for 4,267 yards in his illustrious career, but we really haven’t seen anything of late that has suggested that. More importantly for Devine, he is going against the No. 10 rush defense in the land at 106.9 yards per game. NC State did a great job against some of the better backs that the ACC has to offer this year, and if this is any indicator, Devine very well could struggle again.

Key #2: Russell Wilson must take care of the football
There really isn’t a more fierce defense that you’re going to find outside of the BCS games than that of the Mountaineers. WVU ranks No. 2 in the land in total ‘D’ at 248.8 yards per game, and as a result, there was no team that scored more than 21 points against this team all season long. The defensive line has been absolutely dominating at times, and there is a real chance for this unit to get into the face of QB Russell Wilson all day long. Wilson has put together an offense that has averaged over 400 yards and 32 points per game, but he has the ability to really turn the ball over as well. Wilson has been picked off 14 times this year, and he has had a few outings with multiple INTs. This is a man that, as a freshman, broke the record for most passes by a freshman without a pick, and Wilson has only gone backwards from there. If the junior can’t take care of the football against this defense, there’s going to be absolutely no chance to beat the Champs Sports Bowl odds.

Key #3: Someone for the Wolfpack has to emerge as a leader on the ground
Remember that Wilson has the ability to do this as well. Against the Florida State Seminoles, Wilson was all over the field as both a runner and a thrower, and though he only had 394 yards on the season, he can run for 100 yards against a napping opponent that doesn’t keep him inside the pocket. Aside from Wilson though, the backs for the Wolfpack are nothing to write home about because they are both freshman that have a lot of growing to do. RB Mustafa Greene rushed for 584 yards and four scores on the campaign, while RB Dean Haynes had 320 yards and three visits to the end zone. Again, we have to stress just how good the Mountaineers are in their front four, but if there aren’t at least a few holes that are opened up for the NC State offensive line, there’s just no hope. The Wolfpack ranked No. 95 in the land in the rushing game at 125.8 yards per game this year, but they would love to be able to reach this point on Tuesday against a rush defense that ranked No. 2 in the country at 82.6 yards per game.

Triple option fans will revel in this one on Monday night at the Independence Bowl, where we’ll make our college football picks on the duel between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Air Force Falcons. These two teams have virtually similar resumes to work with, and though Air Force had the better record, Georgia Tech clearly had the more difficult schedule. Both teams could be missing key pieces to the puzzle as well, which could make this one very, very interesting. Check out our keys to the game for beating the Independence Bowl odds on Monday.

Key #1: Jared Tew has to be a part of the offense again after the long layoff
Tew was really expected to be the key cog in the triple option attack this year for the Falcons, and we was off to a great start, running for 540 yards and three TDs on 110 carries over the course of the first half of the season. However, he broke his leg, which was thought to end his senior season. From “out for the season” to “probable,” Tew has worked his way up the depth chart and has worked himself into game condition again. He’ll probably give it a go here in the Independence Bowl, but whether he is going to be able to really be himself or not after over two months off is a different question. The three year letterman at Air Force has rushed for over 1,800 yards for his career, and he would love nothing more than to be able to cap it all off with a great performance in a bowl game in his career season.

Key #2: Tevin Washington has to prove that he can beat a bowl team
Just as Air Force had some problems with Tew being out of the lineup, QB Josh Nesbitt has been out as well. He has been out of the fold for the last four games of the regular season, which has left Washington, the future leader of this triple option in charge. The sophomore has thrown for 376 yards and has rushed for 383 more yards. However, he has turned the ball over quite a bit, and since he has taken over under center, the Ramblin’ Wreck have three losses and just one win, and the one ‘W’ came against the Duke Blue Devils. Head Coach Paul Johnson knows that the key of this triple option offense is that the quarterback has to make sound decisions and cannot turn the ball over, and really only scoring a substantial amount of points against two very poor defensive teams in the Georgia Bulldogs and Duke Blue Devils doesn’t do anything for us. Washington really has to step his game up after a month of practice to beat the Falcons.

