Frogs should hop for Mobile Bowl
By Carlos Alvarado
Commentary

Mobile, Ala. in December is cold, wet and just plain miserable. Those who made the trip and witnessed the subsequent loss to Southern Miss in the Mobile Bowl in 2000 remember how uninviting the city can be. The stadium is a glorified high school stadium, and the city offers little in entertainment value.

The Mobile Bowl, however, offers the best possible team left for the Frogs: Miami (Ohio). The Red Hawks, who are currently ranked No. 15 in The Associated Press poll and No. 16 in the Coaches’ poll are a team many consider to be the best non-BCS team out there.

While many Frogs hope to face a “quality” Big 12 opponent at home in the Fort Worth Bowl, the simple fact is that Miami (Ohio) is better than any of the Big 12 teams the Frogs can face in Fort Worth.

The Fort Worth Bowl offers the eighth best team in the Big 12, which right now could be Kansas or Colorado. Maybe, just maybe, the Frogs can face off against Texas Tech, but look for the Alamo Bowl or the Houston Bowl to snatch up the Red Raiders before the Fort Worth Bowl gets a shot.

The best opponent, save an in-state rival, for the Frogs to face in a bowl game is Miami (Ohio). The Mobile Bowl would be foolish to pass up the opportunity for these two teams to square off in what is sure to be an exciting contest.

The matchup would be the highlight of the non-BCS bowl contests. A game of this caliber between two top 20 teams on national TV, featuring ESPN’s top broadcasting team of Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit, would be the jewel of ESPN coverage that night.

This contest has all the makings of something special.

You may not have heard of this Miami team, but it is good. Miami quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a talented junior who will garner some Heisman consideration next year if he doesn’t forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft. The Miami team will be ranked in the preseason polls next season, as it is young and will return many key starters from a team that gave Ohio State all it could handle in Columbus.

Along with Boise State, this team is held in high regard by many college football observers.

A win over this Miami team would go a long way to keeping TCU on the map and give the Frogs a claim at being the best non-BCS school in the nation.

A win over an eighth place Big 12 team would not be as valuable for the Frogs. Win, and the Frogs are supposed to do that, no big news. Lose, and the naysayers will point and say they never deserved all the attention.

While there is no place like home, and it would be nice for Frog fans and alumni to party hardy before and after the game, Mobile is the best bet for a Frogs’ football team looking for respect.