The 2011 Valero Alamo Bowl gives all of us as Miami Dolphins fans exactly what we want - a chance to see 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. "RG3" takes center stage as the #12 Baylor Bears take on the Washington huskies.
Baylor comes into this game as 10 point favorites over "U-Dub," and has a 9-3 record, compared to the Huskies' 7-5 mark. Of course, the spotlight will be on Baylor's quarterback, who has thrown for 3998 yards this season, with 36 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. Griffin's 72.4% completion rate ranks fifth in the country, while his 192.3 passer rating is tops in college football.
Griffin has an additional 644 yards rushing this season, with 9 touchdowns.
Griffin is only a junior in terms of eligibility, but has completed his political science degree, and should be poised to enter next April's draft., which has most Dolphins fans salivating at seeing him in aqua and orange. However, Griffin hasn't officially declared for the draft, and is expected to wait until the January 15th deadline to make an announcement.
"I know a lot of people have [Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck] locked in as the No. 1 guy," Griffin said. "I'm not really worried about that and it won't really affect my decision to come our or not."
Griffin's performance this year has put Baylor back on the national football map, despite not having had a 10 win season since 1980, when they went undefeated in the now-defunct Southwest Conference, and not winning a bowl game since the 1992 Sun Bowl.
This game should be a difficult one for the Huskies, as Griffin and the Bears have the nation's 2nd ranked offense (5th in passing, 18th in rushing, 7th in points scored), compared to the Washington defense's rank of 99th in points allowed, 115th against the pass, and 51st against the rush.
Enjoy the game!