Key #3: Georgia Tech has to be prepared for a team that has really played a tough slate
We made mention that the Ramblin’ Wreck played a better schedule, but we really can’t discount the fact that the Falcons really played a brutal slate. This was a team that hung around with the Oklahoma Sooners on the road and nearly took out the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium as well. The three TD win over the BYU Cougars really does look impressive, and a 14-6 victory over the Navy Midshipmen proved that Air Force could stop the triple option as well. The bottom line is that the Academy really has seen it all, and there is no way that this is going to be a team that is intimidated going into this one. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, only has two wins over bowl teams this year, with the better team on the bunch being the North Carolina Tar Heels. However, ‘W’s against the Tar Heels and the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders really don’t do anything for us, especially knowing that the one win with Washington calling the shots was the Duke Blue Devils.

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For the first time in the history of the program, the Florida International Golden Panthers are going to be playing in a bowl game. They’re heading to the Motor City in this post-Christmas treat in order to make your college football picks, as they take on the Toledo Rockets in a standalone game on Sunday night. Which team will help make great Little Caesars Bowl picks for you this weekend? Find out with these three keys to the game.

Key #1: Wesley Carroll has to be the leader for FIU both on the field and on the sidelines
Carroll transferring to Florida International really made a tremendous difference this year for the Golden Panthers. They know that the need to really get some strong leadership in this game, and Carroll is the only player that has even sniffed a bowl game before. Carroll was the starting quarterback in the 2007 Liberty Bowl, which featured an ugly 10-3 win for the Mississippi State Bulldogs over the UCF Knights for the team’s first bowl win in a number of years. Carroll went 8-of-18 for 39 yards with a pick, and he ran for 21 yards in the victory, but we have to remember that he was only a freshman at that point. Now, he is a senior leader for a very young team that is clearly on the rise in the Sun Belt. His numbers were exactly stellar this year, as he only threw for 2,483 yards with a TD/INT ratio of 15/13, but he was clearly head and shoulders above most of the rest of the signal callers that the Sun Belt had to offer this year. Carroll helped Head Coach Mario Cristobal put together a well balanced offense, and averaging 403.8 yards and 28.3 points per game were both the all-time highs for the Golden Panthers in their brief history.

Key #2: With Austin Dantin out, the offensive line has to help the Rockets
QB Austin Dantin was having a great year for the Rockets before he was injured at the end of the season, which really has only left QB Terrance Owens left to lead this offense. Owens has played relatively well in his first collegiate action as well, completing 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,112 yards and 12 TDs against just two picks, and he might be well on his way to having a great career at Toledo. However, at times, he has been flustered this year, and he clearly doesn’t have the legs that Dantin had, which limits his ability to escape. That means that Owens is going to want to turn around and hand the ball off to RB Adonis Thomas quite a bit. Thomas averaged a whopping 6.0 yards per carry this year, and though he didn’t quite reach 1,000 yards on the season, he did score six times and is a legitimate threat to make it to the century mark in every game that he plays. The trick is going to be opening up holes for Thomas and giving Owens time in the pocket to deliver the football. That means that this offensive line is going to have to play quite well against the Golden Panthers, who had a sneakily good defense this year at 365.1 yards per game allowed.

Key #3: FIU must stop the man that Toledo must get the ball to: Eric Page
Through three games this year, WR Eric Page only had 13 catches for 156 yards and a TD. In his final nine games, the sophomore averaged a whopping 9.0 catches and 102.8 yards per game, and he scored seven times. For his career, Page already has 176 catches for 2,240 yards and 15 trips to the end zone, and he is going to be a force to be reckoned with in this one even though he is only a sophomore. These last two games of the regular season, wins against both the Bowling Green Falcons and Central Michigan Chippewas, produced 21 catches for 238 yards and three TDs, and Page has also found the end zone in five straight. The Golden Panthers ranked No. 40 in the country against the pass this year at 205.5 yards per game. They did have a few games this year in which they faced some great receivers, and for the most part, they did fairly well. They kept WR Jeff Fuller down to just four grabs for 73 yards for the Texas A&M Aggies, and they limited WR Jerrel Jernigan for the Troy Trojans to just 32 yards in spite of the fact that he had ten receptions.