Though the Baltimore Ravens have proven in the past they can go on the road and win in the playoffs, the team sure wouldn’t mind having the opportunity to try to continue its unprecedented 2011 success at home during the postseason.

The Ravens haven’t had a problem getting up for and performing in these types of situations, as most of their 2011 losses have come against opponents that will be sitting home come playoff time. And the fact that Baltimore is the more consistent and overall superiorly-talented of these two combatants certainly carries some weight. The Bengals are just 1-6 this season against foes presently above .500, and might just be not quite ready for prime time.

It’s not a brand-new road for the New York Jets, but it sure seems different. Because the 2009 season ended with the team and its then-rookie head coach on the brink of a Super Bowl trip, many forget that successful stretch began with the Jets at 8-7 and needing a final-week victory to even reach the postseason tournament.

It’s hard to fathom how the outspoken coach might reinvent himself if the slump continues, but it’s also worth noting that each time he and his team have been pushed to the brink, they’ve rallied. Benefit of the doubt gives he and the Jets the nod again here.

A few weeks ago, the Indianapolis Colts seemed inexorably on their way to a winless season that would guarantee a dubious — though much needed — consolation prize in a chance to presumably select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick in next April’s NFL Draft.

The Jaguars have been no one’s example of success this season, but they do have this particular game’s best player in Jones-Drew and a defense that’s high-end enough to shut down an offense led by the likes of Orlovsky. The Indianapolis veterans might have a bullet or two left in the gun, but the matchups on both sides of the ball tip the scales in the home team’s favor.

There were a lot of question marks heading into 2011 for North Carolina, as the school replaced Butch Davis prior to the season, leaving the team in the hands of interim coach Everett Withers. Although UNC finished at 7-5 this season, the school made the move to replace Withers with former Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora. Still, the Tar Heels will be under Withers’ guidance in this bowl game, a reward for his hard work this season.

North Carolina turn in a fine season and watch them end it on a solid note as they win this one outright.

As a result of their win over Houston in the Conference USA title game earlier this month, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles are celebrating with a trip to the 10th annual Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu this weekend where they will tangle with the Nevada Wolf Pack. Not only did Southern Miss bury a heavily-favored Houston squad by a score of 49-28 in the conference title game, it finished an impressive 11-2 overall with those two defeats coming against Marshall and UAB in C-USA action by a total of just nine points.

The Golden Eagles have now put together their 18th consecutive winning season, which is the fourth-longest streak among Football Bowl Subdivision programs, trailing only Florida, Florida State and Virginia Tech.

So Miss takes this in grand fashion!!

The  lights at  Candlestick Park  were erratic  Monday night, but the San Francisco 49ers played steady, mistake-free  football to win a battle of playoff teams.

Alex  Smith connected  on 18-of-31 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, while Frank  Gore  ran for  65 yards  and a  score on  18 carries  for the NFC West- champion 49ers (11-3), who stayed in contention for a first-round bye. The game was twice delayed because of power outages in the San Francisco area.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cincinnati Bengals kept their playoff chances alive by avoiding a fifth loss in six games last weekend.

While Arizona’s chances at a postseason spot are much slimmer, the Cardinals’ longest winning streak since 1999 has them still mathematically in the hunt as well.

The Cards QB does have a tendency to turn the ball over and could face a lot of pressure in this game. Both Green and Fitzgerald are two of the top playmaking receivers and the clubs are also fairly equal on the ground. That leaves Cincinnati’s solid defense as the difference.

Playing hard has been a continuing problem, according to Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris. Losing has been an ongoing issue as well for the Bucs, who look to put an end to their eight-game slide Saturday on the road against the NFC South-rival Carolina Panthers from Bank of America Stadium.

Tampa Bay is a good team as well, but the future isn’t as bright for the swash-buckling club that will find it difficult to contain the Panthers’ offense once again. There’s no question Morris knows how to inspire his players, but he can’t be out on the field with them. Newton is playing at a high level right now and it appears there’s no end in sight.

Participating in the postseason for the second time in as many years, the San Diego State Aztecs will have to battle not only the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns on the field during the New Orleans Bowl this Saturday, but also a decidedly unfavorable crowd as the team makes the trip all the way from southern California to play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Led by head coach Rocky Long, who assumed the position after Brady Hoke made his way back to Michigan, the Aztecs consider themselves fortunate to be playing in back-to-back bowl games for the first time over the course of the program’s 43-yard Division I history. The Aztecs put together another solid season in the Mountain West Conference, even though they were overshadowed by nationally-ranked member TCU and Boise State.

San Diego State finished the regular season with back-to-back wins and three in the last four outings, the lone setback during that time coming against 10th-ranked Boise State by a massive 52-35 score. The other two defeats in MWC action were handed out by the Horned Frogs (27-14) and a surprising Wyoming group (30-27) at Qualcomm Stadium no less. At 8-4 overall and 4-3 in league play, coach Long and his bunch easily earned another turn in the postseason. Last year, the Aztecs recorded a 35-14 win over Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl, marking the first postseason triumph for the group since 1969.

The 2011 bowl season kicks off in the Land of Enchantment as the Temple Owls head west to meet the Wyoming Cowboys in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl at UNM Stadium this weekend. Last year the Owls finished with eight wins, but nothing to show for their efforts as they were skipped over for a bowl bid. That mistake was not made this year, as Temple, under new leadership reached eight victories once again, but this time the team was recognized for its play.

Steve Addazio took over for Al Golden when he took his show to Miami University, and while Golden was a huge reason for the resurgence of this football program, the squad did not miss a beat under Addazio. Temple, which finished 5-3 in Mid-American Conference play, closed out its regular season with three straight victories. Temple’s most notable game however, could be its loss to Penn State, as the Owls had the Nittany Lions on the ropes, but were narrowly defeated, 14-10.

This is the fourth bowl appearance for this program and the second in the last three years. Temple played in the inaugural Sugar Bowl back in 1935 against Tulane. The Owls lost that matchup, but defeated California in the 1979 Garden State Bowl. After a 30-year absence from bowl play the Owls took on UCLA in the 2009 EagleBank Bowl, and it was a tough fight, but one the Owls lost 30-21.

Give the edge to Temple as a Wyoming defense will struggle against a suprisingly effecient Owls offense.