Thursday, December 22, 2005

Bowl Games

I haven't put anything up lately. It's because it's football season and I put the time into a site devoted to my league. In fact, I had these picks on my fantasy football site two weeks ago, but I haven't given that address to everyone who has this one. And some people probably are better off not seeing the fantasy football site, so I'm putting my bowl picks here.

Bowl Picks. Winners in italics.
New Orleans Bowl (played in Lafayette, LA) - Southern Miss vs. Arkansas State - Arkansas State won an overtime game over 1-10 Florida Atlantic by the score of 3-0. Take Southern Miss.
GMAC Bowl - UTEP vs. Toledo - This is a game that I think could be a fun one to watch. Anyone besides me know that Carson Palmer's little brother Jordan plays for UTEP? Still, I'm taking Toledo in a close one. UK fans should watch since I think Toledo coach Tom Amstutz would make a good replacement for Rich Brooks (assuming Brooks doesn't win 5 games next year and gets a four year extension).
Las Vegas Bowl - BYU vs. Cal - Cal has only played one bad game this year. I've got to go with the hippies over the Mormons.
Poinsettia Bowl - Colorado St. vs. Navy - How often does Colorado St. see the triple option? Navy runs all over them.
Fort Worth Bowl - Kansas vs. Houston - Could be a snooze fest, but I'll go with Kansas. I think they've been playing better to end the season.
Hawaii Bowl - Nevada vs. Central Florida - Bear with me on this one. Central Florida loses the CUSA title game and goes to Hawaii while Tulsa wins it and goes to Memphis? Doesn't seem fair. Oh well, Central Florida wins to continue the George O'Leary reclamation project.
Motor City Bowl - Memphis vs. Akron - DeAngelo Williams is back. Take Memphis.
Champ Sports Bowl - Clemson vs. Colorado - I don't care if one of them was Texas, Colorado has lost its last three games 130-22. Take Clemson.
Insight Bowl - Arizona State vs. Rutgers - Rutgers is making its second bowl ever and should get the win over a weak Sun Devil team.
MPC Computers Bowl - Boston College vs. Boise State - Boise St. is playing a de facto home game against a BC team that is pissed off that they went 8-3 in the ACC and still dropped behind lesser ACC teams to end up in the only bowl game where the weather could be colder than in Boston. Personally, after BC stabbed the Big East in the back, I find it funny. Oh yeah, don't take a team that is unhappy playing in their bowl.
Alamo Bowl - Michigan vs. Nebraska - Bet this bowl never thought these two storied teams would end up in its lower-tier game at the same time. Both are 7-4, but I think Michigan is a better 7-4.
Emerald Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. Utah - Georgia Tech is simply a better team.
Holiday Bowl - Oregon vs. Oklahoma - Oregon should have been in a BCS game, while Oklahoma shouldn't be in a bowl game this good.
Music City Bowl - Minnesota vs. Virginia - Neither team really thrills me, but Minnesota runs the ball well.
Sun Bowl - Northwestern vs. UCLA - This is a tough one. I don't like UCLA at all. But I'm not sure I like Northwestern any better. I'll take Northwestern in the upset.
Independence Bowl - South Carolina vs. Missouri - Missouri sucks.
Peach Bowl - Miami vs. LSU - Look like crap in the SEC championship game, and may not have JaMarcus Russell, so I'm picking Miami over LSU. However, I do think LSU got screwed by the bowls. Why are Alabama, Auburn and Florida in better bowls?
Meineke Car Care Bowl - South Florida vs. NC State - I wish I knew the temperature was going to be. If it's average or above average, I would take South Florida, but if it's really cold, then NC State. I'm guessing milder weather. South Florida.
Liberty Bowl - Tulsa vs. Fresno St. - Since losing a close game to Southern Cal, Fresno has slumped. Tulsa is playing well. Take Tulsa.
Houston Bowl - TCU vs. Iowa State - Interesting. TCU (located in Fort Worth) is playing in the Houston Bowl while Houston is playing in the Fort Worth Bowl. TCU is on a 9 game winning streak, but should be undefeated. Iowa State is a mediocre team from a mediocre division of the Big 12.
Cotton Bowl - Texas Tech vs. Alabama - Team that likes to score against a team that can't. I know the adage is that defense wins championships, but I'm not so sure Alabama has the offense to win a bowl game.
Outback Bowl - Iowa vs. Florida - I would take Florida is they were playing in Gainesville, but they aren't.
Gator Bowl - Louisville vs. Virginia Tech - I wouldn't be going to Jacksonville if I thought UL was going to lose. Besides, we beat North Carolina worse than they did (said with crossed fingers).
Capital One Bowl - Wisconsin vs. Auburn - While I can see an emotional Wisconsin trying to win one for retiring Barry Alvarez, I still don't see them beating Auburn.
Fiesta Bowl - Notre Dame vs. Ohio State - Notre Dame hasn't beaten anyone. Take Ohio State.
Sugar Bowl - Georgia vs. West Virginia - The key to beating Georgia is running well which is forte of West Virginia. Of course, West Virginia struggles against scrambling quarterbacks which DJ Shockley hasn't done as much as I thought he would. Still, it's a home game this year for Georgia.
Orange Bowl - Penn State vs. Florida State - I'm still not sure how a four loss Florida State managed to get into a BCS game.
Rose Bowl - Southern Cal vs. Texas - Well, both teams tried to make a point by running up the score on their opponents the last week of the season. I still think Texas has a better defense and will win.