Sugar Bowl Open Thread

Who: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
What: Sugar Bowl
Where: Superdome, New Orleans, NO
When: 5:30 PT/8:30 ET
TV: ESPN
Announcing: Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge, SR: Holly Rowe
My Pick: Arkansas
Notes: Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports eviscerates NCAA over the hypocrisy over the Pryor ruling. I specifically picked Arkansas because of this. Ohio State is in a stagnant state because Pryor can declare for the draft after this game. Ohio State will be distracted, plus their past record in BCS games against Southern teams, is reason enough to pick Arkansas over tOSU.

Alabama Player Suspended

The best offensive lineman in the country, Alabama's Andre Smith, was suspended for the Sugar Bowl. Coach Nick Saban didn't go into a lot of detail on which rules where broken.

“The University of Alabama, the team and the football program are more important than any individual player,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said in a statement Monday. “Everyone on our team depends on each other to be responsible, to make good choices and decisions relative to their actions.”

Smith is a junior and is expected to forgo his senior year. He is expected to be a high draft choice for an NFL team.

With Smith's suspension though, Alabama's chances in the Sugar Bowl have been hampered. While they are still expected to beat Utah, without Smith this could be a difficult. Alabama already averages less than a sack and a half per game, but without Smith John Parker Wilson's backside will be UN-protected.

This will be an interesting sub plot in this year's Sugar Bowl.

The BCS Games

The BCS games were finally revealed tonight, and here are the picks.

National Championship Game: Florida vs. Oklahoma

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati

Sugar Bowl: Utah vs. Alabama

Fiesta Bowl: Ohio St. vs. Texas

Rose Bowl: Penn St. vs. USC

Really no surprises, except a undefeated Boise St. being left out.

Boise St. was though left out because they they don't draw enough T.V. ratings and people to a BCS game. And that really sucks for them. But these are better match ups and they should be fun games.