Sunday, December 20, 2009

Bowl Games - Pre New Year's Day

Yeah, I missed the first two bowl games, but now I'm ready to go.

New Orleans Bowl (Dec 20) - Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee
CUSA against Sun Belt. My first thought is that Southern Miss lost to Louisville so they must suck. But the Sun Belt is pretty damned bad so take Southern Miss.

Las Vegas Bowl (Dec 22) - BYU vs. Oregon State
This is the fifth straight Las Vegas Bowl for BYU. Why do I get the feeling that this isn't what Vegas was expecting when they created this bowl? The point of it was to bring tourists into Sin City. Not a bunch of Mormons. And they get to play the easy to make fun of Beavers. And I think lose to the easy to make fun of Beavers.

Poinsettia Bowl (Dec 23) - Utah vs. California
For the record, I still pronounce poinsettia without emphasizing the second "i". If you don't like it, I'll tell you wear you can shove that silly looking weed. Utah is playing for their 8th straight bowl win. Seeing as they are from a non-BCS conference, that might not seem as impressive, but two of those wins were actually in BCS bowls. If Jahvid Best was playing for Cal, I might pick them, but after that nasty injury, he's out. So are Cal's chances.


Hawaii Bowl (Dec 24) - Nevada vs. SMU
Since the founding of the Hawaii Bowl in 2002, this is only the third time the University of Hawaii hasn't played in it. So, attendance will suck as no one from Nevada or Dallas is going to fly to Hawaii to watch these dogs. No big wins by either team but SMU was crapass Washington State's only win so I pick SMU to lose this game.

Little Caesars Bowl (Dec 26) - Marshall vs. Ohio
Pizza Pizza. This used to be called the Motor City Bowl, but no automotive company could afford to sponsor it. Actually I was hoping Toyota would offer to just to see if they'd let them. So, now it's the second pizza bowl. Oh, and you have a decent MAC team facing a 6-6 CUSA team that has already fired its coach. So, I'll go with Ohio since they haven't fired their coach.

Meineke Car Care Bowl (Dec 26) - Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina
So, none of the big 3 auto makers can afford to sponsor a bowl game, but a muffler shop can. Well, nobody has semi-nationalized muffler shops. Yet. So, Pitt is more talented. And they have Dave Wannstadt. I think they have enough talent to overcome that shortcoming.

Emerald Bowl (Dec 26) - Southern Cal vs. Boston College
I love almonds. So, Southern Cal travels up the coast to San Francisco. BC travels across the entire country. BC still usually wins bowl games they have to travel to. Southern Cal will mail it in. Take BC.

Music City Bowl (Dec 27) - Kentucky vs. Clemson
Eventually UK fans may stop going to Tennessee to watch these bowl games. Probably when Joker becomes head coach and takes the ball out of his best players hand all the time and they stop making any bowl games. Now I think the ACC stinks. But Clemson finished their season losing a game that would have sent them to a BCS bowl while UK lost a game that could have put them in the Outback Bowl. I think Clemson.

Independence Bowl
(Dec 28) - Texas A&M vs. Georgia
Nothing says Revolutionary War to me like Shreveport, LA. Georgia completely underachieved this year by limping home at 7-5. Texas A&M didn't underachieve but that's because no one thought they were worth a crap. And going 6-6 doesn't mean that thinking was wrong. Expect lots of offense because neither team has much defense. After seeing A&M light up Texas to end the season, I'll take them in this one.

EagleBank Bowl (Dec 29) - Temple vs. UCLA
Wait. Temple made a bowl game? How the Hell did that happen? And I'm picking them to win? I just don't have a lot of faith in a 6-6 team that needed Army to lose to Navy to make a small bowl game on the other side of the country.

Champs Sports Bowl (Dec 29) - Miami vs. Wisconsin
Hmmm. Two 9-3 teams. Both ranked. Wisconsin only played two teams worth a crap. Lost both. Miami only played two teams worth a crap. Beat one of them. Hmmm. That's enough for me. Take Miami.

Humanitarian Bowl (Dec 30) - Idaho vs. Bowling Green
On the surface, this game seems boring. Until you realize it's the Idaho Vandals versus the Bowling Green Falcons. Idaho is a team named after European barbarians based in Moscow. Bunch of Eurotrash loving commies. Falcons? The name of a Ford automobile (okay, a dumpy little car) and the F-16 fighter jet. And what says America more than lawn bowling? Go with the Falcons.

Holiday Bowl (Dec 30) - Nebraska vs. Arizona
I must admit that I haven't seen Arizona play much. I have seen Nebraska. Brutal. All defense. No offense. But enough to win a very low scoring affair.

Armed Forces Bowl (Dec 31) - Air Force vs. Houston
Rematch from last year's Armed Forces Bowl won by Houston. Third straight year for Air Force to be in this one and they've lost the last two which doesn't make sense. It's the Armed Forces Bowl you dumb ass flyboys. But I digress. I think the point a minute offense that Houston runs will make it three straight losses for Air Force in this bowl.

Sun Bowl (Dec 31) - Oklahoma vs. Stanford
This bowl is sponsored by Brut which means it is called the Brut Sun Bowl. But I'm a traditionalist so I'm calling it the Brut by Faberge Sun Bowl. As bad as Oklahoma was this year with Sam Bradford being injured, I think his Heisman win last year was well deserved. And since he's still injured, I'm picking Stanford.

Texas Bowl (Dec 31) - Navy vs. Missouri
I can't think of much that Missouri has done this year. And Navy is fun to watch. Seems like a good enough reason to pick Navy if even if naval tradition was described by Winston Churchill as "It's all rum, sodomy and the lash."

Insight Bowl (Dec 31) - Minnesota vs. Iowa State
I thought the Insight Bowl has some better picks than this. Two 6-6 teams. A crappy Big Ten team versus a crappy Big 12 team. I guess they figured two fan bases of the upper midwest would be ecstatic to go to Arizona in late December. And they might do so. And skip the game. Heads says Iowa State.

Chick-fil-A Bowl (Dec 31) - Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech
The ACC stinks but I think Virginia Tech was at least the second best team in it. I don't think Tennessee was the second best SEC team. So go with Tech.