Meineke Car Care Bowl (17) Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina

Saturday, December 26, 2009 4:30 PM ESPN

Focus your attention on Pitt offensive phenoms Dion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin. Lewis has been the most impressive freshman this season (in my humble opinion, of course), while Baldwin has simply exploded in his sophomore season. Lewis has rushed for 1,640 yards; third most in the FBS behind Ryan Mathews of Fresno State and Toby Gerhart of Stanford, both of whom will be playing on Sundays next season. He added 16 touchdowns for good measure.

Baldwin had 1,080 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns in 2009. He was especially impressive in four of his last five efforts, catching at least 5 passes for at least 110 yards and at least one touchdown in each of the four. The Panthers will also be counting on quarterback Bill Stull to be productive and efficient in his college finale.

Lewis, Baldwin and Stull will have their work cut out for them against the nation's sixth best defense. North Carolina has been equally impressive in stopping both the run and the pass. They picked off Hurricanes quarterback Jacory Harris 4 times and although he passed for over 300 yards in the game, he did so on 50 attempts and 28 completions. It was only the second time the Tarheels defense allowed a 300 yard passer this year and was one of just three games in which they allowed at least 200 yards passing.

More than anything else, I'll be watching to see how Lewis and the Pitt offensive line handle the front seven of North Carolina. This will be the key matchup to watch for in the game. If you leave out the Georgia Tech game in which the Yellow Jackets' second best rushing offense in the country had no problem punching their way through the Tarheels' defense, Marvin Austin and the front seven have allowed only two teams to rush for more than 100 yards.

The Pittsburgh defense has not been quiet this year, either. Not many fans realize that the Panthers have sacked the quarterback more than any other team in the FBS this season. They've accumulated 45 sacks so far with Greg Romeus leading the way with 8. Romeus also added 40 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. Not bad for a 270 pound defensive tackle.

When it comes down to it, the Meineke Car Care Bowl features two fantastic defenses, but only one worthy offense. North Carolina has been abysmal on the offensive side of the ball and I expect that to show Saturday afternoon/evening. - Danny Hobrock

Danny is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

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