BBVA Compass Bowl

Kentucky (6-6) vs. Pittsburgh (7-5)

Considering Pittsburgh's high expectations and playing in a mediocre conference, they had a bad year. And to top it off they fired Dave Wannstedt to hire Mike Heywood, but he gets fired after about a week on the job because of domestic abuse charges. So they've been dealing with all of those coaching changes and they have an interim coach for this bowl game.

Kentucky had the season they were expected to have. They had the same season they've had since 2006. They can't get over the hump despite several top playmakers like Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke. Unfortunately for the Cats as well, their quarterback Mike Hartline will be suspended for this game. So both teams have their issues.

With all of that said, this game is being played in Birmingham at a time when the college football season has faded and the only focus is the BCS Title Game. There should be more Kentucky fans in the stands than Pitt fans, but the stands will probably have plenty of open seats. Pittsburgh has the 9th ranked defense in the country, however, they did not play top competition. Very few teams have seen a player like Randall Cobb and I think he will be the difference in this game. Kentucky wins 24-21.

JB