Advo-Care V100 Independence Bowl

Texas A&M vs. Georgia

Robert Guliano on why Texas A&M will win:
Advocare V100, a vitamin supplement, has directed a good portion of its advertising toward NCAA athletics. In fact, their website mentions it several times including a passage that implies the packaging is convenient for simple distribution in a locker room setting. This, to me, is a phenomenon that will likely be ignored on a large scale. Something tells me coaches' pre-game or post practice concern is their players' folic acid levels. Nevertheless, I'm guessing the Aggies won't take the vitamins and won't be broken up about it. A&M has been the most inscrutable team in football in 2009. They looked miserable in blowout losses to Oklahoma, Kansas State and Arkansas but played tough in losses against Oklahoma State and Texas. For a program that is frantically seeking a way to get back to the top tier of college football, a bowl win against a hard-hitting mid-level SEC team would go a long way.

Texas A&M Players to Watch:
3. The 12th man-One of the most loyal fan bases in college football. We will see just how loyal they are in this one. The Aggies play a couple of states over in an increasingly insignificant bowl that is held at a rather inconvenient time of day. It's 5 p.m. start may be drowned out by local or national news shows and perhaps a few early evening reality show reruns.

2. Mike Sherman-The Aggies coach entered College Station to find a challenge that was considerably more difficult than his previous head coaching stint (with the Green Bay Packers where he was handed one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, pro-bowl talent, and everything short of 53 tickets to the Super Bowl). A win here would serve as a momentous stepping-stone in A&M's rebuilding.

1. QB Jerrod Johnson-The multi-talented quarterback has scored 36 touchdowns this year and went punch for punch with Colt McCoy in the Aggie's season finale.

Brandon Hickey on why Georgia will win:
I bet Georgia didn't think they were going to be in the Independence Bowl at the beginning of the year! What used to be one of the top-dawg (haha) programs in the nation has had a miserable season and it may be worse facing a good Texas A&M team in the bowl game. Georgia used to produce defensive stars like Champ Bailey, David Pollack (pre-paralyzed), Boss Bailey and Richard Seymour. Now the defense gives up 24.6 points per game and has looked porous in its last couple outings. The Georgia football team will also be entering this game with heavy hearts; mascot and real-live bulldog Uga VII died of a heart attack in late November. Not to worry, though, because Georgia has a fill-in bulldog for the bowl game: Russ, Uga VII's half-brother. Russ will not become the next Uga though, according to the associate athletic director. These people care too much.

Georgia Players to Watch:
3. WR A.J. Green-Green is the best receiver Georgia has. He leads the team in receptions and.....upon further fact-checking, is out for the year with an injured shoulder. Nevermind.

2. Mark Richt's Chair-Mark Richt's seat is fire burning fire burning on the dance floor. A 7-5 season and a home loss to Kentucky don't cut it between the hedges. A loss in the bowl game would make his office hotter than an Arizona missile (Turn My Swag On Remix lyric, I like it but don't get it)

1. QB Joe Cox-Joe Cox is a person whom, if you were talking about them, you'd have to say their full name, even when it would be natural to call them by their first name. Others in this category include Brad Pitt, Jeff Kent, and Kim Jong-Il (and his brother, Menta-Lee Il)

The compromise: Mark Richt keeps his job as Johnson makes too many mistakes 35-27.