Orange Bowl Preview: Penn State vs. Florida State

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, January 02, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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The 2006 Fedex Orange Bowl will showcase two of the greatest coaching legends in the history of college football. Penn State's Joe Paterno and FSU's Bobby Bowden have 702 combined wins between them and have nearly a century of coaching experience between them. The Nittany Lions and Seminoles should provide plenty of excitement for these two coaching greats when they meet up on Tuesday night in Miami.

Unfortunately, two of the biggest stars in this game will likely miss out. FSU Seminoles linebacker A.J. Nichols will definitely not play. He was sent home last week after being accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year old. The Penn State Nittany Lions might be without the services of wide receiver Derrick Williams. He is still recovering from a broken arm and Paterno has been quoted as saying that he doubts that Williams will be ready to go on Tuesday.

Luckily, these two teams are bursting with talent so there will be plenty of playmaking ability on both sides of the ball. The Seminoles are led on offense by quarterback Drew Weatherford and running backs Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker. They also have a stable of outstanding wide receivers led by speedster Chris Davis and the 6'6'' freshman phenom Greg Carr who snagged 9 touchdowns this year. Defensively, the FSU Seminoles boast a solid unit from top to bottom that is led by linebacker Ernie Simms. They are coming off an impressive performance against the Virginia Tech Hokies and are likely eager to impress in front of a nation audience.

However, they will have their work cut out for them as they face an incredibly dynamic Penn State offense led by senior quarterback Michael Robinson and junior running back Tony Hunt. Robinson threw for over 2,000 yards with 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions and added another 785 yards on the ground as well as 11 rushing touchdowns. Hunt rushed for just over 1000 yards and found paydirt six times. The Nittany Lions will definitely miss WR Derrick Williams if he can't go but they still have plenty to work with on the outside with receivers Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood. They combined for nearly 1000 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns (all scored by Butler). Defensively, the Penn State Nittany Lions are led by All American linebacker Paul Posluszny. They are an extremely stout unit that did not allow a single opponent to score 30 points on them this season.

While I am not sure of who will come out victorious in this game, I am sure of one thing; this installment of the Fedex Orange Bowl is shaping up to be a true a classic and a tribute to two tremendous coaching legends.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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