Kansas (11-1) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2)

Conference Matchup: Big 12 vs. ACC
Date: 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 3
Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, FL
Spread: Virginia Tech -3.0

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The casual football fan may look at the Orange Bowl as the least-inspiring BCS bowl game to date.

Hey, I'm not knocking Kansas. The Jayhawks have been an ATM machine this season at 10-1 against the spread. And Virginia Tech is still a huge sentimental favorite because of the tragedy this school endured earlier this year. But c'mon, Kansas against Virginia Tech?

Well, the names may not be sexy but these are two head bangers. And even if Kansas doesn't deserve to be in this game over Missouri - and they don't - the Jayhawks have been a wrecking crew this year. They are No. 2 in the country in scoring offense and No. 5 in scoring defense. The average score of their games this year was 44-16. But Kansas also hasn't beaten a single team in the Top 25 and their only two victories over bowl teams came over second-tier teams, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

The rock is not impressed. But apparently BCS selection folk were.

So does that mean that Virginia Tech is going to wreck the Jayhawks? Well, it's a gamble. Kansas has proven that it can score, score and score some more. Their second-rated offense will be facing its toughest task to date against Virginia Tech's No. 2 ranked defense, and whichever unit is able to win that matchup will likely take the cash.

Also, there's certainly an argument that Va. Tech could be the more overrated of the two teams in this bowl game. The ACC managed a pathetic 10-17-1 mark ATS in non-conference games this season and just 6-6 ATS versus bowl-bound clubs. The Hokies didn't cover in either of their bowl-bound nonconference games, struggling against East Carolina before getting crushed by LSU.

Kansas can cover if: If the Kansas offense is as explosive as it appeared in Big 12 play then the Jayhawks can win this game in a rout. They were the No. 1 team in the country ATS this year so there should be little doubt that they can cover in this one.

Also, if Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon can't find a rhythm against a stout Kansas defense then the Jayhawks can control the tempo of this game. If they can get an early lead then I think they can put a lot of pressure on a good-but-not-great group of Tech skill players. KU is 19-7 ATS in its last 26 games overall.

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Virginia Tech can cover if: If they play Beamer Ball. The Hokies need to cause turnovers on defense and special teams, rip off some backbreaking plays on offense, and generally control the tempo from start to finish. Besides creating turnovers, the No. 1 thing that the Hokies need to do is minimize their own mistakes.

Last year it was Florida that found BCS success with a two-quarterback system. It's taken awhile, but now it's the Hokies that have found a solid balance using both Taylor and Glennon. They've covered five straight games and are 7-1 ATS in their last eight.

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