Hi gang. In just under an hour, the Stanford Cardinal…who have a tree for a mascot, take on the Hokies from Virginia Tech.
↵It’s a quarterback battle between Tyrod Taylor, the ACC player of the year, and Andrew Luck, the presumptive #1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft should he elect to come out.
↵There is also an intriguing Minnesota aspect to this job, in that Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh might be coaching his last game at Stanford. Harbaugh has been linked to at least two NFL head coaching vacancies, Denver and San Francisco, where he would ironically replace his former teammate, Mike SIngletary.
↵But the one job that is most linked to Harbaugh is his alma mater, the University of Michigan. You know, the one half of the state of Michigan's ultimate FAIL on New Year’s Day. If Harbaugh takes the Michigan job, he would face Jerry Kill and the Gophers every year for the Little Brown Jug.
↵After Va. Tech started off 0-2, including a loss to an FCS school, no one really saw them in a BCS bowl. It’s a remarkable turnaround by coach Frank Beemer and his staff.
↵For Stanford, Harbaugh has taken them to the pinnacle of greatness after bringing them out of the darkness of terrible, and they are making consecutive bowl appearances since 1995-96.
↵As much as I like Virginia Tech’s running attack, I like Andrew Luck and Stanford’s defense more. I don’t think the Hokies will be able to stop Luck, who’s probably playing his last game for Stanford.
↵SB Nation Minnesota Prediction: Stanford 38, Va. Tech 21
↵SB Nation Minnesota Bowl Record Thus Far: 14-10